Fairy Round Table Realm, Poem of Eternal Mist

"I believe in Mr. Muramasa!" Ritsuka interrupted firmly.

"You must understand, this is not the swordsmith from Shimousa Province," Da Vinci said in a low voice, "Besides, that fairy knight..."

'It's better than constantly being on guard against Bedivere. Besides, the Fairy Kingdom is facing a great calamity; even Morgan wouldn't choose this time to act.'

'A great catastrophe? The one Mike mentioned? A mass extinction similar to those in pan-human history?'

"Details unknown." Ritsuka grasped Da Vinci's hand. "But now, we can only trust Gareth."

Outside the kitchen door, the fairy knight Gareth stood dejectedly, head bowed. She had only intended to fetch some tea from the kitchen, but had unexpectedly overheard this conversation. (That madwoman... just how deep is their fear of the fairy knight...?)

The fairy knight Gareth quietly turned and left the kitchen, returning to the guest room Mike had arranged for her. Compared to the luxurious residence in Camelot's royal city, the furnishings here were remarkably simple: a plain bed, a simple desk, an oil lamp emitting a warm glow, and a few evocative oil paintings adorning the walls. Although simple, the clean and comfortable atmosphere actually helped to relax her tense nerves.

Just as she was about to rest, the communication magic stone she carried with her suddenly glowed faintly. She quickly straightened her posture and activated the communication, and the image of Queen Morgan in her blonde hair and blue dress appeared in the magic circle.

"Your Majesty!" the fairy knight Gareth immediately knelt on one knee. "What urgent instructions do you have?"

"It seems you've met up with that foreign magician." Morgan's voice came through the magic circle. "How's the situation? Is that woman still bothering them?"

'There haven't been any new attacks yet, but given Kelby's personality, he probably won't give up easily...'

“I agree.” Morgan nodded slightly. “■■■, make sure everything is foolproof before they arrive in Norwich. Be especially wary of Aurora; that woman will definitely try to cause trouble. Also, never let Corra get close to the foreign magician—that's an order.”

"I will obey Your Majesty's decree," the fairy knight Gareth solemnly promised.

"I'll send Sylph to provide support later, mainly to guard against that—" Morgan's words suddenly became unclear, "...I look forward to hearing good news at the next communication."

'I will not fail in my mission!'

The light from the magic circle gradually faded, and the fairy knight Gareth stared at the shards of light in the air, letting out a soft sigh. The queen's command had added to the weight on her shoulders, but the thought of Ritsuka and the others' wary eyes brought a bitter feeling to her heart.

Fragment (Part 1) - Fairy Round Table Realm, Poem of Eternal Mist

The fairy knight Gareth took a deep breath, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the patterns on the sword hilt: 'In short... this is all the information I currently have about the 'Great Calamity.' She looked up at Artoria, her brow furrowed with deep worry. 'You haven't encountered any danger during this time, have you? His Majesty has been very concerned for your safety.'

"It's alright for now." Artoria shook her head gently, sunlight filtering through the treetops and casting dappled shadows on her eyelashes. "It's just that the fairy knight Bedivere has caused us quite a bit of trouble... but apart from that—"

"That madwoman is indeed a menace." Gareth suddenly interrupted, slamming his fist heavily against the ancient tree trunk beside him, sending several withered leaves fluttering down. "Almost no one she targets survives. But precisely because of this, His Majesty specifically ordered me the other day to suspend all military duties and dedicate myself solely to protecting you."

'Protect...us?' Ritsuka murmured, repeating the word, her fingertips digging deep into her palms. She recalled Morgan's cold profile in the Pan-Human History records, and her own destiny of standing against the Queen. Yet now, the ruler had sent his personal guard knights—was this a merciful olive branch, or a carefully woven net? Gazing at the magical runes flowing on Gareth's armor, she suddenly noticed the unusual brooch on his cloak: the silver griffin-shaped ornament was identical to the engraving inside Mash's shield.

