The second floor was just as filthy as the first.
Clownish demons wandered about, flailing their limbs in a dance-like frenzy, lunging at me from every corner. All I could do was sweep them aside like chaff while monitoring the area for any other anomalies.
"Something feels off…"
[Hm? Is your Mystic Eye picking up some strange information?]
Perhaps because I was tearing through the enemies with such ease, Roman's voice sounded relaxed as he replied to my observation. I answered with a sharp, stiff tone.
"These demons. They're too weak."
[Aren't they just weak because they're clones?]
"Even for clones, they should be Heroic Spirit-tier… yet these are weaker than Shadow Servants. It's unnatural. They wouldn't even measure up to a single one of Hassan of the Hundred Faces' divisions."
Hassan of the Hundred Faces was a Heroic Spirit known for having the lowest parameters among the various Wraiths. This Mephistopheles I was looking at was weaker than that... to be blunt, they weren't even as strong as an average Clock Tower Magus. At best, they were on the level of Sakura Matou after six months of training at the Kuonji Mansion.
One could argue his Noble Phantasm is somewhat threatening, but the prospect of him planting a 'polluted information core' inside my body was effectively impossible due to the absolute defense of Shinra Tensei. Inflicting a wound on me with physical abilities barely surpassing a trained civilian was equally laughable.
"That's why I'm saying it's strange. There's no way a Curse cast by a Servant could be this pathetic."
[The King of Demon Gods' objective is to kill you… so couldn't he have another strategy? Like buying time, for instance.]
"If that were the case, there's no reason to summon Mephistopheles. If he had called forth Vlad III, we'd be in the middle of a chaotic brawl right now."
[True… you have a point.]
In terms of cost-effectiveness, Mephistopheles buying time against me could be seen as an encouraging result, but to achieve the King of Demon Gods' primary goal of 'my death,' summoning other Servants would have been far more appropriate.
[At any rate, it's a relief this Singularity is a 'time-attack' type. It looks like the time for the Third Singularity to manifest is approaching.]
"…The Third Singularity? Now that I think about it, I have to head to the proper Singularities once this is over."
I spoke while absorbing the Prana of a ghost that had burst out of Room 208.
[According to your records, the location of the Singularity is Okeanos… specifically, 'The Sealed End of the Four Seas.' Da Vinci already built a portable motorboat for you, but are you going to be okay?]
"If push comes to shove, I can just use the Animal Path to summon Leviathan."
[…Wait, you're going to summon the beast from the Book of Job?]
"I was just joking. You know better than anyone that summoning a monster of Leviathan's caliber isn't an easy task even for me."
[I only said that because I felt like you could actually pull it off.]
While we shared this amiable conversation, the Mephistopheles clones continued their cackling laughter, lunging with their scissors to try and pierce my throat. I channeled my irritation into my Magical Energy, scattering it across the area with a shout.
"Get lost already, you persistent masochistic demon bastard! I don't have time to be tied down by you lots!"
"Ah-ha! We do not mind! Whatever you say is 'No Touch, No Problem' to us!"
"Because the command our Master gave us is…"
"To 'Stall for Time'~~!"
"Ugh, those sons of bitches."
[If we're entering a war of attrition, it might be better to find the Holy Grail and dismantle the Singularity itself.]
"…That would certainly make things easier for me."
Reading their memories via the Human Path was impossible since puppets have no souls, and they ignored my questions through the Naraka Path with nonsensical gibberish. Learning the truth behind this Singularity seemed impossible.
"Roman, if I just blow the entire Singularity away, can you bring me back before I suffer existence erasure?"
[That wouldn't be a problem. However, if we forcibly erase the Singularity without retrieving the Holy Grail, won't that affect the other Singularities? And who knows what the King of Demon Gods might do with that leftover power…]
I scanned the second floor with the Rinnegan, but as expected, no unique Prana signatures caught my eye. Following Romani's briefing, I ascended the stairs toward the third floor.
The third floor was also crawling with all sorts of monsters and Phantasmal beasts. While the first and second floors were filled with mere ghosts and undead creatures, beasts that could truly be called 'Demonic Beasts' began to emerge on the third floor.
