"Fear not... gather under my banner..."
Jeanne stepped to the forefront, raising her standard high. Golden radiance shone upon the dark, frenzied altar, the banner gleaming with holy light.
"Luminosité Eternelle!"
The foul mana light scorched the river, containers, and earth—everything.
Yet, in this infernal world, a bastion of purity remained: the ground behind Jeanne.
Buzz!
Her banner fluttered, golden beams emanating from it, forming an unyielding fortress of light, shielding Jeanne and all behind her.
"My Lord, protect me."
Jeanne prayed, facing the blood-red tide threatening to engulf the world. Her face held no fear, only devout faith as she raised her holy banner.
Luminosité Eternelle—the sacred flag Jeanne wielded in life, a legend crystallized from her battlefield triumphs, where she emerged nearly unscathed. Blessed by angels, it protected a ten-unit radius around the flag, converting her EX-rank Magic Resistance into physical defense against attacks. Its rank was a supreme A-grade.
Though it paled against an Outer God's avatar, its EX Magic Resistance, transformed into defense against physical and magical assaults, was nearly unbreakable.
However, while raising the flag, Jeanne could not attack, and the banner accumulated damage from enemy strikes, risking permanent failure if overused.
"Well, it's our turn now... Assassin, Kingu, buy me some time."
Roman spoke casually.
"Understood!"
Assassin nodded, gripping his greatsword and advancing.
"This thing? I don't need help. I can handle it alone!"
Kingu remained disdainful. A mere avatar of a lesser god was nothing to her—she could crush it effortlessly, even in her current form.
Assassin ignored her, flashing forward with his greatsword, appearing midair directly before Ythogtha.
"Slash!"
Blue flames ignited along the blade. Assassin's strike grazed Ythogtha's crown.
"Aaaahhh!"
The colossal form collapsed, dissolving into mana. The otherworldly entity linked to it wailed in agony from the blow.
Ythogtha thrashed against its chains, its body marred with black marks—the concept of "death" tracing back from its avatar.
The chains rattled, its roars echoing through the dream-ocean.
"Hey! Just stall it—why'd you one-shot it?!"
Roman groaned, face in hands.
Bolstered by Human Order during a crisis, Assassin's Saint Graph gained a temporary "Grand" enhancement.
It wasn't his fault for striking too hard—Ythogtha was simply too weak.
"Tch!"
Kingu bristled at Assassin stealing the spotlight. Though impulsive, she wasn't foolish enough to challenge his superior strength now.
"..."
Jeanne stood awkwardly. She'd thought her defense crucial, only to realize she'd been tanking a level-50 enemy's attacks while her level-80 teammates dominated.
But Roman wasn't pleased with Ythogtha's defeat. The old man—er, someone—had warned that killing it before sealing the channel would only draw a greater entity's attention.
Like...
Ythogtha's wail echoed across the ocean, but it abruptly choked, like a duck strangled mid-cry.
A massive eye appeared in the sky, its gaze locking onto Assassin after a whirl.
"Tch, trouble."
Roman clicked his tongue, wincing.
The dream-lord of the ocean awoke at its offspring's cries.
This great being cared little for its progeny, angered only by the disturbance of its slumber and intrigued by this fascinating world.
Like its spawn, its name in human terms was Cthulhu!
A true ancient evil god, far surpassing its offspring, rivaling the Supreme Four of the seventy-two Demon Gods Roman once commanded as Solomon.
If Cthulhu forced its way through the channel, even Roman at his Solomon peak, Kingu at full power, and Assassin with his Grand Saint Graph couldn't kill it.
Earth would be doomed!
Suddenly...
A distortion rippled through the air, and a thunderous right hand materialized.
"It's Father..."
Kingu gazed at the hand, confirming Roman's words.
The eye fixed on the hand, its gaze glinting with intrigued curiosity.
Though just an eye, it conveyed emotion like a human face.
"Done already? As expected of you—lightning fast..."
Roman chuckled at the hand, relieved he could slack off again.
Boom!
A bolt of lightning flashed from the hand, exploding near Roman and startling him.
He knew that lightning's nature and wanted no part of it.
"What the hell is that?!"
Iskandar and Waver, alongside Saber and Irisviel, were utterly baffled.
They had no clue what was happening—from Kingu trouncing the Sea Demon, to the evil god's instant defeat, to this terrifying eye facing off against an indescribable hand.
In short: complete confusion!
They felt like they'd been yanked out of their era.
The hand opened, swiping forward like an eraser wiping a blackboard, erasing the eye.
Then it vanished. The sun rose normally, time seemingly resetting, as if nothing had happened.
But the blood-red sea testified it was no illusion.
"Alright, let's call it a day!"
Roman said breezily, shamelessly unapologetic for barely contributing.
In this battle, only Kingu and Assassin had pulled their weight. The others... well, not so much.
How to describe Iskandar and Jeanne's thoughts?
It was like an epic buildup to a grand saga, only to realize they weren't the protagonists. This so-called epic was, to the true players, just a minor inconvenience they couldn't attend to personally.
***
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