"How could this be…!?"
Watching as the Demon God Pillars of the same origin as himself were slaughtered by a host of mysterious girls and ferocious beasts, Lev's face turned ashen, hideous to the extreme.
Not only Lev—even the Servants surrounding Rozen were left momentarily stunned by this scene.
Especially when they looked at those mysterious girls, the Servants all turned their eyes toward Rozen.
Because the Servants clearly saw that all those mysterious girls had been directly summoned forth with just a wave of Rozen's hand.
In other words, those girls were all Rozen's familiars.
Familiars bound through an Absolute Contract, souls interwoven together.
With this being the case, how could the Servants have nothing to say?
But now was clearly not the time to speak of this.
The Servants could only silently keep this matter in mind, telling themselves that once this incident was over, there would be even more questions they needed to press upon this infuriating Master.
Then, unable to restrain themselves, the Servants charged into the enemy ranks, joining the battle—leaving only Mash raising her shield to guard in front of Rozen.
As for Altera, she had already unleashed who knew how many sweeping rays of destruction, grinding Demon God Pillars into dust.
Unfortunately, those Demon God Pillars were like tenacious weeds. Each time they were torn out by the roots, new ones would immediately emerge, endless, undying.
By relying on this, they forcefully withstood the surging Black Sea, and likewise endured the slaughter of the girls and the onslaught of the beasts, seemingly intent on tangling with them until nothing remained but ashes.
Seeing this, Lev's expression finally eased somewhat.
"No problem. The situation is still under control."
Lev told himself this.
Though he loathed to admit such a one-sided situation—he refused to acknowledge that Demon Gods could be forced into such dire straits by a pack of lowly beings—so long as this temple remained, so long as the "Control Bureau" existed, they would continuously resurrect, reappearing again and again, never vanishing.
"We are immortal. You still have no chance of victory."
So Lev believed.
However—
"Is that so? Not even my Harpe can kill you?"
With those words, a small figure appeared before Lev.
"Shhk!"
Lev didn't even have time to speak before the petite figure raised the massive scythe in her hand. With a flash of blinding speed, she carved a lethal arc through the air, slicing Lev cleanly in two.
"Guh…!"
Lev let out a pained scream as his bisected body collapsed to the ground.
"Forgive me. I bear no grudge against you—but since I have already become his familiar, his Servant, I have no choice but to kill you."
The petite girl whispered softly.
Seeing her, Mash cried out in surprise and delight.
"Miss Anna!"
It was Anna.
After many days, the girl who had fallen into slumber upon contracting with Rozen had finally awakened, summoned once again.
And Anna's aura was far stronger than before—surpassing even Gorgon.
Of course.
When Anna and Gorgon perished together, their souls were recorded within Rozen by virtue of the contract.
After all, Anna and Gorgon were originally one and the same existence.
Thus, when Rozen contracted with Anna, Gorgon was drawn in as well, the two fusing together into a single whole.
As a result, Anna now possessed all of Gorgon's power, in addition to her own, far surpassing her previous state.
And the Harpe she wielded was a Noble Phantasm specialized for killing immortal creatures—an absolute bane to those possessing undying traits.
Unfortunately—
"Useless!"
With a maddened roar, the bisected Lev writhed and struggled—before instantly restoring his body to perfect condition.
"We are nothing but branches and extensions of our King! As long as our King lives, not even a blade that slays the immortal can kill us!"
Lev howled furiously.
"Tch…"
Anna clicked her tongue, raised her scythe again, and was just about to strike when her ears twitched. She leapt away in an instant.
"Boom!"
At that same moment, a Demon God Pillar lashed down like a colossal whip, smashing into the spot Anna had occupied only a heartbeat before. The ground shook as though a heavenly pillar had collapsed.
Anna, leaping high, evaded the strike with nimble grace. Landing on the massive body of the Demon God Pillar, she sprinted along its length, swinging her scythe as she severed eye after eye, spraying blood as the pillar howled in agony.
Thus Anna became entangled in battle with the Demon God Pillar.
All the familiars and beasts, save for Mash who remained by Rozen's side, had already joined the battlefield against the Demon God Pillars. The temple was filled with flashing blades, thunderous detonations, cries and roars reverberating unceasingly.
Rozen stood watching it all, expression calm, his feet never once moving.
Lev beheld this Rozen, and his heart was filled with both fury and shock.
To think—once upon a time, this boy had been nothing more than an insignificant individual worth only passing notice, unable even to leave Chaldea. Even with his exceptional aptitude, he had raged against the system and those superior around him, and to Lev, his every act had seemed laughable.
Who could have imagined that today this same boy would stand atop the Temple of Time, gazing down with serene composure at the battlefield, driving them into such desperate straits?
Lev both hated and could not comprehend it.
"How can a mere human become this strong?"
"How can such an insignificant existence become so terrifying?"
"He isn't even a proper human—just a test subject who survived by sheer chance."
"Why!?"
As Chaldea's former Chief Technician, Lev knew Rozen's past like the back of his hand.
And so, he truly could not understand how that pitiful child, who had only survived through inexplicable miracles, had risen to such heights.
This drove Lev to cry out:
"Don't you hate humanity? Don't you hate the Magi?"
"They were the ones who brought you into being—only to cast you aside as disposable!"
"If so, then why do you still save them?"
"Why!?"
Lev screamed his frenzied questions.
At that, Rozen finally turned his head, looking toward Lev.
His gaze remained calm.
"You cannot understand, Demon God."
That was all Rozen said.
But—
"Rather than concern yourself with my heart, perhaps you should be worrying about what you'll do next."
Rozen curled his lips in a faint smile.
"Your opponent has already arrived. Are you prepared to face her?"
At these words, Lev froze.
And then—
"…At last, we meet again, Lev."
With that voice, a figure slowly walked forward.