One-way traffic

The others following behind couldn't help but smile wryly.

"Um... do you feel a bit cold today?"

"Yes, you're right. Although the temperature isn't that cold, the atmosphere does seem a bit chilly..."

Ruri Hiyori and Ryo Fuyukawa couldn't help but complain from behind.

Accelerator and Virgil didn't seem to care about such a small matter.

They each looked ahead, while one of them pulled the car away.

"This is it."

The massive city gate came into view before them.

It looks much like the castles in movies I've seen before, with very European-style stone walls, half-open gates, and…

Wait a moment.

"Hey, what's going on here?"

"Eh?"

Accelerator turned around and looked at Melina behind him, which surprised her.

Not a single soldier...?

The city gates opened, but not a single soldier stood guard outside.

Calling it a strike would be ridiculous; it's clearly a very strange situation.

Hatsune Miku subconsciously frowned.

"Be careful, Yifang."

"Anyone would find this situation strange, right? Or has this country degenerated to the point where even the city gates don't need guarding anymore?"

Regardless of the circumstances, they still had to get into Camelot Castle.

Going straight through the main entrance might lead to some kind of trap, so let's consider sneaking in from the other side.

…It was called infiltration, but there was nowhere to go at all.

"You lot, get out of the way."

Virgil's cold voice startled everyone.

Holding the Yama Blade, he slowly walked to the other side of the city gate, where a seamless city wall stood before him.

He immediately placed his right hand on the hilt of the knife.

"No, no, Mr. Virgil!"

Melina, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"Doing it like that would likely attract the soldiers' attention, and they might try to sabotage it, which would be too much of a commotion!"

The cold-blooded demon son completely ignored the other party.

He simply shook his right arm, and in an instant, an invisible force tore through the air in front of him.

It was a round, purplish-black sphere containing countless sword energies, seemingly caused by the slash itself distorting space and dimensions.

Dimensional Slash is an attack that can transcend space and time, directly through dimensional intervals.

In theory, this method can be easily used to break through any barrier, whether it is a city wall or a nuclear bunker, or even if they are separated by completely different spaces.

Yamato is a demonic sword capable of cutting through all dimensions. Given the right conditions, it could even create a dimensional rift large enough to encompass the entire Earth.

That was the magical artifact containing the power of Virgil's father—a demon from the past who could defeat even the Demon Emperor.

The silent strike fundamentally sliced ​​through a portion of the city wall, revealing a hole about two meters high right in front of it.

There was not the slightest movement or impact.

"Let's get ready to go in."

"She's quite capable."

Virgil and Accelerator, without much surprise, spoke in unison, despite it being their first time meeting, and headed towards the entrance.

Fuyukawa Ryo and Hiyori Ruri's faces were already filled with shock, and Melina didn't know what to say.

"Well, you'll get used to it."

Having witnessed too many things, Hatsune Miku, the idol-type heiress, could only smile wryly and say this to everyone.

And so, the group of people walked into the interior of Camelot City together.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

In the past, the country ruled by King Arthur was an incredibly prosperous place.

It was like an idyllic paradise in a distant world, where people lived their lives happily, free from the pain of hunger and cold, and everyone was able to be happy. Knights faithfully guarded this land, and the invincible King Arthur created a true paradise.

That's right.

Just like what they see now.

"...What, what's going on?"

The first part is a rant about Accelerator.

The six of them stood together on the street, looking at everything around them.

On the left are some small taverns, as well as various shops, including quite a few ironware shops.

To the right is a river, and many beautiful flowers bloom nearby.

The adults walked around harmoniously, the children played happily nearby, and some elderly people sat on one side, drinking and reminiscing about the past.

That's right.

The interior of Camelot is such a peaceful and warm world.

"This is completely different from what you said."

"This, this..."

Accelerator turned around and looked at Melina.

"How can a corrupt country be so prosperous and harmonious? No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like a situation where the people are being persecuted and the kingdom is about to perish."

"I really want to figure this out too!"

Melina looked quite surprised when asked this question.

"When I left, the entire nation was in a state of panic, so why has it turned out like this...?"

"There's no need to worry about such trivial matters."

Holding the magic sword, Virgil spoke indifferently.

"What we're looking for is the Black Team, which is King Arthur's territory. That has nothing to do with these insignificant people, so it doesn't matter what they do."

“That’s right. We shouldn’t get involved with people who don’t need to be. I don’t want to end up cleaning up their messes.”

In a sense, Virgil and Accelerator were actually quite compatible in terms of personality.

This only confused Melina more.

The country I left should have been like the end of the world, but why did it turn out like this...?

"So, all that's left is to find King Arthur, right?"

Fuyukawa Ryo surprisingly spoke first.

"I know that Liuli and I can't help you much, so we'll stay hidden around here from now on and make sure those guys don't find us."

"It doesn't matter. I never intended to care about you in the first place. Do whatever you want."

With his usual ruthless tone, Accelerator continued to look around.

However, he soon sensed a strange aura.

"…ah?"

Turning around, he saw a shadow behind him.

She was a little girl, probably around twelve years old.

"Um, ladies and gentlemen..."

The little girl ran over with an innocent look on her face.

Are you talking about King Arthur?

"None of your business, you brat, stay away from me—"

"Wait a minute, Yifang, don't use such a vicious tone with the child, really!"

Hatsune Miku immediately interrupted what he was about to say, and instead looked at the little girl with a kind smile.

Do you really like King Arthur?

"Yes, I like it very much! The people of this country all like that king!"

The little girl smiled and continued.

"King Arthur is the perfect king in everyone's ideal, so we should all strive to be like King Arthur from now on!"

"Hmm~ Does that mean I should become as kind and approachable as him?"

"No, sister."

The little girl continued to smile and shake her head, speaking in a very gentle tone.

"We should learn King Arthur's way of killing."

"…Eh?"

"Don't you understand? King Arthur was the one who stopped wars with blood and killing."

Eh?

At that moment, everyone was stunned.

"To revere strength and blood, and to bring harmony to the world through the power of destruction."

"Wait, wait a minute—?!"

“Kill all those who resist, leave no one alive. A throne built of mountains of corpses is his rightful place.”

This sentence was not spoken by the little girl.

Passersby walking by suddenly spoke up in unison.

"Destruction is our destiny, death is our essence."

“That’s right, this is the true king.”

"This is the king, this is the world, this is the path to the ideal."

"Bringing terror and bloodshed to this world, that is King Arthur!"

"This is the true King Arthur!"

"This is the true King Arthur!"

One, two, dozens, hundreds, everyone around started shouting like that.

It's practically like a cult.

"What... what is this...?"

Hatsune Miku's face paled involuntarily; she was clearly terrified.

Accelerator's eyes widened immediately.

Bang! He kicked a pebble, which instantly tore open the little girl's head.

Everyone was stunned.

It wasn't because of his action, but because...

The girl's brain had been ripped open, and her insides were filled with a purplish-black substance.

Boom—!!! In that instant, all the citizens were transformed into the same purplish-black substance.