Fairy Round Table Realm, Poem of Eternal Mist

Aurora's speech quickly stirred up a huge uproar in the Fairy Kingdom. These fairies yearned for peace and freedom; they hated being dominated by anyone. Moreover, Nokreina's claim to the throne was solely for control of the Fairy Kingdom. Immediately, the attitudes of all the fairies who trusted the royal clans changed, and they began attacking the royal clans throughout the Fairy Kingdom. Nokreina, who had previously enjoyed the power of faith, plummeted to the bottom. With the loss of faith, her power gradually waned. Even though she had stopped the bleeding from her ruptured internal organs and recovered, she could no longer fully regain her original strength. At this moment, unable to bear it any longer, she shouted towards the empty sky...

Nokleina: What do you mean by this?! Aurora! Why! Why would you do this even after things have come to this?! Ugh…

'Boom!' Instead of Aurora's reply, a beam of blue light appeared, and Melusin's figure materialized before Nokreina's eyes.

Melusine: Lady Aurora has no reason to answer you; she simply wants you to die here.

Everyone: Melusin!!!

It seemed Aurora had not only betrayed them, but was now even sending Melusin to eliminate a superfluous pawn. Just as everyone was at a loss, Liliana, the first queen, grabbed Melusin's hidden blade. Immediately, a powerful beam of light shot towards her, sending Melusin flying. Then, just as Melusin got to her feet, three enormous spears transformed into blades of light, thrusting towards her. In a flash, Melusin raised her hidden blade to block the immense attack. Suddenly, even as the strongest knight of the Fairy Kingdom, she felt inferior to this person who resembled Her Majesty. Meanwhile, the others who were free didn't forget to capture Nokreina, pinning her firmly to the ground.

Liliana: Melusin, right? Albion's last strength. I never imagined that such a scourge would take human form. It's truly pathetic!

Melusine: Damn it... what is this...?

The immense pressure from the spear had rendered Melusin unable to rise. Amidst the creaking of the shattering floorboards, her seemingly frail body was almost completely engulfed. At that moment, a pool of golden "water" slowly moved forward along Liliana's spear. Like Morgan's water mirror, this "water" rapidly boiled beneath Melusin's feet as it moved. Then, as the water mirror expanded, an intense burning sensation immediately followed. Even those not close felt the unbearable burning. Then, enveloped in the golden light, Melusin was quickly swallowed by the water mirror. In the blinding light, nothing could be seen, and no sound could be heard. As the light dissipated, only half of her charred mask remained on the ground.

Morgan: Your Majesty… Melusine, she…

Liliana: No, that thing isn't dead. She ran away; it looks like someone is calling her—speaking of which, where's the patriarch of that royal clan?! What?!

The group that had captured Nokreina suddenly realized that she was now weakly lying in a pool of blood. The blinding light from the water mirror had prevented them from seeing what had happened: a thin, long silver needle had been inserted into her neck, and it was coated with a potent poison. It turned out that Melusin's sudden appearance was merely a pawn to help Aurora eliminate this unwanted piece. Just then, that arrogant voice echoed again from the sky.

Aurora: What a pity, Your Majesties. Perhaps you think you want to capture her and ask her something, but that's impossible. For me, what's unnecessary is unnecessary—it feels good to be a loser, doesn't it? Morgan, Liliana, Caster

Morgan: Aurora, shut up! You better not wait until I crush your head in my face, you woman! You don't even deserve to live in the Fairy Kingdom!

Aurora: No one can stop how things have unfolded now, but I think those incredibly stupid foreign magicians actually did me a huge favor, allowing the rest of the story to proceed flawlessly—oh, and don't forget to say hello to the little princess! I felt like cutting off one of her hands was already a huge favor to you.

Morgan: You bastard! You have no right to say such things!

Aurora's cruel words, filled with malice, mockery, and utter lack of empathy, were like the filthiest splattered on the hearts of every listener. Inside the church, whether they were members of Chaldea or Castor and Liliana, everyone felt a chill, a mixture of anger, nausea, and helplessness, rise up their spines, their teeth grinding together.

However, simply worrying won't solve anything. Anger needs an outlet, but right now it's more important to deal with the situation that's already out of control.

