Chapter 39. The perfect king arrives in response to the summoning!
Not long before this, in the real world.
Southwest England, amidst the ruins of a crumbling European castle.
Among hundreds of thousands of tourists, an elderly man with a wrinkled face happily held the hand of his granddaughter.
"Mashiro, do you know where this is?"
"...No, I don't."
The long-haired blonde girl tilted her head in confusion as she responded to her grandfather.
Though she was a world-renowned painter, Shiina Mashiro's life revolved solely around painting. Having grown up in an art studio, she knew very little about history.
The old man gently patted her head, smiling kindly with affection:
"This is the famous pilgrimage site from the novel "The Death of Arthur"—Glastonbury."
"People often believe that Glastonbury, in southwest Greenland, is the prototype of the utopia land — Avalon. Tourists visit this place all year round to pay tribute to King Arthur."
"Even today, tourism here remains highly developed. Countless Anglo-Saxons who revere King Arthur come here to admire the site."
"King Arthur...?"
Shiina Mashiro tried to recall, but eventually gave up in confusion.
Was he someone famous?
Seeing this, the old man chuckled softly:
"It's fine if you don't know. Just draw this place, that's enough."
"Yes, Mashiro wants to draw~."
The innocent, obedient girl nodded, then helped her grandfather set up the painting tools.
Mashiro seriously gazed at the ancient castle ruins, holding her brush, ready to capture everything before her.
With her peerless, world-class technique, whether it was the spinning windmills, the twinkling stars, or the gentle breeze brushing her face… Mashiro could record both the visible and the invisible.
And vividly bring them to life in her paintings.
This was also the reason she was known as "the girl who fell from the heavens to the mortal world."
However, just at that moment...
An unexpected incident occurred!
Rumble rumble rumble...!!
Along with the divine aura gushing from the Celestial Curtain, the ancient castle suddenly began to tremble.
The moment the sacred sword's sheath appeared, it was as if heaven and earth resonated in a wondrous harmony!
Like a child overjoyed after an eternity of waiting...
Having finally found a warm harbor to rest in...
Having reunited with a returning mother!
The tremor of the ground swiftly reached human senses, and tourists were struck with fear.
"Fuck, is this an earthquake?!"
A young Englishman cursed, feeling incredibly unlucky, and shouted to alert the surrounding tourists to run farther away.
"Mashiro!"
The old man, somewhat panicked, rushed forward to shield the blonde girl behind him.
But in the very next moment, a faint light blanketed the sky above Glastonbury.
The Englishman froze in place.
No…
The entirety of Greenland — some hundreds of thousands of tourists — were stunned!
Above the ruins, the radiant beams of light continued to shift in dazzling patterns, even transforming into an illusion so lifelike it seemed to pull human memory back to the glorious origins of ancient Britannia.
Within the almost real illusion appeared a golden wheat field.
In the middle of the field stood a towering ancient stone pedestal, with a holy sword embedded in its golden-gilded hilt.
As a gentle breeze passed through, it exuded a regal, noble aura beyond the ordinary.
It was as if a whisper, alluring and resonant, echoed beside their ears.
"—Whosoe'er pulleth out this sword of this stone is rightwise king of all England!"
Everyone was startled, but their eyes immediately blazed as they locked onto the holy sword.
There could be no mistake — this was the scene of King Arthur pulling out the Sword of Selection!
Yet confusion soon followed.
Where was King Arthur?
Where exactly was King Arthur?
Suddenly.
A humble, gentle voice, yet magnetic and resonant, rang out.
["Before you take up that sword, you'd best think it through carefully."]
The tourists were stunned, and the vision shifted to where that mysterious voice came from.
The figure who appeared was a handsome man wearing a white cloak, smiling freely. His long silver hair flowed like a waterfall, and his aura felt like a spring breeze passing through the plains, making those around him instinctively lower their guard.
Yet there was also a sense of lacking seriousness and responsibility, sometimes making people suspect he might be a suspicious fraud.
Who was he?
What was his connection to Great Britannia?
The crowd's minds were filled with doubt.
