Ripple Dash!
Cyan stepped on the wall and pushed off hard, leaping across the moat in an exaggerated manner. She landed steadily and glanced back at Merlin, who stood on the city wall with a gloomy expression.
With Merlin's help, Arthur and the others would soon lead the army in pursuit. She needed to find Nishi and Asuka as quickly as possible.
Cyan sensed Nishi's location and deliberately ran in another direction. Only after she could no longer feel Merlin's gaze did she change course and head toward Nishi.
"Grr…"
A gray wolf with wet fur watched Cyan approach. It lowered its head, bared its teeth, and growled threateningly.
"Don't provoke me."
Cyan released a cold killing intent. She flashed past the wolf without even glancing at it. The wolf, terrified by the aura, trembled and didn't dare to move.
Inside the palace, a furious fist slammed into the wall.
"Damn it! How could they let those outsiders escape?!"
Percival glared at the wall as if it were Cyan who had stolen the Golden Grail.
"Calm down. Right now, the most important thing is to restore order in the royal city. Only then can we go after the stolen Golden Grail."
Arthur patted Percival's shoulder, trying to soothe the hot-tempered bald knight.
"Arthur is right. Venting anger like this won't help at all."
Merlin's figure appeared in front of Arthur and Percival, though he looked somewhat disheveled.
"However, you need to retrieve the Golden Grail as quickly as possible. If the outsiders manage to take it away, the consequences will be disastrous. I will find a way to locate them."
"I understand."
Arthur nodded seriously.
"Hmm?"
Cyan suddenly stopped and looked toward a large, leafy tree not far away. She had instinctively placed her hand on the hilt of her demon blade, but then lowered it.
"Come down. I see you."
"Eh? I've been discovered?"
Asama Ai pushed aside some leaves in surprise. When she noticed Cyan looking at her, she gave a shy smile and carefully climbed down. However, her foot slipped on the tree trunk, and she fell toward the ground.
"Kyaa!"
Feeling the sudden weightlessness, Asama Ai closed her eyes and screamed, bracing for the impact.
Cyan stepped beneath the tree and caught her. Asama Ai, eyes still shut, continued screaming.
"Stop screaming."
"Eh?!"
Asama Ai opened her eyes and realized she was being held by Cyan. Her face turned bright red with embarrassment. She looked at Cyan's face — far more beautiful than any celebrity — and lowered her head, mumbling softly, "Thank you…"
"Kayako isn't with you?"
Cyan looked around but couldn't sense Kayako's cold, ominous presence.
"I asked Big Sister Kayako to go gather information. Since you left with the Golden Grail like that, they'll definitely send people after you."
Asama Ai smiled shyly and scratched her cheek. Even though her own abilities weren't very useful, she still wanted to contribute to the temporary team. As she moved her arm, she felt something soft press against it. Her body stiffened.
Eh? Eh?!
What is this soft thing?!
Asama Ai suddenly realized that Cyan had the same thing she did.
W-wait a second…
"C-Cyan… you… you're a girl?"
"Mm."
"Eh?! You're actually a girl?!"
Asama Ai stared at Cyan in shock. She cupped Cyan's face with both hands and examined her closely.
She's… so beautiful…
If her hair grew a bit longer, she'd be a gorgeous girl…
Way prettier than any female celebrity… No, a hundred times — no, a thousand times better!
Oh my god, how is her skin this perfect?!
What kind of skincare routine does she have to have skin like this?!
Cyan let go of her. Asama Ai, still staring at her face with sparkling eyes, lost her balance and fell on her butt with a pained yelp.
"Let's go."
Cyan glanced at Asama Ai, who was rubbing her backside, and walked forward.
"Wait for me!"
Asama Ai quickly got up and chased after her while still rubbing her butt.
Cyan slowed down slightly to accommodate Asama Ai's slower pace.
At the foot of a mountain north of the royal city, Asuka had used her lance to dig out a small cave to shelter herself and Nishi from the rain.
"The Golden Grail… doesn't look like much."
Asuka sat without any ladylike manners, eating cream bread and drinking cola. She burped and examined the Golden Grail.
Embedded with many gems and forged from gold, the Golden Grail looked like an extremely valuable decorative item. It didn't seem like it possessed any mysterious power at all…
"Exactly… This isn't like the Grail in Fate that can grant wishes."
Nishi rested her chin on her hands and stared at the Golden Grail. She thought about the wish-granting Grail from anime. Right now, this thing was nothing more than a special accessory in their hands — they couldn't even see its attributes. Yet they had no choice but to carry it in order to complete Survival Mission One.
"I wonder when Master will get here…"
Nishi sighed and leaned against the cold stone wall, looking outside.
