Chapter 61: Gazing at Each Other in This Light and Night
The night was empty, the firmament high and distant.
A hook without bait swayed gently on the water's surface, sending out layers of fine ripples.
In the pool, a school of small fish swam up as if in curiosity, watching the swaying hook from afar.
They had never been fished before.
And so, they did not know the danger it held.
As for the one who had been "fished," he stated...
"—I am the fish."
A dull, humming voice emanated from the skull helmet of the towering, armored man.
The content sounded like a deadpan joke in response to the other's actions.
Unfortunately... faced with this man's terrifying presence, it was unlikely anyone could laugh.
Because he was the Old Man of the Mountain, the King of Assassins, the assassin who assassinates assassins.
Grand Assassin, Hassan-i-Sabbah.
However—
"Ha, hahaha..."
The long-haired man who was fishing suddenly burst into hearty, unrestrained laughter.
It seemed he had understood the punchline, and he laughed so hard that tears nearly streamed down his face.
"Ha... Hassan, my friend~ Everyone thinks you're the type of guy with no sense of humor."
The Assassin was silent for a moment.
"In truth," he hummed, "I have a great sense of humor."
"It's just that everyone who experienced it is dead, correct?"
"Urk..."
There was no refuting that.
Splash—
The long-haired man lifted his fishing rod with a grin, shattering the reflection of the stars and sending water flying.
"My, my To think I'd get to work with you one day, Hassan. Our respective higher-ups have never exactly seen eye to eye. What's the saying? We're like two peas in a pod—we just clicked! Tsk, this is a rare event indeed It seems... the one we're facing this time is an exceptionally troublesome fellow."
The man reached out, gently removed the small silverfish from the hook, and squatted down to release it back into the pool.
The fish had been caught.
A true fisherman enjoys the process of fishing itself; Jiang Shang would never admit he often gets skunked.
"—Speaking of which, I had to fight tooth and nail just to squeeze in here. It's getting so competitive these days, you even have to scramble for overtime..."
The massive Assassin was silent for a moment.
"The same is true for me."
"...Ehhh?"
The long-haired man's smiling eyes cracked open a sliver, a glint of surprise floating in his violet pupils.
"I was just minding my own business, having a perfectly good time, when I was suddenly called in for overtime. And for a temp job like this, there's no overtime pay!"
"...The same is true for me."
"Tsk~ I asked my old man what was up, and he just smiled with his horsetail whisk, giving me that 'heaven's secrets cannot be revealed' look of a riddler who's just asking for a punch..."
The long-haired man narrowed his eyes, stroking his chin in thought.
"—Well, I reckon nine times out of ten, the old man didn't know himself, so all he could do was be cryptic."
"...The one from my side was the same."
"..."
The atmosphere grew a little still.
The long-haired man looked up at the deep, cloudless night sky, a look of keen interest on his face.
"Interesting. What kind of person would attract the attention of both our sides simultaneously..."
He hooked the fish basket onto his arm with his fingertip.
Being a bit short, he had to stand on his tiptoes to pat the Assassin on the shoulder, which produced a hollow thump-thump sound.
Is there even a person inside this armor?
"Let's go, time to get to work~"
With their strange and beautiful attire, a shield as large as a castle gate, and the universally known Great Sage.
The two beautiful girls and the white-haired man walked together through the streets of Orkney's capital. Their odd appearances and a lineup like this naturally drew the gazes of passersby.
"So... that King Arthur, at this point in time, is still such a noble king who cares for her people."
The historical records were not wrong.
Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't help but feel emotional.
Looking at the scene on the streets—people laughing, living in peace and contentment, a picture of tranquil happiness.
In comparison, the Holy City that had risen from the ground in Jerusalem was like a living hell.
"The fact that King Arthur is a woman is already incredibly surprising. For a woman to command the respect of the Round Table in this era, her virtue is unquestionable. But... what on earth changed her mind? Such a noble king couldn't possibly want to destroy the world."
Fujimaru Ritsuka pondered.
The true measure of a king's virtue...
