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Jason knew he was acting recklessly. No, reckless is not the word Jason could use to describe his suicidal act.

The most idiotic thing he will ever do in his life. Which is a very high bar considering his death and existence as a Servant. At the very least 'stupid' would describe some of the idiocy of taunting a berserked Heracles..

Jason could not think about it more, the monstrous ax of Megalos approaches with a speed that even the fastest of Servants could barely react to. For Jason, he barely had the time to lift his sword in defense.

The blow was terrible.

For a second, Jason felt as if his body was crumbling to ashes, as if every bone in his body had broken like twigs. The wind from Megalos' ax was so strong that the entire beach behind Jason was simply blown away by the shock wave. Furthermore the bare ground that was left after the sand disappeared cracked like glass. The sound of the impact was not inferior to the sound of Mashu's attack, it was as loud as a castle impacting the ground..

And yet, despite everything...

Jason held out. Jason still stood on his own feet.

Still, the one blow of Megalos caused Jason's hands to become numb and his legs felt like jelly.

Jason continued to stand.

"One down..." - Jason breathed out mentally - "Many more to go..."

Megalos, as if slightly surprised by what had just happened, still did not pause for even a second, instead striking another blow.

Jason's blade, barely held in Jason's hands, shot up again, standing in the path of Megalos.

One more apocalyptic hit was struck. A blow of such force that it could easily have split the entire island if it had just hit the ground. But still…

Jason held out.

The fact that Jason continued to fight could not be explained by any other word other than 'miraculous'. Perhaps the very fact that someone like Jason was able to withstand the blows from Megalos could independently spawn a legend that would have given birth to another Servant.

Megalos' third blow fell again on Jason's blade.

Jason was... Perhaps the word 'insignificant', or 'the shame of the entire Saber class', or even 'The Servant, which is so weak that he is comparable to ordinary people', or... Hmm, let's just say that a lot of such derogatory titles could be picked up for Jason.

In any case, Jason was weak. As a Servant and as a swordsman, his 'strength' could only be called simply disappointing. However, that was not all.

Jason was a coward.

The fourth blow of Megalos... Jason barely managed to parry the attack, feeling that his completely numb hands could no longer respond to signals from his brain. Finally, Megalos' attack swept him off the ground, throwing him away as if a rag doll.

Cowardice, in essence, is an integral part of human existence. What some call cowardice - others prefer to call the instinct of self-preservation.

Megalos appeared next to the fallen body of Jason a second later, but Jason still managed to force his hands to raise his blade in defense again. He could barely hold the sword in his hands.

Jason was a coward when compared to the other illustrious, great Greek heroes.

For Atalanta, who is capable of splitting one arrow with another arrow on the fly, it is cowardice to refuse to compete with her in shooting.

For Hercules, who is able to crush the skull of a wild boar with one hand, cowardice is refusal to fight in mortal combat with another mighty warrior.

For Jason, the smiling hero, none of this was cowardice. It was just a self-preservation instinct.

After getting to his feet, Jason managed to roll to the side to dodge yet another attack. Getting to his feet he had to hold his blade behind him, as now Megalos was behind him and poised with another strike. Fending off another attack from Megalos, his right hand, the one holding the blade, was knocked out of his shoulder with a guttural sound.

So Jason entered the legends of heroes, into the stories of people, in the annals of sages. As the 'Cowardly Jason'.

Jason didn't rush with a broken blade at the monster?! Coward!

Jason didn't drink the poisoned wine, hoping his vitality would save him?! Coward!

Jason running away after seeing the madness that struck Medea. After seeing how she mercilessly cut her brother into pieces in front of her father's face. And then seeing her throw their corpses into the sea so that her father, distraught with bitterness, would throw himself to gather their corpses and not pursue them. That Jason would abandon her?! Coward! Coward! Coward!

Jason barely managed to grab his blade with his other hand to block yet another blow, and the monstrous blow sent him flying again.

Jason was a coward... But why, before escaping from the battlefield with only a fragment of a blade in his hands left, Jason fought.

Jason was a coward - but for some reason he favored Medea and fulfilled his promise by making her his wife.

