On a plain about four kilometers from the throne room.
*BZZZZ!*
With a ripple in space, Naoki and Gray suddenly emerged from a curtain of light.
After setting Gray down, Naoki turned and looked toward the distant castle. "This distance should be safe for now. You're not hurt, are you, Gray?"
"Yes, I'm fine." Gray nodded. "But… Sister Merry and Arthur in that castle…"
"I don't know about Merry, but that Arthur… it has to be the real one, right? At the very least, I don't think the Holy Sword would fall into anyone else's hands so easily."
Recalling the earlier scene, Naoki's brows furrowed slightly.
That Holy Sword was the genuine Holy Sword. Having wielded it for ten years, he knew it wasn't a fake or a Holy Sword simulated by Magecraft. It was the real deal, just like the one in his hand.
And theoretically, only four people could wield this Holy Sword: the first Holy Sword wielder, whose true name was still unknown; Arthur, the second Holy Sword wielder; Naoki himself, the third; and Artoria, who was also in this Singularity.
(That was Arthur…)
For Naoki, this was a fact that was hard to believe. After all, it was Arthur—a heroic prince-like figure who upheld virtue and corrected evil, a champion of justice who would resolutely fight against wickedness under any circumstances.
Him becoming Naoki's enemy was something that could never happen under normal conditions.
"Could it be like ten years ago?"
During the Holy Grail War ten years ago, Arthur had been summoned by Morgan as a Berserker and would only have become Naoki's enemy due to Morgan and Merry's schemes.
Could this situation be the same? Naoki had clearly seen that Arthur's gaze was vacant, as if he had no sense of self.
Was his mind being manipulated? Or, like Jeanne Alter, had someone created a puppet-like Arthur using the Holy Grail?
"Big brother?"
"—!"
Hearing Gray's voice, Naoki snapped out of his thoughts. "What's up, Gray? Something wrong?"
"No, it's just that your expression and gaze looked a bit too serious… Are you okay, big brother?"
[Don't underestimate big brother, Gray—though I say that, there must be a bit of sadness in your heart right now. After all, you're facing him again. Want to take a break first? Like that cowardly doctor said, it's better to meet up with Artoria.]
Naoki gave a wry smile. "I'm fine, just thinking about something. You don't need to worry about me, Gray, Add. This isn't the first time I've faced that guy—I've got the resolve for it."
"But you're right. It's better to go meet Lia and the others first. In these past few days, she might have gathered some valuable information."
The information about the Sixth Singularity sent by Merlin had stopped two days ago. According to him, contact with Artoria had been cut off since then. It could be inferred that someone had noticed the information leak and intervened.
That being the case, in the two days since, Artoria might have gathered more information—perhaps something related to Arthur and Merry.
"I remember Roman said Lia was stationed about five kilometers south of the castle. That's about one kilometer from us. Let's fly there. Hop on, Gray, I'll carry you."
"Yes, thank you, big brother."
Bending down and picking Gray up horizontally, Naoki glanced back at the distant castle once more. A whirlwind appeared beneath his feet, swiftly carrying them both into the air.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Artoria had already established a base.
Roman had mentioned this earlier, and when he said "base", Naoki had initially thought it would be an area filled with tents.
But upon actually arriving at the base…
"A city?"
Looking at the clearly man-made city walls and the streets sprawling behind them—though it couldn't be called lively, as the faces of the residents inside were mostly filled with sorrow and their eyes lacked much light—there was no doubt this was a city.
Naoki placed his hand on the city wall and felt it. "This… was built in just a few days?"
"Does that mean this is a city built by Sister Lia?"
[Possibly. As for the reason, it might be to protect the residents inside or to give them a place to stay.]
Add was right.
Within Naoki's range of perception, there were no other cities in the southern area aside from this one. There were only a few scattered settlements with no protective measures.
(Are there wild monsters in this Singularity?)
The reason for building city walls and even stationing knights near the streets could only be this—within his visible range, Naoki spotted several Guard Knights.
Though he was long tired of seeing them, seeing them now actually made him feel a bit nostalgic.
At that moment, a few people also noticed Naoki and Gray appearing at the entrance. A fully armored Guard Knight quickly approached them. "Are you two also refugees seeking shelter?"
"Refugees?" Naoki furrowed his brows. "Those words suggest there's a natural disaster or monsters around here?"
"Hm? Didn't you come to escape the dragon calamity?"
Dragon calamity?
What was that?
"ROAR—!!"
Just as Naoki had this question, a deafening roar suddenly erupted directly above them!
Looking up, in the sky where there had been nothing before, a massive two-legged winged dragon appeared! In size, it was about twice as large as a normal two-legged wyvern!
"GAAAAAA—!"
The two-legged winged dragon that appeared without warning spread its dragon wings wide and let out a piercing roar into the sky. Then, blazing flames gathered in its mouth as it aimed downward at the city below—
*SWISH!*
But before the flames could burst from its mouth, a small figure suddenly appeared in front of it. A scythe as tall as a person swiftly sliced through it, cleaving it in half and killing it in midair!
Landing back on the ground, watching the two-legged winged dragon gradually turn into black mist and disappear, Gray couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"This two-legged winged dragon… it's not a living creature?"
"Yeah, but it's also not purely a Mana creation… it's like it was made from mud?"
Naoki frowned and turned to the Guard Knight. "Was that the dragon calamity? Does this happen often?"
"Uh, about that…"
"Taking down a two-legged winged dragon so cleanly? That was a beautiful strike."
The Guard Knight had just snapped out of his shock at Gray's instant kill of the two-legged winged dragon. Before he could answer, another voice came from the street. Accompanied by the sound of clanking armor, Naoki and Gray saw a tall figure walking toward them.
(It's him…)
"With such sharp skills and this honorable man's face that resembles my lord—you two must be Lord Naoki and Lady Gray, right?"
"I am Gawain. One of the Knights of the Round Table."
The Sun Knight bowed to Naoki and Gray.
"My lord and we, the Knights of the Round Table, have been waiting for you here for a long time."