In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

Merlin turned his head and looked down at the black-haired man who was still staring at him. His face darkened more than ever before.

She's never been a fool, and besides, at this point, even a fool would realize something's wrong.

She summoned a spear of light and hurled it downwards. With a tremendous roar, the man and the eight-legged pegasus beneath him were instantly engulfed by the exploding magic, leaving only a crater several meters deep in place.

"......Heh." Merlin let out a sinister laugh, his gaze slowly sweeping over the crowd below. "You've really got a clever plan, haven't you?"

"Oh no, she's found out the truth!" Fujimaru Ritsuka, who was hiding in the distance, felt a sudden tightness in her chest, her palms sweated, and her face was full of anxiety.

Nero held the Primal Flame in her hand, her face filled with a calm acceptance of death. Even if it cost her her life, she was determined to fight Merlin to the death.

Merlin's eyes flashed with a chilling coldness. The anger of being made a fool of like a clown burned in her chest, but in the end she suppressed her anger and turned to walk into the royal city.

She had been held up for far too long. The most important thing now was to hurry back and help Wang kill that outsider, instead of wasting time here with a bunch of ants.

However, at that very moment, a terrifying sound, like Mars colliding with Earth, came from the chalk palace in the center of the royal city. A raging storm and towering flames pierced through the dome and shot into the sky like pillars supporting the heavens, spreading outwards. The clouds were instantly swept away, and the clear sky was divided into two distinct halves, one half as red as fire and the other as white as light.

Most of the force of the collision was consumed in the air, but some remained on the ground. Affected by the impact, the chalk palace, which everyone regarded as the heart of Camelot, collapsed with a huge roar. The terrible force destroyed everything. The magnificent decorations and grand halls were annihilated into countless fragments, leaving only a desolate ruin.

The shockwave from the explosion spread in all directions, but because the palace covered a huge area, it did not affect other buildings in the city. Residents who heard the explosion came out of their houses and stared blankly at the magnificent palace that was no more.

This sudden scene shocked everyone. Merlin, who was about to head home, and Nero, who was fighting to the death, both stopped in their tracks and stared blankly at the sky that had been torn apart.

The next moment, Merlin seemed to have gone mad as she ran toward the palace. The spatial confinement had been completely broken, and she moved through the air like a ghost, arriving at her destination in just a few breaths.

Amidst the ruins, she spotted two figures standing there. They wore identical azure silver armor, one wielding a radiant spear and the other a fiery greatsword. They stared at each other from hundreds of meters away, like two frozen statues.

The slightly eerie scene made Merlin stop in her tracks, and then she suddenly heard a crisp breaking sound.

Click...

A tiny crack appeared on Arthur's chest armor. Like a toppling domino, more cracks began to appear, filled with a striking crimson color, like lava, and soon spread all over Arthur's body.

boom!

A burst of intense light erupted, and with a violent explosion, the Azure Silver Armor shattered instantly. Arthur's body flew backward like a puppet with its strings cut, crashing into a collapsed stone pillar. His naked body was covered with shocking charred marks.

The Holy Lance slipped from his hand and crashed to the ground. The swirling, storm-like radiance gradually dissipated, revealing the cracked body of the Holy Lance.

"Arthur!!"

Merlin let out a mournful cry like a cuckoo crying blood, and his figure instantly appeared beside Arthur, showering the latter with all sorts of healing magic as if it were free.

However, her efforts were completely futile. Arthur was struck head-on by the Heavenly Fire Judgment in its Annihilation form, a fatal blow to any being. His body was utterly destroyed, and even the Black Abyss White Flower could not save him.

"I'm sorry, Merlin. Even with your help this time, I still failed." Even as death approached, Arthur's eyes remained calm, and his tone held no resentment, but rather a faint sense of relief.

"No, no..." Large tears slid down her cheeks. In pain and sorrow, Merlin's figure changed little by little. Her long white hair was shortened into light pink shoulder-length hair, her white mage robe was replaced by a light blue dress, and her mature appearance and body gradually became more childlike.

In a short while, the aloof and noble mage disappeared, replaced by a pretty young girl with delicate features.

“You…” Looking at this familiar yet unfamiliar face, Arthur’s originally calm state of mind was instantly overwhelmed by a tidal wave. Past memories flashed through his mind like a fleeting cloud, and then disappeared as if they were passing by. Until the depths of darkness, the truth that had been deliberately concealed finally surfaced.

He finally remembered that the thousand-year wandering, the Lion King, and the Holy Ba Project were all fake, all illusions deliberately created by someone!

"Satiao - Aika!!"

Hearing her name, a poignant smile appeared on the girl's tear-streaked face. She stretched out her slender, white arm, ignoring Arthur's eyes blazing with anger, and gently stroked his face, speaking in a soft, girlish voice:

"Don't worry, my dear prince, I will never let you die—I will also help you fulfill your long-cherished wish."

Chapter Fifty-Five: The Truth

No one knows exactly when this lie began.

