The Temple of Time / Fairy Transformation

"Eleven Children?"

At that moment, he finally saw the monster that had just attacked him.

That was one of Tiamat's slain offspring, now successfully resurrected through Tiamat's power.

Since this monster has appeared, it means that--

It's already a last resort, so all we need to do is take it down...

Rovey raised his hand, ready to finish the fight quickly, but the next moment his pupils contracted slightly.

Because he saw--

Not only this one, but the other Eleven Children also emerged from the Sea of Life one after another, surrounding him in the middle, like a prison preventing him from getting any closer.

"Get out of here."

Without hesitation, Rovey activated the power of the Light Wheel, golden lightning surging around his body. He couldn't delay any longer; he had to finish this quickly. Although using the Light Wheel would burn his body, it was the best option given the circumstances.

We must break through as quickly as possible...

Golden power surged, and just as he was about to forcefully break through the Eleven Children, the Eleven Children who had been surrounding him all took a step back, standing side by side, forming an insurmountable high wall, ready to confront him head-on.

However, just as they were about to begin their battle...

"They are merely things whose fate has run its course and are already dead. Why are you so troubled by them?"

Ding dong dong dong--!!

Accompanied by the solemn sound of an Evening Bell, a jet-black giant sword appeared out of thin air, and amidst the falling pure white feathers, it pierced directly and without hindrance into the head of one of the Eleven Children.

Listen carefully--

"--The Evening Bell have revealed your name!"

Chapter 307 Temple of Time

"You should listen carefully—"

--Ding dong dong dong!!

Above the dark ocean, a deep and powerful bell suddenly rang out, followed by a sudden appearance of a black arc of light, which then flicked gently in mid-air.

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, a jet-black, ancient greatsword pierced the head of the foremost Eleven Children beast without any resistance. As blood splattered, countless white feathers of light fell like celestial maidens scattering flowers, and finally, a blazing, eerie blue flame appeared before their eyes.

The next moment, a huge, pale white skull mask with bull-horn-like features emerged from the blue flames. Immediately following was a true death knight, the Azrael tolled the Evening Bell, clad in tall, jet-black armor and covered in eerie blue flames, standing before Rovey with his sword, his towering figure silently positioned in the center of the remaining Eleven Children.

His sudden, unannounced appearance, coupled with the sudden death of one of the Eleven Children, immediately enraged and astonished the other Demonic Beast, who let out hoarse, piercing roars.

Upon seeing King Hassan, Rovey showed some surprise, but not much. After all, he had met this strange old man many times before, and the old man had said that he would lend a helping hand with his longsword when Rowe felt he needed help. Now it seemed that this was the most opportune moment for him.

Only--

"That's too slow, old man. Do you really have to wait until the crucial moment to make your appearance?"

He complained to King Hassan, who had appeared as agreed.

"--"

However, in the face of Rovey's complaints, the aloof King Hassan did not take the initiative to answer. Instead, he continued to lean on his sword and looked at Tiamat not far away, reciting his cold and solemn opening remarks to himself.

"Without death there is no life; only through death can life be attained. The eternity you speak of is not walking, but slumber. O beast of calamity, evil born of humankind, the very foundation that yearns to return to compassion is the root that rejects you."

"Though you are a creator god fallen to beast, as the Mother of Origins, I must also give my name—rushing forth from the Valley of Shadows of darkness and death. I am Hassan -i-Sabah, the Old Man of the Mountain. The Evening Bell have already tolled on your name. I will, by divine decree, strip you of the foundation for your return; entrust your insignificant offspring to my sword—!"

Before King Hassan could finish speaking, the surrounding Demonic Beast had already lost patience with him. To them, this grim reaper who had suddenly appeared and killed one of them was an enemy to be defeated. So, a Demonic Beast floated out of the ocean and then attacked King Hassan from the flank, but it was easily blocked by the longsword he casually raised. Then, King Hassan stretched out his armored hand, lifted the Demonic Beast high with his wrist, and twisted its neck in mid-air, piercing its heart with his sword.

--The Delusion Heartbeat - King Hassan Version.

He carelessly tossed the Demonic Beast corpse in his hand into the mud below as if it were trash. The Black Mud of the Origin Sea intended to heal it, but the eerie blue flames brought true death, meaning that if these Eleven Children, who were said to be immortal, died at King Hassan's hands, they would truly die and could never be restored.