Very soon, as the mysterious man's warning echoed, the illusion began to change again.
[In those ancient times, before the pedestal where the sword was embedded, a blonde girl suddenly appeared.]
[She breathed a sigh of relief, standing beside the silver-haired man who was as dazzling as wind-blown blossoms.]
["Merlin, this is the first time I've seen you outside of my dreams…"]
Is it him?!
Countless British people were dumbfounded. The moment they heard that name, everything became clear.
He was the Great Mage in the Legend of King Arthur, the guide of the king.
Also the close aide, like the right hand of King Arthur.
—Great Mage Merlin!
Wait a minute, if that's the case, then that foolish girl with the ahoge is the legendary King Arthur?!
Everyone stood dumbfounded with their mouths agape.
Although in the PV released by the Observer Network it had already shown that King Arthur in the parallel world was a girl, the knowledge ingrained in them since childhood made it hard to believe...
Now, witnessing it with their own eyes, it became even more unbelievable to the point of suffocation!
At present, they were all in turmoil and doubt, their once firm beliefs beginning to waver.
In the illusion, the voice of that bastard Merlin rang out again with laughter.
["I say this for your own good, you'd best give up~."]
The Half Incubus slightly curled his lips. In the thick shadows, his malicious smile could not be concealed.
Immediately after, he continued speaking with a tone both threatening and persuasive:
["If you pull out that sword, you will no longer be human."]
["Not only that, if you take it, you will be hated by countless people, and meet a tragic death…"]
As soon as the words ended...
That Half Incubus curled his lips, raised the staff in his hand, and with his profound level of magecraft, he cut out the "future" that he had seen.
Using visuals with overwhelming immersion, he transmitted them directly into Artoria's mind, causing the girl's pupils to constrict violently.
Each battle—
Seemingly endless, indescribably tragic…
Flames soaring sky-high burned the entire glorious kingdom to the ground, revealing the end of an era.
As the prosperity vanished, she would face the cruelest betrayals—Round Table Knights once loyal shattered, countless valiant soldiers under her command fell one by one in the wilderness, their corpses piled high on the barren land.
There was no one who was not afraid...
After drawing the Sword in the Stone, she would no longer be associated with the word "girl"; everything the world longed for—love, marriage, happiness—would, for her, become graveyards like "poison," desolate and mournful.
And yet…
"There are many people smiling. I think, that surely isn't wrong."
Her firm voice echoed from within the illusion, her fair hand tightly gripping the hilt of the Sword in the Stone.
"Clang!"
The sharp sound of friction rang out.
The sword's blade lifted high, flashing with a dazzling light under the sunlight!
In that blood- and steel-soaked endless night, there was a young girl who became a torch with her own body, shining with the will of her own in that age of despair.
…That sacred vow—did anyone ever know?
...
Silence.
An absolute silence.
Everyone was struck speechless by the overwhelming shock.
"That's… King Arthur…?"
Shiina Mashiro took a careful breath, staring at the noble figure. Her dazed eyes slowly awakened, and she gripped the paintbrush tightly in her hand.
Within that radiant brilliance of humanity, even a doll-like soul began to ignite with flames of yearning.
The illusion gradually faded, revealing an epic scene!
Retelling the legend and lifelong glory of King Arthur from a thousand years ago!
There was the scene of the Round Table Knights gathered around the Round Table, discussing affairs at the "White-Walled City" of Camelot; there was the scene of King Arthur completing the Twelve Battles, raising the Holy Sword, and repelling the invading Saxons...
Without exception, all of them were recording the glorious achievements of King Arthur!
Finally, it focused into an image of the Thirteen Knights of the Round Table solemnly standing behind King Arthur.
Symbols of humility, sincerity, kindness, courage, justice, sacrifice, honor, and soul.
All the unease and deep-rooted anxieties in people's hearts were gently wiped away by that light.
That light was the crystallization of the ideals of all Knights!
"Arthur!! Arthur!!"
Countless souls buried in this ancient land shouted passionately into the sky.
"Arthur!! Arthur!!"
Many British people were stirred to the extreme, shouting loudly with surging pride, burning morale, and a resonance with the blood of Ireland.
