Chaldea Security Organization, Central Control Room.
On the large screen, following Ritsuka Fujimaru's perspective, the battle within Homurahara Academy was still ongoing. The strongest hero from Greek mythology, the King of Knights from British legend, and Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie continued to clash with world-shattering force.
Fierce shockwaves of compressed air mixed with shattered concrete fragments scattered throughout the academy, carrying a scalp-numbing destructive power that tore apart anything that dared to stand in their path.
"Saber is the King of Knights, and the other two Saint Graphs are undoubtedly at the demigod level—Berserker Heracles, and Foreigner, the Servant known as Durandal."
"Foreigner... an extra class caused by external factors, connected to a god to obtain divine power, or even directly possessed by a deity?"
Romani Archaman stared at the screen, which seemed to tremble even amidst the clash of demigods. After a long moment, his expression stiffened, and with a troubled look, he let out a sigh.
"Ritsuka and the others should be fine, right? They've fought this Servant—whose conduct clearly appears righteous—to this extent. She hasn't been corrupted, nor does she have the traits of an anti-hero. Logically, she should be someone we can win over."
"No matter how much you worry, it's useless, Roman-chan. You can't go there anyway. And even if you could, you'd just get in the way."
At that moment, a pair of slender arms reached out from behind Romani. Da Vinci made a dazzling entrance, her delicate hands in long azure gloves supporting her chin as she leaned casually against him, as if they were close brothers.
"Hey, Da Vinci, how many times have I told you—stop doing that!"
Feeling the soft pressure behind his head, Romani's body stiffened. Then he sprang up from his seat as if launched, turning his gaze—like an innocent youth—to the impeccably doll-like face of the newcomer.
"Ara ara, don't mind it, Roman~chan~"
Her teasing gaze and drawn-out tone made Romani's face flush slightly.
The Chaldea staff nearby kept their eyes lowered, pretending not to see anything. Scenes like this had long since become commonplace to them.
"Ahem!"
Romani coughed repeatedly to cover his embarrassment, then sat back down, rubbing his temples in frustration. Just as he was about to sternly lecture Da Vinci about her behavior...
"Report! A violent tremor suspected to be a shallow-source earthquake has occurred in the southwest of the Fuyuki Singularity... analyzing the depth of the epicenter!"
As the staff operated their consoles, several smaller windows immediately appeared on the large screen, with massive streams of data flashing across them.
Romani's words caught in his throat. Ignoring Da Vinci's overly familiar posture, he rushed toward the screen. "Analyze the source immediately!"
"It's unbelievable, but it was indeed caused by a non-natural factor! In other words... wait!"
The next moment, exclamations erupted throughout the control room centered around the pseudo-Earth model, CHALDEAS.
"A Servant Saint Graph reaction has appeared!"
"These numerical values and divine attributes...!?"
The staff member's voice grew urgent.
As soon as those words fell, the personnel below the command platform burst into commotion.
"Without a doubt, it's a top-tier divine fluctuation, but it's become strangely dim—as if contaminated..."
Her voice even began to tremble as terrifying possibilities such as reversed divinity and malevolent anti-gods surfaced in her mind.
"Within the unknown Saint Graph fluctuations, we've detected a pattern matching the Avenger-class Beast Goddess Gorgon encountered in the Seventh Singularity, Babylonia?!"
At that moment, another staff member suddenly looked up toward Romani and Da Vinci, shouting, "No, there's more! We've also detected the Saint Graph of the primordial goddess Tiamat! It's composite divinity!"
The perilous battle to restore the foundation of the Seventh Singularity, Babylonia, was still fresh in their memories. They had no desire to relive the ordeal of defeating Beast II—Tiamat—ever again.
"Gorgon? Tiamat? And a composite divinity?!" Even Da Vinci's voice turned tense.
In a sense, both Gorgon and Tiamat had been defeated by Chaldea before, but that wasn't how things worked. Based on Da Vinci's limited understanding of Lev, a resurgence would only make things even more dangerous.