He then summoned a massive black shield, holding a sword in his left hand and the shield in his right. The eerie blue flames in his pale white skull eye sockets flickered wildly. His enormous body stood in front of him like an unshakeable mountain, intimidating the other Demonic Beast so much that they dared not move an inch for a moment.

A few of the Eleven Children still stubbornly charged towards King Hassan, but they were directly pushed back by the giant shield in the latter's hand. King Hassan did not even take a step back.

Bang!!

The enormous shield, like a wall of sighs, crashed down on the attacking Demonic Beast. The powerful force and heavy impact sent the Demonic Beast flying with even greater force than its opponent. Just as the Demonic Beast lost its balance, King Hassan raised his longsword and delivered a vertical slash, instantly severing the Demonic Beast's body in two.

At this moment, the Old Man of the Mountain, with his overwhelming strength, demonstrated to the many Demonic Beast present just how the Root [Grand Assassin] truly is; he alone can serve as a defensive line guarding this side.

In a mere instant, three of the eleven Tiamat's ultimate protective Demonic Beast died. The remaining few finally understood that the figure before them was not an ordinary enemy, but rather a manifestation of the concept of death. This was the absolute overwhelming power that King Hassan displayed when he had not relinquished his Grand Rank.

(After relinquishing the Grand Rank: one unit of the Grand Rank is relinquished.)

He leaned on his longsword, glancing at Tiamat, who was still exchanging energy with Goetia in the distance, and at the remaining Eleven Children before him. A layer of flame ignited on his longsword, and his pair of dark blue, flickering eyes seemed to be deep in thought.

The Grand Rank that should have been relinquished still exists; the Calamity Dragon that should have had its wings stripped and be imbued with the concept of death is now fighting another Beast of Calamity. So many things have changed that even King Hassan is unsure whether the guidance of fate he has heard is correct.

So he chose to trust his own eyes and his own judgment, entrusting himself, like a sword, to the one destined to use him well and make the right decisions. Now, all he could do was offer his trust.

"O one who has been reborn by divine decree, your journey has been fraught with hardship and unexpected events, which even I could not have foreseen. The road ahead is shrouded in mist, and you cannot discern the direction. But you should know that these are all trials from God. The time has come, and the final moment is approaching. I hope that you will obey God's will, think carefully, and act steadfastly."

"Since things have come to this, though I wield the Sword of Destiny and follow divine instructions, the road ahead is uncertain, with no predictable fortune or misfortune, and the mysteries of fate are difficult to fathom. All I can entrust to you is my skill. I only wish that you will not be misled by external things and strive forward. Therefore—"

"Hold your head high and stride over these insignificant obstacles with your own two feet, for what you seek is near! With faith and redemption as your foundation, gather all cause and effect, sin and guilt, and bring them to an end! At this moment, the sword in my hand will be wielded with all its might for you!"

It was the same familiar tone, but this time anyone could hear a special emotion, or rather, excitement, mixed in.

King Hassan raised his black longsword and swung it sharply towards the sea beside him. In an instant, a wall of dark blue flames rose from the sea, transforming into an insurmountable blazing barrier that blocked the path of all the Demonic Beast and Lahmu. He stood alone, leaning on his sword, his tall figure standing between the only open doorways, like the legendary gatekeeper of the abyss of hell, silently watching everything before him.

"--The Evening Bell has rung; anyone who crosses this boundary will be executed without mercy!!"

King Hassan gazed at the Demonic Beast ahead and spoke in a low voice, his posture like that of a grim reaper proclaiming his divine decree.

"You're so reliable, King Hassan. Thank you so much for your help this time."

Seeing that the pursuing enemies had been held off by King Hassan alone, and that even the last threat had vanished, Rovey nodded, withdrew his magic, and immediately passed through the fire barrier from the doorway behind King Hassan, continuing his run towards Tiamat.

Although King Hassan responded to his call when he contacted this man before, except when he hoped that Hassan would imbue Gorgon with the concept of death to fully help Anna, or rather, to kill Medusa's side, he always told himself, "The time has not yet come, and my sword has not yet been drawn."

However, King Hassan is still King Hassan. Someone whom countless Gudako call "Grandpa" must be an extremely reliable being. As for why he's so cold to me, it's probably because of his heretical beliefs and the fact that he's not a girl. Regardless, King Hassan finally arrived when we faced Tiamat and played a crucial role.

