Unlike the Ishtar Alvin had interacted with earlier, the goddess now before them had changed drastically in both aura and hair color.
In fact, the woman standing here now was the true goddess of Venus.
Morgan lifted her eyelids slightly, and soon a bewitching smile appeared on her face.
"Looks like I guessed right from the beginning… you really were suppressing your personality, weren't you?"
When she had first been summoned by King Marco, Ishtar's authority of "Manifestation of Beauty" was only at rank B.
But now, she had become a goddess with "Manifestation of Beauty EX."
"And one more thing… you made a mistake."
Morgan paused, her voice sweet and pleasant."Britain's hospitality has nothing to do with me. If you want to complain about it, talk to King Arthur… though she's probably quite busy these days, so she might not have time to properly entertain you."
Ishtar was taken aback for a moment, then a faintly interested smile appeared on her face.
"That's true, whether Britain rises or falls doesn't matter to you."
"What you really care about… is King Arthur's husband, right?"
She deliberately emphasized the word "husband," making Morgan's gaze grow visibly more dangerous.
However, she suddenly spoke with a blank expression.
"Seems like you've been nosing around quite a bit since you arrived in the palace."
Ishtar raised her brow slightly and said,
"Matters of the witch of Britain and the White Dragon— plenty of people in the palace know the rumors… there's no need to deliberately investigate."
She then glanced at Gray.
"I'm very curious… did you already guess I would come for this child?"
Morgan seemed to have calmed down, and her voice carried a trace of enchantment.
"Not really — I just arranged a bit of double insurance."
"I figured, if you really are on Gaia's side, you might go after the Holy Spear… after all, that could be the only way in this world to contact 'Gaia' directly."
"Goddess Ishtar, you were sent by Gaia, weren't you? What is 'its' goal?"
"You can guess~" Ishtar replied coolly.
"Fine, I'll just capture you and interrogate you slowly later… or maybe I'll think of a way to directly ask 'Gaia' instead."
Morgan smiled sweetly.
"But there's one thing I still don't get… why would you accept King Marco's summoning?"
"Whether it's heroic spirits or divine spirits, they usually answer a summon because of some lingering wish from their past life… is that true for you as well?"
Ishtar shot Morgan a cold glance.
"Do I have any obligation to answer you?"
Unlike when she had first descended, Ishtar now exuded an arrogant divinity in both aura and attire befitting a true goddess.
In the end, this was the real Ishtar, the previous version had always been suppressing herself, imitating a certain girl whose temperament matched hers quite well.
Morgan was stunned for a moment, then quickly let it go as she spoke
"Makes sense… how other people live really has nothing to do with me."
"Then… are you still planning to seize the Holy Spear now?"
Ishtar slowly shook her head.
"You misunderstood, Morgan."
"I have no interest in taking the Holy Spear… I simply want to ask 'Gaia' one question."
Heroic Spirits generally had regrets they could not resolve in their lifetimes, which was why they answered summons to descend.
Ishtar was the same.
Her wish was simple, she only wanted to see a certain person again, nothing more.
But before that, she had to confirm one thing with "Gaia."
To confirm whether he was truly a god or a Heroic Spirit.
For that, she first had to find a way to see Gaia.
"But even if I say that, neither you nor Miss Gray would lend me the Holy Spear, would you?"
Ishtar looked toward Gray.
The gray-haired girl's gaze was resolute.
"Add isn't just the Holy Spear — he's my companion… so no matter what, I can't hand him over to anyone else."
'This kid…' the artifact named "Add," even though it only mimicked Kay's personality, still felt a little moved hearing that.
Ishtar sighed softly, then slowly lifted her head.
"No helping it, then… I'll have to take it by force!"
In that instant, her golden eyes shone as bright as daylight, and mana poured out in a torrent!
"Kid, run for it now!"
As chaos broke out, a voice came from the artifact in Gray's arms.
The girl reacted instantly, hugging "Add" tightly as she bolted from the room.
Ishtar reached out her hand toward Gray —
Morgan raised her staff with a wave, and a shadowy phantom seemed to descend from the void, opening a massive, gaping maw.
Ishtar was forced to dodge aside, helplessly watching Gray escape from the room before she clicked her tongue in annoyance and whipped around to glare at Morgan.
…
"Run toward the Hall of the King — all the Round Table knights are there!"
At the same time, Gray had already fled the palace, and after hearing "Add" remind her, she immediately ran quickly toward the garden exit.
At that moment, she happened to see a figure just walking in from the garden.
In the sunlight, his soft black hair was a bit lazily tousled, and the simple black robe he wore made his skin appear even fairer.
Gray's eyes lit up in delight, and she blurted out,
"Alvin, when did you get back?!"
"I happened to get some help in the Imaginary World before, so I just returned today…" Alvin shifted the topic. "But why do you look so flustered?"
Before he finished speaking, a deafening boom echoed in his ears.
Alvin instinctively looked up toward the end of the path ahead, only to see Morgan floating in midair, holding a staff, softly chanting incantations.
And opposite Morgan, Ishtar was likewise gathering magic power, ready to fire.
"They're both after the Holy Spear," Gray whispered.
It seemed Morgan and Ishtar had both guessed the Holy Spear might be the only means to speak with "Gaia"…
Alvin looked at the girl, then glanced at the "magical artifact" in her hands.
"Can I have a look at it?"
"Add" laughed cheekily,
"Even if it's you, this kid won't hand me over so easi—"
"Here."
