Chapter 72: Is This the Hidden Boss?
Ten minutes earlier, at Chaldea.
When the massive target on the screen disappeared, everyone in the control room erupted in cheers.
"The target has vanished! We've detected a response from the Holy Grail!"
"That's great! It looks like they succeeded..."
Doctor Romani let out a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair.
"Hey Romani, you didn't even do anything, and you're already complaining about being tired?"
Da Vinci placed a cup of coffee in front of Doctor Romani.
"What do you mean I didn't do anything?! I just couldn't connect to their side!!!"
Doctor Romani protested indignantly.
"But the interference level was way beyond our expectations. Didn't the Director personally inspect this system before? There shouldn't have been any issues."
"Exactly. For some reason, Ethan and Mash's existence is always difficult to verify. But still, we don't have any other Masters who can fight, do we?"
Doctor Romani stared at the screen, his tone slightly more relaxed.
"Besides, look, didn't they succeed? Now we just need to retrieve the Holy Grail, and this Singularity can be repaired."
"But Romani, you better be careful. If you ate Mashu-chan's black sesame bun, she's going to be mad when she gets back."
"Uwah! Da Vinci, you have to help me! I really didn't do it on purpose..."
Doctor Romani immediately turned to Da Vinci for help.
"Why should I help you apologize to Mashu-chan?"
Da Vinci smiled playfully.
"Mashu-chan rarely gets angry. I kind of want to see what she looks like when she's mad."
"That's the one thing I never want to see... Please help me, Da Vinci-chan!"
Doctor Romani clasped his hands together in a pleading gesture, his face full of desperation.
"Hmmm, what should I do..."
Just as Da Vinci was debating whether to keep teasing Romani—
DIIIIING——————————!!!!
Suddenly, the alarm in the control room blared loudly!
Not only that, but Chaldeas also began shifting into a blazing state!
The people in the control room immediately went on high alert, swiftly checking their respective data.
"Chaldeas' data is extremely unstable!!!"
"Report! We've detected an incredibly strong magical energy response right next to Ethan and Mash!!!"
"Quickly identify the entity."
Doctor Romani and Da Vinci immediately dropped their playful expressions and issued direct commands.
"Analysis complete, transmitting visual data to the main screen now."
When the data appeared on the main screen, Doctor Romani was instantly stunned.
"This magical energy response... It's not a Servant, nor a Phantasmal Species! This is... the response of what is truly called a 'demon' in legend?!"
"The magical energy level is still rising rapidly... Ethan and Mashu-chan are in danger!"
Da Vinci furrowed her brows, staring intently at the screen in front of her.
"Tell them to retreat immediately! This opponent might not be something they can handle!"
"Trying to establish communication... No good, connection failed!!!"
"Switching to another transmission channel, attempting to reconnect!!!"
Doctor Romani was filled with worry, but at this moment, there was nothing he could do. All he could do was stare at the screen and pray.
"Please, Ethan, Mash... Stay safe."
...
Gilles de Rais' body was devoured in an instant, and along with it, the response from the Holy Grail vanished.
"Senpai, be careful!!!"
Sensing something amiss, Mash immediately raised her shield in front of Ethan, staring tensely at the remnants of the massive sea demon.
The remaining body of the sea demon began to collapse, revealing the face of a man inside.
"Mozart?!"
Ethan immediately recognized the identity of the man before him.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
He was supposed to have been summoned by Alaya and, by all rights, should have become a Servant on their side.
According to Jeanne Alter and Gilles, he should have been killed long ago, so why was he here?!
And this magical energy... Could it be that the Holy Grail was inside him?!
A sense of foreboding crept into Ethan's heart.
"Hey, what did you do to Gilles?!"
Jeanne Alter suppressed her anger as she stepped forward to question him.
"...I'm sorry."
Mozart raised his head, his eyes lifeless.
"I... have failed..."
"Stop saying such cryptic things. I'm asking you one last time—where is Gilles?!!!"
Jeanne Alter swung her sword, stopping it right in front of him.
"I'm sorry... Run... It's about to appear..."
"What?!"
Just as Jeanne Alter was about to press him further, the ground suddenly shook violently!!!
Something was rising from this scorched land.
"——————————?!"
Jeanne Alter instinctively leaped back, but the ground continued to crumble, showing no signs of stopping.
"Hurry, over here!!!"
Ethan shouted toward Jeanne Alter, and she immediately followed him and Mash toward safer ground.
"Master! Mash!!!"
Right after, voices called out from behind them.
They turned to see Tarasque charging toward them, carrying the rest of their group on its back.
"Sorry, we got held up by those Familiars for a bit."
Johanna spoke apologetically.
"Hey, Master, what the hell is going on here?!"
Seated on Tarasque's back, Mordred immediately questioned Ethan.
"I'm not sure either."
Ethan's eyes remained locked on the entity slowly emerging before them.
But deep down, he had a bad feeling about this.
"Senpai, this magical energy response keeps rising... It's even stronger than that sea demon from before!"
Mash looked ahead in astonishment.
When the tremors finally ceased, a colossal entity appeared before them.
No... This thing couldn't even be called a living creature...
Rather, it was a towering pillar of flesh, exuding pure malice, standing tall between heaven and earth!
Its surface was blood-red, as if drenched in gore, and covered with countless eyes. These eyes constantly moved, giving the eerie sensation that, no matter where one stood, they were being watched.
This monstrous form was even larger than the sea demon Gilles de Rais had summoned before!!!
Just looking at it felt wrong, as if it could induce hallucinations.
"This form... This is definitely not something that ever existed in France's history! It belongs to an entirely unknown category!!!"
Mash immediately issued a warning.
"Doctor? Doctor, do you hear me?!"
ZZZZZZZZZZZZ————————
The static noise over the communicator indicated that the connection to Chaldea was still not established.
"Still no response from Chaldea... What should we do now, Senpai?"
Mash looked at Ethan with concern.
But at that moment, Ethan was staring in shock at the pillar before him.
Demonic Pillar.
Why was a Demonic Pillar appearing in France's Singularity, it's not Lostbelt.
Moreover, Mozart had actually turned into a Demonic Pillar... This was beyond belief.
"At last... I am freed..."
"My name is Andromalius, one of the seventy-two Demonic Pillars, summoned to bring ruin to the foundation of humanity!"
The colossal pillar of flesh, its roots embedded deep in the land of France, declared war with an earth-shaking proclamation.
"Come forth, pitiful humans, and allow me to bestow upon you the grace of the King!!!"