Chapter 102: As Everyone Knows

Roland tore open the amniotic sac and surveyed his surroundings. Every sight that unfolded before his eyes appeared so vivid, so captivating.

Through the eyes of those watching him, he saw clearly his current form.

A fearsome and terrifying figure, covered in gleaming metallic scales that shimmered beautifully. His sharp bones curved like blades, and steel-like muscles rippled slowly beneath the scales.

He excitedly flicked his tail, each sweep leaving a crackling sound in the air, each probing motion carving deep, treacherous grooves into the ground.

Upon seeing the noble demon before him, Angolamagne instinctively expanded his own form. Once called a demon himself, he refused to be surpassed so easily. Yet the Evil of This World, utterly destroyed by the Holy Sword, had only recovered enough to match Roland’s current size.

“If this continues, I will die...” Angolamagne realized the dire situation. After Roland’s revival, the tide of battle had turned once more.

Greatly weakened, he could not withstand the combined might of the Holy Sword wielder and Roland. Yet, when Angolamagne glared fiercely, Roland did not meet his gaze. Instead, he opened his palm, revealing the dragon talisman, cracked and glowing white with fissures.

The power of the Heavenly Holy Grail, capable of enacting the Third Law Relief, had been completely drained by this greedy talisman. Thanks to the perpetual motion of the soul engine, the eternal source of energy had finally regained its brilliance.

The dragon talisman rose from Roland’s hand, hovering midair before shattering amidst scattered white light. From within the radiance, a dragon formed—its body composed entirely of blazing flames, its spirit akin to that of the Holy Lord—circling Roland.

“That is... the manifestation of the talisman’s divine power.”

Danik, the first pioneer to unlock talisman power, immediately recognized the truth of this scene. Unlike his own method of devouring Enki and then using the Holy Grail’s power to bind divine energy within a talisman-bearing servant’s body—a clever shortcut using a simpler seal—this talisman’s seal was completely broken, its power restored to its peak essence. The proud posture itself attested to this.

As far as Danik knew, the only one who had devoted so much time and effort to research how to liberate divine power like this was that very person.

“Excellent! My prize draws ever closer!”

Zouen Matou, wrapped in a swarm of insects, flew into the air, gazing covetously at the free-flowing flame dragon. Just as expected, the power of the Third Law had been successfully absorbed by the talisman, becoming an even safer perpetual engine. Now, if he could devour this divine power, eternal life and immense strength—his dreams—would be within reach!

At this crucial moment, even knowing that the servants and Evil of This World were watching like hawks, Zouen Matou charged forward with his true form, gambling everything on this single chance.

His clones could not bear the essence of this power, and even the servants could not comprehend the unknown. He was the only one aware that this divine power would be released. Now, with this foresight, he was poised to seize the advantage!

The divine power seemed to sense this too, actively flying toward him, swiftly arriving before his eyes.

At such a moment, even the usually scheming Zouen Matou could not hide the joy on his face. He spread his arms wide, ready to embrace his rebirth.

“Burning divine power...”

“—belongs to me!”

A massive claw swept aside Zouen Matou and his insect swarm like mere debris. Roland stepped forward, baring his chest.

The flame dragon did not even glance at Zouen Matou; with the grace of a swallow returning to its nest, it dove into Roland’s body.

In an instant, Roland’s entire being radiated golden light. The air stirred without wind, forming expanding vortices that swept up everything nearby.

Roland’s pupils brightened, as if molten lava flowed beneath his eyes. Orange flames spread from his gaze, lingering and dense. Within that sea of blood-red, the mark of the dragon talisman appeared.

“Roar—!”

Roland let out an excited roar. The talisman’s divine power granted this body inexhaustible strength. For a fire demon, it was akin to adding fuel to a blazing fire. Flames spontaneously ignited in his hands and were casually hurled forth.

“Feel the burn!”

On the ground, still tainted by black mud, explosive power reigned supreme, allowing the flames to rage wildly amidst the malevolent curse.

“Ah?”

Perhaps because everything unfolded so smoothly and naturally, or perhaps because the shattering of his dream was too overwhelming, Zouen Matou could only utter a stunned murmur. Disregarding the situation entirely, he charged at the now demon dragon form of Roland, demanding:

“Roland! We had an agreement...”

Roland cast a disdainful look at the insignificant insect before him, extinguished the flames on his claws, and held him before his chest, speaking with an air of entitlement.

“I am a noble dragon and a demon sorcerer—”

“—as everyone knows, I do not keep promises!”

“I will destroy you!”

Roland’s merciless words shattered Zouen Matou’s defenses completely, causing the insect swarm to emit a raucous shriek.

But facing such a feeble power, Roland no longer even wished to watch the insects struggle. A mocking smile curled his lips; his tone was icy, like a sovereign delivering judgment.

“Die, insect!”

A shimmering flame flashed and vanished, burying Zouen Matou’s dreams, life, and past all at once.

At first, this five-hundred-year-old monster had made Roland cautious. But now, crushing him felt no harder than stepping on an ant.

“This is the first prize. Now to reclaim the rest of my power.”

“Danik, buy me time!”

Seeing Roland advance, Angolamagne’s face changed drastically. Hastily, he ordered Danik to suffer in his stead.

