Fairy Round Table Realm, Poem of Eternal Mist

The trigger was pulled, but instead of the roar of gunpowder exploding, it was the resounding boom of magic! Dozens of blazing bullets wreathed in black and red flames tore through the cold air, trailing fiery tails, and rained down on Kalia like a meteor shower!

Faced with this barrage of bullets powerful enough to tear steel apart, Kalia simply raised his empty left hand calmly.

The bullet flew within a few meters of her, its speed decreasing rapidly at a visible rate. It wasn't being blocked, but rather being instantly eroded by the extreme cold! The flames died down, and a thick layer of ice rapidly condensed on the surface of the glowing red bullet, instantly turning into stiff ice lumps, losing all kinetic energy, and falling to the ground with a "crackle," shattering into pieces.

The first shot failed, but Ritsuka didn't stop, her figure rushing forward like lightning! In the instant she closed to extremely close range, the uniquely shaped shotgun in her hand was already raised, the muzzle almost touching Kalia's chest! At such close range, the countless steel balls inside the shotgun would achieve maximum dispersion and impact force, enough to cause devastating damage.

Muzzle flash erupted!

However, a miraculous scene unfolded once again. The steel balls, still hot and kinetic, that had just left the barrel froze in mid-air the instant they touched the invisible, icy zone before Kalia's body! Each steel ball maintained its spinning trajectory as it shot out, its surface covered with a layer of crystal-clear ice, as if time had been frozen at the moment the gun was fired.

Kalia's icy blue eyes remained calm as he gently pushed forward with his raised left hand.

"Bam—!"

A surge of cold air, far stronger and more concentrated than before, erupted with a deafening roar, like an invisible polar cold wave, slamming into Ritsuka! Ritsuka groaned, her entire body flying backward as if struck by a heavy hammer.

"Senpai!" Mashu, who had been on high alert, immediately rushed forward and caught Ritsuka. The powerful impact forced Mashu to take a half-step back before regaining her balance.

But crises followed one after another!

Almost simultaneously with the release of the icy shockwave, the ice ball that Kalia was holding in her right hand shone brightly! A gigantic ice cone, so large that it would take several people to encircle it and with an extremely sharp tip, instantly solidified above her head, slamming down towards Ritsuka and Mash, who had just regained their footing, with a piercing shriek that tore through the air!

"Haa—!" Mashu didn't hesitate at all. She pushed off with her feet, lowered her center of gravity, and forcefully raised the giant cross shield to meet the terrifying ice spear!

"clang------!!!"

The ice spikes collided with the shield, unleashing a deafening roar! The immense impact shattered the stone slabs beneath Mash's feet, sending dust billowing into the air. The tips of the ice spikes shattered against the shield, transforming into countless shards of ice of varying sizes and sharp edges, shooting out in all directions like exploding shrapnel! The mixture of ice fragments and dust instantly enveloped the center of the battlefield.

"Senior! Are you alright?!" Mash called out anxiously as she shielded herself from the ice spikes.

"I'm alright!" Ritsuka gritted her teeth and stood up from behind Mashu, wiping the blood from the ice shards on her cheek, her eyes burning with an indomitable flame. Ignoring Mashu's pleas to "Wait!", she rushed out!

The banner of Jeanne d'Arc Alter instantly materialized in her hand, its black surface blazing with an ominous yet fiery flame of vengeance, attempting to dispel the surrounding biting cold. However, the extreme cold surrounding Kalia far exceeded expectations; the flames on the banner flickered violently, as if they might be extinguished at any moment. Ritsuka's every step was punctuated by the frozen frost, producing a crisp "crackling" sound, making her progress exceptionally difficult.

Kalia's icy blue eyes shifted slightly, locking onto the figure stumbling through the hail-like debris. She didn't even need to raise a hand; a mere thought sufficed—

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Four sharp, piercing sounds rang out almost simultaneously! They were four long spikes made entirely of translucent ice, with spear-like sharp tips, shooting towards Ritsuka's limbs with unparalleled precision from different tricky angles, as if controlled by an invisible hand!

"Pfft!"

A sharp pain exploded instantly! The ice spikes pierced through the makeshift protection without any resistance, embedding themselves deeply into Ritsuka's arms and calves. The interplay of cold and stinging pain caused her to groan involuntarily. Her fingers loosened, and the burning flag slipped from her grasp, falling diagonally into the ice, its flames quickly fading.