All eyes fell on Nokreina, who was barely breathing, the poisoned needles on her neck gleaming eerily. This traitor, who had been ambitious and seeking the throne just minutes before, was now a discarded pawn, ruthlessly abandoned and on the verge of death. Logically, perhaps she should be left to fend for herself on this battlefield she had chosen.

But Liliana's icy purple eyes quickly swept over Nokreina's pained and contorted face, then looked at the faint sounds of chaos coming from outside the church, and made her decision.

“Take her with you.” Her voice was firm and unwavering. “See if we can pry anything useful out of her. The entire Fairy Kingdom is in turmoil, and the situation is completely out of control. There’s no point in staying here. We must return to Camelot to discuss the rest. It’s too dangerous outside right now…”

Upon hearing this, a complex emotion flashed in Caster's icy blue eyes. She glanced at the traitor on the ground who had once been her "friend," took a deep breath, and seemed to have made up her mind.

“Fine!” Her voice was firm, carrying an almost tragic tone. “Nokleina… this time, consider it a debt I owe you!”

"Mashu, Percival, help!" Fujimaru Ritsuka immediately commanded, and together with Caster, they stepped forward, carefully avoiding the deadly poison needle, and lifted up Nokreina, who was already fading into unconsciousness and convulsing. Nokreina was much heavier than she looked, perhaps due to the luxurious but useless decorations on her body, or perhaps due to the stiffness brought on by her rapidly passing life.

There was no time to hesitate, and no time to clean up the battlefield. The group quickly regrouped, with Morgan and Liliana leading the way, and Mash and Percival bringing up the rear, protecting Ritsuka and Caster who were carrying Nocrena in the middle. They charged out of the church, which had become a battlefield, like arrows.

Behind him lay pools of blood, severed limbs, shattered crowns, toppled flags, and an overwhelming, pungent stench of blood and conspiracy. The place, once a symbol of sanctity and celebration, now bore only the marks of death and betrayal.

Escaping the church, the outside light was almost blinding, but the air didn't feel any fresher. The streets of Gloucester were eerily deserted, with distant sounds of shouting, smashing, and magical outbursts faintly audible. The wind seemed to carry a faint smell of smoke and unease. A suffocating silence enveloped the area, like the last gasps before a storm, or the emptiness after a grand tragedy.

The crown, stained with Nokreina's and his own blood, lay forlornly amidst the church ruins, its jewels dulled. The magnificent banners embroidered with the royal clan's crest were torn or trampled, soaked in mud and blood. All of this silently proclaimed that the old order of the Fairy Kingdom, which had lasted for three thousand years, built on a fragile balance and the oppression of power, had utterly collapsed. What followed would not be the anticipated "rebirth"...

Instead, it will be an endless chaos, suspicion, and slaughter—a full-blown eruption of all the darkness and sin buried deep beneath this land. The veil of dreams and beauty will be utterly torn away, revealing only dripping blood, twisted desires, and a cruel, irreversible path to the end.

[Next Episode Preview]

The final bells have already tolled in the blood-red sky.

Apocalyptic clouds hung heavily over Britain, and beneath their shadow, the nascent form of an ancient and terrifying "being"—Cornunos—was quietly gestating and revealing its monstrous nature in a breeding ground of despair and resentment.

The patriarch of the Earth Clan, his path had long since become irreversible. It wasn't just a simple matter of "no return"... On the one-way road to the abyss, he paid an unbearable price for his choices and sins. That eternally frozen wasteland, littered with corpses, was utterly silent, save for the mournful howling wind—it was the final, coldest resentment in the Ice Maiden's heart, solidified into a graveyard of despair.

Her face was covered in blood and wounds, she stood in the center of the icy plain, the last glimmer of light in her eyes extinguished, leaving only unfathomable despair and deathly silence. And in this desolate land, a manifestation of her own mind, a place that forever buries hope and warmth, the most terrifying "monster" was breaking free of its shackles and being born!

The gears whirled wildly, and fate roared and howled.

Everything spiraled out of control, lost its direction, like a kite with a broken string, or a collapsing cliff...

Irreversibly, towards that deepest, darkest place that devours everything...

—The abyss, plummeting rapidly.

