Xingyue, is Xiaokai also considered Kai?

She did know that Ayaka Sajō was Novia's Master in the recent Subspecies Holy Grail War, but it wasn't very useful. Why was she only using it now? Could it be that she could use Command Spells to reach inside the hot spring? Maybe she could...

Out of curiosity, and also out of her own desire to soak in the hot springs with Novia, after careful consideration and deliberation, the fifth element of the extraterrestrial network, the etheric line, connected to the Aster bracelet in micrometers, invaded Aika's brain nerves from behind like a living thing, completely inserting its signal.

Start examining what's currently flashing through Aige's mind—

'This is... a hot spring in a labyrinth? High in the air? So it's a third-person perspective? Do Command Seals also have a monitoring function...?'

Just as Shion was beginning to understand her current situation, her gaze began to drift towards the hot spring below.

"This is the first time I've taken a bath with you, Meilushin."

"I really like it, and this is my precious first time."

A boy and a girl, or a human and a dragon, but there seems to be a kind of infatuation in the dragon's gaze.

Perhaps it was because of Novia's body, which was simultaneously seen by Shion and Aika.

"You have a great body, um, great... let me see it a little better, Novia."

The silver-haired girl's breath and voice escaped from her lips, and then with a slap, she hugged Novia.

Therefore, their skin, red from soaking in the magic spring, pressed tightly together.

.......

"Oh? After seventeen rounds, you still failed in the end? I thought you would succeed, I even had a little bit of hope."

In a place completely shrouded in blood red, the sky was a deep and rich crimson, as if covered by thick blood, with no sunlight able to penetrate it. The ground was covered with a thick layer of blood, forming patches of dark red swamps.

The seven-headed dragon lies prostrate in the blood, something that once existed but should no longer exist, yet it has returned on its own, climbing up from the bottomless depths.

As the waves, rising without wind, approach the great city from the other side, another desire is born at the heart of the golden vortex: the world's king, who possesses the power to blaspheme all things and governs the phenomena of affectation and decadence.

"But it must have been the effect of the suppressive force. Did it summon a so-called saint? In the end, it was just third-rate stuff in terms of both quality and quantity."

In this blood-soaked world, one throne stands out conspicuously.

The throne was carved from dark red stone, with bright red blood flowing over it as if it were seeping from within the stone itself.

On the throne, Nero, now a beast, is partially visible, his petite figure now known as Draco, his beastly form mirroring that of Novia when they first met.

Her face was shrouded in a blood-red shadow, with only her scarlet eyes flashing with a dangerous light.

While she supported Goetia's idea of ​​burning away human reason, she also had her own plans in private. For example, the Sun Magic Circle in the Seventh Labyrinth of Elcatlas was her work after she had modified it and deployed it to see if the vampires that devoured many spirit cores could pull people down directly without going through the Throne of Heroes.

Otherwise, how could a vampire possibly possess the ability to bind the Servants to one place?

Unfortunately, it failed.

However, Draco didn't really care whether the inhibitory force intervened or not; the repair had failed anyway.

After all, this experiment was just a whim for her, and she didn't even deserve to be considered a priority by Draco.

"teacher."

She called out to the irreplaceable being within her.

".....teacher."

I long to see you. Where are you?

The Pope, who had been reduced to a beast, would never say such a thing.

She knew that what she had done was something that shouldn't have happened to her teacher, Novia, but—

"...I am already a sinful beast, you will have to deal with me eventually."

She averted her gaze from the swaying sea of ​​blood, curled up on her throne, hugged her tail, closed her eyes, and began to reminisce about the past.

And so, the beast seemed to hear that distant and nostalgic voice from the past.

088: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

Generally speaking, it's highly unlikely that you can soak in a hot spring all night.

But for the girl who is the incarnation of the strongest dragon and for Novia, who has the 'Dragon Heart' providing her with energy, one night is still too short.

But to be honest, Novia was a little shy about experiencing this for the first time, but she quickly got into the swing of things.

In short, Novia, who was still incredibly energetic after a whole night, finally decided that it was best to get out of there as soon as possible. There was no need to overthink it; there would be other times anyway.