One could tell just by looking at the smiles of the people on the streets.
She had never seen anything similar in the Holy City of Camelot—the faces of those emaciated refugees held only numbness and suffering.
"I watched Lily grow up. If you want to know who had the deepest influence on her..."
The white-haired magus closed his bleeding eyes, smiling gently. He had already understood Chaldea's purpose here.
"Then it would have to be... across the sea, your terrifying enemy—the Son of the White Dragon."
"Son of the White Dragon?"
Mash tilted her head.
At Chaldea, she had been systematically taught human history.
The struggle between Britain's Red Dragon and the Saxons' White Dragon was a classic part of history, adapted and sung in countless legends and poems.
But...
"—I have never heard of the Vile King Vortigern leaving any heirs in history," Mash said, Browse the intelligence sent from Chaldea. "In Proper Human History, Vortigern ultimately died at the hands of King Arthur and the Round Table, leaving no descendants."
"It was... the Fae Queen Morgan," Merlin said with a smile. "I raised Lily, a child of the Red Dragon, and took the throne from her. She didn't seem too happy about that. So she conspired with Vortigern and raised a child of the White Dragon... —And now, she is the queen consort of that very same Son of the White Dragon. Haha... I must say, that witch certainly knows how to play."
Merlin's tone was teasing, light and airy.
The chaotic family relations of Britain made Ritsuka and Mash look at each other, their faces slightly flushed.
The red-haired girl rubbed her temples and began exchanging information with Da Vinci from Chaldea.
"I see. So a single whim of the Fae Queen Morgan ultimately caused such a massive deviation in history." Fujimaru Ritsuka murmured. "That's right, thinking about it, her motive is very reasonable—because you, Merlin, created King Arthur as a child of the Red Dragon, she wanted to create a child of the White Dragon as well. Having the throne taken from her, she developed a competitive mindset. That's only human. ...This 'Son of the White Dragon' is likely the root cause of the Singularity."
The red-haired girl had grasped the key point.
"However, the simple addition of one person shouldn't be enough to shift the Foundation of Human Order value to ERROR... What else did this Son of the White Dragon do?"
"It's a long story..." the nightmare sighed. "You can stay in the city for a few days. You'll understand everything if you just ask any of the ministers in Orkney."
The group stopped and looked up at the magnificent white chalk castle before them.
This was King Arthur's current palace.
"If you want to understand the situation, just go right in, Ritsuka-kun~ Just state your purpose to the Round Table. Lily doesn't want to see me right now, so I'll stay behind."
"...Ehh." Mash was a little surprised. "Such a gentle person like Mr. Merlin is disliked by King Arthur?"
As soon as she spoke.
A fluffy, snow-white beast peeked out from Mash's arms, perched on her shoulder, and bared its teeth at Merlin.
"Merlin... die!"
"Ahaha..." Merlin held up his hands in surrender.
"Because... I interfered with her feelings. That kind of thing is the hardest to mediate. I'm sure you two would understand, right?"
The nightmare left them with a meaningful smile, his form dissolving into flower petals.
The underlying meaning of his words made the senpai and kouhai look at each other, their cheeks flushing again.
They had been through life and death together, willing to give their lives for one another. Was it really just simple camaraderie?
"It's... it's a tangled web of love and hate... I think I'm starting to understand."
Muttering these words, Fujimaru Ritsuka seemed to recall the determination on the face of that dark king.
She was very familiar with that expression.
Because she herself was the same.
It was... the expression one wore when willing to destroy the world to save a single person.
