The next day, aside from Olga Marie—who stayed behind under Nitocris's care to prepare her Magecraft using the divine-era territory granted by the Sun King—the rest of the group split into two teams and set off in different directions, just as they had discussed the night before in the bathhouse.
The vehicle originally used for traversing the desert was left to the team heading for the Atlas Institute. Additionally, Scáthach handed Gray a spear.
Since there was no guarantee they could awaken Add at the Atlas Institute, Gray—who possessed combat ability on par with Servants—naturally needed a weapon more fitting for her. After all, the pike she had seized from an Enforcement Knight was just a standard weapon. It wouldn't last against the Noble Phantasms of the Round Table knights.
With the preparations complete, Morgan, Scáthach, and Caren mounted the three camels arranged by Nitocris and began their journey toward the Holy City.
...
By midday, they arrived at the battlefield that had previously been ambushed by the Knights of the Round Table.
The corpses of the fallen Enforcement Knights and warhorses were gone—not cleared away, but utterly erased. All that remained was a massive crater, as if a meteor had struck.
"So this is… the mark left by the Holy Lance." Caren covered her mouth in shock.
Under such a devastating Noble Phantasm strike, the Enforcement Knights and their steeds had vanished completely, their blood soaked into the sand now gone without a trace.
Almost simultaneously, Scáthach and Morgan raised their hands, each summoning small familiars with Magecraft and sending them into the crater to investigate.
Already used to her mother and master sparring like this, Caren simply stayed silent, fine-tuning the connection to Chaldea.
They were still within range of the Sun King's territory, so the communication line with Chaldea remained disrupted.
"The bloodstains in the center of the crater… Judging from the lingering magical energy," Morgan said, clenching her fist, "they're my husband's."
Scáthach's expression also turned grim. "There's residual magical energy here—definitely from the Knights of the Round Table."
She snapped her fingers, and a threadlike beam of light extended outward, pointing far into the distance—in the direction of Camelot.
"At this point, there's no need to confirm it again," Morgan said, tugging the reins to lead her camel around the crater's edge toward the Holy City. "The Lion King is Artoria Pendragon. As for why she took my husband prisoner instead of killing him on the spot… we'll have to ask her ourselves."
"Don't rush in. We still don't know the full situation," Scáthach called from behind. "Are you seriously planning to take on the entire Round Table alone?"
She and Caren urged their camels forward to catch up with Morgan.
The scorching desert wind whipped at their cloaks. For someone like Caren, unaccustomed to desert travel, this environment would have been brutal—potentially fatal—without heat-resistant Magecraft and a proper Mystic Code.
Thankfully, she had both, allowing her to keep walking while monitoring fluctuations in the communication signal with Chaldea.
"The Knights of the Round Table are nothing special." Morgan's grip on the reins tightened slightly as she frowned. "The real issue is that my husband had his contract taken from him. Even if we're not worried about him being used as a hostage, there's no guarantee he can act as a Trojan horse and stir things up from the inside."
"He stayed behind and faced the Holy Lance alone just so we could escape," Caren added. "It wasn't easy for Father. So, Mother, don't be too harsh on him."
Morgan's expression softened, her emotions thrown off by Caren's words. She gave a wry smile. "I'm not angry with him. It's Artoria's tactics that infuriate me."
"From the looks of it, you've never truly cut ties with my beloved disciple, have you?" Scáthach asked. "That's no good. You rely on him too much."
"What are you implying?" Morgan lowered her gaze and turned to glare at Scáthach.
"You should be more like me—stay apart for ten, maybe twenty years. Only observe him from afar using Magecraft," Scáthach said with a look that clearly suggested she thought it was a brilliant idea.
"Unfortunately, I'm not like you. I don't treat things like that as a hobby," Morgan began, then suddenly added in a sharp tone, "Also, while we're in Chaldea, stop barging into our room. Especially at night."
"That's not really up to you," Scáthach said with a nonchalant smile, clearly ignoring the warning.
As the two resumed their usual verbal sparring, Caren couldn't help but regret that her father wasn't around to enjoy the show. With a quiet sigh, she steered the conversation away.
"Speaking of being apart... with us cut off from Chaldea for over a day now, I bet Dr. Roman in the command room is already losing his mind."
It was a serious point that couldn't be ignored.
While they themselves were safe, Shiomi's capture remained a grave concern—even if they were certain his life wasn't in danger.
Losing him meant Chaldea would be short a critical combat asset for the foreseeable future.
"That man should take this chance to actually rest," Scáthach said. "For a human, he's been pushing himself far too hard."
"My husband's tried persuading him a few times. We can lighten his load a bit, sure, but in the end, we can't stop him," Morgan said with a shake of her head.
The explosion in the control room had left over sixty casualties. Naturally, those roles had to be filled.
Normally, they could've just contacted the outside and brought in replacements. But now, Chaldea was the last ark afloat in a world consumed by flames.
Combat operations, SHEBA's maintenance, Spiritron Transfer—those could be shared. But the management of Chaldea's central reactor and the remaining equipment all fell to Romani after the Director left for the Singularity.
And on top of that, he had to provide psychological support to the increasingly weary staff—even though that was technically his original role.
"Let's just hope the news about Father dropping out doesn't make him faint," Caren said, half in sympathy, half in amusement.
"If you're that curious," Scáthach said with a smirk, "why don't you be the one to report it to Romani? He is your superior in the medical department, after all."
"Even if we don't say anything, if Sakura gets through to Chaldea first, she'll report it," Caren replied, shaking her head. "I wonder how far they've gotten."
"Those sand vehicles are faster than camels," Morgan noted. "They should reach the area near the Atlas Institute before sunset. Knowing Sakura, she'll have everyone rest for the night and officially attempt to enter tomorrow."
"Sounds about right."
Just then, Caren noticed the signal starting to recover—static-filled voices began to come through intermittently. She immediately urged the camels to move faster.
Finally, by sunset, as the group shifted course slightly toward the northwest gate of the Holy City and the desert's edge came into view, they reestablished contact with Chaldea.