Ah... well..." Roman looked at the heavily wounded Demon King, a drop of cold sweat rolling down his temple. After all, this entity was originally his own familiar, and he felt a lingering sense of connection. Seeing the King of Demons beaten into such a pathetic state, Roman couldn't help but feel a bit sympathetic. "Since he's like this... he probably doesn't have the strength to incinerate the Human Order anymore. Maybe we should just... let him go?"
"I never intended to kill him in the first place," Ritsuka said casually, dusting off her hands. "I just wanted to give him a lesson he'd never forget for forcing you to self-destruct, Doctor."
"Wow, I'm so touched, Ritsuka!" Before Roman could respond, the white-haired Solomon nearby rushed forward with teary eyes, looking like he wanted to pull her into a hug. "I didn't know you cared about me so much!"
He was immediately intercepted by Tiamat the newest member of the "Ritsuka Protection Squad." The Mother of Life let out a low, warning "Arrrrrr!" and used her black mud tentacles to drag the crying King of Magic away for some "re-education."
Ignoring the sounds of Solomon's struggle, Ritsuka turned to the younger Fujimaru. "So, what's your plan now?"
Fujimaru shook his head. Although his journey to repair the Human Order had been forced upon him, he had formed unbreakable bonds with countless legends. Returning to a "normal" civilian life seemed almost impossible now.
"You don't have to worry," Ritsuka said, sensing his confusion. "Based on my experience, once the Human Order is restored, the idiots from the Mages' Association will come looking for trouble."
"What?!" Fujimaru jumped. "Why would they come after me?"
"Actually, they'll target all of Chaldea," Ritsuka explained with a sigh. "The Director is dead, and those heartless mages will definitely want to seize Chaldea's technology. To them, the year of the Incineration of Humanity basically didn't happen. They'll investigate the 'missing time' and find you—a Master with a legion of Servants. Whether they believe you saved the world or not, they'll slap you with a [Designation of Sealing]."
"[Designation of Sealing]... what is that?" Fujimaru asked, a bad feeling creeping up his spine.
"Oh, it's nothing much," Ritsuka smiled, though her words made his hair stand on end. "It just means they'll turn you into a biological specimen and preserve you in a jar of formalin for 'research' purposes."
"THAT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING MUCH!" Fujimaru screamed in terror, clutching his head. "Doctor, save me!"
"Well... I'm quite helpless too," Roman said, scratching his head in his classic pose. "If I were still the King of Magic and held even half of my original power, I could settle this easily. But right now, I'm just an ordinary human. The most I could do is fire one last [Ars Nova]."
"HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO USE THAT NOBLE PHANTASM?!" Both Ritsukas and both Mashes roared in unison, startling Roman.
The legendary King of Wisdom looked incredibly pained. "But look! I've never used it before! For a gamer, isn't it common sense to want to try out a skill you've never used?!"
"THE PROBLEM IS YOU'LL DIE IF YOU USE IT!" Ritsuka shouted back, leaving Roman to just laugh sheepishly. "Anyway, the result is good, right?"
"I guess so," Ritsuka said, looking at the chaotic scene of Heroic Spirits interacting across the battlefield.
Achilles was having a great time chatting with Atalante, only to be suddenly hunted down by a vengeful Penthesilea.
Ibaraki-Dōji was curiously poking Oppenheimer's black wings, likely mistaking them for some kind of high-tech Tengu wings.
The two Teslas and two Edisons were locked in a thunderous argument about alternating current, while the two Helenas shared a weary, knowing smile and walked away.
Poor Merlin. Since the "Normal Mode" Merlin hadn't shown up, he had to face the combined wrath of every Arthur-class Servant alone. The flashes of Excalibur beams in the distance were quite spectacular.
The two Counts of Monte Cristo and the two Ozymandiases were laughing hysterically at each other, though no one else understood what was so funny.
Athena was hiding between the two Artemises, trying her best to remain invisible so Gorgon wouldn't notice her.
Okita (from the Hell Mode Chaldea) had stars in her eyes upon seeing Hijikata Toshizō, seemingly wanting her Master to summon him back home too.
Yodo-dono was completely dizzy standing between the two Nobunagas, as the "Demon Kings" took turns teasing Chacha to see if she could tell which one was her original Aunt Nobu.
"The spirits are getting along quite well," Ritsuka remarked amidst the noise of the Tesla-Edison war. "I think it's time for us to head out."
"Leaving already?" Fujimaru asked, surprised. "Can't you stay a bit longer? I wanted to hear more about your 'Hell Mode' journey. And Mash wanted to talk to her female senior... wait, since you're a girl, did Mash ever confess to"
He was promptly sent flying by a blushing Mash's shield.
Ritsuka watched him fly off with a calm expression. "Yeah, she did."