Was it when Camelot was built? When the singularity was formed? During some unknown pursuit? Or perhaps at their first meeting, the moment the blond king uttered, "I want to change Britain's destined destruction"?

However, tracing back to the source is not a meaningful thing. The inevitable result has already been presented to everyone. The princess who is connected to the source deceived everyone in order to carry out her twisted love. Even the prince she admired became her puppet, forgetting the past, sitting alone on the throne, fulfilling that hypocritical mission, and guarding this hypocritical royal city.

Camelot, The Lion King, the Saint Ba Project... it was all just a meticulously crafted lie. When the exquisite illusion is peeled away, what is revealed now is such a dark and terrifying truth—a girl twisted by love deceived the entire world, sacrificed the blood of countless people, all for the sake of fulfilling the wishes of the one she loved.

The woman in question was completely oblivious to this; she simply stroked the man's face gently, her eyes overflowing with love and tenderness.

"I... have always loved you deeply, my prince."

"You... witch!!" Arthur was furious. No one can remain calm when they discover that everything around them is a lie. If he hadn't been seriously injured, he would have wanted to strangle the girl in front of him with his own hands.

"Witch?" Faced with this sinful title, Ayaka Sajou showed no anger whatsoever; instead, her face was filled with surprise. "Saber, you're finally using that word to describe me? How wonderful!"

“I once explored your memories. When your country still existed, you also called your sister Morgan a witch, but in the end, Morgan had a child with you.”

Sajō Aika stroked her flat stomach, a look of longing on her face: "Ever since then, I've been thinking that if I could have a child with you, becoming a witch wouldn't be such a bad thing."

As if recalling that scene, the girl giggled, a shy blush rising on her fair and delicate face, as charming and beautiful as a delicate flower.

However, Yanan felt no pleasure at all as he watched this scene. An indescribable chill ran through his body, as if a cold, venomous snake was flicking its black tongue in front of him. Even if its body was twisted into the shape of a heart, it could not hide the dark desire in its cold, vertical pupils.

"You really are insane, Sajou Aika." Arthur stared coldly at the girl, his azure eyes filled with an unyielding chill.

"It's all your fault, Saber." The girl sighed softly, brushing a strand of light pink hair behind her ear. "If you had accepted my love, we wouldn't have ended up like this."

"But it doesn't matter." Her bright smile returned. "Ten times, a hundred times, even a thousand or ten thousand times, it doesn't matter. One day, you will understand my burning and intense love for you."

"Wishful thinking!" Arthur gritted his teeth.

“It’s alright, Saber.” Sajou Aika gently combed Arthur’s windblown hair. “Even the most stubborn reef will eventually be smashed into powder by the waves. Maybe one day you’ll be moved by me? For that beautiful future, I don’t mind waiting... You should know that neither you nor I lack time.”

"But for now, let me deal with some annoying bugs first."

Sajō Aika turned to look at Anan, her gentle expression instantly replaced by a chilling coldness. Anger and murderous intent materialized into a raging wind that surrounded her. The temperature began to drop sharply, and pure white snowflakes fell like flowers in the air.

"...It's snowing?"

The Camelot resident, who had never seen such a sight before, curiously stretched out his palm. However, the next moment, a heart-wrenching howl suddenly came from his throat. The fragile snowflakes, like sharp blades, easily sliced ​​through his palm. Pure white snow mixed with bright red blood bloomed into an eerie flower on the ground.

A commotion erupted from the crowd as people finally realized the terrifying danger lurking beneath this breathtaking scenery. They screamed in terror, fled, and hid in their houses, covered in countless wounds, never daring to step out again.

The wide streets were deserted, except for bright red marks and corpses that hadn't had time to escape. Their presence was quickly covered by pure white snow, as if the whole world was just a vast expanse of white.

Crimson flames raged around the sword, while Anahn stood calmly in place, as if an invisible domain surrounded him. Snowflakes falling from the nameless place were destroyed by the scorching heat before they could even get close.

Sajō Ayaka frowned as she looked at the alien greatsword that gave her a strong sense of threat. In her eyes, connected to the Root, this world had no secrets at all, but for some reason, she couldn't get any useful information about that sword.

It felt like... that weapon didn't belong to this world at all.

"To risk the world as a gift for a loved one, that's quite a grand gesture, Aika Sajou. I'm afraid only you could do something like that, right?" Yanan said calmly.

He showed no surprise at the fact that Merlin was actually Ayaka Sajou, because he had already vaguely guessed the truth not long ago.

Upon closer reflection, this world reveals far too many illogical aspects, and the one that most intrigues Anan is why Camelot only has two Britons, the Lion King and Merlin.

Those so-called Knights of the Round Table were either imposters from legends or captured heroic spirits in place of each other, while none of the real Knights of the Round Table were summoned.

Is it because of some reason that it can't be summoned... or is someone deliberately trying not to summon it?

The moment this thought popped into his head, Anahn couldn't help but think of Merlin, the great magician who shouldn't have been here.

The people who should have been there didn't show up, while the people who shouldn't have been there are standing here. This is truly a very intriguing situation.

