The next morning.
"My lord, as you said, apart from Marquis Voban, the other Campiones currently show no signs of mobilizing."
Early in the morning, Erica came running to report.
To deal with the Campione's arrival, all the magic associations in Italy had basically stayed awake all night.
The only ones who could rest well were probably Ryuga's group.
For Copper Black Cross, and even all the magic associations in Italy, having such a wide-ranging declaration of war result in only one Campione coming was already the luckiest thing possible.
A battle between two Campiones could barely contain the collateral damage.
If all the Campiones came together, who would win or lose was unknown, but Italy would definitely be finished.
But for Ryuga's side, Erica actually felt somewhat regretful at this moment.
Although she worried that summoning too many Heretic Gods at once would cause uncontrollable damage, she also had sufficient confidence in Ryuga's strength.
Even if they didn't all come, couldn't two or three show up?
A mere Campione, even if it was Marquis Voban, was completely insufficient for Lord Ryuga to fight seriously.
"As expected, it's him. When will he arrive?"
Ryuga wasn't surprised by this result.
"According to the flight schedule, there are still twenty-seven minutes."
Erica immediately replied.
"...No, he's already here."
Ryuga, who had been listening to the report, suddenly turned his head to look out the window.
The originally clear weather instantly became overcast with dark clouds, violent whirlwinds not blowing from the Mediterranean but coming from the direction of Eastern Europe.
Fine lightning continuously emerged from the cloud layers, and in less than half a minute, the weather above the entire city of Rome completely changed.
"This is... Marquis Voban's Authority?"
Erica quickly reacted as well.
This was Marquis Voban's signature Authority, usurped from the trinity of gods—Wind Earl, Rain Master, and Thunder Duke—the power to summon storms and control lightning. He had once used this Authority to destroy a city, leaving behind the prototype of the fairy tale "The Three Little Pigs."
Since the Authority had already covered this area, it meant he himself had arrived ahead of schedule.
"Is this to demonstrate his might to Lord Ryuga?"
Erica could roughly guess Marquis Voban's thinking.
Although he was displeased with Ryuga's declaration of war, for an old-school Campione like Marquis Voban, actively coming to challenge a junior also seemed to damage his dignity.
The development most in line with his thinking would probably be to use his power to intimidate this ignorant New King, make him come to pay respects, then teach him a lesson with absolute power.
Whoever was more active and eager would be of lower status.
In the past, this thinking wouldn't have been problematic.
But now, times had changed.
"Announcing his own position makes things quite convenient."
Ryuga looked toward the outskirts of Rome. Marquis Voban clearly had no intention of hiding his presence.
"I'll make a trip. Erica, prepare the second underground chamber. Saber, guard the headquarters. If you see any suspicious personnel, you may apprehend them first."
"Yes! My lord!"
"Yes! Master!"
After giving orders to both, a spatial portal immediately appeared before Ryuga. He stepped forward and his figure completely disappeared.
After Ryuga left, Erica looked at Artoria. "Senior, I'll go prepare the prison cell. The Sword King and Marquis Voban can't be kept together, or they might very well conflict."
"Mm."
Artoria nodded.
"Then I'll go patrol outside. Although I can't help Master in direct combat, I at least need to ensure Master has no worries behind him."
Artoria was still very serious about her duties as a retainer.
Both were extremely efficient types. After a brief exchange, they left the hall together to carry out Ryuga's assigned tasks.
When they were still in the hall, outside the windows were dark clouds and thunder and lightning, with huge storms suddenly sweeping the city.
When they walked to the corridor, violent winds howled into tornadoes, lightning blazed like the sun, and torrential rain poured down like floods falling from the sky.
And when they opened the door, the massive storm had completely stopped.
The wind ceased, the sudden rain dispersed, and even the lead-black clouds overhead had somehow already scattered, leaving only a clean blue sky.
Warm sunlight shone down. If not for the puddles on the ground, no one would have thought that just over ten seconds ago, this place had stormy weather.
Stepping into the sunlight, Erica and Artoria looked up at the sun, then looked at each other.
"It seems the battle is already over!"
Erica sighed with some familiarity.
Different beings had qualitatively different concepts of time.
In just half a minute, before they had even completed their tasks—just stepping outside—Ryuga had already dealt with one of this world's formerly strongest Campiones.
"Worthy of Master!"