Then, she was promptly sent flying by her own Mash. "SENPAI! WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT OUT LOUD?!"
At this point, both Mashes reached a silent agreement: No matter the world, no matter the gender, their Senior's mischievous personality was a constant of the universe.
"What are you all doing?" Roman walked over, followed by a grumbling but obedient Demon King. "Did I miss a good topic?"
"No, nothing at all," Fujimaru said, crawling back and wisely choosing not to seek death again. "So, Doctor, what did you say to him?"
"Oh, we just had a little chat," Roman smiled. "It seems that after nearly being beaten to death by your army, he's gained some 'human understanding.' He returned the power of Solomon to me and agreed to join Chaldea as a subordinate."
The Demon King let out a frustrated "Hmph!" but didn't argue. Fujimaru was overjoyed. "So I don't have to worry about being turned into a formalin specimen?"
"Don't get too comfortable, 'Last Master of Humanity'," the Demon King suddenly spoke. "During the battle, several Demon God Pillars fled out of fear. Your next task will be to hunt them down. They'll likely create new Singularities to lure you in for revenge. And that 'Mages' Association' of yours will probably use those missions as an excuse to... well, 'preserve' you later. You still have some work to do."
"Ugh... more work..." Fujimaru slumped over lazily. "I finally understand how that Wise King Gilgamesh felt in Babylonia..."
"Senior, do your best!" Mash encouraged him. "Once we clear these remaining points, we can finally rest!"
That sounds like a massive Flag, Mash, Ritsuka thought. Then she remembered something else. "By the way, you guys know Fou is a Beast, right?"
"FOU IS A BEAST?!"
Both Mash and Fujimaru screamed in shock. Seeing he was caught, Fou hopped out of Mash's arms and let out a resigned "Fou~."
"That's right. Fou is Beast IV, the legendary monstrous cat of King Arthur's Wales. In other worlds, he's known as the [Primate Murder], the Beast of [Comparison]." Ritsuka felt a surge of joy seeing their stunned faces.
"Whoa... Fou, you're amazing!" Instead of being scared, Mash and Fujimaru immediately started praising and petting the "Beast."
"Are they brave, or just incredibly thick-headed?" Ritsuka wondered, watching the proud Fou soak up the attention.
"Fou~ Fou-kyu! (I told you, Mash's embrace is the ultimate healing! Fujimaru, you can get lost—though I wouldn't mind if that other Ritsuka held me...)" Unlike the others, Ritsuka could perfectly understand Fou-language. She stared at the white creature with a deadpan look—Truly, a creature raised by that perverted shut-in Merlin.
Just then, Merlin, who was being chased by the Arthur-squad, ran toward them. Before he could reach safety, both Fous (from both worlds) leaped into the air with sharp eyes and delivered a synchronized "Flying Kick" directly to his face.
"GUH-HAAAH!" Merlin was sent flying back into the group of angry Kings. What followed was a series of "censored" flashes and screams.
"Right, Doctor," Ritsuka turned to Roman. "Since you have Solomon's power back, you should be able to fix Mash's life-expectancy issue, right? We did it in our world."
"Actually," a voice interrupted from the side. Lev Lainur (Flauros) walked over, looking like his usual human self. "I had some research on that... I could fix her body"
"DIE, YOU BASTARD WHO KILLED THE DIRECTOR!"
Ritsuka lunged forward, delivering a "Humanity-Correcting Punch" directly into Lev's face. Her Heretic God physique sent the Demon God Pillar flying through several stone walls.
Lev scrambled up, looking utterly baffled. "How can a human send a Demon God flying with a punch?!"
Ritsuka sneered. "I'm a [Heretic God] now, you idiot!"
She then had to spend ten minutes explaining the concept of Heretic Gods and her world-crossing abilities to the confused group.
"Ah, traveling to other worlds," Roman mused, rubbing his chin. "If I could go, I'd love to visit a 2D world..."
"Anyway, everything is settled," Ritsuka shrugged. Some things, like the Doctor being a massive otaku, would never change. "ALRIGHT, EVERYONE! STOP SLACKING OFF! GET BACK TO THE TEMPLE! WE'RE HEADING HOME!"
As the Heroic Spirits boarded the second Ars Paulina, the Chaldean Goetia suddenly remembered something. He walked over to the other Demon King and, while the other was confused, landed a heavy punch right on his jaw.
"I promised I'd punch you for making the King self-destruct," Goetia said coolly, then turned and ran back to his ship.
"...Well... you really are [Me]," the Demon King muttered, then burst into laughter. "Ha-ha-ha-ha!"
Watching the second Temple of Time slowly vanish into the kaleidoscopic light of the Rayshift, Roman stretched and turned to his team. "Alright, let's go home. Leonardo must be worried. And... we still have a lot of work to do."
"YES!"