"————"
At this moment, it was as if time had stopped.
Of course, this was definitely not because Riezel had activated time magic.
When that pure black monster with antlers emerged from the sea and, surrounded by countless Moss, began to move slowly toward Norwich, every remaining living being in Norwich—whether human or fairy—without exception, became completely unable to move.
"A-Aah..."
Some began to weep, standing there in a daze with their mouths hanging open, howling helplessly.
"Hueeek!"
Some, as if suffering a mental attack, vomited on the spot.
Some screamed in delayed terror.
Some tried desperately to flee as if trapped in a nightmare.
Only the Moss crawled through the streets of Norwich, their bodies writhing as if welcoming something—the rhythm and frequency of their movements gradually synchronized, creating an eerie spectacle.
Under these circumstances, even Artoria, Mash, Da Vinci, and Tristan stood frozen in place, staring at that pure black, antlered monster, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
"Don’t look at that thing!"
In that moment, Oberon’s voice finally rang out.
"That thing will mess up your mind if you look at it! Quickly, avert your eyes!"
Oberon’s voice was full of panic and urgency.
Riezel, on the other hand, went a step further and cast magic on everyone.
"Lion’s Heart!"
It was a magic that could eliminate the state of fear and grant complete resistance to fear.
Riezel cast this magic on everyone present, finally allowing them to break free from their fear, but even after escaping the fear, they inevitably fell into chaos.
"Wh-What is that?!"
Artoria shouted, her voice much louder than usual.
"Is that... also Moss?"
Mash looked utterly incredulous.
"...I see, so that is the Calamity?"
Da Vinci’s face was full of bitterness.
"...If that thing enters Norwich, the entire city will be destroyed, right?"
Tristan spoke in a low voice, as if witnessing a nightmare.
What appeared before them was something so terrifying and confusing that it drove everyone to panic.
Even Chaldea’s group, who had traveled through many Singularities and Lostbelts and witnessed all kinds of bizarre phenomena, as well as Tristan, who in life had fought alongside King Arthur and the other Knights of the Round Table, instinctively understood one thing the moment they saw that monster.
They understood the monster before them was unbeatable—this alone, they could be absolutely certain of.
Moreover, as it appeared, everyone, including Artoria, realized something else.
Norwich was probably doomed—this was the first thought in everyone’s mind.
"Now’s not the time to space out. Let’s get out of here first."
Among them, only Riezel remained calm, standing there and addressing everyone with utter composure.
In the next moment, Riezel activated his magic.
"Gate!"
A small black spot appeared in the space before them, gradually growing larger and becoming even darker.
A circular portal of darkness opened.
Riezel had finally used the greatest teleportation magic, preparing to send everyone away.
"Go inside."
Riezel gave Artoria a gentle push, trying to get her through the portal, but at that moment, as expected, Artoria resisted.
"No! If only we leave—"
"If you can’t even save the people beside you, you have no right to save anyone else."
Artoria had just started to speak when Riezel suddenly cut her off with another remark.
"Do you really think you can save Norwich with your current ability?"
Riezel stared straight at Artoria and spoke bluntly.
"I know, you’ll definitely say that even if you can’t save them, you should at least try, right?"
"But have you ever thought about this? Once you decide to do that, everyone around you will follow you into it."
"You can risk your own life to save others, but are you willing to risk your companions’ lives just to save a bunch of fairies you don’t even know are worth saving?"
Riezel’s harsh words left Artoria speechless on the spot.
"Mr. Riezel, we..."
Mash seemed to want to say something as well, but was stopped by Riezel.
"You’re all good people, unwilling to just watch lives perish before your eyes. I understand that."
It was precisely because of this that Chaldea could save humanity and Proper Human History again and again.
However, Riezel still wanted to say one more thing.
"Even if you have to make this kind of decision, you should at least wait until your Master wakes up."
"He is still unconscious, and his life is completely entrusted to all of you. If you make a single wrong move, not only will you all be in trouble, but Fujimaru Ritsuka will also remain in an eternal sleep, never waking up again."
"Are you all really fine with that?"
Riezel’s rather pressing words left Mash completely speechless.
"Go. Leave from here."
Riezel pointed in the direction of the portal and spoke to everyone.