'I…' Ritsuka began, but her voice choked with sobs, the accumulated fear of the past few days shattering into fragments. Gareth suddenly knelt on one knee, his longsword flashing as it plunged into the earth. When the knight looked up, Ritsuka saw golden particles floating in her irises—exactly the same guardian spirit she had seen at the Mirror Clan ruins.

"I swear by the blood of the ancient goblins flowing in my veins." Gareth placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, the joints of his armor gleaming softly. "From this moment on, my sword and my life are yours to command. Whether facing calamity or betrayal, I will build a protective wall with my own flesh and blood."

The shadows of the trees swayed violently in the wind, and Senji Muramasa's voice came from behind them: 'Little girl, look at the crack on her sword's hilt.' The old man slowly stepped out of the shadows, the red glow of his pipe flickering in the twilight. 'That's a gash carved by rebels during the last clan war, when he was protecting refugees. A knight who would break his sword for the common people…' He gave Ritsuka a meaningful look, '...is rarer than you think.'

Ritsuka's fingertips finally stopped trembling. As she reached out to touch Gareth's palm armor, a faint light suddenly burst forth from the point of contact between them—it was the same magical resonance as when she touched the Staff of Choice earlier.

"I believe you." She gently grasped the knight's hand, just as the evening bells tolled from the distant clock tower. "I look forward to your guidance from now on."

The fountains in the domed gardens of Camelot were spewing iridescent mist. Morgan's fingertips traced the Nocnarria family crest on a document, her golden hair shimmering like molten gold in the sunset. As the footsteps of four goblin knights echoed along the flower-lined path, the sapphire button on her cuff suddenly flashed with an eerie light.

"The meeting minutes show that Nocnarria used this during the vote." Morgan pushed a crystal plate onto the table, and an image appeared of the brooch worn by the patriarch of the royal family—engraved with the supposedly lost magic circle of the enslavement contract. Lancelot's sword suddenly hummed, and the same runes as the brooch appeared on its scabbard.

'It seems some people have finally lost their patience.' Morgan lightly touched the crystal with her quill pen, shattering the image into stardust. 'But what we've been waiting for is the moment she willingly breaks the alliance.' As she turned, her skirt swept across the prophetic magic circle that appeared on the floor tiles—an image showing the flag of rebellion rising over Aurora's mansion three days later.

-

The rose-tinted windows of Darlington Castle filtered the twilight into rosy patches of light. Mashdy repeatedly stroked the *Chronicles of the Fairy Kingdom* on the bookshelf, when suddenly a soft click came from somewhere on the spine. As she pulled out a disguised book, a strange image was reflected in the mirror of a hidden compartment: Boggart was having a secret conversation with a hooded visitor in a secluded room, and beneath the visitor's cloak, the hem of a uniform from the Pan-Human History series was clearly visible!

'Goblin caravan...' Mash suddenly rushed towards the door, only to find that the lock had been enchanted. As she stumbled backward, she knocked over the dressing table, and the bottom of the perfume bottle that rolled off the table was engraved with the same lion emblem as Gareth's—the coded symbol used for emergency communication in Chaldea.

Gloucester Alley Tavern

The dim yellow gaslight cast flickering shadows in the space filled with the smell of fermenting malt. The fairy knight Bedivere sat alone in the corner wooden box, her gnarled knuckles tapping the mottled tabletop. A bloodstained bandage snaked from her left eye to her chin, the dark red seeping through gleaming damply in the lamplight. When the cloaked woman lifted the beaded curtain, the hanging wind chimes shattered.

"A full quarter of an hour late." Bedivere glanced at the newcomer with his undamaged right eye, the wound beneath the bandage rising and falling slightly with each breath. "Looks like you enjoy seeing me in such a sorry state?"

A soft, bell-like laugh came from beneath the cloak. The woman's slender fingers brushed across the solidified wax on the table: "After all, not everyone is like you, willing to use teleportation magic wherever they go." She suddenly leaned closer, her nose almost touching the bandage, "So, which brave warrior dared to leave a mark on the face of our esteemed fairy knight?"

