"DUN—DUN—DUN—DUN—"
At that moment, within Chaldea, the alarm began to blare, and the red warning lights flashed inside the central control room.
In the command room, technicians shouted one after another.
"Confirmed presence of an external Singularity!"
"Currently approaching the external Singularity!"
"Target verified! Probability of it being the Final Singularity [ Solomon ] is one hundred percent!"
"Contact between Chaldea and the target Singularity is unavoidable! Three minutes until contact!"
Reports like these came one after another, forcing Roman, Da Vinci, and Olga Marie to suppress all other thoughts and rush back into the command room.
Meanwhile, Rozen went straight to where his cubicle was located, opened it, and prepared to enter.
"Se…Senpai!"
Mash finally came running up in a panic, followed by Artoria [Alter], Jeanne [Alter], and Hassan of Serenity.
"Fou!"
Fou also popped out from who knows where and came running as well.
Rozen didn't waste words, simply calling out to Mash and the others.
"Get into the cubicle. It should be time for Rayshift. We'll head to the Temple of Time first to open the path for Chaldea."
Rozen gave this instruction without room for argument.
"U…Understood." Mash, of course, had no objections, though she couldn't help but voice her unease. "But Senpai, the child…"
"Okay, go prepare." Rozen cut her off, refusing to let her ask further questions. "We'll deal with what we must first before talking about anything else."
With that, Rozen entered his cubicle and shut the door.
Seeing this, Mash and the others were left unsettled.
"…He's running away, isn't he?"
"…Yup, he's running away."
"…He is running away."
Artoria [Alter], Jeanne [Alter], and Hassan of Serenity murmured quietly.
"Senpai…"
Mash also felt as if Rozen had slipped away from a responsibility, her face clouded with discontent.
And yet, Rozen wasn't wrong.
For now, they had to finish the mission at hand.
From the command room, the voices of Chaldea's staff echoed over.
"Contact with the Final Singularity imminent! Prepare for Rayshift!"
That was Da Vinci's voice.
"Chaldea will follow right after you! Make sure to clear the obstacles ahead, so Chaldea doesn't get attacked the moment we arrive!"
That was Olga Marie's voice.
"Rayshift preparations complete! We can proceed at any moment!"
That was Roman's voice.
The man who only moments ago had been filled with guilt and lament was now nothing but irritation and anxiety.
"I still have countless things I want to say, and I feel like I've been completely tricked, unable to let it go. But now isn't the time. We'll deal with this crisis first—then you'd better explain yourself properly, you brat!"
Roman cursed furiously without holding back.
Lying inside the cubicle, Rozen listened to those words and couldn't help but smile faintly.
"When the time comes, I'll explain everything, big bro."
Rozen muttered softly.
After all, there was much he wanted to talk about with Roman as well.
And so, under such circumstances, Chaldea's Rayshift system began to operate.
"Rayshift system activating."
"Commencing spiritron transfer."
"Three seconds until transfer."
"Countdown initiated."
"3…"
"2…"
"1…"
"All processes complete."
"Final Grand Order — begin."
With the system's announcement, the last battle began.
Rozen felt his body dissolve into spiritrons, entering what was both the longest and most unstable Rayshift he had ever experienced.
Yet, at the end of that Rayshift, Rozen could faintly see a temple.
That was the final destination.
…
"They're here?"
On the throne of a great temple, a man who had been half-dozing slowly opened his eyes.
The man's gaze seemed to pierce to the ends of the world, able to see both past and future, his eyes shining with endless divine radiance.
Yet his face showed only mockery, even irritation.
"How daring you are, humans."
It was no wonder he spoke so.
After all, though furious upon learning that the seven Singularities had been cleared, the man had intended to overlook it with final mercy, allowing them to enjoy their last moments rather than personally crushing them. And yet, they had the audacity to come knocking at his door—how utterly ignorant of death.
"Did you think that with the Vanguard of the Wandering Star and the cooperation of Beast II you could recklessly challenge me, challenge us?"
"This is arrogance."
"This is ignorance."
"Perhaps in another age or another space it might be different—but here, in my Temple of Time, beneath this light, there is nothing the Vanguard and Beast II can do against me."
"Do you truly think I fear you, humans?"
The man sneered, his anger growing.
Indeed, he could not dismiss the threat of Altera and Tiamat.
Thus, even knowing Chaldea had located the Temple of Time and was moving toward it, he had not acted first.
After all, as long as this Temple of Time stood, as long as this light persisted, the incineration of human history could not be overturned.
In other words, unless the man himself perished, or unless the light and temple collapsed, human order could not be restored. Otherwise, once 2020 arrived, mankind would still be extinguished.
And the man's true goal was not merely to annihilate humanity, but to reach the ultimate pinnacle.
For this reason, he had chosen to ignore those insignificant beings, allowing them to savor their fleeting final joys before 2020 arrived.
But they were more persistent than expected, breaking in at once and invading the temple.
This enraged him beyond measure.
"Since you dare to shamelessly struggle, then this time I shall personally shatter your so-called miracles and hopes."
Even if the opponents were the Vanguard of the Wandering Star and Beast II, he feared nothing.
Here, within the Temple of Time, beneath the light above, he was invincible.
"This time, I will utterly destroy you."
With this resolve, the entire Temple of Time shook as massive demonic pillars like octopus tentacles erupted forth—as though the temple itself had extended countless limbs.
These monstrous things, called Demon Pillars, writhed and twisted endlessly.
The sight was hellish, like a den of demons.
Among them, one Demon Pillar took form as a man clad in a green coat.
"Come, worms! This time you won't be allowed to run rampant again!"
The green-coated man sneered, his voice dripping with hatred.
And before him, the light of Rayshift appeared.