Era of Heroic Spirits: I Was Exposed by Alaya

"...This is bullying!"

Tears welled up in Roya's eyes.

Playing cards with these two was pure torture!

"Haha, they just have good luck. Maybe you should quit," Souma said, patting her head gently.

Trying to win against someone with [Golden Rule] and [Imperial Privilege]? Unless you're completely unshackled with Clairvoyance fully unlocked, it's impossible!

"I can't take this humiliation!" Roya grew even angrier.

These two had more money than they knew what to do with—yet they were clearly just messing with her.

Buzz~

Amidst this frustration, the unruly child's domineering and violent aura flashed briefly.

This caused all three people present to change their expressions.

Souma said very calmly, "Alright, you can keep your New Year's red envelope this time, okay?"

"Eh, really?"

Roya instantly broke into a smile.

Every New Year, he would say he was keeping her red envelope for her, but it never made its way back to her hands!

"Of course it's true."

Souma pinched her cheek lightly.

"That's acceptable then."

Roya instantly wiped away her tears and broke into a delighted smile.

Her mind was already calculating how much to spend on mobile game gacha pulls and how many more Servant merchandise to buy.

The crisis had been averted.

The previous aura of brutality vanished as if it had all been a dream.

Both Qin Shi Huang and the King of Heroes stared blankly, finding it hard to believe—

Was this Souma's way of protecting humanity?

Ding dong~

Suddenly, a notification chimed on her phone—

[The UP creator you follow has just uploaded a new video! Come check it out!]

"Wow, Alaya updated again?"

In high spirits, Roya turned on the TV and sat down in the living room with everyone to watch.

The new video was a side story to the previous Camelot Singularity, titled—

[The Mastermind, the Demon God King]

Seeing this title, Souma' expression shifted slightly.

Could it be that Alaya was planning to expose his identity?

Oh no, this was practically dragging everyone down with him!

With his shattered Spirit Origin, he was in no condition to fight!

Under his uneasy gaze, the video began to play—

[This side story briefly introduces the origins of the mastermind through a conversation between the Lion King and Roman.]

Souma finally let out a sigh of relief. "Alaya, at least you still have some conscience!"

As long as it wasn't a full exposure, things were still manageable.

The video started, and the barrage of comments exploded—

-[The side story is finally here! Been waiting forever!]

-[Damn, the title doesn't hold back at all—love it!]

-[Demon God King—Goetia? The big boss who wanted to destroy the world, right?]

-[Isn't that guy supposed to be a Beast of Humanity?]

...

On screen.

Nameless, having used his Mystic Code to defeat the divine, waved at the Lion King, whom he had granted a human heart. "Farewell!"

"Please… don't go!"

The Lion King reached out to stop him, but grasped only empty air.

Leaving behind nothing but endless regret.

However.

After the boy vanished.

Chaldea's video call remained connected.

Dr. Roman spoke up. "Lion King, you should leave too, or you'll disappear along with the Holy City."

The Singularity had been corrected, and the distorted human history would soon return to normal.

Everything here would vanish.

"Chaldea… After becoming the Storm King, I finally understood what the Demon God King seeks."

The Lion King sighed softly. "Upon attaining divinity, I gained the same perspective as him."

"Oh? What does that guy want?" Da Vinci asked curiously.

"In the eyes of the Demon God King, all humans must die, and human history must burn! Not a single living soul will remain on this planet!"

The Lion King exhaled. "I was once in a similar state—seeking to destroy the world, preserving only a select few."

"The difference is, the Demon God King intends to incinerate all of human history, reversing time to 4.6 billion years ago, to become the will of the planet itself—Gaia!"

A simple explanation, yet one that left everyone utterly stunned.

Annihilate all of humanity, burn away human history, and regress to the very birth of Earth.

The scale of this mastermind's scheme was beyond comprehension.

Gulp~

Roya swallowed hard. "That's terrifying! If he succeeds, humanity would cease to exist!"

It was horrifying.

If not for Nameless fighting tooth and nail, she wouldn't even be here.

"What a grand spectacle! For the Demon God King, igniting the entirety of human history is merely a cosmic rocket propelling him toward the origin sky," Qin Shi Huang sighed softly.

Reverting Earth's time to 4.6 billion years ago was already an undeniable, terrifying Magic, surpassing the power of all gods.