Fragment: The Search for Koyanskaya - Fairy Round Table Realm, Poem of Eternal Mist

Meanwhile, in the fairy kingdom of Gloucester, in a secluded alleyway vaguely surrounded by chaos and noise.

The air was still, thick with the pungent smell of lingering gunpowder and the metallic stench of blood. Here, in stark contrast to the distant sounds of smashing, screaming, and crackling flames, a more private and chilling confrontation arose.

The fairy knight Gareth-Kalia looked completely different from her usual self. Her once neatly combed golden hair was now disheveled, stained with large patches of dried or still-wet dark red blood, clinging to her pale, cold cheeks and neck. Her blue and white knight's armor was covered in scratches, dents, and charred burn marks. Even more terrifying were her eyes—her eyes, usually as clear and icy blue as the polar sky, were now completely consumed by burning rage and deep-seated hatred, devoid of any gentleness or rationality, leaving only a chilling ferocity and an almost insane obsession.

Her hand, like a steel-forged vise, gripped Koyanskaya's slender neck tightly, slamming the always-effortless NFF service president against the cold, rough stone wall. The force was so great that Koyanskaya's feet almost left the ground, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Not long ago, Koyanskaya, sensing the sudden change in the situation in the Fairy Kingdom and intending to quietly head somewhere, had just revealed herself in Gloucester's shadow when she was blocked by this figure carrying killing intent and a chilling wind. Although somewhat surprised by the sudden berserk state of the head maid before her, Koyanskaya's delicate fox face quickly put on her usual smile, which was both commercially ingratiating and innocent.

"Oh dear... what's wrong? Our esteemed head maid?" Her voice was slightly breathless from the pressure on her neck, yet she maintained that irritating composure. "Can't we talk things out? Why... get so angry? It's... making me scared~"

"Shut up!"

Kalia's voice was hoarse and cold, like ice shattering. The hand gripping her neck tightened even more, and her icy blue pupils were fixed on Goyanskaya's calculating eyes.

"Don't try to pull this fake act on me! Koyanskaya, you know her, right?" she practically yelled. "Where has that traitor Lipkaner gone?! You cunning fox, you can't possibly not know where he is! Tell me—!!"

Before she finished speaking, she exerted her strength and slammed Koyanskaya's body against the hard wall again, like a rag doll!

"Boom!"

A dull thud echoed through the narrow alley, and several clear cracks spread across the stone wall, centered on Koyanskaya's back. Dust settled in a flurry.

Koyanskaya winced in pain, a barely perceptible hint of gloom flashing in her eyes. She quickly weighed her options: the Fairy Kingdom was completely out of control, chaos was spreading, and this was a critical moment to escape quickly, return to NFF to regain control, or proceed with the next step of her "business strategy." Getting entangled with this ice fairy, who was clearly in a state of frenzied revenge, was by no means a wise move.

“…Tsk.” She clicked her tongue almost imperceptibly, then her face returned to that professional expression, as if she were discussing a business deal. “Alright, alright…it seems that the head maid won’t give up until she gets an answer today.”

She adjusted her breathing and quickened her pace:

“After… well, after ‘dealing’ with Her Majesty the Queen, Lipkan did come to me. He spent a large sum—a considerable amount of ‘resources’—to purchase a batch of… well, ‘special goods’ from me.”

She paused deliberately, observing Kalia's reaction.

"Standard firearms from the pan-human history era, along with their ammunition. Quite a few. Then, he led the remaining remnants of the Earth Clan and retreated towards... the eastern plains. As for where they were going specifically, or what they were going to do with those firearms..." Koyanskaya spread her only free hand, revealing a typical businessman's smile, "You know, I'm just a conscientious businessman. The customer pays, I deliver. As for the purpose of the goods... that's not within the scope of my after-sales service."

Having obtained the clue he wanted, Kalia's eyes gleamed even more fiercely. He abruptly released his grip on Koyanskaya's neck, tossing her aside like a piece of dirty trash.

Koyanskaya staggered a few steps, grabbing the wall to steady herself. She rubbed her neck, where red welts had been drawn, but her face showed little anger. Just as Kalia turned, her killing intent palpable, preparing to charge towards the eastern plains—

"Please wait a moment, Head Maid."

Koyanskaya's voice rang out again, this time with less affected sweetness and more meaningful reminder.