King Arthur was not called King of the Knights because she was a knight, nor because she was a king.
But because she was worthy of being followed and revered by every knight across all of Britannia—she was thus called the King of the Knights!!
"I have to draw it… I absolutely must draw it all…"
The hand holding the brush of Shiina Mashiro trembled slightly, but her voice had never been so resolute.
Beside her, the old man looked at his granddaughter with a face full of satisfaction.
Mashiro…
At last, she was about to take the most important step of her life.
Nearby, countless tourists were wildly shouting in excitement, frantically taking rapid-fire photos with loud "click click" sounds.
Who would have thought—a regular sightseeing trip could lead to witnessing such a noble miracle with their own eyes!
It was truly beyond worth!!
However...
A certain tourist stared suspiciously at the photo in his camera.
It was the final moment when Merlin's illusion disappeared, captured by him in the very last second.
Unclear whether it was an illusion or not, he kept feeling that Merlin in the photo wasn't looking at King Arthur, but instead, with a malicious smile, slowly turned to face the future generations, staring directly at the hundreds of thousands of tourists in Glastonbury.
Just the thought of that possibility made the man's hair stand on end.
But the curiosity in his heart led him to keep that photo, and then share it on his personal Twitter.
After that—
"BOOM BOOM BOOM…!!"
The entire illusion vanished without a trace. The glittering white light in the sky over Glastonbury turned into a pillar of light that pierced straight into the heavens, instantly pouring into the Celestial Curtain beyond the atmosphere.
Immediately after, Fate/stay night also welcomed a key turning point in the storyline!
The heavenly veil shifted, as if becoming more real than ever before, more soul-shaking than ever before.
[Under the moonlight, inside the warehouse of Homurahara Academy (note: huh? this seems wrong.).]
[A purple-haired woman raised her snow-white hand, throwing out the final chain with all her strength.]
[—The tip of a cold blade flashed, venomous like a cobra.]
[On the ground, Yukinoshita Yukino clenched her teeth helplessly.]
[Everything was over…]
[Medusa let out a sigh of relief, but when she sensed the divine brilliance before her, her expression instantly turned to terror. The ancient aura of the Age of Gods could not be faked. The sword light surged toward her like a wild waterfall!]
["A Servant?!"]
[The sharp sword light, fast as lightning, tore through the air with howling gales.]
[Caught off guard, Medusa reflexively raised her chain to block.]
["CLANG!!"]
[The sound of metal clashing rang out crisply, countless sparks bursting forth in an instant.]
[A valiant Rider, after letting out a groan, was immediately sent flying.]
[At the center of the Servant summoning circle—]
[A female knight with golden hair flowing over her shoulders slowly appeared.]
[She had a beautiful face, skin whiter than snow, radiating a gentle and noble aura. A strand of ahoge floated atop her head. She wore armor over a blue one-piece dress, and under the moonlight, looked like a breathtaking goddess of war.]
[Immediately after, she turned around, and with eyes of pure justice, seriously asked the girl: "I ask of you, are you my Master??"]
["A…?"]
[Yukinoshita Yukino blinked in confusion, her eyes filled with innocent bewilderment.]
[The King of Knights of Britannia from Celtic mythology, officially appeared here!]
Excitement, extreme excitement!
Countless people across the world instinctively held their breath, afraid to disturb that most beautiful moment.
"So beautiful it's suffocating…"
Mafia Ojou-sama Kirisaki Chitoge muttered.
Clearly she was also a noble blonde lady, yet she couldn't compare to even half of the other party's aura.
"Yukinoshita Yukino really is a girl one can envy."
Otaku Gokou Ruri expressed her admiration.
She couldn't help but raise her fair wrist, her eyes filled with a hint of regret.
If only there could also appear three bright red Command Spells on it—how wonderful that would be.
"This King of Knights, her beauty is no less than mine."
The great demon Shuten Douji raised an eyebrow and gave a soft smile.
She truly appreciated opponents who were both strong and elegant, like King Arthur.
Under the astonished gazes of countless people, the emotionally stirring scene continued to unfold.