"You're Morpheus, the one who calls himself Veritas000, the magician?" The man claiming to be King Solomon looked at the suddenly appeared Morpheus without a trace of fear, instead showing a hint of interest.
"No matter. You're all just a bunch of apes. It's fine... I rather like your ugliness. If you have any questions, I'll answer them. For I am the ultimate goal you pursue, the one who commands the seventy-two Demon God Pillars, the king who destroys humanity."
The smile on his face grew increasingly arrogant.
"My name is Solomon, one of the seven Grand Servants standing at the pinnacle of countless formless Heroic Spirits! Do you really think that just because you call me an impostor, I am one?!"
"You're saying those rings on your hand are Solomon's rings?" Morpheus glanced at the ten rings on the man's hand, which appeared to be ordinary gold rings.
Morpheus knew that nine of those rings were genuine, but the main ring... the master ring... was fake.
The true master ring was currently in Romani's possession.
But Morpheus didn't bother dwelling on it. Whether the rings were real or fake didn't matter to him.
He raised his hand, revealing a ring of his own... a peculiarly designed ring, completely different from the ones on the self-proclaimed Solomon's hand.
Seeing the ring, the man laughed. "What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying, quite unfortunately, this ring on my hand is also called Solomon's Ring."
At those words, the man burst into loud, unrestrained laughter, cackling with wild abandon.
He laughed for a while before speaking. "You ape, you're hilarious. Are you saying that strange ring on your hand is King Solomon's ring? You think some ordinary gold trinket can be Solomon's ring?"
"That's odd, because mine is Solomon's ring. It's been authenticated by Michael himself. What about yours? Has it been authenticated by Michael?"
As Morpheus said this, he even blinked, his tone dripping with mockery.
"What, no authentication from Michael? That won't do. If even the Right Hand of God has no interest in your ring, how do you have the gall to call it Solomon's?"
Morpheus slapped his thigh for emphasis. "Oh, come on! Look at your rings, then look at mine. If you're going to forge something, at least make it look convincing! Yours is just some plain old band. Did you think you were crafting the One Ring from The Lord of the Rings?"
In that moment, Morpheus was in full mockery mode, drawing the attention of everyone around him.
"Is… is he always this savage with his words?" Mordred whispered.
Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash, both shocked, shook their heads at Mordred's question.
"No way, Morpheus is usually really easy to talk to and super friendly," Fujimaru Ritsuka said quickly.
Mash nodded in agreement. "Yeah, normally, Morpheus-senpai doesn't talk like this. Even when facing enemies, his goal is to defeat them as quickly as possible. You could say he doesn't bother with unnecessary chatter."
Jeanne Alter, watching Morpheus relentlessly mock the self-proclaimed Solomon, couldn't help but smile.
She wasn't worried in the slightest that Morpheus would lose, so seeing him tear into his opponent was immensely satisfying.
Someone daring to impersonate King Solomon... an act bordering on blasphemy... deserved to be treated like this!
Mordred, meanwhile, frowned at the man claiming to be Solomon and said coldly, "This is your second summoning, and you're already planning to destroy humanity?"
"Don't lump me in with incompetent fools like you. You think I was summoned by someone? After my death, I awoke by my own power and ascended as a Heroic Spirit. I am both a Heroic Spirit and a living being. That is who I am. Thus, no Master stands above me.
"I am still myself, and by my own will, I began my enterprise... to eradicate the dregs of ignorant history, the singular and greatest waste in this universe: you humans!"
"Pfft!" A stifled laugh broke out. The self-proclaimed Solomon glared at Morpheus, fixing his eyes on the man. He despised humanity, and this Morpheus was the one he loathed most!
This man showed no fear, not even in the face of a legendary Grand Servant like himself. Instead, he was brazenly mocking him!
"What are you laughing at?"
"Sorry, couldn't hold it in. It's just funny hearing someone who can barely destroy a planet talk about cosmic-scale nonsense."
Morpheus's expression was infuriatingly smug, but the self-proclaimed Solomon held back from attacking, restrained by his own words.
Seeing this, Morpheus pressed on.
"You say humanity is the universe's singular and greatest waste. So tell me, how many civilizations are there in this universe? How far have they developed? What's their history? What wars have they fought? How were they born, and how did they fall?
"If you can't answer, you're just a liar, full of hot air, making up excuses for your pathetic actions, with no sense of responsibility... a complete waste!"
Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash clamped their mouths shut, silently watching Morpheus in full verbal assault mode. They exchanged glances, both seeing confusion and shock in each other's eyes.
On the other end of the communicator, Olga Marie's eyes widened, her expression practically bursting with excitement. Her little fist was clenched, barely stopping herself from shouting, "Keep roasting him!"
As for Romani, he covered his face with one hand, his expression one of utter exasperation. After hesitating for a moment, he looked up at Da Vinci beside him and whispered, "Isn't he going a bit too far?"
