His cheek stung.
Solomon was no stranger to pain, but this kind of pain—pain from another's fist—was a first for him.
After all, whether in life or in this Holy Grail War, he had never been injured or defeated before. Thus, while he could comprehend pain, experiencing it directly in his body was entirely new.
"King!"
Landing amidst the rubble and helping Solomon to his feet, Baal bowed his head in deep regret: "It's my fault that your body was harmed."
"It's fine, just a small scratch, easily healed with Magecraft—but this was truly unexpected."
Solomon looked up at Naoki: "Such a perfect opportunity, I thought you'd kill me with your Holy Sword. I was constantly on guard against a Holy Sword attack, never expecting you'd use your fist—a surprise attack."
"This is a fight more about making your opponent yield than killing them, isn't it?"
Naoki, perched atop a phoenix, smiled as he spoke.
"Besides, I thought you might need a punch to feel what it means to be human. A King of Humans who doesn't understand emotions—your smile is too stiff."
"Doesn't understand emotions? Me?"
Naoki's words sent a tremor through Solomon's heart.
As for human emotions, Solomon could actually understand them. He had prayed to God and received wisdom. Everything in this world was within his grasp. Of course, that didn't mean he was omniscient or omnipotent; there might indeed be things in this world he couldn't comprehend.
But emotions shouldn't be one of them. During his life as a king ruling a nation, with wives and children, and having experienced countless events, his understanding of emotions should have been profound.
"Why say that? Why claim I don't know what emotions are?"
"Isn't it true? At least to me, your smile earlier felt like you were mimicking a standard response. You only thought you should smile at that moment, that such an expression was a smile. You didn't think about the smile itself at all."
Naoki had experienced similar situations countless times. Back in high school, due to part-time work, he sometimes forgot to do his homework. Each time, he'd immediately copy someone else's, not caring if it was right or wrong—just copying to get it done, without using his brain at all.
He felt Solomon was just like he had been back then.
"Well, that's just my personal opinion. Feel free to disagree if you don't like it."
"Not thinking? You're the first to say that to me, Fairy Magus," Solomon said, taking Baal with him as he rose back into the air. "You're right, though. This kind of situation is possible. In my era, no one would dare contradict me when I was right, nor offer such an opinion. But this isn't my era anymore, so there's no one who will submit to me absolutely."
What no one dared to do in the past doesn't mean no one will dare to do it in the future.
Once, tomatoes were considered the fruit of the devil, vilified for their appearance, with no one daring to eat them—until two hundred years later, they were accepted as normal food.
This was a similar situation.
The corners of his mouth stiffly curved upward, Solomon extended both hands toward Naoki: "So, can you make me truly understand? What are real emotions?"
"Don't you already have an idea? The wish you want to make to the Holy Grail—isn't that the way to resolve this?"
"Not just to gain a body, but to truly reincarnate as an ordinary person, completely unrelated to King Solomon—right?"
That was the wish Solomon wanted to make to the Holy Grail.
In his life as a king ruling a nation, Solomon, destined from birth to be a king, now only wished to be an "ordinary person" without any power.
"Is this knowledge you gained from the Root? In countless other parallel worlds, is there also a me who made the same choice?"
"Something like that."
"And the outcome?"
"Because of the Incineration of Humanity, even the you who gained a new life couldn't achieve the freedom you desired. Ten years before the Incineration of Humanity, the you who foresaw this event for a decade learned, almost torturously, all the knowledge that could be learned. Losing all power, you tried to save the world as an ordinary person. And in the end, you died forever."
"Not a biological death, but truly vanishing from the Throne of Heroes—you should know what I mean."
This was indeed something Solomon would do. Even if he were no longer Solomon, just an ordinary human without magical circuits or any power, he would still do such a thing.
"So that's the kind of future awaiting."
Solomon looked down at the ten rings on his hands.
His first Noble Phantasm—[Ars Nova] (The Time of Parting Has Come, He Is the One Who Lets Go of the World).
Since there was a future where he used this Noble Phantasm, the truth of the Incineration of Humanity could be inferred, as it was an event deeply tied to him—so much so that he could even guess who was behind it.
But if that was the case, this battle was unnecessary.
Solomon clenched his fists and looked at Naoki: "You said before that to prevent the Incineration of Humanity, you wanted to end Chaldea's hopes of establishment here. But that can't fully stop the Incineration of Humanity."
Naoki paused for a moment: "Why?"
"The Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars are scattered across various points in human history. Even if the Incineration of Humanity set to occur in ten years is stopped, fifteen years later, twenty years later… someone like Lev Lainur will still appear."
Rather than Professor Lev causing the Incineration of Humanity, it was more accurate to say it was the lineage of a Magus family designed by Goetia, with the Demon God Pillars hidden in their blood. As long as such a lineage existed, as long as their bloodline continued, [Lev Lainur Flauros] would always have the potential to emerge, and the Incineration of Humanity would be inevitable.
Solomon's words left Naoki silent.
Had he been too reliant on his memories, overlooking other possibilities?
Indeed, in theory, Solomon's reasoning was correct. The Incineration of Humanity was like a bomb with multiple fuses. Even if it was stopped this time, there was no guarantee someone wouldn't light it in the future.
"Rather than preventing it this time, it's better to face it and resolve it. The more tasks pile up, the more exhausting it becomes to deal with them."
Solomon extended his hand to Naoki.
"Can you help me? Holy Sword Magus who saves the world."
"The disaster caused by my mistake must also be resolved by me."