"Alright, that's about enough, we've been soaking for so long."

Novia placed a light kiss on Melusin's lips.

"Eh, eh, eh..." Melusin whispered cautiously in Novia's ear, "It's only been one night. You have my Dragon Heart supporting you; three days and three nights won't be a problem..."

The dragon girl's clear, beautiful voice, along with the breath she exhaled from her red lips, brushed past Novia's ear, enough to create a strange, itchy feeling in one's heart.

"obedient."

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say, Novia."

The silver-haired girl removed her slender, fair wrist from Novia's chest and began to slowly put on her clothes, peeking out slightly from under her skirt as she changed her white stockings, which had been soaked by the water.

"By the way, Novia, could you help me put this on? Is that alright?"

Perhaps the girl was just playing a little joke in her own way, but she did stop putting on the stockings and lazily crossed her legs slightly, letting her toes dangle over Novia's chest.

Novia didn't say, "Do your own thing, do you think you're a child?" Instead, she turned her eyes and followed the direction of the girl's toes, squinted, grabbed her, and wrapped her arms around the girl's sole.

"Novia, please don't...it's so itchy...I can't hold it in anymore..."

"Then let's not hold back."

In the end, he delayed a little and finally left with Melusin after the two of them had spent the night in the hot spring.

The magic that unblocked the hot spring environment was probably due to the hot spring's long period of lack of ventilation, which suddenly filled the entire third level of the maze with warm air.

Like Novia and Melsin, whose bodies were flushed from soaking in the hot spring all night, Aika Sajou and Shion were also slightly flushed. When they saw Novia and Melsin come out, they both trembled slightly as they lay on the ground together. After taking a deep breath, they slowly got up.

The sudden, obvious, sleepless gaze directed at Novia, like a long-awaited, hazy look, seemed to be a meaningful, top-down look at Novia's entire body, and also revealed a hesitant expression.

Seeing this, Novia probably understood why; it was probably because the soundproofing provided by Melusin wasn't very effective.

He wasn't too worried about dealing with it after returning to Romania, and he had already planned out his future plans.

This time, I brought Melosin out. After a while, I'll go to the United States to participate in the Holy Grail War there and summon Nero.

Friendly reminder: The one-day time travel event is about to end.

As soon as they stepped out of the maze, they were greeted by a lush green forest and a gentle sunset.

But then, a system notification box suddenly appeared in Novia's eyes.

He stared blankly at the system subtitles in front of him, as the 'time travel' option was flashing and refreshing slightly.

Unlike before, this time the era wasn't marked on the time travel section; it only showed: ? ? ?

And the countdown of the last five minutes, Novia thought for a moment, if the time limit is one day, it will probably be triggered between defeating Wolfgang and letting go of that blond dead apostle, so is it related to dead apostles and vampires?

Could it be... an era before the decline of the Age of Gods?

But he rejected this idea as soon as it came to mind, because it seemed impossible, since the system had never shown any timeline of the Age of Gods since it was obtained. Common timelines such as the Norse Age of Gods, the Greek Age of Gods, and the Japanese Age of Gods were all missing.

However, the lack of a date also eliminated the possibility that Novia could have carefully researched historical records before this time travel and ultimately taken control of the overall situation.

In other words, for this time travel, Novia could only rely on the history, legends, and myths that her brain could remember.

But Novia didn't really need to take that risk, since the position she gained in Rome and her actions were etched into the world, into the dream that the planet allows all life to experience.

That was enough for him to ignore the possibility of the human reason being burned. Speaking of which, Goetia still owed Novia a life.

Logically and emotionally, Novia no longer needs to care about such an unknown period of time. If they were to go, they should go to a time when they know the course of history and spend it in a relaxed way. In any case, they should just wait patiently.

but--

Novia had a premonition that something was extremely related to her, as if it had originated from her.

This premonition was so strong that even when faced with the possibility of not knowing the truth, he had already made up his mind.

"Merusin, Aika, Shion, I need to take a nap now. I'll have to trouble you guys for a bit."

