Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

She knew the Pale King's identity; it was easy to guess, almost without needing to be deciphered. After all, the memories of the Sixth Singularity were still vivid in her mind. The Holy Lance in her hand and the title of Knight Gawain further eliminated any other possibilities that were already negligible—it was the Knight King, no, the Lion King Artoria Pendragon, wielding the Holy Lance. Regardless of why she had become like this, Merlin, as her swordsmanship teacher and one of her caretakers, was definitely interested in restoring her to normal!

Merlin will definitely help, but only if we find him. And to find Merlin, we need to go to the area he's bound to go to!

“In the last cycle, Mr. Merlin was chased by Sister Ba and fled into the underworld near Kusa City. This time I did not meet Sister Ba, so Mr. Merlin may not encounter her again... but I am not entirely sure.”

“I should go to Uruk and meet King Gilgamesh there. If I can see him, I can try to gain his trust. If the king is dead, I can achieve this by going to Kusa and bringing him back, and I will also have the opportunity to contact Mr. Merlin. The only problem now is…”

"...How am I supposed to get there alive?"

She stopped and looked up. At the edge of her vision, on the western border of the wasteland, a huge red and yellow outline appeared in her mind.

That's Ugal, the Lion of the Sun, a legendary offspring of Tiamat. And such a unified magical beast, as long as its limbs are intact, possesses combat power roughly equivalent to a lower-ranking Servant!

Even the lowest-ranking Servants are far stronger than ordinary people in terms of combat power.

Fujimaru Ritsuka saw it, and it saw the tiny human several kilometers away. The scabs on the girl's barely healed wounds became a beacon guiding the monster's movements, and almost instantly it let out a terrifying roar, then charged towards Ritsuka!

Should we run away?

No, escape is impossible. How could a human possibly outrun a magical beast with specialized abilities in the wilderness?

So, shall we fight?

How can an ordinary, unarmed, and severely injured magician fight an ancient monster that dwells in the age of gods?

The brightly colored bird was still circling in the air, flapping its wings and making a 'coo' sound—it must have been the same bird that had been circling in the sky four hours earlier, or perhaps the bird that had been startled by the sword strike from Lancelot-Garonne before the mist rose.

"Bird, I wish I could grow wings like you."

The girl from Chaldea shook her head and smiled bitterly. She hadn't expected that all the decisions she had painstakingly devised would become nothing but empty talk in the blink of an eye. She hadn't been able to do anything, she was powerless to do anything, and death was soon looming over her, ready to utterly defeat her.

What exactly have I done?

If I hadn't decided to head north to Imanitych, wouldn't I have avoided foolishly stumbling upon the territory of the Pale King?

If I had chosen to retreat decisively when the morning mist rose, would I have been able to escape the disadvantageous situation of fighting within the established barrier or domain, and thus have a chance to escape alive?

If I had used a Command Spell to make Mordred and Mash unleash their Noble Phantasms as soon as I saw that tower, wouldn't I have been able to bring more Servants with me instead of having to sacrifice a few Servants to help me?

If I had been able to react calmly the moment I woke up four hours ago, instead of wasting my energy and fainting, I had used magic to stabilize my injuries and then taken action. Would I have been able to avoid this inescapable predicament, or even find help during those wasted four hours?

if……

She shook her head.

No, and there's no need for more. Having made so many mistakes, defeat and death are only to be expected. Chaldea's communications have been cut off. Even if the Director wanted to, there's no way to force a spiritual transfer back to his past before he entered the mist, defying logical paradoxes. And since he can't do it, what can he do without Mash, even if there's still a way to survive?

"I...I really am no match for Senior Flora." She sighed softly, enduring the various discomforts in her body, and assumed a fighting stance—the magic built into her Chaldea combat suit was exhausted. Even without it, her poorly functioning magic circuits couldn't support her using spells again. And now she was unarmed, the only thing she could rely on was her own fists.

“Come on,” she said softly. “Let’s see what else I can do.”

Before the words were even finished, the enormous sun lion had already rushed over, its gaping maw lunging straight at them!

Section 58. The Second Cycle: Overcoming Pain

die……

What came head-on was not death.

When Fujimaru Ritsuka awoke from a violent jolt in pain, the first thing she felt was emptiness and excruciating pain emanating from her lower limbs.

The legs are gone.

Both legs were severed at the knees, with the soles and calves completely disappearing from sight. The lacerations were covered by some unknown viscous substance, preventing death by bleeding, but it only stopped the bleeding, not the pain.

