*BOOM!*
Above Salisbury, under a dusk-colored sky, violent flames exploded like a bursting sun, surging and churning as they disrupted the magical energy in the atmosphere.
"Wh-What?!"
"What just happened?!"
"Don’t tell me it’s a Calamity?!"
Inside Salisbury, the fairies were thrown into chaos by the sudden explosion—some panicked, while others actually lit up with excitement, their expressions filled with thrill.
Needless to say, this was when the difference between fairies and humans became obvious.
If they were human, witnessing something like this—something so loud and ominous—they would’ve been fleeing in a panic by now, and there’d be no way they’d still be hanging around in the middle of a danger zone.
Fairies, however, were different.
For some of them, this sudden chaos did bring fear, especially those who thought it might be a Calamity, but the rest?
They looked like they were watching the start of an exciting show, as instead of being scared, they were fascinated, staring at the flames bursting midair with pure curiosity in their eyes.
And in the middle of all this, two figures shot out from the blazing explosion above.
Naturally, those two figures were none other than Riezel and the one who had ambushed him.
At this moment, Riezel was holding a black sword wrapped in flames, while heat radiated off him so intensely it distorted the air, and the outline of his body shimmered with a glow of deep blue magical energy as he hovered there in midair, pushed back a fair distance.
Opposite him, the ambusher who had turned into a streak of white like a meteor had now fully revealed themself.
It was a girl—a petite girl who looked about the same age as Artoria or even younger, probably not even fifteen yet.
She had waist-length silver-white hair, and she wore what looked more like a mechanized exosuit than armor. Her face was covered with something like a protective mask, and both of her slender arms were equipped with sword-sheath-shaped gauntlets, appearing fully armed from head to toe.
Looking at this small and delicate girl, no one would believe she was the one who had moved like a meteor or unleashed an attack strong enough to destroy an entire bell room.
"...You’re the Child of Prophecy?"
Asking with a cold and calm voice, the girl, like Riezel, floated in midair as if she were a knight of the sky soaring through the air.
"I see... You managed to block my full-speed aerial strike without a scratch. Looks like the prophecy’s not total nonsense, after all."
As the girl spoke, there wasn’t much emotion in her voice since the way she spoke made her sound almost robotic—completely lacking tone.
Riezel stared at the girl and didn’t say anything before glancing toward the half-destroyed bell room, checking on Artoria.
From his position and distance, he could still make out some of what was going on near the ruined bell room. He managed to see that Artoria had escaped from the collapsing building and was now fighting off soldiers blocking her path.
Artoria was undoubtedly showing some serious skill.
Even without using magecraft, she was pushing back the soldiers with nothing but her staff and even managed to force several fairies from the Wind Clan to retreat.
Compared to how she was earlier, her current strength was like night and day.
’Well, that’s a Fairy of Paradise for you.’
Seeing that Artoria was okay for now, Riezel felt a bit relieved, but in the next second, a sharp jolt ran through his senses.
In that instant, Riezel raised his sword again without hesitation—just in time to block a blade that came thrusting at him at terrifying speed.
*Clang!*
With a crisp clash, Hermit, its surface etched with red crack-like patterns, collided with a glowing blade, sending a shower of sparks flying from the impact.
"...You’re the first person I’ve fought who still had the nerve to look away mid-battle."
Evidently, the silver-haired girl had launched a surprise attack without Riezel even noticing. A light blade had shot out from the sword-sheath-shaped gauntlet on one of her arms and slammed against Hermit, which he had barely managed to lift in time.
He could feel that the girl’s blade had been formed on the spot, and it carried an astonishing amount of magical energy that made its power no joke.
Riezel, who had blocked the heavy strike swung by a girl with arms so slender it was hard to believe, finally lifted his gaze and looked at the young female knight standing before him.
"Are you Fairy Knight Lancelot?"
"Mm, that would be me."
At Riezel’s question, the girl admitted it openly without hesitation.
Fairy Knight Lancelot, known as the strongest and most beautiful being in Faerie Britain, had appeared in front of Riezel.
"You’re an unfortunate Child of Prophecy." Lancelot’s cold voice rang out again. "It’s not like I’m not interested in you, but since Her Majesty already gave the order, there’s only one thing I can do now."
"What? Kill me?" Riezel responded just as calmly.
"No. Capture you alive." Lancelot replied without emotion.
As these words fell, Lancelot raised her other hand before the sword-sheath-shaped gauntlet on it suddenly sprang open, revealing a blade that had appeared in an instant.
*Swish!*
With a swing of her arm, the blade slashed toward Riezel with a shrill whistle.
*Clang!*
Riezel raised his sword to block it, but once again felt a terrifying, unstoppable force that knocked him back, sending him flying a great distance.
"Such strength... it could seriously rival a dragon..."
Gripping his trembling sword tightly, Riezel muttered under his breath.
"You’ve got a pretty sharp eye."
Wielding dual blades that came out from the two sword-sheath-shaped gauntlets, Lancelot slowly hovered into the air.
"You’re right, I’m a dragon. A dragon and a fairy—Britain’s one and only dragon fairy."