Jason was a coward - but for some reason it was he who was not afraid to first board the Argo to go on an adventure for the golden fleece.

Landing on the ground that was not at all soft - Jason felt his rib break from the collision with the ground. The bloody cough soon after, told him that his rib had pierced a lung.

Jason was just a little man, caught up in the background of the great titans.

Jason was weak, witless, and too simple.

But not stupid. Not treacherous. And he was not a coward.

Cowards don't have the 'Insight in the Jaws of Death' skill.

Jason slowly, staggering all the way rose to his feet, staring defiantly at the approaching titan that is Megalos.

Jason found himself on the verge of death so many times, lost against the backdrop of the mighty backs of the giants of Greek history so many times, that he had to find a way to victory. He found it by looking into the mouth of death itself for a way to win.

And from this action was born his greatest skill.

Jason grabbed hold of his right hand, gritted his teeth, then set it back into his shoulder. With that done he then grabbed his blade again.

The ability to always be one step away from death.

An ability that increased Jason's powers in proportion to the threat he faced.

And Jason wasn't stupid. For all his deficiency, Jason was far from stupid.

Megalos's blow made even the ground beneath Jason's feet groan in pain, but Jason survived blow after blow. It was all part of his plan.

First, he had to convince his Master, Aim, that it was best for him to fight Medea. Aim knew about the 'cowardly Jason', so he easily allowed the battle to happen. Believing that by making Jason fight Medea, who wouldn't fight back, he could get rid of Medea easily.

Jason also knew that Atalanta and Medea would use his favorite trick. He knew that Medea would try her best to save him. And he knew that Ainz's monstrous Servants would perfectly occupy Aim's attention, not giving him time to realize that Jason had escaped from his control.

And now Jason has betrayed all his old allies, his new Master, and fought with Megalos. He was now fighting against a monstrous version of Heracles, the greatest of the heroes of Greece who was merged with the monstrous power of the Grail.

This was the worst possible opponent for Jason to fight.

In other words, it was a setup in which his skill showed its full strength, giving Jason the power he lacked to fight on somewhat equal grounds.

Jason parried off another blow from Megalos, feeling the giant's powers slowly drain.

What did he actually count on?

Heracles, the great hero, and Jason, the coward. Negotiations and traps were his element, not battles.

All his battles were won by his team.

But, here's the most important thing... He was the captain of this team.

And so, repelling the blow of Megalos, Jason bounced away.

A smile flashed across Jason's lips, after which he shouted out the name of his Noble Phantasm - "Astrapste Argo!"

The Argonauts rushed into battle not by the order of the most skillful archer, but by the order of Jason.

The path of the ship was indicated not by the smartest of navigators, but by Jason.

And the golden fleece in his hands was obtained not by an invincible hero, but by Jason.

Each time, his team gave him the strength to succeed. And this time Jason wanted to use them again.

"Grant me your agility, Atalanta," Jason gasped.

"You can't do anything without us" - Atalanta's voice grumbled, after which Jason felt his sword, which he had been holding ungainly in his hands, have now become an extension of his hand.

Jason rushed forward, but if before he could only block attacks, this time he managed to dodge Megalos's ax at the last second.

"Grant me your knowledge, Asclepius" - Jason raised his blade.

"For the last time..." - Asclepius's voice sounded tired.

Jason's blade, which had previously been used like a toy in a child's hand, rushed forward with certainty. After which, with a precise movement, Jason was able to strike and cut the tendon on Megalos' leg.

With a desperate roar, the giant tried to punch Jason. But Jason was able to easily get away from the blow, and then land out of reach of his attacks.

"Grant me your skill, Pollux." Jason froze for a second.

"Just try to let my brother down." Jason felt his hands fill with renewed strength.

"Grant me your anger, Castor." Jason smiled.

"Just try to let my sister down" - Jason chuckled wearily, and then rushed into battle again, feeling a surge of energy awakening inside him again.

Megalos could no longer move that fast, but that didn't mean he was less dangerous.

