Miracle Summoner

"Tch!"

Beneath the night sky, a figure cloaked in dazzling fire-powder streaked across the air, swiftly fleeing from the direction of the cedar forest.

Before long, enveloped in a cascade of fire-powder, the figure slowly descended, landing atop a crumbling building in an abandoned city.

"Phew..."

Rozen exhaled deeply, feeling the mana in his body nearly depleted, a bitter smile curling on his lips.

Beside him, two figures appeared in succession.

"Senpai!"

Mash rushed over to support Rozen.

"Are you alright?"

Altera also looked toward Rozen, her brow furrowed.

"I'm fine."

Rozen shook his head and smiled at Mash's worried face and Altera's concerned frown.

Seeing that Rozen could still smile, both Mash and Altera visibly relaxed.

So did the rest of Chaldea.

"Good thing your mana circuits seem to be stabilizing again, even if the mana consumption was intense. All the nourishment and healing efforts from earlier weren't wasted."

Da Vinci's voice came through the communicator.

"At this rate, things shouldn't deteriorate. Thank goodness you didn't push further."

Roman clearly let out a breath of relief.

"You really went overboard. Knowing your condition, you still pushed yourself. It's one thing to rescue everyone in the temple, but there was no need for you to fight Gorgon yourself. You could've left it to Altera and Mash, right?"

Olga Marie's voice followed, clearly venting the tension she'd been holding onto, now tinged with frustration.

And what she said wasn't wrong.

Setting aside the rescue of the people in the temple, when it came to dealing with Gorgon, Rozen didn't strictly need to step in himself. Leaving it to Altera and Mash would've been the optimal strategy.

With Altera present, defeating Gorgon—one of the Three Goddesses—was well within their capabilities.

Even with the power of the Holy Grail, Gorgon was up against Altera, a Servant of Grand-class foundation. Coupled with her power of destruction, she would've prevailed eventually, even if not easily.

Given all that, Rozen personally entering the battle was unnecessary.

However...

"Senpai had no choice, Director," Mash spoke in Rozen's defense. "At the time, there wasn't just Gorgon. There was also the threat of the feathered serpent dragon, Bashmu, circling above the cedar forest."

Mash's words brought sudden realization to everyone.

That's right—deep in the cedar forest, Gorgon wasn't the only threat. The magical beasts she had spawned were also present.

While most of the magical beasts posed little threat to Rozen mid-air, the flying Bashmu were a serious problem. If they had swarmed, the situation would've become dire.

Thus...

"From the start, Miss Altera had been assigned by Senpai to eliminate the Bashmu. Meanwhile, Senpai himself drew Gorgon away to avoid her merging with Bashmu—otherwise the situation would've become far worse."

As she said this, Mash looked somewhat guilty.

"And I couldn't fly, and I would have further drained Senpai's mana. So he made the call—it was better for him to temporarily restrain Gorgon himself until Miss Altera finished off the Bashmu and rejoined for a full-force attack."

Unfortunately, in the heat of battle, Rozen ended up going all out.

He couldn't help it—whether it was the cocoons in the temple or the hatred Gorgon radiated, they stirred strong emotions within him, causing a momentary lapse in restraint.

And so, Rozen pushed himself a bit further than he should have, intending to destroy Gorgon on the spot.

But in the end, Kingu returned just in time, and with the arrival of Quetzalcoatl—a chief god-level existence—Rozen, after careful thought, decided to retreat.

The objective had already been accomplished. Pushing further would not only endanger his own condition but also put pressure on Altera, who now faced the Three Goddesses plus Kingu.

Unless Ishtar continued to side with them, they stood little chance of victory.

But judging from her demeanor, Rozen doubted the goddess would remain reliably on their side.

With all that in mind, Rozen made the decision—retreat for now.

Fortunately, thanks to that quick decision, while his mana was nearly depleted, his magic circuits had avoided complete breakdown.

"Let's return to Uruk first," Rozen exhaled and said. "We don't know what happened to the people we transmitted back. It must've caused a stir. Now that we've seen the full picture of the Three Goddesses and discovered the Holy Grail, even if this operation didn't go as planned, the gains exceeded expectations."

With that, regrouping in Uruk would best prepare them for future battles.

"Mash," Rozen turned to her. "Go meet up with Merlin and Anna."

No sooner had he spoken than a voice rang out beside them.

"No need. We're already here."

As the voice fell, a dance of flower petals swept through the area, and two figures—one tall and white, the other petite and dark—appeared.

It was Merlin and Anna.

"Fou!"

Fou cried out from Merlin's shoulder, leaping down and pouncing toward Mash.

"Fou!"

Mash caught the bounding Fou, her face softening with relief.

"You've arrived already?"

Altera turned to look.

Merlin and Anna both raised their heads, though their expressions differed completely.

"What a thrilling experience," Merlin sighed. "When I saw what was happening in the temple, I had a bad feeling. Then Kingu began returning, and the forest goddess arrived. Even I began to feel nervous."

Evidently, Merlin had witnessed everything through his Heaven's Eye.

"...Sorry for not being able to help in time. Merlin wouldn't let me rush into the cedar forest."

Anna looked at Rozen's weary face and lowered her eyes in guilt.

Upon learning that Rozen was fighting Gorgon, Anna had repeatedly tried to charge in, but Merlin never agreed.

"With that much commotion, the beasts in the cedar forest were bound to go berserk. Charging in would've been suicidal, Anna."

Using that logic, Merlin stopped her again and again.

Thankfully, he did. Had Anna rushed in, she might've fallen prey not just to the beasts, but also to collateral damage from Rozen and Gorgon's battle. The destruction alone could've harmed her.

Not to mention Kingu and Quetzalcoatl's arrival—if Anna had encountered them in the forest, it would've been disastrous.

Taking all that into account, Merlin had taken Anna and left the cedar forest.

He had already calculated that Rozen would choose to retreat and regroup.

Thus, Merlin anticipated Rozen's route and brought Anna to this location.

Thanks to that foresight, the group reunited in advance.

"Then let's return to Uruk first. We can handle the rest later."

Rozen's voice was firm.

Everyone nodded immediately.