Miracle Summoner

"That guy finally decided to come back."

A voice filled with extreme dissatisfaction said these words. It came from a constantly flapping owl flying in midair.

Unmistakably, it was Olga Marie.

Outside the sterile room, there were three people observing the scene inside through the transparent glass.

One was Olga Marie.

One was Da Vinci.

And the other, naturally, was Romani.

"He's truly elusive," Da Vinci remarked, gazing at the two quietly facing each other inside the sterile room.

She spoke with a tone of satisfaction mixed with curiosity, smiling as if it was something fascinating. "Even though the outside world has already been incinerated, he still disappears without a trace and reappears just as suddenly. We don't have the means to detect or analyze his movements at all. Honestly, I'd love to capture him and study him thoroughly."

She wasn't joking.

One must know that Rozen had disappeared from Chaldea multiple times, only to return just as mysteriously. Every time, no one could detect how he left or returned, nor could they figure out where he had gone. This truly piqued the curiosity of someone as versatile and brilliant as Da Vinci.

Just now, the three of them were working in their respective fields when they suddenly received a report about an individual entering the sterile room to meet the resting Mash.

At first, everyone thought it was Fou, but this was quickly ruled out.

After all, if it were Fou, the staff wouldn't have reported it so urgently since they were already used to its intrusions.

Thus, the three of them hurried over without delay and saw the scene before them.

Upon discovering that the intruder in the sterile room was Rozen, all three heaved a sigh of relief, unconsciously letting their guard down.

Hearing Da Vinci's remarks, Roman chuckled wryly.

"Well, in any case, it's good that he's back. This kid's timing couldn't have been better, could it?"

Roman gazed at his younger brother, observing him carefully before scratching his head.

"Although, it feels like this kid has changed a lot this time."

Hearing this, Da Vinci and Olga Marie nodded in agreement.

It seemed they had noticed this long ago.

However, the changes perceived by these three were different from those noticed by Mash.

Mash had noticed changes in Rozen's temperament and personality, while Roman and the others sensed something different about Rozen's very existence.

Especially for someone like Da Vinci, who was a Heroic Spirit, and Olga Marie, who possessed a spirit-based body, the feeling was even more pronounced.

"I don't know why," Olga Marie said, frowning deeply, her gaze fixed on Rozen without wavering. "But looking at him, I feel an oppressive sensation, as if some noble being or great entity is standing before me. It's very uncomfortable."

"This never happened before. No matter how exceptional he was, Rozen was still human. There's no way his mere presence could suppress me as a Heroic Spirit. After all, Heroic Spirits inherently surpass humans in rank and power. But now, it's as if I'm witnessing the descent of a divine entity—or something even higher in concept, existence, or meaning. It's truly strange."

Da Vinci, meanwhile, clicked her tongue in amazement, staring at Rozen as though planning to drag him into her research lab for dissection. It was quite a terrifying look.

"You two aren't suggesting that Rozen is no longer human, are you?"

Although Roman had also noticed the changes in Rozen, his perceptions weren't as acute as Da Vinci's or Olga Marie's. As an ordinary human, he merely felt that Rozen's aura and atmosphere had changed, something only those familiar with him could detect. Thus, he was quite surprised by their comments.

However, both Da Vinci and Olga Marie shook their heads without hesitation.

"That guy is human, and there's no doubt about it. Neither his lifeform nor his existence as a concept has undergone any changes—that much is certain."

Olga Marie affirmed this without hesitation.

Da Vinci, on the other hand, offered her perspective.

"Rather than saying his lifeform or existence as a concept has changed, it feels more like an evolution—a form of sublimation."

That was Da Vinci's impression.

Rozen was still human, without question.

But, just as different individuals of the same species can vary greatly in quality, if ordinary humans were considered lower-tier humans, then Rozen now felt like he had sublimated into a higher-tier human—or perhaps even an ultra-tier human. His potential and capacity seemed to have ascended to a whole new level.

No, more accurately, they had ascended to a different dimension altogether.

Olga Marie directly voiced her thoughts.

"When I first saw him on my way here, for a moment, I even felt as though I was looking at that Mage King himself. I was almost scared out of my wits."

For someone as prideful and dignified as Olga Marie to admit such feelings, it was clear how profoundly Rozen's presence had shocked her.

"The Mage King..."

Da Vinci couldn't help glancing at Roman.

"..."

Roman seemed startled at first, then dumbfounded, rendered speechless.

In truth, the three of them had no idea that the oppressive sensation they felt from Rozen was primarily due to two factors.

One was the Foreign Mana Rozen had absorbed, which had now driven his sublimation to its peak, drastically altering his aura and presence.

The other was the colossal accumulation of mana within Rozen from his time in the world of Sword Art Online. Like a vast ocean, it surged endlessly, making his magic circuits unimaginably strong. As a result, both Da Vinci, as a Heroic Spirit, and Olga Marie, as a spirit-based entity, were acutely sensitive to the change.

If these three were to examine Rozen, they would be shocked to discover that his mana capacity had long surpassed the Holy Grail.

At this moment, Rozen's mana was so immense that if he converted it all into highly compressed High-Grade Mana, its capacity would exceed that of the Fourth Primogenitor. If diluted into ordinary mana, it would far surpass even his peak state when using all three Command Spells and three secret seals.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible for these three not to notice Rozen's transformation.

However, they could never have guessed what had caused it.

"I have a feeling," Da Vinci said with an intrigued smile, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "If it's the current Rozen, perhaps he won't lose to the Mage King anymore."

"...If only that were true." Olga Marie sighed with a mix of complexity and hope.

"This kid..." Roman sighed as well but soon smiled in relief.

With that, the three of them entered the sterile room together, reuniting with Rozen.

At that time, it had been several months since Rozen last left Chaldea.

And only three months remained until 2020—the year when humanity's history would come to an end.