Miracle Summoner

"Zing..."

A faint glimmer of light flowed across a talisman, forming a rather small barrier that enveloped Rozen's entire body.

Under the effect of the barrier, Rozen's presence and mana were completely concealed, along with his scent and all signs of his movement.

To those outside the barrier, Rozen's figure was completely invisible, as if only a gust of wind had swept through the skies above the cedar forest, with nothing but a faint whistling sound left behind.

Just like that, Rozen flew across the skies above the cedar forest, heading in a specific direction.

There, divine energy was rising like golden mist.

"That must be the temple of the Beast Goddess, right?"

Divine light flowed in Rozen's eyes, clearly perceiving the presence of that divine energy.

At the same time, Rozen also caught sight of every movement within the cedar forest.

"Roar!"

"Roar!"

Inside the cedar forest, countless magical beasts seemed to have fallen into a frenzied state, rampaging throughout the area.

Most eye-catching among them were massive lion-like beasts that seemed to command groups of magical beasts, with golden manes that blazed like the sun, emanating a dangerous and scorching aura.

Those were the Ugar.

The Ugars were leading packs of magical beasts in a violent rampage, their deafening roars and chaotic bloodlust living up to their fearsome reputation—if anything, previous assessments had underestimated them.

Even top-tier Servants like Artoria [Alter] and Jeanne [Alter] would have to go all out if faced with seven or eight of these monsters at once, even if they could handle one or two individually.

And yet, they weren't the most dangerous threat.

The greatest threat came from the magical beasts that were continuously flying out from every corner of the cedar forest and now circling in the skies above.

These were winged serpents with dragon-like claws, soaring through the air while hissing menacingly.

As they flew, toxic gases leaked continuously from both their mouths and bodies, distorting the air with a sizzling sound.

Without a doubt—deadly poison.

Any tree that came into contact with those toxins instantly withered, its life force drained in a flash, turning to dead wood before melting away into sludge-like rot.

Even Hassan of Serenity, a master of poison, would be shocked to see such virulence.

That made the identity of these winged serpents obvious.

They were the Bashmu.

One after another, the Bashmu were stirred into flight, darting around the cedar forest as if searching for whatever had disturbed them.

Seeing all this, Rozen couldn't help but speak.

"That damn Ishtar, what kind of ruckus did she stir up?"

It was clear that the magical beasts in the cedar forest had been driven to a frenzy by Ishtar's rampage, hence their current state of enraged chaos.

Had Rozen not concealed himself with the barrier, he likely would've already drawn their attention and been surrounded by these furious beasts.

Even though Rozen could fly, with so many Bashmu flying up from the forest and spewing poison while circling the skies, things could've become deadly fast.

Fortunately, Gyokuto was protecting him, so Rozen didn't need to fear poison.

"I'll be counting on you, Gyokuto."

Rozen gently rubbed the elegant silver ring on his left hand and murmured.

The silver ring immediately glowed softly, as if reassuring Rozen that everything was taken care of.

Rozen smiled slightly, then—without hesitation, without dodging—dived straight into the poison-filled miasma.

There was no helping it—the toxic fog had already enveloped the area surrounding the temple, so entering it was the only way to reach the temple.

No doubt, the Bashmu had been stationed around the temple from the very beginning, tasked with its defense.

Now that Kingu had been lured away by Ishtar, the Bashmu, roused into alertness, were spewing poison in an attempt to guard the temple's perimeter.

Unfortunately for them, Rozen was immune to poison.

With Gyokuto steadfastly guarding him, no trace of the toxin could invade Rozen's body, and with Kinu's protection, the corrosive poison couldn't even touch his physical form.

Otherwise, even if Rozen himself remained unaffected thanks to Gyokuto's protection, his clothes likely wouldn't have survived.

Since the poison was enough to rot entire trees, Rozen had no illusions that his outfit would fare any better.

Thus, guided by the divine energy, Rozen flew swiftly, bypassing one Bashmu after another, eventually reaching the heart of the cedar forest.

"I can see it, Senpai."

Mash's voice came from the void beside Rozen, prompting him to narrow his eyes and look ahead.

There, a mountain rose from the heart of the cedar forest.

Embedded into the mountain was a temple, exuding an ominous, pitch-black aura and a strong scent of blood.

That was the temple of the Beast Goddess.

Just as Ishtar had described, the temple seemed to have become one with the mountain itself, sitting deep in the forest's core.

However, Ishtar's claim that "you can't even get in" turned out to be incorrect.

Because at this very moment, the entrance to the temple appeared to have suffered a tremendous attack—damaged, with the surrounding ground in ruins as though shattered into rubble.

It was said that the barrier covering the entrance to the temple had been broken long ago—offering no resistance at all.

"What happened?"

"The barrier's already down?"

"How come?"

From Rozen's communicator, the voices of Olga Marie, Da Vinci, and Roman rang out in succession, each filled with shock.

Clearly, they too were seeing the situation on the other side.

Rozen was also momentarily stunned—but quickly understood.

"I see now. That's why the whole forest was stirred up and why Kingu left the temple."

There was only one person who could have done such a thing—Ishtar.

Just as she'd said, she had used Maanna at maximum output, invoked her divine authority, and fired a shot that shattered the temple's barrier.

That alone had enraged Kingu enough to abandon the temple and give chase.

Before, Rozen had wondered what kind of method Ishtar could possibly use to force Kingu to abandon the temple and go after her.

Now the answer was clear.

This was both an act of vengeance and an unspoken gesture of care from that goddess.

If she hadn't considered Rozen's need to infiltrate the temple, Ishtar would never have thought of using such a method to provoke Kingu and lure him away.

"That goddess… turns out she's unexpectedly considerate."

Rozen smiled wryly and accepted the favor.

Then, without slowing down, Rozen dashed directly into the temple, slipping through the entrance that had been blown open.

Click.

His black feathered coat swayed down as Rozen's feet landed on the ground.

He had stepped onto the temple's threshold and entered its interior.

Lifting his head, Rozen looked inside the temple.

In the next second, Rozen's expression suddenly changed.