"The target is moving! Calculating trajectory—its destination is... Homurahara Academy!!"
Bang!
"What?!"
Romani shot to his feet again, both hands braced against the table. Flickers of light flashed in his eyes as conflicting emotions surfaced across his face.
"Roman, don't overthink it. This isn't your responsibility, nor something you can change."
Casting a subtle glance at Romani, whose mood had grown increasingly heavy lately, Da Vinci patted his shoulder with her delicate mechanical arm and spoke softly.
"If there's difficulty, we overcome it. For now, even in despair, there is still light to be found. Our chances aren't low, are they, Roman-chan?"
With that, she immediately issued an order. "Priority: inform Ritsuka. This time, the opponent is a deity on the level of the primordial goddess Tiamat!"
...
Bzzz.
"Ritsuka! Watch out! A Divine Spirit-level Saint Graph reaction!"
"It's a god!"
Through the communication channel, following Da Vinci, came Romani's near-shout: "The target is very likely you! Protect yourself at all costs, Ritsuka!"
The urgency and tension in his voice were unmistakable.
"Da Vinci, Dr. Romani?! What's going on—"
Half-kneeling beside Illya, Ritsuka Fujimaru pressed his communication bracelet, eyes wide, as he turned to exchange glances with Rin Tohsaka and Shirou Emiya beside him.
Unlike Shirou, who was still a clueless amateur and likely didn't even understand what a Saint Graph was, his face filled with confusion, both Rin and Ritsuka's blue eyes flashed with shock.
"A Divine Spirit-level Saint Graph?! Are you serious?!"
Boom!
Amid the explosion, within the magical gale, Durandal suddenly stiffened. She swung her lance downward to force distance from Berserker, then turned her head toward Mount Enzou.
"Your Majesty..."
Before she could finish, the entire Homurahara Academy suddenly began to tremble. The rumbling grew louder as the ground shook violently.
"ROAR—!"
"Shirou!"
"Senpai!"
Sensing the approaching threat, Berserker, Saber, and Mash—who had been jointly attacking Durandal—abandoned their assault without hesitation and rushed at full speed toward their Master/senpai.
And then—
BOOM—!!
It was the sound of something massive descending. A violent explosion echoed across the sky!
The fierce shockwave instantly flattened the surrounding ruins, sweeping everything away like a hurricane and repelling all in its path.
The deafening blast overwhelmed all hearing. Just as Rin Tohsaka was about to ask something, she suddenly felt the ground beneath her vanish. What followed was an intense sensation of weightlessness and an ear-splitting roar.
An irresistible force caused everything within sight to collapse, uprooting forests entirely. The enclosed barrier erected by Durandal was instantly shattered. Even the walls, roads, and houses beyond the academy were swallowed by the surging wave.
The entire area's power system was completely destroyed. Lights that illuminated the night went out one after another, plunging most of Miyama Town into endless darkness.
"Wah—! Mash, Mash, are you alright—cough, cough—ugh..."
"Senpai... cough... I'm fine..."
With her massive shield embedded deep into the ground, carving a long trench through the piled ruins, even Mash—possessed by the Saint Graph of the Round Table knight Galahad—could not help but drop to one knee. The sheer impact had numbed her limbs, and her stomach churned uncontrollably.
If even Mash was like this, then there was no need to mention Ritsuka, who was merely an "ordinary human." Supporting himself with arms covered in abrasions and fine cuts, his face pale, he lay on the ground dry-heaving.
Though Mash had firmly protected him from behind, the sensation of being blown away by the shockwave was utterly terrible—like being violently stuffed into a high-powered washing machine, suffocating and dizzying.
"Tohsaka, Fujimaru... are you alright?"
Dressed like a refugee, despite his utterly disoriented and miserable expression, Shirou Emiya still struggled to stand and check on others.
"For now... we're fine."
