The Incineration of Humanity was anchored by seven Foundations—meaning, seven Holy Grails.
For the first five—or rather, six—Singularities, Goetia genuinely didn't care. Usually, it was only the Demon God Pillars who considered them important, actively dispatching their forces to accelerate the collapse of human history and add a layer of insurance.
By the same token, this was precisely why the first five Singularities were relatively simple, standard-difficulty scenarios.
It wasn't until the Sixth and Seventh chapters that a massive qualitative shift occurred.
However, if you wanted to get technical, the Seventh Singularity was undeniably the one with the highest difficulty and the most severe underlying problems. The only reason the Sixth Singularity's difficulty spiked so drastically was entirely due to the unexpected emergence of the Lion King.
The Seventh Singularity was a completely different beast. Not only was it the earliest and most distant point in time among all the Singularities, but the Holy Grail anchoring it had been planted there personally by Goetia!
According to the Lion King's exact words in the original game, the seventh Holy Grail was actually the "passport" leading directly to the Grand Time Temple. Only by recovering the seventh Holy Grail could Chaldea lock onto the Grand Time Temple's location.
Looking at it from this angle, if someone was ridiculously overpowered and could speedrun Goetia's entire campaign in a few days, they could theoretically just skip the first six Singularities altogether, snatch the seventh Holy Grail before those timelines completely collapsed, and then storm in to kill Goetia and end it all.
Well, naturally, Takumi didn't possess that kind of reality-breaking capability. Honestly grinding levels from the easiest Singularity to the hardest was definitely the more suitable path for him.
To sum it all up, simply locking onto the Seventh Singularity was a massive "campaign" in itself. Even for the fully staffed original Chaldea, it was a colossal undertaking. For Takumi, who was doing the job of an entire facility all by himself, the difficulty was astronomically higher.
On top of this administrative nightmare, Takumi also had to continue honing his combat techniques, master his two newly acquired Noble Phantasms, and integrate a massive pile of new Skills into his personal combat system to forge his own distinct fighting style.
And because the power of [Death Perception] was so incredibly crucial, Takumi had spent this entire period constantly utilizing the Heart of Fire's recording function to "relive" that single, lethal sword strike from King Hassan... over and over again.
"I'm burnt out..."
Takumi slumped back in his chair, staring blankly up at the ceiling. It looked as if his soul was literally drifting out of his open mouth.
After this period of psychotic, non-stop overtime, the dark circles under his eyes—which had been completely erased by the awakening of the [Heart of Fire]—had stubbornly regenerated. He honestly looked even more haggard than he had during the Sixth Singularity.
But he had no choice. The Sixth Singularity had already been that ridiculously stressful; Takumi truly didn't dare gamble on the Seventh Singularity not having any unexpected variables. He had to go full throttle to push the progress forward.
Fortunately, hard work pays off. After countless hours of relentless overtime, he had successfully locked onto the Seventh Singularity!
Two and a half hours later.
"Ugh..."
Feeling his headache finally subside to a tolerable level, Takumi opened his eyes. He stood up from his chair, stretched lazily, and did a few quick warm-up exercises.
"Sigh~! Finally, the last Singularity. I really hope this one is a bit easier... ahaha, yeah right, like that's ever gonna happen."
"The final boss this time is an Evil of Humanity representing the Principle of Regression, Beast II, Tiamat... I can't think of a single viable way to cheese this fight. Looks like I'll have to solve this following the original storyline's method..."
Thinking this, Takumi couldn't help but shake his head helplessly.
As the Mother Goddess of Creation, Tiamat's most terrifying aspect was her absolute immortality and supreme regenerative capabilities. According to Romani in the original story, unless every single human and living creature on the surface of the earth was wiped out, she—possessing the Authority of Life—fundamentally lacked the concept of "Death." Even if you had King Hassan sacrifice his Grand title to strike her, it wouldn't work.
Only by dropping Tiamat into the Underworld, thereby conceptually negating her Authority of Life, would King Hassan's Grand-sacrificing strike actually have any effect.
"Whatever, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
After briefly comforting himself, Takumi prepared to set out once again.
A short while later.
[...Rayshift commencing in 3—2—1...]
Takumi's silhouette vanished from Chaldea once more.
Shortly after Takumi disappeared, a small white beast finally leaped out from an unknown corner.
"Fou, fooou~!"
To think this human's actions are still so incredibly fast even at this stage. I wonder how long it will take him to return this time... I hope he hurries up. The further away he goes, the more exhausting it is to keep lending out [Independent Manifestation]...
Fou barked twice, then curled up in a corner and closed its eyes to rest.
Why didn't it go out to see Takumi off?
I, Fou, need not explain my actions to anyone! I go out when I want to, and stay hidden when I don't!
Besides, it wasn't like Mash or Merlin was here. What point was there in going out?
