Mars waited patiently for Lulu to finish her evaluation, then said mercilessly, "--However, I respectfully decline the 'perfect self' spoken of by the followers of Lathander. I'd rather run errands for Emya, freeing him up from miscellaneous tasks so he can focus on sword-making. I find his Dancing Moonlight Sword more attractive than Zariel's. My greatest wish now is to go into battle carrying four or five Dancing Moonlight Swords."

“Ah? Ah! Ah!!!?”

The Paladin was, of course, the ideal recipient for the Angel's Holy Sword. But Lulu never expected the Paladin to not only flatly refuse, but even step on the Fearless. This time, Lulu was truly furious: "You're going too far! This is the sword once worn by the Seraph Zariel! Even if Emiya is a skilled craftsman, how can the Fearless be inferior to his sword?"

Mars shrugged. "At least the sword he forged is just a sword. There won't be any serious side effects. Besides, I'm very satisfied with my current personality. I don't need a sword used by a fallen Seraph to help me correct it."

Obviously, when the fearless reject others, it's because they are superior. But why do those who are recognized by the fearless not recognize the fearless?

That is a sword attack in a sense.

Lulu was furious: "This is outrageous! I must get the Fearless out today!"

She pointed the unsheathed sword at Metatron angrily: "Ms. Forsaken! I think you also meet the requirements of this sword..."

Metatron did not avoid it, but looked at the Fearless silently.

Before Lulu could finish her words, the light of the Fearless just shone on Metatron's body, and the sword shook violently.

Then, with lightning speed, the Angel Blade retracted into its scabbard. This sudden change surprised Lulu. With a look of astonishment on her face, she used her upper limbs to pull the sword upwards several times. No matter how hard Lulu tried, the Fearless refused to unsheathe.

"...? Hello? Hello? Fearless? Stop trying to mess with me! We're colleagues after all! Hey!"

This unexpected turn of events left Lulu dumbfounded. However, Emilia silently said, "Miss Lulu, we do need this sword, but the reason may be very different from what you think."

"...What do you mean?" Emilia's tone made Lulu alert. She suddenly flew back a few meters, holding her sword. "Don't you need the power of the Fearless?"

Emiya said calmly, "Roughly speaking, there are several reasons."

"First, I'm genuinely interested in this holy sword—so, I'd like to learn how to craft it. Even if I don't officially use it, it doesn't matter; for us, just observing it is enough."

"Secondly, we may need Zariel's weapon to destroy a magical artifact in the future. These two things are very important to us, but they don't necessarily require the Fearless—we can try to find solutions through other avenues."

Emiya sighed deeply. "Now, we may not even be Zariel's opponents. If Zariel comes to the material plane, he can probably behead us with one sword. The Fearless are now in such a dilemma—"

"Would someone who is qualified and capable of easily defeating Zariel, putting a sword to Zariel's neck and forcing her to choose repentance, need this sword?"

"...Don't be ridiculous," Lulu muttered softly, "Only the gods could defeat Zariel so easily."

"So, this is what you're asking—" Emiya replied, "You're asking us to carry out an almost impossible, suicidal mission, and the advance payment isn't pure enough, and it will affect our character."

"That's a bit too much, that's a bit too much." Sig quickly chimed in.

Elastrid lowered her brows slightly and whispered, "In fact, the followers of Lathander might be happy to be taught by the swords of their fellow Seraphim. Then why don't we go to the Cult of the Rising Sun—"

"No!!!!" Hearing the sect's name, Lulu's voice became shrill for the first time. "I! Absolutely! Will! Not! Allow! The Dauntless to fall into the hands of that damned Rising Sun heretic!!! My Lord Lathander is not Amaunator!!!"

"Okay." Emilia narrowed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "Then let's each take a step back."

"...?"

Looking at Lulu's wide eyes, Emilia raised her finger. "You also heard the conversation between Zariel and Craig. Now, I will carry this sword with me. If I confirm that the devil is interested in me, but Zariel has not yet arrived, then I will show the Fearless at the appropriate time. I believe that the combination of the two will almost certainly attract Zariel to the material plane. Then, our mission ends here - if Zariel still wants to be her devil after seeing the Fearless, you must accept this reality."

"Also, although we're not interested in receiving the Fearless's power infusion for now, if we meet someone interested in the same in the future, we can definitely give the Fearless to them. We're not dragons, and we won't hide our unused treasures away in our lairs, away from the sun."

"What do you think?"

Having said that, it can be said that we have reached the end.

Emilia knows what priorities are and would never put everything on the line just to satisfy the Fearless and Lulu's wishful thinking.

What's more, he absolutely did not believe that a devil archduke would suddenly come to his senses for the sake of the Fearless.

When Zariel fell, wasn't he holding this holy sword in his hand?

She has already fallen, how could it be possible that when she is in an advantageous position, she would suddenly be reminded of her old friend when she sees him?

To the end.

We still have to fight.

If you win, everything will be easy; if you lose, everything is over.

Thinking of this, Emiya extended her hand to Lulu.

