The crimson dusk bled across the sky as a general astride a white horse traversed the mountains and wilderness, his handsome face devoid of expression.
In his mind, the agonized wails of humans bound by the principles of corruption, unable to find salvation, still echoed. They screamed in torment, seeking to spread their despair to all living beings around them.
Without a doubt, even the soldiers of the United Empire had fallen victim to some entity, transformed into monstrous abominations neither human nor ghost.
To put it more bluntly, that "entity" was none other than the BeastâBeast.
Beasts were the Evils of Humanity, calamities rejected by human history.
Though they were evils, they could never be eradicated. As long as humanity existed, they would continue to emerge, and yet, humanity had to overcome them. The term "Evils of Humanity" referred not to "evils that destroy humanity" but to "evils born from humanityâs own annihilation."
The relationship between the "Evils of Humanity" and "Heroic Spirit Summoning" was akin to humanityâs self-destructive mechanism and its safety deviceâin other words, Chaldea, with its Heroic Spirit Summoning magecraft, had always stood in opposition to the Beasts.
Encountering an enemy on par with the Demon God King and Tiamat in the second Singularityâif Fujimaru knew about this, theyâd probably burst into tears with a loud "Waaah."
The corners of Sakatsukiâs lips twitched, but for some reason, he couldnât bring himself to laugh.
Such a scene, such an apocalypse, had once appeared on the land of Shenzhou over three hundred years ago... or perhaps, thousands of years ago.
The white-haired general closed his eyes. The writhing human figures, the demons smiling beside him, the "Beast" he had personally cast down, the crimson sky, the hell beneath his feetâall these memories flowed from his Spirit Origin into his soul.
"I see. I understand now why you have descended here... and I know what I must do next."
Opening his blood-red, ruby-like eyes, the man exuded an aura under the night sky that was utterly captivating, making it hard to tell whether he was human or demon.
Or perhaps, to defeat something inhuman, one must themselves become a dragon of evil.
Soon, the city ahead came into view. The white-haired general dismounted, and behind him, a blood-red aura took the form of a bird, its wings fluttering as it soared over the unmanned walls, heading straight for the quietestâand most dangerousâplace.
***
The lights were sparse, the candle flames flickering timidly, fearfully outlining the figures in the room before vanishing intermittently.
If anyone from Chaldea were here, they wouldnât believe their eyes.
For this was a scene no less shocking than a "Gathering of the Bare Kings"âaside from the pitch-black, muscular Darius III and the broad-chested, powerfully built Leonidas with his eight-pack abs, there was also a strikingly handsome red-haired youth with increasingly ferocious beastly features on his shoulders, sitting at the head of the table with a gloomy expression.
At this point, there was no need to conceal the youthâs True Nameâhe was none other than the younger form of the Conqueror, Iskandar, still possessing the skill "Rosy-cheeked Youth."
It was worth noting that Alexander the Great, the Conqueror, and Darius III, who had repeatedly stood in the path of his conquest, were bitter rivalsâenemies who would fight to the death upon meeting.
Yet now, these three muscle-bound figures (including the future one) sat together in perfect order, all wearing troubled expressions as they stared at a certain object on the table.
It was a long-haired, bespectacled young man with a delicate appearance and blood staining the corner of his lips...
One could almost call him the Conquerorâs "consort" (chuckle).
"When will this thing be usable?" The way "Alexander" spoke made it sound as though he were referring to an object.
"Spirit Origin is normal. It seems his mind has suffered an impact," Darius III replied calmly.
Yes, you heard rightâDarius III, who usually only roared "NAOOOOOH," was speaking!
"We cannot rule out the possibility that he is using this to avoid battle," Leonidas added.
It seemed like a peaceful scene... if one ignored the beastly head on Alexanderâs shoulder, the sharp scales on Dariusâs back, or the wriggling worms in Leonidasâs chest.
Clearly, it wasnât just Alexander who had fallen under the Beastâs control. The Beastâs minions were able to communicate in human language precisely because they were borrowing the bodies of Servants.
It seemed the United Empire had completely fallen. Who knew how Fujimaru and Nero were faring... Sakatsuki, listening through his familiar, pondered deeply.
The conversation in the room continued.
"Where has Gula gone?"
"Gaul, the front lines. Heâs interested in the Servant Caesar."
"Wait a little longer. Invidia is on his way. Once his body is taken over, this place will become our hunting ground."
"Tch. The magecraft foundation from that country is such a nuisance. It can protect itself. Back in our dayâ"
"Acedia."
"Tch, fine. Speaking of which, hasnât that man arrived yet?"
"The âStone Sentinel Mazeâ has been broken. Heâs probably on his way."
"Good. When the time comes, weâll reveal our true forms together. Even he wonât survive."
"This is no longer that manâs era. Heâs no longer the Grand Commandant who commanded tens of thousands of troopsâjust a wandering ghost."
With that resolute declaration, the room fell silent. The blood-colored bird eavesdropping outside the window flapped its wings soundlessly, melting into the deep night before finally folding its wings and perching on the white-haired generalâs shoulder.
On the hillside, the man stroked his steed, his crimson eyes gleaming.
"Just as I thought."
If they were truly the Beastâs minions, the current Sakatsuki stood no chance against them.
The Spirit Origin fused with him was that of a general, and a generalâs strength lay in his soldiers. With the current number and quality of soldiers, even annihilating the controlled forces of the United Roman Empire would be a stretch, let alone facing the Beastâs minions head-on.
If it really came to a fight, itâd be like the Earth Defense Force battling the Chaos God Grimdarkâa surefire way to get themselves killed.
Sakatsuki needed Servants to join him to pull out the "Ultraman" card, yet defeating the Beastâs minions was the only way to recruit new allies... Talk about a vicious cycle.
But if it were truly hopeless, would Sakatsuki have come here?
Formless, colorless magical energy flowed through their contract, gathering in the white-haired manâs hand and crystallizing.
"Iâll place my trust in you. Also... my apologies, my Master."
Apologizing to Nero, from whom he had drawn a significant amount of magical energy, Sakatsuki flicked his wrist. The bird on his shoulder took flight, swallowing the crimson-tinged crystal before vanishing once more into the night.
At the same time, the white-haired general mounted his horse without hesitation and turned to leave.
Tomorrow would bring a fierce battle.
***
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