—Not to mention, I already lent him [Independent Manifestation]. I have no business in that Singularity anyway. If he leaves, doesn't that mean I'm just guarding an empty Chaldea all by myself?
Lending out an Authority is already doing him a massive solid!
But the most, most, most important reason was—
Chaldea still has a few security cameras running, right? If I walk out there, won't I immediately expose how ridiculously abnormal I am?!
Fou cast a disdainful side-eye at a nearby camera, then continued hiding and resting peacefully.
***
WHOOSH—WHOOSH—...!!
Gale-force winds screamed past his ears, and an overwhelming sensation of weightlessness engulfed his entire body.
The moment Takumi finished the "Rayshift" and opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the vast, sprawling earth below, dotted with "tiny" forests and various human settlements.
Ah, I should have seen this coming...
Currently in a state of freefall, Takumi's eyelids drooped. He wasn't surprised in the slightest.
In the Seventh Singularity, Gilgamesh—operating under maximum stress—had erected a colossal, city-spanning bounded field over the territory of Uruk to defend against the demonic beasts spawned by Gorgon.
Establishing this bounded field for safety was completely understandable. But precisely because its area of effect was so absurdly massive, the probability of Takumi's "random drop" Rayshift landing directly within its borders was definitely not low.
Furthermore, because Rayshifts typically deposited personnel mid-air to prevent them from accidentally materializing inside a wall or solid ground, the ultimate result was... getting violently ricocheted off the bounded field upon entry.
However, a minor inconvenience like this was nothing to the current Takumi. He was even considering just letting himself hit the ground without using any defenses. With his current physical capabilities, a fall from this height wouldn't even scratch him.
—Hell, back when he used Romulus's Spirit Origin, he had dropped from over a thousand meters in the air!
Just as Takumi was making this plan, a distinct sound drifted into his ears.
CLINK—CLINK—!
It was the metallic, grating sound of chains scraping against one another.
"Heh. Looks like I actually got a bit lucky this time!"
Hearing this, Takumi turned his head toward the source of the sound.
He saw over a dozen chains radiating a faint golden light, weaving together like an inescapable net as they shot straight toward him. And behind the interlacing chains, a figure wearing a white robe, with long green hair, was staring at him with a mix of pleasant surprise and potent killing intent.
Kingu!
One of the eleven demonic beast offspring birthed by Tiamat. For this manifestation, he had hijacked the deceased body of Enkidu—Gilgamesh's lifelong friend and the true "Chains of Heaven."
To think he would run into Kingu the very second he dropped in! Takumi's eyes narrowed slightly. With a flick of his wrists, he simultaneously summoned both his flag-spear and the [Sword of the Heart].
Mid-freefall, Takumi flawlessly reclaimed absolute control over his body.
Adjusting his posture, he stepped on empty air. He kicked off the incoming chains, swung his sword, and effortlessly shattered and severed the spear-like chain tips that came flying at him like artillery shells.
From Kingu's perspective, he only saw Takumi—who had appeared completely defenseless just a second ago—instantly shift stances. Takumi used Kingu's own chains as footholds, sprinting along them straight toward him. His movements were as fast and ethereal as a phantom. Amidst a flurry of biting, icy sword light, the chains separating the two of them were pulverized—
Kingu didn't even have time to launch a second wave of attacks!
Impossible!
Finally realizing something was horribly wrong, Kingu's heart seized with sheer terror.
BAM!
But he wasn't given a single fraction of a second to react. He only felt an unimaginably violent, irresistible kinetic impact slam into his waist. He was blasted out of the sky, plummeting toward the earth at a speed even faster than his initial approach.
BOOM!
The earth fractured and violently quaked. A massive cloud of dirt and dust plumed upward, completely burying the spot where Kingu had cratered into the ground.
A moment later, Takumi landed lightly on his feet.
He stared blankly at the dust-shrouded crater ahead of him.
Known Fact: Goetia's Holy Grail is currently in Kingu's possession, and that Grail is one of the critical keys to Tiamat's revival and return.
Question: What should Takumi do at this exact moment?
In less than half a second, the answer blazed to life in Takumi's heart.
[I am going to strike him down—right here!! Right now!!]
True, retrieving the Holy Grail wouldn't necessarily stop Tiamat from returning. But reclaiming the Grail would absolutely weaken her, or at the very least, severely delay the progress of her revival!
And that was more than enough—
The instant he made his decision, Takumi's gaze turned terrifyingly frigid. The glass-like flames within his pupils completely shed their usual gentle warmth.
His freezing killing intent was transmitted directly into Kingu's heart with absolute precision.
"You got a lucky hit in. But if you think this is enough to..."
Kingu's words died abruptly in his throat, and the previously arrogant, mocking sneer on his face froze completely solid.
