"We've got the full picture now... Mr. Jekyll really made a heavy sacrifice for this crisis."
After listening to the report from Nursery Rhyme about what happened in the dream, Ritsuka Fujimaru murmured softly.
"Yeah..." Mash nodded with a sigh. "He got directly involved with an Outer God this time... Things might be really rough for him going forward."
"Alright, alright, that's enough out of you two."
Suddenly, Will cut in.
"Don't look at me like I'm already dying. That old bastard in the yellow robes already had his eye on me for some reason, so this is just another bill added to the pile. You guys worrying is more of a problem than the actual problem. I don't even care, why should you?"
"Uh..."
Ritsuka and Mash exchanged awkward glances, both falling silent.
"Well, since he said it himself, what's the point in stressing?" Andersen chimed in nearby. "More importantly, when are you going to retrieve that Grail? Don't forget we still have one hell of a fight ahead."
"Oh, right!" Ritsuka snapped back to attention.
But just as she and Mash were about to move to retrieve the Holy Grail, Romani's voice came through the comms, tense and rapid.
"Wait—high energy reading! Everyone be on alert! Spatial distortion underground! This phenomenon... it's not servant summoning—it's much closer to Chaldea's Rayshift technology... It's opening! Something's coming!"
"Oh? Finally making an appearance?"
At that, Will crouched low like a hunting beast ready to pounce, his entire body taut with anticipation. His demonic transformation triggered immediately. Blazing hellfire surged around him, primal and monstrous.
Black, metallic armor spread over his skin. Razor teeth jutted from his mouth. A grotesque blade extended from his right arm, while his left morphed into a massive cannon.
Then, a rift tore open in the underground cavern wall, and from it stepped a man clad in an opulent red-and-white robe, dark-skinned and white-haired, with strange black markings on his face. A surge of overwhelming magical energy erupted from his form, enough to crush the surrounding space.
It was none other than Goetia, the Demon King of the Sixth Singularity, taking on the form of King Solomon.
The moment he appeared, he spoke in an irritated voice:
"Tch... Disappointing. As expected, humanity only grows more degraded with time. You lot can't even—"
But before he could finish, a black figure had already shot toward him.
A split second later, before Goetia could react, Will's strange blade crashed down from above.
It didn't split Goetia in half, but the sheer force of the strike smashed him into the ground. The impact collapsed hundreds of meters of the cavern wall in a single swing.
Standing at the edge of the canyon he'd just carved into the earth, Will turned and shouted to Ritsuka:
"Ritsuka, take your people and get out. Don't get in my way."
"From here on out, I'm gonna have a little chat with this so-called King Solomon."
Goetia's appearance had already been predicted. It was mentioned in Babbage's calculations and logs, and discussed during the war council with Gawain.
This fight was the final trial they needed to overcome before resolving the singularity.
But thankfully, this time, things were different.
This wasn't the original timeline's unavoidable cutscene. They still had Bloodborne Will on their side—a man stacked with buffs, packing Strength A++++, Agility A++, Endurance A+++... even his lowest stat, Magic, was an A+.
So that "cutscene boss" was now just another obstacle.
"You dare raise a hand against me?!"
Goetia roared, unleashing enough mana to shatter the debris around him, then summoned a massive energy cannon in front of him—its destructive power several times greater than Barbatos at full strength.
But before he could even fire—
A dark figure crashed straight into the energy cannon mid-formation.
Will.
He dove headfirst into it, shattering it with a kick, soaring through the exploding torrent of energy like it was nothing more than a hot shower.
In the next breath, he was in Goetia's face, and kicked him square in the jaw, slamming him even deeper underground.
Up above, Ritsuka and the others couldn't see the battle, only hear it. The deafening booms, the trembling earth, the cracks spreading beneath their feet—it was clear this place was moments from total collapse.
"Everyone, retreat now!" Ritsuka ordered immediately. "If we stay, we'll be buried alive! Head back to the surface!"
Meanwhile, in the dream realm—
"So... in the real world, Sol—no, Goetia has arrived?"
After Nursery Rhyme breathlessly finished her report, Gawain furrowed his brow.
"In that case... I'd better head back myself."
He glanced toward the passage leading out of Carcosa, toward the Black Star, and made his decision.
Sure, Will could probably handle a mere Solomon puppet with brute force.
But defeating a fragment wasn't enough. If Goetia caught wind of the threat this dream presented, he could activate the Grand Temple and open a portal here at any time.
Gawain had to act before that.
But then, he shivered.
The air had grown damp.
A salty tang filled the wind.
Instinct screamed at him—something was wrong.
He spun on his heel and strode toward the edge of the great cavern.
Bavanzi, Artoria, and Mordred tried to call out to him, but seeing his suddenly grim expression, they followed in silence.
When they reached the edge, they saw what lay beyond—the enormous body of Albion. Gawain's earlier Excalibur blast had pierced straight through it, punching a hole through its shell and exposing the sky outside.
But that wasn't what made Gawain tremble.
No.
The real horror was beyond that.
Across Lake Hali.
The entire lake had risen into a towering tidal wave, as if drawn up by an unseen hand, aimed directly at Carcosa.
And at the crest of the wave stood a figure.
A blood-red figure.
They'd seen it before. When Gawain and Mordred rescued Bavanzi, it had appeared in the lake.
But now—it was stronger. More solid. As real as flesh and bone.
And it was coming straight for them.
The oppressive pressure radiating from it was far beyond even the Goetia of the real world.
Artoria, gasping under that weight, raised her staff on instinct and launched it like a beam of light. The four floating lances behind her followed, firing in unison.
They'd once nearly ended Lancer Artoria in a surprise attack.
But against this figure?
Nothing.
The weapons bounced off harmlessly.
It didn't block. Didn't flinch. Didn't even pause.
It just kept walking across the wave, as if brushing aside the attacks like strands of mist.
"T-That's it!"
Mordred shouted:
"That's what happened last time too! No matter what we hit it with, it didn't react! Like nothing could reach it!"
Meanwhile, sweat beaded Gawain's brow.
The system was bugging out again.
Warning: Identification Error.
Special Event Detected. Boss Encounter: "?????"... Error.
Critical Error. Unable to Identify Player ID.
He didn't have time to think.
The figure was almost here.
Gawain stepped forward and raised his sword again. The heat of its light began to gather.
"Noble Phantasm—full release."
"This is the Battle of Salvation."
"Ex—calibur!"
A blinding blast of light roared out, vaporizing the heavens, cleaving the wave apart.
Now fueled by the Holy Grail, Gawain had infinite mana.
He could keep this up forever.
The towering flood was instantly boiled away.
But that crimson figure—kept moving.
Within the holy light, that shadow didn't fade.
It advanced.
And then—a stray stream of water, piercing the light, struck Gawain full-on and sent him flying.
He crashed hard into the ground, armor crumpled, blood churning in his chest.
"Damn it... What the hell is that thing...?"
The only reason he wasn't dead was because Excalibur had weakened the attack.
But it still hurt like hell.
And at that moment, the system finally responded:
New data acquired. Please check "The King in Yellow" original copy for information.
Without hesitation, Gawain pulled out the book.
It flipped open on its own.
And there, written plainly—
[To resurrect the endless divine war between the wind and the sea.]
[As the master of wind descended from the tower, so too did the master of water rise from the lake.]
[He is the destroyer of Carcosa. The ancient ruler. The tyrant of the seas. The mad god who usurps divinity.]
His name is—
And the system completed the entry:
Enemy Identified: Beast 0/α – The Shadow.
True Name Confirmed:
——Gawain le Fay.