On the battlefield, losing one's weapon often means a death sentence.

Beneath Kalia's feet, the previously pervasive chill suddenly changed color, transforming into a viscous, deep, purplish-black ice mist that seemed capable of swallowing light. It spread rapidly along the ground like a living thing, instantly surging towards Ritsuka, who was kneeling on the ground in excruciating pain! Before the mist even arrived, the terrifying chill that seemed to freeze even the soul had already made her blood almost congeal.

At the critical moment, fragments of memory flashed through my mind like lightning! It was the desperate situation I faced when confronting the fairy knight Bedivere, a strike that was all-out, a blow that pushed me to my limits... Perhaps, I can do it again!

Ignoring the excruciating pain and numbness in her limbs, Ritsuka poured her remaining magic power and all her will into her right arm, mimicking the posture from her memory, and made a desperate downward chopping motion towards the surging purple-black ice mist!

"cut--!"

It wasn't the true name release of the Noble Phantasm, but rather a form forcibly simulated by will and magic! A massive, crescent-shaped blade of light, barely formed from silver light, burst forth from her loosely clenched palm, tearing through the frigid air and ruthlessly slashing into the purplish-black mist!

"laugh--!"

Like a hot knife cutting through thick grease, the silver blade actually cleaved a gap in the terrifying icy mist! The blade quickly dimmed and dissipated, but the purplish-black mist in its path was also temporarily dispersed.

Only then did Ritsuka and Mash, who had rushed to her side, realize the terror of the icy mist—everything that it touched, the ground, gravel, and even the dust floating in the air, was instantly covered with a thick layer of solid ice that shimmered with a purplish-black light, completely losing all its vitality, as if even time itself was frozen there.

"Drink!" Seeing that Ritsuka was safe, Mash charged forward without hesitation, raising her shield and attempting to use the weight of the shield and the momentum of her charge to strike Kalia and interrupt her spellcasting.

However, Kalia didn't even look at her. The dense moisture in the surrounding air, thickened by the intense battle, instantly underwent a phase change under the absolute zero chill—countless tiny ice crystals formed out of thin air and rapidly condensed and thickened between Mashu's boots and the ground, freezing her feet and calves firmly in place in the blink of an eye, as if welded to the ice, unable to move!

"Senior!" Mashu cried out in shock and anger, struggling desperately. The ice creaked and groaned, but she couldn't break free for a moment.

Despite the waves of excruciating pain and bone-chilling cold emanating from her arms and legs, Ritsuka's resolve hardened. She couldn't move, but her magic still flowed. Three grotesque short swords, wreathed in black mist, instantly materialized before her, their tips pointing directly at Kalia!

"go with!"

Three black swords transformed into three streaks of dark light and shot out! This time, Kalia neither dodged nor used ice defense. She simply stood still, her icy blue eyes calmly watching the incoming sword light.

"Puff puff!"

Three muffled thuds of blades piercing flesh rang out almost simultaneously. The black sword struck Kalia precisely in the right shoulder and upper arm, the blade sinking deep into her flesh, leaving only the hilt protruding. Bright red blood immediately gushed from the wounds, flowing down her gleaming silver arm armor and dripping onto the pristine ice, blooming like dazzling red plum blossoms.

Almost at the same moment the black sword struck, the ice binding Mash's feet cracked and melted away on its own. It was as if the attack itself was the key to unlocking the ice.

Kalia swayed slightly but quickly regained her balance. Without even glancing at her bleeding wound, she slowly raised her uninjured left hand, grasped the hilt of the black sword piercing her right shoulder, and without a flinch, swiftly pulled it out, tossing it aside. The metal struck the ice with a crisp sound.

Then, she turned around, clearing the unobstructed path to the inner city. Her icy blue eyes looked at Ritsuka and Mashu, the fighting spirit and coldness in them gone, leaving only a deep weariness and a complex expression that was almost one of relief.

"That's... enough." Her voice was soft, yet clearly reached their ears. "You... go inside."

"Huh?" Mashu, who had just broken free of her restraints and was warily holding her shield in front of Ritsuka, was taken aback by the question. "Why? You..."

Kalia gently shook her head, interrupting Mashu's question. She raised her head, her gaze seemingly piercing through the towering walls of the royal city, directed towards some unknowable, apocalyptic distance.

"Your Majesty... has already told me." Her voice was eerily calm, yet her words resonated like thunder in their hearts: "The 'end' of Britain is coming. No matter the outcome of this battle... it cannot change that ending."

