PROLOGUE

I witnessed a sky glittered with beams of light as I looked up at the starry abode above me. Streaks of red, gold and black incandescence flickered through the expansive heavens. They were like shooting stars, leaving a hot afterglow trail as they propel themselves in a zip against each other, passing on the massive flying fortress looming in the sky. They would clash against each other in a head on collision several times, leaving a loud boom in their wake, their speeds incomprehensible by man.

But I can see them clearly with my own eyes.

Lying flat on the ground filled with nothing but rubble, I gasped for air as I tried to get up using my head as an anchor. My mouth and vocal chords let out an agonizing wheeze from the sudden movement, excruciating pain enveloping my body especially on the decapitated left part of my physique. Nonetheless, with a forceful grunt I was able to compel myself in a kneeling position while staring at the child being held with my remaining arm.

"Otou-sama…"

The white-haired child said weakly. Her ruby eyes, despite being half-lidded and deprived of energy, still had that spark of concern for my well-being despite her current state.

Gritting my teeth as I held her close to me was the only response that I could give to her. An act of assurance on my part in order to cast away any worries within her heart. Her scent which was already marred with burnt and blood from the ongoing battle, somehow entered my nose and my heart sank even deeper than it was. The warmth of her breath pressed against my tattered [Battle Gear] as she fell unconscious. I could only cursed myself at my own powerlessness.

"This was too soon."

I expelled those words from my mouth as I tried to gaze the environment around me. What was once a great capital holding the seat of power within SERAPH was now unfortunately reduced into ruins. What was once a city filled with nothing but roses and cheering crowds was now a metropolis painted with flames and devastated wreckages. To think that we'd been invaded right after solving a huge crisis within SERAPH…I was too careless.

I gazed once again at the performance above me and just as I did that, a streak of golden light smashed itself on the flying the fortress. The red one was still engaged in a deadlock with the dark one as they exchanged powerful blows. Seeing that I called upon my will. In a flash, terminals flickered around me as they displayed the current situation of other territories within SERAPH. A grim expression overtook my usual stoic face as I examined the details before me.

"The enemy has taken over 97% of SERAPH in an hour since it arrived. Half of the populace have already been…"

…No, this attack was fully prepared. Knowing the Wandering Star, it had already known our location with precise coordinates thanks to that guy. It was only a matter of time before it sends its forces on us, waiting for the perfect opportunity to invade. To strike when our guard, our defenses are down and too occupied with solving internal shenanigans within SERAPH.

Though we managed to knock out the mastermind for good thanks to the efforts of the Knight King, still the agents of the Wandering Star had already marched into SERAPH en masse putting those capable of resistance, even civilians who were not combat oriented, out of commission for all eternity. Moreover, the enemy had also successfully assaulted the countries outside of SERAPH, waging a genocide against humanity.

Unable to stomach this unforgiving scenario that laid before me, I closed my eyes as I tapped my deep connection into the Automaton through my authority. I had a plan…of sorts and to put it into motion, I need to browse the countless archives of information stored within the Automaton, surfing through the bottomless streams of data that caressed my consciousness while finding the most appropriate answer from this mess.

The most suitable solution that would give us even a slight chance to turn the tide on our side made itself known to me in a matter of seconds but…

"…This is too risky."

I couldn't help myself but to mentally react at the answer that was presented to me with pure disbelief. Although this might give us a high chance of fleeing from the forces of the Wandering Star, the ramifications of going through with this plan is too-

There was a sound of whistling air, its sharpness echo was evident of an utterly swift movement that broke me from my deep concentration. My hunch was correct as a streak of red light landed a few meters away from me with a hard smack, skidding on the ground with a brute force before being slammed into a pile of brick rubble in a distance.

Several white feathers burst in the air at the moment of impact.

"Saber…!"

I yelled at the top of my lungs as I watched my Servant being thrown on the ground like a piece of ragged cloth unworthy of being grasp. Then suddenly, I felt a chill ran down from my spine. A sensation of creepiness and dread, intertwined with high animosity towards me.

There. With a gaze filled with nothing but emptiness, the emissary of ruin hovered above me with its adamantine wings fully spread apart as if portraying that she was "despair" herself. A winged goddess of destruction whose sole priority was to eradicate all life forms on the planet.

I could only closed my eyes as I gave out a sigh.

{INITIALIZING SLIDE…}

Ah, I admit that even with our current resources we can't defeat her.

{ENCOMPASSING SERIAL PHANTASM…}

{DONE}

But if I could focus all of the Automaton's processing power for a moment…

{ENCOMPASSING WANDERING STAR…}

{DONE}

Then this "one-way trip" gamble might be able to halt its overwhelming advances and even gave Earth a reprise.

{DESTINATION SET}

{EXECUTE?}

I could see the sudden change of behavior from the winged goddess as she let out a loud yet horrifying roar, likely have been alerted by its master. She then shot herself forward, her sharp adamantine blades pointed right towards me.

However, it didn't matter to me even the slightest.

{YES}

"I'm sorry, everyone."

And the last sensation that I could feel that day was my whole existence being ripped apart.