With Woodwose’s death, the great battle that had brought disaster to the entire city of Norwich finally came to an end.
On the battlefield that had turned into ruins, Riezel turned back, gazing at the ash-like remnants of Woodwose as they dissipated into the air, remaining silent for a long time.
It was not until who knew how much time had passed that Riezel finally murmured to himself.
"So, you could cry after all?"
After leaving these words behind, Riezel turned around, preparing to leave this place.
Now was not the time for him to linger.
Although Woodwose had already been dealt with, the elite fairies of the Fang Clan brought by Woodwose were still in Norwich, fighting against Artoria and the others.
Each of those fairies was remarkably strong.
Individually, one or two of them might not match Artoria and the others, but with so many of them, even with Mash and Tristan, the two Knights of the Round Table, on their side, it would still be difficult.
Furthermore, since the Calamity was still ongoing, if Riezel did not go over there soon, given enough time, even if Artoria and the others were not killed by the fairies brought by Woodwose, they would be swallowed up by the Moss that continued to surge into Norwich.
Knowing this, Riezel had to hurry over and deal with all those fairies from the Fang Clan.
However, just as he was about to activate teleportation magic and head to Artoria’s side, a shocking sense of dread suddenly surged up from deep within his heart.
"!!!"
Riezel’s expression changed dramatically, and he turned sharply, looking toward the direction of Norwich’s port.
In the next second, a massive black shadow appeared there.
Riezel stared intently at that shadow, and after a moment, he whispered.
"Finally arrived, huh?"
===
At the same time, Artoria and the others also sensed that something was off.
Just as Riezel had expected, the group was struggling as they fought against the elite fairies of the Fang Clan.
*Clang!*
*Clang!*
One Fang Clan Fairy after another transformed into afterimages, continuously pouncing toward the carriage, their claws slashing at the shield Mash had raised, sending out blinding sparks as they struck the massive black cross-shaped shield.
Mash firmly blocked all the fairies’ attacks—even if some tried to get around her and attack from behind, they were driven back by long-range attacks coming from the rear.
*Ting-ling-ling~*
Tristan had already lost count of how many times he had strummed his harp, unleashing invisible attacks again and again, slicing through the air with a constant *swish* sound.
*BOOM!*
Meanwhile, the missiles in Da Vinci’s backpack seemed to have run out.
She could only extend mechanical arms from her bag, using them to strike at the approaching fairies, but her attacks were repeatedly dodged by the agile fairies, leaving deep pits in the ground wherever they landed.
*BOOM!*
On the other hand, Artoria’s magical bomb exploded as intended, forcing many of the fairies back with its blast.
Every now and then, she would also raise the Staff of Selection, firing beams of light that plowed through the ground toward the Fang Clan’s formation, causing considerable destruction.
At a glance, it seemed like the group was still managing to hold their own, but if one observed closely, it became clear that Artoria and the others were not in good condition.
Da Vinci had used up all her missiles, Tristan’s fingers were bleeding, and Artoria’s magical energy appeared to be running low.
As a result, their attacks grew weaker and less forceful as time passed.
In contrast, the fairies of the Fang Clan, who had come with Woodwose, were not simply charging in mindlessly at Artoria and the others. Instead, they switched out and rotated their positions and angles of attack from time to time, making their offense appear extremely well-organized.
Seeing this, Oberon, who had been sitting in the driver’s seat of the carriage, could not help but curse aloud.
"Damn it! They’re dragging us out on purpose! They’re trying to wear us down!"
Indeed, one could tell just by looking at the mocking expressions that never left the faces of the Fang Clan Fairies.
They were deliberately stalling for time.
They were deliberately exhausting their enemies.
They were toying with Artoria and the others, savoring the process of pushing their foes slowly into despair.
They were also waiting for the Moss to come and encircle Artoria and the others, waiting for Woodwose to return victorious.
In short, they had no thought that they might lose, and so, like cats playing with mice, they toyed with everyone at their own pace.
And it had to be said, their tactics were very effective.
Outnumbered and constantly forced to resist the enemy’s attacks, everyone except the endurance-strong Mash inevitably began to show signs of exhaustion, unable to maintain their best condition as they were gradually worn down.
"No, this can’t go on any longer."
Tristan’s expression turned grim.
He opened his eyes wide, scanning all around, trying to find a weak spot in the enemy encirclement.
"If only Master were here..."
Da Vinci naturally realized how bad the situation was and could not help but give a bitter smile.
