Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

It wasn't done by anyone else on the Zhongzhou team, but it can't be ruled out that it was Chu Xuan's arrangement.

So she flew over Uruk, drawing the dawn to illuminate the dim city in fiery white. The city, now without its king, continued to function smoothly, upholding the dignity of this truly last city of mankind.

[I even suspected Flora was the moon goddess from Bloodborne's dream world, because her experiences in this world were so unfortunate. However, the unfortunate circumstances were merely a facade... What she did surpassed even those of the protagonists of Destiny. In a sense, someone like her was more likely to be the true protagonist... However, in reality, I was wrong.]

She isn't the moon goddess, because besides being a 'protagonist of setbacks,' she has another identity that would bring her the same misfortune. And her extreme focus on something, coupled with her indifference to her own survival, reminds me of another person—

—Another outsider to this world, another with almost the same personality as her, and yet with a bond strong enough that I 'randomly' chose her as my representative. And beyond that, the most important point is that she will eventually transform into me, and that was entirely my own decision!

She reached the place she had hoped for and then saw the Chaldean star that had fallen from the sky.

Extraordinary beings do not act by coincidence. Therefore, if Alice's strategy of 'transforming Flora into me at the end of the puzzle' was influenced by other external forces, there will only be two suspects.

First, there's the option of a cheap mother who calls herself Shinki, but this option is basically meaningless unless that great individual, whose name is hard to describe, wants to watch a boring puppet show.

And secondly...

Alice turned her head and glanced around. This time, Flora did not send Tomoe Gozen here again.

So she sighed deeply in her heart.

[I really don't understand you. Is the feeling of self-sacrifice so captivating? Do you really want to be my stepping stone for advancement? Can't you just find another world, build a harem, be a Mary Sue or a phoenix princess, and enjoy a carefree life forever? Why are you so fixated on chasing after me!?]

【—Luo Ye!】

Chapter 53 - Second Cycle - Rebuilding Bonds

At this moment, inside the Imanitic Temple.

"...That's roughly the situation. Aside from some things that inherently possess power, and that knowing them would actually be detrimental to you, I've shared all the information I can with you." Flora pressed her hand to her chest, her words sincere, her eyes earnest. She gazed at the only follower she was willing to trust at this moment.

“Like the other goddesses on this continent, I descended through a vessel from the distant future. But unlike Ishtar and Ereshkigal, whose division is seven parts god and three parts human, in my case, humans make up more than seven parts and gods less than three. Rather than calling me by my previous name, you should refer to me directly by the mortal name Flora.”

She recounted her story, carefully avoiding mentioning the word 'Mangoldrend'. She shared all the information with Tomoe Gozen, who stood before her, except for her promise to Mangoldrend, Mangoldrend's attitude towards humanity, and the blood-red river. This information even included her experiences at Chaldea and details of the previous time travel.

She spoke earnestly, and Ba, standing before her, listened intently. To ensure its authenticity, Flora even materialized the information extracted from the War Angel into a vivid scene projected around them. But as the time reversal approached the starting point of the record, the enraged 'Flora' burst forth, reducing the embodiment of death, Jusudela, to nothingness. She saw a clear wavering in Ba's eyes.

And so the story ends here.

"Can you trust me, Ba?" Flora gazed at the Servant before her, her eyes filled with both expectation and apprehension. "Just as I'm willing to trust you?"

She saw Ba lower his eyelids, his delicate eyelashes trembling slightly.

“I have always been willing to believe in you, my goddess.” Ba’s voice was soft, but it reached her ears very clearly. “Not because you have told me so much, but because of all that you have done in the past. During the month I served under you, I have witnessed every single blessing you have bestowed upon this land. And now, I just want to ask you a few questions.”

Ba opened her eyes, her pale red pupils reflecting Flora's face.

"If everything you've said... if you've accomplished everything you've said, then when humanity is restored and history returns to normal, what do you intend to do with the thousands of inhabitants of Imanitich? Please answer this question, and the following question, and I will give you a definite answer."

“I will leave.” Flora’s tone was unwavering. “I will take Imanitis and its inhabitants away from this continent. I will lead them into the stars until we reach, or I will create another habitable home for them.”

Her tone was firm and earnest.

“Once history returns to normal, the decline of the Sumerian civilization will be inevitable. It may be war, plague, or other natural or man-made disasters—the vast majority of mortals in this city and on this land have already been destined for a tragic future. They will die from the many accidents fabricated by the forces of historical correction, and if I were to intervene, it would only create a new singularity.”