Artoria also sensed the sudden weakening of the enemy's presence. Having witnessed Ryuga's power, she naturally knew what had happened.
For her master, Campione-level enemies were completely not troublesome.
After sighing, both quickened their pace.
Ryuga had already finished fighting, yet they hadn't prepared anything.
After parting with Erica, Artoria left the Copper Black Cross headquarters.
She had barely taken a few steps when she heard another huge thunderclap, and a burst of massive lightning suddenly bloomed on the suburban battlefield.
If it were ordinary people, they might think this was a continuation of the previous thunderstorm. If it were mages, they might think it was Marquis Voban's lightning.
But Artoria was different. Currently existing as both Servant and Heretic God, she quickly sensed the subtle differences between the two types of lightning.
"Besides that Campione, has Master encountered a new enemy?"
"This presence... why does it feel somewhat familiar?"
Her ahoge trembled slightly. Artoria vaguely sensed that the second opponent Ryuga was now facing might be related to herself.
Could it be that another Heretic God from the Round Table had descended?
Thinking this, she had no intention of abandoning her mission to go rescue Ryuga.
Not to mention, if Ryuga needed it, he could summon her over at any time.
Even without considering this point, if it was just a Heretic God-level enemy, Ryuga wouldn't need her assistance at all.
"I'll ask Master about it later!"
Thinking to herself, Artoria circled around the Copper Black Cross headquarters.
Before she could observe her surroundings, her powerful Instinct and an extremely familiar presence forced her to focus all her attention on a petite figure by the roadside.
It was a golden-haired girl who looked only twelve or thirteen years old, with fairy-like beauty, staring straight at her.
The moment she saw this girl, Artoria's ahoge immediately drooped, and her expression became somewhat complicated.
Even when facing the Heretic God version of herself, she could eliminate her completely without a care, but when seeing this girl, she showed an extremely complex expression.
Although her appearance was different and her personality and temperament had changed, that incredibly familiar spiritual essence already revealed the other party's identity.
"Guinevere, why have you come?"
Remembering Ryuga's previous instructions to arrest all suspicious personnel.
Artoria quickly suppressed the complex emotions in her heart and asked this woman who, in terms of spiritual essence, should have been her queen.
Looking at this honest and upright King of Knights before her, Guinevere suppressed the surprise and affection in her heart.
The Heretic King Arthur who descended this time was actually a girl? And such a cute girl at that?
Unlike the disappointment and atmosphere she felt when meeting that Heretic Arthur last time.
Seeing Artoria's incredibly petite, incredibly beautiful, incredibly dignified figure—like an ideal presence—Guinevere immediately felt greatly favorable toward her.
As the creator of "The Arthurian Legend" and the creator of Heretic Arthur, at this moment she looked at Artoria like seeing her own beloved daughter raised by her own hands.
So, even feeling Artoria's wariness, she didn't mind at all.
She even enthusiastically stepped forward and grabbed Artoria's hand.
"Arthur, quick! While the Demon King is away, come with me!"
"?"
A question mark suddenly appeared above Artoria's head.
What did she mean?
Was this world's Guinevere very familiar with her?
Seeing her confused look, Guinevere thought she hadn't explained clearly and immediately said:
"Don't worry, Uncle has already gone to hold back that Demon King, and with the Nordic Wolf King's power, that detestable Demon King will surely be in grave danger!"
"Come with me now. No matter what power that Demon King used to control you, I can use the Holy Grail to break it!"
Obviously, Guinevere believed that Ryuga had used some despicable method to control Artoria.
Otherwise, why would Artoria, a Heretic God, need to obey the Demon King's words?
So, taking advantage of Ryuga's absence, she wanted to come rescue this foolish child.
"The Demon King you're referring to—is that Master?"
No matter how slow Artoria was, she now understood Guinevere's meaning.
So she grabbed Guinevere's arm with one hand, the power of the Red Dragon bloodline making Artoria's restraint inescapable.
Remembering Ryuga's previous command, she raised her other hand and manifested an enhanced version of Excalibur.
Finally, under Guinevere's confused expression, she asked back:
"Is there a possibility that I'm willingly following Master?"
"Ah?"
Feeling this inescapable grip and looking at Artoria's extremely serious eyes, Guinevere was completely dumbfounded.
Advance 50 Chapters are up on my Patreon!
pat reon.com/ReidAstrea