「Five months have passed.」
「Morgan still has not returned.」
「You push your daughter on a swing in the garden, listening to her laughter, as you gradually feel a chill creeping closer.」
「You could survive in an environment of two hundred degrees below zero without issue. This chill comes not from the environment, but from the bottom of your heart—it is the intuition of an ultimate lifeform.」
「Morgan... something must have happened.」
「You desperately want to go to the Inner Sea of the Planet to find your wife, but as the Son of the White Dragon, you can constantly feel its rejection—like Vortigern, you are also repelled by the Inner Sea.」
「What's more, you must now remain stationed in Londinium. You are the only one who can serve as the final line of defense for Vortigern in this massive fortress city.」
「In the sky above, dark, spiraling clouds have begun to brew and gather, tinged with a deathly gray color. The center of these vortex-like clouds is like a hole torn open in the world.」
「You have a faint premonition—not two years, but within this very month, your father is about to draw the Holy Spear.」
「As if to confirm your premonition...」
「A turbulent battle report suddenly arrives from the front lines.」
「King Arthur has assembled an unprecedentedly large Celtic army, crossed the sea, and launched a fierce charge towards the Anglo-Saxon kingdom.」
「The momentum of her army is immense. This campaign has exhausted nearly all of her nation's strength, seemingly in an attempt to drive deep in one fell swoop, straight to the heart of Londinium.」
「You send orders to the front lines to maintain a passive defense.」
「The time for the decisive battle is approaching. You know Artoria will seize this last chance to kill Vortigern. On a battlefield like this, the sheer number of ordinary people means nothing against her.」
「So what if they rout, so what if they flee? Ordinary people are naturally afraid of death, and even you yourself are the same. You know the Anglo-Saxons are not on your side, but in the end, every civilian life saved is a good thing. Not harming the innocent is a victory in itself.」
「With Morgan gone, the only person in this entire country who can be the final line of defense against her is you, the one known as the King of Cinder—Alwin Pendragon.」
「King Arthur leads the Knights of the Round Table, her grand army advancing unimpeded through the Anglo-Saxon kingdom. At every city, they meet only symbolic resistance.」
「Or rather, not even symbolic resistance. It is as if the enemy is throwing open their gates to welcome their arrival.」
...
Having always forbidden her army from pillaging and looting, Artoria's Celtic forces maintained an exemplary level of military discipline.
The number of nobles whose homes she had seized could now fill the castle of Orkney. The combined star-ratings of her Round Table knights couldn't match her alone. Who would dare defy her orders?
What's more, the vast majority of her current army were originally commoners.
They had received King Arthur's grace and were fiercely loyal to Artoria.
And so, a strange scene unfolded—
Artoria rode a magnificent white horse, the disciplined Celtic army following behind her, slowly advancing through the streets of the Anglo-Saxon cities.
The people in the cities did not fear them.
Instead, they seemed to welcome them with curiosity, even joy.
Because throughout Artoria's advance, the residents had not been robbed, and there hadn't even been any violent conflicts.
The supreme and ever-healthy Prince Regent Alwin had issued a message stating that this was King Arthur's army coming to negotiate peace, and they should be allowed to enter directly.
Initially, the people had harbored some worries.
But seeing the orderly army advance, they set their minds at ease, truly believing them to be a peace delegation.
Among the welcoming crowds were not only Anglo-Saxon commoners who had settled and grown families, but also many Celts...
—These were the Celtic refugees displaced by the war, whom Su Shu (Alwin) had taken in. Regardless of race, he had granted them all the status of residents.
At first, the two groups had been hostile towards each other.
But now, they were all actively participating in production and construction for the sake of their homes.
Because, without the exploitation of the nobles, they only needed to pay their taxes, and the rest of the farm's produce was their own.
Su Shu had minted coins to circulate as a general equivalent for trade.
There were even dedicated agricultural officials who, for the sake of performance reviews and promotions, diligently taught and promoted farming techniques.
The harvest of every bit of labor could solidly improve their lives, earning stability and happiness for themselves and their cherished families.
Only by sinking into hell can one know what heaven is.
The famines and turmoil of the past, the situation where people would starve to death despite bountiful harvests, were long gone from this island.
The generations-old blood feud between the Anglo-Saxons and Celts seemed to have been smoothed over in these three years—people gradually understood that they were all just ordinary people chasing a peaceful life.
The residents lining the streets cheered for Artoria's arrival, shedding tears of excitement that this protracted war might finally come to an end.