"In other words, I’m the strongest. No one can beat me—not even you."
"That’s why, Child of Prophecy, I suggest you just give up and stop this pointless struggle."
As Lancelot said this, an overwhelming surge of magical energy erupted from her body.
To Riezel, Lancelot’s magical energy felt almost on par with Yuri, who was a Strategic-Class Magician.
In other words, when it came to sheer magical energy, Lancelot surpassed her, which showed how troublesome she was.
However—
"Are you sure about that?"
Riezel stared calmly at Lancelot and revealed a smile.
"Too bad for you, I’ve never surrendered in a fight."
"If you want me to give up, then show me what the strongest really looks like."
At these words, Lancelot fell silent, and after a brief pause, she responded in a cold tone.
"As you wish."
As soon as these words left her lips, the magical energy surrounding her exploded, and in the blink of an eye, she soared into the sky at incredible speed.
She moved like a rocket.
Her form was like a meteor.
As the strongest Fairy Knight suddenly shot into the sky and vanished into the dusk-colored clouds, she made a sharp turn and dove down.
Immediately, as her acceleration continued to build, she transformed once again into a white meteor, tearing through the atmosphere with a deafening roar as she launched a fierce charge toward Riezel.
"Huuu..."
Riezel, with his breathing changed, furrowed his brow as his entire body ignited in the flames of the sun.
Whoosh!
Turning into a streak of fire, he quickly shot backward with a roar of wind.
Unfortunately, his speed was nowhere near fast enough to escape Lancelot, who had reached the peak of acceleration as in that instant, the white meteor had already caught up.
"Greater Teleportation!"
Unwilling to take another hit from Lancelot’s terrifying charge, Riezel cast teleportation magic and vanished on the spot.
"Disappeared?"
Lancelot’s eyes narrowed as she remained in her white-meteor form.
Just then, a voice echoed above her head.
"Triplet Maximize Magic - Reality Slash!"
Three invisible slashes suddenly tore through the air, slicing space itself as they crashed down toward Lancelot’s back, head, and legs.
"Slashes that can cut through space?"
Lancelot, relying on her extraordinary senses, grasped the nature of Riezel’s attack and understood just how dangerous those three invisible slashes were.
"Sadly, you’re too slow."
With just a quick turn and a flash, the white meteor dodged all three slashes, letting them only brush past her—one of them flung far behind, unable to catch up, and ended up eating dust in her wake.
"Penetrate Magic - Slow!"
Riezel appeared above the white meteor and, upon seeing Lancelot dodge Reality Slash, realized that if he didn’t do something to stop her acceleration, none of his attacks would ever land, so he cast debuff magic without hesitation.
Slow, just as the name suggested, was a magic spell that reduced the target’s movement speed, but as Riezel cast the magic, it did not affect Lancelot whatsoever.
*BOOOM!*
High in the sky, the white meteor made another turn, and instead of slowing down, it picked up even more speed and slammed straight into Riezel’s body with a deafening sonic boom.
Riezel was instantly sent flying, and he couldn’t help but be stunned as he felt his chest tighten with pain.
’It didn’t even work at all?’
It seemed Lancelot had some kind of divine protection as well—possibly this world’s version of magic resistance.
As a dragon fairy, there probably weren’t many types of magecraft or magic that would work effectively against Lancelot, so Riezel decided to abandon the idea of using time-based magic on her.
If that was the case—
"Body of Effulgent Heliodor."
"Power of Gaia."
"Greater Full Potential."
"Sensor Boost."
"Paranormal Intuition."
"Sanctuary Protection."
Riezel cast one enhancement magic after another, as bursts of magical energy flickered across his body.
*BOOM!*
At the perfect moment, the white meteor came crashing back with a speed that had already reached a point where it stirred up shockwaves—enough to make anyone freeze in awe.
"Haste."
Riezel timed it just right, cast a magic spell to boost his own speed, then raised Hermit and charged at the white meteor.
"Sun Breathing - Seventh Form - Sunflower Thrust!"
With blazing flames swirling around his sword in a ring, Riezel turned into a streak of fire again, but this time his speed had increased significantly as he shot toward the white meteor.
*BOOOM!*
A thunderclap-like roar suddenly resounded as a storm of magical energy and wild flames exploded outward, drawing gasps and cheers from the fairies on the ground.
Meanwhile, the terrifying impact struck both Riezel and Lancelot at the same time, blasting them away before they quickly regained control midair, staring each other down.
For a moment, intense fighting spirit flared in both their eyes—then, in the next second, they suddenly shot up into the sky.
One turned into a red meteor, the other into a white meteor.
Just like that, the red and white meteors streaked upward, veered off course at the same time, and tore through the atmosphere with a thunderous roar—racing straight toward each other.
*BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!*
*BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!**BOOM!*
In an instant, a series of earth-shaking collisions erupted again and again in the skies above Salisbury.
A red and a white meteor either crashed into each other, suddenly split apart, chased one another, or swept back and forth across the sky, launching into an aerial battle that combined both speed and power.
Each time they collided, a thunderous boom echoed high above.
Each time they gave chase, a dazzling trail streaked across the atmosphere.
