Morgan frowned the instant Lev appeared. She could sense the unmistakable, foul aura of a Demon God Pillar radiating from him.
At that moment, Adam turned to her with a slightly apologetic look.
"Sorry, Morgan. I have a different plan for handling Lev's Servants, so I'll need you to withdraw for now."
Adam's current energy reserves simply weren't enough to sustain two five-star Servants fighting at full strength. He had no choice but to ask her to step back temporarily.
Morgan's brows knitted tightly, clearly displeased at being swapped out.
"What exactly do you mean by that, husband?"
"It's just some tentacles from a sea creature. Leave it to me."
She had really been hoping to spend more time fighting at his side. It had been far too long since he last brought her out on a mission.
Adam noticed her dissatisfaction and felt a pang of guilt. With so many Servants in Chaldea, only a limited number could be deployed at any given time, and new ones kept arriving constantly. That naturally meant older Servants saw fewer and fewer opportunities to fight.
Fortunately, he had other ways to satisfy that particular frustration.
He leaned in close to Morgan's ear and whispered his arrangement for later.
"Once this is over, how about we do that thing we haven't done in a while again…"
Morgan's eyes widened slightly. A faint blush colored her cheeks. She gave Adam a surprised glance, then shyly looked away before murmuring:
"That's… a very tempting offer. I'm looking forward to it."
Beside them, the enhanced Mash hadn't caught the exact words, but the familiar atmosphere made her face stiffen into an awkward expression.
——————————
Meanwhile, Lev turned his attention to Fujimaru Ritsuka. He shrugged, seemingly a little surprised, though his tone remained deceptively gentle.
"Fujimaru Ritsuka, the 48th Master candidate. I thought you were just some talentless brat with no potential."
"That's why I generously let you live. Looks like I made a mistake."
Lev had assumed someone as ordinary as Ritsuka wouldn't last even two hours in Singularity F. He never imagined she would survive until the very end.
Ritsuka tensed up, watching Lev warily. Thanks to Adam, she already knew this man was the one responsible for destroying Chaldea.
Just then, Romani's voice came through the device on her wrist.
"Lev!?"
"Professor Lev!? Is he really there!?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Lev's expression soured instantly.
"That voice… it's Romani, isn't it?"
"So you survived too. I specifically told you to come straight to the Command Room."
"And yet here you are, slacking off again and showing up so late. Honestly…"
As he spoke, Lev's eyes suddenly bulged wide open, bloodshot veins clearly visible. His friendly facade vanished, replaced by arrogant contempt.
"Just as I thought. Every single one of you is nothing but undisciplined trash. It disgusts me."
"Why does humanity always have to be like this? Why do you insist on straying from your predetermined fate?"
Both Mash and the enhanced Mash had already raised their shields, ready to defend.
Olga Marie glared at Lev. Remembering what Adam had told her about him being a traitor, she ground her teeth in fury and shouted:
"Lev!"
Lev turned toward the voice and spotted Olga Marie.
Her current state was another major deviation from his original plan.
He never imagined she would manage to complete a Rayshift in spiritual form after death and reach Singularity F.
But the moment he saw her, a deliciously cruel idea sparked in his mind.
Chaldeas was the Simulated Global Environment Model created by the Animusphere family using advanced magecraft theory—the very core of Chaldea itself.
Olga Marie had devoted her entire life to Chaldea, all in hopes of earning her father's approval.
If he were to force her inside Chaldeas…
To make her die inside the very system she had sacrificed everything for…
How perfectly ironic.
Just thinking about it filled Lev with excitement.
So instead of revealing everything immediately, he put on a gentle, refined smile and spoke softly.
"Ah, Olga. You look surprisingly well. I'm glad."
"It must have been hard on you these past few days."
Seeing Lev's fake kindness made Olga Marie feel physically sick.
"Lev, I already know everything!"
"The bomb in the Command Room—you planted it, didn't you!?"
Lev raised an eyebrow in mild surprise, but quickly recovered.
His polite mask shattered instantly. His eyes bulged again, veins prominent, as his true deranged personality surfaced.
"That's right! It was me!"
"Olga, I'm honestly impressed you figured it out. I didn't expect that."
"When did you get so sharp?"
"What a shame. I was really looking forward to seeing that pathetic, shocked expression when you realized you'd been betrayed by someone you trusted."
The memory of the Command Room explosion, her physical body being destroyed, and the forty-seven Masters being cryogenically frozen flashed through Olga Marie's mind. Rage boiled inside her as she clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.
"You bastard!"
"I was such a fool to trust you!"
Lev then turned his gaze toward the one person here who truly puzzled him.
He looked at the young man wearing a Chaldea-style uniform who appeared to be a Master.
The moment Lev saw Adam, his manic expression faded. He stared at him with a deep frown, completely silent.
Whether it was Ritsuka's good luck in being sent back to her room before the explosion, Romani's tardiness, or Olga Marie's current half-dead state—Lev could accept those irregularities.
What he could not accept was Adam.
This man was a complete unknown. There was zero information about him in Lev's knowledge.
To Lev, it was as if Adam had simply materialized out of thin air in this Singularity.
"Who the hell are you? I don't remember anyone like you being in Chaldea."
Adam didn't answer. He simply stared into empty space with a faint, amused smile, as if he had just thought of something entertaining.
Seeing that he was being ignored, Lev shifted his attention to the enhanced Mash standing protectively in front of Adam.
And then to the other Mash in her pristine white armor, holding her equally pristine white shield.
***
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