Chapter 268: Kill the Insect! The King's Belonging?
The dark green poisonous miasma wind swept like a tsunami, and wherever it passed, the space rippled with corrosion, emitting a'sizzling' wail!
The freshly hatched Rift Worm's murky compound eyes were locked onto Arthur!
It shook off the black ink on its body, having no time to think, yet it could clearly feel—
Within this human was an aura of a natural enemy that made its soul tremble!
And that was a more delicious food than any world!
There was no probing, no hesitation; its grey-black elytra vibrated suddenly, and the virulent poison and evil it stirred up transformed into a destructive storm, rushing towards him!
"Playing with wind in front of me?"
Arthur faced the sky-filling poisonous miasma, his expression unperturbed.
"Roll back!"
In an instant, the rampant poisonous miasma wind collided with the true monarch, and its violent momentum came to an abrupt halt!
The next second, the storm rolled back, turning against its master with a ferocity far greater than when it came!
The Worm King was caught off guard, completely swallowed by the power it had released, its grey-black carapace corroded and pitted, letting out an extremely painful shriek.
"It looked quite impressive, but that's all it's got?"
Arthur's voice remained calm, yet carried a cold mockery.
Perhaps completely enraged by this taunt, the Rift Worm suddenly closed its multiple elytra, its massive body coiling to its limit!
Its form rapidly transformed, its carapace turning into an unfathomably deep black, its mouthparts tearing open, finally forming a terrifying giant maw that occupied most of its body.
Within that giant maw, there was no flesh and blood, only layers upon layers of continuously rotating abyssal teeth, eerily resembling a vortex that devoured reality!
Buzz!
Amidst a piercing high-pitched whine, an endless devouring power erupted from that giant maw, from which even light could not escape!
The dimensional rift twisted under this power, and facing this apocalyptic scene, Arthur advanced instead of retreating!
He made a burst of brilliant golden light in his palm, and Avalon precisely lay across in front, perfectly sealing the giant maw that devoured all things!
No matter how frantically the internal esophagus rotated, the devouring power, capable of twisting space, could not shake the ideal land in the slightest!
The Rift Worm let out an inarticulate shriek again; it did not understand why there was something that could not be devoured.
"Don't eat everything, idiot!"
Arthur's figure was like a ghost, suddenly appearing directly in front of the Rift Worm.
The Holy Sword burst with brilliant divine thunder; without any flourish, he thrust the sword straight through!
The tough insect abdomen was now vulnerable, easily pierced by the Holy Sword, and foul black ink splattered under the thunderous bombardment!
Stimulated by the intense pain, this puppet insect body seemed to ignite its last fuse, suddenly spreading its broken elytra!
Countless scales shimmering with colorful light fell from its wings, instantly enveloping Arthur!
These scales were not poison; his vision was swallowed by the colorful light, and his consciousness was being forcibly pulled away by an external force!
Outside the dimensional rift, the unknown entity, which had returned, writhed menacingly, greedily observing the upcoming changes... In the spiritual world.
The Rift Worm hid in the shadows, attempting to condense past fearful mental entities to dismantle Arthur's will.
But its action ended before it even began.
Because it couldn't condense anything at all.
Arthur floated in mid-air, a long, tide-like azure glow surging around him, instantly pinpointing the Rift Worm's location.
"Your own mind is already filled with destructive desires, yet you dare to launch a mental attack on others?"
His voice boomed on the spiritual plane, like a divine pronouncement.
The next second, his will extended, and the entire spiritual world shattered inch by inch like a mirror!
The Rift Worm let out a soul wail a hundred times more mournful than physical injury!
...In reality, Arthur's eyes regained clarity. Beneath his feet, the enormous Rift Worm was rapidly turning into ashes.
"Where did this worm come from, anyway?"
Arthur didn't dwell on it too much. He raised his hand, and the starlight mark in his palm sprinkled brilliant light particles towards the dimensional rift.
The spiderweb-like cracks instantly mended, as if they had never appeared, completely isolating the watchful gaze from the other side.
Having done all this, Arthur surveyed the remaining glowing insect butterflies around him, reversed his grip on the Holy Sword, and a square battle formation spread out, covering the sky!
Amidst a faint rumble of thunder, he stepped out from within the Holy Spear's blockade.
Mash and the others, seeing him safe and sound, immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Let's go, it's really solved this time."
Arthur led the way through the stairwell corridor, guiding everyone back to the Audience Hall.
Artoria and Mordred had already finished their conversation, standing on either side of the hall, the atmosphere still subtle.
Watching Arthur gradually approach, Artoria's spirit was invigorated, and a sad, yet relieved and wistful smile involuntarily appeared at the corner of her mouth.
This King, who had just recovered her humanity, was ready to accept the judgment as the loser.
She was about to speak, to fulfill her promise of willingly accepting punishment, but Arthur did not give her a chance to speak.
He suddenly reached out and grabbed Artoria's wrist.
The azure divine fire blazed, engulfing her whole body!
"Hm!?"
Artoria's eyes flashed with astonishment; she instinctively tried to break free, but found that the other's hand was like an iron clamp, completely unshakeable.
"What are you going to do?"
Arthur just looked at her deeply.
"This is your punishment."
Artoria couldn't help but let out a painful groan, only feeling divine power rapidly sketching something on her back.
A brilliant light burst forth between the two, painting the Audience Hall in a pale silver.
After a long while, the light dissipated.
Arthur released her hand and announced to the trembling Artoria.
"From today on, you are my Dependents."
Artoria carefully felt the [Divine Grace] within her body, her eyes complex, finally showing a wry smile.
"I am an anomaly that should not exist in Pan-Human History. Are you planning to keep me by your side? What about this Singularity then?"
"Indeed, as long as you exist, the Singularity will never be repaired. So—"
Arthur raised his hand to open a dimensional portal, pushing Artoria into it without explanation, a hint of teasing in his tone.
"Go to another world for lessons and learn how to live as a 'human'."
Rumble!
With Artoria's disappearance as a signal, the pure white holy city continuously collapsed in violent tremors, disintegrating inch by inch, about to vanish from the face of the earth.
The Singularity began to repair itself.
"Spiritron Transfer is about to be forcibly initiated! All of you get ready to return! Where's Arthur? Chaldea can't transfer him at all!"
Roman's anxious voice came through Ritsuka's communicator.
Mash, glowing faintly all over, looked at the unflustered Arthur and asked hesitantly.
"Brother, how will you return to Chaldea?"
Arthur walked in front of Mordred and, without a word, threw her into the dimensional portal as well.
"Don't worry, you all go first, I'll be right there."
As he spoke, the light bloomed to its fullest, and Mash and the others transformed into pure light particles, all surging into the transfer channel that appeared out of thin air.
The ground beneath Arthur's feet also continuously disappeared; he was bathed in brilliant light, stepping into the transfer channel.
In an instant, the Singularity lost its last support and completely vanished.