The silver-haired boy stared into the eyes of the three and spoke. As his mind became clear, everything suddenly went black, and his body, which had lost its support, leaned against Aika, who reached out the fastest.

In the pitch blackness of his consciousness, after an unknown amount of time, a weary, aged voice slowly rang in his ears.

"Elder, this child... how could there be an abandoned child in a place like this... this is the vast desert..."

“This must be divine will. God is telling us that we are on the right track in interpreting the murals. If we continue in this direction, we will surely find God’s traces.”

"Then this child..."

"We can raise them. The Romans have opened up trade, so we can still support a child."

.........

The time is ripe; the ancient bells will ring once more, and a brand new world is about to begin.

Beneath the unfulfilled dreams of the stars, bells toll across the white earth.

The purple orchid ignites hope; here, death is not life.

Darkness comes from the end, yet lingers once more; darkness is also light.

—Around 400 AD, the Huns interpreted the murals that have been passed down through generations.

089: 418 AD, Western Roman Empire (Please vote!)

418 AD.

Since the Church of Jesus Christ, founded by Pope Novia, unified the faith as the state religion, and after the reforms of Emperor Nero, which brought it into complete control of the entire country, the Roman Empire, which has continued to this day, has now split into the Eastern and Western Roman Empires 23 years after the century-long, increasingly fierce struggle between papal and imperial power in the 300s AD.

Even today, the two seemingly friendly Roman Empires are still secretly vying for power. In the Western Roman Empire, which is dominated by the Church, the belief that pagans are not human is becoming increasingly prevalent, while in the Eastern Roman Empire, which is dominated by the Imperial Empire, the old belief in peace is still upheld.

As a result, a rift gradually developed between the Church headquarters in the Western Roman Empire and the church alliance in the Eastern Roman Empire, led by the Patriarch of Constantinople.

At this very moment, Novia, now fourteen years old, is in the royal palace of Milan, the capital of the Western Roman Empire, writing a letter in a room within a small courtyard specially provided for the 'hostage'.

This was an old, dilapidated house, empty except for him when he was young. The walls were mottled and the gaps between them were filled with weeds and moss.

Novia sat facing the dilapidated table, staring at the yellowed papers, the pen tightly gripped in her hand, motionless for minutes.

Looking out of the room, gray-white snowflakes gently drifted down from the sky, soon gathering in large numbers and dominating the entire land.

Perhaps it was the cold weather that stimulated my brain, but after drinking the already icy water, I placed the cup on the spot where raindrops used to make a crisp sound when they fell to the ground.

Then he began to write:

My dearest King Lua, I have been in Milan with you for three months now. Although our travel is somewhat restricted, she has received a good education at the Roman court. Please rest assured that I am a little older and will take good care of her daily life and handle her social interactions with the Roman royal family.

Incidentally, she tried to escape a few times, but she became much more well-behaved after I brought her back.

Now she doesn't dislike the sound of her name anymore, unlike before when she would complain and want a name that sounds cuter.

Perhaps it was because the elders could no longer hear her protests, and no one would continue to smile at her and say, "Here we go again?"

For this reason, he gradually became someone who could stand on his own.

In short, everything is fine here. We are not treated differently because we are not religious. We are treated very well, so please rest assured.

The King Lua mentioned in the letter is a leader of the Hunnic tribes. He reached a peace treaty with the Western Roman Empire this year. According to the treaty, both sides need to send a noble member to the other side as a hostage.

After sealing the letter, Novia got up, intending to mail it.

In the short time it took to get up, the wind in the heavy snow began to beat against the window, making a loud noise that gave the impression that it was about to collapse.

Although it's a habitable house, living there indefinitely might be worse than living in a slightly better prison.

With indescribable feelings, Novia slowly walked towards the door.

The moment the door opened—

“I don’t want to stay here any longer. The people here are all complete scoundrels, not at all like you described. I don’t want to stay a second longer. I want to go back. Let’s go together, Avia.”

At the doorway, a twelve-year-old girl with brown skin and white hair stared intently at him with blood-red eyes like rubies.

Avia was the name given to Novia after she was found by the Hunnic tribe during this era.

"Attila—"