She paused for a moment, her icy blue eyes refocusing on Ritsuka's face, where a very subtle fluctuation, belonging to "Kalia" rather than "Fairy Knight," seemed to flash.

"We... will soon no longer be enemies. Because in the end, there is one more 'existence' that we must face together... At that time, this British Lostbelt will be completely swallowed up, fall into nothingness, and disappear from the map of this planet forever."

Britain...disappeared?

Behind these brief words lies a terrifying prophecy capable of overturning all understanding. Fujimaru Ritsuka, Mashu, and Da Vinci instantly lost all color in their faces, shock and countless questions churning in their throats, almost bursting out.

However, Kalia didn't give them a chance to ask further questions. She simply shook her head, a resolute glint in her icy blue eyes, then stepped aside to make way, gesturing for them to proceed towards the inner city. As she moved, blood continued to seep from the wound on her shoulder, but she seemed oblivious.

“…Go quickly.” Her voice was soft, but it carried a weariness of ending the conversation. “Time… is running out.”

A cold wind swept across the empty city gate avenue, stirring up tiny ice crystals and dust. Kalia's gaze seemed to lose focus, staring into the void. The words they had just spoken stirred up memories from not long ago—Queen Morgan's almost desperate decree, given to her alone on her throne when Ritsuka and the others had just left the "Great Tree Sea" base and set off for Darlington.

(Memories - Between the Thrones in Camelot)

On the throne, Morgan's figure appeared exceptionally solitary in the dim light. Her voice, though not loud, carried a chilling insight into the end, piercing directly into the heart of Kalia, who stood silently below.

“Kalia, time… is running out.” Morgan’s fingers tapped unconsciously on the armrest. “'The Naraku Insect'… is about to appear.”

"The Naraku Insects?" Kalia was startled and took a half step forward. "Your Majesty, what are those? Is it... impossible to stop them?"

“That is the embodiment of destruction. A devourer summoned from another world by Britain’s ‘cancer’—Vortigern.” Morgan’s gaze fell on the distant sky outside the palace, as if he could see the invisible threat. “It feeds on carbon-based life and all organic matter. Once it hatches… it will be unstoppable.”

“Vortigern…” Kalia’s voice tightened as if he remembered something, “Could it be that you previously ordered Lord Bagst to secretly investigate…”

“That’s right.” Morgan withdrew her gaze and looked at Kalia, her icy purple eyes filled with a rare, almost exhausting solemnity. “Vortigern… lurks in this fairy kingdom. More than one form, more than one mode of existence. I’ve tried every method to search, but I’ve never been able to pinpoint its source.” Her tone carried a faint, almost imperceptible hint of defeat. “My ‘His Majesty’ once said that unless Vortigern is completely eradicated, no matter how many children of prophecy come, no matter how many times we fight… it will all be meaningless. Calamity will only cycle until everything is completely devoured.”

A brief, deathly silence fell over the hall. Kalia's heart pounded; a terrible suspicion, or rather, a long-buried possibility, surfaced in her mind. Her throat felt dry, but she still asked the question, her voice trembling slightly, without her even realizing it:

"Your Majesty... do you want me to use 'that'? The 'seal' you personally placed in my heart to suppress my rampaging power?"

"No!"

Morgan's reaction was unexpectedly intense. She almost leaned forward slightly from her throne, her voice rising abruptly as she interrupted Kalia. For the first time, her face, usually shrouded in cold authority, revealed such a vivid and intense emotion before Kalia—a complex expression mixing pain, resistance, and even a hint of panic.

“I never intended for you to use that! Kalia!” Morgan’s voice trembled with emotion. “You know very well the consequences of doing so! You will…!”

Her words trailed off abruptly as she leaned back, as if she had exhausted all her strength, her fingers pressing hard against her brow. Her voice deepened, carrying a profound weariness and desolation:

“These past two thousand years… I’ve lost enough. Kalia. I don’t want to… lose anything more. Especially you.”

The phrase "especially you" was as light as a sigh, yet as heavy as a thousand pounds, striking Kalia's heart.

“…Your Majesty.” Kalia lowered her head, her icy blue eyelashes concealing the turmoil in her eyes. After a moment of silence, she raised her head again, her face now calm, even carrying an almost gentle resolve. “If…if that is the only possible way, then…I have already made the only choice.”

