At the break of dawn, the three who had remained behind still hadn't realized what had happened.
"Huh? Strange, why did it suddenly turn bright? Wasn't it night just now… wait?"
Hundred Faces' expression suddenly changed:
"That guy Gawain, could it be that wherever he goes—"
Before she could finish, a massive flaming greatsword came cleaving straight toward them. Gareth's face paled as she immediately raised her shield. She wanted to pull the other two behind her, but it was too late. The blazing blade cut across in an instant, sending Gareth flying while also slicing both Hundred Faces and Asagami Fujino clean in half.
"Blocked it, did you? Not bad—such a reaction is worthy of being my sister from another world."
Slowly lifting his sword again, Gawain gazed at Gareth, who was already scrambling back to her feet, and spoke in a low voice.
But Gareth had no mind for him. She was shouting frantically at the other two:
"Miss Fujino? Miss Hundred Faces? Are you alright?!"
"Shut up, I'm not dead yet."
Even as her words fell, Fujino's body—cut into two pieces—suddenly dissolved into two pools of blood, which then swiftly flew back together at Gareth's side, reforming her figure. But now she seemed shorter than before, and her face was twisted with displeasure.
"How troublesome. I hate opponents who play with fire the most. Ordinary flames would be one thing, but this level of fire… if I keep fighting, my body will be completely burned away."
"Miss Fujino, you're okay?!" Gareth exclaimed with joy.
"Not entirely. That one strike probably cost me five percent of my body," Fujino replied coldly. "But that Hundred Faces over there is worse off—looks like she's done for… huh?"
She froze as Hundred Faces' body suddenly turned into smoke and vanished.
At the same time, a shadow lunged from behind Gawain, blade aimed straight for the back of his exposed neck. Caught off guard, Gawain actually took the hit—
Yet the next moment, the attacker was stunned. The dagger in her hand simply stopped against the back of his neck, unable to pierce his skin at all.
Seeing Gawain about to whirl around with his sword, the assailant didn't dare linger. She slipped away instantly, retreating back to the others.
"Eh? Miss Hundred Faces? But didn't you just…"
"That was just one of my clones. I kept a backup in case of tricks," Hundred Faces explained curtly, eyes locked on Gawain. "Damn it… even stabbing him in a blind spot doesn't hurt him at all. How are we supposed to fight this guy?"
"Let's just head into the dungeon and regroup with the others," Fujino suggested. "There's no reason for us to fight him here."
"Are you stupid?!" Hundred Faces snapped. "If this guy blocks the dungeon entrance, all of our escape routes will be gone! He could just toss his Noble Phantasm inside without even trying, and we'd all be dead!"
"Eh? Really?" Fujino blinked. She hadn't even considered that. "Then what do we do?"
"We'll hold him off here. I'll send a clone in to fetch the others and tell them to hurry out!" Hundred Faces said quickly. "Didn't you guys have that so-called Fairy Knight, the one who said she'd 'teach him how to be Gawain'?"
"Teach me how to be Gawain? That's the first time I've heard such arrogance." Hearing this, Gawain almost lost his composure.
If they'd said "teach you how to be human" or "teach you how to be a knight," he might have understood. But "teach him how to be Gawain"? Did that person even know what they were saying?
Too bad Gawain didn't browse the internet, or else he might've muttered something about "what an obscure meme."
But in the next moment, he understood their meaning.
"Oh, you mean Lady Baobhan Sith. She's a Fairy Knight of the Fairy Kingdom, named 'Gawain' directly by Queen Morgan herself." Gareth answered.
"Wait—you said Queen… Morgan?"
Gawain suddenly asked.
That explained a lot.
He quickly fell into thought.
So, this Gareth wasn't his sister but a Gareth from another world. And in that other world, their mother… had truly become the queen she had always longed to be?
And that mother had bestowed the name "Gawain" on one of her knights… meaning she was aware of this world's existence?
Combining that with the other strange outsiders he'd encountered, plus the prophecy in the city… Gawain felt he finally understood who their opponents were this time.