Jason managed to approach Megalos again, after which he abruptly slid down, then to the side, fleeing the monster's ax. A second later, when the ax of Megalos almost crashed into his body, Jason put his blade forward. And then, at the moment of contact with megalos' ax, he released it from his hands.

A shadow of bewilderment flashed across Megalos' face. After which, crouched down, Jason punched Megalos' jaw.

Even with the prowess of Pollux, his blow was nothing to Megalos - however, he was able to make him look away for a moment.

"Perfect." Jason grinned.

Jason then grabbed onto Megalos' shoulders - and then with a leap, jumped onto the monster's shoulders. With the last movement, he grabbed his blade with his foot, throwing it up into his hands. And so, blade in hand, with a sharp movement he cut out both of the giant's eyes.

Megalos roared like a wounded beast - after which a monstrous blow from the ax slammed into Jason's body, easily ripping his armor asunder and sending him flying away.

Jason landed on the ground, and then heard his spine break with a distinct crunch.

Jason raised his hand and then brushed it against his stomach.

Blood. A lot of blood. No, he cannot die so easily without accomplishing his goal.

"Grant me your love, Medea," Jason gasped out.

"Of course, Jason" - Jason felt his mortal wounds recede, and then tried to get up... But only to understand that he can barely feel his legs.

His legs dragged along the ground, as if they were cotton...

"Grant me your indomitability, Caeneus." Jason sighed.

"Couldn't ask for anything normal, huh?" The grumpy voice in his head echoed almost accusingly.

Jason slowly got to his feet.

His Noble Phantasm was already nearing its completion... So...

"Heracles" - Jason turned to his dear friend - "Grant me your strength."

It was only after a painful second that Jason heard a low bass laugh in response - "Granted."

Jason smiled to himself and rushed forward.

One blow, he could not make another one with his battered body. But with the strength of Heracles, the knowledge of Asclepius, the dexterity of Atalanta, the skill of Pollux, the anger of Castor, the indomitability of Caeneus and the love of Medea - he did not need more.

At the last second, Jason dodged Megalos' ax - after which he drove his blade into the very heart of the monster.

He was Jason.

A coward, a weakling and a traitor.

He was also Jason.

Friend, King and Hero.

A second later, Megalos let out a plaintive howl before falling down, dead.

And slowly began to regenerate again...

"Heh, after all that I still lost" - Jason chuckled - "But I delayed him well - and I also kicked Heracles' ass."

"In your dreams" a deep voice in Jason's head chuckled, making Jason smile one last time.

After another second, Megalos' ax ripped Jason's body apart. The last thing Jason managed to see was a lonely figure hovering in the sky... the figure was like a messenger of death. Bones enveloped in a mantle that was darker than the moonless night, and the gaze of empty eye sockets filled with crimson flames, capable of tearing a soul out of a human body with one glance...

"Heh, Thanatos came for me personally" - The severed fragment of Jason's body grinned at his last thought - "Or maybe even his boss, ahah..."

After that, the hero, Jason. Died.

Mashu rushed to Mozart's side, but her greatest fear did not come true. Mozart was still alive

"Now I understand how Belial felt when the castle was thrown at him.", - Mozart groaned, then slowly tried to move his hand, but instantly froze, hissing a curse through his teeth, - "Oh, I hope Ainz and his miracle potion would come soon…"

Mashu nodded to Mozart in response, and then rushed to Asterios' side. But before Mashu reached the prone figure - the monstrous berserker slowly shuddered awake - after which Asterios raised his head, - "I'm... Okay…"

Of course, Asterios was not okay - however, his monstrous nature had already taken care of his wounds. The blood has stopped flowing from the stumps of his hands, so Asterios tried to smile to relieve Mashu's worries. However, due to absence of practice, his smile came out rather like a mad grin, but Mashu only smiled back, - "Good. Now, Senpai will be here soon…"

"I would... not count... on it…" - The voice that reached Mashu made her freeze in horror. She had already heard this voice before... Quite recently in fact.

Slowly, as if afraid of being proven right, Mashu turned around while picking up her shield again. Her hands ached from the blows, itched with fatigue, and they barely obeyed her from powerlessness, but Mashu gripped her shield tighter, looking at the enemy.

