The sudden voice rang out without warning, startling everyone.
It was so familiar that it felt absurd, like seeing a ghost.
Shiomi pushed himself up from the ground and looked at the man who had appeared on the deck at some point without anyone noticing.
He stood there, not far behind them.
The one who had orchestrated the Incineration of Humanity and stolen the name of the King of Magecraft.
The supreme summoning formula personally created by King Solomon—
"King of the Demon Gods, Goetia."
Shiomi slowly straightened to his feet.
Chaos was already preparing to seize the planet's resources, and now the King of the Demon Gods, Goetia, had appeared as well.
This couldn't have come at a worse time.
When the Temple of Time was destroyed, Goetia had disappeared without a trace.
After that, neither Chaldea nor Shiomi pursued the matter further. Romani least of all.
With the Ten Commandments gone and the Incineration of Humanity completely overturned, even if he reappeared as an enemy, he would be nothing more than a powerful foe.
"So you've put on your master's face again? Planning to keep masquerading as Grand Caster?" Shiomi raised his hand. "If you're here to interfere at a time like this—"
He gripped Gungnir and pointed it at Goetia, who stood before them in Solomon's form.
"You have obtained divinity, yet you still think like a human. Don't disappoint me, Tehom."
Goetia ignored the hostility directed at him, calmly addressing Shiomi by his divine name, his tone edged with ridicule.
"What are you here to do?" Shiomi demanded.
"Nothing more than attending to trivial matters suited to a Grand Servant."
Goetia stepped forward, passing the three of them and stopping a little ahead, his gaze fixed on Chaos.
"…Spirit Origin reaction confirmed at Grand Servant level. Whether it's a disguise remains unclear."
Romani's voice came through the communicator, tension laced with a new layer of gravity.
He knew Goetia hadn't died in the battle at the Temple of Time. But why he had appeared here now was another matter entirely.
Even without the Ten Commandments, Goetia still occupied Solomon's remains—the ultimate Magecraft formula created by Solomon himself.
Taking action under the identity of a Grand Servant would not be difficult for him.
"That cold-blooded man never showed himself from beginning to end. I am merely here in his stead to deliver some good news to Chaldea."
Goetia spoke without turning around, his voice as cold as ever.
"Good news?" Artoria blinked in surprise.
"You may not be able to destroy Chaos, but you can stop it from continuing to interfere with this universe," Goetia said evenly. "All you need to do is close the window through which that eye peers into this universe."
Understanding dawned on Shiomi at once.
Goetia wasn't here to obstruct them. He had come in the capacity of Grand Caster to offer assistance—for reasons of his own.
Or rather, to have Chaldea accomplish something.
After all, even when he burned away all of human history, he had never intended to destroy the planet itself, let alone kill it.
"That's a tear opened in space—something intangible… still, a concept of the void," Shiomi said. "How do we close it?"
"The man who once feared no divine punishment now fears death after becoming a god?" Goetia replied coolly.
Shiomi paused, then understood.
"You came all the way here just to say that? Because I destroyed your plan, you've been waiting for a chance to settle the score?"
"Interpret my actions however you like. If you intend to stop Chaos's current move, then stop wasting time."
"You're a Grand Caster. You possess eyes that see through past and future. And yet you can't even close the window through which Chaos observes this universe?" Shiomi shot back with a sneer.
Goetia showed no reaction to the mockery.
"If necessary, I can do it. But if you defeated me and still cannot accomplish even this, and must rely on me—"
He finally turned to look at Shiomi.
"—then declare here, in the name of a god, that humanity's future is to be entrusted to me. In that case, I will complete what comes next on your behalf."
"As I thought…" Shiomi murmured.
"It seems you've finally noticed what you once overlooked," Goetia replied indifferently.
"Time is short. Make your choice, Tehom."
"No need to choose. I made my decision long ago. That answer won't change now."
Shiomi refused Goetia's proposal without the slightest hesitation.
Whether Goetia could truly accomplish it or not, he would never entrust humanity's future to him.
And yet, in that instant, Shiomi thought he saw a strange smile flicker in Goetia's eyes. He couldn't tell whether it was mockery or approval.
Perhaps Goetia intended to use this opportunity to eliminate Shiomi. Or perhaps he had truly come here, however unwillingly, to lend a hand for the sake of the planet and humanity.
After all, their enemy was Chaos. Adding a little more weight to Chaldea's side of the scale could be considered only fair.
"Hmph…"
Goetia let out a cold snort and suddenly rose into the air.
A bridge of starlight leading to Chaos manifested out of the void.
Though Chaos's position could be perceived subjectively, no instrument had been able to lock onto it. Now, through Goetia's power, the bridge pierced straight through the labyrinth of dimensional rifts thrown into disarray by Chaos, marking the one and only correct path to its location.
"Now! Storm Border, engines to full output! Follow that path—"
Olga Marie clenched her teeth and made her decision.
She had a rough idea of what would happen next. But since her teacher had already resolved himself, she would not trample on that resolve.
"No!"
Melusine objected, rare and uncharacteristically firm.
"Melusine, you—" Artoria began, thinking she was speaking out of emotion.
Instead, Melusine calmly removed her flight armor and walked to Shiomi's side.
"There's still much to be done. And many comrades remain on this land," she said, shaking her head. "Storm Border must stay. It needs to prepare for the battles to come."
Shiomi wanted to argue. But faced with the determination in her eyes, the words wouldn't come.
"My name is Melusine, the fairy name granted to me by my master."
As she spoke, an overwhelming surge of Mana erupted from within her.
It was not the Mana of a fairy.
It was something greater—Mana belonging to Albion, the Last Dragon.
"…At this moment, I cast aside that name. I return to my origin and reveal the 'Realm' of Albion the Dragon!"
The moment her words fell, Melusine transformed into a streak of light and shot into the sky.
When the radiance faded, what stood before them was no longer Melusine.
It was a beautiful dragon.
Melusine had staked everything to briefly reclaim the true form of Albion the Dragon.
All for the sake of becoming someone's strength.