"Um… Steve?"
Miyamoto Musashi awkwardly turned her neck to watch the man spinning the small golden scissors between his fingers like a pen.
The soul-emptying sense of void had vanished, replaced by an unprecedented solidity—as though a kite whose string had been cut was suddenly anchored to the ground by a steel cable.
"Don't move. The thread is still fraying."
Steve narrowed his eyes like a tailor suffering an OCD episode and once again sliced the void behind Musashi with the scissors.
Click.
The quiet sound caused no ripples in the world.
Yet deep within Musashi's Saint Graph, the cursed words wanderer—the fate that prevented her from staying long in any world—were physically severed.
"Alright. Surgery complete."
Steve blew away nonexistent dust with satisfaction and returned the scissors to his magic pocket. "Congratulations, New Musashi-no-Kami."
"From today onward, you are a full-time employee of Chaldea."
"No social insurance or housing allowance, but the cafeteria udon is all-you-can-eat."
"Of course, you cannot run away until humanity is saved."
"Eh…? Eh?!"
Musashi froze for three seconds, then jumped up and stomped the ground. "Really… I don't have to disappear anymore? And I can stay here forever?!"
"Why would I lie to you… All right, stop grinning like an idiot. People is still waiting upstairs."
Steve pointed toward the Fantasy Tree.
There, a blond youth in white stood quietly observing everything.
…Kirschtaria Wodime maintained his polished noble etiquette, yet his eyes twitched slightly as he watched the group ascend the stairs.
At the front, as expected, were his rival Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash.
Behind them…
Kadoc wore a serious expression, eyes filled with complex emotion.
Ophelia looked sorrowful yet resolute.
Hinako Akuta, clutching a novel, followed irritably.
Peperoncino smiled and waved as though attending a tea party.
Miyamoto Musashi—returned from death's brink in extreme excitement—skillfully spun her twin blades.
And at the very rear walked a man with both hands in his pockets, head lowered, inspecting the Olympus floor tiles—Steve.
…This is truly a despair-inducing lineup.
Wodime could not help but smile bitterly.
He had imagined countless scenarios for the final battle, even anticipating possible defeat by Ritsuka's miraculous resilience.
He had never imagined facing the betrayal of nearly all Group A members—nor encountering this special existence that could so easily deal with even the Almighty God Zeus or the mother ship Chaos.
A problem everyone knew yet no one voiced.
Yes—Steve stood there silently, showing no fighting spirit, yet like immense gravity he distorted the entire battlefield's atmosphere.
Wodime understood perfectly: if that man wished, he could pull some causality-destroying bomb from his pocket and erase this place without a trace using a single finger.
But he did not.
He simply waited and observed.
Is this… a trial for me?
Savior from another world.
Wodime took a deep breath and changed his mindset.
Since the opponent had shown such arrogant mercy, as captain of Group A and bearer of the God-Art Plan, he had to respond in the most perfect manner.
"Welcome, Fujimaru Ritsuka."
"And… my old friends."
As Wodime spread both arms, the starry-sky magic circuit behind him flared violently, magical energy rivaling that of the supreme god. "The situation is overwhelmingly disadvantageous, yet my ideal will never waver."
"To liberate humanity from predetermined fate and create a new era where everyone becomes a god without suffering… I, Kirschtaria Wodime, shall crush you here!"
"Captain…"
Ritsuka stepped forward. No hatred dwelt in her eyes—only the pure clash of ideals. "Your ideal is beautiful."
"Honestly, the me of the past might have hesitated."
"But… I have seen far too much."
"Without pain there is no growth; without death there is no true life."
"If everyone became a god, humanity… would cease to be humanity!"
"Words are now meaningless!"
Wodime struck his staff against the ground. "Then prove it with power! Whether the possibility of all human history is stronger—or my perfect world!"
BOOM—!!!
It was a clash that could truly be called godlike, magical.
Meteor showers rained down like the Last Judgment, each meteor carrying enough force to pulverize a Servant's Spirit Core.
This was the pinnacle that established Wodime as the strongest magus in astromancy—the miracle that transformed him into a microcosm.
Yet Chaldea's combat power was far too excessive.
"I'm sorry, Captain. But I also want to see what the future holds!"
Kadoc gritted his teeth and ordered Anastasia (Chaldea summon version) to deploy freezing defense.
"Lord Wodime… this is my final selfish act."
Ophelia's Mystic Eyes fully activated, constantly interfering with the causal trajectories of the falling meteors.
"Oh my, what a stubborn person."
Pepe laughed while using Shugendo taijutsu to smash the remaining magic bullets to pieces.
Furthermore, there was Musashi's swordsmanship that could slice magic itself, and Mash's indestructible shield.
Steve never once removed his hands from his pockets. Like a parent watching children play, he stood quietly at the battlefield's edge.
Occasionally, when a meteor flew carelessly toward him, he dodged with fluid movements as if he had foreseen the future.
Finally, after dozens of minutes of fierce battle, at the instant the last meteor was deflected by Mash's shield, Ritsuka seized that momentary opening. Her Command Spell flashed.
"Now! Musashi, I'm counting on you!"
"Ooh, ooh, ooh! Leave it to me! Niten Ichi-ryū – Ultimate Demon-Slaying Kill!"
The twin swords crossed and severed the starlight.
Wodime's staff snapped in two. He was blown backward like a kite with its string cut, slamming heavily into the altar.
The outcome was decided.
"Hahaha…"
Wodime lay on the ground, gazing at the artificial sky. A relieved smile appeared on his lips. "I see… so this is the weight of human history."