Belial's body did not look like his usual self, except in the sense of ugliness. Chunks of meat that quivered and moved like a restless jelly full of worms scattered all over the beach, slowly turned into a viscous liquid. They then flowed along the route known to them, slowly merging with other drops of viscous nauseous pink flesh. They rushed in streams to a single point that slowly rose up, turning into Belial's flesh once again.

However, Mashu all that Mashu could see was Belial's flesh moving along the earth... Like particles of mana rising into the air and rushing towards Belial.

"Ah, that's it…" - Mozart's voice sounded tired, - "So this is the secret plan…"

Mashu raised the shield in her hands - but she felt her hands tremble. Not from fear, but from fatigue.

"Musician, I see that you have guessed it," Belial chuckled before he finally regained his original shape and eyes reopened all over his body that mockingly stared at his opponents, "You cannot win this Singularity... Because we ARE the Singularity!

Mashu gripped her shield tighter.

"Our bodies, our souls are merged with this Singularity", - Belial laughed, - "In this Singularity our strength is infinite, but the most important thing is... the only way to destroy the Singularity is to kill us. And the only way to kill us is to destroy the Singularity. And I think you perfectly understand what that means, ahahaha!"

Mashu gritted her teeth.

Chaldea could correct history, but not recreate it.

If the Singularity were not 'fixed' but destroyed, it would destroy human history. The Golden Age of Piracy, eighty years of human history, the great heroes and villains of this time, nations and events... All this would be erased. Like bleach spilled on the pages of history. A gap that destroys the very logical chain of human existence. Chaldea cannot fix it. Alaya cannot fix it. Nothing can. Humanity will simply disappear.

The King has won.

There was no way out of the trap. There was no way to fix history. There was no way to recreate everything in a new way.

Mashu gritted her teeth in anooyance, but Belial suddenly stopped his laughter.

"Hmm, Megalos was killed…" - Belial breathed out, - "What a pity... But it does not change anything. We have won. It doesn't matter how many times you kill us - we will be reborn, becoming stronger all the while. WE ARE IMMORTAL!"

Mashu froze for a second, feeling tears gathering in her eyes...

"Immortality is a very relative concept", - A voice resounded, cold, detached, but not arrogant in any way. It is rather the voice that a judge would use when reading the death sentence to a criminal unknown to him. Such a voice could be heard coming from the skies.

Mashu looked up.

Senpai...

This time his body was not that of a human. A robe of darkness itself covered his shoulders. The flames of Hell seemed to sparkle in his eyes, and in his hands it was as if all the secrets of reality lay like an open book.

"Megalos escaped from where I left him," Ainz breathed out in disappointment, like the owner of a dog had suddenly discovered that the dog left in its cage had escaped, "So I apologize for being late. And I apologize for overhearing your conversation a little. Rebirth, hmm? Resurrection is nowhere near as big of an advantage as one might think."

Belial, whose hundreds of eyes was fixed on Ainz, shuddered, - "WE!.."

A second later, Belial froze, after which his body shuddered. And just like that the column of flesh, as if suddenly losing its support, disintegrated. The shuddering flesh fell like dead lumps, turning into droplets of viscous liquid again that instantly spread again all over the ground.

"True Death", - Ainz slowly lowered his finger, after which he grunted as detached and as cold as before he began to speak. - "To leave yourself open like that in the middle of a fight… Such a rookie mistake."

A second later, the Singularity shuddered.

The faces that had appeared on the surface of Cainabel's pool of blood, as if, having waited for the one signal visible only to them, rushed forward.

The creatures spawned by Cainabel's blood didn't look like anything concrete. First it took the shape of a hunting dog and just as fast it appeared, its front paws and bared mouth was all that remained with the rest turned into the shapeless mass of Cainabel's blood again. Then from the side of the animal, another body appeared, the body of a man, although it was hard to call the monstrous being that had appeared anything human, simply the likeness of one. Then one of the human's legs turned into another body of a dog.