"Are you in such a hurry to die? Haven't you... ever wondered what else Lipkaner 'traded' from me besides the guns?"

Kalia paused, her icy blue eyes sharply sweeping back.

Koyanskaya calmly straightened her slightly wrinkled collar and continued slowly, "It seems you don't know. Queen Morgan... once secretly developed and possessed a special magic-limiting device. Its original design was supposedly to prevent the 'two great fantasy species' from suddenly backfiring or going berserk. The effect of that thing... is quite direct, capable of paralyzing all elemental activity and magic flow within a ten-meter radius. In short, in that area, even the most powerful magician or fairy would become no different from an unarmed ordinary person."

She looked at Kalia's suddenly contracting pupils, and a cruel smile curled at the corner of her lips.

"And that cunning old man, Lipcanl, deliberately 'picked' this item during the transaction. Now, it's in his hands."

She leaned forward slightly, her voice even lower, like a viper flicking its tongue:

"Think about it, Head Maid. Having lost your most relied-upon ice magic, facing a group of enemies wielding highly efficient killing weapons from pan-human history, and equally unaffected by magic... what's the difference between you chasing after them alone, and willingly jumping into the tiger's den to offer your neck for slaughter?"

Kalia's body stiffened slightly. She truly had no idea that Lipkaner had stolen such a deadly weapon. She was aware of the existence of that magic-limiting device; it was one of His Majesty's last-resort safeguards for the worst-case scenario… Without magic, she was indeed no different from an ordinary human woman, especially since her opponent possessed a gun!

The reason why Lipkaner sought to purchase firearms and ammunition from Koyanskaya suddenly became clear—it was to complement the magic-limiting device! To strip his opponents of their power while unleashing a crushing massacre with pure physical firepower!

However, the image of His Majesty Morgan lying in a pool of blood flashed through his mind, his eyes filled with despair and emptiness... Overwhelming hatred instantly overwhelmed any rational assessment of the danger.

“There’s no need.” Kalia’s voice was low and resolute, like magma surging beneath the ice. “Even if I have only one breath left, I will crawl… I will crawl to him! I will absolutely—not let that traitor Lipkaner get away with it!”

Her gaze sharpened again, and she turned away, no longer glancing at Koyanskaya. Her golden hair fluttered in the wind that rushed into the alleyway, carrying the smell of smoke and blood.

"I must make him pay for his crimes with blood, until he is utterly humiliated!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she rushed out of the dark alley without hesitation, her figure quickly disappearing in the direction of the chaotic Gloucester district.

Koyanskaya stood there, watching Kalia's disappearing figure, then looked up at the faint outline of the Camelot royal city in the distance, shrouded in smoke. The commercial smile on her face gradually faded, and a complex, unfathomable emotion flashed in her fox-like eyes, like mockery, or perhaps a very faint...sigh.

"What a... crazy person who doesn't know how to calculate risks," she muttered to herself, shaking her head.

Kalia raced through the chaotic streets, her eyes taking in the hellish scene unfolding in Gloucester. Aurora's inflammatory speech, which had utterly ripped away all pretense, had stripped the fairies of their nominal "Queen" restraint, and they were now unleashing the most chaotic and darkest aspects of their nature with unbridled abandon. The so-called boundaries of "good" and "evil" had long since blurred and crumbled.

Arson, murder, and looting were rampant. Once-exquisite shops were smashed open, their goods looted, and then the buildings themselves were reduced to ashes. The streets were littered with uncollected corpses, blood flowing into the drains, emitting a pungent, metallic smell. The demons laughed maniacally as they attacked each other, whether to plunder valuables or to vent their pent-up resentment and violence. Homes were set ablaze by their own hands; familiar streetscapes twisted and collapsed in flames and thick smoke. What a horrific scene of apocalyptic devastation, of civilization crumbling.

However, all this chaos and madness only reflected a cold light in Kalia's icy blue eyes, failing to truly penetrate her heart. All she saw was Her Majesty the Queen's body gradually losing its warmth between the thrones of the royal city, and the dark red, viscous blood that soaked into the cold stone slabs.

