It was a sound that pierced the silence of the night.
Just listening to it was unsettling.
"Master! / Senpai!" Tamamo-no-Mae and Mash exclaimed almost simultaneously.
Obviously, upon hearing the sound, they had already realized that the situation at this moment was a bit off.
"It's okay, I'm here, there won't be any problem."
Ian reassured his girlfriends while clenching his fist and activating the ability called "Memory Projection" within his body.
"Rotary Sword of Victory (Excalibur Galatine)!"
With the man's angry roar, a blue and white holy sword appeared in his hand.
This was Excalibur Galatine, the other Star Holy Sword corresponding to the Sword of Promised Victory (Excalibur), and it possessed extremely powerful abilities.
Corresponding to the King's Holy Sword, which is blessed by the moon, this sword is blessed by the sun.
Of course, the one in Ian's hand was not the original, but a replica synchronized using "Memory Projection," and it did not have the original's true strength.
However, after going through so many things, the man's own magical power level had reached a very high degree.
So, even if it was just a replica, its ability was close to the actual original.
"Burn, Star Holy Sword!"
Ian swung the weapon in his hand and pointed it toward the sky.
Boom, a flame like the blazing sun erupted from the sword and flew straight into the sky, instantly dyeing the pitch-black night into a scene like day.
This was Excalibur Galatine.
It could burn the user's magical energy to drive the pseudo-sun within the sword, achieving an illuminating effect.
Of course, this was somewhat defying common sense, but considering the actual situation, Ian had no choice but to force himself to do it.
The ground was illuminated.
Ian and his party were able to see the surrounding environment clearly.
But—
Knowing this didn't seem to change anything.
Countless black shadows were moving their bodies on the ground, rushing toward Hadrian's Wall like a tide, with a momentum that suggested they wanted to completely destroy the magnificent structure.
And what was spine-chilling was that the movements of these black shadows didn't look like the behavior of normal living creatures at all; they were not only extremely distorted but also constantly exuded an eerie aura.
"What exactly is this..."
Mash looked at the sight in front of her and subconsciously took a few steps back.
"How can there be such strange things here?"
"I don't know either."
Tamamo-no-Mae's throat subtly moved. At this moment, she had completely lost the relaxed look she had when chatting with Mash just now.
In its place was a serious tone.
"But—"
"It's definitely very wrong, no matter what."
"Is a Singularity a place where strange creatures like this gather?"
"..."
Unlike Mash and Tamamo-no-Mae, who were still guessing the truth, facing the black shadows surging like a tide, Ian vaguely remembered some past events.
Especially during Nero's reign, that incomparably terrifying viper, Agrippina.
She had once summoned black shadows like the ones now because she wanted to overthrow her daughter's rule.
However—
Ian looked at the scene in front of him, but he also vaguely felt that the situation was a little different.
How should he describe this feeling?
That's right.
It seemed that something else was mixed within their bodies.
The original black shadows were just the sight of deceased skeletons rising again through forbidden magecraft.
These now were obviously not the same thing—there must be some unknown reason behind this!
But no matter what, eliminating them first was definitely the right thing to do.
With this thought, Ian immediately took action.
He said:
"Little Tamamo-no-Mae, is there a way to figure out what they are?"
"If I remember correctly... you should have the ability to do that."
The man wasn't talking nonsense.
In her memories from the Heian-kyō period, Tamamo-no-Mae did possess extremely miraculous power.
That was the power exerted by her Noble Phantasm, Water-Heaven-Sunlight-Amaterasu-Eight-Field-Warding-Stone—it was a treasure bestowed by the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. It had been shattered once, but with the return of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons in Heian-kyō, it was also repaired accordingly.
"Hmm."
Tamamo-no-Mae didn't hesitate. She waved her sleeve and immediately conjured a mirror.
That was the Water-Heaven-Sunlight-Amaterasu-Eight-Field-Warding-Stone.