From time to time, families separated by the war recognized each other in the crowd and embraced in tearful reunions.
Riding at the very front of the column, leading the grand army slowly forward...
Artoria's expression was dazed and frozen.
This same bright sunlight.
This same scene of a welcoming crowd.
Her thoughts seemed to drift back to the day she drew the Sword of Selection.
A knight in black armor, standing at the end of the road, gently removing his helmet and offering her a gentle smile.
「Long time no see, Artoria.」
"Alwin..."
Whispering his name.
Artoria's heart felt as if it had crossed mountains and seas.
Beside her, Ritsuka and Mash, also on horseback, gazed at this moving scene.
After they met King Arthur, she had welcomed and understood their arrival.
During their time with her, Fujimaru Ritsuka could see without a doubt that Artoria was indeed a noble king whose virtue was worthy of admiration.
It was just that... she remained silent about her past with Merlin and her relationship with the Son of the White Dragon, unwilling to speak of it.
But this did not affect the alignment of their interests.
Because the most critical point of this Singularity was not the Son of the White Dragon—but the Vile King Vortigern himself, who was about to draw the Holy Spear and attempt to return the Age of Gods.
As long as Vortigern could be stopped, the Singularity could be restored.
Artoria had joined a united front with them, and they were now preparing to crusade against the Vile King Vortigern.
As for the Son of the White Dragon, the king had requested that his life be spared as much as possible, claiming he was merely bewitched by Vortigern and was not an evil person.
The facts... seemed to support this.
In the days since entering enemy territory, Fujimaru Ritsuka and her party had encountered no resistance at all.
They had not experienced any of the vile reputation of the Son of the White Dragon that was spread by the former nobles, now ministers, within the Celtic kingdom.
What she and Mash saw was... happiness.
A happiness even more stable and peaceful than that in Orkney.
It was not the kind of peace gained through suppression and self-denial—making people lose their desires to obtain security.
Instead, it was a vibrant, thriving, competitive growth of all things; a happiness born from striving for a better life, full of vitality.
...The people were all smiling.
The king of this country was said to be a very evil person.
So evil... that he made people smile?
Fujimaru Ritsuka could, of course, tell whether these smiles were fake or genuine.
The clean streets, the well-ordered houses, the markets selling a dazzling variety of food, tools, and clothing.
The well-made clothes people wore, the sound of literacy lessons from the schoolhouse, the crudely printed but already large-scale production of books.
And in the distance, the golden wheat fields swaying in the wind.
If the laughter of people could be faked to create an atmosphere, what about the spirit of a nation?
How... could something like this be faked?
Fujimaru Ritsuka silently observed it all.
Beside her, Mash was also lost in thought.
Reflected in the purple-haired girl's pupils was something called happiness.
It was something she, as a homunculus, had never understood before meeting her Senpai.
Never had so much, an almost overflowing amount, of something called happiness been reflected in her eyes.
There were no drums, no music.
Only laughter.
Yet it sounded like the most comforting lullaby.
Behind Artoria, the faces of the knights on horseback were ugly and grim.
Most of them were of noble birth.
Seeing the commoners live well was more painful to them than their own suffering.
Weren't commoners supposed to be subservient and offer tribute?
Their own country's people were one thing, but these people from the enemy nation, living under the shadow of the Demonic Dragon's son, why were they so happy?
Why...
Why, without the governance of nobles, were their lives even better?
This scene filled their empty hearts with resentment.
Their private complaints about Artoria had never ceased since the nobility was dismantled in the Celtic kingdom.
How was imitating the enemy's policies the act of a virtuous king?
The nobles, now demoted to ministers, did not dare to rebuke their king, but they never stopped slandering the Prince Regent across the sea.
Because he was the culprit who had started all this trouble, the one who got their homes seized.
The nobles cursed him, defamed him, and hoped he would go to hell!
Even better, his country should go to hell with him!
Let those cheering commoners see what happens without the rule of the nobility.
Now... they saw.
...This was the result.
—The other country was governed even better than their own!
Looking at the refined iron farming tools present in every household...
