Miracle Summoner

From the very first day they met, Rozen had already noticed that Merlin, like himself and Gilgamesh, was in a state of near mana depletion.

No—Merlin's situation was even more peculiar than that of Rozen and Gilgamesh.

After acquiring the Cleansing, Rozen had already entered a phase of recovery and adjustment.

Gilgamesh, having performed the miracle of Heroic Spirit Summoning, was also in the midst of mana restoration.

But Merlin—for some reason—was still burning through massive amounts of mana on a daily basis.

While the rate of depletion wasn't quite as severe as Rozen's or Gilgamesh's, using that much mana every single day was clearly a red flag.

Rozen didn't know the exact cause, but due to this ongoing mana drain, Merlin's mana pool remained low. While he wasn't exactly bankrupt, his mana reserves were meager—if represented through Servant-class parameters, his power would only sit somewhere between C and D rank. Compared to his peak, he had certainly weakened considerably.

Yet Merlin always pretended not to care, clearly fully aware of his own condition.

Naturally, Rozen was curious.

"So what exactly is causing you to burn through so much mana every day like this?"

Rozen finally asked.

"What do you think?" Merlin shrugged, sidestepping the question with a vague grin. "If someone's constantly losing mana in large amounts, what kinds of things might be the cause?"

"That's obvious." Rozen replied without hesitation. "Either you've been hit with a curse or magical poison that causes your mana to drain passively… or you're actively using your power for something."

"Correct." Merlin snapped his fingers, but didn't offer further explanation—only added, "Because I've devoted most of my mana to other purposes, I'm sorry to say you shouldn't expect me to be of much use in battle. I'll provide rear-line support at best. Even if my mana weren't being drained, I'm not the type who fights on the front lines, you know?"

"I figured as much." Rozen didn't deny it—he simply sighed. "Still, to think that you, me, and King Gilgamesh are all out of commission at the same time… Feels like someone's playing a cruel joke on us."

Who could deny it?

Originally, Rozen had thought that his mana issue would be the biggest obstacle in this Singularity.

He never expected that, in addition to himself, Gilgamesh—the cornerstone of this era—had also exhausted his mana due to the miracle of Heroic Spirit Summoning.

And Merlin, a magus of critical importance, was also mysteriously burning mana non-stop.

All three of them were out of form.

That was too much of a coincidence.

"Honestly, even I was shocked." Merlin admitted helplessly. "A Magician, and two Magi qualified for Grand status—all suffering from mana depletion for different reasons, stuck in recovery and unable to unleash their full power. The consequences are no joke."

He clearly felt a bit regretful as he said this.

Gilgamesh's situation, at least, was understandable. He recklessly summoned seven Servants using Heroic Spirit Summoning.

Even for a demi-god king, surviving that miracle was a miracle in itself—half his life force was spent just pulling it off.

As for Merlin, he too had reasons that forced him to pour nearly all his mana into activating a certain power—an unavoidable choice.

In short, the two Grand-ranked magus had both made prior sacrifices of their power for the sake of humanity and this era.

Thus, both Merlin and Gilgamesh had been counting on Rozen's arrival—hoping that the last Master of Chaldea could break the deadlock and tip the scales in their favor.

And yet, Rozen was also out of commission. Both Merlin and Gilgamesh couldn't help but feel that fate was mocking them.

Fortunately, Gilgamesh could still provide strategic leadership and stay at the command post.

Merlin, being a master of escape, could easily avoid danger even if he couldn't fight.

And Rozen had brought two Servants along—one of whom was the incarnation of the white giant feared even by the gods themselves.

With those three cards in play, humanity wasn't completely without options, and the situation remained manageable.

Moreover, even though Rozen was still not at full strength, his arrival had already stirred progress and movement—enough to fulfill the expectations of both Merlin and Gilgamesh.

"All we can hope is that the three of us giving so much will ultimately lead to a worthy result."

Watching the battle unfold ahead, Merlin smiled bitterly as he let out a sigh.

"Yeah."

Rozen nodded in firm agreement.

"Fou…"

Fou stood on Rozen's shoulder, tilting its head at the two of them, seemingly puzzled by their exchange.

"Hmph."

Perched atop Maanna, Ishtar had been watching the battle from above the whole time. Upon hearing the conversation between Rozen and Merlin, she let out a small scoff and turned her head away. Who knew what she was thinking?

Not long after, the magical beast horde ahead was finally wiped out.

"The targeted beast group has been eliminated, Master."

Mash jogged back holding her shield, giving her report with a slightly flushed face.

"..."

Anna glared at Merlin, looking as though she wanted to chop him to pieces right there on the spot. Merlin chuckled nervously and quickly hid behind Rozen.

"Thanks for the hard work."

Rozen watched this scene, sighed, and gave his appreciation to Mash and Anna.

"There are no more major beast groups ahead. Only a few stragglers that got separated."

Ishtar descended and casually gave the group a heads-up.

Rozen had already confirmed this himself through Heaven's Eye.

And so...

"Let's quietly avoid them. Try not to engage in any unnecessary battles."

Rozen issued the directive without hesitation.

"We're not going to take them out?"

Anna tilted her head slightly, glancing at Rozen in confusion.

"No need. If we can avoid battle, we should." Rozen shook his head. "It's not about conserving energy—it's to avoid being detected by Kingu."

Back when Rozen first descended into this Singularity, it hadn't taken long for Kingu to find him. That alone proved how keen Kingu's detection abilities were—they likely extended beyond just the Cedar Forest.

Although Kingu's surveillance had to have limits—he couldn't possibly monitor all of Mesopotamia—the detection network was undoubtedly vast.

"We're still some distance away from the Cedar Forest, so we probably haven't been spotted yet. But if our battle creates too much noise, he might sense it through the earth's feedback."

That was Rozen's concern.

"So let's avoid unnecessary battles. Everyone, make sure you're carrying the talismans I gave you—they'll muffle your presence and reduce local noise. Once we reach the Cedar Forest, we can implement our plan."

As he said this, Rozen turned to Merlin.

"Keep using Clairvoyance to monitor the Cedar Forest. The moment Kingu leaves the area, let me know immediately."

Merlin responded with a shrug.

"Fine, as long as I'm only 'looking' toward the forest, it's alright. But if I actually gaze directly into the goddess's temple, she'll definitely sense it and curse me. That's a fate I'd really rather avoid."

Merlin's comment earned an eye-roll from everyone around him.

"Let's get moving."

Rozen gave the order with a wave of his hand—and several horses appeared on the spot.

Everyone mounted up one by one, and the group resumed their journey toward the Cedar Forest.

The sky was beginning to deepen into dusk.