The olive branch has been thrown, and it is not up to Emilia to decide whether to catch it.

Lulu hesitated for a long time before finally muttering softly, "They got the artifact, but they treat it like a decoration. What a bunch of weirdos."

Then, she finally stretched out one of her forelegs and placed it on Emilia's hand, and Emilia finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Accompany the day.

How should we deal with this strange object hanging in the air in Eltoril?

If they did attract Zariel, but were no match for her, or if the devil had set some trap they still knew nothing about, how would they respond?

——With the Fearless, they have the confidence to fight Zariel!

************************

In the hell of Baator, Avernus's armory is one of the most important places in this vast and desolate land.

It has too many weapons and equipment in its inventory to be able to fly in mid-air like most of the Great Devil's fortresses.

However, sometimes, these fortresses don't mind showing off their mobility in the most brutal way.

A series of massive fortresses slowly floated down from the air above Avernus, showing no sign of stopping. Eventually, they surrounded the warehouse like a prisoner. The leading aerial fortress even lost its buoyancy mid-flight and plummeted heavily toward the front of the warehouse.

Amidst the deafening crash, a cloud of wasteland covering the sky and the sun was lifted high into the air. The demons waiting in front of the warehouse were immediately covered in dust.

The demons who could guard here were naturally not small fry. However, when faced with such humiliation, they did not curse or prepare for battle as usual, but bowed their heads in obedience.

This was not the first time they had encountered such an experience.

And there is only one reason why they are so gentle——

The visitor was their immediate boss's boss.

Grand Duke Zariel of Avernus walked to the center of the warehouse with ease and casually swung the huge hammer in her right hand towards the closed door.

——Then, the air vibrated, as if torn apart by a hammer.

With a deafening roar, the more than ten-meter-high steel gate of hell collapsed.

"..." Bayer, Avernus's logistics manager, stood quietly in the warehouse, waiting for Zariel's arrival. Even when the gate they had just repaired collapsed again, his expression remained unchanged.

He stepped back, letting the collapsed gate blow dust onto his face. He then bowed his head and said, "Grand Duke. What are you here to collect today? According to records, there are currently no urgent supply requests."

Zariel scoffed and tilted his head back slightly.

Zariel was once a tall beauty with long cyan hair. After her fall, her long hair turned to ashes in the flames of hell.

She said, "I want to ask if they sell raincoats here."

Bailton paused, then raised his head in confusion. "—Raincoats? The Avernus army has never fought in the rain, so I'm sure we don't have any in our warehouses. I'm afraid we'll have to get some on the spot from our subordinates doing business in the Material Plane."

"So you didn't use it? That's okay." Zariel said with a half-smile on his face, "You'll need it soon."

"..." Bayer lowered his head, "I don't understand what you mean."

"It's been raining heavily in Elturgard for several days and nights now," Zariel said leisurely. "You haven't started preparing yet?"

Bayer's expression remained unchanged as he replied, "The burrowers' reckless excavation accidentally alerted a great lich, resulting in the mysterious exposure of our burrower farm—a fact I already knew about. We've already moved the special female burrower that won't kill the males, and our original plan was to retreat from Elturgard..."

"That's not necessary." Zariel smiled, took a step forward and patted Bayer's shoulder.

It was just a seemingly random slap, and Bayer's shoulder immediately made a terrible breaking sound.

Zariel withdrew his hand with a false expression. "I'm sorry. I remembered you as the mastermind Grand Duke Avernus. I didn't expect your strength to have declined so much. I ended up using your strength in the wrong way."

Bayer's shoulders drooped limply in front of him, perhaps even completely broken. But he pursed his lips and said, "I just don't exercise enough."

"That's good," Zariel continued. "Then, Mr. Bile, let's go to Elturgard and spread the word of our demons. It may be raining, but how can Asmodeus's warriors fear such minor difficulties? Now, go to Elturgard and attack a young man named Lunya of Emya in the Tyr camp in Elturgard. You may fail, but you must not retreat, and you must not kill him. I want him alive and sane. Any irreparable damage to him will be personally repaid by you."

As if completely unaware of the provocative nature of his question, Zariel opened his mouth slightly, revealing his now extremely sharp teeth. "Within ten days, you will either die and return to Hell, or bring Emiya back intact. You will personally lead the assault on a mere Sixth Ring Mage. Don't tell me you can't do it."

"Now, go ahead." Zariel smiled. "If you've suffered heavy losses, perhaps I'll help you?"

Zariel couldn't give Bayer any orders that were too bizarre, or the Demon King wouldn't sit idly by.

For example, ordering Bayer to travel thousands of miles to attack the elven gods' kingdom of Arvandor was a utter suicide order. Not only could Bayer not do it, even if all the Baatezu came out in full force, they would most likely be beaten to a pulp.

But, let Bayer capture a six-ring mage alive?

For a great devil who aimed at becoming Grand Duke of Avernus, this order could not be said to be excessive on the surface.

Baier could try to object to the order, but every argument he offered only served to further disadvantage him.

——Not to mention, Zariel's sudden order meant that Bayer's plan had been completely leaked. As for who leaked it, it was not so important to Bayer.

