CHAPTER 1 The Wild Hunt “Wh-what’s happening?!” Luna shouted. They had just completed the quest for the Holy Grail, narrowly escaping the clutches of Balor, and returned from the illusory world to the real world. This was the first thing out of Luna’s mouth. They were at a Gate on the outskirts of the harbor in Area Nine—the starting point of the quest—on the artificial island of New Avalon. But the state of the town was completely different from how they left it. They almost feared World War III had broken out, upon seeing the state of Avalonia, the international city. Rows of high-rises and houses had taken a hit, some completely caved in. Flames and smoke curled in the sky all over town. There were cracks in the road, asphalt turned up to expose the ground, cars rammed into buildings, trains derailed and flipped over. In this half-destroyed state, it wasn’t hard to imagine that city infrastructure was not holding up. Plus, weaving through the ruins were apparitions, apparitions, apparitions…which were usually contained by the Curtain of Consciousness and shouldn’t have taken on an organic form in the real world. They were presently sauntering around, however, as though they owned the place. It was dusk. The golden red glare of the setting sun seemed to suggest the world was ending. And what was worth mentioning most of all… “What is that…?” Luna squinted to look into the distance—toward Area One of Avalonia, the center of this artificial island and the nucleus that presided over the city infrastructure. She could clearly see the silhouette of a towering castle—inordinately large. So large, in fact, that she could see it from this distance. It was a mountain of a building and ink black, like darkness itself. The castle, however, was misshapen as if missing pieces, but it was currently constructing itself at a meteoric rate… At least, that was her best guess. It went without saying that it wasn’t there before they’d left. It had kind of just materialized when they’d returned. “What happened…?!” Luna shrieked. “Don’t tell me we spent all of eternity in the illusory world!” “Th-there’s no way…” Nayuki shook her head. “I was filled in about your quest on our way back…and your time there should have been the briefest of moments…” “It shouldn’t be more than three days,” said Sir Kay. “But this is…” She couldn’t contain her panic, staring at the transformed town, unseeing. “…It’s the Wild Hunt,” murmured Sir Galahad, looking grim at the rear of the group. “What’s that?” “In the East, it’s called the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, I think. Someone is leading a hunting party composed of all kinds of apparitions, fairies, and spirits of the dead to race through the skies… Luna, do you know about this legend?” “K-kinda… I think I’ve heard of a folktale that’s been passed down across Europe…?” Luna answered, riffling through her hazy memories. It had to be a Wild Hunt if there were wandering goblins, wights, imps, and black dogs—all apparitions infamous in Europe from ages past. “W-wait a second, Sir Galahad! You don’t mean the Wild Hunt is happening, right?!” “I do.” Sir Galahad pointed at the arcane castle in the distance. “These apparitions are heading to that castle, where dwells a certain someone who can lead the Wild Hunt… Basically, Balor’s scheme—involving the King Arthur Succession Battle—has come to pass.” “What does that even mean?! Start from the beginning!” Luna shouted, no clue as to what was happening. “…Unfortunately…” Sir Galahad lifted a lance above her head and whipped it around like a whirlwind. In the next instant, they could sense apparitions around them. As soon as they came into view, Sir Galahad released a shock wave from her spear that obliterated them indiscriminately. They didn’t even try to reform, melting into puffs of mana and disappearing. “We don’t have time to talk about specifics right now. They see us as prey.” “…?!” With Sir Galahad going on the offensive, the others readied themselves to cover one another’s backs. They could sense more apparitions coming closer, before bursting into existence, surrounding them: Redcaps, aged and small, donning red hats. Ogres with their bulging muscles and ugly mugs. Child-size goblins appearing from nowhere. Giants, emerging from the buildings’ shadows. Winged gargoyles swooping in from the sky. Shaggy bugbear sprites, looking wicked, crawling out of the earth. Apparitions that had been passed down in legends throughout Europe were advancing on them