In the past, refined iron... only nobles had such equipment, and who would use precious iron to make farm tools?
Wasn't that a wanton waste of resources?
These tools, if melted down and forged into weapons...
The vitality they represented made the knights' hearts palpitate.
Only now did the knights understand how wise their king's decision had been—if they hadn't followed suit, their country would have long been thrown into the dustbin of history by the enemy.
But... how could the knights accept it, how could they admit it...
—Accept the fact that they themselves were historical trash...
Compared to the impotent rage of the knights...
The Master of Chaldea was pondering a deeper question.
King of Cinder, Butcher, Tyrant.
Pointed at by a thousand fingers, cursed by ten thousand mouths...
This so-called Ominous Son of the White Dragon, what kind of person was he really?
His achievements were obvious to all, yet his reputation was one of overflowing evil.
He was like a perfect king who had built a perfect kingdom on earth.
His governance gave the people happiness and security, yet now, standing under Vortigern's banner, he seemed poised to subvert and destroy the world.
A contradiction.
A man of life and death, of endless cycles, a contradiction like an infinite spiral.
How... curious...
An endless curiosity for that name also welled up in Fujimaru Ritsuka's heart.
A person whose immense charm could be felt without ever meeting him, she couldn't help but be reminded of a certain magus she had only met a few times in her own reality.
"Alwin Pendragon."
The red-haired girl looked at the sky and murmured.
"What kind of person... are you?"
In a cavern of tangled roots, an unknown depth beneath the earth.
The fluorescent light flowing through the tree-like tendrils was much fainter than it had been three years ago.
Su Shu's iron-gray eyes stared at this scene, then slowly lowered.
He, too, slowly squatted down, bringing himself to eye level with the small, adorable silver-haired girl before him.
"Melusine, you've always been a good girl..."
He stroked his daughter's silver hair, speaking in a soft, low voice.
"—You're a good girl, right?"
"Right, right! I'm a good girl! Daddy!"
Melusine blinked, nodding vigorously and hopping. Her gaze slowly wandered around their surroundings.
"Wh... where is this, Daddy? It's so pretty, but so dark..."
"This is our home's basement. A place for hide-and-seek."
The silver-haired young man said softly, then heard his daughter's innocent voice.
"Daddy, are you leaving?"
Su Shu was silent for a moment.
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"Yes... Mommy had to go on a long trip. And Daddy has to go take care of Grandpa. You have to stay here by yourself for a while. All your favorite foods are prepared for you. If you get hungry or thirsty, remember to eat. I know you're scared of being alone, you're scared of the dark, right, Melusine... but don't be afraid, because the shadow is Daddy. Just like always, my lovely Melusine... This is a game—hide-and-seek. Do you understand Daddy's words?"
Looking at her father's downcast eyes...
Melusine blinked her deep blue eyes.
She nodded vigorously. It was just hide-and-seek, and she was the best at hide-and-seek!
"No matter what, don't go outside. No matter what vibrations you feel, no matter what sounds you hear, don't go outside, Melusine. Mommy will come to get you."
"Mommy will come get me, but what about you, Daddy?"
However, there was no answer.
Just like always.
Before the game of hide-and-seek, Daddy hugged her and made a "shh" gesture.
Melusine quietly ran off.
The warmth of the final hug gradually faded, just like Daddy's slowly disappearing figure.
She held her breath and squatted in the darkness. The deep shadows enveloped her completely, but this time, Melusine was not afraid.
Because Daddy had said.
The shadow was him.
Melusine curled up in the shadow.
As if she were still curled up in her father's warm embrace.
