Chapter 396: [396] Goetia, Let Me Teach You the Final Magecraft! [1]
Under the gaze of countless eyes,
a youth with orange-red hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a white coat and radiating sunshine, made his entrance.
His name was—
[Romani Archaman!]
Yes, he was Dr. Roman!
The gentle doctor who had joined Chaldea ten years ago and worked diligently every day.
An ordinary man with no talent for magecraft who should never have appeared on the battlefield.
A king who bore responsibilities not his own, shouldering them all as his personal failures.
Upon his appearance,
even the mighty Demon God King Goetia could not believe it.
Nameless and Mash could manifest—one a Master, the other a Demi-Servant bound by contract, transmitted via Spiritron Shift.
The Servants could descend because of their faint bonds with Nameless, answering his call across time and space.
But this ordinary human—how could he possibly be here?
In that moment, no words were needed. Everyone understood instantly—
"Holy shit! So he really is King Solomon! A King of Mages who can’t use magecraft!"
"Here it comes! The previous video mentioned he has a trump card against the Demon God King. What is it?"
"Hurry up! Bring out your strongest card and take down the invincible Demon God King!"
"But the problem is, he’s already turned into an ordinary person. What kind of trump card could possibly threaten the Demon God King?"
"Obviously, it’s the ring on his hand! Earlier, when Nameless first arrived at Chaldea, he tried to steal it!"
...
Outside the video.
Sakura Matou couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement, "Unbelievable. Who could have imagined that a doctor from Chaldea was actually King Solomon?"
In reality, Chaldea was just an ordinary Spirit Adjustment organization.
Its sole purpose was to provide a place for Heroic Spirits worldwide to sit down and resolve conflicts through debate—rather than immediately resorting to Noble Phantasms and all-out battles.
Before Alaya released the exposé videos, no one even paid attention to such an organization.
Without a single top-tier Heroic Spirit, who would care?
But now—
First, it was revealed that Chaldea was an organization dedicated to preserving human history and saving the world.
It was also the logistical base supporting Nameless in his battles.
The Nameless Heroic Spirit who walked through human history was already extraordinary enough.
Even Mash, who was originally just a test subject, inherited the legacy of Galahad of the Round Table.
With her near-invincible defense—the [Idealism Shield]—she could withstand the Demon God King’s [Human Order Cannon]!
And that wasn’t all. The cute little white creature in Chaldea, seemingly just there for comic relief, turned out to be a genuine Beast of Humanity!
Don’t underestimate a juvenile Beast—once fully grown, it could casually trample gods and overpower countless Heroic Spirits!
And now, even the acting director in charge of logistics was exposed as King Solomon!
The progenitor of magecraft, the ultimate sovereign of all magic!
"It’s truly incredible."
Tohsaka Rin smiled awkwardly.
The Chaldea headquarters was located in Fuyuki City, and that Doctor Roman had previously come to the academy for an inspection.
Upon realizing that the other party was an ordinary person, someone who couldn’t use magic, Tohsaka Rin, a genius in magic, had said—
"How about I teach you how to learn magic?"
Indeed, she was a top-tier magical genius, having elevated the Tohsaka family’s jewel magic to new heights.
Her future was limitless, and no one could underestimate her.
The problem was!
She actually wanted to teach the King of Magic how to use magic!
What a clever little trick I pulled off, doing something others wouldn’t even dare to think of!
Tohsaka Rin recalled how he had shyly said that he had no talent for magic and wouldn’t waste her time.
At that time, she had even comforted him not to give up.
Even the most talentless ordinary person had the right to learn magic.
Looking back now, Tohsaka Rin felt like she wanted to dig a hole like Aile and crawl into it.
How embarrassing!
Matou Sakura grew increasingly curious: "So, what exactly is his trump card? Why did the senpai want to steal the ring?"
"It will be revealed soon; there’s no need to guess anymore."
Tohsaka Rin looked at the screen with a sense of futility.
Fortunately, that scene hadn’t been exposed; otherwise, she would really want to die...
At that moment.
After the doctor made his appearance.
The camera suddenly shifted to the interior of Chaldea.
After Nameless and Mash worked together to enter the final throne, Chaldea could no longer accurately observe the scene.
A staff member reported: "Report, the Demon Pillars have begun invading the interior of Chaldea!"
