Roland had never considered himself a sage who could account for every possibility.
Most of his strategies were merely plans devised by leveraging his foreknowledge and the broad perspective the Key of All Spirits afforded him to guide events as they unfolded.
Thus, out of his own desire for control, Roland always prepared fallback measures as thoroughly as possible before anything unexpected happened, keeping the entire course of events within his grasp.
Whether it was involving the Ex-Machina, encouraging the spread of a personality cult, or even tacitly accepting a title like Emperor.
With these preparations, Roland had contingency plans to turn the tide even in the theoretically impossible event that the alliance's war effort collapsed entirely.
His past experiences had proven this strategy successful countless times. Whether True Magic Users or Humanity's Evil embodying cosmic phenomena, no matter how they struggled, he could only suppress them mercilessly.
Thus, Roland had never imagined that something unexpected would happen in a part he was personally handling.
Crack, crack-
The terrifying force sent curling cracks across the smooth AT Field. Even its dazzling red light seemed to fade. Beneath that fist's sudden onslaught, everything deformed and twisted.
Then, as the arc left by the turbulent wind of the punch slicing through space rose like a flame, the AT Field shielding Roland rippled like water before shattering inch by inch.
The agony of his soul being torn apart, together with the sensation of his magic power pouring out at its absolute limit, made even Roland feel a measure of trepidation.
The time between Artosh throwing his punch and striking him was so brief that even calling it an instant seemed too long.
Bang-!
Amid the furious howling and the white hurricane churning through space in defiance of physics, Roland's entire body became a