***

Fragments of memory faded, and Kalia still stood in the cold air of the North Gate. The wound on his shoulder stung, but it was nothing compared to the heavy realization weighing on his heart.

She was well aware of Morgan's unspoken concerns and fully understood what the "seal" within her body was blocking.

That was the forbidden power hidden deep within the Ice Fairy's essence—[Mystic Ice Frost Current]—that awakened after witnessing the tragic deaths of her parents and completely losing control. It was a spark that forcibly merged her own essential existence with the concept of "freezing," igniting a flame that froze all things in the gap between her mind and reality.

Its real name is "Heart Blood Cold Lotus".

That was not a Noble Phantasm or magic in the conventional sense. It was connected to the Ice Demon's core "reason," a vast and dangerous latent power possessed as a planetary tentacle. Only when it suffered a devastating blow and was on the verge of extinction, fueled by its remaining life and even its soul, could this power be briefly and violently unleashed. At that moment, not only matter would be frozen, but also energy, concepts, and even the flow of "time" within a certain range, all potentially eroded and halted by the extreme cold. Its power was enough to threaten the very foundation of the world; it was a true "illusion erosion."

Once it blooms, the cold lotus will inevitably wither. Those who release it will have no chance of survival.

Kalia had long understood. From the moment Morgan placed the seal on her, from the moment she gradually realized the terrifying power slumbering within her, she had already silently prepared herself in some corner of her heart.

For Britain, for His Majesty, and for... those figures who once brought her brief warmth and are now heading to the final battlefield.

She wasn't afraid. She only felt a pang of regret, a regret that she might not be able to witness the end of it all, whether it was destruction or... that faint, almost nonexistent, other possibility.

The cold wind tossed the ends of her golden hair, and her icy blue eyes regained their clarity and resolve. She glanced one last time in the direction where Ritsuka and the others had disappeared into the depths of the city gate, then turned to face the other threats that might surge in from outside the city, or perhaps... the impending, all-consuming "Naraku Insects."

Alone, like a statue forged from ice and snow, he stands guard at the gate leading to the end.

Royal City Showdown – Fairy Knight Mordred – Fairy Round Table Realm, Poem of Eternal Mist

Camelot Royal City, Central District.

Unlike other fairy knights who guarded the city gates, Fairy Knight Mordred Sylph chose to remain alone in this pivotal place connecting all directions. Her considerations were more complex: she could observe and assess the combat strength and condition of the upcoming Chaldea main force (especially Ritsuka and Caster), but more importantly, she carried a "personal matter" that she had to settle here.

Find the lurking "traitor".

Just now, a brief but information-rich message came through the communication crystal:

"I'm done here. Sylph, come meet me as soon as you're done on your end. We absolutely cannot... let Melusin escape."

Sylph gripped the crystal tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force. A flash of ferocity crossed her emerald eyes as she almost gritted her teeth and replied:

"Don't worry. She can't escape. Deception, manipulation, and the deaths of Gareth and Sei Shonagon... these debts must be settled with her, one by one! Wait, I'll go as soon as I'm done here!"

After ending the communication, she put the crystal away and looked up at the other end of the long street.

Footsteps and a chilling atmosphere approached from afar. Senjimura and Caster appeared at the street corner, followed by the Wind Clan and the remnants of the resistance. When they recognized Sylph as the one blocking their path, they both felt a chill run down their spines almost simultaneously.

They were deeply impressed by this woman's power. Whether it was the absolute immunity and counterattack she displayed against Merlin's bizarre illusions, or the terrifying power she possessed when facing the Calamity Dragon, easily crushing it and the surrounding monsters with just her "Storm Domain"... Sylph's very existence represented a kind of unconventional, almost catastrophic destructive force. Now, that power was aimed at them.

“Oh? It’s Caster.” Sylph tilted her head, her emerald green hair fluttering slightly in the wind. Her face showed little hostility, but rather a hint of amusement in her scrutiny. “Is it just you? The others haven’t broken in yet? Or perhaps…”

Her gaze lingered on Caster's slightly tense face for a moment, a half-smile playing on her lips: "Having come this far, you're starting to hesitate?"

“No, I won’t hesitate.” Caster gripped his staff tightly, his icy blue eyes fixed on the other, his voice resolute, “But…”

“But?” Sylph raised an eyebrow, her tone suddenly turning cold, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze for a moment. “The word ‘but’ has no right to appear here.”

The moment the words left his mouth, danger struck!