Originally, Rovey was worried that King Hassan might continue to fulfill his mission this time, wielding the sword that sacrificed his Grand Rank against Tiamat after his appearance, and then trying to kill her completely. But now it seems that although King Hassan keeps talking about destiny, he is by no means a sword that obeys the Counter Force. The destiny he believes in and follows must be what he sees before his eyes.

It was precisely because he saw Tiamat's hidden nature, and because Goetia, with whom reconciliation was impossible, had actually sided with humanity, and Solomon should have faced certain death, had truly abandoned his past and was living a new life—so many possibilities led King Hassan to agree to let go and leave fate to the Chosen One. This is likely why King Hassan is considered the most beloved Grand Servant. At least his sense of responsibility is far better than that of a certain guy who claimed to be there to target Goetia but hasn't shown up yet.

Although many things remain unclear, since King Hassan was willing to entrust the sword to him, he naturally could not let King Hassan down!

Head held high, chest out, quickened his pace, and finally arrived at a position less than five meters away from Tiamat. Her enormous body, and the purple beam of light bursting from her mouth that was confronting the starlight erupting from Goetia, were already within arm's reach. The light alone was almost blinding, not to mention the terrifying temperature.

Under this intense heat, if it weren't for Rovey, a powerful Servant, or a divine creation, an ordinary human would probably be burned to ashes in an instant.

Seeing Tiamat so close, Rovey continued to advance. As if sensing that unforgettable aura once again, Tiamat's eyes lowered slightly, and for a moment she abandoned her attack on Goetia in the sky, instead focusing her attention on Rovey.

"Mudamuudamuuda! No matter how powerful your breath is, it can't withstand my strongest Greater Light Wheel. Besides, I'm not a man-made thing, and I'm not affected by your Nega-Genesis. So Tiamat, your ability is the most useless!"

In mid-air, Goetia, who was locked in a fierce battle with Tiamat, burst into laughter when she saw Tiamat's beam shrink. Without hesitation, she gathered more heat in her hand and unleashed a Destructive Meteor Shower on Tiamat, seeking revenge for Tiamat's sneak attack. She was completely unaware that Tiamat's attention had already shifted elsewhere.

Rumble rumble rumble--!!!

Tens of thousands of golden meteors erupted from Goetia's body, like a meteor shower, and began to violently strike Tiamat's body or bombard the surrounding area.

Each of these meteors possesses a fraction of the power of the Light Wheel, easily comparable to an A+ rank Noble Phantasm released by a Heroic Spirit Origin. Therefore, anything touched by Lahmu, the Sea of Life, or rocks would be blasted into fragments. In an instant, the previously chaotic battlefield was completely cleared by Goetia.

Of course, there were also friendly forces that were affected.

Ishtar, as if she had seen a ghost, rode her Maanna around frantically, afraid of being hit by the golden meteor, especially after seeing the group of Lahmu who had been a troublesome opponent in front of her blown up.

Although she was a spirit possession and not her true self, she was naturally not afraid of death at all, but dying like this would be too shameful.

If she were to be killed by Goetia's area-of-effect attack, and when she returned to Asgard, if Grandpa Enki asked her how she died, and she answered that she was killed by friendly fire from an area-of-effect attack, she would be utterly ashamed. Therefore, she had no choice but to dodge quickly.

Not only Ishtar, Kingu Quetzalcoatl also retreated from the area to avoid it, and couldn't help but sigh, "Is this the power of the Demon God King who instigated the Humanity Incineration? It's no weaker than Tiamat..."

At the same time, Quetzalcoatl glanced elsewhere, where Tezcatlipoca, looking troubled, was staring at Goetia in the distance, seemingly talking to someone.

"You mean this is the opponent I'm supposed to face? You must be joking. Even Grand Rank Spirit Origin couldn't possibly defeat an enemy like this. My true form could handle it! What? You're saying that just because I got the Grand Rank I have to work? Well, sorry, normally a Perfect-level Beast should be hunted down by seven Grand Rank together, right? How am I supposed to fight alone? I don't want this Grand Rank anymore. You should give it to someone else."

Hearing the urging of the Counter Force in his ear, and glancing at Goetia was firing at full power, Tezcatlipoca said impatiently.

