Wandering Sea, New Chaldea Headquarters — Saint Graph
Adjustment Room
With a faint "beep," the futuristic white smoke slowly dissipated.
The massive mechanical body that had once occupied half the room—equipped with six arms and a centaur-like lower half—had disappeared.
The man who reappeared before everyone was tall, handsome, with black hair and a cold expression.
He wore a well-tailored black Chinese-style long robe. Traces of mechanical modification remained—such as the electronic prosthetic eye that occasionally emitted a mysterious blue glow and the metal joints hidden under his sleeves—but there was no doubt that it was now a standard human body that matched the aesthetic standards of Human History.
"Is this… the posture of mine recorded in Human History?"
The man slowly raised both hands and clenched his fists, as if trying to get used to this body he had long lost or perhaps had never truly possessed.
His voice was low and captivating, with a metallic resonance. "Output restrictions have been lifted by 90%, but operational precision has improved by 300%."
"For daily activities, this can indeed be called an optimized configuration."
"Lord Xiang Yu…"
Standing beside him, Yu Mei-ren—no, more precisely, the True Ancestor who had returned to Akuta Hinako's attire—covered her mouth with both hands. With bloodshot eyes like a frightened fawn, she stared at the man before her.
Two thousand years had passed since the historical legend ended.
And after the recent reunion with the Lostbelt, what she had embraced was always that cold, massive, highly efficient mechanical centaur.
She loved Xiang Yu's soul, and she had not minded his appearance.
However, when the brave and extraordinary ruler from her memories once again appeared before her in human form, the emotions accumulated over millennia instantly exploded.
"It's wonderful… really… wonderful…"
Without hesitation, she ran over, tightly hugged his waist, buried her face in his broad chest, and cried like a girl who had finally found her home.
"Um… the touching reunion scene is wonderful, but I'd appreciate it if you could also pay a little attention to the technical explanation."
In this heartwarming moment, an extremely insensitive and somewhat unpleasant voice rang out from the side.
Steve held a futuristic gadget resembling a flashlight—the Saint Graph Formation Ray Gun—and was proudly giving a product presentation to the women of Chaldea.
"As you can see, this is the Two-Stage Transformation system that I, a genius, specially created for Lord Xiang Yu by combining His Majesty the First Emperor's immortal technique data!"
He pressed a button on the remote in his hand, and a holographic screen instantly displayed a diagram of Xiang Yu's body structure.
"The normal state is the dashing Human Mode you see now. It retains the original superhuman power while fitting perfectly into Chaldea's narrow corridors and cafeteria seats. No more worries about a horse's rear end breaking door frames."
"And when entering combat mode—" Steve snapped his fingers. "As long as you shout 'Henshin!' (you don't even have to shout), the nanomachines will instantly transform you into the Destroy Mode with six arms and a centaur-like lower half."
"Not only has the combat power not declined, but thanks to the addition of my cosmic alloy armor, defense has increased by 50%!"
"Whoa! Amazing!"
Fujimaru's eyes sparkled as she let out a heartfelt cry of admiration. "It's just like a tokusatsu hero from a special effects anime!"
….
Round Table Conference Room Hidden in Imaginary Space
Completely different from the lively bright atmosphere of Chaldea.
In this conference room located in the gap of imaginary numbers, a stiflingly low pressure currently filled the air.
Only four people remained around the round table.
"…In other words, that's the situation."
Standing beside the main seat was the man dressed as a priest, Kotomine Kirei.
With his trademark pleasant smile that made one want to punch him, he summarized the conclusion in a tone as if reading from the Gospels.
"It has been confirmed that the unified human civilization of the Third Lostbelt, the Qin Kingdom, disappeared three hours ago."
"No… to be precise, it vanished."
The priest shrugged and looked at the four people present. "According to observation data, a Servant named Steve once again used the enigmatic technique called Inverse Displacement, uprooting the entire Great Qin Lostbelt and sending it to another world."
"The person in charge of this Lostbelt is Akuta Hinako, also known as Yu Mei-ren."
