At the exact moment the Unity God Morgan manifested, the NFF lobby was swallowed by black fog so thick it felt impossible to disperse.
It was a Mana mist even denser and more intense than what they had faced in Olympus.
In sheer volume alone, it had reached a level that could rival a Divine Spirit.
By all rights, Koyanskaya should not have been this lacking in confidence.
But no one understood her own limits better than she did. This power was enough to keep herself alive, but not enough to gamble everything in a fight to the death.
That was true whether her opponent was the 'Alien God' or the Unity God standing before her now.
That single strike from Grand Archer, Orion the Hunter, unleashing his Noble Phantasm, had left her with wounds severe enough to reach her true form.
A major reason she stayed inside the non-primate living sphere and refused to venture out was to recover from them.
And then there was the other issue. Her plan to collect tails had not gone as intended.
In truth, she had only secured tails from four places: Britannia, Russia, Scandinavia, and the Atlantic. Even the one from Britannia had been a desperate patchwork, just barely cobbled together by gathering lesser fairies from each clan before she fled ahead of Britannia's arrival.
Of the nine tails she had planned to obtain, she only had four.
Even if she tried to force her metamorphosis into a Beast, she still lacked the strength.
Even so, she had to face them.
The black fog that poured out as Koyanskaya released her true form failed to swallow all the surrounding light. The Unity God stood quietly where she was, radiating a dazzling brilliance, like the one lamp that never goes out in an endless night, lighting the way for everyone.
Even Koyanskaya faltered for a split second, nearly disrupting her Spirit Origin Liberation.
The spotless lobby vanished in that instant. Even within the inner side of Koyanskaya's Reality Marble, space suffered a second layer of erosion.
This was the power of a Beast.
"What do you govern, Koyanskaya?" Morgan asked.
"Unlike the original Fourth Beast, who governed the Principle of Comparison, what I govern is the Principle of Play," Koyanskaya replied evenly. "Pity, protection, compassion, contempt, slaughter, cherishing. Sometimes I burn everything to the ground. Sometimes I reach out a hand to toy with it. A contradiction that both rewards and responds."
"Good." Morgan gave a light clap, half praise, half acknowledgement. "But… no. I won't say it. Any impression that comes from something so subjective would be nothing but an insult to you."
She was referring to Koyanskaya's form as a Beast.
A chimera that looked as if countless beasts had been fused together, yet carried a peculiar presence that condensed both divinity and demonic allure. A Beast born from screams and agony could take any shape, and it would not be surprising.
"To be understood so deeply is an honor," Koyanskaya said, her Mana swelling with quiet force. "But facing an opponent like you, I won't be arrogant enough to think I can accomplish anything on my own. So allow me to use a few small tricks."
It was not a request. It was a declaration.
As she spoke, Koyanskaya summoned all manner of Lostbelt Kin, along with combat beasts that had been roaming the wilderness.
More precisely, she used her own fur as the foundation, creating them from it.
One single hair was enough to create life like that and send it into battle at her side.
"Granted," Morgan said, lifting her hand slightly.
"Should we create duplicates as a countermeasure?" Shiomi asked.
Morgan smiled. "Do you think we need them, my husband?"
"Probably not."
"Exactly."
With a soft laugh, Morgan raised her hand. Countless bullets flying toward her stopped an instant before reaching her.
The Lostbelt Kin gathered from the various Lostbelts followed Koyanskaya's will and swarmed around the Unity God in an instant, yet they could not push a step further. They could not even touch her existence, much less land a single hit.
"Disperse."
Morgan's voice was soft.
The surrounding space suddenly felt as though it had been packed with invisible weight, pinning every familiar in place before crushing them inward.
There was no drawn-out struggle. No blood.
Like wafers pressed flat beneath a millstone, the hundreds of Lostbelt Kin and combat beasts Koyanskaya had created in moments were reduced to particles of Mana at a single word from Morgan.
Koyanskaya felt a flicker of surprise, though the result itself was not unexpected.
No matter how great their numbers, familiars and combat beasts were still creations of a Beast, lower even than Koyanskaya herself. In terms of spiritual rank alone, the gulf between them and the Unity God was immeasurable.
What she had not anticipated was that they would fail to last even a single second.
It stung more than she cared to admit.
Her tails shifted, stretching and twisting into massive hands that extended without limit from her body. They closed in from every direction, sealing off every possible escape route, leaving no blind spot untouched.
At last, Morgan moved.
Light and swift as a hummingbird, elegant as a white crane.
The radiant, immaculate Unity God slipped through the forest of endless arms as though dancing between raindrops. Not even the hem of her garment was brushed.
"Show me your true strength. If this is all you possess, then the declaration you made cannot be fulfilled. Though I lead this battle, my husband is watching everything. You understand what that means."
As she spoke, Morgan appeared before Koyanskaya in an instant, her veiled gaze fixed upon her.
"Of course."
The enormous hands that had failed to strike did not flail wildly, nor did they retreat in haste. Instead, they shifted, converging upon Morgan's position.
Koyanskaya could manipulate space as well, to a certain degree.
Even if space had been eroded a second time from within, this was still the inner side of her Reality Marble. She was the ruler here.
The spatial seal took effect.
Morgan's movements slowed abruptly. She glanced at her constrained arms, faint surprise passing across her features.
But this was only the prelude.
Koyanskaya did not expect to hold her for long. If she wanted to strike, it had to be now, while the opening lasted.
The pressure intensified.
Then flames erupted throughout the alien space, surging upward, twisting in the wind. They wrapped around Morgan, coiled tightly, and compressed into a blazing sphere like an artificial sun.
It detonated.
Not by Koyanskaya's command.
Morgan pierced it from within, as casually as bursting a bubble.
The explosion reversed course, surging back and swallowing Koyanskaya instead. Morgan's clothing remained untouched, not even singed.
She knew.
She had always known.
But that the gap in strength was this vast…
Koyanskaya let out a quiet sigh within her heart.