*BOOOM!*
When the deafening explosion echoed through the night sky, the cave that had served as a temporary shelter was blown apart by the strike of a massive magic bullet, shattering into pieces.
Nonetheless, since this cave had never been spacious to begin with, it was now completely destroyed after the bombardment, as countless rocks crashed down and the interior collapsed, gradually becoming buried.
If anyone had still been inside at that moment, their fate would surely have been grim.
Fortunately, those staying in the cave were not ordinary people.
*BANG!*
Almost in the very next second after the cave collapsed, a shockwave burst outward, blowing away the rubble and blasting apart rocks, so that those inside the cave crawled out of the debris one after another, emerging into the night sky.
Immediately after, everyone jumped out, escaping the ruins of the collapsing cave.
"Is everyone okay?"
Da Vinci landed from midair, skates on her feet, calling out to her companions.
"I-I’m fine!"
Ritsuka looked thoroughly rattled, currently being carried by Tristan, making it obvious that he had been protected by Tristan.
"I-I’m okay too!"
Mash, clutching her heavy shield, wore a tense expression as she stood in front of the others, shielding them.
Needless to say, this was a reflexive action.
Mash’s instincts told her that this was what she should do and this was the place she ought to stand—no, the place she must stand.
As a result, Mash stepped forward without a moment’s hesitation.
As for Riezel, he had not landed in the same direction as Chaldea’s group but had held Artoria, who still had not processed what had happened, and landed on the other side.
Oberon, on the other hand, had disappeared at some point—no one knew where he had gone.
In this way, everyone managed to escape danger one after another.
However, the enemy did not relent but instead intensified their assault.
*Buzz—!*
With a buzzing in the air, wave after wave of pitch-black magic bullets rained down from the sky.
It was a massive bombardment.
It was a barrage that blotted out the sky.
As those black magic bullets fell from above like artillery fire, they instantly covered the entire ground.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Before long, the ground was subjected to relentless bombardment.
Amid the thunderous explosions and constant shaking, the onslaught of magic bullets struck as fiercely as artillery fire.
"Watch out!"
Mash had already raised her shield, dazzling light shimmering around her as if she were possessed by a god. A faint barrier spread around her, blocking all the magic bullets falling from the sky.
"Force Sanctuary."
Riezel also cast defensive magic, creating a protective barrier so that the magic bullets struck it one after another, erupting with violent explosions and shockwaves.
"Starlight!"
Artoria finally came to her senses, hurriedly jumping out of Riezel’s arms and raising the Staff of Selection to unleash her magecraft.
In an instant, brilliant starlight gathered on the Staff of Selection and burst forth.
"What... is this...?"
At this moment, everyone from Chaldea wore looks of shock as they felt the power within them surging endlessly while standing bathed in starlight.
Needless to say, they had grown stronger after receiving Artoria’s Reinforcement.
"What is this power? Is it magecraft?"
Da Vinci immediately looked at the fairy girl with the meaningful name, full of curiosity.
"Artoria... Caster...?"
Tristan was also watching Artoria, and for some reason, a strange tremor stirred in his heart.
"Artoria..."
Mash seemed to feel the same stirring and excitement inside as Tristan.
It was understandable.
Even though she was not a Knight of the Round Table, the power of a Knight of the Round Table resided within her.
Only Riezel, seeing Artoria grant everyone Reinforcement, immediately turned his gaze to the sky.
Over there, a figure hovered in midair, unleashing countless magic bullets at the ground, creating a barrage, but then...
"Maximize Magic - Call Greater Thunder!"
Riezel immediately cast offensive magic, and a spinning magic circle appeared before his raised palm.
*BOOM!*
A bolt of thunder, woven from countless lightning bolts, crashed down from the sky and struck the floating figure.
"AAAAAAHHH—!!!"
A piercing, anguished wail rang out in the air, sending a chill through Ritsuka and the others.
They couldn’t help it, since that wail was just too unsettling.
Rather than a human’s wail, it was more like a demon’s.
