The Temple of Time was vast; even moving from the outer edge to the central Throne required crossing more than a kilometer.
At a point one kilometer in from the outer perimeter, a spatial fault awaited.
That was the great hall of the Temple of Time—the very center where the Throne was located.
Rozen had seen this hall once before, within the Tablets of Destiny.
It was a truly extraordinary space.
It seemed to stand upon an endless cosmos, floating amid the azure heavens as if suspended between sky and earth.
Above stretched a boundless sky.
Below spread a blue plain like a vast ocean.
All around floated craggy peaks and fragments of stone.
Across the sky, a beautiful yet dangerous band of light cut through like an eternal scar, radiating a transcendent aura. Within it, without anyone knowing when it had shifted, lay a star-filled firmament.
And at the center of that hall, a Throne stood tall, rising like a pristine white iceberg. Only a solemn staircase of the same pure white connected to it, giving the illusion that by ascending, one could soar into the heavens and enter the radiant band of light that floated above the Throne.
This was…
"Solomon's Throne…"
Standing upon that ocean-blue plain, staring at the solemn Throne, Mash whispered.
Rozen stood beside her, sweeping his gaze around before lifting his eyes—first glancing briefly at the dangerous yet beautiful band of light, then turning them toward the Throne.
There, seated upon it as though eternally unshaken, was a figure.
"So, you have finally come here?"
The figure's voice rang out, heavy with irritation and even loathing, as if toward unwelcome intruders.
"Very well. With only the Demon Gods, it was indeed difficult to halt you, especially with the Vanguard Wandering Star and the Beast II lending their aid. That you would arrive here was foreseeable, even if distasteful."
Saying so, the figure rose from the Throne.
"—!"
Rozen remained composed, but Mash could not help paling, sweat pouring down her face.
The reason was simple: the instant that figure stood, an unspeakably vile aura erupted from him.
That aura was every bit as dreadful as Tiamat's.
It was so malignant that even the atmosphere itself seemed to tremble.
It was as though some ancient, monstrous beast had awoken from its slumber, rising to its full height—terrifying, dreadful, overwhelming.
Mash had felt something like this once before, back in the Fifth Singularity. Yet never so clear, never so vicious.
Now even she understood.
The being before them was not a mere Grand Caster.
Only Rozen remained calm, eyes unwavering as he gazed at the figure.
Not merely unwavering—his look carried the weary indifference of one staring at something he had already seen too many times before.
And if Rozen had been told that was exactly the impression he gave, he would have said the observer was correct.
At this moment, he truly was staring at something he had long grown tired of.
For he already knew the true identity of the one before him.
"How should I address you? Shall I continue to call you Solomon?"
Rozen's voice carried a faint, mocking edge.
The implication was clear, and the other seemed to grasp it.
"So, you have discerned my true self?" Solomon said, his tone devoid of joy or sorrow. "If so, then you should also understand—calling me Solomon is still acceptable."
Yes.
Calling him Solomon was indeed possible.
After all…
"No matter what else, this body is indeed Solomon's. That much is undeniable."
Solomon grinned.
But Rozen gave him no such satisfaction.
"Kingu was created from the remains of Enkidu, yet even he understood that he was not Enkidu, but another being entirely."
Rozen's eyes bored into Solomon as he spoke, the mockery now undisguised.
"That truth even he grasped—yet you, who ceaselessly put yourself above mankind, fail to see it? To shamelessly claim you are also Solomon… Do you not even know what shame is?"
At these words, Solomon's expression darkened, and the aura about him grew even more vicious.
Mash was no fool; now she too understood.
"You truly are not Solomon." She demanded, "Then who are you?"
At that, Solomon laughed.
His laughter was wicked, deranged, almost monstrous.
"Ha… hahaha… hahahahaha…!"
He roared with laughter, then bellowed:
"Very well! Wearing the skin of that foolish king—I had grown tired of it!"
"Since you have reached this Throne, beneath this band of light, then even if you are unworthy, as a reward I shall show you my true form!"
"Behold! This is the end mankind fears yet cannot comprehend—the true existence that shall bring your extinction!"
With those words, Solomon's vile aura burst forth completely.
"RUMBLE—!!"
The temple thundered as if struck by lightning.
The Throne shook violently.
The sky quaked.
The earth quaked.
The very air quaked.
The countless peaks floating nearby shuddered as well.
The being who called himself Solomon was swallowed in malignant mana, turning the surrounding void into darkness and murk.
When at last the sky was blackened, when many peaks shattered and fell, and when massive Demon Pillars rose up in the temple like roots encircling the world, only then did the vile aura subside.
And then, before Rozen and Mash, the abomination revealed itself.
In a word—it was a monstrosity.
A true abomination.
It bore the form of a towering brute, muscles swelling across its hulking body, its limbs coarse, its visage beastly and savage.
Its hands were studded with countless glaring eyes, and even its chest bore a bloodshot one that made the flesh crawl.
Its head resembled a human's with regular features, yet sprouted antler-like horns, branching like a great stag's.
Though only about twice the height of an adult man, the ferocity of its aura rivaled that of a primeval giant beast.
"You—"
Mash's voice shook in horror at the sight.
Rozen narrowed his eyes, light gleaming within.
The other, however, gazed down upon them with the hauteur of one enthroned, speaking words unexpectedly calm and intellectual.
"Grand Castor is nothing but a false epithet."
"I am a great calamity, created by mankind yet most suited to manipulate human history—one of the seven Evils of Humanity, the Beast who governs the principle of 'Pity'—Beast I."
"You may call me this."
"—Goetia."
This was the truth.
The one behind the Incineration of Humanity was not a Grand Servant.
A disaster capable of threatening the Human Order, of threatening mankind itself, could only be a Beast.
And the culprit of this calamity was indeed one of the Seven Evils of Humanity—Beast I.
This was mankind's true enemy.