[If you summon creatures from the Animal Path here, it really will be a kaiju war.]
"Stop talking like that, it makes me feel nauseous... If you have time to blabber, provide a briefing on the Holy Grail's location and support the Observation and Control team!"
[Hey, I'm technically the Head of the Medical Department! Shouldn't those tasks be handled by the Clock Tower Magi?]
"And what am I supposed to do about that?! Lord El-Melloi and Sola-Ui are tech-illiterate!"
Furthermore, Waver's console operation skills were limited strictly to gaming consoles. The only available person to reinforce the control team for monitoring the Third Singularity was Godword, who was serving as a backup force just in case.
[Well… don't feel too pressured. If time really starts dragging, I'll force a Rayshift and pull you back to Chaldea just like you said. No matter how important an Extra Singularity is, there's no telling what kind of mess the King of Demon Gods might have made in the main Singularities.]
…Eh?
"Wait, Roman. You just said that the Third Singularity is about to manifest, right?"
[Hm? Ah? Yeah, I definitely said that. Why?]
"Then call Godword right now and have him join the Singularity observation team."
[What's this all of a sudden?]
The Third Singularity: Okeanos, The Sealed End of the Four Seas… Wait, could Goetia's real goal be…
"Aoko-nee is briefing Ritsuka right now, right? What's Ritsuka's current progress?"
[Uh… it's unfolding differently than the Fourth Holy Grail War we knew. First off, you didn't participate in that war, and Gilgamesh was summoned as Archer… Also, the Berserker class isn't Salome, but a Servant named Lancelot.]
"…And the situation with the Cryptors?"
[The negotiations with Van-Fem aren't going well. So they decided to establish the 'Lulu-Lily A Paranodilia' first. Arcueid is exposing all of his weaknesses… the plan is to lure him out and kill him all at once with a team of Mystic Eye snipers.]
Five Cryptors are currently down in a Singularity.
The only ones remaining in Chaldea are Kadoc Zemlupus and Beryl Gut…
"The control room manpower seems far too low. We need to send someone there immediately."
[…Is something wrong?]
"Mephisto said it earlier—their goal is to buy time. Ritsuka's Fourth Holy Grail War Singularity and the Dead Apostle Singularity the Cryptors went to are the same…"
[You mean the King of Demon Gods created the Extra Singularity specifically to stall for time?]
"Since he attempted a 'sowing discord' ruse in the Second Singularity, making the Third Singularity a time-attack mission isn't outside the realm of possibility… Furthermore, Ritsuka, who acted as an irregular factor in the Second Singularity, has been sent to a different one. It means he's succeeded in neutralizing the variables."
[Okay, give me a second.]
Clearing his throat, Romani connected to the Chaldea intercom system and began briefing everyone on the details of our conversation.
After the briefing, all sorts of radio transmissions began flooding through his computer speakers. After spending a few moments listening to the chatter and issuing orders for personnel deployment alongside Olga Marie, Romani replied with a weary voice.
[Whew, we've used up all our spare forces. For now, I've called Fujimaru Shirou from the kitchen staff to join the control team. Like you said, he is certainly a capable individual.]
"Of course. And what about the other idle personnel?"
[I've diverted Kadoc Zemlupus and Beryl Gut to the scene. Both were in the archives team, but if the King of Demon Gods is indeed trying to obscure Singularities to buy time, we need to identify them as quickly as possible.]
"Ah, I have one more adjustment."
[?]
"I want you to have Manaka join the control team."
Since she possesses the perspective of Clairvoyance, she should understand what I'm looking for.
The final bosses of the Third Singularity were Jason and Medea.
Furthermore, since their goal was to place a Goddess into the Ark to achieve their ends, it was, in a way, the most perfect setup for a 'time-attack.' In fact, find me a Singularity that isn't a time-attack mission.
"Find the Holy Grail first, and if it's still not there, we'll—"
"My, my! No cheating allowed~~!"
At that moment, a massive surge of dark blue flames rose up like a waterspout, swallowing my entire body.
"Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-ha-ha-ha-ha!!! You went boom! You've melted away like ice cream in midsummer! Though I have never seen or tasted ice cream myself, it was just like that!! Oh, dear. If only you had stayed blissfully ignorant and let me buy time, you wouldn't have had to face such a cruel! and! harsh! fate! Right? Gosh, how foolish… I really wanted to twist and mince your whole body to eat you up, but to be char-grilled like this is truly regrettable! Uhi-hee-hee-hee! By the way, does this mean… Mission Complete? Has the sun finally begun to shine on my demonic life…"
Mephisto, seemingly delighted to have finally 'killed' me, continued to spout nonsense while dancing down the stairs.
"Well, I've finished the job! Now, to pass the time until this Singularity truly collapses, let the wraith-versus-zombie deathmatch begin—!!!!"
The moment Mephisto spread his arms wide to begin his theatrical narration, a massive blade drove itself straight through the area of his heart.
"Ha…?"
"As I thought. I have to go this far for you to let your guard down."
Naturally, the one who had buried a blade in his grotesque chest was the person whose absurdity I could no longer stand to watch… Me.
"Wh-Whaa-at?! You were caught in those flames and roasted like a char-grilled Maillard reaction just now!"
"Are you forgetting your own words?"
"Puppet Substitution! To think you'd fail to notice such a simple trick, Mephisto is officially disqualified as a clown!"
He was persistent, meticulous, and seemed to know a lot about me.
It would have been nearly impossible to fool him with an ordinary deception… so I figured that faking my death was the most effective method.
"I know you're the real body. I'm sure the forbidden Curse Goetia placed on your head is still there too… Just in case, I have to ask: do you have any intention of quietly handing over information?"
"Yes! If you'll have me, I'll even lick your boots!"
The moment Mephistopheles spoke, a massive manifestation of a Hellgate appeared behind me. A hand lunged out, grabbed his tongue, and began to pull. This was 'Insight into Truth,' a power of the Naraka Path.
"…At this point, I'm not even surprised anymore."
[The fact that a thing like that could be recorded as a Servant is the real miracle…]
Brushing aside the complaints of Olga Marie, who had joined the briefing team, I began to reshape my arm.
"You're planning to blow up the entire Singularity? That will affect the Third Singularity too, you know~~?"
"You bastards were already actively affecting it anyway… Dammit, there was a reason why this Singularity was so hard to observe and gave such a weak reaction. I thought you had a cloaking field up, but it turns out the Singularity itself was just weak."
It was a decoy Singularity meant to waste time, and it didn't even have a Holy Grail from the start.
"Haha! I didn't lie! It's true that there was a Holy Grail in the Singularity!"
So muttered Mephistopheles in a muffled voice as his tongue was being pulled by the Naraka Path.
Finally, having transformed my arm into a massive explosive, I raised the middle finger of my other hand at him.
"Cut the crap."
[Singularity erasure reaction confirmed! Body and soul data locking… synchronization complete! The entire process will finish in 2.7 seconds, so hang on tight!]
As the nuclear blast erupted, I felt my entire body levitate, and my vision was consumed by a blinding flash.
Once my eyes adjusted to the light and I surveyed my surroundings, the faint scent of blood reached my nose.
In one corner, Kadoc was receiving emergency first aid, his hand bandaged as if it had been pierced by a blade. In the center of the bloody area lay Beryl Gut, looking like someone who had been subjected to unspeakable torture, sprawled out covered in blood.
Beside him, Manaka was casually chanting healing spells to mend his wounds.
"Yo, Manaka."
"Did you blow up the whole Singularity? I'm honestly looking forward to the next one. Since you've already handled the aftermath of this Singularity's destruction, the next one won't be just an ordinary 'Sealed End of the Four Seas' level, right?"
"That's the risk we have to take. If we waste time looking for a proper solution while a truly dangerous main Singularity triggers, that'll be the end of humanity… By the way, what about him?"
"Oh, this mixed-breed fellow? Just as you said, he was a spy. I figured there'd be at least one among the Cryptors... By the way, for them to send someone like him here, they must have put quite a lot of effort into this Singularity."
"Mm. Then I'll ask you to help observe the Third Singularity as well. I'll join you as soon as I check my puppets."
"Okay."
Naturally, no one paid any attention to Beryl, who wore a look of utter despair.