It hurt so much, it really hurt. Although the bleeding from the cut had stopped, there were still gaping wounds on her waist and abdomen from the bites. These weren't baby teeth, but sharp teeth from a monster that looked like daggers. Although they weren't deep, they must have pierced one of her kidneys and left a large pool of semi-congealed blood there!

"Ugh..." Pain gripped her, making her vision blur. Beyond the pain lay the imminent deadly threat and the abhorrent roar of a beast.

The monster lay less than ten meters away from her, its crimson eyes brimming with a complex and unreadable malice. Bloodstains clung to its sharp, protruding fangs, along with strips of cloth from its Chaldea combat suit, and a low growl emanated from its mouth, a sound that was both intimidating and contemptuous.

"So they're using me as a reserve food supply... Ah, I thought I'd be swallowed whole." Ritsuka couldn't help but smile bitterly—a truly bitter smile, not self-deprecation. She had a clear understanding of her current situation, and she knew even better what fate awaited her.

Some predators raise their captured prey, using specific enzymes and neurotoxins to ensure the prey's vitality so that it can enjoy fresh meat for a period of time. This is similar to the infamous "live donkey" in that country west of the sea, where flesh is cut off but the animal is not killed, and the tender flesh is cut off again, in a cycle that continues until the animal's healing ability reaches its limit.

That's terrifying.

It was so scary I almost cried.

“But… I can’t accept this fate.” Even without a mirror, Ritsuka knew her face must be as pale as paper. She let out a soft groan, briefly suppressing the pain in her legs—she struggled to lift her fingers, almost powerless from blood loss, and groped for a fist-sized stone from the ground beneath her…

"Hey, look over here!" She threw the stone in her hand forcefully at the monster's head.

She thought she could hit the target. But she overestimated herself.

Because the stone only drew a crooked arc less than five meters long in front of her before it rolled helplessly to the ground, bouncing and tumbling, finally stopping about three meters away from the monster's claws.

She can't even do something like this anymore.

The beast raised its eyes, glanced at her, and then remained lying on the stone platform in the same position. Its attitude towards her was largely one of disdain, much like a butcher in a butcher shop's view of a pig struggling in its death throes after being cut in half. No, the butcher might even be pleased, because it meant the pig about to be slaughtered was quite robust.

Would her status be equivalent to that of a 'robust' pig? Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't know, nor did she have the interest or energy to know. She simply reached out, picked up the second stone, and threw it towards the spot where the monster was lying.

'Thud—' The second stone landed about two meters from the monster's claws. This was because a more suitable throwing angle was chosen.

'Thud—' The third stone landed about four meters away from the monster's claws, because her arms could no longer provide enough energy.

*Thud—* The fourth stone was only the size of a pigeon's egg, and this small pebble successfully accomplished Fujimaru Ritsuka's goal. Not only did it hit the monster's claws, but it also bounced off the ground and struck the monster's nose!

"Hoo hoo." Ritsuka chuckled softly, the small victory revealing the joyful expression of a girl her age. Even though this little action would only enrage the monster, even though this meaningless victory would only hasten her own death, she still laughed happily.

It started with laughter, then a slight cough. She couldn't stop coughing, as if something had aggravated a wound somewhere inside her body. A few streaks of blood splattered from her mouth, and her chest heaving with each cough made her look like a convulsing fish.

A twitching fish, a fish on a cutting board.

The magical beast that had been lying ten meters away from her slowly stood up and approached her little by little with unhurried steps.

She noticed that this monster was different—no, not in the 'humanized' way often seen in novels, the kind of 'different' that piqued her interest. Rather, it was different in its physiological structure from the Ugals she had seen in the previous cycle. In the previous cycle, although she had no need to come into contact with these sun lions, which even Tomoe Gozen couldn't withstand with a casual blow, thanks to Tomoe Gozen's protection, she had seen many Ugal corpses in the subsequent divine wars and knew their general size and internal structure.

This Ugal was thinner and smaller than the sun lions she had seen in the war of the gods.

Movement, slower; skin, rougher.

This is a half-finished product, or an underdeveloped, inferior product. Yet even so, it possesses speed, strength, and muscle toughness far exceeding that of ordinary people.

It is the strong one, the strongest among animals. And regardless of whether it possesses sufficient intelligence, as long as it remains strong, it cannot tolerate the weak and the contempt of its prey.

So it came to Fujimaru Ritsuka's side, its scarlet eyes looking down at the girl, and its large nostrils exhaling hot, humid air.

It stared at her, seemingly trying to subdue the 'food' with its gaze and make it realize its own position.

However, Fujimaru Ritsuka simply met its gaze without backing down.

