Chapter 1269: The Great Extinction of Earth's Civilization
"All over the world?"
Looking at the images floating in mid-air, Eiji felt completely unsettled.
"Scáthach, are you saying the entire world is now engulfed in flames? Are there any survivors left out there?"
If all seven continents and oceans were burning, how could ordinary people possibly survive?
What's going on with this Singularity?
Everything was fine yesterday, so how did the world suddenly end today?
"There are still some survivors."
At that moment, Merlin chimed in, his expression turning rather peculiar.
"But although they're alive, their situation is extremely dire!"
"What do you mean?"
"Let me create a model so you can understand immediately."
Merlin lightly tapped his wand.
A shimmering blue magical light rippled out, forming a sphere resembling Earth in mid-air, complete with simulated landmasses and oceans.
"This burning started from somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean."
Merlin pointed his wand at the Earth model floating in the air.
As he explained, the originally blue Earth model suddenly turned crimson red at the location of the Atlantic Ocean.
Looking closely, that point was precisely at the antipode of Japan in the Western Hemisphere.
"Though it's Oceania, it unreasonably began to burn and rapidly spread in all directions. After twenty hours, all major continents in the world have been completely submerged in flames!"
The red on the Earth model quickly occupied most of the planet, covering continents like Europe, Asia, and America.
"Twenty hours?"
Hearing this timeframe, Morgan suddenly thought of something.
"Isn't that when the fourth moon appeared in the sky?"
"Exactly!"
Merlin nodded with great certainty.
"It was last night, when the fourth moon appeared in the sky, that the Atlantic Ocean began to burn!"
It's actually related to the fourth moon?
Eiji and Morgan exchanged glances, both seeing shock in each other's eyes.
They had previously guessed that the appearance of the fourth moon would bring enormous changes to this world and were planning to investigate. Little did they expect that the changes had already begun, leaving them no time to proactively investigate!
"What about the survivors you mentioned earlier?"
"The ordinary people in the outside world are already all dead."
Merlin shook his head, his face showing no trace of emotion.
"Right now, the only ones still alive are the incarnated Heroic Spirits scattered across the world. After being impacted by the burning, they've been rushing with all their might toward the other side of Earth... or rather, they're being driven here."
Only the awakened Heroic Spirits remain alive, and they're being chased by the flames, their area of activity shrinking smaller and smaller.
"It's just like the circle shrinking."
Eiji muttered under his breath.
"Exactly! The fact is, this Singularity is indeed shrinking its circle!"
Hearing his muttering, Merlin instead laughed heartily and pointed at him.
"Take a closer look at this Earth model. I'm adjusting the burning boundaries in real time based on my Clairvoyance... Have you noticed that the burning has been approaching this Konoe City from the very beginning?"
The几人仔细看去.
The flames had already spread to the periphery of Nihon, precisely isolating its surroundings in a perfectly circular barrier!
"The burning initially appeared over the Atlantic Ocean, at the point exactly symmetrical to Nihon on the opposite side of the globe. More precisely, it was the point symmetrical to Kijoshi City. The flames then spread uniformly in all directions, surging from one pole of the Earth to the other. Ultimately, while destroying the entire surface world, it forced all remaining awakened individuals to gather in Kijoshi City... This is likely the truth!"
Merlin spoke with absolute certainty, as if stating an indisputable fact.
"In other words, this is a genuine shrinking battlefield!"
Scáthach also wore an expression suggesting she largely agreed.
It seemed they had already discussed this and reached the same conclusion before Eiji and the others arrived.
"Hmm, this is really complicated."
Arcueid scratched the back of her head.
"So, is this also the work of that Goetia fellow?"
"This shrinking battlefield is clearly an artificial phenomenon. Since this Singularity was created by Goetia in the first place, and he possesses the ability to manipulate Singularities—coupled with his prior history of the Incineration of Humanity—he is indeed highly suspect..."
Eiji stroked his chin, lost in thought.
But was this possible?
Hadn't Goetia already achieved enlightenment during the Time Temple incident, comprehending the meaning of fleeting life? It was precisely because of that enlightenment that he later became the King of Humans.
So why would he play the Incineration of Humanity game again?
"Might this humble one interject?"
At that moment, an unfamiliar figure appeared before them.
Patterns resembling the Eight Trigrams undulated around him, and he wore an extravagant Chinese-style Taoist robe.
His perpetually narrowed eyes gave off an untrustworthy vibe.
"Oh my, isn't this Lord Taigong Wang?"
Merlin recognized his true identity at a glance, his face breaking into an enthusiastically welcoming smile.
"What wise counsel does Lord Taigong Wang have to offer?"
This was Taigong Wang?
That Jiang Ziya?
Eiji looked the fellow countryman up and down.
He'd never seen this person before. Was he a newly summoned Heroic Spirit?
"Wise counsel? Well, indeed it is wise counsel—this is a message from the Primordial Celestial Lord."
Taigong Wang muttered to himself for a moment before nodding in agreement.
"According to the Primordial Celestial Lord, this civilization's extinction was not caused by a Beast. The source actually lies on the moon!"
"A proclamation from the supreme deity of Taoism? That certainly makes it hard to dismiss."
Scáthach nodded with a stern expression.
"On the moon? What does that mean?"
Merlin wore a thoroughly confused expression.
"This humble one does not know either."
Taigong Wang spread his hands candidly.
He was only responsible for delivering the Primordial Celestial Lord's message and hadn't been informed of anything else.
For now, the true nature of the situation remained unclear.
"Merlin, how much time until the flames reach Kijoshi City?"
Eiji decided to temporarily set aside the question of the true mastermind and looked solemnly at Merlin.
"At most, four hours remain."
Merlin had already calculated this and quickly provided the answer.
"Four hours..."
Eiji's heart sank.
"So that means in four hours, the final battle of the UO selection ritual will begin?"
Kijoshi City was the core of this Singularity.
Once the flames approached Konoe City, it meant the shrinking boundary of this Singularity had reached its limit. Would that mark the beginning of the finals?
"I'm afraid so."
Merlin, Scáthach, and Taigong Wang exchanged glances and nodded in confirmation.
They had all anticipated this conclusion.
Clearly, this Singularity had reached its final stage—or rather, it was finally about to fulfill its original purpose!
The UO Selection Ceremony had officially entered the finals!