On and on the metamorphosis continued. Leaving a caricature of a creature with arms that looked more like branches that reaped forward, moving in alien ways. A face that was elongated as if it was plastic, causing its jaws, studded with hundreds of needle-like teeth to look like the opened mouth of a predatory flower. However, this was true only for half of his face - a new growth began to appear from the second half of its head. This new growth looked like a huge bat, strewn with hundreds of ulcers bleeding with black oily liquid, whose face was replaced by the mouth of a wolf, inside of which lay two tongues, constantly lapping the surrounding darkness.

And there were dozens, hundreds of such creatures. Rising from the pool of Cainabel's blood. The monsters moved, changed, giving rise to newer and newer forms of monsters growing from their bodies, hands, and heads.

And at the center of this all was Cainabel herself. The blood had stopped flowing down her face and all the creatures around her seemed to have merged with her waist, turning the cornucopia of monsters into a kind of terrifying dress.

Aim would like to shout out something, something to make Cainabel stop. To reveal his plans to her, to convince her of something to make her stop this nightmare... However, nothing that he could say would have stopped Cainabel. It is as if his worst nightmare has taken form on the material plane, rushing from his dream into his reality.

A second later, the wave of monsters rushed forward. Aim did not have time to do anything before a hundred hungry mouths sank into his flesh, devouring him in moments.

Aim's mind only had time to process the feeling of being devoured as the hundreds of mouths rushed everywhere as they began disassembling anything on their way. They devoured the ground, the sand, the trees, then they began to devour the air itself.

And the air, and the sky, and the earth into which the creatures gnawed on, bled. They were bleeding out viscous, crimson blood, which the creatures immediately slaked their thirst on.

Cainabel was destroying the Singularity itself, digging into the unstable reality like a steak with the hundred teeth of her creatures.

"Eat, my children." - The last thing Aim could see before he too was fully devoured was Cainabel. She was looking at her creatures with almost motherly love, - "Eat. This reality is made for my appetite… But I'll allow you to enjoy it."

After that, Aim was finally devoured.

And the Singularity trembled.

Astaroth knew. He knew that nothing that he could say would save him. His actions, his pleas, his lies and truth, not even betraying his king will save him.

Astaroth knew that the Singularity would be destroyed with his death, like a multi-ton boulder, it would fall on human history itself.

But Baal knew the same thing.

Baal smiled.

He knew - and he didn't care.

Baal's rusted spear was slowly aimed at Astaroth, making him flinch.

"Target, Astaroth", - Baal took a step forward, slowly raising his spear to Astaroth, making him flinch, "Demon King, Diviner, the King's Servant, Master of Servants, Arrogant, Talkative, Self-confident, Sadist, administrator of the Observatory."

"Ten", - Baal smiled, - "Ten things is all I needed. Astaroth, my friend, you know what happens next."

Astaroth could see. He could see what would happen, saw too much to try to escape or convince Baal to stop.

"Astaroth, before your soul becomes mine, before every moment of your existence is stretched over trillions of eras, before your body and your flesh become my modeling clay. Before your whole existence accentuate the word 'torment', before hundreds of dogs tear your body apart. Before you become forced to relive thousands of visions of your greatest mistakes, before your blood turns to boiling metal, before every nerve of yours becomes a conduit of pain. Before all your emotions are destroyed, replaced by endless suffering, pain, bitterness. Before your mind bursts, as if a ball full of water fell to the ground, before you become plunged into such torment that even I would feel bad! Before all this happens, Astaroth, answer me", - Baal smiled and stopped, so that his spear almost touched Astaroth's flesh.

"When you hear the hero shouting the name of his Noble Phantasm - does it disappear? Does Excalibur's strike turn into a piece of fluff when you see its glow? Does Gae Bolg stop piercing the heart when you see the point of its spear? Or, perhaps, mystically God Hand, as soon as you name it, will immediately disappear, leaving Heracles vulnerable?"

"No", - Astaroth spoke with a voice filled with fear, as he stared down at the point of Baal's spear.

"So where did you get the idea that knowing how my Noble Phantasm works," - Baal smiled, - "would prevent it from continuing to work? After all, I just need to keep talking - and listening."