“My goal is to restore humanity, so I cannot do that. But I also cannot stand by and watch these Sumerian Imamite inhabitants, who believe in me and entrust their fate to me, perish. I will take responsibility and erase the existence of the Imamite from history. But erasure does not mean brutal destruction; removing this land and the thousands of inhabitants who should have died from human history is also a viable option.”

"Are you sure?" Ba continued to ask.

“I do,” Flora answered confidently. “In the Sixth Singularity, which is in the vicinity of Jerusalem more than three thousand years from here, the divine Lion King once attempted something similar—she used the Tower of the End to record and load the mortals she chose, intending to bring them into a new era—”

"She failed because I, and my companions, stopped her, and also because the divine understanding of 'living' differs from the mortal understanding of 'being alive.' But the principle behind her creation of the Tower of the End was recorded by me then, and can now be put into practice."

She lifted her foot and lightly tapped the ground. The entire Imanitic seemed to tremble slightly with her step. Many hidden mechanisms buried deep underground switched from dormancy to activation.

“I can’t, and it’s impossible for me to, take the entire planet with me. But I can take a large area of ​​land. I will strip Imanitik and the surrounding 100 kilometers of land from this world. I have found a replacement for the missing parts. And this 100 kilometers of land and the city are enough to form a complete ecosystem that can continue to function for more than 10,000 years after we sail into the void.”

"I see... So how do you plan to repair this era before then?"

“Two options.” Flora rubbed her forehead. “The first one is simple: use brute force to wipe out all the gods and variables on this continent. Then, before taking Imanitic away, I will deal with the mastermind behind this burning of humanity.” She recalled the last words the girl had spoken to her on the pure white land and clenched her fist slightly.

“I… am confident I will find it, because it is inevitably connected to the last Holy Grail. And I am also confident I can resolve it. Once I have dealt with it, I will fulfill my final duty and lead the people here to that distant, unknown place beyond the reaches of space.”

"The second option is similar to the first, but it won't cause much damage... because there are two key points. The first is the sleeping Tiamat, who must be kept asleep or banished. The second is the cause of the burning of humanity, and the Holy Grail must be found to uncover the path to it."

She paused, then looked at Ba. "My...former colleague is descending upon this land. She's quite adept at dealing with Servants. I can provide her with the necessary assistance to help her, and myself, find the location of the anchor point Holy Grail without engaging in war, and to safely deal with Tiamat. Once both of these are accomplished peacefully, I will set sail again aboard the Imanitic to that target location."

She actually had a third strategy she didn't mention: to directly initiate a divine war, using overwhelming power to find the location of the anchor Grail and a safe way to deal with Tiamat before time rewinds. Then, no matter how this land changes, it can be rebuilt from scratch—

She didn't say it, because she couldn't confirm the reliability of time travel. There was no guarantee that the retraced time would be able to fully restore Mesopotamia, which had been swept away by the apocalypse of the divine war. Therefore, she wouldn't take such a risk.

"So you've already prepared everything. What is it in your plan that I need to do?"

“I need you to control Imanitic while I deal with the Demon King, and I also need you to help me fight Tiamat. More importantly, I need you to remind me not to lose sight of my human goals and become addicted to the abuse of divine power and authority.” Flora reached out and gripped Ba’s arms tightly. “I need you. I can’t live without you.”

"But you can find someone else, such as the high priest who has been serving you..."

“She has other tasks to do. Everyone with talent in this city has a task to do.” Flora gripped her hand tighter, but she was careful not to use any of her divine power. “And the only one best suited for this task is you, Ba. Because you are the person I trust most.”

"...Would you be willing to help me?"

She stared at her servant for several seconds, tens of seconds, a minute.

Then, a sigh sounded in her ear.

“You can always trust me, my goddess.” The contract on the back of her hand warmed slightly, and then an even stronger bond was added to it. “I swear by everything, I, Zhongyuan Ba, will follow in your footsteps until this body perishes, until time comes to an end.”

Flora breathed a sigh of relief, followed by an overwhelming sense of joy.

“I won’t let you die, Ba. From now on, these War Angels are at your command.” Flora gestured, and the three War Angels appeared behind Ba like phantoms, flashing across the ground before vanishing without a trace. “Although I don’t know what I had you do in the last cycle, one thing is certain: the massive explosion outside the Blood Temple will be a key point. So, I want you to go there and make some preparations.”