A brown snakeskin bag was pushed to the center of the table. The moment the bag was loosened, the azure pupils of Ritsuka in the photograph reflected the halo of the tavern's chandelier. The woman's fingertips traced the teeth marks along the edge of the photograph, then she suddenly let out a shrill laugh like an owl: 'Mere humans? Your record is getting more and more impressive these days.'

Bedivere's single eye suddenly contracted. Her bloodstained fingernails dug sharply into the wooden tabletop: 'There's something strange about this human girl's swordsmanship. Every time we clash, my magic crest resonates uncontrollably...'

'Resonance?' The woman suddenly used her broken fingernail to lift the wine glass, spilling crimson wine onto the photographic paper. The liquid slowly trickled down Ritsuka's smiling lips, like congealed tears of blood. 'Then let me see if the human who can make your wounds reopen deserves such an honor—'

The shattering of the glass startled the drunkard at the bar. Amidst the flying shards of glass, half of a dagger wrapped in runes peeked out from under the woman's cloak. And in the photograph soaked in liquor, Ritsuka's figure was being completely engulfed by the spreading crimson.

Ghost - Fairy Round Table Realm, Poem of Eternal Mist

Gloucester Tavern, second floor

Moonlight, like quicksilver, poured into the deep corridor, coating the wooden floor with a hazy silver glow. The faint sound of an embroidery needle falling to the ground was clearly audible in the utter silence. The door to the fairy knight Gareth's room was ajar, and the dim candlelight cast flickering spots of light through the crack.

Inside, water droplets dripped from Gareth's damp hair. She wore a plain bathrobe, her fingertips tightly gripping a communication crystal, its shimmering light reflected in her pupils. When the crystal finally hummed, Queen Morgan's figure appeared in a halo of light, her blonde hair resembling molten gold against her blue uniform.

"Is this an emergency? Why are you contacting me at this hour?" Morgan's voice was tired and hoarse, his fingertips rubbing his temples. "The mess Nocnarria left behind is still giving me trouble... Tell me about your discovery first."

Gareth took a deep breath and slowly opened his palm. A deep blue magic ball appeared in his hand, imprisoning a twisted, black, worm-like creature within. The thing was frantically pounding against the ball's walls, constantly spewing out a viscous liquid mixed with pus, leaving nauseating stains on the ball's inner walls.

"It was discovered while Ritsuka was bathing." Gareth's voice trembled slightly. "It was parasitizing beneath her shoulder blade, already connected to her nerve plexus..."

Morgan suddenly leaned forward, the image within the crystal flickering slightly: 'The Imprinted Worm? And the latest symbiotic variant... When did Coral acquire this technology?'

'Those traitors have already set their sights on them? Or...' Gareth's voice suddenly choked, '...is it related to the prophecy of the Child of Prophecy?'

"The time isn't right." Morgan's eyes suddenly sharpened. "The only one capable of this level of surveillance magic is Coral. When you used your succubus power to extract the insect, did you trigger any alarms?"

'Probably not, but I'm worried...' Gareth's words were interrupted by Morgan raising his hand.

"Continue the surveillance." The Queen's voice was icy. "Pay special attention to Kelby's movements; she's likely working with Diana. Sylph will come to your aid after completing her mission in the capital."

The moment the crystal's light faded, Gareth noticed his knuckles had turned white from straining. The name 'Diana' sent a chill down his spine, but he quickly forced himself to relax.

'His Majesty must be overthinking it...' she murmured as she blew out the oil lamp. The moment she sank into the soft bed, her tense nerves finally relaxed slightly.

Yet, in the shadows of the corridor, a pool of silvery liquid was silently writhing. The fairy knight Bedivere slowly rose from the mercury, her armor gleaming coldly in the moonlight. A cruel smile curved her lips, and the scar beneath her blindfold twitched slightly.

'Poor watcher…' she murmured silently to the closed door, 'Never knowing when the predator will reveal itself.'

The silver-armored figure moved silently in the darkness. When Ritsuka's door was pushed open, moonlight streamed over the girl's peaceful sleeping face, and wisps of hair scattered on the pillow like an angel's halo.

