Humiliate her together

In the burning Fuyuki City, at the beginning of the journey, within the singularity that is about to disappear.

With the Singularity on the verge of collapse,

And with Odin, Athena, Medusa, and the others having all departed—

"Whew, just made it in time."

Promise, who had run out from the deep cavern of the Greater Grail at Ryuudou Temple and arrived in front of Mash, Ritsuka, and Director Olga Marie, who were imprisoned by the trees with Odin's runes, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the three of them supporting each other.

Since Odin had left,

The Lugh-runes binding them had vanished as well.

At this moment,

They had already contacted Chaldea,

And Romani Archaman's magical projection flickered before them,

His face full of worry as he prepared to initiate Spiritron Transfer.

"Promise-senpai!"

When Mash saw Promise rushing back, she couldn't help but sigh in relief with joy.

Even Olga Marie, who had looked utterly frustrated earlier,

Had her expression soften just slightly.

"You really are ridiculously lucky."

"By the way, the Holy Grail War of this Singularity… it was you and your Servant who ended it, wasn't it?"

"Alright, fine. I have to admit that Chaldea's Master recognition system needs an upgrade."

"You're definitely a very capable Master…"

But just as Olga Marie was speaking these things, Promise, who had quickly arrived, did not stop but stepped forward and grabbed her hand.

"Thank goodness, Director! You're still here!"

For a moment, Olga Marie froze,

Her mind blanking out as she stared at Promise's face,

At those brilliant emerald eyes, glowing like stars.

A blush quickly spread to her ears.

"Y-You—"

"Y-You you you, you rude guy, what the hell do you think you're doing..."

As Olga Marie raised her voice, under the watchful eyes of Mash and Ritsuka who had subconsciously widened their eyes, before she could finish her sentence.

Promise cut her off.

"Director, listen to me."

"You're already dead."

The words froze everyone in place.

Even Romani, who was still watching through the projection, stiffened for a moment.

Then, his eyes sharpened as he cast a deep glance at Promise.

"The bomb that exploded in Chaldea—"

"It destroyed your physical body."

"Director,

In fact, the only reason you're standing here—"

"Is because of your lingering attachment."

"A miracle, born from your own will."

"That's why you can't undergo Spiritron Transfer."

As Promise spoke these words, he paused slightly, then continued, "If the Director doesn't believe me, you can ask Dr. Roman or Da Vinci."

Olga Marie stood frozen, staring at Promise.

Her mind screamed that his words couldn't be true.

But the moment she looked into his incredibly beautiful and unwavering eyes—

She abruptly turned toward Romani's projection.

And Romani, under her gaze, slowly averted his eyes.

And in that instant, her heart sank.

"So..."

Her face turned deathly pale in an instant.

"He's telling the truth?

I… I'm really already dead?"

Romani remained silent, unwilling to answer to answer the question, but his silence only confirmed the truth.

Ritsuka and Mash also looked at the situation in disbelief, their faces full of confusion.

But before anyone could process what was happening—

The ground trembled violently once more.

We can't delay any longer, we've really reached the absolute limit!"

Romani's desperate voice came through the projection.

"Ritsuka, Mash, and Promise—

You all need to return NOW!

If you don't hurry, this collapsing Singularity will consume you along with it!"

Hearing this, Olga Marie, with pale face, staggered back,

Her hands slipping away from Promise's grasp.

Her steps were unsteady.

Her body felt weightless.

But then—

As if suddenly realizing something, she lunged forward again.

And this time—

She grabbed onto Promise with both hands.

Their eyes met once more.

But then—

She let go.

"Go."

Her lips curled into a forced smile.

A hollow, fragile attempt at looking strong.

"Hurry and leave this place."

"I..."

She had so much more to say.

But before she could speak another word, she was interrupted by Romani once again.

"No time!"

"Initiating Spiritron Transfer NOW!"

"Mash—grab onto Promise and Ritsuka!

Whatever you do—DO NOT LET GO!"

..Can't even give me a proper farewell?

At this moment, Olga Marie's face was filled with helplessness and despair.

She wanted to reach out,

To cling to them,

To beg them to take her along.

Her entire being screamed for her to run with them.

But knowing that doing so would only drag them into the abyss to die together, her trembling hand still couldn't reach out to hold them.

And just when it felt like all hope was lost—

Promise…

Laughed.

"Director, let's 'humiliate' the Goddess of Fate together."

