"I finally found you!"
Several days after being separated in the Singularity, Fujimaru Ritsuka finally saw Ian.
And the first thing she did upon seeing him was, naturally...
A running tackle!
That's right.
The first thing Fujimaru Ritsuka did after seeing Ian was to throw herself into his arms for a hug.
Even with Morgan and Mash watching from nearby.
"You really are something..."
Ian gently stroked Fujimaru Ritsuka's head, not rejecting her affectionate gesture.
Beside them, Mash watched this scene, her eyes already filled with unconcealable envy.
Further away, Morgan committed this scene to memory.
She vaguely sensed that the relationship between the three was far more complex than she had imagined—at least, that's how it appeared on the surface.
"Hmph, is there a problem with it?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka lifted her head with a proud look on her face.
"This time, I really did my part!"
"Mash, bring that person out!"
"Understood!"
And so—
As Ian watched, their previous enemy, Locusta, was brought forward, completely tied up.
"See, we weren't useless this time!"
"So this was the surprise you were talking about."
Looking at the petite Locusta before him, now completely powerless to resist, Ian couldn't help but feel a bit more admiration for Fujimaru Ritsuka.
"Yes!"
"This time..."
"I used up all three Command Spells!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka reported her battle results, then showed her arm as if for proof. It was completely bare, a clear sign that she had used up all of those magical energy crystals.
"What do you think? I've improved a lot, haven't I!"
"You're certainly very impressive."
"Last time you did nothing, this time you were able to capture someone." Ian didn't hold back his praise.
"Actually, it wasn't just me!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka pulled Mash, who was standing beside her, over to her side.
"Mash provided some great strategy this time, too!"
"If it weren't for her, we might not have been able to deal with this annoying person!"
"Oh?"
Ian's gaze shifted to Mash.
"Is that so?"
"..."
Recalling the thoughts she'd had during the battle, Mash became even more shy.
"Ye-Yes, that's right..."
"Thank you for training me so well before, Secretary."
The more Mash spoke, the shyer she became, and Ian could feel a rich source of "nutrition" from her—she was one of the few beings who could stably provide him with [Immorality].
"Hmph, you two were just lucky for a moment!"
The bound Locusta spoke with a look of defiance.
"Especially you, the one with the shield! You only used something that just so happens to be immune to corrosion to deal with me... How despicable!"
"..."
It would have been better if Locusta hadn't said that. The moment she did, Ian's gaze immediately shifted to her.
"You're the one who wanted to use venom to corrode them."
"Ye-Yes, that's right..."
The moment her eyes met Ian's, Locusta immediately felt a chill.
It was a simple stare from his eyes, yet it brought with it the most terrifying fear.
Locusta found herself somewhat unable to speak.
That feeling...
How was it no different from seeing her Lord Nero?
"Are you afraid now?" Ian's voice temporarily pulled Locusta back from that terrifying feeling.
"Of course not!"
"I won't be afraid of anyone other than Lord Nero!"
"Really?"
Ian didn't get angry.
He just stepped aside slightly, allowing Locusta to see the Briton warriors gathered behind him.
"Do you see them?"
"..."
Not knowing what Ian intended to do, Locusta looked at the warriors and became somewhat hesitant.
The man quickly revealed the answer.
"They are all people controlled by desire. If I were to tell them right now that they were permitted to do anything they wanted to you, what do you think would happen?"
"Wait, you're..."
"No, absolutely not!"
Locusta, who had been fearlessly condemning Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash just a moment ago, had completely changed her tune.
"I am Lord Nero's most important subject! If you do this, she will never let you go!"
"Is that so?"
Ian smiled faintly, looking quite the gentleman.
"I suppose I should give that emperor some face."
"Ye-Yes, that's right!"
"That's how it should be!"
Sensing that there might be a turn for the better, Locusta immediately agreed with the man's words.
"So let me go! I can even help you plead your case to Lord Nero!"
"That won't be necessary."
Ian stroked Locusta's head.
"Why don't you tell us what this Lord Nero of yours is really like."
"Is that so? You want to know of Lord Nero's greatness as well?"
Locusta immediately became excited.
"Can you see it?"
"Over there, in the distance, there is a giant golden theater!"
"That's true."
Fujimaru Ritsuka confirmed Locusta's statement.
"We already saw that theater when we came out."
"Hehehe, it feels very luxurious, doesn't it?"
"That is the theater meticulously designed by Lord Nero—no one who sees it fails to praise it!"
"Lord Nero is also inside, I..."
"Alright, that's enough."
"Eh?"
Before Locusta could finish, she heard Ian say this.
She suddenly realized something:
"You... you don't intend to surrender to Lord Nero?"
"How could that be possible?"
"If I did that—" a sharp glint flashed in the man's eyes, "wouldn't that be acknowledging the Singularity?"
"And also..."
Ian looked at Locusta.
"Your answer was very good."
"So as a reward, many warriors will come to spend a few wonderful hours with you."
"No, you—!"
Locusta's voice was quickly drowned out.
Because she was immediately swarmed and covered by the warriors.
"Let's go, Morgan."
"We have to be faster—"
"Understood, Master."
Returning once more to the burning city of Rome, Ian felt an unprecedented pressure.
If Metatron from the First Singularity was an Angel that still retained some semblance of a human form,
then what he was feeling now was a complete and utter 'Beast' that was far beyond human comprehension.
