Every human, in the course of their life, harbors the intent to kill.
It may stem from the trauma of childhood bullying, or perhaps the simple irritation directed at a whining child.
Regardless of the origin, the fact remains that the impulse to hate someone is buried deep within the human heart. Those capable of transcending this—to truly escape such base emotions—are likely limited to the rarest of saints or Divine Spirits who have half-ascended beyond humanity.
And I, too, am unable to escape it.
Even the Marshal of Magic, who has transcended the human realm, possesses the concept of 'preference,' of likes and dislikes. Even Sister Aoko, an still-maturing Magician, and Alice-san, who lives with her emotions half-repressed, have clear definitions of what they favor and what they loathe. In fact, in some cases, they are more intense about it than ordinary people.
In my case... to be honest, the list was too long.
Starting from the viper-like Angra Mainyu, to Michael Roa Valdamjong, whose very image makes my skin crawl; Lorelei Barthomeloi, who drew an agonizing amount of 'aggro' at the Clock Tower; and Francesca Prelati, who popped up everywhere just to grate on my nerves.
And most decisively: the trash in the green suit standing before my eyes right now.
He walked slowly out of the darkness, somehow pulling off a fashion sense that was hard to even look at with both eyes open. He pushed back the surrounding silence with the sharp, echoing sound of applause.
"Yes, marvelous. To some extent..."
Bang!
With a sharp report, a massive bullet tore through the man's head. Ritsuka and Mash watched with their mouths agape. While they stood stunned, I—having transformed my flesh into the form of a machine gun via the Asura Path—began to shred what remained of Lev Lainur's headless torso.
But...
"...As expected, it's not working."
"Indeed. There is no way this body would fall to mere bullets. However, I shall grant you praise... I never imagined you would choose to send the Mystic Eyes of Distortion, a Dual Existence, and the Magus Killer all at once just to keep me and Marisbury in check, O Third Magus."
"Cut the bullshit. You have no idea how long I've been holding back!"
I released my magical energy without restraint.
The rubble scattered haphazardly across the ground flew into the air, wrapping around him like a massive dumpling of earth, while the lightning bird floating in the sky called down dozens of bolts.
However, that bastard broke through the Chibaku Tensei as if it were nothing. He emerged, letting out a mad laugh and shouting as if to overpower us.
[Meaningless, meaningless, meaningless, meaningless! Even if you bring the 48th Master, there is no meaning. Even if you bring every Magician, there is no crack in our Great Work! If you avoid the path of the viper, I shall crush you as a scorpion; if you flee from the terror of the blade, I shall strike you with the whip!]
The flesh that had been reduced to minced meat writhed, beginning to regenerate—to mutate.
Transforming into a pillar of flesh that was beyond grotesque and into the realm of the repulsive, he began to pressure us, firing dozens of Magic Bullets from his tentacles.
If I deflected one spell, dozens of Magic Bullets would envelop the area; if I absorbed their prana, hundreds of tentacles began to crush down.
[Awaken, awaken, awaken, awaken! The time of awakening has come to this place. I cast aside my foolish name and take my True Name. My name is Lev-Lainur-Flauros. Your Human Order is meaningless. Your history is meaningless! You die here not because of the exhaustion of civilization, nor an alien invasion, nor the death of the planet—but simply because of the deeds of a foolish king and the loss of that king's favor!]
A foolish king. It seems he's noticed the incomplete resurrection of Solomon after all.
"Ritsuka, Mash! Get behind Gareth! That thing is outside the specs... he's much stronger than I anticipated."
"No, I will fight. Senpai, your orders!"
"Mash, block him! Leif-Rapey-Light-Flubber is coming!"
Ritsuka, who had instantly rechristened Lev Lainur with a derogatory nickname, quickly gave orders to Mash and Gareth. The Director, having finally grasped the situation, asked him a question in a sharp voice.
[I suspected a suicide bombing, but you were alive after all. I was half-doubting when I heard the Fifth's testimony. Lev Lainur... at the very least, I thought of you as a friend...]
[Yes, and that foolish Third Magus even interfered with your dependence on me! Curse you, Waver Velvet! There will be no place of rest for you at the end of the Human Order!]
From somewhere, I heard the sound of Waver gasping in shock. In that instant, Flauros curled his mass of tentacles. Instead of attacking me to break me as before, he began to focus on smashing the surrounding landscape in every direction.
In that moment, accompanied by vibrations from all sides, I felt something fundamental—not just buildings or ground—beginning to collapse. Romani's urgent voice echoed around us.
[E-Everything is going wrong! Because of that Demon God Pillar's movements, the Singularity's collapse is accelerating... It's scheduled to implode in five minutes!]
"Damn it! Romani, I'll hold him down with Chibaku Tensei, so finish the transfer circle!"
[Meaningless! In this place, you shall scatter into nothingness! All your deeds shall be meaningless! Accept our existence. Remember that all your actions are unnecessary!]
"That is not true... I will surely protect Senpai!"
A professor she once admired and liked.
And now, an enemy of the Human Order.
Mash Kyrielight swung her shield, blocking Flauros's attacks.
[Time remaining until collapse is four minutes! Hold on just a little longer, Mash! I'll finish within a minute!]
"Dr. Roman..."
"By my Command Spell, I order you, Mash! Use your Noble Phantasm and block that Leif!"
"Understood, Senpai!"
[Yes, in the end, you are the obstacle, Master of Chaldea!!!]
