I, Guinevere, am going to crush you, you curry stick, today!

……

"Think it over carefully. This is your last chance, your only chance. Once you make the decision, at the end of this road, you will be hated by everyone and meet a miserable death."

"No matter what happens, this outcome will remain unchanged. I can say that with absolute certainty—"

High in the sky, a solitary portal of light stood. The female magician looked down at the sword in her hand, which was shimmering with the light of the lake. The images reflected in her eyes were different: she watched Arondette and the battle on the sea with her left eye, while her right pupil reflected the two figures under the setting sun.

"Sigh, even though I put a seal on it, I didn't expect it to come out and say such nonsense... What if it scares the girl and makes her change her mind?"

Contrary to his words, Merlin's expression was a mixture of helplessness and joy. No matter what, there was nothing he could do since it had already happened.

She might change her mind because she's afraid of her future.

He might feel afraid because he's not mentally prepared to be a king, or he might go even further and run away from this arduous path altogether.

However, neither of these situations is a problem for the female magician. At worst, she can just find another opportunity to give her a push later.

"There's still time. For a kid your age, even if you're a little more playful and waste a few more years, it's not a big deal... Sigh." A sigh, destined to be unheard by anyone else, suddenly echoed from hundreds of meters in the sky.

"What nonsense am I talking about..."

……

Are you confused?

To her own surprise, Lily accepted her feelings almost immediately.

“I’ve been thinking… I’ve been thinking. Is this something I absolutely have to do? Because… the world is so big, there must be people more capable than me. If they were to do it, they should be able to do it even better than me…”

Whether she actually said those words aloud or they merely flashed through her mind, she herself didn't know.

The afterglow blurred the figure in front of him, the outline blending with the surrounding colors, making the person look like a thin silhouette standing there.

"But... everyone is trying. Everyone I've met so far, whether they are or not, is trying... trying to live."

The sword in the stone, which was never pulled out, seemed to dim the brilliance of this "King of Promises," making his title seem less legitimate.

But for her, this was just right.

"I'm not even mature enough to be a swordsman, let alone a knight. Unlike others, I don't even know what a fifteen-year-old girl should be like..."

As if talking to herself, Lily slowly organized her thoughts: "So I won't say that I can definitely do it, or that I won't let Merlin and Hector down... There will definitely be someone else who can do it better than me. There will definitely be someone more suitable than me to lead Britain out of its predicament."

"But there isn't anyone like that, at least not in the last few years... so someone has to take on this responsibility during this period."

The festival scenes in the small town, deep in my memory.

The laughing and noisy crowd, the bonfire burning into the sky—that kind of small, ordinary happiness that seems so easily grasped with a simple reach…

"……I will work hard."

It brushed past my fingertips.

She looked up.

My gaze passed over the similar appearance and tall figure before me, through the blood-red sunset and evening glow. As my thoughts gradually cleared, a certain name, a name I had never heard of before, rose from the depths of my heart.

"I will try my best. So..."

Once that name is uttered, something that belongs to her will be completely destroyed. Realizing this, the girl's body trembled uncontrollably, but she endured the fear and still stubbornly called out that name.

……

"Ah..."

The female magician, watching this scene, closed her eyes, let out a sigh from her slightly parted lips, but a slight smile appeared on her lips: "Artoria, there's no turning back now."

……

“…Rungomminiad, until the end, watch me and witness what is about to happen.”

……

"Can--"

The voice answered.

P.S.: I spent two days trying to figure out this part, but I still couldn't find the right feeling, so I had to bite the bullet and write it anyway... Although it's a complete mess and my already dwindling confidence has been shattered, this part of the story has finally come to an end. After a simple wrap-up, it'll be some more of the plot that everyone will enjoy~

Chapter 149 Shining (Part 1)

"Can--"

The voice of the reply still lingered in my ears, the colors changed, and in an instant, what unfolded before my eyes was once again this raging, chaotic sea.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, with faint electric currents running through them. The occasional flashes of silvery light were the only remaining light in this world.