in waves. “What…? Why are there so many apparitions in the first place?!” Luna readied her Excalibur. “Doesn’t the Curtain of Consciousness separate the real world and the illusory world?! I thought it was impossible for them to come into this world, except in small batches!” “The Catastrophe is upon us,” Sir Galahad said gravely. The apparitions attacked, crashing down on them repeatedly. The group was terribly outnumbered. At this rate, they’d be crushed, Luna assumed, freezing on reflex. “Hah!” Sir Galahad had launched herself off the ground, a step ahead of them, and twirled around her sword and spear. This was probably what could be called a one-hit KO. The impact shook the island. With just a sword and a spear, she had split that apparition tsunami in half, scattering them into the air. “Excuse me…?” Luna grumbled as she saw Sir Galahad display a fraction of her inhuman strength. Sir Galahad remained calm. “Luna, head to the castle. We don’t have time to talk, but…all we can do is defeat a certain someone who’s going to control this Wild Hunt and stand at its helm. You need to get into that castle and conquer the leader!” “…” “If they can pull off the Wild Hunt and tear through the world, they’ll obliterate the Curtain of Consciousness and trigger the Catastrophe! Before that happens—,” Sir Galahad appealed to Luna. “Got it! So that black castle is the source… I felt that was the case! Let’s go, guys!” Luna dashed forward, taking the vanguard. Sir Kay, Nayuki, and Sir Galahad ran after her. Luna paused for a second and turned around. She thought for a fleeting moment about the boy she adored who had risked his life to send them back here. “…Rintarou,” she murmured, staring out into the ocean horizon, red under the evening sun. As if trying to shake something off, she turned around and started running. — MM-DD-YYYY Avalonia chief of police, Yoichi Saitou, reporting in. Right now, chaos has befallen the international city of Avalonia. It started on MM-DD, early dawn. Creatures—monsters, I guess—started to appear around Area Nine of New Avalon, creating mass destruction. Source is yet to be confirmed. Then, the same thing happened in Area Seven, Area Two, Area Five, Area Six…everywhere on the island. Cause still unknown. Our external communications have been severed. It doesn’t feel real. All attempts to contact the Japanese government—phones, telegrams, Internet, etc.—have failed. No clue why. An enormous black castle has been erected in Area One. We are at a loss here. Monsters from European folklore are attacking us—buildings and people. The damage done is unimaginable. Number of casualties unknown. Still unable to confirm any details about the situation. MM-DD-YYYY We’ve attempted to exterminate the monsters but haven’t even made a dent. Ordinary firearms are unable to kill even one of these goblins, it seems. It’s not even that. People at the scene have reported that guns are fundamentally ineffective. The creatures might be operating on different planes of existence. I doubt we can fight them even with our best firearms. Our SWAT team has sustained damage from the earlier battle. Our organization is lacking power. According to reports, children armed with swords and knights in old-fashioned armor have been fighting the creatures and protecting the citizens, but those are rumors. What good could a sword do to these monsters if they’re invincible against firearms? MM-DD-YYYY All our essential facilities—energy plants, water treatment plants, transit infrastructure, news outlets—have been destroyed by the creatures, leaving us no choice but to cease operations. There’s no light out there, like we’ve returned to the Dark Ages. MM-DD-YYYY Next to go are the train and subway lines. Citizens trying to flee by car have found that the main streets are packed with vehicles—some abandoned—causing a bottleneck. We’re stuck. We don’t have options. Emergency headquarters are panicking. As the SWAT team, we’ve devoted our lives to evacuating citizens to sea, the only route left, but we’ve failed to escape the island. For causes unknown, whenever our ships are cast into the sea, their passengers are surrounded by mist, lose consciousness, and wake up at the harbor. Based on that, I hypothesize outside rescue efforts would never be able to get to this island. I can’t tell my people that. They’ve been waiting for help. It’s unbelievable. We’re trapped on this island with these creatures, like some B-list fantasy or sci-fi movie. MM-DD-YYYY The