It felt as if someone had brutally ripped his chest open and shoved a block of absolute-zero ice directly into his heart. Instantly, his entire body felt as if it were being frozen from the inside out. He shivered uncontrollably, and a thread of primal, subconscious terror began to weave into his mind.
How is this possible... This body is a Divine Construct! How can I feel cold... And more importantly—why am I feeling fear?!
In that moment, Kingu felt an overwhelming sense of humiliation, which instantly ignited into blazing fury.
Believing Takumi was just playing some cheap psychological trick, he gritted his teeth and prepared to mock him:
"You..."
However, right at that moment, Takumi vanished from where he stood.
When Kingu's vision finally reacquired Takumi, all he saw was that pair of freezing, fiery pupils staring right at him.
Sssshk...
There was no physical pain, but the distinct, sickening sensation of his body being sliced open was transmitted directly into Kingu's brain with terrifying clarity.
He barely even registered how Takumi had launched the attack. The freezing blade was already sinking smoothly through his shoulder and down into his torso, cutting through his Divine Construct body as effortlessly as a hot knife slicing through a block of tofu.
I'm going to die... I'll die... I'll die I'll die I'll die I'll die I'm going to DIE—!!!
Pure, unadulterated terror instantly hijacked Kingu's entire mind. It was only at this exact moment that he finally understood why those Demon God Pillars had warned him to be exceptionally wary of the Master of Chaldea, and advised him to avoid direct confrontation at all costs.
But right now, there wasn't a single trace of regret in his heart. Not because he was stubborn, but simply because the sheer, suffocating fear of Death had already completely monopolized every corner of his mind.
In the split second before his body was vertically cleaved perfectly in half, Kingu deployed his "world-shaking" intellect.
Question: Can a Divine Construct made of clay meld into the earth?
Answer: Absolutely! It 100% can!
The sword fell, but Kingu's silhouette had already vanished.
"Hehahaha..."
Maintaining the posture of his downward slash, Takumi let out an exasperated, furious laugh at the absolute absurdity of the situation.
Even he hadn't expected that Kingu—who had been acting so incredibly cocky just a second ago—would actually use the downward momentum of Takumi's sword strike to smoothly phase right into the ground and run away.
"Motherfucker! You think you can actually run away like that?! HAH?!"
The furious smile vanished from Takumi's face in an instant, his eyes blazing with absolute rage.
—Nothing with a "Heart" can ever escape his lock-on!
Possessing the [Heart of Fire], Takumi's tracking range for any biological entity possessing a "Heart" was vastly more precise and infinitely wider than even the massive perception range inherently granted to the Ruler class!
Locking onto Kingu's exact subterranean coordinates, Takumi continuously poured a massive surge of magical energy into the [Sword of the Heart], then swung his blade downward without a shred of hesitation.
CRACK—!
A deafening wail of the earth tearing itself apart echoed out.
The ground had been split open!
This wasn't an adjective, nor was it a hyperbolic metaphor. The earth had literally been cleaved in two!
With just a single sword strike, the ground was violently split open, creating a massive canyon measuring three to four hundred meters wide and so deep that the bottom couldn't even be seen.
Losing his footing as the earth vanished beneath him, Takumi wasn't surprised in the slightest. While suspended in mid-air, his eyes locked onto that fleeing flash of green.
FOUND! YOU!
[Heart of Fire] — Ignite!
His eyes burning holes into that streak of green, with a mere thought, his hair and flag instantly transitioned into their blazing plasma state, fluttering and radiating brilliant light in the air.
While closing the distance at absolute maximum speed, Takumi swung the [Sword of the Heart] once more at the green silhouette, whose face was currently contorted in sheer horror.
Where the eyes gaze, the blade strikes!
This was one of the passive abilities of the [Sword of the Heart]. As long as Takumi could physically see his target, the sword strike would connect—although the raw destructive power was slightly lower than a direct physical hit.
Pshhh!
Completely unaware that Takumi possessed an ability like this, Kingu—whose face was still plastered with horror—suddenly felt his back nearly slice open. Scrambling to flee, he looked ahead, only to see the earth directly in front of him violently split open into another, slightly smaller canyon.
Kingu instantly realized that if his body wasn't a Divine Construct, and if he wasn't currently being buffed by the Holy Grail, he would have been cleaved in half exactly like the ground in front of him!
Completely consumed by sheer terror and fighting through the agonizing pain wracking his body, Kingu didn't dare entertain a single thought of turning around to fight. He pushed himself to the absolute limit, flying desperately toward the side of the newly carved canyon.
He could swear on his life that he had never flown this fast before!
"Is running away literally the only thing you know how to do?!"
Seeing the figure—who had nearly lost limbs from his two strikes and was dragging a body that was dangerously close to splitting in half—somehow manage to squeeze out even more speed than before, Takumi completely lost his temper.
He flat-out started cursing out loud.