Her soaked clothes and hair clung to her body, making her look like a drowned rat. Lily wiped her face and shook her head, water droplets splashing everywhere. She remained kneeling on one knee, her gaze gradually focusing.

This is... the back of that monster.

She remembered that she had used Kai and Gawain to distract the other party, and then she took the opportunity to jump up and try to find a weakness... Then she saw all sorts of changing scenes.

The flow of souls, the battlefield where blood flowed like rivers, Rungomminiad... A period of extremely long time suddenly appeared in her memory, but the actual time seemed to remain frozen at the moment she landed.

Lily stood up unsteadily.

A considerable amount of time has passed since the start of the battle. His magic power is almost inexhaustible, but his body is nearing its limit.

In theory, when going all out, an ordinary person can only concentrate their energy on the first few attacks. Those who have received professional training or are veterans who have been through the battlefield can maintain their momentum and state at their peak for three to five minutes, but after that, they will inevitably fall.

No matter how special the circumstances, she was still a girl in her early teens, and was inevitably at a disadvantage in terms of physical strength compared to men. Even if releasing magic could make up for this, the powerful magic itself was still an amazing burden.

Moreover, the continuous loss of body temperature was further depleting her strength, and Lily knew that she didn't have much time left.

Before this, she didn't have any trump cards to use and could only hope to find the monster's fatal weakness or find a way to restrain it so that the other two could take the opportunity to attack.

And this moment.

Lily simply sheathed her sword with a "whoosh".

With each breath, the sea breeze blew, and the moist air gradually spread through my body. Before my eyes, there was only a vast expanse of blue, as if there was nothing but the towering thorns that resembled a forest of spears, but faintly, there seemed to be a glimmer of light.

It was a multitude of faint glows, yet it exuded a powerful presence that was impossible to ignore. The light rose from the sea, drifted in the wind, and swept across her fingertips like quicksand. Like a phantom river, it rushed past the girl. She faced this magnificent torrent of light, and a faint glow appeared on her body. She stretched out her right hand, against the flow of light, and made a loose grasp.

As if standing among countless fireflies dancing in a summer night, the girl's magically woven silver armor was slowly disintegrating, revealing once again her slender figure, which was far too delicate for a warrior. Her golden hair, which was originally tied in a ponytail, was now loose and wet, the rope having been lost in the fierce battle. The water droplets that were about to fall on her cheeks and chin added to her unusual beauty.

At the same time, her light green pupils suddenly turned a strange golden color.

"...Was it really too much of a stretch?"

High in the sky, Merlin noticed Lily's change and sighed softly.

Since the sword in the stone broke, things have taken a different turn than she had predicted. While this has rekindled the female magician's passion for life, it has also caused her considerable headaches at times.

Although the original plan was for the Holy Sword and the Holy Lance to ultimately belong to King Arthur, for Artoria at this point, both of these items are far too early.

Where there is a love of beauty, there is also a poison. A divine weapon that is so powerful must also have an effect on its user. Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone—to be precise, they are replicas that she remade using the broken Sword of Light—are fine, but under normal circumstances, they will only stop the wielder's body from growing. In a sense, this is even an effect that everyone dreams of.

But the Holy Lance affects the soul. Once touched, even by borrowing just a tiny bit of its power, the user's spirit and mind will be inevitably and irreversibly eroded, ultimately losing their original self and becoming its agent in the mortal world.

"Originally, I didn't plan to hand over the gun or the sword to you so soon..."

Recalling a certain peculiar "troublemaker" who had thrown the entire script into chaos, Merlin couldn't help but shake her head and give a wry smile. If everything had gone according to plan, she would probably have teamed up with Vivian and Neneanne to secretly retrieve the Holy Lance without attracting anyone else's attention. Then, she would have patiently spent some time minimizing its impact, and only handed the Holy Lance to Artoria just before her decisive battle with King Vortigern, as a trump card to turn the tide of battle.

Instead of rushing to arrange everything as if to announce to the world that the artifact is here and to send people to investigate... It is precisely because her eyes can see the "present" that she can understand the threads that intertwine the people and things in the world, those seemingly ethereal but actually traceable destinies that can be manipulated to a certain extent.

