Shinji Matou at Your Service

Before the battle began, the King of Magecraft slightly bowed to the pure white giant beast, the natural enemy of humanity.

"Before we start fighting, I want to thank you, Cath Palug, for not killing anyone directly."

The giant beast, now in a humanoid form, waved its paw.

"Because I quite like humans, especially good ones like you. If possible, I wouldn't want to be enemies with you. But unfortunately, neither of us has a choice."

"Indeed, we have no choice," Solomon sighed softly.

The Primate Murder was a monster created by Gaia specifically to deal with humans, while Solomon was humanity's protector.

After these brief words, both the giant beast and the King of Magecraft fell silent. The moment their eyes met, the true pinnacle duel began.

The giant beast swung its raised paw, unleashing its innate, overwhelming mystery and pure strength.

Solomon's robes billowed as he continuously drew magical energy from the Great Source, transforming it into grand magecraft that modern magi could scarcely imagine, to oppose the giant beast.

The instant these two colossal forces collided, the earth trembled as if a localized earthquake had struck.

At the same time, the remaining people resumed their efforts to surround Kirei.

Thanks to Solomon's earlier demonstration, they had already figured out how to deal with Kirei.

"Those without combat strength, fall back."

"All magi, follow Mre. Velvet's command and assist Sakura in opening the Imaginary Number Space!"

"The rest of you, join me in dealing with Kotomine Kirei. Even if we can't kill him, we must control him."

Lorelei's orders were remarkably precise. Although Waver's magical strength was lacking, his insight into the essence of magecraft and his coordination abilities were rare in the modern era. With him here, perhaps they could truly replicate the feats of the King of Magecraft.

As for dealing with an enemy this powerful and with such terrifying immortality, no one had more experience than Lorelei. Like Shinji, she had also successfully eliminated two Dead Apostle Ancestors. Unlike Shinji, who had strong allies like Arcueid and Merem Solomon, Lorelei had no such powerful companions. She relied entirely on teamwork, especially with her Brigade division of magi, using the collective strength and wisdom of the group to capture or kill these ancient and powerful vampires.

She was long accustomed to using numbers to overwhelm the few and the weak to defeat the strong. Each of her commands was perfectly targeted, so much so that even Altera and Artoria, two experienced and undefeated commanders, could find no fault and willingly followed her orders.

Under Lorelei's command, Kotomine Kirei, who had just escaped trouble, was once again suppressed.

This was only natural. Even though he couldn't match Solomon in personal strength or magical prowess, even though his stamina and magical energy were depleted from the continuous fighting, the advantage of numbers was on their side. Seven Servants, a host of Masters, and other supernatural beings—many of the Masters still had Command Seals at their disposal. This was a force capable of defeating a god.

Earlier, they had been frightened by the loss of Shinji and Kirei's terrifying immortality, but now, having recovered, how could they remain in shock?

Lorelei had already made up her mind. They would throw Kotomine Kirei into the Imaginary Number Space as quickly as possible. That was the reverse side of the world, a forbidden zone of life. While it might not kill him, it wouldn't be easy for him to return. By then, they could slowly figure out a way to bring Shinji back.

Shinji was likely trapped in the gap between the outside of the world and the Root Vortex. As long as he hadn't entered the Root, there was still hope. With the King of Magecraft Solomon present, there must be a way.

However, just as Medusa bound Kirei tightly with her Mystic Eyes and chains, and just as Sakura, using her own abilities, finally opened the Imaginary Number pocket, the world suddenly shifted.

The familiar mountain landscape was replaced by an endless, boundless black ocean, and Kirei, who had been restrained by Medusa, vanished. All that could be heard was a heavy voice, filled with delight.

"Welcome to my world."

Lorelei looked up to see nothing but pitch-black above.

There was no moon, no stars.

The True Ancestors, the King of Magecraft, and the Dead Apostles, who had been battling fiercely nearby, had all disappeared.

Even Sakura's newly opened Imaginary Number pocket had vanished.

In an instant, she figured out the answer.

"An Imaginary World?"

"Exactly, the Imaginary World: Beast King's Nest. It's the ultimate magecraft developed by Roa, the reason why Fabro became Chaos, and the key to our fusion with the Sea of Life and entry into the Tree of Life system. Now, please enjoy the show—The Origin of Planetary Life: Genesis!"

In the next moment, the black sea churned, and one by one, life seeds began to emerge from it. These were the primordial forms of all life on this planet—the Seeds of Life.

These life seeds were chaotic and formless, evolving and transforming in various ways depending on their environment, location, and external influences.

At first, they took the form of the simplest and earliest organisms known to biology: single-celled organisms.

Next, the system tree began to take shape, dividing into prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

Prokaryotes evolved into bacteria, protozoa, and plants.

Eukaryotes evolved into fungi and animals.

These categories would continue to evolve and branch out.

For example, plants would diverge into spore plants and seed plants, which would further evolve into algae, fungi, gymnosperms (like pines), and angiosperms (like flowering plants).

Similarly, animals would divide into invertebrates and vertebrates, with further subdivisions into echinoderms, mollusks, arthropods, cnidarians, and mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Humans, of course, belonged to the vertebrate class of eukaryotic animals, specifically mammals.

Naturally, beyond the known creatures, there were also fantastical ones like pegasi, unicorns, griffins, hydras, and dragons. Tracing back, they too originated from these Seeds of Life.

Of course, it had taken 4.6 billion years for the Tree of Life to evolve to its present state. Yet, Kotomine Kirei had recreated this process in just a few minutes. This was undoubtedly a feat beyond humanity, beyond Heroic Spirits—something only a god could achieve.

But—

"We know you're impressive, but none of us here are biologists, nor have we summoned Darwin, the founder of The Theory of Evolution, to chat with you."

Touko Aozaki, appearing impatient, interrupted.

"Are you showing us this just to flaunt your greatness? This is the same old pathetic trick gods always use."

Kotomine Kirei didn't get angry. He simply smiled and replied, "I didn't expect such a short-sighted statement from the famous Grand Puppeteer. As expected, humans are all so narrow-minded. Haven't you realized yet that this is all happening inside my body? With control over the Tree of Life, I can modify or revert any life here back into its most basic form—the life seed. Now, become part of me. In doing so, you will achieve eternal life alongside me."

The dark sky suddenly morphed into Kotomine Kirei's face. With a serene expression and a calm tone, he spoke the most classic of divine proclamations:

"Those who believe in me shall have eternal life."

And for the enlightened, everlasting joy.