'Such an innocent sleeping face…' Bedivere's cool fingertips hovered above Ritsuka's trembling eyelashes. 'Let me see what kind of moving fear will bloom when nightmares erode this tranquility.'

Before the words were even finished, those demonic claws, covered in tarnished armor, had already reached out towards the sleeping Ritsuka. All of this happened in the blink of an eye—even Senko Muramasa and Artoria, who had just stepped onto the old wooden stairs, were unaware that an uninvited guest had infiltrated the tavern.

As dawn broke, dewdrops rolled down iris leaves, sparkling like tiny fragments on the tips of the grass. Under the rosy clouds of the fairy kingdom, Leonardo da Vinci opened the window, letting the morning breeze caress her gradually awakening face. 'Ritsuka? Time to get up—' Her call abruptly ended.

The sight of the wide-open door chilled her to the bone.

The empty bed still retained its warmth, and the satin hair ribbon remained curled up beside the pillow, but the girl who should have been soundly asleep was nowhere to be seen. In her place sat a strange woman with short, silver-white hair, leisurely tapping her fingertips on the armchair.

'Looking for that vulnerable human?' The woman's lips curled into a cruel smile. 'Too bad, she's currently on a much more interesting stage.'

'What did you do to her—' Leonardo da Vinci's question was abruptly cut off by a swift kick. The woman leaped like a cheetah, her military boots whistling through the air as she slammed into the wall. The deafening crash of exploding wood jolted the entire attic awake.

When Oberon burst through the door, his robe still loosely tied: 'What happened—who are you?!'

Senji Muramasa had already drawn his sword, the katana flashing a cold arc in the dim light: 'Intruder, state your name!'

'Hehehe...' The woman chuckled as she ground aside the scattered shards of glass. 'The mighty Fairy King Oberon, reduced to a human's watchdog?'

'You know me?' Oberon's pupils contracted. 'No... this aura is—'

'Why bother with words!' Senjimura's katana was already aimed at the woman's face. At the same time, Oberon flicked his sleeve and unleashed blades of powdered scales, a swarm of dark blue butterflies attacking the uninvited guest like a swift rain.

But strange golden patterns flickered in the woman's eyes. In her extraordinary vision, the trajectory of the katana and the path of the butterflies both transformed into slow, clear predictive lines. She sidestepped the whistling blades, caught the falling blade with her bare hands—with a mournful metallic cry, she flipped over and delivered a spinning kick that sent the two crashing through the wooden wall and slamming them heavily onto the street below.

'Too slow.' She brushed the wood chips off her shoulder and suddenly turned her head to avoid the icicles hurtling through the air. Three embroidered balls covered in golden runes came one after another, but she easily dodged them all by millimeters.

'This farce should end now!' The fairy knight Gareth, gun in hand, blocked the end of the corridor. Sei Shonagon hurriedly helped the coughing, blood-spewing Leonardo da Vinci to her feet. When Gareth saw the woman's face, the knuckles beneath his dragon-scaled handguard suddenly tightened: 'Diana?! You should have died by my gun nine years ago—'

The silver-haired woman chuckled softly, her fingertips tracing the gruesome old scar on her collarbone: "It's thanks to your shot that I've gained even more beautiful 'eyes'..." The golden markings floating in her irises suddenly blazed with an eerie light.

Nine years ago, the Edinburgh Glacier

The snowy night was silent, with goose-feather-like snowflakes covering the entire riverbank. A solitary line of footprints stretched from the woodland cabin to the frozen river, eventually disappearing into the still-flowing water. Willow branches, draped in snow, drooped like curtains studded with crystals. And in the ice-covered water, a white-haired woman lay silently like a withered white rose—her grey-white dress billowed in the undercurrent, frost clinging to her bare shoulders. Her dark red pupils reflected the chaotic sky, and a deep, bone-revealing wound on her neck continued to bleed, staining the surrounding river a pale pink.