At the very moment Mash was about to activate her Noble Phantasm, an incredibly small, compressed—needle-like—Mana Burst shot toward Ritsuka.
Almost simultaneously with its flight, a barrier of light unfolded. The bullet, aimed precisely at the space between Ritsuka's brows, was...
"Hah!!!"
[Dammit, dammit, dammit! You damn ghost of the past!]
"You shall not lay a single finger on the Master to whom I have pledged my loyalty!"
[A ghost buried in the past! Trash whose very concept of giving up has been degraded, how dare you!! How dare you!!!]
Gareth blocked the Mana Burst perfectly with her shield. She then stood still, gazing quietly at Mash as she deployed Lord Chaldeas.
Lev, seemingly resigned to perishing within this Singularity, poured out Magic Bullets with suicidal fervor, but he could not pierce Mash's defense. Finally, the reverse-summoning circle sent by Romani appeared beneath our feet.
[Unsummon Program activating. Rayshift starting. Targets: 'Ritsuka Fujimaru', 'Mash Kyrielight', 'Gareth', 'Karma Kirigaya'. Transferring four individuals to Finis Chaldea.]
[Do you intend to flee, O Third Magus! Do you not hate me!!! Fight me! Dying here would be the maximum mercy you could ever possess!]
Flauros screamed as he fired magecraft at our disappearing forms, but I simply raised my middle finger high, enjoying the sensation of my body lifting into the void.
***
When the Rayshift ended and I managed to open my eyes, the first thing I saw was Sister Aoko, wearing a Mystic Code that showed off her rather impressive figure in many ways.
"...Ugh, I'm exhausted."
"Indeed. You certainly look the part."
"Don't be like that, Aoko-nee... Even I didn't expect a Demon God Pillar without a Holy Grail to be that powerful."
The combat data I had on Demon God Pillars came from the battle against Lev Lainur who possessed a 'Holy Grail' and the fight at the Time Temple. I had vaguely thought my Chibaku Tensei could hold him... but I was mistaken.
"Lord Chaldeas... if Mash hadn't been there, I would have died for sure. At the very least, I would have had to sacrifice a limb."
"Were you thinking of using the invocation of the Asura Path?"
If necessary... I would have.
No matter how strong a Phantasmal Species like Lugh Beowulf is, against an output of that level, it would have only been a distraction. To put it another way, if sacrificed fingers or toes could buy enough time to handle such a foe, the cost-effectiveness was actually quite reasonable.
"Don't say such things... Anyway, what do you plan to do about the deviation from the plan?"
"It couldn't be helped. If I had approached him, I would have been killed."
Right.
The original plan was to approach without words and 'capture' Lev Lainur once.
While the Third Magic, which governs the soul, is normally just a Soul-Sucking Art to pull out souls, if one 'strains' themselves, it becomes possible to manipulate the soul in various ways.
In the case of humans, it would range from minor disabilities to, at worst, ending up like Zouken Matou... but for types like Demon God Pillars or Phantasmal Species where the soul is the main body, it's a completely different story.
To explain it based on what remains in my 'memory'... right, the technique called 'Idle Transfiguration' from a certain anime is precisely the offensive application of the Human Path that I completed through repeated research.
"Well, since the result showed that facing a Demon God Pillar with that ability alone was impossible... I'll have to aim for a rematch next time."
"If you're thinking about the Time Temple, I'll tell you right now that you're sorely mistaken."
Sister Aoko shook her head.
Just as I was about to ask what happened, Olga Marie opened the door and appeared, accompanied by the seven Crypters.
She wore her usual dignified expression, but her inner self seemed filled with the sorrow and fatigue of betrayal.
"Yo, Director. What's up?"
"First of all... this is a congratulatory greeting and thanks for successfully resolving Singularity F."
"Save it. Based on what that damn Flauros said... other Singularities have appeared, haven't they?"
"Yes. CHALDEAS has turned completely red. It means the Human Order has been completely 'incinerated.'"
The staff members, who had already seen CHALDEAS and knew the truth, only hung their heads.
"How is the Summoning Circle FATE?"
"Lev... the point where Flauros unleashed his greatest attack upon awakening as a Demon God Pillar was that system. Fortunately, the 'Visitor' Shiki Ryougi and staff member Fujino Asagami responded well and succeeded in defending it... but some errors are unavoidable."
"Well, that can't be helped. They say if you don't have teeth, chew with your gums... and with the skill of the Crypters, procuring local Servants should be possible. Right?"
"...That is the problem."
...What did that mean?
"You and Romani discovered the terrorist threat in advance and removed the bombs, but Lev Lainur applied some kind of manipulation to the Near-Future Observation Lens: SHEBA and the Rayshift system. The Master of Chaldea whom you joined late was basically not registered, so there's no issue there, but for those who were registered by default, the problem is severe."
"...What problem?"
After letting out a sigh, Olga Marie dropped a bombshell.
"Currently, as of the year 2015, Existence Verification prior to 100 years ago is impossible."
The Seven Singularities.
The Wicked Dragon Hundred Years' War: Orleans.
The Eternal Madness Empire: Septem.
The Sealed Ends of the Four Seas: Okeanos.
The Dead-Face Mist City: London.
The North American Myth War: E Pluribus Unum.
The Sacred Round Table Realm: Jerusalem-Camelot.
The Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia.
Excluding extra Singularities, even London—the Singularity closest to the modern era, set in the Industrial Revolution—has a time gap of nearly 200 years.
In a word, it meant the deployment of the Crypters was meaningless...
"Lev Lainur, you son of a...!"