Previously, eight Demon Pillars had simultaneously attacked, aiming to destroy the Chaldea headquarters in one fell swoop.
Fortunately, hundreds of Heroic Spirits from the seven Singularities had descended at the same time, easily thwarting the Demon Pillars’ conspiracy.
But now.
All the Heroic Spirits were suppressed by the Demon King Gaitia’s [Counter-Summoning] ability and could not assist in the battle.
The Demon Gods rampaged into Chaldea, intent on tearing it apart completely.
"Seal all the partition walls... Has that already been done? Then inject Ether blocks into the passage! That should hold for five more minutes!"
Da Vinci ordered without hesitation: "Go take refuge in my magic workshop, temporarily abandon the control room..."
"No, if we do that, it will cause the spirit particle transfer framework to stop functioning! It will prevent the Master and Mash from returning!" Doctor Roman countered anxiously.
The control room was equivalent to the heart of Chaldea.
Abandoning the control room entirely meant giving up on the Master and Mash!
At this moment.
A meteor shower fell, and hundreds of Heroic Spirits who had come to assist in the battle were all expelled.
The Master and Mash were facing the Demon King with just the two of them, a situation perilously extreme.
Ten deaths, no life!
How could they possibly choose to abandon the two?
"In that case, I’ll have to think of a way myself. What should I do?"
Da Vinci furrowed her brow, her gaze fixed intensely on the doctor, "So, Romani, will it be a desperate struggle or a complete surrender?"
As the Demon King Gaitia forcibly expelled all Heroic Spirits, it seemed he was about to annihilate Nameless and Mash.
Two choices lay before her and the doctor.
One was to forcibly escape Chaldea, preserving the last flicker of hope for humanity.
The other was to struggle to the end, refusing to retreat, and do everything possible to assist in reclaiming a glimmer of victory.
Both choices were essentially ten deaths, no life!
"The value of the future? Since even Mash is prepared for sacrifice, I must also be ready."
Doctor Roman looked around with a complex expression.
His eyes were filled with nostalgia, as if he wanted to engrave everything deeply in his heart.
"What? Do we really have to do it that way?" Da Vinci bit her lip.
As the first to discover his identity, she had long anticipated that this day might come.
After countless hard-fought battles, they had still arrived at this day.
"Yeah, now seems to be the most appropriate time; that last attack has already shown me Gaitia’s limits."
Doctor Roman smiled more gently, "In the past, I was a cowardly man who only participated in battles I was sure to win."
"But not anymore. Gudao and Mash have given me confidence; being human is really wonderful."
His smile, though incredibly gentle, seemed to carry a sense of helplessness.
And, ultimately, a sense of nonchalance.
A kind of nonchalance that saw through everything and let go of everything.
"In summary, I’m leaving everything here to you, Leonardo."
Doctor Roman looked at his colleague with deep regret, "I’m truly sorry; all the burdens will fall on you."
"Before they return, you must hold this place at all costs. You can definitely do it; after all, you’re a genius~"
"I’m an all-purpose genius; don’t worry, I’m looking forward to your souvenir!" Da Vinci scoffed.
She turned her head away.
On her perfectly beautiful face, there was a sadness that was so palpable.
Even her eyes were misting over.
A simple conversation.
Yet it felt like a final—
Farewell!
Da Vinci bit her lip and said: "Romani, you..."
"Don’t worry, when I return, don’t forget to treat me to strawberry cake~"
Doctor Roman revealed a warm smile and turned away without hesitation.
The audience, who had been waiting for the doctor to reveal his trump card to take down the Demon King, suddenly felt that something was off.
One by one, the audience began to sense the scent of steel—
[Could it be that using that trump card requires sacrificing one’s life?]
[Hmm, it feels more likely that it involves sacrificing a Noble Phantasm; earlier, King Hassan sacrificed his Noble Phantasm for a single strike!]
[Indeed, he is a true Rank 1 Magus, absolutely qualified to sacrifice a Noble Phantasm for the strongest attack!]
[Oh, then that’s no problem; let’s wait and see the doctor’s great power; I’m really looking forward to it!]
[Hehe, indeed looking forward to it; after all, there’s nothing to worry about; sacrificing a Noble Phantasm won’t kill you.]
[Even if he really dies, he can be summoned as a Heroic Spirit; it won’t touch me, nothing to fear!]