"It seems my plan contained… a fatal flaw…"
The crowd gathered around him.
The atmosphere was heavy, yet not gloomy.
After all, they were old acquaintances. Now that the result was clear, the next step was the recruitment phase—just as it had been with Kadoc's group.
However, at the very moment vigilance was lowest…
Like a venomous snake, an eerie black shadow emerged from the void.
"Hehehe… hehehe… Truly splendid, Wodime."
It was Beryl—who had previously escaped despite grievous wounds.
By some unknown means he had concealed himself and now stood behind Wodime, poison-coated dagger in hand, a twisted, mad grin on his face.
"After suffering such a crushing defeat, you still make a face like 'I did my best'… it's truly disgusting!"
"Wodime, I don't like your world."
"No killing? No pain? Such a world… is hell for scum like me!"
"So die!"
The killing-intent-filled dagger was about to pierce the unsuspecting Wodime's back.
Ritsuka screamed. Mash tried to raise her shield—but it was too late.
The other hidden figures were still paralyzed from the previous fierce battle.
Just as the dagger was about to stab—
ZAP
A pale-blue electric arc, accompanied by the acrid smell of ionized air, struck Beryl's crotch area accurately, mercilessly, and with complete mercy.
"AUUUUUUUUU!!!!"
Beryl let out an inhuman scream.
It was a wail from the depths of his soul—the sound of a male organism's genetic-level collapse.
The dagger clattered to the ground.
Beryl was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He leaped three meters into the air, then curled into a ball like a boiled shrimp, clutching his crotch with both hands before slamming violently to the ground. He foamed at the mouth and convulsed.
"Ah, sorry—my hand slipped."
Steve slowly emerged from behind the crowd.
He held a strangely shaped retro-futuristic gun. It emitted a peculiar golden light; chilling magical energy wafted from the magazine.
"Let me introduce this. One of my collections: the Guaranteed Egg Cracker 2000."
Steve blew on the still-smoking muzzle with a mischievous smile. "Power source is high-purity immortal-magic powder generously supplied by the First Emperor. Granted effects: 'Male Special Attack' and 'Absolute Hit.'"
"It was originally devised to handle unruly magical creatures, but I never expected such an appropriate use today."
"You… you bastard…"
Beryl's eyes looked ready to pop from pain. He struggled desperately to rise, killing intent almost tangible.
"Oh? You can still speak? Seems the dosage was insufficient."
Steve sneered and pulled the trigger again.
ZAP ZAP ZAP ZAP!
"AAAAAHHH…"
A precise strike to the crotch.
This time Beryl could not even scream—he could only emit "kokko" sounds from his throat while convulsing violently on the ground like a freshly landed fish.
"Mr. Beryl, I have endured you for a long time."
Steve approached and looked down at the despicable man who disgusted him. "Just now everyone was fighting passionately and movingly, yet you suddenly jumped out and performed such a clichéd betrayal scene… don't you understand that this kind of behavior ruins the viewing experience?"
"If you enjoy pain so much and hate peace so much… I'll let you experience what ultimate stimulation truly feels like."
Steve turned the stun-gun output knob to maximum.
"This is retribution for all the evil deeds you committed."
SIZZLE—!!!
Beryl's eyes rolled back; smoke rose from his body.
"This shot is for that face of yours that makes viewers nauseous."
SIZZLE—!!!
Beryl foamed at the mouth; his limbs convulsed.
"This is punishment for breaking Mash's finger in the past due to abstract emotions!"
SIZZLE—!!!
Beryl's legs convulsed uncontrollably; a suspicious liquid seeped from his pants.
"This final blow is… purely because I disliked you."
SIZZLE—!!!
Just as Steve prepared the fourth electrotherapy, space around Beryl suddenly distorted.
"…That's enough! Ah, I can't stand it anymore!"
Koyanskaya, wearing a pink secretary outfit, appeared from the void with an expression of disgust. As if Beryl were contagious, she pinched her nose. "I would love to watch this man suffer, but… if he dies here, my contract will be endangered."
She grabbed the half-cooked Beryl by the collar like a garbage bag.
"Well then, everyone from Chaldea—and Mr. Archer over there—today's entertainment ends here. Let us meet again next time!"
"Trying to escape?"
Pepe's eyes gleamed coldly; he prepared to act.
"Don't chase them."
Steve stopped him, holstered the stun gun, and looked toward the direction the two had vanished. A meaningful smile appeared on his lips. "Let him go. Returning to Britain with those injuries… might be more painful than death."
After all, that fairy kingdom… valued quality and beauty.
With Beryl's disheveled exit, the atmosphere finally shifted from thriller-comedy to serious drama.
With Kadoc's help, Wodime somehow managed to stand.
He looked at Steve, then at his own unharmed body, a deeply complex expression on his face.
"…Is this also part of your script? Savior from another world."
"Who knows?"
Steve shrugged and pulled a large picnic blanket from his pocket, casually spreading it across the sacred altar.
"Rather than asking such profound questions, Captain Wodime… since you're not dead, how about joining us for a meal? Musashi was just making a fuss about wanting udon."
"This is a banquet celebrating the end of the Age of Gods. Without you—the former proxy of the God King—it wouldn't be perfect."
Wodime was dumbfounded.
He looked at the unconventional man before him and the former enemies surrounding him with expectant faces.
Finally, the captain who had always carried the heavy burden of saving the world showed a calm yet slightly bitter smile he had never displayed before.
"…Ah… then I humbly accept your offer."
…
…
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