Behind Saber, Rin Tohsaka pushed aside the debris pressing down on her before finally managing to raise her pale, paper-white face. She forced out a smile that was far from reassuring.
"Just a bit dizzy... I feel like—cough..."
"Whew— that scared me to death. Ritsuka, thank goodness you're alright."
At that moment, concern from Chaldea came through the communication channel. Romani Archaman's slightly tense yet relieved, gentle voice sounded in their ears.
"Cough—Dr. Romani?! Wh-what is this—"
"Oh? Still alive, you insignificant insects."
With that extremely arrogant and ice-cold voice, everyone's hearts seemed to freeze in an instant.
Following the sound, under the moonlight, the earth trembled. The rhythmic rumbling caused a deep sense of dread to rise in the hearts of all who noticed it. Before that faintly transmitted power from the ground, humanity's insignificance was laid bare.
Whoosh—whoosh—!
As if heralding the apocalypse, enormous wings flapped, revealing a colossal figure over a hundred meters tall hovering in midair.
For humans, whose average height was less than two meters, it was an instinctive fear—like that of a weak creature facing a natural disaster. An overwhelming urge to turn and flee gripped their hearts.
Rumble—!
A massive tail dragged across the ground, producing a series of thunderous roars that reshaped the terrain itself.
Gazing at Selene's familiar yet completely different form, Ritsuka couldn't help but feel dazed.
"Ana..."
"Tohsaka... don't tell me this is also a participant in the Holy Grail War? This is nothing like what you described..."
Under the shadow of the colossal deity, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as Shirou turned his head stiffly.
"You're kidding me! Th-this is a Servant?!"
Win the Holy Grail War? What a joke! This wasn't even on the same level!
At this moment, Rin Tohsaka felt as if she had been struck by lightning. Her mind nearly stopped functioning—her eyes unfocused.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?
The massive face, embedded with two glowing crimson orbs, lowered. Through the faintly glowing scales, a gigantic shadow finally revealed half of its body before Chaldea's eyes.
And that was only the half exposed to sight—the greater portion of the divine being's serpentine tail remained hidden in darkness.
A gigantic, upright and graceful female body. Long purple hair swaying in the wind. From that hair, grotesque serpent heads—each as large as a truck—extended and writhed.
Selene lowered herself, her bloody and cruel gaze fixed directly on Ritsuka and the others within the ruins.
"There is no doubt—I am indeed a Servant, a kind and benevolent one summoned by human desires to grant their wishes."
"It's just unfortunate that I am not on your side."
Well, Lev had been human before becoming a Demon God Pillar, and King Solomon—who created the system—was also human. If you rounded things a bit, it wasn't wrong.
Wasn't Selene simply a kind and benevolent god helping Lev fulfill his wish of returning the Age of Gods?
"Gorgon!"
In the central control room, the members of Chaldea looked as if they had been struck by frost.
A Gorgon of this scale far exceeded the one encountered in the Seventh Singularity. Was it because she had obtained Tiamat's authority, allowing her to grow without limit?
"Kind? This Gorgon actually calls herself kind..." Da Vinci muttered.
"It's normal, Da Vinci. Most gods don't share the same values as humans. In their eyes, humanity might be nothing more than something optional—human civilization merely a pasture for entertainment."
"Fair enough... but, Roman." Da Vinci's expression turned rare and solemn.
"This 'Gorgon' with Tiamat's composite divinity must be defeated as soon as possible. The longer we delay, the more her power will erode this world and feed back into herself, allowing her to grow even further."
...
"Now then, in accordance with my Master's request."
Selene's smile never faded. She raised her scale-covered hand and lightly pressed her middle finger against her index finger.
Crack... crack...
The giant serpents formed from her purple hair lowered their heads one after another. Vast amounts of magical energy gathered within their jaws, all aimed at Ritsuka and the others amidst the ruins.
"Are you prepared... to embrace death?"
The next second, within the briefly silent space, a sharp snapping sound rang out.