Fighting down that strange, crushing palpitation, she forced herself to remain on the bridge and keep directing operations as the ship's Director.
"Can we get any closer, Captain?" she asked Nemo.
"No… That Mana reaction is far too abnormal. Even the gravitational field is starting to distort. If we approach the Fantasy Tree any further, Storm Border won't be able to maintain a stable flight posture," Nemo reported. "But we've confirmed the Fantasy Tree's position. I'm routing the main screen feed in now!"
"W-What… is that…?"
Olga Marie's voice shook. She couldn't understand why this Beast terrified her so deeply when it hadn't even shown a body yet.
It was the kind of fear that made her feel as if even her own existence might be snuffed out.
In fact, everyone aboard Storm Border felt something similar.
Skadi had already taken the Valkyrie up to the deck, preparing to descend with Artoria and land at the palace in person to support Morgan and Scáthach.
They could grieve for him after they made it out safely.
Right now, keeping everyone else alive was the priority. That, too, was what he would have wanted.
Inside the Fantasy Tree, the swelling Spirit Origin of the Beast gave off a mechanical voice, spitting out broken, indistinct phrases like "operation" and "generation."
Then the words grew clearer, more structured—more like language.
"—Please respond.
—Please answer.
From this moment, updating will begin."
The speech became smoother and more expressive by the second, but the voice itself made everyone in Chaldea tense.
They had heard it somewhere before.
Morgan stared without blinking at the Beast's Spirit Origin as it stabilized and began to settle into a fixed shape.
So it had finally come.
The Animusphere's "karma."
The scattered scraps she had glimpsed when Britannia's Fantasy Tree withered, and the conclusion she had pieced together afterward, all pointed to "that" in Antarctica.
She had never spoken of it, not only because the hypothesis lacked hard proof, but because it could shake all of Chaldea's morale to its core.
Especially Olga Marie herself.
That girl didn't even know why she had been born.
But the time to face it all seemed to have arrived sooner than expected.
"Ha… hahahaha… ahahahahaha—! Finally, it's my turn! Sorry to keep you waiting, Apostles! You worked hard preparing a vessel for me, a container for my body that exists on the star of the void. It took a little time, but I'll praise you for it! Heh… So this is Earth? I heard my kin were suffering, so I decided to show myself—! What is this, though? This planet's nothing special! Tiny, tiny. At this level, I won't even need a year to conquer it!"
The figure slowly emerging from the Fantasy Tree's radiance left everyone in Chaldea stunned into silence.
Olga Marie's knees buckled. She stumbled back a few steps and almost fell, only for Baobhan Sith—there on the bridge—to catch her in time.
"Wh… what is that…?" she whispered, nearly voiceless, as if she'd stepped into a nightmare.
But if it was a nightmare, it was far too vivid—so clear it felt almost tangible.
"This isn't the time for that, Baobhan Sith. Look after Marie first."
Morgan's voice came through the comms, cool and clipped.
"For now, focus on the 'Alien God' that has manifested. Storm Border, make the preparations to coordinate with my side."
"Understood. All Storm Border systems are normal. The long-range leylines-blocking armament control system is stable as well."
Seeing that Olga Marie could no longer keep command, Romani immediately stepped in.
"Lady Morgan, should we activate it now?"
"No… not yet. We still don't know what it's capable of."
With the report confirmed, Morgan warned the ship behind them not to make any rash moves.
Judging by the scale of that Mana alone, the 'Alien God' in front of them had the power to destroy Storm Border with ease.
Meanwhile, after receiving Kirei Kotomine's brief report and grasping the situation, the 'Alien God' looked down on the Chaldea group inside the palace with utter indifference—its gaze sweeping over the Servants, over Scáthach, and finally settling on Morgan.
"So something went wrong on Kirschtaria's side—that's one thing. But I never expected the fairy who withered the Fantasy Tree Seyfert to be here as well. I was never told that such a troublesome impurity would be mixed into what was supposed to be an appetizer Lostbelt, Father."
The 'Alien God' looked at Morgan as it questioned Kirei Kotomine.
"You've only just obtained a body that hasn't even fully matured, and you're already in such a hurry to devour this Lostbelt?" Morgan asked coolly.
"I sense not the slightest reverence for a god from you. Understand this: the only reason you still live is because the world that birthed you was chosen by me."
"To you, every Lostbelt is nothing more than food. And you dare to say something like that." Morgan's gaze hardened. "And wearing the face of my husband's prized student, no less. Why don't you introduce yourself properly?"
"Is that the attitude of a Lostbelt King? Very well. As accompaniment to my meal, I shall first condemn you for the crime of destroying the Fantasy Tree Seyfert."
The 'Alien God' raised its hand.
"I am the god who descended from the void, manifest to eradicate and correct the evils of this planet. I am the ultimate ruler who claims Earth as a single nation and governs humanity in its entirety."
"In the name of U-Olga Marie, Ruler of the Earth Nation, I deliver judgment. Fairy of Paradise, and the remnants of Chaldea who follow you—death. Disappear while begging and repenting. My infinite tolerance has reached its limit."
In the next instant, an anomalous gravitational field materialized high in the sky above the vanished Fantasy Tree.
Beginning from the Orbital Grand Temple Dodona, small fragments of rubble were the first to be dragged upward. Morgan and the others within the palace felt the overwhelming pull as well.
It wouldn't be long before everyone within this Lostbelt was drawn in.
To create a black hole of that scale so casually—Morgan had to admit, the 'Alien God' was formidable.
She had intended to draw out more information, but the being calling itself U-Olga Marie had no intention of continuing the conversation.
"What do we do?" Scáthach asked.
"One person has to stay behind and hold it off. We need to buy time for the others to retreat."
Morgan was about to volunteer herself when she saw the Knights of the Round Table—and Caenis, whose Spirit Origin was already on the verge of collapse—charge toward the 'Alien God' one after another.
Compared to the 'Alien God,' their strength was far too insignificant. They wouldn't last even a single exchange.
"Fall back, Knights of the Round Table! Rearguard duty is not your—"
Morgan was about to shout them down when, still watching the gravitational field, she caught sight of something in the corner of her eye.
A meteor.
A meteor streaking toward the palace at tremendous speed.
Like the second stage of a rocket separating, the meteor split in two as it closed in. One portion veered off, changing trajectory toward Storm Border.
The larger mass continued straight down toward the palace.
A Mana reaction of equal magnitude surged forth, accompanied by a brilliance so intense it was impossible to look away.
Sensing something approaching, the 'Alien God' showed a flicker of surprise. It failed to intercept in time and could only watch as the meteor crashed into the palace.
There was no devastating shockwave as expected. Instead, the impact was steady and controlled, its force directed entirely toward the 'Alien God.'
As the smoke and light gradually dispersed, Morgan lowered the hand she had raised to shield herself from the blast.
When she saw the figure emerging from within, even she—who had forced herself to remain calm—could not stop the surge of shock and joy in her chest.
"Looks like I'm a little late. Did I make it in time, my wife?"
Tenkei Shiomi, who had vanished into the void between spaces, rose from the ground.
His tone was as gentle as ever as he looked at Morgan and spoke.