"If you all leave quietly right now and don’t waste time, I can open a few more portals like this to send more survivors out."
"If you keep hesitating and delaying like this, more people will only end up dead."
As soon as Riezel finished speaking, everyone’s eyes lit up.
"Yeah, let’s not waste any more time here." Oberon said hurriedly. "Only if we leave can Riezel go and save others. He has teleportation magecraft. Even if that monster breaks into Norwich, he has ways to escape easily. He’s the only one who can stay behind and save people—this is the best choice."
Upon hearing this, everyone glanced at each other.
Although they still hesitated a bit, they were clearly convinced.
"Let’s go." Da Vinci finally spoke. "Riezel’s approach is right. If we keep staying here and wasting his time, it will only lead to more people being unable to be saved."
With that, she took the lead and climbed into the carriage first, as if to dispel everyone else’s hesitation.
"...Please take care, Sir Brynhart."
Tristan spoke next, earnestly saying this to Riezel before following Da Vinci into the carriage.
"Please be careful."
Mash still looked a bit hesitant, but with both Da Vinci and Tristan already in action, and thinking about their Master in the carriage, she struggled for a moment, then finally looked at Riezel with a worried face for a while before getting into the carriage.
Only Artoria was left, staring straight at Riezel, just standing there, not moving at all.
"Artoria!"
Oberon could not help but call out to her, but Artoria ignored him and kept her eyes on Riezel.
Riezel knew this fairy girl might have seen through something with her Fairy Eyes.
In the next moment, the words she spoke proved it.
"...You’re coming after us, right?"
Artoria looked Riezel right in the eye, as if she wanted to see through his heart.
Meeting her gaze, Riezel stayed silent for a moment, then smiled faintly.
"I will find you."
Hearing these words, Artoria seemed to understand something.
Her eyes instantly turned red, but she held it in, wiped the corners of her eyes, and once more turned her gaze to Riezel.
"Don’t lie to me. If you lie to me, I’ll hate you for the rest of my life."
Artoria did not ask any questions and just said this one thing.
If this had been the Artoria from before, she definitely would not have said something like that, nor would she have chosen not to ask anything at all.
Perhaps because of her memories as her Proper Human History self, this girl now seemed to understand some things—that there are matters that cannot be forced, and some things that have to be done.
Riezel met Artoria’s gaze, and after a while, he nodded.
Artoria looked at him deeply, as if she wanted to remember his face completely. After a while, she turned around and got into the carriage without looking back.
"Riezel, we’re leaving now!" Oberon shouted at Riezel with a serious expression. "You have to catch up with us quickly, Riezel!"
Leaving these words behind, Oberon flicked the reins, and the white Sleipnir let out a neigh and charged into the portal.
Riezel silently watched as Artoria and the others left.
"Farewell... Make good use of that Sleipnir. It’s yours now..."
Once the time limit of Gate was up and the space returned to normal, Riezel whispered to himself.
Riezel permanently summoned the white Sleipnir that pulled the carriage, so it would not disappear due to the summoning magic’s time limit or any problem with the summoner.
Because a white Sleipnir could be summoned with just a 2nd-Tier Magic, its requirements for permanent summoning were not harsh—just a bit of gold was enough.
For that reason, after realizing he might run into something in Norwich, just in case, Riezel had permanently summoned the white Sleipnir, and the magic used to create the carriage was also a permanent Structure System Magic from the Akasha Continent, so it would not disappear.
As a result, Riezel could do whatever he wanted.
Lifting his head, Riezel glanced up at the sky.
Over there, the vortex of dark clouds was spinning faster and faster, and the magical energy gathering inside was also growing more and more powerful.
"Almost time..."
Knowing from the beginning that the vortex was not the Calamity, Riezel turned his gaze toward the massive creature walking toward Norwich.
A few seconds later, Riezel first cast Gate repeatedly, opening several portals in all directions of Norwich as promised, so the panicked fairies could escape however they could, and then sped toward the port.
*Rumble—*
At the same time, the vortex in the sky spun even faster, causing the thunder to appear along with it.
By the time Riezel arrived at the port of Norwich, a pillar of light suddenly fell from the vortex, covering him and the massive creature, swallowing everything.