"Although the world is in a tense situation, we have managed to do the most basic response and prevention... The thirteen seals that were originally intended to be handled by the Round Table will now have to be temporarily assigned to a few outstanding warriors."

"Arondette... With the help of the Holy Sword, the burden of three of the seals should be manageable for Lancelot... The same goes for Gawain. As for the others... Guinevere will take care of the two, and Artoria will take care of the one herself. Both of them are equipped with divine weapons, so it shouldn't have too much of an impact... As for the last four, I'll take care of them myself for now."

With a soft voice, the female magician held a sword in one hand, while her free left hand rapidly wrote something in the air. The words appeared and disappeared. In her left eye, she saw a pillar of light that stretched to the heavens and the earth, as if supporting the entire world. At this moment, something like a chain formed between the surging stream of light and wrapped around it.

On the turbulent ocean, though it had lost its dominant soul, the behemoth still instinctively sensed a tremendous threat approaching. Despite not understanding the cause of this sense of crisis, it still let out its most ferocious roar to date. Amidst the churning waves, the two restraining figures also felt immense pressure.

"We have to fight this hard..."

Gawain gritted his teeth, but failed to notice that the Elvish script engraved on his sword had suddenly undergone some subtle changes.

The same changes also appeared on the other two holy swords of the same origin.

Meanwhile, in the kingdom across the sea, Lancelot, who was wearing an overcoat and hurrying along the castle corridor, suddenly stopped.

"What's going on... is it just my imagination?"

He pressed his shoulder and spun around a few times under the curious gazes of the servants around him. After trying the same thing on the other side, he still frowned, and his body seemed to have suddenly become a little heavier than before.

"...Are you sick?"

In the end, he could only mutter something strangely before coming to his senses and continuing his journey toward his father's bedroom.

……

"Holy Spear——"

The sudden appearance of the thirteen seals caused the golden light that had been shining deep in her pupils to vanish in an instant, as if it had never existed. However, Lily was unaware of the changes in herself and continued to recite the words one by one, following the memory that had suddenly appeared in her mind.

Against the backdrop of the long river of light, amidst the scorching weather that seemed poised to engulf everything, the current surged and converged, resembling a silver cone, gradually appearing in the girl's outstretched right hand. Reflecting this scene, her emerald eyes remained calm and undisturbed: "—Pull anchor."

Five fingers together.

A sudden gust of wind appeared!

Centered on her, with a loud boom, countless solidified wind blades roared out in all directions.

With a series of cracking sounds, the monster's erect back spines snapped off and flew into the air. The hard shell that everyone had tried so hard to break was now as fragile as the most ordinary icicles!

"—"

The foul-smelling blood splattered out, and the monster immediately let out a deafening roar. The surrounding seawater surged and instantly formed several huge tornadoes. The turbid waves rolled and the sound was deafening. This was not even a conscious attack, but a storm that it subconsciously summoned to vent its anger and pain. However, this one blow was enough to kill hundreds or even thousands of well-trained soldiers.

But Lily didn't even flinch. She stood steadily on the other's back. Because of the countless wind blades that had swept through, her back, which had been like a forest of bullets, now seemed empty. Under her feet, countless cracks crisscrossed, and blood flowed, almost overflowing her iron boots. Seawater poured down from the sky, but it couldn't wash away the pungent, fishy smell.

The girl reached out with her other hand and gripped the gun handle. A blinding white light emanated from the silvery shaft of the gun, its tip pointing downwards. The wind lifted her hair and clothes, swirling the countless scattered points of light around her. The beast of waves struggled violently, perhaps sensing the impending danger, and suddenly, with incredible speed, it sank downwards, submerging its massive, mountain-like body into the sea!

It was at this very moment.

Lily gripped the spear that had appeared from the light tightly with both hands and thrust it downwards with all her might!