monsters have formed groups and are on the prowl. They seem to have some sort of goal or purpose. Based on their behavior, I’ve been calling this phenomenon the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons because it reminds me of the old Japanese legend. Luckily, it seems they aren’t going out of their way to attack people who have set up camp in buildings and are keeping silent. Seems we’re safe as long as we are indoors. There may be fewer civilian losses than I thought. You know, the same thing happened in those legends…even though it’s a made-up tale to discourage children from roaming outside at night. It’s only a matter of time before the island citizens are doomed. All necessary utilities have been cut off. The town is at the mercy of the monsters. We’ve been cowering from fear, knowing there will be no help. We have no way out, and there is nothing we can do. Will we starve to death, go mad, or be eaten by the creatures first? We took our world for granted. We never realized it was so frail. [Blank page.] [Blank page.] Please save us. Someone. Anyone. An account found at the site of the former police station of Avalonia, demolished now. — “Hraaaaaaaah!” The sword came down, flashing. “Gaaaaah!” cried out a creature, using its last breath. A flabby man—a troll—had been split into two. “Hah!” After slicing through the troll with her Excalibur, Luna landed on the ground, catlike, as the troll dissolved into particles of mana. “…Hey, you! Over there! Are you okay?!” “Aaah… Aaaaah…,” whimpered a little girl, cowering on top of a mountain of roadside rubble. Luna sheathed her sword and turned to her. “You’re not supposed to be here—much less leave your house!” Luna scolded. “You’re safer at home from these apparitions. Didn’t your mom tell you? ‘Don’t go outside at night if you don’t want to get eaten by monsters.’” The girl looked down. “B-but…I need some water…” She was carrying an empty plastic jug in her trembling hands. “My mom’s sick… And we have no water, food, or medicine… We really need water, at least…” “Oh. You’re looking for water for your mom… You’re such a good kid.” Nayuki crouched to eye level before whispering something and touching the jug. “…Here.” “Ack!” At some point, her bottle was brimming with clear water. “I added some healing properties to it, so your mom should feel better,” Nayuki said. “Hmm? Oh, right, you’re a water fairy!” Luna cried before turning to the girl. “Anyway! We solved your problem, so we need to get you home! Where is it?” “…Th-thank you…” Luna carried the girl on her back, taking her to the front yard of her house. It seemed like it had sustained less damage compared to the areas nearby. Maybe fewer apparitions were around. Luna could sense, however, that its residents were holding their breaths inside, taking shelter in their homes out of fear, and it hurt her heart. “Tsk, we’re heading out, guys.” Luna turned around after she took the girl home… “H-hey, miss…,” blurted out the little girl, just as Luna had been about to leave. “What?” “Is there no saving us…? Will we be eaten by monsters…?” She cradled her bottle. “If we’re doomed…even if I have water… Sniffle…” It was like the adrenaline had worn off. Her shoulders heaved as she started to weep. “It’ll be fine!” Luna assured. “I’m going to do something about it!” “Huh?” She lifted her teary eyes and saw Luna, chest puffed up, inflated with confidence, expression as radiant as the sun. “I’ll fix this joke! I’ll reclaim our serene town! After all, I’m the king who will rule over the world!” The girl blinked her eyes, mystified. “You’re a king, miss…?” “Uh-huh! I’m a king! I’m the king! In exchange for praise and words of affirmation, kings have a duty to protect our people! And I’m the real king! So I’ll protect you, your mom, and everyone else in this town!” “…?!” “Just hang in there! I know it’s tough because things are scary right now, but…stay put at home with your mom! Got that?!” As if Luna’s confidence had rubbed off on her, the little girl wiped away her tears and cracked a tiny smile. “…Got it… I believe in you!” she cried, rushing back into her home. Sir Galahad started to snicker. “If you want to fix this situation faster, we need to get to the castle… No detours. We don’t have time for you to keep stopping for just about anyone, Luna.” “What? Have something to say?” Luna scowled, pinning a glare on Sir Galahad. “So maybe a real king should turn away from some sacrifices and head toward the castle… But I can’t do