In the eyes of the fairies, the red and white meteors looked almost like playful gods, clashing from Salisbury’s city gate to its rear, then from the rear back to the city center, flying past the Cathedral of the Ash Tree multiple times, and even leaving the city entirely more than once, only to slam back into each other again in midair, causing the force of their impacts to shake the ground itself.
Everyone watching the battle had a different reaction—some were shocked, some stunned, some terrified, and some cheered nonstop.
For example, many of the fairies who thrived on chaos had been drawn in by the fierce fight and were now cheering loudly.
Inside the Cathedral of the Ash Tree, the fairies and soldiers who knew who one of the fighters was were completely shaken.
Among them was Aurora, who stood at the window watching the battle.
Also included were Gawain and Woodwose, who had just entered the cathedral one after the other.
Naturally, it included Artoria too, who was still locked in battle with the soldiers.
Gawain and Woodwose, in particular, both stared up at the two clashing meteors in the sky—one with a serious expression, the other with a sour face.
"Is that the Child of Prophecy...?" Gawain stared hard at the red meteor and muttered. "He’s actually going toe to toe with Lancelot in aerial combat..."
Before long, a flame of fighting intent lit up in her eyes, along with a hint of greed that bordered on craving.
"Damn it!"
Woodwose, on the other hand, couldn’t help but curse out loud, grinding his teeth in frustration.
Clearly, the sight of those two fighting had gotten under his skin.
One of them was the annoying enemy who had nearly overwhelmed him in a recent fight, while the other was a long-time rival he couldn’t stand.
And now, seeing those two had left him behind to fight it out in the skies on their own truly pissed him off. He couldn’t help but resent the fact that he hadn’t grown wings and couldn’t fly.
If he could fly, there was no way he would let those two bastards show off like that over his head.
’Awful!’
Artoria, who had also been rattled by the shockwaves, seemed to notice Gawain and Woodwose’s presence. As she used her staff to drive back several Wind Clan fairies and human soldiers, she grew more and more anxious.
’Woodwose is here... that muscle woman’s here too, and they’re both inside this cathedral!’
Needless to say, this was truly a bad situation for Artoria—at the very least, she didn’t believe she could take on both of them right now.
Sure, she had gotten a lot stronger—even compared to the elite fairies of the Fang Clan, she was probably a step above—but her opponents were Woodwose, a Returned A-Rei, and Gawain, who could go toe to toe with him.
No matter how confident she was feeling, she didn’t believe she could hold them off.
’I have to run!’
Artoria could only activate her magecraft, letting starlight gather on the Staff of Selection.
*BOOM!*
In the next moment, a huge explosion erupted, blasting away the fairies and human soldiers lunging at Artoria.
"Riezel!"
Artoria shouted into the sky, and right after, a voice echoed in her mind.
"You go first. I’ll catch up with you later."
Hearing this, Artoria hesitated for a split second, then turned and ran without daring to stop.
"Don’t run!"
Woodwose, a veteran who had more or less retired from the front lines, was the one who reached the top floor of the cathedral before Gawain, bringing along the fairies from the Fang Clan.
Thanks to that, he caught sight of Artoria just as she turned to run, and his expression instantly twisted with fury.
"Catch her!" Woodwose roared in anger. "She’s the companion of the Child of Prophecy! Don’t let her get away!"
He was going to use Artoria to force Riezel to come down and finally settle the score.
’T-The companion of the Child of Prophecy?’
Hearing Woodwose’s shout from afar, Artoria was completely confused.
’What do you mean by a companion of the Child of Prophecy?’
)
’I am the Child of Prophecy, aren’t I?’
’Why am I suddenly just the companion?’
’Did they mess it up?’
No matter how confused Artoria was, under Woodwose’s command, the fairies of the Fang Clan, with their excellent physical abilities, sprang into action, shouting as they rushed toward her.
"Hah!"
Suddenly, Artoria spun around and threw something out.
*BOOM!*
Another powerful explosion followed, which not only destroyed the cathedral’s walls and corridors but also sent the fairies flying in chaos.
"Hmph, that’s payback for last time!"
Artoria was, of course, referring to the time just outside Tintagel, when she had nearly been killed by the Fang Clan fairies’ ambush.
"Here, take another bomb! Catch this!"
Artoria hurled the so-called ’bomb’ again, causing a third huge explosion that sent the pursuing fairies flying.
If there had been a proper magus present and they had witnessed this scene, they probably would’ve passed out from rage on the spot.
A noble Fairy of Paradise, the Child of Prophecy, wasn’t using any orthodox magecraft to fight but was crafting magical bombs to blow her enemies sky-high.
Such a combat style was so crude it didn’t even deserve to be called magecraft.
It was unclear whether Artoria realized this herself, but after tossing out several of those magical bombs, she took off running again—quick as a flash.
However, it seemed Artoria’s luck had just run out.
"Where do you think you’re going, little girl?"
Woodwose, now revealing his true nature, seemed to teleport straight through the explosion and blocked Artoria’s escape.
"No..."
Stopping in her tracks, Artoria looked at the furious Woodwose as a drop of cold sweat slid down the side of her face.