Merlin's Magecraft wand pointed at the Belphegor illusion.
" By the Nightmare ".
A layer of pale golden dream protection enveloped Metatron and Mash, simultaneously interfering with the phantom's Spirit Origin in an attempt to slow down its attack frequency.
But the effect was minimal.
The environmental rules of the Nightmare World are too powerful, and Merlin's dream powers are also greatly suppressed here.
Her dream-construction skills were first-rate, but the nightmare world Belphegor created far exceeded her capabilities in both size and depth.
Mash raised her shield again to block a claw attack, but was slammed backward and slid more than ten meters.
"That's incredible!"
Metatron cut in from the side, and the Holy Flame Laser pierced through the Phantom's left arm.
The left arm regenerated completely within two seconds.
Karna and Heracles are still trapped in an endless loop of nightmares.
" Merlin!" Ritsuka Fujimaru cried out, "Can those two trapped Servant be rescued!?"
"I can give it a try! But I have to leave the battlefield!"
"Go! Mash and Metatron, hold on!"
Merlin turned and ran toward the edge of the battlefield.
Her senses told her that the entrance to the nightmare cycle was somewhere in this battlefield.
It was a point of spatial distortion, like a vortex.
Merlin found it.
At the center of the vortex, one can vaguely see another wilderness scene, the Romania countryside under the moonlight, with the outline of a fortified town in the distance.
Karna and Heracles were in that wilderness, facing the Wrath phantom of Belphegor for the umpteenth time.
Merlin put her hand into the vortex.
" Light to His Hand."
A pale golden light of blessing extended along her arm into the cyclic space, precisely touching the Spirit Origin of Karna and Heracles.
Within the circular space.
Karna was raising his spear, ready to charge at the hundred-meter-tall monster, when he stopped in his tracks.
Something was flooding into his consciousness.
memory.
Great Holy Grail War. Millennia Fortress. Karna is Lancer on the Red Faction.
Vlad III was killed by him.
Siegfried was defeated by Achilles.
Mukuro Hoshimiya. Michael.
Heracles ' golden sword.
And then the world became like this.
Karna turned his head sharply.
Heracles!
Heracles also regained his memories at the same moment. A flicker of shock crossed the great hero's eyes, but he said nothing, only gripping his axe-sword tighter.
The vortex opened a gap.
Merlin's voice came from the gap.
"Over here! Come out quickly!"
Karna and Heracles did not hesitate and charged toward the breach at the same time.
The two figures flew out of the vortex and landed on the battlefield in the Nightmare Layer.
The vortex behind them healed automatically the moment they left.
But the situation on the battlefield had deteriorated to an extreme degree.
Mash's shield was covered with marks left by battle.
Metatron's wings had a small section torn off.
The Belphegor phantom remained intact, and the Hellfire on its chains burned ever brighter.
Karna and Heracles joined the battle.
The spear and axe simultaneously slashed at the phantom's calf.
Red flames and Nine Lives exploded on the phantom's body, but they did not cause any damage at all.
Ritsuka Fujimaru stood at the very back of the battlefield, watching the situation unfold before her, her expression growing increasingly grim.
Even with an increase in the number of participants, the outcome remained unchanged.
The Nightmare Arena's automatic repair ability completely negated all of our firepower.
Here, that phantom cannot be defeated.
"Retreat!"
Ritsuka Fujimaru made her judgment.
"Everyone retreat! Return to the surface dream realm!"
" Merlin! Clear the way!"
Merlin raised her Magecraft wand, pointing the tip upwards.
She used all her strength to tear open a crack leading to the surface of the dream.
Golden sunlight streamed through the cracks, creating a stark contrast with the dark red of the nightmare world.
"Run!"
Mash was the first to jump into the crevice.
Karna and Heracles followed closely behind.
Metatron was the last to leave.
The moment she stepped into the crevice, she glanced back at the phantom of Belphegor behind her.
The phantom did not pursue them.
Metatron withdrew his gaze and stepped into the crevice.
Surface dream.
In the Trifas.
Six people fell out of the crack in the sky.
Metatron hovered in mid-air, his wings folded behind him, looking down at the crowd on the ground.
The situation has stabilized for the time being.
Sunlight streamed down, a gentle breeze rustled through the grass, and the peaceful facade of the dream world remained intact.
Ritsuka Fujimaru looked up at Metatron.
Metatron.
Do you still recognize us?
Metatron's voice was exactly the same as when they last met.
"I know."
" Chaldea. Human Order Continuation Security Organization. Ritsuka Fujimaru, the Last Master."