「Fifteen days have passed. King Arthur's army is about to lay siege.」
「You have long since evacuated all the soldiers and residents from Londinium.」
「This fortress city, once the most prosperous under your rule, is now as silent as a city of the dead.」
「Numbers are meaningless. In this entire island, only you can bear the duty of guarding Vortigern.」
「You stand silently at the very top of Londinium's magnificent castle. Though it is daytime, your body is wreathed in a flickering, flame-like shadow.」
「Above the city hangs a layer of slowly flowing, strange, spiral-shaped clouds—a celestial omen of the Holy Spear's impending projection.」
「You gently place both hands on the hilt of the Sword of Lingering Ember and unleash the light-devouring power of the ultimate lifeform without reservation.」
「In an instant.」
「The sunlight is devoured by you.」
「The vibrant daylight is instantly transformed into a deep, eternal night.」
「A dim, lightless night sky envelops the whole of Londinium's firmament. You alone have completely changed the celestial phenomena of this fortress city. Londinium has welcomed a silence and tranquility akin to eternal night.」
「The blazing sun hangs high, and all things grow.」
「Everything in Britain still seems to be thriving.」
「However, no matter how intense the sunlight, no matter how bright the sun, it cannot penetrate the shadow of the Demonic Dragon's son that shrouds this city.」
「The city of the eternal night spiral is also the final battlefield.」
「Beneath this eternal night spiral stands the Savior of the Wicked. Bathed in lightless shadow, this is the moment the King of Cinder burns.」
「Just like ten years ago, standing on the high balcony of the castle.」
「Your gaze slowly lifts, looking towards the farthest reaches of this land.」
「On the nearly vanishing horizon, a brilliant golden glint faintly emerges—」
Bathed in the clear, invigorating sunlight...
The disciplined Celtic army crossed the final pass.
At the endless horizon in the distance, the world seemed to darken for a moment.
Everyone, as if sensing something, lifted their gaze towards the end of the road, at the magnificent, towering fortress city that stood there.
Hiss...
The sound of sharp intakes of breath rose and fell.
Everyone was dumbfounded, staring blankly at the scene that looked like an act of divine wrath.
The daylight was stolen by him.
The sunlight was devoured by him.
A deep and vast shadow enveloped the entire city.
Only the eternal night spiral of Londinium remained, slowly rotating, like a soul-capturing vortex, crazily draining the sanity of everyone present.
For a time.
All was silent.
Heaven and earth were voiceless.
Darkness crept in, and an ill omen shrouded everyone's hearts. The twisted, endless spiral of clouds seemed to be annihilating their reason. Wet, slimy tentacles squirmed, reaching into their throats, bringing fear, bringing terror.
"A... a monster—"
Their minds nearly shattered by this strange phenomenon, soldiers in the ranks began to cry out in grief. Panic spread and multiplied like a virus.
That person... he was darkness itself.
If you curse at the darkness, draw your bow and shoot an arrow, can you harm it in the slightest?
No. Without firelight, the eternal darkness would only swallow them whole.
As ordinary people, how could they contend with such power? How could they charge into such darkness?
In that instant, everyone understood.
Numbers were meaningless.
Ordinary people had no place on this battlefield. It would be nothing but suicide.
Even the swords of most of the Knights of the Round Table began to tremble.
Fujimaru Ritsuka's right hand trembled slightly, the brand of the Silver Arm seeming to emerge.
The moment he saw the city shrouded in eternal night, he instantly understood—why the alarm for this Singularity in Chaldea was even more terrifying than the one for the Holy City.
The Ever-Spiraling City of Night: Londinium
Devouring all things called light.
Mash grabbed Ritsuka's hand.
They looked at each other, their hearts palpitating.
Everyone, at this moment, was inevitably afraid.
Except for her.
Just like in that radiant wheat field long ago.
Her soft golden hair swayed gently in the wind.
Artoria lifted her gaze, and across a distance of ten thousand meters, she looked at him, a single point of annihilation at the city's highest peak.
He stood watch in the night.
She was bathed in the light.
Under this interweaving of light and night, they gazed at each other, in a battle to the death.
His silver hair was scattered in the wind.
He, as always, was smiling.
Just like his smile from long ago.
Just as warm, just as radiant.
"Long time no see, Artoria..."
He said softly.
The golden-haired girl dazedly lifted her hand, and across ten thousand meters of light and shadow, she seemed to want to caress his face.
"I've come to save you, Alwin."
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