On the riverbank, the fairy knight Gareth tossed aside the melting ice blade in her hand, drops of blood falling from her fingertips, blooming like red plum blossoms on the snow. Behind her, a wanted poster half-hidden by snow prominently displayed the face of the woman in the river: Diana, the culprit behind the series of horrific massacres that shocked the fairy kingdom.

"Now your sins are over," Gareth's voice was colder than the wind. "Those wronged souls can finally rest in peace."

Back to the present

As Gareth rushed up the stairs, the sight that greeted her froze her blood. Diana, who should have died at her hands, was stepping on Leonardo da Vinci's wrist, the sickening cracking of bone echoing from beneath her heel.

'Why…' Gareth's knuckles beneath his dragonscale gauntlets turned white. 'I witnessed you sink into the icy river!'

Diana let out a shrill laugh like an owl, and suddenly exerted force with her feet! With a crisp cracking sound, Leonardo da Vinci's right hand was crushed into a pulp! Amidst the shrill screams, Gareth seemed to see the corpse floating in the glacier nine years ago again—but now, the gill-like organs faintly visible on the other's collarbone clearly indicated some kind of mutation that transcended life and death.

"You did 'kill' me back then, Kalia." Diana licked the blood that had splattered on her lips, "But the ancient ruins at the bottom of the glacier gave me a new life... Now, I can see the trajectory of all things in motion!"

Gareth unleashed a chilling aura, instantly transforming the entire tavern into an ice cave. Countless ice spikes rained down on Diana, only to be effortlessly dodged by millimeters. Sei Shonagon's spell-infused hydrangea and Artoria's magical beam formed a formidable net, but before they could reach their target, they were swallowed by a suddenly rising wall of water!

'How naive!' Diana conjured thousands of water needles at her fingertips. Just as the deadly cold light was about to pierce through everyone, a blazing slash came hurtling in! Senjimura's katana slashed horizontally, and the figure of the fairy knight Bedivere emerged from the rising steam—the bandage around her right eye was oozing an eerie black mist.

'You ruined my plans again, you old man.' Bedivere touched the scar on her face where Ritsuka had injured her, her cold gaze sweeping over Gareth, who was wearing a nightgown. 'The head maid of the royal palace, yet you're so devoted to a human girl?'

Gareth's ice spear pointed directly at the two: 'His Majesty's decree is here! Where have you taken Ritsuka?'

Diana's cold laughter echoed in the ice cave: 'That fragile human... is experiencing a game more interesting than death!'

Bedivere suddenly hurled something—a crushed half of the Chaldea bracelet, its edges stained with Ritsuka's blood. 'You'll soon understand,' a mad glint flashed in her single eye, 'that thing sleeping within that girl is more dangerous than any of us…'

'The true face?' Senjimura's hand, gripping his katana, remained motionless, the blade reflecting his tense expression. Despite his doubts about Bedivere's words, he dared not relax his guard in the slightest. Meanwhile, Oberon had quietly evacuated the tavern owner and was carefully helping the trembling Leonardo da Vinci, who was writhing in agony. When he saw her limp right hand and the outline of shattered bone protruding beneath her skin, Oberon gasped. He quickly pulled Leonardo into his arms, a golden magic circle unfolding beneath his feet, a warm healing light enveloping her swollen and deformed hand.

"It hurts so much... Ahhh..." Da Vinci's groans were intermittent, and cold sweat soaked her forehead.

'Hang in there,' Oberon's voice held an unusual urgency, 'I'm trying my best... just a little longer...'

On the other side, the fairy knight Gareth pointed his lance directly at Bedivere: 'What nonsense are you spouting?'

'Why should I reveal the answer, Head Maid?' Bedivere chuckled and took a step back. 'Wouldn't it be more interesting to witness it firsthand?' She and Diana gradually merged into the suddenly appearing golden portal. 'Farewell, everyone—'

As the two disappeared, Sei Shonagon and Artoria finally collapsed to the ground, unable to hold on any longer. Senji Muramasa and Gareth immediately dropped their weapons and rushed to help them up.

"How badly are you injured?" they asked in unison.

Artoria leaned weakly on Senko Muramasa's shoulder: 'Mr. Muramasa…'