Takumi left.
He had merely offered a conversational answer regarding his so-called "resolve." As for by what right he claimed he could defeat the Lion King—Takumi believed that no matter how pretty his words were, nothing inspired belief quite like taking action.
So, after finishing his piece, Takumi turned and walked away without looking back. He took nothing with him, setting out alone once more toward his next destination.
Behind him, Ozymandias sat upon his throne, quietly watching Takumi's retreating figure. The corners of his mouth ticked upward into a faint smile, and a strange, vibrant hue flickered in his eyes.
"Did you see it?"
Keeping his gaze fixed forward, he asked Nitocris, who was waiting below.
Hearing Ozymandias speak, Nitocris finally snapped out of the daze Takumi's words had left her in. She turned to look at the Pharaoh in confusion.
Before Takumi spoke, Nitocris had only known that his journey had been incredibly difficult and that he looked rather exhausted. It wasn't until he finished speaking that she finally grasped the sheer weight of the pressure he carried and the insignificance of his simple wish. Her heart ached for him, to the point where she genuinely wanted to just follow him and help him, regardless of the consequences.
Foolish.
Ozymandias cast a sidelong glance at the naive Nitocris and shook his head in fond exasperation.
"What is truly worthy of note is not the suffering he has endured, but his clear and unyielding will. Even after suffering calamities without reason, he does not vent his anger on the innocent. His heart remains unchanged, entirely free from the dust of corruption..."
As he spoke, Ozymandias raised the Holy Grail. In his line of sight, it looked as if the golden chalice was cradling Takumi's advancing figure.
Ozymandias let out a soft chuckle.
"Look at it. That pure, blazing flame. Even though it has yet to fully reveal its true form, it is undeniably a treasure of the highest order. I imagine even the Gods themselves could not resist casting their gaze upon it and cradling it in their palms, no?"
At this moment, in his eyes, there was no silhouette of Takumi. There was only a cluster of warm, bright, fiercely burning fire—illuminating the darkness, illuminating the heart, and illuminating the path forward...
Only then did Nitocris realize her focus had been entirely misplaced.
Why would Takumi need her self-indulgent pity? The flame reflecting his absolute will had even inadvertently influenced her own heart, making her subconsciously believe in his potential. How could such soaring fighting spirit ever require her pity?
"Hurry and make the preparations. I expect it will not be long before he officially stands before the Lion King. Should our royal chariot fail to arrive in time, it would make for a truly laughable jest..."
Ozymandias smiled faintly as he finished speaking. He then rose from his throne and headed toward his private chambers.
"Yes! I will secure your subjects with the utmost haste, O Pharaoh!"
Having understood his intentions, the lingering conflict and melancholy on Nitocris' face vanished instantly, replaced by sheer excitement and anticipation.
After offering a slight bow, she hurriedly marched out of the temple to execute the orders Ozymandias had given her.
—Despite having only just met Takumi for the first time, the two of them were already preparing for the final decisive battle.
***
Naturally, Takumi—who had already activated his skills to rush along his path—was completely unaware of the decisions and actions Ozymandias took after their meeting.
For someone who held the keys to the plot, the matters currently at hand demanded far more of his attention.
Let's ask the question: What was the most critical element of this Singularity?
It wasn't the Sun King's assistance. It wasn't the aid of the Old Men of the Mountain. It wasn't even the Holy Grail... It was Bedivere. The knight who had endured a thousand years of wandering, who persevered to this very day, and who still held the Holy Sword, Excalibur.
Only if Bedivere returned the Holy Sword could Takumi avoid having to genuinely fight the Goddess Lion King to the death.
Given his immense importance, Takumi had naturally used [Revelation] to mark Bedivere's location the moment he arrived in the Singularity.
After successfully marking the key figures of every faction, Takumi discovered that Bedivere hadn't stayed put in one location. He was constantly on the move. Not only that, but his trajectory perfectly overlapped with one of Takumi's own destinations—a village within the territory of the People of the Mountains.
That was exactly why Takumi had considered traveling to the mountain village alongside Hundred Personas when they met. After all, their goals perfectly aligned.
However, right now, Takumi was starting to feel incredibly thankful that he was traveling alone. Because...
"It changed. Everything changed..."
Maintaining a continuous sprint, Takumi tilted his head back, staring blankly at the unnaturally radiant sky, unable to stop himself from muttering under his breath.
Far, far in the distance ahead of him, a colossal beam of golden energy shaped like a cavalry lance was slowly piercing through the cloud cover and plummeting toward the earth, dyeing that entire section of the sky a blinding gold. The sheer scale of the attack was enough to carve a permanent basin into the map.
Without a doubt, this was the power of the Holy Lance, [Rhongomyniad: The Lance that Shines to the Ends of the World]. It was also the "Holy Judgment" cast down by the Goddess Lion King.
And directly beneath that descending "Holy Judgment" was Takumi's destination.
"...But isn't this way too fast?!!"
He truly believed he had locked onto the Singularity and Rayshifted here at the absolute fastest speed possible. He didn't think his current progress was any slower than the original protagonist's group...
Yet he had barely arrived in the Singularity, hadn't even had the time to do anything, and the Lion King was already deploying the Holy Lance?
Did his mere existence truly cause a butterfly effect of this magnitude?!
Although this sudden, catastrophic shift threw his mind into absolute chaos, Takumi knew he had no time to sit around and think. Ignoring the exhaustion in his body and mind, he gritted his teeth and, without another word, activated his ultra-high-speed state to its absolute maximum, sprinting like a madman toward the impact zone of the "Holy Judgment."
As he maintained his high-speed sprint, Takumi continuously glanced up to track the descent of the "Holy Judgment," mentally comparing it against his own speed.
But as he kept comparing... the expression on Takumi's face grew increasingly anxious and tense.
Until—a "meteor flying in reverse" shot up from the ground, carrying the crushing momentum of a final farewell as it "slowly" hurtled toward the descending "Holy Judgment."
"Fuck!"
Still sprinting, Takumi's pupils contracted sharply, finally unable to suppress the urge to curse.
***
"Watching" the light of the Holy Lance collide with the power of [Stella] high in the atmosphere, detonating, and finally slowly fading away together, leaving only a fraction of the residual shockwave to impact the ground.
Standing a few kilometers outside the village of the People of the Mountains, Tristan couldn't help but sigh in admiration:
"Arash Kamangir... As expected of the great hero from ancient Persian legend, the existence who once tore the earth asunder with a single arrow and ended a war. To think he could shatter our King's Holy Judgment entirely on his own. Impressive."
Following his genuine, heartfelt praise, Tristan "looked" forward at the Hassan who was staring him down, standing ready for combat.
"However, it is truly a pity. Even if that great hero shattered the Holy Judgment, the fate of you and the village over there will not change in the slightest. It has merely been delayed by a fraction."
As he spoke, under the grave, unwavering gaze of Hassan of the Intoxicated Smoke, Tristan slowly rested his hand upon his demonic bowstring.