"Morgan, are you ready?"
"Yes..."
The four of them closed in on Nero's golden theater.
The warriors who followed them began to fight against soldiers that gradually appeared along the way.
Of course.
To call them soldiers was to put it lightly; they were more like some sort of indescribable things.
However—
Not a single warrior showed any cowardice during this process.
Everything they thought in their hearts had long since transformed into the most profound obsession.
The great doors of the golden theater were slowly pushed open.
The scene that appeared inside was even more tragic than the streets of Rome outside.
Flames slithered like countless pythons throughout the colosseum-like theater, brutally destroying everything they could touch.
And on the most conspicuous pillar within that theater, a petite figure stood impressively.
She had a pair of blood-red eyes, and her small body was tightly wrapped in a crimson plain dress.
But at the same time, a huge red tail trailed behind her.
"Oh, we have guests."
"Welcome to my theater of depravity!"
Not Nero, but Beast Nero.
That body, far less voluptuous than the original, now exuded an immense sense of pressure.
"Is this the Nero that Locusta mentioned?"
"Somehow it feels..."
"Completely different from what I imagined."
"Careful!"
Just as Fujimaru Ritsuka finished her thought, an attack from Beast Nero came directly at them.
It was a method almost identical to the attack launched by the giant pythons driven by Locusta earlier.
However—
"Is this all there is?"
Morgan spoke thus, then raised her magic staff and extended it forward.
A huge blue barrier blocked all of the attacks from Beast Nero.
"Master, it should be fine to kill her, right?"
Morgan said this while fending off the attacks.
"If you can do it, then give it a try—"
"Understood."
Almost at the instant she received approval, Morgan began her counter-attack.
She summoned numerous magic circles behind her, all of them precisely locking onto Beast Nero.
Boom—
Boom—
Boom—
Great Magecraft missiles, which left Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash in awe, rained down one after another, until the pillar where Beast Nero stood was completely enveloped in smoke.
"So, so amazing..."
Watching Morgan's extraordinary offense, Fujimaru Ritsuka exclaimed in amazement.
Then, she looked at Mash beside her.
The latter instantly understood what she meant.
"Senpai, that's impossible no matter what! Only a Caster can release something like that!"
"Then you should change!"
"How could I possibly do that!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash began to mess around at that moment.
But Ian's attention was not on them.
Instinct was telling the man that things were definitely not that simple.
Just as Metatron was difficult to defeat through conventional means, Beast Nero would absolutely not die so easily!
"Master, you seem to doubt my abilities."
"But I'm sorry to say—"
The thick smoke cleared, revealing that Beast Nero's figure was gone from the pillar.
"I wouldn't say such things unless I was absolutely certain."
"I don't doubt you, Morgan..."
"I can just feel the malice of this world—in order to achieve certain things, other things will inevitably be twisted."
As if proving the man's words correct, after only a very brief pause, the surrounding flames began to converge again.
Beast Nero's figure appeared before everyone once more.
Only—
Compared to her petite appearance just now, at this moment, she had clearly become somewhat 'larger,' as if she had devoured something.
"Do you wish to defeat me?"
"But..."
"I dislike fighting—"
Beast Nero's words were not loud, but they echoed very clearly in the sky above the burning city of Rome.
"So, I can only kill you all... That way, I won't need to fight anymore."
"..."
...
Morgan was somewhat astonished.
It wasn't that she was surprised by the opponent's reappearance, but...
She found that the magical energy emanating from the opponent was gradually becoming more and more identical to that of her Master, Ian.
Cannot be killed.
And at the same time, she would become more terrifying due to those external existences.
A bad premonition gradually formed in the mind of this Witch of Britain.
"Master, this one... couldn't she be fundamentally unkillable?"
Actually—
The person who had this feeling was not just Morgan alone.
Ian also felt that the aura emanating from Beast Nero was surprisingly similar to his own.
As a beast of desire, she also seemed to feed on desire.
And this led to an extremely terrifying conclusion—because of his existence, Beast Nero would constantly perceive the existence of [Desire].
In other words, unless he killed [Desire] itself, the other party would exist forever.
But—
If...
If he abandoned [Desire], then the meaning of this world line's existence would also collapse.
Of course.
He could indeed just take Beast Nero down with him.
But in that case, all the responsibility would instantly fall on Fujimaru Ritsuka's shoulders.
If he were to hand over the conquest of the remaining Singularities to her alone at this level of intensity...
The consequences would be unimaginable.
How could there be an enemy with the same origin as himself?!
For a rare moment, Ian felt that this was a tricky situation.
"Master—" Morgan spoke again at this moment, "If I'm not mistaken, this person before us is of the 'same kind' as you, right?"
"You've already sensed it, Morgan."
"Of course."
The Princess of Britain had a serious expression.
"You are my Master. Of course I couldn't fail to sense magical energy identical to yours—"
"Master, as long as you exist, she can obtain the magical energy to continue sustaining herself, correct?"
"..."
"Have you thought of something, Morgan?" The man realized something. "You... shouldn't be one to speak nonsense."
"Mm, you're right." The witch, having figured it all out, revealed a subtle smile.
"If..."
"The opponent and Master are of the 'same origin'..."
"Then this should work, right?"
Without any warning, Ian watched as Morgan rushed towards him.
The next moment, in the burning theater, she kissed her Master!
________________________________________
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