Her gaze swept over everyone on the ground.
"And Mash Kyrielight."
His gaze lingered on Merlin for more than half a second.
"The Nightmare of the Inner Sea of the Planet."
Merlin tilted her head and smiled.
"You saw right through me."
Metatron ignored her joke.
Why are you here in this world?
"Correcting the anomaly." Ritsuka Fujimaru answered directly, "There's something wrong with this world. Our Chaldea has detected an abnormal signal, Spiritron Transfer."
"As soon as I landed, I was pulled into a dream."
"We've gathered some intelligence here, but many questions remain unanswered."
He looked at Metatron.
You should know more than we do.
Who exactly is Mukuro Hoshimiya? Why did her Spirit Origin reverse?
Metatron remained silent for a few seconds.
Then she slowly descended to the ground.
"Your questions and my purpose in coming here point to the same answer."
She raised her right hand.
A golden scroll appeared in his palm.
The pages turned automatically, and countless golden words flowed through the air.
"After I descended to this place in the form of Jeanne d'Arc of Arc, I first read through all her memories."
The beginning and end of the Great Holy Grail War. The actions of each Servant. The course of each battle.
"I've seen through the true nature of this incident."
Metatron looked at Ritsuka Fujimaru.
" Mukuro Hoshimiya's true form is not an angel."
Everyone fell silent.
"Her true identity is the Sixth Sephira of the Kabbalistic Tree of Life."
Her name was Tiphereth.
"[ Beauty ]."
Metatron paused.
" Sephira is not a soul, not a living being, and not Heroic Spirit."
Sephira is the conceptual anchor that constitutes the world order.
They themselves are neither good nor evil; they are merely the basic components of how the world works.
"[ Beauty ], as the Sixth Sephira, is located at the center of the Tree of Life and serves as the hub connecting the three upper Sephira and the four lower Sephira."
Its function is to harmonize, balance, and beautify.
"And Michael's angelic power is the outer layer of protection that has long guarded this Sephira."
"It can be understood that Michael is the shell, and [ Beauty ] is the core."
"The shell protects the core, and the core gives meaning to the shell. The two coexist and form the complete Spirit Origin of Mukuro Hoshimiya."
Karna's spear tip moved slightly.
"So, Heracles ' golden sword..."
"The golden sword sealed the shell."
Metatron's voice was devoid of any warmth.
" Michael's angelic powers have been completely sealed off by the Sword of Words. The outer layer of protection has disappeared."
" The Sephira [ Beauty ] lost the protection of the angelic side, and its Spirit Origin instantly became unbalanced."
"The angelic side is silent. The demonic side fills the void."
" Spirit Origin completely reversed."
"The demonic power of Sloth, lurking on the other side of the Sephira, has fully emerged and manifested."
"Ultimately, Belphegor was born."
Heracles clenched his fist.
The Root cause of all this was that one sword strike.
Metatron glanced at Heracles but offered no comment.
Ritsuka Fujimaru organized her thoughts.
"In other words, the fundamental reason for Mukuro Hoshimiya's Spirit Origin Inversion is that after the protection of the angelic side was destroyed, the demonic side naturally filled the void."
"If we can defeat Belphegor and eliminate the power of the demonic side, the Sephira will regain balance, and this anomaly will end?"
Metatron nodded first.
Then he shook his head.
"The direction is correct, but the solution is one-sided."
Ritsuka Fujimaru's heart sank.
Metatron closed the golden scroll in his hands.
"The situation is far more dangerous than you imagine."
Her voice was deliberately lowered by half an octave.
"The Rage Mode you fought in the nightmare's interlayer was merely an illusion. It was a shadow unconsciously projected by Belphegor while he was asleep."
The real Belphegor is still asleep.
Its power is still sealed within its sleep state.
"The short, round demon currently floating above Trifas, bound in chains, is its true form. The chains and locks have sealed off most of its power."
"Our only chance is to bypass the Demon King's true form and find Mukuro Hoshimiya himself at the core of the dream before it fully awakens."
"Correcting the distortion of Sephira at their Root."
"Let Beauty return to where it belongs."
"This is the least costly and the only solution that can save the entire world."
Ritsuka Fujimaru looked into Metatron's eyes.
"What if Belphegor fully awakens?"
Metatron remained silent for a long time.
Long afterward, the wind blew across the grass, stirring the tattered wings on her back.
"If Belphegor fully awakens and activates his Rage Mode..."
"No one can currently check or balance this."
"The dream will collapse."
"The real world will also be completely destroyed."