109: Chapter 109 The Human King, Goetia
"Come, humans! Let me see just how much weight your obsession carries!"
With Goetia's roar, the story perspective zoomed out abruptly, and the familiar tactical UI expanded in the holographic vision!
However, this time...
Facing this enemy who killed their junior and drove the Doctor to his death, in this moment, not a single one of the tens of millions of players across the server thought about class compositions, Cost management, or tactical positioning.
For "FGO" players, what is a [Command Spell]?
It's an absolute trump card that only restores one stroke every twenty-four hours—a lifeblood that one would never part with unless facing a total party wipe, even when pushing through high-difficulty quests.
But now... to hell with management!
In this moment, the human miracle known as "empathy" transcended physical network cables.
Inside countless VR pods, tens of millions of Masters who didn't know each other, scattered across the Blue Planet, performed the most unified and shocking action in the history of Blue Planet gaming, without any system guidance whatsoever—
They simultaneously raised their wrists, eyes bloodshot, without hesitation or a single trace of regret.
In one breath! They expended all three of those most precious scarlet marks on the backs of their hands!
"Goetia—!!!"
Within the pitch-black Great Hall of The Throne, countless brilliant lights erupted.
"By my Command Spell, I order you!"
"All Servants, release your Noble Phantasms!!!"
Countless meteors, countless light cannons, carrying a fury that sought to tear this temple to shreds, exploded at this moment!
"Give Mash back to me!!!" A-Dai cried as she frantically pressed the ultimate skill button.
"Give the Doctor back to me!!!" Lin Feng's eyes were also bloodshot as he threw his team of Servants into the Demon God King's face regardless of losses, just to pour his damage onto that massive, alien body a second sooner.
The Demon God King, who had once brought endless despair, saw his massive body collapse under the players' unreserved barrage of firepower.
"I... I do not understand... what meaning is there in such fragile lives, such a brief journey..."
With one last sigh filled with confusion, Goetia's body completely disintegrated in the endless radiance of Noble Phantasms, turning into pitch-black ash.
The notification sound of victory rang in everyone's ears. The Grand Temple of Time, having lost the Demon God King's control, began its irreversible and total collapse at this moment.
The heavens collapsed and the earth split; dark gold magic circuits snapped inch by inch, and the starry background peeled away like shattered glass, turning into a storm of void destruction.
"Finally... it's over." PD slumped to the ground in exhaustion, his body already soaked in sweat.
In the holographic image, the perspective began to shake violently, and Da Vinci's anxious call echoed in their ears: "Ritsuka! Run! The temple is going to collapse completely! Run toward the light of the exit!"
The players could only grit their teeth and run for their lives amidst falling boulders and tearing spatial rifts.
Ahead, the white gate of light leading to Chaldea was already within reach.
If they could just step through, they could return to that home—dilapidated yet still warm. This long, cruel journey that had taken so much would finally come to an end.
However...
Just a second before they were about to rush into the light gate.
Da Vinci's shocked voice came through the communication channel:
"! What is this reaction...!? Suddenly manifesting—no, waiting there is...!?"
The originally high-spirited and hurried escape BGM was suddenly cut off, losing all sound in an instant.
The path ahead was blocked by a figure.
It was an adult male with brilliant golden hair.
Half of his body was scorched, revealing pulsing magic circuits beneath his mangled skin. That face belonging to a king was now covered in blood and scars.
Every breath he took brought out crimson blood foam, as if just standing there was enduring the agony of a thousand cuts.
PD froze, and Lin Feng stopped in his tracks. All the players who were running looked in disbelief at the swaying man blocking the doorway.
[King of Men, Goetia]
"You..."
Chu He looked at Goetia on the holographic screen; the hatred in his eyes had long since vanished, replaced by an indescribable complexity.
"...You wouldn't let me escape that easily, would you?"
"Exactly. We finally share a common understanding, Fujimaru."
King of Men Goetia looked up, and in his one intact golden eye, an unprecedented calm surfaced.
"I will not let you return alive. You shall vanish here along with me."
He clutched his bleeding chest and stumbled a step forward, as if delivering his final words.
"My dream has been shattered."
"Being in this temple, all the vast amount of time spent has lost its meaning."
"Yes."
"I have lost."
This king who once looked down on everything calmly admitted his defeat at this moment.
"The bands of light have vanished. The Incineration of Humanity has become void. From the moment King Solomon was extinguished, my great work also vanished instantly."
"The current me is no longer the 72 Demon Gods. I am but their dregs, like the final remaining 'result'."
"No matter what I do here, I cannot change the fate of defeat. Even if I kill you, the outcome will not change."
With every sentence Goetia spoke, the health bar above his head dropped irreversibly.
"...This is a meaningless battle. If it were the old me, I would never have made this choice."
"But—"
Hearing this, Lin Feng sighed and couldn't help but mutter to the broken man on the screen, "...You have a reason to fight, don't you?"
"Correct. I too have ambition. No, I have found ambition."
On Goetia's mangled face, an extremely weak yet pure smile actually appeared.
"I now understand the spirituality of you humans. Now that I have obtained a finite life, I finally understand."
"...Long. It has been a truly long journey. After all, during these 3,000 years, I have stayed here without ever stepping out."
He slowly raised his hand, and his remaining magical energy condensed into a broken sword of light.
"I will stop you for the sake of an existence I cannot yield. You, in order to survive, must stop me as quickly as possible."
"That is all the respect that can be expressed in words."
As Goetia spoke, the prelude to "Grand Battle" slowly began to play. A few heavy and oppressive piano notes sounded like fate's countdown, or like this king who had lost everything was sounding the final war drum with his remaining life.
It lacked the usual excitement, instead carrying a chilling sense of desolation and destiny.
The fury and hatred in the players' hearts seemed to be completely extinguished at this moment by a sudden downpour.
In its place was a deep desolation and a trace of indescribable respect.
The existence before them was no longer that high-and-mighty calamity. He was merely a mirror reflecting the tragic epitome of humanity—knowing destruction is inevitable, yet still striving to leave a mark upon this world.
"Now then, let us begin the end of this quest."
"The Grand Order launched for the Incineration of Humanity. O Master who has crossed seven worlds and seven Singularities."
"My name is Goetia. The existence that destroys humanity with humanity, advancing toward what lies beyond."
"The existence that continuously advances toward a pole where no one exists... toward a hope of the void that no one desires."
"Now, I am born; now, I am destroyed."
Goetia gripped the sword with both hands, pointing it at the Master before him.
"Even if there is no result, no reward, I will use all my strength to destroy you."
"My enemy. My hatred. My destiny."
"I hope you can witness it. This brief time is the story granted to me."
"Such a short, yet so beloved time—this is the true life granted to the existence that calls itself Goetia."