"I can indeed do this—but it will take some time."
"No problem."
Ian immediately agreed and then instructed Mash, who was next to Tamamo-no-Mae.
"Mash, during the time Little Tamamo-no-Mae is preparing, I'll have to ask you to protect her well. Can you do that?"
"Yes!"
Mash held her large shield and nodded very seriously.
"Senpai, don't worry—I will definitely protect Lady Tamamo-no-Mae."
"Good, that puts my mind at ease."
With a consensus reached, Tamamo-no-Mae threw her mirror into the air.
But it didn't fall to the ground. Instead, it began to spin, emitting bursts of light-blue radiance.
Tamamo-no-Mae slightly clenched her fist and then began to chant a spell.
"Cursed evil spirits rampaging in this world, be purified and eliminated by my Warding Stone!"
"Water-Heaven-Sunlight, manifest here quickly!"
Countless threads of light, like silk, emanated from the fox demon's mirror and spread out in all directions.
But their spreading speed was not too fast. It would indeed take some time to completely surround the area.
This was not a problem.
Buying time was something he could easily do.
Ian once again activated his "Memory Projection" ability.
This time, he projected Lancelot's weapon—the third Holy Sword of the Lake, Aroundight (Unbroken Lake Light)!
Ian didn't just casually choose this weapon. To protect his girlfriends, he knew he had to stop these advancing distorted black shadows first.
"Realm of Absolute Peace and Stillness!"
Imitating Lancelot's operation of the weapon, Ian swung the dark-blue, lake-like blade in his hand forward.
Instantly, a ripple-like wave, starting from the man, swept across the entire black tide.
The black shadows, which were moving in an extremely bizarre manner, were completely bound the moment they came into contact with Aroundight and could no longer move forward even half a step.
They twisted their bodies and let out harsh screams, seemingly extremely angry that they couldn't continue to advance.
The night of the Singularity fell into madness at this moment, instantly resembling an extreme feast of horror, with every black shadow looking like a demon that had come.
But Ian certainly wouldn't welcome them.
Behind the man were people who must not be harmed.
So—
He had to use that thing, the fake item that was created by spending eleven Command Spells.
But... could he really replicate it again relying on memory?
No.
He shouldn't have such doubts.
Replication was a must; the only question was whether it was replicated well or not.
With this determination, the Aroundight in Ian's hand gradually began to disappear.
In its place was a new weapon.
It was a black spear. Its tip was incomparably sharp, as if it could pierce through everything in this world.
But the bursts of black aura emanating from it were silently indicating one thing: this was a forgery, not the genuine article.
Its flickering appearance at this moment was still stating a fact—that this weapon, projected through Memory Projection, could not stably exist in the Singularity right now.
It seemed to be rejecting this place.
However—
Ian knew that since he had decided to use it, he absolutely had to project it.
"Illusory Rhongomyniad (False Codex: Shining at the End of the World)!"
As the man loudly called out the weapon's name, the spear finally took its complete form.
Whoosh, the man threw it.
The Illusory Rhongomyniad spun in the air, and at the moment of impact, it erupted with an extremely powerful magical energy fluctuation.
Although this was a fake.
The power of less than 20% of the Age of Gods' laws was enough to eliminate the distorted black shadows in front of them.
Boom—
The light of the False Codex shone on the land outside Hadrian's Wall, engulfing and completely crushing all the black shadows it touched.
The night of the Singularity returned to silence once again.
But this silence came at a price.
Thud.
Ian knelt on the ground. He clutched his chest and panted heavily.
It was too much after all.
Throwing a Noble Phantasm with a magical energy level equivalent to eleven Command Spells in one go was still too much of a burden on his body.
It seemed that he couldn't just use it casually like the three Holy Swords of the Lake in the future.
Otherwise... next time, it wouldn't just be a matter of being out of breath.
"Senpai!"
Mash's worried voice came from behind.
This was the first time she had seen Ian in such a state of distress.
