Chapter 29: A Declaration Made Here—I Shall Take Over This Planet!
Reinforced concrete was as fragile as papier-mâché under that kind of impact; building structures collapsed, and plumes of dust soared into the sky.
Finally, Alcides managed to bring himself to a halt, subsequently kneeling on the ground as blood dripped from his body through the pelt.
"Cough..."
He struggled to stand, but the searing pain in his abdomen made his movements hitch.
The skin around his abdomen displayed an abnormal purplish-black hue; his internal organs had been heavily damaged by that single strike just now.
Even with the self-healing abilities of the Black Mud, damage of this magnitude required time to repair.
Alcides raised his head, his gaze from beneath the pelt piercing through the permeating dust toward the center of the battlefield.
There, Olga Marie was slowly withdrawing her right leg.
She stood beside Demon Jack, her silvery-white hair whipping in the night wind, the tips of her hair shimmering with a luster like moonlight.
Jack dispelled his demonization and knelt on one knee: "Miss Olga Marie... I am sorry that you had to personally lend a hand to save me."
Olga Marie simply waved her hand dismissively, as if that kick—powerful enough to send a Servant flying—was nothing more than a casual stretch of her limbs.
"Tch."
She looked up toward the direction where Alcides had flown, her amber pupils full of undisguised loathing.
"I said it, didn't I?"
Her voice wasn't loud, yet it clearly penetrated the entire street, drowning out the roar of distant buildings collapsing.
"Don't let me see you use those filthy methods again."
She raised her hand toward the direction of Alcides and made a 'crushing' gesture, the sarcasm in her tone so thick it nearly dripped.
"You really don't learn, do you?"
"Even while you claim to loathe the gods and put on a tragic facade of 'I've completely severed ties with my past'."
The corners of Olga Marie's mouth curled into a mocking arc.
"But those foul intentions of yours—to steal my strength, plunder my authority, and turn me into nourishment for your own growth—you can't even begin to hide them."
"A hypocrite so disgusting it makes me want to gag."
Without waiting for Alcides to retort, Olga Marie snapped her fingers.
"Snap."
With Olga Marie as the center, an invisible ripple expanded in all directions.
Everywhere the ripple passed, the flow of magical energy began to stagnate, as if entangled and bound layer by layer by invisible cobwebs.
Alcides, who was struggling to stand, stiffened in his movements.
He felt the circulation of magical energy within his body suddenly become difficult, as if solidified asphalt had been poured into his veins.
Those active powers, once ready to burst forth at any moment, now became heavy and sluggish; even the simplest Mana Burst required several times the mental effort.
It wasn't just him.
In the distance, Gilgamesh—who had just arrived above the battlefield aboard the Vimana and was hovering in mid-air preparing to watch the show—saw his crimson pupils shrink sharply.
The Golden Ripples behind him, those Gate of Babylon openings that usually unfurled as naturally as breathing, suddenly began to flicker erratically.
Several Noble Phantasms that had already half-emerged were now stuck in the 'doorways', unable to move forward or backward.
"What—?!"
Gilgamesh's expression darkened as he attempted to force his magical energy to flow.
The treasury that usually followed his every whim now felt like a rusted lock that refused to open no matter how much force was applied.
On the street below the Vimana.
Richard the Lionheart, who had just arrived from another direction, and the girl in black robes beside him also felt the abnormality simultaneously.
Their magical energy felt as though it were being suppressed by something, leaving them with an indescribable sense of stagnation as it circulated.
"This is..." Richard frowned, looking up at the sky. "A large-scale suppression barrier?"
Olga Marie slowly floated into the air, her toes leaving the ground as her silvery-white hair moved of its own accord despite the lack of wind.
She stopped hundreds of meters high in the sky, and her body transformed into that of a mountain-like giant. She looked down upon the entire city beneath her and spread her arms wide.
[Listen.]
Her voice rang out.
This voice did not travel through the air, nor did it resonate through magical energy.
It rang out directly within the minds of every living being that possessed the concept of 'intellect'.
Every resident of Snowfield City—whether they were sleeping at home, wandering the streets, drinking in a bar, or on duty at the police station...
Everyone heard it.
Instantly, the various factions watching this place felt a premonition of disaster swell within their hearts, and they desperately wanted to stop her.
But they couldn't.
In this moment, whether human or Servant, they appeared exceptionally powerless.
[Look up.]
Olga Marie's voice continued.
Simultaneously, every screen in the city flickered and went black at the exact same time, before lighting up again.
On the glowing screens appeared the figure of Olga Marie.
Silvery-white hair, alien-like giant horns, and a majestic physique.
She hovered in the night sky, the full moon behind her and the city lights before her.
The image was terrifyingly clear; even the curve of her eyelashes and the luster of her pupils were revealed in minute detail.
[I am—]
Olga Marie's voice rang out through every loudspeaker, every screen, and every medium capable of transmitting information—in every corner of this city, this nation, and this planet.
[The President of the Earth, U-Olga Marie!]
Silence.
It wasn't that there was no sound, but rather that all other sounds were suppressed by that declaration in this moment.
Pedestrians on the streets stopped in their tracks, patrons in bars put down their glasses, residents in their homes stood up from their sofas, and officers in the police station widened their eyes.
They looked up at the nearest screens; they tilted their ears to the voice in their minds.
Olga Marie continued.
[I hereby declare—]
Olga Marie raised her right hand as if she were about to grasp the entire planet in her palm.
[I shall take over this planet!]
[Everything on this planet, from this moment forth, shall fall under my governance!]
[I shall lead humanity forward, casting aside ignorance, breaking shackles, and transcending all pointless strife and divisions.]
Olga Marie opened her arms wide, her lips curling into a smile so radiant it was almost arrogant.
[Step toward a great era!]
[Cheer for me! O humans!]
[Hahahaha hahahahahaha—!!!!!]
A clear, high-pitched, and joyful laughter continued to echo.
The image on the screens froze at the moment Olga Marie threw her head back in laughter.