"A war of gods cannot be started, therefore I cannot intervene. And beyond that premise..."

Flora hesitated for a moment, then spoke carefully.

“I hope you can defeat Enkidu and bring it back. In the time rewind, my war with Tiamat involved almost the entire continent, but we still couldn’t find any trace of the anchor point Holy Grail. That can only mean that it was hidden somewhere I would subconsciously overlook, or that it was already destroyed beforehand.”

“Enkidu is a major suspect. Help me verify it and uncover its secrets.”

The servant standing in front of Flora nodded, indicating that he fully understood.

“I will complete this task, my goddess… Flora.”

The next moment, her magic suddenly erupted, and she transformed into a streak of fire before dawn, soaring into the air and flying towards the southwest where the Blood Temple was located.

Flora watched her departing path, lingering at the temple entrance for a long time.

—Until she saw the Chaldean meteor pierce the barrier of spacetime and fall to the Earth's surface.

..............................

Unlike the first sudden fall, when the second cycle began, the Chaldeans, who were mentally prepared, did not panic as they plummeted from the top of the sky. Mash promptly activated her Noble Phantasm, summoning the sturdy walls of the Ideal City to absorb the impact energy of their fall. This gave them the strength and time to observe their surroundings as they descended.

They immediately noticed something was wrong.

"Senpai!" Mashu immediately spotted the lush green grass and grove below. "There's no battle going on down there, and Miss Tomoe isn't here!"

"I know! But we can talk about that later!" Memories flooded Ritsuka's mind. She immediately made a decision. "Land safely first, then we'll make other plans!"

“FU——FU——” Fou, who was perched on Mashu’s shoulder, also let out two screams in response.

The feeling of falling caused by gravitational acceleration was finally clearly manifested in the Chaldeans.

'boom--!'

A deafening roar, a puff of dust. As the illusory image of the ideal city flashed by, a massive crater appeared on the once-flattened ground. A strong wind swept outwards, and then a clearing was cleanly restored.

Not far away, an inconspicuous bird cooed softly.

“It’s safe around here, senior.” Mash raised her shield and surveyed the surroundings, quickly reaching a positive conclusion. “Miss Tomoe isn’t nearby. Enkidu, who is said to have fought Miss Tomoe, is also not nearby. There are no magical beasts in this area right now; it’s a safe zone.”

"—The situation is the same on our side, Fujimaru." The Chaldea support group's voice came from the receiver on Fujimaru's wrist. "No high-energy reactions have been detected within a radius of about ten kilometers centered on the two of you."

“Thank you for your hard work, Director, and Dr. Roman.” Fujimaru Ritsuka nodded, then quickly glanced around. “We must stop the war of the gods. We must stop the resurgence of Tiamat and the wrath of Mangotlund—we must reach one of them before everything becomes irreversible. But we must have the power to reach one of them.”

"There is indeed a small spiritual vein near you, Fujimaru. But I don't recommend you perform a Heroic Spirit Summon here. Uruk would be a better choice."

“I know, but it’s imperative,” Fujimaru Ritsuka said softly, her tone filled with determination. “Having learned from the last experience, I’m confident that with Merlin’s help, I can quickly gain the trust of King Gilgamesh. However, King Gilgamesh is very likely currently deep within the Underworld. Seeking him to obtain permission to mobilize the ley lines of Uruk will waste a lot of time.”

“We need to hurry.” She rubbed her forehead and looked at Mash beside her. The latter immediately understood.

"I will now prepare the summoning ritual to bring the Knights of the Round Table to this era."

Section 54. Second Cycle. Common Ways Heroes Court Death.

The ritual begins, magic gathers...

The shield of the round table reflected the light, and a perfunctory incantation was uttered from Fujimaru Ritsuka's lips...

As the light burst forth, several figures immediately appeared on the flat round table.

"Knight of the Round Table Gawain, summoned to the rescue." — The first to appear was a cheerful knight clad in full white armor, wielding the Sun Sword, a weapon that Zheng Zha or Ex would surely recognize. He stretched his arms, exuding a powerful sense of strength and confidence in battle.