that. How can I call myself a king if I neglect commoners seeking my help?” “…” “Rintarou isn’t looking for a stereotypical king. He wants to serve someone who would stay true to herself—no matter what! ‘Proper’ kings can suck it—I want to become a king who swings her sword for all I care about. Being prim and proper takes a back seat!” Sir Galahad apologized, backtracking. “Oh, sorry! Sorry! I gave you the wrong idea. I’m not trying to put you down, Luna. I like that you’re too kind to abandon anyone. I love that I’ve become your Jack, but—” “…But what?” Luna kept glaring at her. Sir Galahad took a big breath. “It’s just strange… I wonder what’s the difference between you and King Arthur?” “…?” Luna tilted her head, visibly confused. “Don’t think too hard about it.” Sir Kay patted Luna on the back, sighing. “Um, you see, Sir Galahad is an eccentric character…and enjoys her cryptic riddles. Don’t dwell on it.” “…” Luna went silent. Cryptic riddles in the middle of this situation? Sir Kay was right: They didn’t have time to worry about these things. At the same time, however, Luna felt like it might be important. She looked at Sir Galahad, trying to get clues, but the knight just stared back with a gentle smile. Now isn’t the time to think about this… Luna switched gears, about to run toward the castle again… “—Awoooooooooooooooooooo—…” From a certain direction, they heard a terrific howl that sounded like thirty hounds baying at their prey. That was followed by a delayed vibration as if a powerful quadrupedal thing were storming forward. Their hairs stood on end, even though it was too far to see, and they trembled under its invisible force. The howl had even frightened the apparitions around them. “Wh-what was that just now…?” asked Sir Kay, quivering. “An apparition, obviously. But…it’s not any regular one.” Luna’s forehead beaded in sweat. “I can feel it, even though it’s so far off… I think it’s different from all the other ones until now. And the only thing I can tell is…” “—Awoooooooooooooooooooo—…” It howled again loudly. With a boom, the silhouette of the building they could see in the distance had been blasted as if in a demolition. Whatever that thing was, it was destroying the town far away. “If we leave that be, the city will be beyond repair.” “You’re right, Luna. Staying put at home isn’t going to be the right strategy against it,” Sir Galahad said. “You know something about the thing that’s there?” “It’s…the incarnation of violence and chaos, symbolizing the collapse of King Arthur’s kingdom. Unavoidable like a natural disaster, a dreadful threat to humankind.” “…Hunh. Sounds dangerous.” “What will you do, Luna?” Sir Galahad asked, as if testing her. Luna didn’t hesitate. “Head over, obviously! We can’t let it keep going! There’s no way!” Without waiting for a reply, she started running toward the demolished buildings. Sir Kay and Nayuki followed. “And that’s exactly what makes her our king in this era.” Sir Galahad seemed satisfied as she watched Luna from behind. “…You might be able to stop him.” Sir Galahad picked up speed, running like the wind. Area Two of Avalonia. The business quarter—and currently, hell. “—Awoooooooooooooooooooo—…” A single beast dominated over the area with an iron fist. A snake’s head and tail, a leopard’s torso, a lion’s haunches, a hart’s legs. The grotesque creature could drive a human mad simply by looking at them. The thing, large like a skyscraper, moved in an agile way that seemed impossible given its size. It struck the earth with its four legs, ramming into the surrounding buildings at random, lashing out its tail, slashing with claws and fangs, dedicating itself to destroying the town. The buildings collapsed, one after another. The people hiding indoors, holding their breath until then, were now starting to panic. They scattered, trying to flee from the site. The main street of Area Two was swarming with people. In the middle of the city where the beast rampaged…a battle to the death was currently underway. It was the beast against the Kings. “Hraaaaaah!” Felicia leaped into the air, readying her Excalibur, and kicked off other buildings to gain height, using their walls as footholds. She came up over the beast’s head. “Hyaaaaaaaaah!” Using her momentum, she used the weight of her entire body to bring down her sword into the forehead of the beast’s serpentine head. Ga-shing! The tip of her sword, however, didn’t even puncture its skin by a fraction of an inch. Felicia was flicked away. “Awooooooooooooooooo!” It shook its head as if trying to drive away a fly. Felicia was batted away like a baseball. “Aaaaaaaaaaaah?!” “Curse you! My liege—!” Sir Gawain attempted to land a blow into its torso. “Geez… I didn’t think this beast would be so annoying!” Sir Palamedes tried to slice through its leg, moving impossibly fast. “Hmph. Older men like me aren’t too good with this stuff!” Sir Dinadan brought down his sword on its back, just for good measure. Even the combo attack of Jacks, whose power exceeded that of humans—Crash! Shing!