If Ritsuka were awake now, with his command spells and magical energy as support, their situation would have been much better.
"Everyone! Hold on a little longer!"
Mash raised her shield, calling out to her companions behind her without turning her head.
Artoria gritted her teeth and forced out more magical energy to continue her attack.
Among the group, she had the highest magical energy consumption, having to fight back with magecraft while also maintaining Reinforcement on everyone. If not for ringing the second Bell of Pilgrimage, which greatly increased her magical energy, she probably would have collapsed by now.
If this kept up, defeat was only a matter of time.
"Tch, is this the end?"
Oberon, who had been looking for a way out, seemed to see everyone’s doom ahead.
He saw a new horde of Moss swarming in from the other side of the road.
As for how many, Oberon could not even be bothered to count.
Five hundred?
Seven hundred?
A thousand?
It did not matter.
They were so densely packed that he could not possibly count them, and it would be all too easy for them to drown everyone here.
"Prepare to retreat!"
At the same time, the fairies of the Fang Clan had also noticed the arrival of the Moss, and their leader shouted for everyone to retreat.
Since they still had plenty of strength left, they could leap away with ease as soon as the Moss closed in, leaving Artoria and the others behind for the Moss to deal with.
That had been their plan from the start.
With the Calamity of Norwich already erupting, they had no intention of fighting the enemy seriously in a place like this. Even if they could win, it would cost them too much, and there was a chance the Moss might ultimately threaten them. That was why they had chosen this way of fighting.
For the Fang Clan, who were never good with their heads and only spoke with violence, this was already pretty roundabout.
It also proved that fairies truly felt a kind of instinctive fear or dread toward the Moss, to the point that even the always-brutish Fang Clan had to resort to cunning.
All Artoria and the others could do was watch as the fairies of the Fang Clan started to ease up their attacks, dragging them out to prevent escape, while also slowly retreating and getting ready to leap onto nearby buildings and flee using the rooftops as platforms.
"Bastards!"
Oberon cursed again, gripping his reins and getting ready to charge forward at any moment, when suddenly—
"Moon Breathing - Sixteenth Form - Moonbow, Half Moon!"
A figure suddenly appeared behind the fairies of the Fang Clan and, in an instant, swung a black sword, slashing out several enormous crescent moon blades that fell from above like tornadoes descending from the sky, shattering the ground and sweeping over the fairies.
*Swish!**Swish!*
With the swirling of the crescent moon blades, not only was the ground shattered, but the fairies caught within were torn apart as if they had been thrown into a meat grinder, their bodies instantly ripped open.
""AAAAAARRRGH—!!!""
Screams burst from the mouths of the fairies, whose faces had just been twisted with mockery.
They were immediately thrown into chaos, either slaughtered on the spot or blasted away along with the shattered ground.
Just like that, the elite fairies of the Fang Clan, who had given Artoria and the others such a hard time, were wiped out with a single strike.
"Riezel!"
"Mr. Riezel!"
Both Artoria and Mash felt their spirits lift as they cried out.
"Huff..."
"Hahh..."
Da Vinci and Tristan let out a breath at the same time, knowing their crisis was finally over.
"You won?" Oberon’s eyes lit up as he hurriedly asked. "What about Woodwose?"
It was clear that he cared a lot about Woodwose’s whereabouts, knowing that Woodwose was the most dangerous enemy.
If Woodwose were not dealt with, their crisis might not truly be over.
However, Riezel gave no response to Oberon’s question.
"Go!"
He wasted no time and simply spoke to everyone.
"Something truly troublesome has appeared!"
At these words, everyone froze for a moment and then felt their hearts tremble.
A primal sense of dread, as if triggered by some unspeakable horror, made everyone’s eyes widen.
"Wh-What’s that...?"
Following her instincts, Artoria looked in a certain direction, her voice trembling as she spoke to whatever appeared there.
In the next moment, the others also looked over, and in that instant, they all stopped breathing.
===
At this moment, all the fairies and humans in Norwich saw it—they saw the filthiest, most disgusting, and most terrifying being in this world.
From the direction of Norwich’s port, countless Moss surged out from the sea, and at some point, a gigantic shadow had silently emerged.
It had two massive antlers like those of a deer.
Its body towered into the clouds, reaching straight into the sky.
It was a pure black, indescribable entity standing in the sea, an unknown creature made up of nothing but overwhelming magical energy and an ominous aura.
Fear...
Helplessness...
Despair...
All kinds of negative emotions spread outward from it, engulfing Norwich in a pitch-black curse.