"Lancelot-Garonne, Knight of the Round Table, summoned." — The chief knight, wielding the sword bestowed upon him by the Lady of the Lake, had a stern face and a melancholy lingering between his brows. But upon seeing Mash, that melancholy transformed into a strange awkwardness. He might have intended to say something to her, but under her sharp gaze, his brow twitched, and he abruptly turned his head away, looking in a direction that was definitely not where Mash was standing.

“Tristan, a Knight of the Round Table, has been summoned.” — Tristan was a long-haired youth who resembled a poet. He had his eyes closed and carried a longbow without arrows. His dark red hair reached his waist, and although he didn't open his eyes, he could still see and observe the predicament of the province of Lancelot-Garonne with a detached, almost theatrical, attitude.

"Knight Bedivere of the Round Table, summoned as requested." — The last knight was a refined and handsome young man. He was one of the first knights to join the Round Table and a close attendant of the king. Because he was one-armed, his right hand was a replica of the hand of Nuada, the Celtic god of war, made of silver. In legend, he was actually most skilled with a spear, but due to the summoning ritual, he temporarily manifested as a Saber-class knight here.

Thus, the summoning ritual concluded. The Knights of the Round Table finally...

A voice full of complaints rang out from the center of the summoning circle.

"Wait! I'm not out yet! Why is this teleportation portal so small..." With a popping sound like a bubble being punctured, a red and white longsword pierced through the fading teleportation ritual. Following closely behind were a pair of sturdy iron gauntlets and a heavy horned helmet—spiderweb-like spatial rifts crawled and tore cracks across the knight's armor. And when a small section of the horned helmet was cut off, Bedivere, who was closest to her, managed to stabilize the space with her silver hand, pulling the unfortunate soul who had almost been trapped inside...

...Well, she wasn't dragged out. Because she refused Bedivere's help and rolled out on her own. And after complaining about the terrible teleportation experience and repairing the cracks in her armor, she finally removed the horned helmet that covered her face, revealing a face that looked almost exactly like a certain famous figure, but with a more boyish quality.

She rubbed her nose, then energetically planted her red and white longsword on the ground.

"Knight of the Round Table Mordred, summoned here—what the hell? Why is my Spirit Origin so small? If it's only at the level of the Fourth Singularity, does that mean I can't even use my Noble Phantasms consecutively?"

"I'm sorry, the situation is special," Fujimaru Ritsuka said with an apologetic smile. "After all, although there are spiritual veins here, it's still a bit difficult to support five Knights of the Round Table at once. However, this problem will be solved soon, so please bear with me for now..."

"You bastard..." A vein bulged on Mordred's forehead, and the next moment he dematerialized his armor and sword and rushed over to wrestle with Ritsuka. Mash, who was standing to the side, hesitated for a moment, and finally gave a polite smile and put away her shield with Tristan's help.

However, the next moment, Bedivere's voice suddenly rang out from Mash and Ritsuka's hearts.

— [Do not respond. Pretend nothing happened. I have important information to tell you.]

The young Master and her official Servant felt a jolt. Then, without revealing anything, they continued with what they were doing. Mash and Tristan tidied up the summoning circle together. Ritsuka, who was playfully teasing Mordred, immediately realized that Mordred's playful actions were actually a cover, designed to prevent her, a mere mortal, from revealing too many flaws.

—[Ritsuka, Mash. After you left, some things happened in Chaldea. Now, apart from us Knights of the Round Table, all the Servants you formed bonds with in the other Singularities have been sent back. In other words, Chaldea now has no Servants left to fight with.]

Mashu's fingers trembled, and a piece of flexible material used to construct the summoning circle deformed under her fingers. At that moment, Lancelot-Garonne, who had been standing awkwardly to the side, suddenly coughed lightly. He seemed to want to help but was too embarrassed to do so—at least managing to smooth things over with this slight awkwardness.

—[Keep it quiet. This matter hasn't been made public in Chaldea yet—the junior director, Miss Olga Marie, has kept it a secret. She's only revealed it to a very small number of people. This is because she suspects the Chaldea organization isn't safe internally and doesn't rule out the possibility of a mole within key departments.]

—[This information has only been revealed to you and Hinako Akuta so far—Olga Marie has other plans for that lady. Therefore, you cannot receive further assistance for the time being. And you don't need to worry about her, because she has a trump card. Although we swore not to reveal it, I can tell you that her survival skills far exceed your imagination. We didn't originally intend to put pressure on Ritsuka and Mash. But Olga Marie believes you have the right to know.]