The sheer destructive energy contained within could effortlessly annihilate the planet!

A planet-busting level of combat power!

And humanity, living on this Earth, stood utterly defenseless against it.

Just think—if Earth trembled slightly, it would unleash a magnitude-9 earthquake beyond human resistance.

If Earth were to flip over or bounce a few times—

Would humanity even survive?

"Do you wish to become the Counter Force Gaia?"

Gilgamesh also frowned slightly.

The two great Counter Forces—Alaya and Gaia.

Alaya belonged to the collective consciousness of humanity, existing to protect mankind.

Whenever humanity faced a great threat, it would summon Guardians to intervene.

His dearest friend, for instance, had been tricked by Alaya into signing a contract, traversing the river of history to safeguard humanity.

Gaia, on the other hand, was the will of the planet itself.

As long as Earth didn't explode, it simply didn't care.

It had no regard for human survival whatsoever.

Thus, whether it was protecting the environment or repairing Singularities, it was always humanity saving itself.

Not some grandiose act of "saving the planet"!

So,

That guy succeeded—but only just barely?

And what was the relationship between this little loli, bound by countless seals by his dearest friend, and it?

Gilgamesh's gaze shifted toward his companion.

Faintly, he understood—as Alaya's videos were released one after another, he was gradually approaching the truth.

Souma watched the video silently.

Beside him sat the King of Uruk, while on the screen was the King of Israel.

Countless memories surged violently in his mind.

Having walked through six thousand years of human history, battling countless Heroic Spirits, gods, and even the Evils of Humanity, he had long grown numb.

Yet he could never forget just how brutal that final battle had been.

So brutal that it demanded the sacrifice of everything—just to secure a future for humanity.

So, Alaya, what the hell are you trying to do?

Could it be that you can no longer suppress the brat's seal breaking and want to restore his combat power as soon as possible?

Souma felt his liver ache.

An unbearable pain!

Back then, he had fought for thousands of years—even an iron rod would've been ground down to a needle!

Damn you, Alaya!

The barrage of comments exploded with discussion—

-[Holy shit, human history can be used as fuel?!]

-[This is terrifying—what if it succeeded, only for Nameless to reset the world? Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl!]

-[Damn, someone call the prophet! This might explain why everyone forgot about Emiya the Great!]

-[Even fighting against the Divine Lion King pushed Emiya the Great to the brink of certain death—I can't imagine how brutal the final battle must've been!]

...

The video continued.

"Goetia implanted collapsing points into human history, seeking to utterly dismantle it," the Lion King continued. "But the Demon God King's temple does not exist in the correct timeline. To find him, we must rely on repairing the distorted human history."

And that was precisely Chaldea's mission.

Roya's cheeks flushed with excitement, as if witnessing an epic firsthand.

Unable to contain herself, she exclaimed, "Oh my god, the Nameless Heroic Spirit is truly amazing! He's become my most admired Heroic Spirit now!"

Previously, she had adored heroic spirits like King Arthur and the King of Heroes the most.

But then, one after another, their dark histories were exposed, significantly dampening her fervent admiration.

Now, however, Nameless walks silently through human history, guarding all of humanity without seeking any reward in return.

He could be called the most perfect heroic spirit, utterly devoid of any dark history.

"He truly is incredible—I admire him too!" Souma reached out and patted her little head.

Beside them, the two emperors remained silent.

They had seen narcissism before, but never to this extent.

The video continued to play.

"Go forth, savior of Chaldea. In your next destination, you will encounter an unimaginable evil—perhaps the original sin of humanity itself!"

The figure of the Lion King slowly faded away. "Fight, protect, and stand against the evils of mankind. Humanity shall endure eternally because of you!"

The scene shifted.

Her form vanished completely.

On the screen, footage of Chaldea appeared, showing a flurry of activity as its members busily prepared.

Lines of narration text popped up—

[Next Episode Preview!]

[Following the events of The Sacred Round Table Domain, the last Master of humanity, the final guardian of human order, will journey even further back into history.]

[This is the fateful era when humanity and the gods parted ways!]

Gilgamesh blinked in surprise. "Humanity parting ways with the gods... That must refer to the end of the Age of Gods. Does this involve me?"

***

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