The tiny white figure vanished instantly into the raging storm. In an instant, the wind was still howling, but the surroundings seemed to quiet down for a moment. Gawain turned his head and exchanged a glance with Kai. The female magician's gaze slowly moved downwards, but she took a step back and flashed into the portal. The next moment, the portal reopened dozens of meters away. She stepped out and then felt the restless magic in the air, which stimulated her skin like an electric current.

"It's coming..."

She didn't finish her sentence.

Looking down from above, the entire sea, spanning hundreds of miles, seemed to simultaneously expand and push outwards from a single point, as if a pair of invisible giant hands were reaching into the sea and forcefully parting the water to both sides, collapsing and sinking into countless whirlpools of varying sizes. Merlin pointed, and Gawain and his companion, who were about to be swept into one of these whirlpools, instantly disappeared. She lowered her hand and saw a thin silver line shooting straight out from the center of the sea, shining into the sky—it was a thin and long silver line, fluttering violently among the waves, shimmering and flickering. Under her gaze, the light seemed to dim slightly.

Merlin closed his eyes.

Even through her eyelids, she could feel the intense light that seemed to burn her eyes. In an instant, not only her body but also her soul felt as if they were facing that astonishing aura. It took almost half a minute before she opened her eyes again. As soon as her eyes, which were sore and aching, opened, tears involuntarily welled up. In her blurry vision, she saw that the dark clouds in the sky had dispersed, and in the vast and desolate darkness of the early morning, a beam of light pierced through the heavens and earth, standing tall and majestic...

……

P.S.: I originally wanted to update twice a week... but I just couldn't get it right, sigh. Lately, I've been increasingly aware of my limited vocabulary and lack of descriptive ability, especially when I try to write about grand and magnificent scenes. I feel powerless and have energy but nowhere to use it.

Now that we know the shortcomings, we can adjust them gradually... Well, although these few stories are not very well written and are a bit messy, we have explained most of what we wanted to explain and what we wanted to foreshadow.

The next chapter will pick up on Guinevere, who seems to have been absent for a while, and give us a few chapters of the sweet moments everyone's been waiting for. After that, we'll move on to the climax of Volume One. Around 100,000 to 200,000 words, and that should bring Volume One to a close. Then… at least until the King Arthur arc ends, and then the Red and Black War, and FGO chapters six and seven—these are all confirmed and their plots are roughly finalized. After that… I'll just slowly figure things out and continue writing.

By the way, Abi only stayed offline for a few days before telling me the Ereshkigal gacha banner is out! What the heck?! My wallet is already empty—(hugs head)

Chapter 150 Shining (Part 2)

As the Holy Lance unleashed its earth-shattering strike, parting the sea and evaporating the terrifying beast that struck fear into the hearts of countless people in a divine and dazzling light, it seemed to signify that this upheaval, woven from numerous schemes and sacrifices, had finally come to an end.

Elsewhere, the sharpness of swords was palpable, and the sounds of battle echoed; a battle almost unknown to anyone was drawing to a close.

"you--"

The images in her mind were fragmented, difficult to piece together into a complete picture. Since that devastating defeat, she had abandoned the dignity she once valued more than life itself, the pride of being strong, and struggled to survive.

Over the incredibly long years, she had seized countless bodies and received countless memories, which she herself had long forgotten. Some of these memories were of people, some of demons, and some of the most irrational and foolish beasts. Love, hate, and all sorts of emotions surged and churned, until finally, everything became unfamiliar.

Why am I not dead yet?

Where are my family members? Where are my friends? Where is my beloved husband?

As her chaotic thoughts began to clear, she pondered these questions over and over again, until she was plunged back into that chaotic and insane world, becoming uglier than anything else just to survive. She seemed to be silently watching her own actions from the perspective of an outsider: killing, taking over bodies that were not her own, and then walking through the world as a stranger.

But deep down, she always knew. This world no longer belonged to her, no longer belonged to them.

Even during the battle, facing that familiar, chilling sword, his mind was still a jumbled mess. He might die here, he couldn't allow it, he absolutely couldn't die... Why?

"—Go to hell!"