—showed no sign of injuring the beast’s body. “Guh!” The monster swung its tail and forefeet, taking advantage of the moment. “Aaaaaaaaaaah?!” “Gaaaaaaaaaaah!” Sir Gawain and Sir Dinadan were whacked away, defeated by its mass and violence. After crashing into a high-rise building, Sir Palamedes tumbled across the ground, seemingly forever. “We’re not done yet! Royal Road—Sword of Destruction!” Reika Tsukuyomi—Sir Mordred—shouted, unlocking her Excalibur’s powers, causing a cluster of silver daggers like a meteor shower to rain down on the monster. “Haaaaaaah!” Misha fired off her Excalibur in the shape of an assault gun, bullets bursting into flames to burn the beast. However… “Gah… It doesn’t even look like it’s in pain…!” “We need to keep going! Don’t stop firing…!” Sir Mordred shouted, continuing her attack. Misha let loose her barrage of fire. It didn’t hurt the monster in the least. The peashooter was nothing more than a nuisance. “Awoooooooooooo!” The beast turned toward the sky and howled, scraping its paw against the ground two, three times. Then it charged furiously at Sir Mordred and Misha. “What?!” “Get back!” Someone had jumped in front of them. Sir Percival. He gripped a spear. “Flash of my spear, pierce through all…” He lifted his weapon overhead and started to twirl it, filling it with Aura. It was the same type of technique used by Sir Tristan, who materialized his archery skills into an artifact called the Waste Not Bow. Sir Percival had his own method with his spear. He had been secretly charging his spear with his skills, which were extolled to be unbeatable. “Klingsor!” He bent his arms, winding them up, to convert it into ballistic energy. Sir Percival released the spear from his hands, and it turned into a silvery white laser beam, aimed straight at the muzzle of the beast that charged at them. It must have been the fastest technique among the knights of the Round Table. Its power: extraordinary. There was no way that the monster would be able to dodge it. It landed its blow—a direct strike. The Aura concentrated into the spear formed an aurora as it detonated. Is it over?! For a moment, they all expected that this was the end of it…but the dust storm cleared, allowing the beast to come out again. It didn’t slow down as it charged at Sir Percival. “Aaaah…?!” This time, they were the ones who didn’t have time to run. “Gaaaaaaah?!” “Aaaaaaaah?!” The monster was relentless as it barreled right into them, knocking away Misha, Sir Mordred, and Sir Percival like leaves. Their fight—even with Kings and Jacks—could hardly be called a battle… “Ah…ah…Sir Percival…” The one King who couldn’t join the fight, Nanami Kuonji, could only watch, panicking. “Gah… What…what should we do…?” Felicia dropped her head, covered in cuts. “How…can we beat that monster…?!” “F-Felicia! Hang in there!” A petite girl sprinted over to Felicia. A former King—Emma. She had joined Felicia during this crisis. Emma used a Healing spell on Felicia’s wounds, but it was just a drop in the bucket. “I’m sorry, Emma… We’ve dragged you into this battle, even though you’ve lost your Jack and Excalibur…” “It’s all right. If there’s anything I can do… Anyway, what is that monster?” “Not sure… All I know is that it’s the final calamity that will ruin this island…” Behind them, people were running for their lives, chased out by the rampaging monster. The Kings and Jacks were managing to distract the beast for the most part, but they couldn’t keep that up forever. In a few hours, they would be too exhausted to fight, and then the beast would trample everyone and destroy this very city—until there was nothing to destroy any longer. The international city of Avalonia housed over five hundred thousand people. The casualties would be…catastrophic. “…What should we do, Felicia Ferald…?” Sir Mordred asked, ragged and supporting Misha, who was slumped over on her shoulder. She touched down next to Felicia. “We need to leave