Although he knew he was filling in for the now-vanished Solomon, he hadn't expected to be in this situation. Just coming to take a look and lend a hand would be enough. Grand Rank Spirit Origin, he could only exert a little more power. He couldn't imagine how he could defeat Goetia one-on-one unless his true self came.

That's why he ignored the urging of the Counter Force in his ear and didn't choose to take action.

I made the decisive choice: if I can't win, I'll take my leave.

Fortunately, due to special circumstances, Goetia is now an ally and has deliberately controlled her Meteor Shower to avoid the Servant as much as possible; otherwise, this Meteor Shower attack would have wiped out the entire enemy team.

Anna stared at the shattered Lahmu, along with the Underworld army that Ereshkigal had entrusted to her, and was somewhat at a loss.

Tiamat, on the other hand, was struck by a cluster of meteors, which caused her to stagger and fall into the Sea of Life.

Upon seeing this, Goetia burst into laughter and began mocking Tiamat's incompetence.

But the next moment, he heard Kingu shouting in his ear.

"Idiot! Take a good look at the others! Observe carefully who else is over there!"

"Um?"

Goetia was about to punish the doll who disrespected him, but upon hearing her words, he immediately used his Clairvoyance to look at Tiamat's side, where he saw the figure most important to him was not far away.

He then realized that he had become so engrossed in the fight that he had forgotten about the king. Moreover, Tiamat hadn't been powerless to fight him; rather, she had chosen to endure his attacks to capture Rovey, which fueled his anger even more.

"How dare you!"

Goetia roared and charged toward Tiamat.

At this very moment, before Rovey, the fallen Tiamat was controlling the Black Mud of the Sea of Life, which, imbued with the power of Nega-Genesis, transformed into a gigantic Black Mud hand, attempting to engulf and devour him.

Facing the black tide, Rovey neither dodged nor avoided it. He had long been prepared. The spell of the Temple of Time was ready to be unleashed. His Holy Grail could counteract the power of the Nega-Genesis, and he himself was not afraid of the transformation by the tide of life. Therefore, the outcome was already decided.

A black wave several meters high transformed into a giant hand of Black Mud, grabbing towards him. His eyes, and the final spell, were already prepared. Just as the two were about to collide—

"I finally made it."

"Have you missed me, darling?"

The giant Black Mud hand, and the entire Black Mud wave beneath its feet, transformed into countless flower petals, scattering into the air.

Two Magus of Flowers appeared together, a man and a woman, descending from the sky with great elegance. They had slipped out of their respective Avalon and personally arrived at the final battlefield.

"You actually came?"

Upon seeing Merlin and Merry snuggling into his arms, Rovey smiled.

"Of course I'll come, after all, this is our honeymoon!"

Merry smiled mischievously, while Merlin gave a helpless smile.

"There's no need to dwell on trivial matters now. You have received the mandate of heaven, the will of the Lord, and the expectations of everyone in the entire Seventh Singularity, even the approval of the Demon God King. Your final test has arrived. Do what you want to do—perform the impossible miracle, save those you want to save. You can do it now!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the two Magus of Flowers waved their wands together, dispelling the last of the Black Mud. In an instant, flowers from the Underworld fluttered down, and even the muddy swamp that the Land of Shadows had transformed into vanished. What appeared before Rovey was only a broad road covered with flowers.

Amidst a sea of fluttering flowers, a colossal Calamity Dragon gazes down at the tiny human figures below, its eyes revealing a mixture of reminiscence and more complex emotions.

The tiny person also gazed at her and gently extended their hand.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting."

However, I am here now.

Let me take you where you need to go.

He spoke softly, his palm touching the cold scales at that moment.

The next moment--

[Noble Phantasm Release: Grand Temple of Time]

Chapter 308: Fairy Transformation

Looking up at the starry sky, at the Primordial Sea.

A place that no detector can find.

This is a hollow, empty world, a special place isolated from the rest of the world, and a temple built by a great king and his children through his life's experiences. Its name is --

Grand Temple of Time.

If you look up, you will see a vast expanse of darkness overhead, with exquisite white jade carvings floating around you, as if they were made by the hands of the gods. Everything here is so magnificent and yet perfectly logical.

As the broken meteorites swirled around, it was as if they were announcing that gravity had completely disappeared from this place.

The entire world seemed to have shattered completely, with only giant, columnar monsters made of flesh and blood of different colors writhing or communicating within them.