Fate: Question And Answer System of Traversing Heroic Spirits

"This guy...!"

With Goetia's arrival, an overwhelming pressure crashed down upon the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Every Servant present felt it, a suffocating force that turned the entire battlefield deathly silent.

"So this is his true power..."

Shakespeare's face turned deathly pale.

Back in the story world, Goetia had been nothing more than a fragment of consciousness. He had still been terrifying, but the level of danger had remained within the realm of reason.

Now, however, his true form had manifested, and the sheer difference in presence was undeniable.

"Caster, what the hell is going on?"

Amakusa Shirou had noticed Shakespeare's distress and asked in a hushed voice.

Shakespeare let out a bitter chuckle. "Not exactly the best time for a full explanation, Master. Simply put... my Noble Phantasm failed. And in doing so, I managed to draw in a being that should never have been invited."

"...I see."

Amakusa Shirou's gaze darkened as he turned to face their new adversary.

Solomon.

No, not Solomon.

The malice radiating from him made that perfectly clear.

Even with his name fully displayed before them, Amakusa Shirou found that he couldn't read his data at all. Some kind of force was blocking his analysis.

"You are the legendary King of Magecraft, Solomon, correct?"

Amakusa Shirou steadied his voice, maintaining his composure. "Why have you come here?"

"Amakusa Shirou Tokisada. The Saint of the Far East," Goetia murmured.

A mocking sneer played across his lips.

"In the end, even so-called saints cannot escape the chains of human nature, and so you too have thrown yourself into this meaningless conflict."

"Meaningless...?" Amakusa Shirou's expression remained unreadable.

Goetia continued. "You, mere fragments of humanity's recorded history, gather here to fight for a Holy Grail... and yet, do you truly understand the purpose of your existence? The origin of the Holy Grail War itself?"

His words sent a ripple of unease through the Servants present.

Very few had ever questioned such things.

Amakusa Shirou furrowed his brow. "The Holy Grail War... was it not orchestrated by the Three Great Families? A grand ritual constructed to reach the Root, where Masters and Servants compete for the omnipotent wish-granting device?"

Goetia let out a low, derisive laugh.

"A wish-granting device... How utterly laughable."

He raised his hand, and in an instant, a Holy Grail materialized in his palm.

"This worthless thing? I could create as many of them as I like."

Without hesitation, he tossed the artifact to the ground, discarding it as though it were trash.

"...!!!"

Everyone was stunned.

Even Servants who had seen countless battles were left at a loss for words.

Darnic and Gordes, who had been observing from a distance, felt their very understanding of the world begin to collapse.

At this moment, only the Black Faction remained within the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Fiore had gone with Chiron to intercept Chihiro, while Celenike stayed behind at their stronghold with Astolfo and the two Masters who had lost their Servants, Caules and Roche.

Meanwhile, Amakusa Shirou numbly picked up the Holy Grail that Goetia had discarded.

After a thorough inspection, he confirmed that it was indeed the real thing, the kind that could actually grant wishes.

This only made the situation feel even more surreal.

The Grail War, which had consumed so much bloodshed and effort, was ultimately nothing more than a mass-produced trinket to a being like Goetia.

For the first time, all the Servants present felt like nothing more than fools in a circus act.

Goetia broke the silence.

"The Holy Grail War was indeed devised by humans for their own selfish desires," he said. "However, the Seven Grand Servants are different. They were created by the collective unconscious of mankind—Alaya, and the will of the planet—Gaia, for the sole purpose of protecting humanity and the Earth."

He let the weight of his words settle before continuing.

"The Seven Grand Servants are envoys from the heavens, called forth to eliminate specific threats to humanity. The so-called Advent Ritual and Heroic Spirit Summoning were originally designed as a form of battle magecraft, a system meant to safeguard the Primordial World.

"But humans, in their arrogance, twisted and downgraded this system for their own petty conflicts and desires.

"And that corruption… is the very summoning ritual you now use, the Holy Grail War."

"What?!"

Shock rippled through the gathered Servants.

Many had never truly questioned the origins of their existence.

Few had ever bothered to consider what the Grail War truly was.

"I never imagined… that our purpose was originally meant for such a grander cause," Amakusa Shirou murmured, a bitter smile tugging at his lips.

"Solomon, we should thank you for enlightening us on the nature of our existence.

"However, I doubt you came here merely to lecture us, correct?"

Goetia chuckled.

"I simply wished to clarify a few misunderstandings," he said. "Of course, if I felt like it, I could destroy this world as well."

Amakusa Shirou's eyes narrowed. "You said destroy…?"

