-904- [ King ]

"Dong—Dong—Dong—"

On the seemingly calm battlefield, the rhythmic pounding of a heartbeat intensified, as if echoing from the heavens and earth.

This intense thumping made it impossible to believe that it could be the heartbeat of a human.

"Ugh...!"

Rozen felt as if his heart had lost control, akin to a bomb ticking down its final moments. An abnormal heat emanated from it, pounding violently. His face turned incredibly pale as he clutched his chest, dropping to his knees and letting out a stifled groan.

"Senpai...!"

Seeing Rozen like this, Mash's expression changed drastically.

"Rorelai!"

Scáthach's face tightened as she quickly approached.

However, the actions of the two Servants were already beyond Rozen's awareness.

In this moment, Rozen simply clutched his heart, his consciousness frozen, leaving his mind blank.

This sensation wasn't new to Rozen.

Every time he approached a Singularity, seeing the large circle of light in the sky, Rozen experienced this physical reaction. Previously, he had mostly overcome this abnormality due to the connection with Fou and Gyokuto.

Now, Rozen was once again experiencing this feeling, even more intense than when seeing the circle of light in the sky.

No.

Besides this sensation, at this very moment, Rozen felt another kind of feeling.

—Dread.

A profound sense of dread.

Rozen had experienced this kind of dread before.

He remembered that, back in Chaldea, every encounter with Lev, every encounter with the Demon God Pillar, he felt this way.

Even though he still didn't understand why he felt this way, there was no denying that Rozen had a special sensitivity to the Demon God Pillar. There was a particular resonance with the large circle of light that was laid down by the mastermind behind the incineration of humanity.

Now, whether it was resonance or sensitivity, both were simultaneously acting on Rozen.

Moreover, it was in a way more intense than ever before.

What did this signify?

It signified one thing.

The true "enemy" was about to appear.

That's it.

"Senpai!"

"Rorelai!"

Mash and Scáthach, who were unaware of everything, simultaneously supported Rozen.

In response...

"Hurry... leave!"

Rozen almost involuntarily squeezed out these words from his throat.

"....We must leave!"

This was the only thought in Rozen's mind.

There was no other way.

"It's coming!"

Rozen, in a stifled manner, kept squeezing out these words from his throat, holding onto his chest.

"It's about to come!"

Rozen continued this low growl, causing Mash and Scáthach's expressions to change one after another.

The two didn't know what was happening to Rozen.

But, regarding Rozen's words, they didn't doubt at all.

Even without understanding what was going on, Mash and Scáthach unconsciously had a trust in Rozen, a trust that they hadn't even realized. This trust led both of them to make the same choice.

"We're leaving! Mash!"

Scáthach said calmly with a stern expression.

"Yes!"

Mash immediately helped Rozen up, even preparing to carry him to leave as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately...

"It's here!"

Rozen suddenly raised his head, his eyes releasing all the accumulated hostility from his life so far, like a sharpened blade, piercing forward.

There...

"Hmm—!"

Space distorted as if forming a vortex, resembling a black hole in rotation.

Then...

"So that's how it is."

A voice emanated from the distorted space.

"It seems the reports from the Demon Pillars were not wrong. A special individual has truly been born in this meaningless human history. Not only can they resonate with my Noble Phantasm, but they can also sense the Demon Pillars and even my existence."

The voice sounded as if it came from the distant end of time, clearly entering everyone's ears.

However, it didn't seem like a voice that could be accommodated in this world. It felt as if many people had overlapped to form this voice, immediately instilling a sense of instinctive terror and chill in everyone present.

"—!"

Mash, as if wanting to shout loudly, couldn't even manage that. She trembled slightly as if frozen by ice, her entire body quivering.

"...!?"

Scáthach leaped in front of Rozen and Mash, wielding a spear in both hands. Her face showed an unprecedented seriousness, and her eyes revealed an unusual hint of seriousness, causing her magical power to surge violently, unlike anything in the past.

Apparently, this unparalleled queen of the foreign land had already guessed or seen through something, leading to this performance.

As for Rozen...

"Since you're here, come out. Stop pretending to be mysterious over there."

Rozen's voice still sounded incredibly low, as if squeezed out from his throat, filled with intense enmity.

In this situation...

"Well, since you've traversed five Singularities, even if it's just an ant's play, I might as well bestow a little favor."

The owner of the voice responded with a tone of disdain, mockery, playfulness, and evil.

Then, the figure emerged from the distorted space.

It was a "King."

When everyone saw his true face, the first adjective that came to mind was this.

From the appearance, he seemed to be a human man.

On his brown skin, intricate magical symbols resembling exquisite magical circuits appeared.

He wore extremely luxurious clothing.

His hair was white, fashioned into a whip that was braided from behind and flowed directly to one side.

On his hands were ten dazzling and gorgeous rings.

That was such a "King."

However...

"This magical power...!"

Mash couldn't help but take a step back.

"...The joke has gone too far."

Scáthach's expression became increasingly serious, even bordering on unpleasant.

A terrifying magical power emanated from the opponent, undulating like waves.

That magical power...

"Could even surpass the Holy Grail, huh?"

Rozen stared intently at the opponent, breathing rapidly as he made this assessment.

Yes.

From the opponent alone, the magical power gave such a dreadful feeling.

The presence of the opponent had long been as fierce as a violent storm, sweeping across the entire battlefield.

With such an attitude, the opponent spoke slowly, as if taking a stroll in the wilderness.

"How unsightly."

The opponent declared.

"Clearly just remnants of human history, insignificant dust, yet struggling to this extent. Even unsightliness should have its limits, right?"

Sarcastic, intensely ringing out.