...
Under the excited and expectant gaze of all the audience.
The camera shifted from Chaldea to the throne.
Doctor Roman greeted with a smile: "Hey, Gudao, you did great, successfully protecting little Mash!"
Currently, little Shield Girl had not perished under that world-destroying attack; she was merely lying down, severely injured and weak.
In his eyes, little Shield Girl was treated like a daughter, always carrying a sense of guilt.
Or rather.
Not just he and Da Vinci, even that undercover Demon Pillar, Professor Leif, felt a deep sense of guilt.
This was precisely why the Demon King Gaitia repeatedly tried to persuade Mash to surrender, wanting to take her away to live eternally.
"Doctor, you’re here?" Nameless looked at him with a complex expression.
Doctor Roman smiled in response: "Yes, I’m here."
"You shouldn’t have come."
Nameless sighed softly.
Time and again, he fought desperately, wanting to protect everyone.
Sacrificing a small number of people to achieve ultimate victory in war was never an option he considered.
All the misfortunes of the world stemmed from the inadequacy of those involved.
If one had enough strength, one could confidently say—
I will protect them all!
"But I came. It’s my turn to take the stage now."
Doctor Roman said with a hint of apology, "I’m sorry to steal your thunder; please don’t stop me."
At that moment.
Fufu, perched on Nameless’s shoulder, suddenly cried out—
"Fufu... Fufu (Wow, weren’t you hiding away eating cake? Why did you suddenly come out?)"
As a genuine human evil, it naturally knew the identity of the other party.
"Yeah, I really am a coward."
Doctor Roman shrugged helplessly.
He had been too cowardly.
He had always been afraid to step forward, watching Nameless fight desperately in the front lines.
He could only be an ordinary doctor, providing powerless support from the rear.
It was truly embarrassing.
The Demon King Gaitia, controlling the third Noble Phantasm, looked at him in shock: "Romani Archiman, how can a mere human appear in this throne... Wait!"
The mighty and invincible Demon King was now filled with incredulous shock.
Just this scene alone would be unbelievable to anyone.
The Demon King stared blankly at him: "Wait, you, your Noble Phantasm! Your Noble Phantasm!"
In extreme shock, he began to stutter.
"Yeah, I’ve already abandoned the wish I made to the Holy Grail. From now on, it’s all my original words and actions."
Doctor Roman looked at the extremely shocked Demon King with a smile.
And then.
He suddenly removed his gloves: "Before that, I must take off the gloves first. Then everything will become clear."
As the gloves came off, a golden ring could be clearly seen on his middle finger.
It seemed utterly ordinary—the kind of ring that had once led Mash to mistakenly believe he had been married.
Yet on the hands of the Demon King Goetia, there were a full ten rings.
However.
Nine were the original rings, and one was a counterfeit.
"Doctor, you shouldn’t have come."
Nameless’s hand trembled slightly as he tried to snatch the ring away.
But alas, the doctor had long since steeled his resolve. There was no way it could be taken from him.
No one but the doctor had the right to wield this ring.
Only this man before him—obsessed with virtual idols—could truly pierce through the Demon King’s invincible defenses!
But the cost was...
"This is what I lost—no, this is the tenth ring of King Solomon!"
Goetia stared at him in growing disbelief. "You... you couldn’t possibly be... could you...?"
"Well, it was eleven years ago."
Dr. Roman smiled with unparalleled ease. "Back then, the first director of Chaldea, Marisbury Animusphere, prepared this ring as a relic for the Holy Grail War."
"It was also the gift King Solomon left for the distant future upon his death."
Three thousand years ago,
he who was omniscient and omnipotent, surpassing even the gods, died without illness, leaving behind this ring.
Waiting for an encounter three millennia later.
Eleven years ago,
the first director used this ring to summon him, effortlessly winning the Holy Grail War and granting him a wish.
Now,
wearing the ring, he stood before the Demon King.
"Even I didn’t understand why I did such things at first. I thought it was just a whim of the gods."
Dr. Roman shook his head. "But this ring was found by Marisbury, and it summoned Chaldea’s first Servant—Solomon."
"That is, me. Together with him, we won the Holy Grail War and fulfilled our wish."
Possessing the strongest Clairvoyance to see through past and future,
omniscient and omnipotent, surpassing even the gods—far more powerful than you could imagine.
