-167- Alternative use of command seal

"Gurgle..."

The squishy sounds persisted in the air over Orleans, causing an undeniable sense of discomfort.

Yet, within Orleans, even more unsettling scenes unfolded.

"Smack!"

Amidst the cracking sounds from the ground, sea monsters emerged one after another. It was as if they were hatching from the earth itself, waving their tentacles while oozing slime.

Among them, some sea monsters were relatively small in size, while others stood as tall as a human. Some were even massive, akin to the size of buildings, causing significant impacts with every movement and even toppling nearby houses.

Orleans gradually transformed from a dragon's nest into a playground for sea monsters.

"This is just too disgusting!"

Rozen piloted the eagle, soaring in the sky, expressing his genuine disgust toward the legion of sea monsters behind him.

Even a grown man would struggle with such a scene, let alone a woman.

Fortunately, Jeanne wasn't an ordinary woman.

"Watch out for the sea monsters!"

Jeanne continuously reminded Rozen.

But even without her reminder, Rozen's Heaven's Eye was able to foresee the incoming attacks.

"Whoosh!"

The sounds of air being sliced apart continuously reached Rozen's ears.

If he were to turn around, he would notice that the sea monsters on the ground were launching attacks towards the flying eagle.

Some shot up from the ground like projectiles, turning their bodies into cannonballs.

Some extended their long tentacles like sticky whips, swaying to chase their targets.

Some even spewed venom from mouth-like openings, corroding the air as they turned into sniper-like arrows, shooting skyward.

Rozen and Jeanne found themselves showered by this overwhelming barrage of attacks, relying on Rozen's Heaven's Eye to evade them.

"You possess a pair of remarkable 'eyes,' don't you?"

Jeanne seemed to have noticed something, praising Rozen.

However...

"Let's talk about it after we escape."

Rozen smiled wryly and gestured behind him.

There, Caster held the Spellbook, standing on the back of the largest sea monster. Propelled by the sea monster, he was steadily closing in.

"Saint... Jeanne...! Don't leave me again...!"

Caster pleaded desperately, tears streaming down his face. The sense of madness and bloodthirst emanating from him was enough to send shivers down one's spine.

"Even after summoning so many familiars, he still has the time to go mad over there?"

Rozen really wanted to give the repugnant Servant behind him a good beating.

To this, Jeanne maintained a tense expression.

"That's the power of his Noble Phantasms. It can disregard the user's magical energy, autonomously activating spells. Even if Gilles's magical energy alone isn't sufficient to summon sea monsters on this scale, the Spellbook will initiate the summoning."

Of course, summoning was one thing; the ability to control them was an entirely different matter.

In other words, the more sea monsters are summoned, the higher the likelihood of this army losing control.

However, Caster seemed utterly unconcerned about this.

"He doesn't appear to be the type to show mercy to his familiars, given his crazed appearance. He'll probably just let the sea monsters run rampant."

As a fellow summoner, Rozen naturally understood this point.

But precisely because he understood, Rozen couldn't accept it.

"A summoning with no sense of aesthetics or dignity whatsoever. He deserves to be dumped by you."

Rozen's scathing words were met with Jeanne's confusion.

It seemed that this saintly woman didn't quite grasp the meaning of being "dumped." How innocent.

At this moment, the number of sea monsters continued to surge, making the incoming attacks increasingly dense.

Sea monsters transformed into projectiles, extended their long tentacles, and spewed foul-smelling venom like a torrential rain, all aimed at the wyvern.

Rozen had already pushed his Heaven's Eye to its limit, yet evading became increasingly challenging.

Feeling his own magical energy, Rozen found himself in a predicament.

"There's very little magical energy left."

After all, during the previous assault on Orleans, Rozen had already expended a considerable amount of magical energy, allowing Mash to unleash incredible power. Now, summoning Mid-level familiars, continuously using the abilities of the Heaven's Eye, even his relatively abundant magical energy was dwindling.

And once his magical energy was depleted, even Rozen would find himself powerless.

Jeanne seemed to recognize this situation and, as if resigning herself to it, spoke up.

"Please set me down." Jeanne's voice was resolute. "I will take care of things on my own."

At the very least, don't involve others.

Was that what Jeanne was thinking?

However...

"Could you please shut up?"

Jeanne's determined statement was met with Rozen's unceremonious response, leaving her taken aback.

But there was no other choice.

"I can't stand people like you. Whenever it's life or death, you only think about sacrificing yourself to buy time. You think it's noble, but have you ever considered how it feels for someone left behind to run away?"

Rozen spoke without even looking back.

"I've gone so far as to expose my location to rescue you. If I wanted to abandon you, I wouldn't have bothered in the first place. So, now, just shut up and watch!"

Rozen raised his hand.

In that hand, the Command Seal began to emit light.

Since realizing he could activate the "Crimson Wing Formation" from the Command Seal, Rozen had started to take his Command Seals seriously and researched their use.

Although he had only been back at Chaldea for a day, spending the day engrossed in an online game rather than researching magic, Rozen had a much better understanding of Command Seals than before.

Thanks to this, Rozen discovered that Command Seals had more than one use.

They weren't just for use on Servants; they could also be used on the user.

"Because Command Seals are a magical energy crystallization integrated with the magic circuits."

With this in mind, when using a Command Seal, the Master must activate their magic circuits. If they wanted to remove the Command Seal, it was as if they were removing nerves from their body. A wrong move could potentially leave them incapacitated. Only specific methods could transfer or remove Command Seals.

In other words, when a Command Seal was engraved on a Master's body, it became closely intertwined with them.

Therefore, Command Seals could also be used on the Master, utilizing the enormous magical energy they represented to enhance their own abilities and physical attributes.

But Rozen didn't intend to use the Command Seal to strengthen himself.

He planned to unleash the Command Seal, converting it into pure magical energy for spellcasting.

And then...

"Clang!"

As one of the interlocking rings of the Command Seal faded away, leaving behind a residual pattern, a tremendous surge of magical energy flowed through the Command Seal, infusing the integrated magic circuits.

This was an alternative use of the Command Seal that Rozen had developed through research.

And then...

"〈Summon Golem〉!"

Rozen activated a hidden spell.

Bab berikutnya