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Scarlet like blood and pitch-black like ink, lightning flashed brilliantly.
"Hah!"
Mordred, who darted toward Mash, gripped a sword that had never been seen before. Red lightning crackled across its surface, completely enveloping her in crimson thunder as she mercilessly struck down.
With the force of the red lightning, the blow was unparalleled in power.
"Boom——!"
There was no sound of metal clashing, only an explosion-like roar as the red lightning erupted violently, surging into every corner of the castle wall. The upper walls above the gate of the Holy City trembled, crawling with countless arcs of red electricity.
Undoubtedly, this was the result of Mordred unleashing Mana Burst strengthened by the "Blessing," causing her power to multiply exponentially. With a single strike, the castle walls seemed on the verge of collapse.
Under such a violent assault, Mash remained steadfast, raising her shield and leaping back from the storm of crimson lightning. She landed in front of Rozen.
"Ugh...!"
Mash, covered in crackling red lightning, let out a groan as her body, seemingly paralyzed, wavered on the brink of collapse.
Mordred's attack had pierced through Mash's defenses.
"Tap!"
A hand extended from behind Mash, pressing against her shoulder, radiating astonishing magical energy.
"Boom!"
Swept by the surge of magical energy, the red lightning coursing through Mash's body was flung away and vanished without a trace.
Rozen, with his hand on Mash's shoulder, scanned his surroundings.
Knights of the Holy City emerged from all directions, surrounding Rozen and Mash.
These knights had clearly been lying in ambush, now springing forth to form an encirclement. The mastermind behind it was naturally Agravain.
"Disrupting the Holy Selection, obstructing the Holy Punishment, and even drawing your sword against the King—such sins need no further explanation," Agravain commanded the knights around him, his expression cold and ruthless as he glared at Rozen.
Tristan and Mordred flanked Artoria, shielding her. One wore a mournful expression, the other a feral grin.
Only Artoria remained in her original position, her posture and stance unaltered.
However, Artoria's gaze shifted toward the battlefield below.
There, refugees still fled in panic, chaos and fear spreading through the air.
These refugees were ordinary civilians, completely incapable of resisting the encircling knights.
Thus, they could only run aimlessly, unable to break through the encirclement, their faces filled with despair.
But upon closer inspection, not a single refugee had been injured since earlier. Even those who had collapsed in pools of blood had, at some point, been healed. They now scrambled away, shouting and fleeing.
The knights hadn't managed to kill a single refugee.
The reason was simple.
"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"
With each crisp sound of clashing, the weapons swung by countless knights toward the panicked refugees were deflected by invisible shields that silently appeared, producing the clear ring of metal on metal.
In this moment, Rozen simultaneously utilized Magic Defence and Heaven's Eye, first using Heaven's Eye to envelop the battlefield, observing every movement across its entirety with meticulous precision. At the same time, he deployed shields of Magic Defence with exceptional skill and accuracy, blocking every knight's attack and saving each refugee's life.
When Mash charged forward earlier, Rozen hadn't acted. This was the reason why.
Rozen had been protecting each refugee, preventing the knights from harming them.
Thus, across countless corners of the battlefield, countless shields of psychic energy materialized. Each time they appeared, they blocked a knight's attack, saving a refugee's life in what could only be described as miraculous.
Previously, Rozen wouldn't have been able to accomplish this.
But now, with his brain further developed by the sublimation of Foreign Mana and strengthened by Virtual Ether, he could process the instantaneous changes across the battlefield with unmatched speed and react accordingly, enabling him to achieve this feat.
In fact, Rozen still had enough focus to direct most of his attention toward Artoria.
Artoria hadn't moved an inch. Similarly, Rozen hadn't budged.
During the sudden battle between Mash and the Round Table Knights, the two had been restraining each other.
Whichever side acted first would inevitably suffer the other's overwhelming counterattack.
Rozen then spoke.
"Now I finally understand why this Singularity is so fragile, as though it might collapse at any moment."
Rozen's voice was deep and steady.
"This is all because of your actions, isn't it?"
By nature, a Singularity is a distortion and disruption of the timeline, caused by the intrusion of foreign elements into what should have been the normal course of history, leading to deviations from humanity's proper development.
Artoria constructing the Holy City and sheltering refugees in this era could still be justified. But to use the refugees as seeds, protecting them entirely from the incineration of humanity's foundation, effectively removing people from this era and causing them to vanish without reason, was another matter entirely.
Moreover, Artoria's massacre of the Mountain People had undoubtedly inflicted massive damage on the human history it belonged to, rendering the Singularity extraordinarily fragile.
In short, Artoria's very existence was the greatest anomaly within this Singularity.
Even if the Holy Grail were retrieved, ignoring Artoria's presence would likely render the Singularity irreparable. Humanity's foundation could not be restored, and even if Solomon didn't incinerate the world, Artoria would drag it into a chaotic torrent of history, ultimately collapsing into ruin.
The Lion King—Artoria.
This deity...
"Undoubtedly, is our enemy."
Rozen had finally confirmed this.
Naturally, Artoria had also concluded that Rozen was not an ally but an enemy.
From the moment Rozen intervened to save the refugees, he had chosen to deny Artoria and oppose her.
Thus...
"What a shame. You are such a unique individual. If you could remain as a seed within the Holy City, you could undoubtedly guide the next generation of humanity forward. That's why I welcomed you as a guest."
Artoria's voice was cold and detached.
"But now, I'll have to forcibly detain you."
Declaring this, Artoria raised a hand toward Rozen.
"Don't worry. I'll hold back."
A radiant light flickered in Artoria's hand.
In response, Rozen smiled.
"Boom!"
Terrifying magical energy erupted like a storm.
"That's my line."
Rozen's seemingly infinite magical energy finally ignited.
The heavens and earth trembled.