"Beast." She smirked, speaking in a mocking tone that even wild animals could hear. At the same time, she raised her limp right hand, the same one that had just thrown the stone, and 'with all her might' struck the Sun Lion's nose!

Then the lion bit her right hand!

He bit her right hand to pieces!

"Hmph—" Her face grew paler, but the adrenaline rush to her head gave her the ability to temporarily forget her pain. Even with her wrist bitten off, she still raised her half-eaten forelimb and smashed it into the lion's head!

So this time it was the entire forearm.

The lion let out a mocking growl, accurately biting her limp right arm and severing her elbow, revealing white bone fragments and oozing blood!

It is a miracle that she is still awake, a physiological miracle, a miracle that the effects of hormones in the body have overcome physical pain... Perhaps the word "willpower" would be more appropriate here, but unfortunately, does she have such willpower?

Can someone who has never experienced failure unleash such a willpower that transcends pain when faced with the inevitable onslaught of death?

The answer is self-evident.

Of course—the Sun Lion's massive jaws snapped down for the third time, as if savoring the despair of its prey. This time, it bit into Ritsuka's entire shoulder blade—

—Of course there is!

The girl's pupils suddenly shrank to a tiny dot.

Her shoulder blade, which was mostly pierced by the lion's teeth, suddenly sank, using her own bone and flesh as rivets to fasten to the sun lion's jaw!

Her left hand, which had been deliberately hidden to her side from the beginning, revealing only a slight outline but never being used, suddenly rose high, her five fingers tightly gripping a thin wooden branch that reflected an unusual luster!

Projection magic is the most basic form of magic. Even beginners can master it; as long as they have magic circuits and know how to channel and utilize their magical power, they can easily perform it. While Fujimaru Ritsuka, as the Master of Chaldea, is undoubtedly a newcomer to the world of magic, she could certainly master these fundamentals!

The wooden branch, under the influence of magic, transformed into a makeshift short gun.

The magic came from bodily fluids, from the blood that flowed into the palm of her left hand as she coughed, causing the wound on her abdomen to burst open!

The stones were thrown not to provoke the lion, but to attract its attention.

Giving up the arm is not a desperate, futile struggle, but rather a way to mislead it sufficiently!

This hand can't even throw a small stone ten meters away, and even if it's bitten off, it can't put up a decent fight—if this realization comes to mind for even a moment, it will become an excellent opportunity to turn the tide of the battle!

The next moment, with the help of the shoulder blade that acted as a rivet to fix the lion's teeth, the short sword made of wooden branch and projection magic pierced straight into the lion's left eye and went all the way into its brain!

"Roar—!!!" The lion's roar contained pain. It instinctively roared, and the terrifying roar turned into a tangible sound wave that shot outward. The girl's shoulder blade, which was stuck in her jaw, shattered instantly, and the lion raised its forepaws, about to smash the girl hanging on its body into a pulp.

However, the girl released her grip on the gun the instant it roared and howled.

Her gaze was focused, her mind was concentrated.

She let her body fall with gravity, and used the lion's vision, which was impaired due to the loss of its right eye, to adjust her position and dodge the furious claw that could have turned her to dust!

Then--

'Bang!'

Who among the Servants would teach her projection magic? — It's the Heroic Spirit Emiya.

What is Emiya's specialty? — It's the illusion collapse.

What is Fantasy Collapse? — It's a technique that destabilizes the magic of a projection, causing it to explode!

Fujimaru Ritsuka is not the Heroic Spirit Emiya. She cannot project ancient weapons or even famous Noble Phantasms out of thin air, much less project the experience and physique of the Noble Phantasm holder onto herself like that overpowered protagonist.

She was merely a novice magician, only capable of projecting a wooden branch into a sharp, armor-piercing short spear that could last for a few minutes. But even so, using techniques learned from the Heroic Spirit Emiya, she could easily detonate the projection she created!

Although the explosion she created was not even a fraction of the power of 'Fantasy Collapse', its trigger point was the monster's brain!

The brain of Ugal, a magical beast whose size was weaker than its kind and whose internal structure she knew perfectly well!

The next moment, with a muffled thud, a round, scarlet eyeball exploded from the sun lion's eye socket, spraying a fountain of blood over Ritsuka's head and shooting towards the direction behind her!

'Boom—Pfft!'

The massive, half-erect beast crashed to the ground, and then the lion's sharp claws grazed her cheek, leaving a bloody gash on her pale face.

The two empty eye sockets stared blankly at her, and purple and white blood and brain matter gradually rolled out from them.