The priest's smile deepened. "Not only did she not lose her life during the mission, but she took her follower Xiang Yu and… resolutely defected to the enemy."
Complete silence.
An even more deathly silence than the earlier one in Chaldea enveloped the entire round table.
"Hah… hahahaha!"
The one who broke the silence first was a shrill, mocking, and malicious laugh.
Beryl Gut.
The wolf-eyed man clutched his stomach and roared with laughter, tears nearly streaming down his cheeks.
"Hey, hey, hey… you're kidding, right? This is the third time now? Huh?"
With a look of contempt, he tapped his finger on the table. "First that useless Kadoc, then that refined Ophelia, and now even that grumpy old hag has run away?"
"Is this what they call Group A? These are the so-called elites? Give me a break!"
"What kind of lucky place is Chaldea? Why does everyone who goes there never want to come back? Is there a free buffet or something?"
At that moment, Beryl's eyes suddenly turned as cold as ice, and he licked his lips.
"Especially that guy Steve… he really pisses me off."
"He's snatching other people's prey one by one and storing them like a collection… Tch, I really want to peel off that smug face of his and see what's hidden underneath."
"Oh dear, Beryl… don't say such rude things."
Sitting opposite him was Scandinavia Peperoncino. He tried to mediate, but his usually gentle face wore a rare serious expression.
"However, this certainly exceeds my expectations a little."
Pepe rested his hand on his chin and spoke with a somewhat profound gaze. "Considering Akuta's personality, I originally thought that even if she died, she would drag that world down with her."
"What kind of magic did that Steve use to make even such a stubborn person change her mind?"
"Moreover, three Lostbelts have been expanded in succession…"
Pepe's tone grew slightly reserved. "This is not a simple strategy—this is plunder."
"He's gathering predetermined possibilities… What exactly is he trying to do? Create a new world for himself?"
Sitting in the corner, Daybit Sem Void maintained his aloof attitude, as if isolated from the world.
He said nothing, but when he heard the words inverse displacement, a faint, barely visible light flickered in his deep, hollow eyes.
"Folding of space, resetting of causality, containment of civilization."
Daybit suddenly spoke in a flat, emotionless voice. "That man's skill has already surpassed the realm of Heroic Spirits."
"He is using planetary-level or even galactic-level methods to deal with surface-level problems."
"This is not combat—it is a dimensional reduction attack."
After saying that, he closed his mouth again, as if the previous statement had been an illusion.
Finally.
All eyes focused on the person sitting at the head of the round table.
There sat the captain of Group A, Kirschtaria Wodime.
The blond noble closed his eyes and gently tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers.
His expression was calm, showing no signs of panic or anger.
However, a heavy atmosphere like the calm before a storm made the entire space feel oppressive.
"Three."
Wodime slowly opened his eyes and spoke in a clear, dignified voice. "Out of the seven Lostbelts, three have been destroyed."
"This can no longer be called an accident or variable factor."
He stood up, his gaze piercing the imaginary space as he stared into the distant, shimmering sea.
"Steve… this man's existence is fundamentally collapsing the plan of the Alien God."
"He is not trying to stop us—he is trying to replace us."
"He is proving that humanity can survive without the Fantasy Tree or the Alien God."
"Even if that path is built upon plunder and integration."
Wodime took a deep breath and released a chilling magical aura.
"It seems… we can no longer remain as mere spectators."
"I had originally planned to wait until the final battle in Olympus, but… at this rate, it looks like we won't be able to wait that long. Otherwise, my Atlantic Lostbelt will become the next trophy in his collection."
He looked at the priest and gave new instructions.
"Father Kotomine, tell my servant to strengthen the patrols in the sea area."
"At the same time…"
A determined light shone in Wodime's eyes.
"Request higher authority from the Alien God."
"If he comes to India or the Atlantic next time… I would like to meet this savior from a parallel world in person."
"Let us see whether his astonishing wisdom is superior, or whether my astrology can better illuminate the future of humanity."
…
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