She didn't even have time to ponder why the seemingly unbreakable barrier that imprisoned her and Sylph had suddenly collapsed. The moment she discovered the barrier's disappearance and His Majesty's passing, overwhelming grief and rage consumed all her reason. Ignoring Sylph's frantic cries and pleas, like a wild beast breaking free from its cage, her eyes fixed solely on revenge, she stormed out of the capital and began a frenzied search for Lipkaner across this chaotic land.

She knew that her behavior might have spiraled out of control, and that calm and composed head maid's shell was cracking inch by inch under the flames of hatred. She might be turning into the "hopeless" person she once despised, completely dominated by her emotions.

But so what?

Kalia's steps did not falter or hesitate for a moment. She leaped over a burning low wall, dodged several ferocious goblins wrestling and tearing at each other, and rushed out of Gloucester, the once dreamlike aristocratic pleasure capital that had now become a hell on earth.

A biting wind whipped up dust and ash, lashing against her blood-stained armor and cheeks, bringing a chilling, decaying atmosphere. Alone, she resolutely headed towards the eastern plains, towards the place where the traitor, wielding a deadly weapon, might have laid a deadly trap. Behind her lay the burning, corrupt city, and a vengeful spirit sliding deeper into darkness.

Execution! Lipkanl - Fairy Round Table Realm, Poem of Eternal Mist

Leaving Gloucester, engulfed in flames and madness, the only overland route to reach the southern plains of the Fairy Kingdom is to first traverse the vast and relatively flat central plains to the east, and then turn southwest. This expansive land has played a crucial role in the turbulent history of the Fairy Kingdom.

Long ago, during the war-torn and clan-warring era of the "Fairy Calendar," in their struggle for survival and strategic advantage, the various clans, like moles, dug countless crisscrossing networks of tunnels of varying depths across this plain. These tunnels were used for concealed marches, surprise attacks, stockpiling supplies, and even serving as last refuges—truly an "underground battlefield." Although time has passed and the surface may now be covered with grass and dotted with farmhouses, most of the passages and secret chambers buried deep beneath the soil remain intact, silently bearing witness to the bloody memories of the past.

Today, this plain, dotted with ancient tunnel ruins, has become, in Kalia's eyes, a perfect... execution ground tailor-made for traitors.

Following the vague directions provided by Koyanskaya and her own judgment, she finally found a farmhouse that matched the description in a slightly undulating area near the edge of sparse woodland. The house looked abandoned for a long time; the simple wooden structure was crooked and dilapidated from wind and sun, and the thatched roof was sparse and messy. There was no one in sight, only the rustling of the wind through the weeds and the faint, incongruous noise from afar.

Kalia pushed open the creaking, cobweb-covered wooden door. A pungent stench, a mixture of moldy wood, dust, and the putrid smell of some kind of animal carcass, assaulted her senses. The room was a mess: simple tables and chairs were overturned, broken pieces of cups and plates were scattered, and a thick layer of dust covered everything. In the corner, the skeleton of a small animal, long since dried out and reduced to skin and bones, emitted a nauseating odor; judging by its shape, it was probably a cat or a dog. Kalia frowned, suppressing her discomfort, and kicked the obstructive skeleton into a darker corner.

Her gaze swept quickly across the room. A tilted cabinet was half-open, revealing several rusty but not completely rotten razors and woodcutting knives. She took them out and picked up a rough whetstone with relatively smooth edges from the floor. Then, she climbed the creaking wooden stairs to the second floor. The upper floor was also covered in cobwebs and empty, except for dust and a few startled insects scurrying away; there was nothing else usable.

“A pile of garbage…” Kalia muttered to herself, a hint of disappointment flashing in her icy blue eyes, but then a sharp light shone in them again, “…Hmm? There it is.”

She didn't linger inside, but instead went around to the farmhouse's backyard. Weeds grew rampant, and clutter was piled up haphazardly. Her boot tip kicked a thick wooden plank, its color slightly different from the surrounding soil. She crouched down and moved the plank aside—

A dark, downward-pointing entrance suddenly appeared! The smell of damp earth mixed with an even stronger musty odor wafted out.

It seems that the original owner of this abandoned farmhouse either did not know that this land was once part of a bloody battlefield, or, for practical reasons, transformed this ancient tunnel entrance into a cellar for storing farm tools.