Then his next goal would be to stop the loss in time.

Finally, Bayer took a deep breath and said, "...I'll go get ready now."

Enemy Sect of the Seventy Abysses

Emiya stood outside Craig's tent and breathed a sigh of relief.

After returning from the Troll's Claw, the Fearless was temporarily placed in the custody of Emya.

If he hurriedly tried to lift the Fearless from someone else's hands when the situation was critical, it would be too conspicuous.

When acting, of course you have to act it out completely, even making your fake look real.

If they couldn't overturn the demons' first wave of attack, there was no need for Zariel to come to the material plane in person. At the same time, she couldn't be too obviously alerted.

—But while this plan is good, it also comes with a fairly obvious price.

The Dauntless was much more talkative than he had imagined.

This angel blade is hidden in the dimensional bag close to Emilia's body, but it is always outputting its emotions to Emilia - combined with the current experience, Emilia can even guess the Fearless's intentions.

But now Emiya and his group have more important things to do.

Emiya raised her voice and asked, "Sir Supreme Observer, do you have a minute now?"

At this moment, Sig said, "Emmya, it's getting quite lively in the house now. There are a lot of people."

Can you hear what they are saying?

【We are late, they are already saying goodbye. 】

After a rustling sound, the door flew open. Craig, who was standing behind the door, looked surprised. "Mr. Amyah, this is a rare visitor. What can I do for you?"

Craig didn't bother to close the door, so Emiya managed to see the guests through the gap between the door and Craig.

A group of heavily armed strangers.

Emilia pretended to be completely unconcerned about the mysterious guest behind Craig. Instead, she frowned slightly, a look of dissatisfaction on her face. "Of course, I want to ask about the feedback on the order! The horse armor I worked tirelessly on for several days must have been delivered to the people who needed it by now. What do they think?"

"Huh?" This question greatly surprised Craig. He pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "You are still too young to understand the logic of a kingdom. The reason I came here is not because I truly care about those twenty sets of horse armor, but because this order involves Elturgard's trust in you. The material of the Sun Sword is extremely rare and precious. I must ensure that whoever can obtain it is a skilled craftsman worthy of its brilliance.

"Nevertheless, my specific duties only last until the equipment is stored. I'm the Supreme Observer of Elturgard, and with tens of thousands of mouths to feed around Berdusk, I simply don't have the energy to listen to everyone's opinions on tableware and dinner."

"I see. I'm clueless about administration, and I've actually made such a fool of myself," Emiya replied. "But if that's the case, I have to know the outcome—am I now qualified to obtain the Sunlight Sword's energy core?"

Craig hesitated and asked, "...You need it now? How much?"

"No, I want to ask the price." Emilia said simply, "I just want to ask, how many gold coins can I spend to buy one?"

"How can money be an issue for materials like this?" Craig replied almost immediately. "It's too precious to simply put a price on it..."

"What!?" Emilia raised her voice. "I worked overtime to produce the finished product, but when it came time to pay you, you were so relaxed? You even threatened me when I paid the deposit, but where's your arrogance now? Is making twenty sets of horse armor in just a few days a service you can buy? Shouldn't I have handed over twenty sets of second-hand goods to get by? Are you really the Archbishop of Torm, not the Archbishop of the Devil?"

These words were far more than just outspoken, and Craig's face immediately turned pale. Furthermore, before, Emiya and the others' attitude had been merely unfriendly, but now it was practically a rebuke.

——Of course, in Emilia's opinion, the real lethality of this rude remark probably lies elsewhere.

Before Craig could reply, a somewhat aged voice spoke from behind him: "Sir Craig, while this young man's words may be a bit harsh, if he's not lying, this matter can be considered serious or minor. If you make a promise to a young man and fail to provide corresponding compensation, you not only undermine the dignity of Eltoril and Elturgard, but also damage the reputation of the Church of Torm's zeal. Please consider the importance of this matter."

Emiya was silent for a moment, then asked, "Excuse me, Supreme Observer, who is your guest?"

An old man who could so confidently tell Craig what to do. Emilia narrowed his eyes slightly—he had some extremely rude suspicion.

Craig snorted and stepped back a few steps. "Come in. My residence is half a conference hall. It can accommodate your team."

The first group to arrive at Craig's residence were a group of six. They all looked quite old, with the leader being a good deal older than Craig, likely in his seventies.

They all wore the emblems of Thom and Companion Sun on their front.

This age may mean physical weakness for a warrior, but for a spellcaster... it often means strength.

As Emiya and his group entered the house, the old man glanced at their chests, then turned to the host with a hint of resentment. "Brother Craig, when we arrived, you repeatedly urged us to swear an oath to the Companion. You hoped that under the Companion, we would abandon the barriers of faith and fight for the same goal and belief. But in the end, not everyone in this camp has taken the oath."

Craig felt a bit embarrassed after being questioned twice by the same person, but he still said, "After all, swearing the oath to the Companion Sun is a completely voluntary activity. It's just that it's been implemented more smoothly within Elturgard."

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