"Doesn't he deserve it?" Da Vinci replied nonchalantly, even patting Romani's shoulder. "Relax, it's not like he's roasting you."
Romani glanced at Da Vinci but said nothing more.
Meanwhile, the self-proclaimed Solomon was rendered speechless by Morpheus's words. He could see countless futures, piercing through many things with his eyes. He even claimed to have seen all futures. Yet this man's demands left him unable to respond.
He abruptly began using his eyes to observe Morpheus, intending to dig up his most painful secrets, to strip him bare like a beggar with no cards to play.
But as his "omniscient" power activated, he suddenly realized his eyes couldn't see through this man's future at all!
It was as if something was constantly protecting him, shrouding his observation in a hazy mist.
He even sensed the power of the Lord, surrounding and protecting this man!
Tracing the source of this power, he finally pinpointed it.
It was Morpheus's finger... the ring he wore!
That ring, one he'd never heard of or seen, one he was certain was fake, yet which Morpheus claimed was Solomon's ring!
The Lord's protection was emanating from that very ring!
"This… this is impossible! That ring on his hand is absolutely not the king's ring! It can't be! But why is it shielded by such powerful force, so strong that even my omniscience can't penetrate it?!"
The self-proclaimed Solomon's heart surged with turmoil. He could see all futures along the timeline, as long as the target wasn't hidden outside it. Yet now, he couldn't see through this man!
He didn't even need to retreat to Chaldea to be hidden... right here, he was impenetrable!
Could it be that, in the distant past, his king had deliberately concealed this ring to guard against beings like him?
The thought deepened the man's resentment, and in that moment, he was consumed by rage.
He no longer bothered answering Morpheus's questions, instead saying coldly, "Your struggles are pointless. I will use my methods, my will, my power, to destroy you! My seventy-two Demon God Pillars, traversing time, have already razed your era!"
"So what if it's destroyed?" Morpheus replied, unfazed. "You've dragged the battlefield to a single timeline, preventing the world from spawning parallel universes, so any changes to the past affect the future. All we need to do is take you down before you destroy everything."
The self-proclaimed Solomon stared at Morpheus, no longer laughing, just watching coldly. Then, his lips curled as if to mock Morpheus in return. "You think you can succeed?
"My seventy-two Demon God Pillars have gained physical forms, reborn. Now they can cast anchors across eras. The Demon Gods are the wedges that halt this planet's rotation. The bands of light circling the skies are the form of my Noble Phantasm, my third Noble Phantasm: Ars Almadel Salomonis.
"Each band of light is a heat ray rivaling a holy sword, equivalent to the Excalibur wielded by the Arthur you just faced, stacked billions of times over... a Noble Phantasm against Human Order itself. Do you still think you have a chance?"
Mordred's face paled. "Billions of times the power of Father's holy sword... you used that to burn eras?! You bastard!"
"I have no interest in answering your question. Now it's your turn, people of Chaldea! This time, I'll give you some respect. I'll only use four bands!"
The power of the light bands began to converge, the energy of four holy swords' releases merging. The self-proclaimed Solomon waved his hand, unleashing four heat rays equivalent to Excalibur upon the group.
But what answered him was a mocking retort.
"You can't even break my defenses. Stop embarrassing yourself." Morpheus, clad in a trench coat, stepped forward. The heat rays struck him but were blocked by an unseen force.
Seeing this, the self-proclaimed Solomon's eyes widened in shock.
He had calculated that these four beams could easily annihilate the Servants present.
Yet they were intercepted.
"In terms of power, it's actually a bit weaker than Typhon's attacks. How about this: I'll give you another shot. Try hitting me again, but this time, use more... four's not enough. How about a few billion?"
Morpheus grinned, his face full of mockery.
"Are you an idiot? Billions of beams to hit you? You think you're worth that?" the self-proclaimed Solomon snapped, but he didn't attack again.
Morpheus shook his head. "Fine, if you're not going to make a move, it's my turn."
His voice grew cold, the mocking expression fading. Morpheus suddenly activated the magical circuits around him, instantly boosting his physical strength explosively!
With a light tap of his foot, he launched himself forward!
At the same time, his right hand extended, conjuring a flaming sword. Gripping it, he swung fiercely at the man before him!
"Boom!"
The unexpected speed caught even the self-proclaimed Grand Servant off guard. By the time he reacted, he could only rely on the magical barriers around him to block the attack.
Bang!
The flaming sword collided with his shield, triggering a deafening explosion. The wild flames consumed everything around them, even incinerating the surrounding mist into its most basic particles.
The man stared in shock as his barrier cracked. He quickly dodged to the side, a flicker of fear in his heart. Something about the flaming sword felt like an immense threat to him!
But as fast as he dodged, Morpheus's attack came faster.
No sooner had he evaded than the flaming sword came again, aimed straight at his abdomen!
If it hit, it might pierce his current physical form outright!
He didn't know why he felt this way... just pure instinct.
***
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