He had never looked so strained, even when facing a magical dragon.
"Are you okay? Should I contact BB?!"
"I'm fine, just let me rest for a bit—" Ian stopped Mash's idea. "Don't contact BB yet, so she doesn't worry about us too."
"..."
Although she was very afraid that something was wrong with Ian, Mash was always the one who listened to him the most.
"I understand, Senpai."
The young woman temporarily put down her large shield and held Ian in her arms.
"Please treat me as a sofa for now."
"...Hmm."
After resting for a while in Mash's arms and recovering, Ian looked at Tamamo-no-Mae.
At this moment, she was still staring at the Water-Heaven-Sunlight-Amaterasu-Eight-Field-Warding-Stone. Her expression was very focused.
"Little Tamamo-no-Mae, what's the situation?"
"Almost there." The serious fox demon answered her husband's question. "I just need the final step."
"It's done—!"
As Tamamo-no-Mae finished speaking, the mirror above the three of them completely stopped spinning, and the threads of light disappeared.
They might have accessed the ground in some way.
The fox demon wiped the sweat from her forehead and then spoke to Ian, who was lying in Mash's arms.
"Master, what do you want to know?"
The Water-Heaven-Sunlight-Amaterasu-Eight-Field-Warding-Stone was a Noble Phantasm that could communicate between yin and yang. Although its effect was weakened in its Servant form, it was still a good tool for investigation.
Ian knew this, and he answered directly:
"Anything—just information about the shadows themselves."
"I understand."
As Tamamo-no-Mae gently waved her hand, the angle of the mirror also changed. It was clear that she was conducting an investigation.
This was a communication method unique to the fox demon, allowing her to converse with unconventional entities.
With this, they might be able to figure out the truth.
However—
The progression of events was far from smooth.
Tamamo-no-Mae's fluffy fox ears twitched slightly. She did hear something, but she completely froze.
"Master..." She looked at Ian. "The situation is a little strange."
"What's wrong?"
"It's hard to express. I'll just let you both listen."
Tamamo-no-Mae transmitted the sound from the Noble Phantasm to Ian and Mash.
What they heard was a hysterical and frenzied roar.
"I'm back—I'm back—Rome is mine alone—"
"This..."
Mash was once again confused.
"Senpai, Lady Tamamo-no-Mae, what exactly is this thing?"
"I don't really understand either," Tamamo-no-Mae shook her head. "It's not a ghost or anything of that sort, yet it has the same nature as them."
"This is really too strange."
At this point, the eyes of the two girls looked at Ian almost simultaneously.
At a moment like this, they could only rely on the man's judgment.
Ian was silent for a moment, then answered, "First, contact BB and tell her the situation."
The cross-space connection was quickly established.
BB was informed of the situation of Ian and his party.
But this time, the super AI herself didn't know what was going on.
"BB's location isn't wrong. This is the territory of Britannia."
"Then how did it turn out like this?"
"BB doesn't know either..." The super AI's voice became a little quieter. It was clear that she felt very uncertain.
And just as Ian was about to ask more, a terrifying sound echoed in the night sky once again.
"You cannot defeat me—the Demon God has granted me power!"
"Witness my resurgence."
"You... cannot escape!"
As soon as the voice fell, countless black shadows once again crawled up from the ground outside Hadrian's Wall. They twisted their bodies and marched forward again.
"This..."
Even Ian felt a little tricky at this moment.
Although he had eliminated them, the price he paid was considerable.
Just when the three of them were in a dilemma, unexpected support appeared.
Numerous archers suddenly appeared on top of Hadrian's Wall. They drew their bows and aimed their fire-tipped arrows at the black shadows on the ground.
"Fire!"
A bold voice came from the wall.
In the next moment, a downpour of flaming arrows fell majestically.
Amidst the arrows flying everywhere, Ian clearly saw the person who gave the command.
It was the Queen of Britannia, Boudica!