-853- One path

"Obediently follow orders?"

Upon hearing Rozen's words, the people present were first stunned, then as if understanding something, some showed subtle changes in expression, and others squinted their eyes.

Especially Medea, as a divine mage of the Age of Gods, seemed to grasp Rozen's intentions from his actions, and a hint of fear appeared on her face.

"A collar... on me?"

Jason, feeling fearful as if facing an unknown future, spoke with trembling voice.

"What... What have you done to me!?"

Jason's voice was filled with terror.

Watching Jason in this state, Rozen sneered.

"I've just cursed you, just now."

Rozen straightforwardly revealed his actions.

"A curse!?"

Jason's face instantly turned pale with shock.

In this situation, Rozen explained without any reservation.

"It's a curse directly implanted into your Spirit Core, a runic symbol that administers judgment to sinful individuals, similar to executing a criminal. Once the designated time is reached, it activates, summoning judgmental lightning to shatter your Spirit Core."

In other words, Jason was essentially sentenced to death, awaiting the execution of the death penalty.

"And once the Spirit Core is shattered, do I need to spell out the consequences? I believe it's quite obvious."

Rozen smiled broadly at Jason, whose face turned an ashen shade.

Although Servants are already deceased individuals, and heroes, being Heroic Spirits, wouldn't fear death as much, Jason seemed to have discarded all heroic qualities. He was genuinely terrified.

It was precisely because of this fear that Jason had arrogantly thought he could threaten the neutral Servants here and make them submit to him to avoid death at the hands of the Celts.

On the other hand, the rest of the group found Rozen's actions perplexing.

"Why go to such lengths?" Atalante stared at Rozen, speaking frankly. "If you truly want to be our enemy, you could just kill us directly. Why this unnecessary curse?"

It was a reasonable question.

Since Rozen was currently holding Jason as a hostage, making the Greek side reluctant to fight further, Rozen could easily eliminate all the Greek Servants with his four servants under these circumstances.

So why add this unnecessary curse?

Everyone was thinking the same thing.

Except for Scáthach, who seemed to understand what Rozen was planning, watching with a keen interest.

Rozen spoke indifferently under the gaze of everyone.

"Who said I intended to kill you?"

Indeed, Rozen had no intention of resolving the Greek side's Servants.

At least, not now.

However, since Jason had willingly walked into the situation Rozen had carefully orchestrated, wouldn't it be a waste not to take advantage of it?

Rozen planned to use Jason as a hostage to manipulate and control the Greek side.

In short...

"What I want to deal with is the Celtic side, with the goal of retrieving the Holy Grail."

Rozen declared his intentions.

"You all will join me in facing the Celts."

That was Rozen's objective.

"Do you intend to use us to deal with the Celts?"

Atalante's gaze subtly changed.

"This..."

Medea was equally stunned.

"Roar!"

Berserker, unsure if he understood the current situation, let out a roar.

On the other hand, the rest of the group brightened up one after another.

"Did that guy plan to do this from the beginning?"

"To actually threaten Heroic Spirits..."

"What an impressive move!"

Inside Chaldea, Olga Marie, Roman, and Da Vinci, who had been observing the battle, were all pleasantly surprised.

Because if Rozen's calculations were successful, it meant that the Greek faction would become a powerful weapon in his hands.

At least, Jason, Medea, Atalante, and Berserker—the four Servants—would be under his control.

Add Mash, Scáthach, and Karna to the mix, and Rozen would have a total of seven Servants under his command.

This was undoubtedly a tremendous force that could crush the Celtic faction.

Naturally...

"Do you think we will succumb to your threat?"

Atalante spoke with a dark expression.

Not to mention Atalante, even Jason was not going to yield.

"I... I am the king of the Greek nation! How could I be so insolently...!?"

Jason shouted in excitement.

Unfortunately, based on the behaviors of these individuals earlier, Rozen had roughly identified their weaknesses.

"Even if you were to be killed, you aren't planning to compromise, right? Is that fine?"

Rozen first looked at Jason beneath his feet.

"If I'm not mistaken, the reason you decided to oppose the Celtic side and establish a Greek Pantheon in the south is to build a nation on this continent, isn't it?"

This is the wish that Jason was willing to die for.

For the throne, this incompetent prince made the daring decision to set sail, challenging the formidable task of obtaining the Golden Fleece, an achievement that many heroes and champions could not accomplish.

For the throne, he went all out, gathering numerous incredibly famous heroes from Greek mythology, forming the complete fifty-member "Argonauts" group. They endured countless hardships on their journey to Colchis.

Similarly, for the throne, even after returning home, Jason spared no effort. He had Medea solve numerous political adversaries, went so far as to abandon Medea, and married a princess from another country.

For someone like Jason, the throne was an absolute obsession and ambition.

Given this, upon manifesting with the group of "Argonauts," Jason immediately, without hesitation, chose to oppose the Celts, creating a Greek kingdom.

"If you die here, that wish of yours will never come true. You'll remain an incapable prince who couldn't become a king. Is that what you want?"

Rozen's questioning left Jason silent on the spot.

Then...

"You seem like you don't want to compromise with Jason, and you certainly don't want to establish a country on this continent. But you just said, 'If we don't do this, this continent will lose all hope completely.' That's your reason for assisting Jason, right?"

Rozen turned to Atalante, speaking with determination.

"Unlike Jason, who has ambitions, and Medea and Berserker, who blindly follow him, you have a clear will. You belong to the will of a hero."

From the words of this huntress, it was clear that she didn't want to see the Celts occupy this continent, slaughter all the indigenous people, and ultimately cause the entire Singularity to collapse, throwing humanity into chaos and despair.

Even though their methods differed, Atalante, like Rama, was a genuine hero who couldn't stand idly by in the face of suffering.

Therefore, Atalante chose to follow Jason's instructions in battle, aiming to help Greece resist the Celts, maintain this Singularity, and prevent its collapse.

"But this won't address the root cause. Only by defeating the Celts can this Singularity be repaired, and the foundation of humanity be reestablished."

Rozen addressed Atalante in this manner.

"So, are you really going to give up here and let this Singularity head towards collapse?"

Upon hearing this, Atalante also fell into silence.

And what could Medea and Berserker do when both Jason and Atalante fell silent?

In light of this, the Greek side collectively remained silent.

"To sum it up, you only have one path to take, and that is to join forces with me to defeat the Celts."

Rozen declared openly.

"Whether you choose to do so is entirely up to you."

Rozen concluded his words.

At that moment, the entire basin fell into silence.