"Then should I take that as you admitting defeat, and choosing to lend your strength to Chaldea, to fight for the restoration of human order?"
Morgan drew out the meaning hidden inside Koyanskaya's complaint and put it to her plainly.
"Don't misunderstand." Koyanskaya lifted her head. "This isn't 'lending strength to Chaldea,' and it's not 'fighting to restore the bleached human order to the planet's surface.' I simply lost to the Divine One, and I'm choosing to submit here and now. If you fail in the end, I'll go right back to doing what I was doing."
In other words, her promise not to betray them only held as long as Shiomi remained with Chaldea.
"That is enough." Morgan flicked her hand lightly, and the battered, bloodied Koyanskaya was restored in an instant. "Stand."
Koyanskaya touched the rune collar that had appeared around her neck for a moment before fading away, then smiled with foxlike cunning.
"You really are thorough. Even after defeating me, even after I've surrendered, you still insist on putting a collar on my neck."
At that moment, Morgan and Shiomi separated, and the Unity God form was released.
"A fierce beast, after all," Shiomi said with a narrow-eyed smile. "Whether you're raising it or taming it, you don't do it without caution."
"Oh? Is that so?" Koyanskaya sounded unconcerned. "But the problem hasn't been solved. You should understand that even if Proper Human History is restored, my true body, this Tunguska Sacred Ground, will still exist, and it will still clash with Proper Human History."
If that meant fighting Chaldea again, or fighting the Unity God again, Koyanskaya wanted no part of it.
No one challenges an opponent they absolutely cannot defeat, not more than once.
Her instincts as a Beast had already told her as much.
"That is a serious issue," Shiomi said, watching their companions draw closer now that the battle was over. Then he raised his voice toward Taigong Wang. "But before we talk solutions, there's something I want to confirm, Taigong Wang-dono."
"Go ahead," Taigong Wang replied.
"This outcome… it counts as acceptable, doesn't it?"
Taigong Wang did not answer at once.
Instead, he smiled. "Looks like I slacked off a little too much and let you notice."
Shiomi shrugged. "Besides dealing with Ivan the Terrible's reincarnation, you barely fought at all. Even if this non-primate living sphere has negative effects on human Servants, it shouldn't leave you unable to fight."
So there was only one answer left.
Taigong Wang had waited here specifically to meet Shiomi, and had even told him more about the secrets of his origin. That alone made it clear he was not here as a Servant of Proper Human History to simply subdue a Beast.
He was here as a messenger.
And as something like an overseer.
How to dispose of the Beast was the matter Taigong Wang needed to observe, evaluate, and record, then bring back to report to the Primordial Lord and even Lady Nüwa.
"Unfortunately, I can't tell you whether you are 'qualified,'" Taigong Wang said, shaking his head. "But I can tell you this with confidence. Your choice is exactly what Lady Nüwa would have hoped for."
"So letting me off wasn't just Shiomi's decision, it was Lady Nüwa's as well?" Koyanskaya could not hide her surprise.
"Who can say?" Taigong Wang's smile remained mild. "The secrets of heaven must not be revealed."
"The secrets of heaven…" Shiomi pressed his lips together, but he did not complain.
A Beast was not the same as a Grand Servant. Either there was a single Beast seat, or there were paired Beasts sharing it.
The Fourth Beast's seat truly belonged only to Fou. And yet a candidate like her had been able to manifest…
Perhaps it was Lady Nüwa's mercy, granting Tunguska Sacred Ground a chance.
Shiomi could only speculate.
The difference was that, unlike him, Lady Nüwa did not involve herself in what came afterward.
To put it more bluntly, it was the difference between letting something roam free and keeping it penned.
"Then let's return to the earlier issue," Shiomi said. "The Koyanskaya standing before us isn't a complete individual. She's more like the core of the Beast."
If the Reality Marble were left untouched, subduing Koyanskaya would be meaningless. At best, it would only delay her execution.
If that were the case, she would rather die now.
"This Reality Marble may be under my control. It may belong to me. But I cannot erase it, nor do I intend to," Koyanskaya admitted with a nod.
Shiomi pressed his lips together briefly.
"As it happens, I know a little about Reality Marbles myself. I understand their principles. Under the guidance of my wife, a genius Magus, I learned how to reverse the structure of one."
Morgan nodded along beside him, her expression carrying a faint, unmistakable pride.
"Oh?" Koyanskaya's interest was clearly piqued.
"You intend to use Authority to reverse the entire Reality Marble, either with the user's cooperation or while they are unable to resist?" Taigong Wang guessed. "But even so, that would merely dismantle it."
"Not dismantle." Shiomi extended his hand toward Koyanskaya, palm open. "Freeze the time of the entire Reality Marble. Compress it into an egg. In the name of a god, I pass judgment: this world-egg that is your Reality Marble will be reduced and sealed within you, its core. Inside and outside becoming one."
"It sounds like something out of a fairy tale," Koyanskaya said quietly. "And after that? What do you intend to do with me?"
"This planet is too small to hold two living spheres," Shiomi replied. "If you can accept it, then you may depart before humanity does and begin a journey into the sea of stars. This is not exile. It is a long voyage in search of new heavens and earth."
Koyanskaya let out a soft sigh.
She nodded, stepping closer to his outstretched hand.
"If the Divine One says so, then so be it. I'll take my living sphere and leave this planet. After all—"
"After all?" Shiomi asked with a smile.
"Humanity still cannot leave the cradle called a planet," Koyanskaya said with a hint of pride. "But I can. Doesn't that make me superior to them?"
"If that is how you choose to see it, that is your freedom," Shiomi replied calmly. "I am simply standing on humanity's side, doing what I can to resolve this matter peacefully."
As his words fell, the Reality Marble, Tunguska Sacred Ground, began to dissolve into light.
Or rather, it became light itself, overflowing and radiant, gathering inward toward Koyanskaya's chest, compressing into her core.
"One day, humanity will also set out for the outer universe," Shiomi said. "When that time comes, I hope you'll treat us kindly."
"We'll see when we meet," Koyanskaya answered with a careless smile.