"So that… is the Chaos you spoke of, Kirschtaria Wodime?"
The colossal upheaval in the sky became apparent to everyone in an instant.
Morgan gazed at the massive eye slowly emerging from the crack in the heavens and asked the question calmly.
"…Yes."
Kirschtaria lay amid the ruins of the detached palace, answering with visible strain.
He glanced toward Caenis. His Servant, drenched in blood, knelt on the ground, bracing herself on her spear out of sheer instinct, indifferent to everything happening around her.
As her Master, Kirschtaria knew she had already reached her limit.
Even with the reinforcement of two Command Spells, she had ultimately been unable to overcome Scáthach's god-slaying power.
And now, as the leader of the Crypters, he too had been defeated in his magecraft duel against Morgan. His Magic Circuits were sealed, leaving him a prisoner.
"The origin of the Twelve Machine Gods of Olympus," Kirschtaria said slowly. "The primordial Starship. A supermassive mothership built for interstellar navigation. The oldest Machine God.
"That majestic form peering down upon this planet from the heavens… its true identity is Chaos—the origin of all gods in Greek mythology."
Chaos. The ancient deity bearing the name of chaos itself. In Greek myth, it also signifies the 'gaping hole in the sky'—the Void—the primordial and greatest god.
"That is the Celestial Sphere Type Space-Time Fortress Chaos. The source of all Machine Gods. The original existence."
"The Twelve Machine Gods, Zeus included, are merely divisions of Chaos's countless original grand functions. Titan. Olympus. The origin point of every Machine God."
"A transcendent god fused with the spacetime rifts of the cosmos. Its core… is that colossal eye you see beyond the tear."
Though his Magic Circuits were sealed, Kirschtaria was not gravely wounded. He had merely been stripped of his ability to fight. Morgan had intended to interrogate him, to extract whatever useful intelligence she could.
"It appears that thing's core is a star from another galaxy, encased within a constructed outer shell?" Morgan asked.
"How perceptive, great witch," Kirschtaria replied, shifting slightly against the rubble. He gave a faint shake of his head. "Have you heard of a Dyson Sphere?"
"…So the theoretical construct proposed by human scientists was already realized in the prehistoric civilization that birthed the Machine Gods." Morgan nodded in understanding, looking down at him from several meters away. "Why has Chaos appeared now? Because Zeus was shot down and it has chosen to intervene directly?"
"No. Chaos has only come to complete the aftermath.
"Zeus wished to lead Olympus back into the sea of stars. But Chaos is a purer machine. It has no attachment to this planet. That god cares only for 'the maintenance of the fleet.'
"It intends to absorb the resources of the entire planet—not just Olympus."
Morgan raised an eyebrow.
"Absorb resources? Like the white giant Sefar?"
"Perhaps. Or perhaps something even worse." Kirschtaria smiled faintly, resignation in his eyes. "In any case, I have already been defeated. What comes next is up to you—Chaldea.
"I… believe you can overcome this trial."
There was no doubt that Kirschtaria, knowing all of this in advance, had once planned to defeat Chaldea first, then Zeus, and prevent Chaos's arrival.
But with both Zeus and himself defeated, that plan had dissolved into nothing more than empty theory.
Even if they knew nothing… if it were them, if it were that person, surely they could—
"That would be the case regardless of whether you said it."
Morgan turned, her gaze falling upon the Knights of the Round Table who had ended their battle and hurried toward the palace.
Percival and Mordred each carried an unconscious body—Peperoncino and Hinako Akuta slung over their shoulders.
During the fight at the altar, they had realized they could not interfere and immediately rushed here instead.
Even so, they were still a step too late.
"You assist Scáthach and guard the Crypter here. I'll go provide support—"
As she spoke, Morgan opened a Water Mirror, intending to return to Shiomi's side.
"Don't come over. They need you watching that side."
Shiomi's voice echoed directly in her mind through the private Mana channel that bound them.
"My husband…" Morgan paused for only a moment before nodding. "Understood."
The Alien Apostle had yet to show himself, and Kirschtaria had not finished explaining everything.
More importantly, the Fantasy Tree stood right before them.
Aside from Britannia's Fantasy Tree, the ones in Russia and Scandinavia had already been dismantled and reclaimed by the Alien Apostle before Chaldea could even approach, after witnessing those Lostbelts fall.
Now, only Morgan had the means to deal with this most prosperous Fantasy Tree.
As for the rest… she could only trust her husband.
...
Storm Border — deck.
Staring at the colossal pupil in the sky, Shiomi's Star-Eyes trembled faintly.
An overwhelming presence… yet empty.
It was there, and yet not there.
A place where neither gods nor humans existed.
Only the gap of the cosmos itself.
He pressed a hand to his forehead, thoughts racing.
He had stopped Morgan from coming, but he still had no clear, decisive countermeasure.
"—Subjects and civilization: unnecessary.
—Intellect and spirit: unnecessary.
—Prosperity and extinction: all unnecessary.
—Confirming reactivation of Primordial Chaos.
—All elements deemed unnecessary.
—Emergency alert. Emergency alert.
—Chaos God: manifesting.
—Initiating forced resource reclamation. Executing primordial reversion of planetary surface resources.
—In accordance with the Interstellar Migration Navigation Treaty.
—Thirty-seven percent of this unregistered planet's volume will be requisitioned.
—Intelligent lifeforms on this planet: evacuate immediately."
The broadcast relayed through the Orbital Grand Temple stunned everyone.
To strip away thirty-seven percent of Earth's volume would render the planet uninhabitable for humanity. Even if the Bleached Earth were restored later, it would all be meaningless.
"They don't even consider us worth acknowledging…" Shiomi clenched his fists, anger rising in his chest.
He was pushing himself to recover as much strength as possible from the battle with Zeus, drawing on every advantage the surroundings offered.
But the problem was—
"Bridge, what's the situation?" he asked.
"The minimum estimated distance between us and the target is twenty thousand meters!" Romani reported rapidly. "Storm Border simply can't support ultra-long-range space navigation! Even if we had a Heroic Spirit capable of pioneering the cosmos, at best we could only reach that location.
"The King of the Demon Gods once preserved human history's total Mana as a band of light. Even if we possessed energy on the same scale as that light band, it still wouldn't be enough to destroy something like this—"
"How shallow. Chaldea truly has not changed."
A familiar voice cut in.
Cold. Arrogant.
And possessed of a clarity that seemed to see through all things.
"So your so-called victory was nothing more than relying on that man?"