Even the future three thousand years later had already been grasped in its entirety!
"No! Impossible! This is absurd! How could that man possibly have a wish?!"
The Demon King Goetia roared in fury.
Even with the ring presented before him, he refused to accept it.
King Solomon, omniscient and omnipotent, could have anything he desired—everything in this world was within his reach.
How could he possibly have a wish like an ordinary person?
Let alone abandon everything to wish for an ordinary life?
"Wrong! All of this is wrong! None of this makes sense! Flauros, are you blind?!"
He vehemently denied it: "Cold! Heartless! Cruel! Heretic! The man who served as my original could never have a wish like a common human!"
This was something he could never accept.
That man had been utterly indifferent from beginning to end, watching the world’s changes with detached eyes.
Despite possessing such power, he never sought to change anything.
The most outrageous part was this:
The Demon Pillar Flauros had once lived in Chaldea as Professor Lev, working alongside him for ten years.
Ten years!
Such a long time, yet he had never once noticed the man’s true identity.
Not even the final massive explosion could harm him in the slightest, allowing him to stand before Him.
Are you blind?
"...Hearing you say that really hurts!"
Dr. Roman grew increasingly exasperated.
Being angrily scolded in front of his Master and Mash was indeed rather embarrassing.
"But that’s beside the point. The fact is, Solomon’s wish was granted. Here’s the issue—Solomon possessed the Clairvoyance that could be called omniscient and omnipotent."
He sighed softly, "When he became human, he lost all his powers, yet in that very moment of loss, he witnessed the end of humanity!"
"Though he had become an ordinary person, he couldn’t stand idly by when it concerned him, so he began his journey."
In the video.
Scenes flashed by in rapid succession.
Dr. Roman, who had fought through the Holy Grail War and wished to become an ordinary human, was now frantically preparing to save the world.
He was just a normal person, so he could only proceed in a normal way.
Thus, he started from scratch.
From relearning how to be human.
He didn’t know who the enemy was, nor what the turning point would be.
All he could do was push forward with relentless effort.
After joining Chaldea, he worked almost without rest.
Beyond his duties as a doctor, tending to everyone’s health.
He single-handedly managed the operation of remaining equipment, the maintenance of Sheba, the control of Chaldea’s furnace, battle strategies—everything.
The fleeting images clearly showed him working himself to the bone.
Because Singularities were both reality and hypothetical worlds.
As long as Nameless remained in a Singularity, his existence would become ambiguous, easily fading into nothingness.
To ensure his survival, his condition had to be constantly monitored.
Even the slightest deviation had to be corrected immediately, making Dr. Roman Nameless’s strongest logistical support.
Dr. Roman was just a mortal.
To compensate for his lack of talent, he had to sacrifice all his time and energy to work.
If sacrificing those wasn’t enough, he had no choice but to push himself further.
Using all kinds of drugs to forcibly maintain his stamina, masking his physical exhaustion.
The viewers were stunned.
As a doctor, he couldn’t possibly be unaware of the dangers of these drugs, yet he took them without hesitation.
Forcing himself to work without rest through various medications, supporting Nameless’s journey with everything he had!
Even after all this.
Dr. Roman still spoke with gentle warmth: "Of course, I received a lot of help too, and the most important was you—Gudako."
"You were the first to treat me as a friend, the first to treat me as an equal, and like me, willing to fight desperately to preserve humanity."
"Throughout this Grand Order, I’ve been helped by you every step of the way. I’m truly grateful."
"Thanks to you and Mash, I was able to come this far."
Working himself to death, supporting Nameless at any cost.
Yet at this critical moment, he was still thanking Nameless.
Grateful that Nameless treated him as a human being, becoming his only friend.
The audience was deeply moved—
[This man gave up omniscience and omnipotence to become human, yet shouldered a burden as heavy as a mountain!]
[Working himself to the brink every day, pushing through with drugs! What terrifying resolve!]
["Sigh, seeing him like this really makes me uncomfortable. It reminds me of the virtuous king who died from overwork and Zhuge Liang."]
["He and Nameless are so alike, no wonder Nameless considered him a friend and even wanted to snatch the ring."]
["Indeed, Nameless also gave up everything to enjoy an ordinary life, yet still shouldered the heavy responsibility of saving the world!"]