Especially when he learned from Melusin that the three fairy knights were chosen by Merlin, his suspicion of the great magician rose to its peak.

Merlin, as the great sage of Britain, the court magician of Camelot, and the guide of King Arthur, didn't summon the orthodox Knights of the Round Table. Instead, he found three fairies to replace the Knights of the Round Table. This doesn't seem very normal, does it?

It was from that time that he began to doubt whether this Merlin was the real Merlin.

Another thing is that Merlin in this world is actually a woman...

In Anaen's memory, female Merlin has only appeared a handful of times in the history of Type-Moon, and her existence is always inextricably linked to one person.

Arthur Pendragon, also known as "Old Sword" by players.

What's even more interesting is that this real Arthur had connections with more than one woman; the famous Princess Aika of the Roots was also closely associated with him.

To verify his conjecture, Anaen contacted Roman and confirmed that a Holy Grail War had taken place in the Far East in 1991. During that war, the head of the Reirōkan family, known as the most prestigious magic family in the Far East, passed away, and Sajō Aika, the eldest daughter of the Sajō family and a genius girl hailed as having the potential to become a mage, also disappeared.

After receiving this news, Anan was 70% certain that Merlin standing next to the Lion King was actually Sajou Aika in disguise.

What truly allowed him to verify this conjecture was the existence of Nero.

As the entity that connects to the Root, Ayaka Sajou is born with overwhelming magical power and talent. She can even use the magic of the Age of Gods without restriction in the modern world where the mystery has faded. She can be said to be the most extraordinary human magician in history.

In addition, she possesses the barrier "Monster Princess" which can manifest the power of the primordial goddess and the womb of all beasts... and "Holy City Flame" which revives the power of the ten crowns of the apocalyptic beasts in the modern era.

The Beast of Revelation is one of the seven plagues rejected by mankind. Some believe that it symbolizes "prosperity," mainly because of its other name—the Beast of 666.

In the Bible, 7 is considered the number of perfection, and three 7s represent complete perfection. 666, which is just one step away from perfection, is undoubtedly the most evil symbol. The Greek letter Nero represents the number 666.

This is certainly not a mere coincidence. In the 50s and 60s AD, Nero carried out a strong suppression and crackdown on religion, so Christians regarded her anecdotes as equivalent to the beast that destroyed cities and the great harlot of Babylon in the Old Testament.

In Type-Moon's setting, Heroic Spirits are born from legends, so regardless of whether the historical Emperor Nero was actually connected to the Beast of 666, the moment she was summoned as a Heroic Spirit, it was destined that her existence contained the concept of the Beast of 666.

Of the seven Heroic Spirits who descended here, only Nero was unharmed. However, Nero has an ambiguous relationship with the Beast of Apocalypse, and Ayaka Sajō has the ability to summon the Beast of Apocalypse. This almost confirms the conjecture that Merlin is Ayaka Sajō.

In response, Yanan even came up with a bold conjecture.

"Actually, there's something I've always wanted to ask you." He looked at Ayaka Sajou, "If I'm not mistaken, Nero wasn't summoned by this world, but by you, right?"

Sajō Ayaka's eyes flickered slightly. The other party suddenly jumped to Nero, which seemed a bit inexplicable, but only she knew how much information was revealed in it.

Moreover, when she reverted to her true form, the other party showed absolutely no surprise, especially considering what she had just said...

"You know me, and you're very familiar with me." A dangerous glint flashed in the girl's narrowed eyes. "Who told you that?"

“Is that important?” Yanan asked rhetorically.

“Looks like you’re not planning to tell me.” Sajō Aika glanced at him, not particularly concerned, and said in a flat tone, “But you guessed right, Nero was indeed summoned by me.”

"So that spatial coordinate was also something you left on her back then?" Yanan asked, squinting.

“That’s right.” The girl nodded frankly.

"Then I don't quite understand, why didn't you keep her by your side after you summoned her, but instead threw her out to cause trouble for yourself?" Yanan tilted his head. "Could it be that you wanted to use her to gather refugees and then wipe them all out in one fell swoop?"

"Heh..." The girl scoffed, her tone laced with sarcasm. "Trouble? What trouble could she possibly bring me? That empire that's smaller than a village? Don't make me laugh. I don't keep her around simply because I don't want to bring certain things to a head."

"For example, summoning the sixth beast?" Yanan said calmly.

A chilling aura suddenly erupted from Ayaka Sajou, then slowly dissipated, her light blue eyes staring coldly at him: "Looks like you know quite a bit."

“I never fight a battle unprepared. The fact that I dare to stand before you shows that I have some confidence,” Yanan said with a slight smile.

"Is that so?" Aika Sajou squinted, her gaze flickering uncertainly.

This statement sounds like a bluff at first glance, and the other person's confidence seems a bit forced. They appear to be all bark and no bite.

But for some reason, Aika Sajou always had an ominous feeling in her heart, as if there was an abyss with no end in sight in front of her, and if she took one step forward, she would immediately fall into it and be swallowed up by endless darkness.