As he spoke these words that sounded utterly baffling to everyone present,

Promise reached out, and a single butterfly of the underworld, fluttered gracefully through the air,

Drifting delicately onto his outstretched hand.

And then—

More of them began to appear.

Dark, deathly butterflies swarmed from all directions,

Dancing in eerie silence.

Yet, as if they didn't seem to see the scene, Ritsuka, Mash, and Olga Marie maintained a mirror-like stillness in their expressions, standing quietly in place.

Even as the butterflies multiplied,

Even as they filled the space around them,

Their expressions remained unchanged,

Their bodies frozen in place.

Because in that moment—

Time itself had stopped.

At the same time,

The fluttering butterflies formed a veil,

obscuring the scene from Chaldea's watchful gaze.

And then—

From within the shroud of butterflies,

A figure emerged.

A woman in a flowing black dress,

Her long, raven-black hair cascading down her back like the endless night itself.

Answering Promise's call, a goddess of the underworld, came before him.

Only, her delicate face was marred by a pout that ruined the atmosphere.

Her beautiful crimson eyes glanced sideways,

Her crimson eyes narrowed in clear annoyance,

Her expression full of irritation as she glanced away,

As if she couldn't even be bothered to acknowledge him.

"I say, Goddess Hecate—"

Promise looked at her somewhat helplessly.

"Why do you always make that face when you show up?"

"Can't you at least pretend to be happy?"

"Happy? You have the nerve to tell me to be happy!"

Hecate glared at Promise, biting her lip lightly,

"Promise—let me ask you something."

"Imagine this—"

"You're at home, enjoying your meal, working on your experiments,

Finally having a rare moment of peace—"

"And then, suddenly—"

"A certain troublesome individual keeps knocking on your door—

Uninvited. Repeatedly. Over and over again."

"The worst part is, you have no choice but to open the door and welcome him in!"

"Because if you don't open the door, your elders will nag incessantly in your ear."

"Even that once-sweet apprentice of yours will turn into a nightmare—"

"Praying and complaining endlessly about how irresponsible you are!"

"And that's not even the real issue!"

"Actually, all that would be bearable, but the crux of the matter is that, this troublesome person is an absolute menace!"

"Everywhere he goes, he causes problems more daunting than the past!"

"He's like a walking disaster waiting to happen!"

"But the worst part?"

"HE HAS NO SELF-AWARENESS!"

"And, it's not just about always taking advantage, being ordered around, to be honest, I've gotten somewhat used to it, having struggled and slacked off, but to no avail, so I've somewhat resigned to my fate, but...

"But after ALL THAT—"

"That ungrateful bastard STILL hasn't offered me a single tribute!"

Promise shrunk back slightly, feeling her fiery glare.

He cleared his throat awkwardly.

Then, carefully—

He tried to defend himself in a small voice.

"Well, uh… about that…"

"Isn't there a possibility that maybe this 'certain someone'—"

"Actually does want to express his gratitude to the goddess?"

"That maybe, he even thought about preparing a grand offering for her."

And its standard would be like, a painting dedicated to the gods."

"But every time he sees this goddess—"

"All she ever does is complain, insult him, and even when it comes to matters concerning students, she guards against him like a thief... does she not realize that someone here has a very long memory for grudges?"

"Hmph!"

Hecate, biting her lip, was so angry she laughed as she looked at Promise.

"Oh wow."

"You actually sound proud of yourself."

"I am not!"

Promise said, with a face full of 'sincerity'.

"Besides—"

"Aren't we talking about some other person and some other goddess?"

"I never said it was me!"

Hecate fell silent for a moment, her crimson eyes quietly staring at Promise, her chest rising and falling a few times before she suppressed the urge to pin Promise down and give him a good beating, regardless of the consequences.

After several deep breaths,

She calmed herself down.

But she refused to lose.

So, after thinking about it for a second, her eyes glinted with mischief, and she suddenly smirked.

"Oh, you're right!

Completely right!"

"But in that case—"

"Allow me to pass along a question from 'that' goddess."

"How does it feel to meet Athena?"

"Surprised?"

"Shocked?"

The smug smile on Promise's face instantly stiffened.

His body froze.

And just like that, according to the iron law that smiles don't disappear, they just transfer, it naturally transferred to Hecate now.

She chuckled darkly, not giving him a chance to respond.

"Oh, and by the way—"

"The name Medusa, a beauty envied by the gods... you really dare to say that, as usual."

"I'd bet Hera and Demeter are laughing themselves to death right now."