Struck by the thunderbolt, the figure that had been crying out fell from the sky.
Only then did the pitch-black barrage cease, the earth no longer ravaged, and the explosions stop.
All then fell silent—only clouds of dust drifted, shrouding the pitted ground.
Now that the figure had fallen from the sky, it drew everyone’s attention, and all eyes turned toward it.
"Riezel... BRYNHAAART—!!!"
Suddenly, the wailing voice rang out once again, but this time, it was not a scream of pain, but a roar of anger and hatred.
As the figure landed on the ground, its true appearance gradually came into view.
A revealing, black, bondage-like outfit.
Skin unnaturally pale.
Long, crimson hair.
A surprisingly beautiful figure and delicate face.
If not Baobhan Sith, then who else could it be?
"Is that you?!" Artoria cried out in surprise. "What happened to you? Why do you look like... this?"
Her voice was full of disbelief.
Riezel also frowned slightly, gazing coldly at Baobhan Sith.
Now, the Baobhan Sith standing before Riezel had changed a great deal compared to before.
Her eyes were empty, dark circles beneath them, and a sense of decay radiated from her so strongly it was like the aura of death from a corpse—at first glance, she hardly seemed alive, more a dead thing than a living being.
Her former allure and beauty had vanished, replaced by the ominous and fallen appearance of a demon.
"She..."
"Fairy Knight..."
"She’s Fairy Knight Tristan?"
Ritsuka, Mash, and Da Vinci looked at Baobhan Sith in shock.
Even though they had never seen what Baobhan Sith used to look like, her current demonic and ominous appearance truly stunned them.
Clearly, they had never imagined that the Fairy Knight named after ’Tristan’ would end up like this.
"..."
Tristan even slightly opened his eyes, which had remained closed, and a sharp glint appeared in them.
However, Baobhan Sith paid no attention to anyone’s reaction and did not spare a glance for Artoria, whom she had desperately wanted to kill just moments before.
She seemed to have become the embodiment of resentment as her gaze fixed solely on Riezel—her expression and the look in her eyes both twisted and insane.
"Riezel... BRYNHART!"
Baobhan Sith, now transformed into a demon of resentment, moved without warning.
She crushed the ground beneath her feet, kicking up an explosive cloud of dust and shockwaves, and charged at Riezel like a blood-soaked arrow, cutting through the air.
Her speed was so fast that even Artoria, Da Vinci, Mash, and the others failed to react in time.
*Clang!*
A fierce metallic collision rang out.
In front of everyone, and right in front of the nearby Artoria, Baobhan Sith fiercely kicked at Riezel, who stood beside Artoria.
Anyone who saw this could tell that this kick was both heavy and sharp.
Baobhan Sith’s feet were no longer just unprotected flesh and blood, as at some point, they had become steel.
A blow from her steel-clad feet, like a strike from armored boots, crashed down on Riezel, landing squarely on the black sword he had drawn in an instant, producing that violent clash.
"Kyaaa—!"
At the same time, the shockwave sent Artoria, who was standing too close, flying through the air with a startled cry.
"You..."
Meanwhile, Riezel, who had managed to block with his sword just in time, showed a hint of surprise.
He couldn’t help it.
He could feel that the force transmitted through his sword was far greater than he expected, as the power shattered the ground beneath his feet and pushed him back several steps before he finally managed to steady himself.
Needless to say, this power was on a whole different level compared to the past Baobhan Sith.
"RIEZEL BRYNHART!"
Ignoring Riezel’s surprise, Baobhan Sith, as if she had completely lost her mind, charged at him again.
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
In the next instant, countless claw slashes flew toward Riezel as Baobhan Sith’s hands transformed into razor-sharp weapons, unleashing a storm of attacks on him.
Seeing this, a flash of clear light appeared in Riezel’s eyes.
Instead of retreating, Riezel advanced, dashing straight toward Baobhan Sith.