Gray didn't hesitate and handed "Add" straight to Alvin.
"…"
At a certain moment, it felt like the artifact's heart shattered into countless pieces.
Gray spoke softly:
"They say only someone with Arthurian blood can truly unleash its power… but I still can't unlock it."
At that moment, Add finally came back to its senses, cackling with a mocking tone:
"Kid, just give up. Anyone in this world might unlock the Holy Spear, but the White Dragon? Never!"
Alvin ignored the voice, simply staring at the sealed state of the artifact in his hand, lost in thought.
Merlin had once said the Holy Spear was an "anchor" connecting the surface of this planet.
Likewise, if the spear could be used as a medium, perhaps he could meet "Gaia"…
It sounded a bit like wishful thinking, but it was worth a try.
Alvin was truly curious: why did "Gaia," the will of the planet, went to such lengths to contact him?
Thinking about it, he slowly closed his eyes, as light particles of magical energy began to rise around his feet.
"Round… Round Table deliberation?!" Gray seemed to realize something, freezing for a moment.
"There's no way it's actually the Round Table deliberation, don't let this guy fool you!"
Add grumbled:
"Besides, there's no way the Round Table Knights would agree to let the White Dragon unlock the Holy Spear—"
Before it could finish, a holy, solemn voice echoed out:
"The Round Table Conference now begins."
Not even ten seconds later, voices of "approval" came one after another.
Arthur was one thing, but even the strictly fair Lancelot had agreed to grant permission to unlock the Holy Spear.
Just how good were this kid's connections in Britain…?
The moment Add was still in a daze, the cage instantly shattered, and at Alvin's center, a golden pillar of light shot straight into the sky!
The "cage" in his hand had already transformed into the form of the Holy Spear.
"He actually released the Holy Spear so easily…?"
Gray stared at this scene in a daze, utterly stunned.
After all, even with Arthurian blood, she herself still couldn't fully release its power.
But Alvin, who logically should have no relation to Arthur's bloodline at all… how did he manage it?
As the Holy Spear's golden light soared skyward, it instantly drew countless gazes.
Morgan and Ishtar's battle stopped abruptly, both women instinctively turning to look.
"Alvin…?"
Morgan murmured under her breath,
"So he's released the Holy Spear…"
Ishtar likewise narrowed her golden eyes, locking onto Alvin.
This guy had been missing for two days, and the moment he came back, he made a commotion like this… what exactly was he planning?
From the first moment she'd seen Alvin, she had felt this White Dragon was different from any other she had ever met before.
Logically, the White Dragon should have been Britain's enemy, but these past days, from what she'd gathered, he was actually quite well-liked in the palace…
At the very least, none of the Round Table Knights seemed to hate him.
Even Arthur was clearly fond of him.
Of course, none of that mattered now, what mattered was that he'd released the Holy Spear.
Which meant, perhaps, the will of "Gaia" might descend!
Just as that thought crossed her mind, Ishtar seemed to sense something and reflexively looked at the massive golden pillar.
Her eyes tightened slightly, faintly perceiving a holy presence descending from beyond the horizon, following that beam of light…
Morgan also watched, her jewel-like blue eyes flickering faintly.
She could sense it: Gaia's will was coming!
But for what purpose…?
Alvin likewise raised his gaze to the top of the golden pillar, and then, suddenly, he heard words appear in his mind.
"Will you become my executor?"
Alvin froze.
Before he could answer, the text reappeared in his mind:
"As long as it does not concern planetary destruction, you may do anything you wish."
"This is something you will have to face eventually. Between me and it, you must choose one."
It…?
That "it" referred to by Gaia… could only be Alaya?
Was Gaia trying to recruit him as one of its agents on this planet?
But why him…?
As Alvin puzzled over this, new words formed in his mind:
"Approach the pillar."
Alvin tried stepping closer to the golden light, and at the same time, he could feel a warm magical energy flooding through his entire body that made him freeze in shock as he whispered.
"True Ether?"
So Gaia was telling him that even if he someday wanted to restore the Age of Gods, it would have no objections…?
For a White Dragon, the stronger the magical environment, the more comfortable it felt.
Strictly speaking, there was no conflict of interest between Gaia and the White Dragon.
Not far away, Morgan also seemed to realize something, murmuring,
"Gaia… is trying to recruit him?"
Ishtar snorted softly,
"I don't know why either, but Gaia seems very interested in him. Part of the reason I was summoned this time was to help guide him to Gaia's side."
In the Age of Gods, unlike modern times, Gaia could still manifest its will through the Holy Spear.
Though only a faint trace of its consciousness, it was enough to communicate with those from the Age of Gods.
But most of the time, Gaia never bothered to appear.
There had been beings as powerful as the White Dragon in the past, but Gaia had never so passionately invited someone like this.
And it wasn't just talk, it was offering real sincerity, even going so far as to summon Ishtar.
Surprisingly, until now even Ishtar couldn't fully understand why.
As that thought crossed her mind, Alvin was already stepping closer and closer to the golden pillar of light.
However, just as he was about to reach its center, Gaia seemed to be struck by something and the golden pillar instantly turned far more illusory.
At the same time, the clouds overhead trembled violently.
As the "Isle Sovereign" ruling over Britain, Morgan's senses were razor-sharp as she looked up with a sharp gaze.
Ishtar also seemed to sense something, and her expression froze slightly.
"…Alaya?"
.
.
.
.