"Ugh... Why did I have to travel back to such an ancient past with you, Master?!"
Two months after Roy found Annie Charlton and conspired with her, in a remote mountainous area of America, Aisha's "cave" opened. Roy, Aisha, and Aphrodite, who had taken the form of the Divine Ancestor Stella, stepped out.
The moment they returned to the present, Aisha let out a whimper. She was dressed in an old, filthy robe, and her already brown skin appeared even darker.
"This is the first time I've actively used this authority. Forcing myself to travel like this—if you hadn't insisted, Master, I would never have done it!"
Though Aisha was scatterbrained, she still had some self-awareness. While she maintained a cheerful and optimistic attitude about her runaway authority dragging her into past travels, it was merely making the best of a bad situation. In truth, if possible, she didn't want to constantly be caught up in her own uncontrollable authority. Yet after fifty years of life, she still couldn't control it.
"But this time, I actually managed to actively control this ability to travel back to a specific point in time! That's amazing! Does this mean I can go wherever I want from now on? Ahh, I want to see the Hanging Gardens of Babylon! And I want to see how the pyramids were built!"
No sooner had she finished complaining than Aisha, upon realizing her authority was now controllable, immediately began shouting excitedly.
"Lady Aisha, the only reason you were able to control your authority this time was because eight Fairy Kings helped stabilize spacetime for you. I don't think it's possible for you to fully control it on your own... Of course, I don't mean to discourage you. You can practice activating your authority anytime, Lady Aisha, but I strongly advise doing so only in remote wilderness areas to avoid causing trouble for others!"
Seeing Aisha growing increasingly enthusiastic about her authority, Roy immediately offered a word of caution.
At this critical juncture, Roy didn't want to be thrown into chaos by Aisha's unpredictable authority.
"You don't trust me at all, Master!"
Aisha protested petulantly.
"Stop complaining, Campione! I'm the one who has to accompany you all to these filthy places!"
Aphrodite clutched her beautiful golden hair in frustration.
"Well, it seems things are progressing smoothly for you, Roy!"
While Aisha and Aphrodite were arguing, the person waiting for Roy's group at the entrance of the demonic cavern was none other than Annie Charlton.
With no one else around, Annie stood casually in the wilderness without bothering to maintain any disguise.
Moreover, to prevent that idiot Salvatore from causing trouble, Roy had secretly brought Aisha to America to practice her authority this time.
"Yes, everything went very smoothly, thanks in large part to you, Annie."
Roy greeted Annie warmly upon seeing her.
Among the current Campiones—counting the two Roy had eliminated—only Annie Charlton was relatively reliable and suitable for cooperation. The other Campiones all had varying degrees of mental issues, their thought processes far from normal.
"Haha, to receive praise from you somehow makes me feel oddly honored... By the way, take a look at this."
Annie Charlton held out a parchment envelope, casually handing it over.
Roy took the envelope, opened it, and skimmed through the simple documents inside in mere seconds, his abilities allowing him to read ten lines at a glance.
"Volcanic unrest worldwide? It seems the Last King is finally awakening."
Roy raised an eyebrow as he reviewed the detailed contents.
"So the abnormal volcanic activity over these past two months during your absence is indeed related to the Last King... That bastard is truly terrifying. Even Yellowstone is showing signs of activity. If Yellowstone fully erupts, it would literally be the apocalypse."
Annie Charlton spoke with deep concern. The Yellowstone supervolcano, located within the United States, was essentially a bomb capable of wiping out all life.
"Can we determine the exact time of the Last King's awakening?"
Annie asked again.
"Based on my research through temporal regression and collected data, the Last King typically awakens completely eight to nine months after global volcanic activity becomes abnormally active."
"So we have at most half a year left?"
Annie Charlton's expression turned grave.
"Right, we have at most half a year before the Last King awakens. Once he obtains the Holy Grail, he will activate the Covenant's Great Ritual to eliminate all Campiones before falling into slumber again... Of course, we could kill Guinevere now to prevent her from delivering the Holy Grail to the Last King, but that would force him to wander the earth, gathering its essence until he eventually completes the Covenant's Great Ritual regardless."
"...The consequence would be frequent natural disasters worldwide during the Last King's wandering period. Given your personality, Annie, you wouldn't want to see innocent people despairingly awaiting death, would you?"
Roy tossed the parchment bag back into Annie's hands, speaking with amusement.
"You actually care about civilian casualties?"
Annie caught the bag in surprise—after all, Roy had directly or indirectly caused 200,000 deaths in Tokyo and Kyoto.
"Of course I don't care about others' lives. But Annie, you're currently my ally who just provided tremendous assistance. It'd be utterly ungrateful to disregard your opinion now that I've crossed the river."
As Roy and Annie Charlton walked side by side, a U.S. military helicopter descended nearby.
Adjusting her helmet dramatically, Annie exclaimed, "...Wow! To have a cruel demon king like you change your ways for me—that might be the most sincere confession ever. I'm almost moved! No wonder you're always surrounded by goddesses or the world's most exceptional girls. They must fall for your sweet talk constantly."
"Save it, Annie! Like Aphrodite, I'm a 'creature of aesthetics.' Sorry, but even if you're moved, you're not my type."
Roy showed no mercy, his words cutting deep.
"Hey! Did that Aphrodite over there corrupt you? That's too harsh! I'm still a woman who cares about her appearance, you know? After that remark, I regret helping you."
Annie Charlton slumped in defeat.
Aphrodite, following behind Roy, smirked triumphantly. She loved hearing how Roy had changed because of her—though recently, she'd grown somewhat anxious. Roy bedded her daily without precautions, and as a Divine Ancestor capable of pregnancy (all modern witches being descendants of Divine Ancestors), she worried.
Rubbing her smooth, flat stomach, Aphrodite wondered if she'd end up bearing a Cupid.
"Too late for regrets, Annie! You've already done your part!"
Unaware of the Love Goddess's sweet worries, Roy laughed heartily.
The first part of the trilogy—massive magical power—had been acquired. The second part—warped time—was complete. Now Roy only needed sufficient 'wisdom' and 'knowledge' to invert everything and unleash that earth-shattering, god-fearing Grand Ritual!
***
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