the front line to the Jacks for now…and come up with a plan.” “…” Felicia just went silent. Felicia, Sir Gawain, Sir Mordred, Misha, Sir Palamedes, Sir Percival…and even Emma had exhausted their power to fight. Any countermeasures in their arsenal had already been attempted. Since the artificial island had been turned into a netherworld, cut off from outside, they knew there wouldn’t be reinforcements… Then again, real firearms were ineffective against those monsters, which were from the illusory world, so reinforcements would mean nothing anyway. In any event, they could see no means of escape. Like ants against a dragon, they couldn’t defeat the monster. The Kings had no way to beat back the beast. “…Ha-ha…ha-ha-ha… It’s over, huh?” And that was when it happened. One of the Kings participating in the King Arthur Succession Battle, Misha, dropped to her knees. “How stupid… I risked everything for this, and the King Arthur Succession Battle ends up being a bunch of hooey… You call this a fight to select the real King? You call this a treasure hunt…? Rot in hell, Dame du Lac…,” Misha grumbled. Felicia grabbed her collar. “This isn’t the time to complain, Misha Zaturina! It makes my blood boil, too, thinking that we were deceived. But we’ve got to fight for the people now—” “Can’t you see, Felicia Ferald?! This is where it ends!” Misha snapped back even louder. “We can’t win against that thing! We’re going to die! This island is going to be annihilated! That thing destroyed the kingdom, and we’ll never win against it! The Catastrophe will unfold… The world is ending! We can’t defy fate!” “B-but…!” Gshnk. Felicia clenched her jaw as if punishing herself and glared at Misha. “We must fight, regardless! Because we’re kings!” “Huh… You’re still trying to succeed King Arthur…? Even after you’ve seen that horrific thing? Ha-ha-ha. You’re so naive…” “N-no… I’m trying to say it has to do with who we are, and…!” Felicia tried to convince Misha on something that they couldn’t agree on… “Awooooooooo!” A howl shook the sky, like an auditory arrow piercing through heaven. They could see the beast shaking off the Jacks who clung to it like mosquitos…and then its eyes met Felicia’s. Pawing at the ground thrice like a boar, it started to stampede toward them. Its mass barreled toward the Kings as if trying to run them over. The earth thundered under its weight. “Ah… We’ve got to run…!” Felicia tried to brace her legs. …Slump. But they wouldn’t move, because she hadn’t completely recovered yet. “…Gah?!” “Ah, Felicia?! D-don’t hurt yourself…!” Emma lent Felicia her shoulder. “You shouldn’t lag behind! You won’t be able to escape while supporting me!” “B-but…!” Emma looked around. Nanami was frozen in fear, and Sir Mordred had been rendered immobile from blood loss after fighting on the front lines with the Jacks. “…Ha-ha. It’s over…,” Misha said, giving up, hanging her head, and dropping to her knees. “D-dammit… After we’ve come so far…! Curse this frail human body of mine…!” Sir Mordred clutched her dagger-shaped Excalibur, hand shaking, and pointed its tip at the charging beast. “S-Sir Mordred! You can’t use your Royal Road again…!” Felicia called out. She couldn’t let her die, even though they’d once been enemies. To begin with, their Excaliburs were nothing compared to the beast. “But we need to do something…! I might have made mistakes in the past, but I…!” Sir Mordred unleashed her final Royal Road. The daggers rained down on its muzzle, scarcer and slower than before. And sure enough, they didn’t help to slow its charge. “…” Sir Mordred, watching the beast, lowered her arms in disappointment. They were fated for ruin. Several seconds later, the beast would ram into them…and everything would be done. Time seemed to pass slowly as they headed toward death… Felicia started to dissociate, feeling as though she wasn’t even there. …Is it over? Is this how it ends…? It didn’t feel real, but this was reality. I was betrayed by my aspirations… I couldn’t even protect anything I wanted to protect… The world is reaching its ruin… Is this how the story ends…? It was reality, unmistakably. A truly terrible one. The beast before them made that clear. Its maddened eyes seemed to be telling something to Felicia: Accept it and give up. Oh, but…that means… Felicia’s entire body started to go limp. “My liege?! Felicia! Please, please run— Gah!” She could hear her Jack let out a little shriek from somewhere, but it meant nothing to her. …Is this…the end…of everything…? Her