Goetia smirked. "What? Do you doubt that I am capable of such a thing?"

As if to punctuate his words, an unfathomable pressure surged from his being, multiplying in intensity.

Many Servants instinctively tensed, struggling against the sheer force.

How powerful is this entity…?

Goetia's voice turned cold.

"Humanity is arrogant, envious, wrathful, indolent, and gluttonous. You are creatures of insatiable greed and endless corruption.

"Such beings are unworthy of ruling this world."

"Stop spouting nonsense!" Amakusa Shirou shot back. "Yes, humans are flawed, but they are also capable of greatness! You would erase an entire world for such a shallow reason?!"

"Greatness?" Goetia mocked. "It is laughable to hear such words from you of all people."

Amakusa Shirou fell silent.

Goetia's smirk widened.

"Do you really think I am unaware of your true intentions, Amakusa Shirou Tokisada?"

"You claim to believe in humanity. Yet your own plan is to forcibly assimilate all of mankind using the Third Magic.

"If you truly trusted in human nature, then why do you seek to bind them into submission?

"The only difference between us is that you would imprison them, while I would erase them altogether."

"I…"

Goetia's words struck deep, and for a moment, Amakusa Shirou found himself unable to refute them.

It took him a long moment before he finally regained his voice.

"No! I seek only to preserve humanity! I will guide them toward a future of true peace!

"I am nothing like you!"

Goetia's smile vanished.

"Future?"

His voice turned cold.

"The future of mankind has already been determined.

"It ends in the year 2017."

Amakusa Shirou's breath hitched.

"...What did you say?"

Goetia did not elaborate.

"Enough talk," he said at last.

His eyes flickered toward Gilgamesh, who still held an unconscious Chihiro.

"Hand over the human."

"What?"

Gilgamesh had barely registered the demand when a group of Servants instinctively moved to block Goetia's path.

Artoria, Qin Shi Huang, Iskandar, Diarmuid, and Hassan of the Hundred Faces stood in formation, shielding Gilgamesh and Chihiro from Goetia's reach.

Gilgamesh simply smirked.

"Hah. I am not in the habit of surrendering what belongs to me," he said. "Though I hold no particular affection for this mongrel, he is still my Master.

"To hand him over so easily, where would that leave my pride?"

Goetia sneered.

In the next instant, Chihiro vanished from Gilgamesh's grasp.

"What?!"

With a flick of his fingers, Goetia had used teleportation magecraft to pull Chihiro directly into his hands.

"Let him go!!!"

A surge of golden light erupted—Excalibur.

Simultaneously, a crimson spear flew—Gáe Dearg.

A celestial blade followed.

Three devastating Noble Phantasms streaked toward Goetia at once.

But—

A shimmering, invisible wall materialized before him, deflecting all three attacks effortlessly.

"You bastard!"

Gilgamesh summoned the Gate of Babylon, unleashing a torrent of divine weapons.

Yet not a single one managed to pierce Goetia's defenses.

Goetia barely acknowledged them.

Instead, he turned his attention to Chihiro's soul.

But just as he reached out to examine it, a blinding white light exploded from within Chihiro's being.

Goetia recoiled on instinct, flinging the boy away as a wave of unknown energy surged outward.

What was that?

Even he had felt genuine danger from it.

Before he could recover, Hassan of the Hundred Faces darted forward, catching Chihiro and retreating instantly.

Artoria and the others closed in around Goetia.

"Interesting," Goetia muttered.

"The power of that communication group again, I see…"

He surveyed the gathered Servants.

"Are you all members, or is this human merely an exception?"

He pondered for a moment.

"Very well," he murmured. "Then let us test the strength of your so-called heroes of humanity.

"We shall start with nine."

The Hanging Gardens trembled violently.

Shakespeare's face paled. "Hey, what's going on?!"

Semiramis narrowed her eyes. "Something… is being summoned."

The ground split open.

From the fissures, nine colossal tentacles emerged, their surfaces covered in glowing sigils and countless unblinking eyes.

Each one dripped with power, emanating a hunger for destruction.

"The Thirty-Fourth Demon Pillar Folfor. The Thirty-Fifth Marcosias. The Thirty-Sixth Stolas.

"The Thirty-Seventh Phoenix. The Thirty-Eighth Harpas. The Thirty-Ninth Marbas.

"The Fortieth Raum. The Forty-First Focalor. The Forty-Second Vepar."

Goetia's voice echoed.

"Now… let us begin."

Across the battlefield, Servants from every faction exchanged glances.

Red.

Black.

Chihiro's allies.

It did not matter.

At this moment, there was only one enemy.

And he had to be stopped.

***

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