A second later, Baal's spear finally touched Astaroth's body.

It was hardly possible to call it a wound, it was not even a scratch. It was barely even a pinprick that a seamstress could suffer while embroidering

However, just one drop of blood was enough for Baal's rusted spear to be covered with a hundred running black lines to its very base. After which Baal smiled.

Astaroth was nowhere to be found.

Not in front of him, not outside this Singularity, not in the service of his King, nowhere else.

Baal smiled as the smokeless flame rose up at his spear again, only for it to turn back into a small cane a second later.

"Come", - Baal gently stroked his cane, - "Astaroth."

The Singularity, which had previously trembled like a stretched string, burst, and a crack ran across the slowly lightening sky, revealing the morning Sun.

"Ouch" - Ainz blinked.

The sky, through which a lonely crack ran through, responded with the sound of broken glass, after which it was covered with cracks again. Fast, like waves running across the sea, cracks covered the sky of the Singularity.

"Oops," Ainz blinked.

The Singularity... Is collapsing.

"Senpai, the Singularity is collapsing!" Mashu shouted at Ainz information that he had understood.

A sense of panic rose in his soul - however, never before had Ainz been so grateful for his emotion suppression skill as he is now.

"The Grail?" - Ainz had picked up the second Grail that fell from Megalos' dead body - "If you wish for the Singularity to recover... No, then it would cause enemies to respawn. Maybe wish for a change in history? I can't predict how history will change from the wish... Wish for the return to the correct history of mankind? Damn it, with the Grail here, the correct history of mankind has been violated already, that's the problem in the first place! "

"Senpai!" Mashu rushed to Ainz's side.

"Wish Upon A Star… I only have six free uses of the weakest of the options, and repairing the Singularity… What if you need more than one?!" - Ainz watched the sky slowly crumble, frantically going over his options - "Is it really the only way..."

Ainz soared up instantly and then froze.

No, he had another option. There were... there was one... Crazy, but... Why not try it? If there were no other options anyway, what was he going to lose from trying? As a last resort, he still has the rings...

Ainz exhaled, and a moment later, hundreds of symbols appeared in the sky around him.

"This is…" Medea froze, looking at the symbol filled sky. One could mistakenly say that the symbols were from the language of the gods, but Medea knew the language of the Age of the Gods. Not a single symbol, not a line, not a single flicker of light that she saw in front of her was like the language that she knew of. the things surrounding Ainz was not like anything that Medea could imagine, - "What is that?"

"That, my dear," Baal suddenly appeared behind her and started speaking. "that is why one should be afraid of the Higher Beings. One of the thousand reasons, anyway."

Cainabel's beast have finally disappeared after they have devoured everything under Cainabel's Noble Phantasm. Leaving Cainabel alone among the ruins of the island and the ocean, the holes of which were being filled with the Ocean. Allowing reality to smile at her full belly and even the sun slowly returning to the firmament.

"Oh," Cainabel noticed Ainz's shimmering figure, then smiled, "Hey, little tintoy!"

Altera was next to her a moment later, glancing inquiringly at Cainabel, to which she only waved her hand lazily at Ainz's figure, - "Look. And say a huge thank you to Ainz for walking over you easily."

Ainz exhaled. The Singularity is collapsing and all that was left for him to do was hope that his next reckless plan would work this time.

Ainz slowly spread his arms and then shouted out his spell, "Supertier Magic: Creation!"

ATTENTION! INTERFERENCE OF [COUNTERFORCE_NAME] DETECTED !

CHOICE OF COUNTERACTION...

CHOICE OF COUNTERACTION...

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NEUTRALIZATION [COUNTERFORCE_NAME]!

ATTENTION! THE LEVEL OF CURRENT LEVEL OF FUNCTION IS NOT ENOUGH TO NEUTRALIZE [COUNTERFORCE_NAME]!

ATTENTION! AUTOMATIC INCREASE FOR THE LEVEL OF FUNCTION!

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CONTINUING FUNCTION AT A NEW LEVEL...