Excalibur slowly slipped from Felicia’s hand… At that time…Felicia, Emma, Misha, Sir Mordred, Nanami…Sir Gawain, Sir Palamedes, Sir Dinadan, Sir Percival… All faced the same thing: despair and resignation. They wished they could abandon everything and be at ease, captive by their negativity. Though their hearts rejected that this was the end, their instincts screamed they needed to surrender to the final charge of the beast, which was fear incarnate. What gripped the air was hopelessness—pure hopelessness. That was when something happened. “Protect, Lahat Chereb—the Flaming Sword!” Flames radiating crimson burst around them, forming a fiery vortex that served as a barricade against the beast. But it was just fire, after all. They assumed it wouldn’t do anything… “Awooooooo?!” The monster, unscathed from the attacks of the knights of the Round Table and withstanding the Excaliburs…stopped its charge in front of these flames, of all things. It reared up onto its front legs, trying to escape…as if genuinely afraid of the fire. “…Huh?! Why?!” Felicia opened her eyes wide… “Collect ice spirits and lightly dance!” In front of her, snow stormed around the beast, forming icicles that sharpened into lances and assaulted the monster. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. They pierced its body, which sprayed blood. But it was far from a fatal wound. “Awoooooooo?!” Its first taste of pain frightened the beast, making it halt in its tracks. In that instant, a girl in white raced past Felicia, charging at the cowering monster, and leaped, using her momentum to fly through the air. She brought down the sword and spear in her hands, crossing them and coming down on its head. “Hraaaaaaaah!” It sounded like a construction demolition had been set off, booming several miles through the surroundings. The attack leveraged by the slender arms of the girl in white sent the beast soaring like a joke…and capsized it. Zwoosh… As it slowly flipped upside down, the impact jolted the artificial island up several feet. The unsightly four legs of the beast started to writhe. “Huh…? What’s happening…?” Misha opened her eyes wide in disbelief. “Is that the same beast that we didn’t have a chance against, even when we worked together…?” It wasn’t just Misha. All were reeling in shock that the beast had been driven back. Above them, on top of a crumbling building… “How could you just give up?! All of you!” There was a girl smiling smugly down at them. They all looked at her, surprised. It was— “Luna?!” “You can’t give up, just because you’re feeling a little hopeless! This cinches it… We all know which of us is most fit to be king! There’s no competition!” Luna monologued before jumping down from the building. When Felicia watched Luna soar down like a war maiden, she could feel tears forming in the corners of her eyes. “Y-you’re okay, Luna…? You’re late… So late—aaaaaah?!” Crash! Luna had landed right on Felicia, effectively squishing her. “Hmph! Weaklings, all of you! You don’t have any idea what makes a king a king! A ruler can’t feel hopeless when protecting their subjects! If you’ve got the time for hanging your heads, then lean on your swords, stand back up, and figure out a way to escape from the battle!” “…Um…I know you’re on a roll, but you’re kind of crushing Felicia…,” Sir Mordred murmured, looking unimpressed. “Wha—?! Felicia?! Ack?! How could the beast…?! How dare you do this to my good friend Felicia…! I’ll never forgive you!” “…Um, it was all you.” “I’ll fight any enemy of Felicia’s!” “You know what? I’m just not going to say anything.” Luna seemed fired up with righteous indignation, clutching onto Felicia, who was slumped over, eyes rolled to the back of her head. Sir Mordred just looked away. “‘Heal, heal, blessed rain,’” quietly chanted another girl—not Luna. Gentle drops of glittering rain showered over the area. It healed their battle-weary bodies and replenished lost strength. “I-is this…the power of the Holy Grail…? No, it feels similar, but…” “Such amazing healing properties… It’s so different from Felicia’s powers and my own.” Sir Mordred and Emma caught the raindrops in their hands, curious. “Good job, Nayuki! Seems like you got stronger after you were revived by the Holy Grail, huh? Can the chalice do that? Well, whatever! Getting a boost after respawning is, like, a given, I guess!” “Huh… You’re always so quick to come up with your own explanations, Luna.”
Chapter 63
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