"Speaking of which, we just ran off like that. What about Asama Ai?"
Asuka suddenly remembered the timid black-haired girl who could summon evil spirits to fight.
"Didn't she summon that ghost called Kayako? She should be able to escape on her own."
Nishi believed that with Asama Ai's abilities, escaping the royal city shouldn't be difficult.
Thud thud thud — footsteps approached.
Asuka's expression changed. She went from sitting to crouching, her lance appearing in her hands. Her entire body was tense, like a leopardess ready to charge.
"It's Master!"
Nishi, sensing through her contract with Cyan who was approaching, excitedly rushed out of the cave.
"Master!"
Nishi pounced on Cyan, only to be painfully jabbed in the chest by the Grail tied there. She took two steps back while clutching her chest with a pained expression. That single impact had taken off more than ten HP — her ribs had almost been fractured by the Grail.
Asama Ai, standing behind Cyan, pretended she hadn't seen anything and turned her head to the side.
When is this rain going to stop…?
After entering the cave, the already small space became noticeably cramped with four people inside.
"Master, the Grail."
Nishi untied the rope and handed the Golden Grail to Cyan.
"With the great magician Merlin's help, Arthur, Lancelot, and Percival could lead the army here at any moment. Until Kayako returns with information, let's rest and recover our stamina."
Cyan took out the food she had bought in the village earlier — roasted chicken, sandwiches, milk, and black pepper sausages. She tore off a chicken leg and started eating heartily.
Asuka wasn't polite either. She grabbed the other chicken leg and took a big bite before asking curiously, "How strong is Merlin?"
She was quite curious about the strength of the legendary magician Merlin from the King Arthur stories.
"Hard to say."
Cyan finished the chicken leg, took a bite of a sandwich, and described the magic Merlin had used during their fight so the others wouldn't be caught off guard.
Suddenly, a pale white hand emerged from the ground. Nishi was so startled she nearly spat out her food. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
Kayako rose from the ground and said concisely, "With Merlin's help, they already know you're here. Arthur and Percival are leading the army over. They're trying to surround this place and force you to hand over the Grail."
After speaking, Kayako sank back into the ground and disappeared.
"We have to move."
Cyan picked up the Golden Grail and stood up, walking out of the cave.
The rain had stopped. A beam of sunlight broke through the dark clouds and shone on Cyan.
Ding!
A clear, bell-like sound rang out. A point of light appeared in the air and stretched upward and downward into a blue line. Then, with a sudden burst, it formed a glowing blue teleportation gate. Arthur and Percival stepped out from it, followed by elite knights armed with longswords and lances.
Arthur pointed his sword at Cyan and shouted, "Outsider! Hand over the Golden Grail!"
"Hand it over if you don't want to die!"
Percival roared angrily. The chance to become king was right in front of him — he would never allow it to slip away.
(When playing as Percival in Round Table Knights, if the player tries to touch the Grail, they get repelled. Unlike Lancelot, who simply gives up, it's clear this bald guy really wants to be king.)
"Hand over the Grail."
Merlin stepped out of the teleportation gate and raised his staff to cast buffs on Arthur and Percival.
"If you want the Grail, come and take it."
Cyan stared coldly at the surrounding knights. She didn't draw her demon blade. Instead, she raised the hand holding the Grail and beckoned them with her fingers.
"Retrieve the Grail!"
Percival took Cyan's gesture as mockery. He raised his axe and charged forward in fury.
The knights followed Percival and rushed in.
Cyan ducked under Percival's horizontal axe swing.
The battle aura-infused axe gleamed sharply. Cyan had no intention of clashing with it directly. She swung the Golden Grail and smashed it into Percival's stomach. It felt like hitting solid rock. She spun around and punched a knight in the chest. The spikes of Bloody Tear sank deep into his flesh. The knight was sent flying backward, leaving a fist-shaped dent and six bloody holes in his armor.
Percival brought his axe down. Thanks to Merlin's magic, his defense had greatly increased. Even after taking Cyan's punch, he was mostly fine — only a small portion of his HP bar dropped.
From the corner of her eye, Cyan noticed Percival's attack. She twisted her body, kicked off his leg, and leapt upward.
She drove her elbow into Percival's bald head, then used his shoulders as a stepping stone to jump even higher.
Raijin Cannon!
The Violent Thunder Emperor's Wrath on Cyan's right hand lit up. Dazzling lightning gathered in both of her hands, forming a lightning sphere the size of a millstone.
Boom——!
The lightning spread outward through the rainwater on the ground. The armored knights were in for a bad time. They stood frozen in place as electricity coursed through their bodies, making them convulse violently.