"Even after we're dead and have become Heroic Spirits, Mother still chooses to stand against the Round Table…"
Letting out a quiet sigh, Gawain suddenly raised his sword, eyes blazing.
"If the opponent is Mother herself, then I cannot afford to hold back at all!"
Hundred Faces, Fujino: "?"
Meanwhile, as the surface group engaged in battle, underground in the prison, Guinevere's party finally arrived at the cell holding Quiet Hassan.
But to their surprise, there was already someone waiting inside.
"Ah, you've finally arrived."
Before anyone could react, the black-armored man who had been sitting calmly drew his sword in one swift motion and decapitated the chained purple-haired girl, then stepped aside to avoid her blood.
As Guinevere knew, Quiet Hassan's bodily fluids were all deadly poison. The instant her blood splattered on the floor, it sizzled and smoked.
Everyone present froze in shock, eyes wide. The man, however, spoke as though nothing had happened:
"Hmm, such a fearsome toxin. If this got on me, it would be quite troublesome…"
"You bastard—!"
At last, Hassan of the Cursed Arm reacted. He hurled a throwing knife, only for it to be deflected by the man's sword.
"What, surprised? Did you really think I'd let you rescue this prisoner to use as an ally?"
The man, with black hair, black eyes, and black armor, spoke casually as he retreated toward the corner of the cell.
"Of course I wouldn't be so naïve. But since you killed her, prepare to accompany her in death—Agravain!"
Hassan shouted in fury.
Hearing the name, Chaldea's team gasped.
"Agravain? One of the Knights of the Round Table? He's here?" Mash exclaimed.
"I regret Quiet Hassan's death," Da Vinci said quickly, "but since Agravain has appeared, we can't let him walk out alive."
Agravain ignored their hostility. His eyes swept over the group, finally settling on Guinevere—the only male besides Hassan.
"Oh, so you're the outsider Gawain mentioned… In this situation, do you have nothing to say?"
"Hah?" Guinevere frowned. "What's there to say? All that matters is taking you down."
Agravain, however, muttered thoughtfully:
"…Hmph. Just as Gawain said. And black hair, black eyes… could it be you're like Xuanzang, a Han from the distant East?"
"…Yes, I'm Han. But what do you mean by that?" Guinevere asked sharply.
"You don't need to know." Agravain said coolly. "What you should be worried about is your own safety—you should be moving now."
As he finished, the wall beside them burst apart. A figure clad in purple armor emerged, sword swinging toward the group.
But Bagst—reacting instantly—drew her blade and intercepted the strike, even forcing the attacker back.
"…Impressive. To muster such strength on the fly, stronger than mine even?"
The attacker only staggered two steps before steadying himself, expression grim.
Though he didn't give his name, his purple armor and hair made Guinevere call it out at once:
"Lancelot?!"
"You're Lancelot?" Bagst's face grew solemn.
"Yes. I am Lancelot du Lac, Knight of the Round Table. Favored by the Lion King, I was granted the blessing of 'Severe.' And you, fair knight, with your strength and skill—you must be no ordinary warrior."
Lancelot gave a polite nod, his courtesy not lost even in battle.
"A very proper introduction… Then allow me to give mine as well. I am Baobhan Sith of the Fang Clan of the Fairy Kingdom, named 'Gawain' by Queen Morgan herself."
"Fairy Kingdom? Queen Morgan?" Lancelot's eyes widened, then his face darkened. "So the one who spied on me in the mountains was really that witch?!"
He instinctively glanced toward Agravain, whose expression was equally twisted, as if he'd swallowed a cockroach whole.
"Damn. What a vile name to hear," Agravain muttered. His gaze shifted to Guinevere, grim. "If that's the case, then could it really be…?"
He shook his head sharply.
"No, it doesn't matter. She's the enemy. I shouldn't think of such things…" He turned to Lancelot. "Well? Can you handle them?"
"It may be… troublesome," Lancelot admitted. "This so-called Fairy Knight is about equal to me."
"I see." Agravain nodded, stepping back and pulling a lever on the wall. "In that case, let's bury them all here."
The next instant, the ground beneath everyone shook violently, the whole dungeon trembling as if about to collapse.