And so, the time arrived on the second day.
6:30 AM, Chaldea time.
Yawning, Naoki and Rei walked into the control room.
Inside, Roman and Ritsuka, who had been waiting, turned around upon hearing footsteps.
"Good morning, Department Head." Ritsuka was the first to greet with a smile. "You're up before noon today."
"So now it's abnormal for me to wake up early? Should I go back to sleep then?"
"If you go back to sleep, we'll be the ones in trouble." Roman, whose face looked better than before, said with irritation. "Please take some responsibility for your own issues, Head of Operations."
Naoki shrugged. "That's why I woke up early today. By the way, I'm not late. The meeting time was 6:30, and I arrived right on time. There are still people who haven't shown up."
As Naoki said, of those who decided to go to the seventh Singularity yesterday, only Ritsuka, Naoki, and Rei were present. The others hadn't arrived yet, likely still on their way.
And shortly after Naoki finished speaking—
The control room door opened again.
Mash, carrying Fou on her shoulder, rushed toward them. "Good morning, Senpai, Doctor, Big Brother, Miss Rei. Mash Kyrielight, reporting for the gathering—I'm two minutes late, I'm so sorry."
"It's fine, we just got here too." Naoki smiled. "If Mash is here, then the only ones left are…"
"No need to rush us. We're here."
Almost simultaneously with Mash's footsteps, Hinako's voice followed, and then her figure entered the control room alongside Xiang Yu.
As a side note, Hinako had now shed her disguise.
Ankle-length black braided hair, a high-neck tight outfit with a black jacket, and black-framed glasses that gave a slight intellectual air—her attire perfectly matched the image in Naoki's deepest memories.
"Good morning, Senior Hinako, Lord Xiang Yu." Naoki approached the two. "I'm sorry, Lord Xiang Yu. Though I said before we wouldn't ask you to do anything, this operation will ultimately face many enemies. We'll need your strength after all."
Xiang Yu was an intellectual machine created by Shi Huangdi, modeled after an immortal magical artifact excavated from the ruins of the Yin and Shang Dynasties, similar to Nezha. His original purpose was to suppress, annihilate, and combat large groups. When facing hordes of Demon Beasts or even Lahmu, he would undoubtedly play a crucial role.
Xiang Yu nodded slightly. "No issue. In my command bank, aside from the first directive to accompany my beloved wife, the highest priority is the second directive, 'Peace Under Heaven.' Since the Human Order Incineration disrupts 'peace under heaven,' I'm happy to contribute to restoring Human History."
"This is also so I can stay with Yu forever in the future."
"Lord Xiang Yu…"
Though it was just a simple statement, Hinako's cheeks flushed bright red.
(Spreading romance so early in the morning, this couple is really…)
Seeing this scene, Naoki and the others sighed helplessly. Then Roman said, "With this, everyone is here."
Naoki, Rei, Ritsuka, Mash, Hinako, Xiang Yu.
These six were the team scheduled to head to the seventh Singularity for the restoration mission.
In truth, Okita and Atalanta also desperately wanted to join this operation, but even though they wanted to, the number of people Naoki could bring at once was limited, up to two at most. Moreover, from a combat strength perspective, Rei was the strongest, so in the end, they could only stay behind in Chaldea with regret in their hearts.
Of course, there was also the reason that Naoki feared something might happen to them. The early battles were fine, but once Tiamat awakened, every Lahmu that appeared had god-level combat strength. Not to mention Atalanta, even Okita, who could transform into a Guardian, might face issues.
Not to mention the Goddess Tiamat. They understood this as well.
"Then, let's begin the strategy meeting for the seventh Singularity."
As usual before heading to a Singularity, when the control room lights dimmed, the projection of Chaldeas appeared again among the gathered group, zooming in on the Mesopotamian region.
"At 7:00 AM today, Chaldea completed preparations for the Spiritron Transfer to the seventh Singularity."
"This is the final Singularity, formed by the seventh Holy Grail sent by King Solomon to the past. Its location is one of the oldest authentic civilizations."
"The End of the Age of Gods, 2600 BCE, the land of ancient Mesopotamia."
Mesopotamia was a civilization that flourished between the two rivers flowing into the Persian Gulf, the Tigris and Euphrates, one of the four great ancient civilizations.
This time, they were heading to the era of its early dynasties.
In the world of Magecraft, this era is generally considered a pivotal time for the separation from the gods. The gods began leaving the earth, and humanity gradually became the primary subject of the planet.
"The Age of Gods… a world before the Common Era, what was it like exactly?" Mash asked, a bit curious.
"In simple terms, it was a world where gods still walked the earth."
Naoki explained, "In the Age of Gods, the divine realm and the underworld truly existed alongside the bright world. If you flew into the sky, you could reach the abode of the gods, and if you dug underground, you could reach the underworld. The gods didn't enter the Reverse Side of the World but often appeared in human or divine forms."
"That's the gist of it."
"Additionally, it's worth noting that in the Age of Gods, the intensity of Mana was more than one level higher than in the modern era. True Ether, long gone in the modern era, filled every corner of the Age of Gods. In that sense, it's a good thing for us."
"The rest, let's discuss when we get there. Isn't it better to see it with your own eyes than me just describing it verbally?"
"Yes, I understand, Brother." Mash nodded.
Turning off the projection, Roman continued, "Regarding the specific situation in the seventh Singularity, we still don't know anything. Though we're certain our allies have gone there, we haven't received any information so far."
"In short, after arriving in the Singularity, the first thing to do is meet with the local pioneers and make further arrangements after verifying the information."
"We'll set the Spiritron Transfer location in Uruk, the largest city in the Singularity. Using that as a base, let's begin the final restoration of humanity step by step."
"This is the last Singularity. I entrust the future of humanity to you all."