Though his expression was full of resistance, Danik’s body moved forward of its own accord. From the moment he willingly entered the Holy Grail, he was destined to be controlled, just like a manufactured human.

Witnessing Zouen Matou’s demise, Danik spared no effort and unleashed the ultimate method he had prepared for his own escape.

“Open fire—!”

“Boom—!!!”

Rows of missiles screamed through the air, heading toward the now-vanished Mount Enzō.

As a modern magician, Danik had long ago, some sixty years prior, considered leveraging the German military to seize the Holy Grail. How could he forget such traditional skills now?

“Did someone say open fire?”

Watching the barrage cut through the pre-dawn sky, Roland turned his head without fear and spat a stream of flames at the incoming attack.

Seeing this, Danik grinned smugly. Simply igniting the missiles with fire would trigger a more destructive chain reaction. If he could exploit this moment to create an opening, perhaps he could seize the chance to transfer the servant body to Roland’s own, shaking off Evil of This World’s control and ascending to new heights!

However, the expected explosions never came. Danik looked up in shock as the missiles, covered by the flames, failed to detonate even a second time and instead turned to ash amid the intense light and heat.

“Boring little toys...”

Roland spat sparks, regarding Danik with an amused gaze. “Now, what tricks do you have left?”

“This is your fault!” Danik roared, harnessing the servant’s body’s power to charge at Roland. He extended both hands, eyes shining with an unusual light.

“I have a talisman too, one that can destroy you!”

The mark of the sheep slowly appeared in his eyes. He was ready to abandon his body, release this divine power, and seize Roland’s body during the soul’s astral projection!

White beams shot straight from his eyes toward Roland, intent on forcing his soul out of his body.

Roland did not dodge nor evade. The soul beam quickly twisted and went limp, flowing into Roland’s body along with Danik’s divine power.

Unable to speak fully, as the core power vanished, Danik’s soul fragments rapidly deteriorated. After all, he was merely a dependent entity sustained by the sheep talisman.

“No...!”

He summoned all his strength to cry out one last time, attempting to interrupt the talisman’s use, but this power no longer obeyed him.

“The soul’s astral projection,”

The surge of soul energy greatly uplifted Roland’s spirit. A joyful smile spread across his face as he placed his claws on his hips.

“This birthday gift suits me perfectly.”

At last, with the final trace of divine power absorbed, Danik’s body went limp. He struggled to reach out to Roland, eyes filled with pleading, then utterly lost life. The body he had fought to obtain dissolved back into spiritual particles.

In an instant, Zouen Matou and Danik both sank into silent death.

Roland nodded with satisfaction. Though these two magicians were villains in a broad sense, he admired them. They had sacrificed everything to help unlock his talisman’s seal, allowing him to directly absorb the essence of this divine power. Like a flight attendant offering fine wine and caviar to first-class passengers with respectful eagerness, such kindness was rare.

Compared to them, the worthless one holding ten talismans yet showing no progress stood out starkly.

Roland fell silent and, with heavy steps, approached Angolamagne.

This reality only twisted Angolamagne further, but fortunately, the interval during which Roland absorbed divine power had allowed him to gather some strength for a counterattack.

Now, Angolamagne’s size still matched Roland’s. Rather than using recovered power to rebuild his body, he poured everything into his talismans.

“Even if you might be the true owner of these talismans, they belong to me now! Stop, Roland. We can rule this world together!”

Panicked, Angolamagne refrained from attacking outright. Though he possessed more talismans than Roland, he now understood the difference between truly unlocked talisman power and sealed states was significant.

All ten of his talismans granted only passive abilities. How could he compare to Roland, who seemed to be the true master of the talismans?

After much thought, Angolamagne chose reason and emotion to sway.

“There is no need for conflict between us. I do wish to destroy the cursed humans, but you don't care for them either!”

Angolamagne spoke passionately:

“You can’t fool me! You don’t care about humans at all. Those lowly lives are worthless compared to you. You can’t possibly regard them.”

“So... shall we kill off all humanity together? I have no interest in this world. You may have it after.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

Roland looked at Angolamagne with utter disbelief. “If all humans perish, who will I rule? A kingdom devoid of people would be little better than hell.”

“Impossible! A creature like you would never care about humans!”

Angolamagne’s face was incredulous. Born from human malice, he could not comprehend Roland’s thoughts.

Being such a powerful existence, why would he still need humans? Even without malice, he should not care.

“Of course I care about humans. All things are relative concepts: yin and yang, male and female, water and fire. Magic is the integration and opposition of these qualities to unleash power beyond nature.”

Roland tilted his head slightly.

“Before I begin my reign, humanity’s fate is my servant, part of my kingdom. From this perspective, I even love humans... after all, each one is my possession. Those who covet what is mine have only one path—death!”

“Wait—”

Ignoring Angolamagne’s words, Roland lunged forward, overturning the massive body and piercing the slick flesh with his claws. His mouth brimmed with orange-red flames.

“Stealing my talismans and still making demands?”

Roland glared at Angolamagne as though looking at a fool.

“Now, vile thief, face the end of your fate.”

“—Let the flames purify all!”

In the next instant, a blaze of crimson ignited.

Raging fire boiled the air, surging forth like boundless seas. With the roar of the atmosphere, the inferno swept in all directions, bursting forth from Angolamagne’s form with the violent fury of a force intent on burning and devouring all existence!

(End of chapter)