Fate: How About a New Savior?

However, Shiomi immediately dismissed that thought.

He knew perfectly well where the King of Magecraft, Solomon, was.

Yet, the man standing high above, looking down at the Chaldea group with disdain, was unmistakably Solomon.

His body, his Mana—everything about him affirmed it beyond doubt.

"Shiomi, what's happening over there? We're getting heavy signal interference on Chaldea's end. We can't get a clear read on your situation. What's the source of that sudden surge of Mana?"

Romani's anxious voice came through.

Clearly, he had noticed the anomaly through Chaldea's systems and had shifted his attention to the Fourth Singularity.

"Sorry, Dr. Roman. We'll talk later." Shiomi hesitated for a moment but chose not to end the transmission. He kept his eyes fixed warily on the man.

He subtly raised a hand, signaling Sakura and the others to stay alert and remain silent. He would handle this.

The man with Solomon's face slowly spoke.

"Oh. Just like me, you can only hear but not see, huh? Chaldea detached itself from the timeline and became an unreachable stronghold. Even my eyes, which can see the future and pierce through all things, struggle to detect it. That's why Chaldea managed to survive—ugly, pitiful, meaningless—clinging to life in defiance of its fated destruction, drifting aimlessly like a wretched little boat on the sea of void."

Shiomi stepped forward and pointed at the man.

"As long as Chaldea still draws breath, even if destruction is inevitable, we'll overturn it anyway!"

"A stain left behind by the burnt-out human history... The only remnant of my work—fools who dare to resist me," the man replied.

"You've said a lot. How about introducing yourself? Or is it that, as a Servant, you're bound to hide your true name no matter your Spirit Origin?"

Shiomi stood ready, spear in one hand and staff in the other, fully prepared for combat.

It felt different. The longer the conversation continued, the more Shiomi sensed that this "Solomon" was not the same as the one from ten years ago. The only constant was the man's overwhelming presence—far beyond what any Holy Grail War ritual could contain.

"Hm? That tone... Sounds like you already know my true name but just won't admit it." The man paused, lips pursed, then smiled with the condescension of someone scrutinizing insects. "No matter. I enjoy this kind of ugly struggle. Otherwise, I wouldn't have bothered to wait here in my spare time."

He slowly raised his arms, spreading them wide to reveal both hands—each bearing five rings.

"I am the ultimate goal you seek. The king who commands the 72 Demon Gods and brings ruin to humanity. My name is Solomon, one of the seven Grand Servants standing at the pinnacle of all Heroic Spirits."

"Solomon?! The signal's bad, the audio's breaking up—did he really just claim that?" Romani's voice was filled with shock.

Of course. He was right there—and someone else was using his name.

Even after being reborn as an ordinary human, nothing had changed.

"Sounds like it," Shiomi said with a grimace, his smile sharp and unpleasant. "And now you call yourself a Grand Servant... Grand Caster. I never imagined that the collective unconscious meant to suppress humanity's urge for self-destruction would act to destroy humanity itself..."

Halfway through his words, he suddenly froze.

The original purpose of the seven Grand Servants—those at the pinnacle of the Servant classes—was to counter threats that endangered humanity.

If that's the case, then there must be a calamity on par with a Grand Servant. What if that calamity had taken on the guise of a Grand Servant using some unknown power? Or perhaps it had been summoned as a Servant?

"Who summoned you?" Shiomi asked cautiously.

"Don't lump me in with those useless fools," Solomon replied irritably. "After my death, I awakened on my own and ascended to Heroic Spirit. I am both a Heroic Spirit and a living being. There is no Master above me. I am myself, and I act according to my own will—"

"You're talking about the Incineration of Humanity." Shiomi felt a chill run down his spine. "So after becoming a Heroic Spirit, you lost faith in humanity and chose to destroy human history?"

"Not a bad guess. For a human, you're slightly more useful than the rest of your kind in this universe," the King of Magecraft said, spreading his hands and glancing upward. "The 72 Demon Gods gained physical forms and were reborn, anchoring themselves in different eras. What you call Singularities—those are the anchors. The Demon Gods are wedges that bring this planet to a halt. And the bands of light swirling in the skies? That is the form of my Noble Phantasm."

Understanding dawned on Shiomi. So those things in the skies above each Singularity weren't natural phenomena after all.

Solomon continued:

"That is my third Noble Phantasm: [Ars Almadel Salomonis: The Time of Birth Hath Come, I Am the Remedy of Eternity]. Each band of light is a heat ray that rivals the Holy Sword—equivalent to the one that Lancer once wielded..." He glanced at Artoria. "Layered hundreds of millions of times over, they form a Noble Phantasm that strikes at human reason itself."

This version of the King of Magecraft radiated a dangerously overwhelming aura, completely unlike the Solomon Shiomi had once known.

But then Solomon reached out his palm toward Shiomi.

"As I said before, you're more useful than most. Even I have to admit that. So I'm giving you a choice."

"A choice?"

"Submit to me—or die here," Solomon said casually.

There was no mistaking it. Solomon saw value in Shiomi and was willing to extend an invitation. But if Shiomi refused, he'd crush him like an insect.

"What a pathetic question. I choose to fight for the future—together with my family and my companions in Chaldea!"

Shiomi raised his spear and aimed it at Solomon. That was the signal.

He would strike first, probing for weaknesses, while Sakura and the two Servants provided cover.

Whether or not they made it out intact didn't matter—what mattered was extracting intel on the enemy's capabilities and relaying it back to Chaldea.

[Roadless Camelot: Reaching the Ultimate Utopia] activated in an instant. A beam of Mana shot straight at Solomon, only to be pushed back just inches from his body.

"This Magecraft has touched the realm of ultimate fantasy. Impressive," Solomon said with an easy smile. "In return, I'll use four of them."

He was referring to a portion of his third Noble Phantasm—unleashing four of the light bands to counter Shiomi's spell.

A crushing force surged toward Shiomi. It felt as though he was facing four Artorias unleashing their Noble Phantasms at once.