Faced with Romani's actions, everyone had a different reaction.
"I never knew the Doctor was such a devout Christian! Wait a minute... what did he just say? Hallelujah?!"
Mash and most of the Chaldea staff didn't get it at first. They were merely a little surprised by Romani's reaction. It was rare for modern magi to have faith in a deity. The largest faction of Christian believers were members of the Holy Church, and they weren't part of the same system as regular magi. However, having unique quirks was rather common among magi, so a simple display of faith was just unexpected, nothing more.
It wasn't until Romani recited a hymn of praise to God that some of them realized the problem.
If the Doctor was a devout Catholic, and he was currently performing the rites for an audience with God, then who was the being before him?
"God himself?!"
Even Da Vinci was stunned. The other staff members stared, jaws agape, at the holographic image. Even if they weren't members of the Holy Church, even if they weren't believers, God's influence was so immense that they couldn't help but want to gaze upon His glory. Even from a purely magus perspective, they had always thought the Holy Church's power came from the magical foundation of the Bible. They had never, ever imagined that the so-called Creator, the One True God, actually existed.
Meanwhile, in the Uruk palace, those who had already witnessed Su Mo's power weren't too surprised. As the Father of All Gods, the master of all deities and myths, isn't it perfectly normal for him to also possess the divinity of the One God? What's so shocking about that?
Alright, there was still some shock. The title "omniscient and omnipotent" was a bit too famous, after all.
However, after recovering from their initial surprise at Su Mo's identity, the people in the palace became more concerned with another matter.
"S-Senpai, I think I might have misheard just now... so I want to ask you seriously, what did the Doctor call himself?"
Mash wore a flustered expression, looking to Fujimaru Ritsuka for help. Although she had heard Romani's words perfectly clearly, she couldn't bring herself to believe them. After all, in her heart, Romani was like a father to her. How could he be that person?
However, wishful thinking was never a good strategy. Fujimaru Ritsuka, who had noticed the same detail, didn't have time to comfort Mash. Her mouth fell slightly agape as she stared at the weak-willed man in the hologram, her voice filled with shock.
"Solomon?!"
At these words, the Chaldea staff finally noticed the terrifying detail.
The Romani Archaman before them was actually Solomon? Paired with his devout faith and reverence for God, his identity was quickly locked down.
King Solomon!
The anointed one from the Book of Kings, the king beloved by God, the man known in the records of magi as the King of Magecraft!
And for those in the Uruk palace in the Age of Gods, that name meant more than just a mythological figure from the Bible. It meant one other thing.
"Doctor... you're the mastermind behind the Incineration of Human Order?!"
Connecting this to what Su Mo had said earlier, a shell-shocked Gudako came to this conclusion.
"How is that possible, Doctor?!"
After getting confirmation from Gudako, Mash also looked at the doctor in disbelief, her eyes wide with shock.
Hearing their sudden accusation, everyone in Chaldea was stunned. Romani Archaman was the current head of Chaldea. If their leader was the mastermind, weren't they completely screwed?
"That's impossible, right? If Mr. Romani is the mastermind, how could we have made it all the way to the Seventh Singularity?" one of the staff members said, unwilling to believe it.
While they didn't think Gudako and Mash would deliberately frame Romani, accusing their leader was a serious matter and couldn't be based on mere conjecture. Otherwise, even without an external enemy, they would collapse from within.
Gudako and Mash could understand the staff's trust in Romani. Even they didn't want to believe it was possible.
But—
"Lord Su Mo said it!" Gudako looked up at Su Mo, then back at Romani. "You can trust the word of God, can't you?"
"..."
The Chaldea staff fell silent.
The baseless words of an ordinary person naturally held no credibility, but Su Mo was different. The word of God was undeniable fact. Moreover, God himself was the deity Romani worshipped. He couldn't possibly claim his own god was deliberately framing him, could he?
In an instant, with the exception of Da Vinci, their gazes began to turn suspicious.
Faced with their doubt and Gudako's accusation, Romani, having finished his prayer, looked completely bewildered.
"Wait... no, seriously, do I look like a mastermind to you?" he asked, pointing at his own nose.
This pink-haired, timid-looking young man certainly didn't have the air of a mastermind. He looked like a total pushover.
But—
"You never know!" Merlin piped up from within the palace with a mischievous grin. "Sometimes, the ones with their eyes closed, the ones who don't show their true intentions, are the most likely culprits. That's common knowledge in detective stories, you know!"
At his words, the suspicious glares intensified.
"No! That's slander! Apologize to every person with squinty eyes in the world!"
Unable to defend himself, Romani slammed his hands on the table, refuting Merlin's claim. Then he turned a pathetic gaze to Su Mo and pleaded, "My Lord! I beg you, protect me from the malicious slander of these fools and clear my name!"
Seeing his pathetic display, Mash blinked, which actually added a few points to his credibility. "Seeing the Doctor being as useless as ever is actually reassuring! He doesn't look like a mastermind. Did I misunderstand something?" Gudako said bluntly, patting her chest before looking at Su Mo in confusion.
She didn't doubt Su Mo's earlier words, only her own ability to understand them.
"I said the mastermind was the shadow and remains of Solomon, not Solomon himself," Su Mo clarified, glancing at Romani. "So, son of David, rise! Though this incident is related to you, I do not find you guilty."
This absolution from a god moved Romani to tears. After kowtowing with several loud thuds, he finally obeyed the divine command and stood up.
Seeing this, the others grew even more confused.
If the mastermind wasn't Solomon in his Romani persona, then who was it? And what did "Solomon's remains" mean? Could his corpse move on its own?
As they puzzled over this, Su Mo spoke again.
"The chaotic aggregate of the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars, the remains of Solomon—Goetia, manifest here."
The next instant, the Demon God King Goetia, who should have been in the Grand Temple of Time, appeared before Su Mo, completely bewildered. And caught utterly off guard, the very first thing he saw was Su Mo himself.
It's over!
For the first time in its existence, Goetia felt fear.