*Bzzz—!*
Bolts of lightning appeared on Riezel’s body and then on his black sword, making it—already burning hot—seem to burst into countless arcs of electricity and sword light as it clashed with Baobhan Sith’s attacks.
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
*Clang!* *Cling!* *Clang!* *Cling!*
In an instant, the sounds of violent collisions echoed again and again, scattering sparks everywhere.
Riezel’s slashes, crackling with lightning, collided furiously with Baobhan Sith’s bloodstained claws, sending both lightning and blood flying.
In just a single second, dozens or even hundreds of fierce collisions erupted.
It was a storm-like, ferocious exchange of blows.
Neither Riezel nor Baobhan Sith held anything back, attacking each other with all their might—one calm and precise, the other mad and relentless—making the scene almost dizzying.
"A-Amazing..."
Ritsuka, Mash, and the others all widened their eyes at this spectacle.
"He’s actually this strong?"
"Powerful..."
Da Vinci and Tristan were both shocked.
Baobhan Sith was already terrifying enough, but the strength Riezel now displayed truly astonished them.
Among them, only Artoria was not surprised by Riezel’s performance, and instead was shaken by Baobhan Sith’s.
’She got way stronger all of a sudden?!’
As Artoria thought this, Riezel also thought the same.
Baobhan Sith had indeed become much stronger, but this sudden surge in power truly did not make sense.
Her current state seemed to indicate she had already reclaimed her true name.
However, by rights, revealing her true name should not make Baobhan Sith stronger, but rather make her weaker.
She was, after all, different from Lancelot and Gawain.
Unlike those two Fairy Knights, Baobhan Sith was not a terrifying and powerful existence sealed by being named, because she had originally been weak and only grew stronger after being given the name of ’Tristan.’
Her origin lay in Scottish legend as a female fairy, and the name ’Baobhan Sith’ itself simply meant ’Fairy Woman’ in Scotland.
It was said this female fairy would appear at night and drain the life from humans, causing their deaths.
She was also known to be fond of blood like the vampire in legend, even having the same weakness—sunlight.
Given that, it could be said that Baobhan Sith was both a fairy and a vampire.
If Lancelot was a dragon fairy, then Baobhan Sith was a vampire fairy, possessing the traits of both vampires and fairies.
Unfortunately, in Scottish legends, such vampires were not powerful at all—in fact, they were very weak—at the very least, compared to other fairies, the Scottish vampire fairy was extremely weak.
Like those demons in the world of Demon Slayer who feared sunlight, they could be eliminated by slightly stronger humans using special methods, which showed just how weak they were.
Because of that, Baobhan Sith had always been despised and bullied by other fairies, suffering torment countless times.
If fairies did not normally vanish after dying but instead returned to the earth and nature to be reborn as offspring after some time, Baobhan Sith would have long since disappeared from Faerie Britain.
It was only about a hundred years ago that Baobhan Sith met Morgan, who adopted her as a foster daughter, gave her the name of the Proper Human History’s Knight of the Round Table, Tristan, and bestowed his power upon her, allowing her strength to finally increase greatly.
Under such circumstances, if Baobhan Sith’s true name was revealed and she lost Tristan’s power, then even if she could still use Morgan’s magecraft, she should have grown much weaker.
Yet, not only did the current Baobhan Sith not grow weaker after her true name was revealed—she had actually become much stronger, probably equivalent to an adventurer at Level 7.
Needless to say, in Riezel’s eyes, this was clearly abnormal.
However, what was even more abnormal was Baobhan Sith’s current state.
At this moment, the thick aura of death she exuded made her seem nothing like a fairy—she now resembled a kind of being Riezel was familiar with—an undead.
’Is this because Baobhan Sith has regained her vampire side? Or is it just a side effect of this abnormal surge in power?’
As this thought flashed through Riezel’s mind, Baobhan Sith moved again.
"AAAAAAHHH—!!!"
Baobhan Sith let out a roar, and her claws no longer carried simple energy but instead unleashed a wave of blood.
*BOOOM!*
Riezel was struck by the wave of blood and sent flying.