Metatron's gaze fell on the horizon of the distant dream world.
A peaceful town, blue sky and white clouds, a gentle breeze rustling through the neatly trimmed lawn.
A world so perfect it's nauseating.
"The most urgent task is to make contact with Mukuro Hoshimiya in the dream world as soon as possible."
Metatron withdrew his gaze and looked at the crowd in front of him.
"This child isn't inherently bad."
Her voice was slightly softer than before when she said that.
"He's just a bit playful."
Karna's brow twitched slightly.
The being that once summoned a meteorite to strike him was described as "somewhat playful."
"If we explain the consequences to her, she should agree to end the dream."
Metatron's gaze shifted to Merlin.
"Nightmare."
"Um?"
"You excel at understanding dreams. Can you pinpoint Mukuro Hoshimiya's exact location within this dream world?"
Merlin poked the tip of the parasol on the ground and spun it around twice.
"This dream world is just too big."
She tilted her head, her rose-red eyes narrowing.
"It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's boundless. Trying to find a specific person within it is like searching for a specific grain of sand in the ocean."
"And she might not necessarily stay on the surface of the dream."
Merlin looked up at Metatron.
"Are you sure her spirit is in this dream world right now, or somewhere else?"
"My eyes can still see some scenes of the real world."
Metatron raised his right hand, and a golden mirror image appeared in his palm.
The mirror image shows a pitch-black void.
Outer space.
Countless stars twinkle in the distance, while in the center of the picture, a small figure slowly flips in a weightless environment.
Her long, golden hair spread out in the vacuum, like a flower blooming in the darkness.
Her slender body was clad in a dark purple-black Astral Dress.
Eyes tightly closed.
There is no sign of him waking up.
" Mukuro Hoshimiya's body is currently drifting in space, in a state of unconsciousness."
Metatron closed the mirror.
"So her spirit is most likely somewhere in this dream world right now."
"Alright then."
Merlin straightened up and slung the parasol over her shoulder.
Give me some time. I need to figure out my position.
She smiled at Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash.
"You should rest for a while."
Then her body began to change.
Starting from the toes, the body transformed into soft flower petals.
Like a snowman melting in the spring breeze, Merlin's body gradually disintegrated into countless pink petals from bottom to top.
The petals twirled and scattered in the wind, flying in all directions.
Before leaving, Merlin left behind her last words.
See you later.
The sound dissipated into the air along with the last few petals.
Heracles watched the petals drift away in the distance, remaining silent.
If Astolfo were here, he would probably say something like "How beautiful."
But none of the people present here are the kind of people who would say such things.
Ritsuka Fujimaru turned to Metatron.
" Metatron, while we wait, could you tell us a little more about Belphegor?"
"Know yourself and know your enemy. It's always good to know more."
Metatron looked down at him.
"Okay. This will also help our subsequent actions."
She found a slightly higher patch of earth on the grass and stood on it.
Its wings spread slightly, casting large shadows in the sunlight.
" Belphegor. One of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars of Hell, the demon king who wields the great sin of Sloth."
"He usually slumbers in some corner of hell, detached from worldly affairs, uninvolved in conflict, and unresponsive to summons. He is the most docile of all the demon lords."
"The other great sins of the demon lords will all cause some kind of disturbance. Pride will provoke, Gluttony will devour, lust will tempt, and Envy will incite."
"Only Sloth. It does nothing. It just wants to sleep."
"But you can't underestimate it just because it's lazy."
Metatron's tone turned somber.
"When it awakens in Wrath, it possesses power that rivals any great sin demon king."
It could even be said that, in terms of pure destructive power, Belphegor is the most terrifying of the Seven Deadly Sins.
The reason is simple.
Its attacks will leave permanent scars on the world itself.
Karna and Heracles both looked at her.
That's a destruction of space itself.
A space Hellfire will be left with cracks that can never be repaired.
"There is no defense that can withstand it."
Mash's fingers unconsciously tightened their grip on the shield.
"So, back in the nightmare world, that phantom's Hellfire..."
"That's just an illusion. The illusion's Hellfire can only reproduce a small fraction of the original's power, and the damage it causes in the dream world won't affect reality."
"But what if the original body awakens?"
Metatron paused for a moment.
"If Belphegor's true form awakens in the real world and activates its Rage Mode, every attack it launches will leave permanent wounds in the real world."
Even if we manage to defeat it in the final, arduous battle, by the time the fight is over, the real world will have been torn to shreds.
"A world whose spatial structure has been completely destroyed cannot sustain any life."
"Winning would be meaningless."
Ritsuka Fujimaru took a deep breath.
"So we must resolve everything before it awakens."
"Yes."
Metatron looked into the distance.
"Find Mukuro Hoshimiya, who is the origin of the incident, and get her to end this disaster on her own."
This is the only way.
What followed was a long wait.
Time in the dream world doesn't flow in perfect sync with the real world, but the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west.
After Merlin left, the group of people who remained didn't just sit there idly.
Karna found a tree to lean against and closed his eyes.
He doesn't need sleep, but he needs to organize his thoughts.
Heracles stood motionless in the wilderness, like a statue.
No one knows what he's thinking.
But occasionally you can see his fist clench slightly, and then relax.
Mash stayed by Ritsuka Fujimaru's side, checking the surrounding magical energy reactions from time to time.
Ritsuka Fujimaru leaned against a rock, trying to take a nap, but her mind was too full of thoughts, and she couldn't fall asleep at all.
Metatron stood alone on the earthen slope, facing into the distance, without saying a word.
The wings on its back fluttered gently in the wind.
She was looking at something.
Perhaps it is looking through the surface of a dream at the withering earth of the real world.
About half a day later.
As noon turned to dusk, the sunset in the dream world dyed the entire wilderness orange-red.
Pink petals suddenly drifted into the air.
One piece, two pieces, and more and more.
Petals gathered from all directions in front of everyone, swirling and coalescing in the air, gradually piecing together a human figure.
Merlin reappeared.
A few petals still clung to her white hair; she reached out and brushed them away.
"You're back."
Ritsuka Fujimaru immediately stood up straight.
"How about it?"
"One is good, the other is bad, which do you want to hear first?"
"OK."
Merlin raised her left hand.
Three glowing lines appeared on the back of her left hand.
Command Spell.
I found her.
"During my search of the dream world, I found a boy named Caules. There is a very faint connection between him and Mukuro Hoshimiya."
"At first, I thought it was just residual information from a dream. But after careful observation, I discovered that the source of the connection was the Command Spell on the back of his hand."
"Three complete Command Spell."
"He must be the Master summoned Mukuro Hoshimiya in this Holy Grail War."
Merlin shook her left hand.
"I used my dream powers to strip away his Command Spell at the conceptual level and temporarily sealed them within myself. He's currently sleeping soundly in his dream, completely unaware."
" The Command Spell linking Master and Servant are a soul chain that can traverse any distance."
Even if the Servant is in the deepest part of the dream, as long as the Command Spell are still active, she will definitely be found.
Merlin walked up to Ritsuka Fujimaru and extended her left hand.
"I intend to transfer these three Command Spell to you. As the Master of Chaldea, it is most reasonable for you to hold them."
Next, we need to use Command Spell Seals to pinpoint Mukuro Hoshimiya's exact location.
Ritsuka Fujimaru glanced at Merlin, then extended her right hand.
Merlin's fingertips gently pressed against the back of his hand.
A pale golden light flowed from her fingers into Ritsuka Fujimaru's skin.
The three Command Spell Seals disappeared from Merlin's hand and reappeared on Ritsuka Fujimaru's hand.
Ritsuka Fujimaru clenched her fist, feeling the faint pull emanating from the Command Spell.
It was an extremely thin line, extending from the back of his hand, pointing in a distant and profound direction.
"Found it," he said.
"Hmm." Merlin nodded.
Then her expression subtly changed.
"Next comes the bad news."
"The location of Mukuro Hoshimiya is not on the surface of this dream."
"It's not in the nightmare mezzanine we visited before either."
"Deeper."
"The deepest layer of the dream world, far deeper than the nightmare world."
"That should be the core area of this entire dream. It's the final space where the dream's owner's consciousness resides."
Ritsuka Fujimaru frowned.
"Is it possible to jump directly from the surface to the deepest layer?"
"Cannot."
Merlin shook her head.