Omniscience and omnipotence doesn't work on him?!
Once she realized it, the girl named Manaka Saijyou was first stunned—then slowly, a wave of delight began to rise within her heart.
The Root is the origin of all things. Reaching it is the lifelong dream of all magi… Yet for the girl born already connected to the Root, happiness was something she had never known since birth.
A life pale as paper.
A childhood devoid of youth's brilliance or romance…
And it was all because of the unique authority Manaka Saijyou had possessed from the moment she was born:
—Omniscience and Omnipotence.
There was no doubt—it was a divine-level authority, something that grazed the domain of gods. Whenever she decided to act, she would foresee the outcome before she even moved.
It sounded beautiful on the surface… but a life whose every twist was already known?
Of course there was no joy in it.
Yet right now, in front of her… stood someone who existed outside her omniscience.
Manaka Saijyou's eyes gleamed with sudden brilliance as she locked her gaze on Alvin.
"Are you a transmigrator? Or someone native to this era?"
Her voice was calm as she finally spoke.
After activating the authority of [Night Watcher EX], Alvin's presence was completely concealed and even someone like Manaka Saijyou couldn't discern his identity.
Alvin didn't respond to her question. Instead, he turned slightly and spoke gently to the silver-haired girl behind him.
"Head to the top of the tower."
Gray hesitated slightly. "But…"
"Kid, listen to him. If you stay here, you'll just hold him back."
Add's voice echoed in her ear, its tone heavy with seriousness.
"If you want to help, then go retrieve the Holy Lance."
Hearing those words, Gray finally made up her mind and turned toward the staircase of the Radiant Tower without another word.
Sajo Ayaka simply stood there, watching the girl depart, without making a move.
Alvin eyed her and spoke.
"I thought you'd try to stop her."
"It's just courtesy."
The latter gave a soft, graceful smile.
"I didn't sense your presence a moment ago, but you still chose not to ambush me."
Indeed…
Neither her omniscience nor her own magical senses had detected Alvin's infiltration.
If he had wished, he could have struck first from behind.
…But he hadn't.
In acknowledgment of that knightly restraint, she naturally saw it only right to offer a gesture in return.
Alvin drew in a long breath, then slowly exhaled.
Should he call it Manaka's composure—or was it just absolute confidence?
Did she really believe that even if Gray retrieved the Holy Lance… she could still win?
After a moment of silence, Alvin asked:
"You're not planning to take the Holy Lance anymore?"
"I went to the interior of the Holy Spear only for the sake of convenience. It would be best if I could take the Holy Spear away. If not… it doesn't matter."
Manaka Saijyou spoke indifferently.
"Actually, my interest was originally more focused on Merlin."
As she spoke, her gleaming eyes never left Alvin, as though making sure he wouldn't attack, or perhaps… simply because she wanted to keep looking at his face.
Alvin blinked.
"You were interested in Merlin? Why is it in past tense?"
"Because right now, I'm more interested in you." Manaka Sajyou thought for a moment, then added,
"I want to know your name… as a knight, shouldn't one state their identity before a battle?"
Alvin slowly shook his head.
"You've misunderstood… I'm not a knight."
"So you're not willing to reveal who you are?"
Manaka gazed into Alvin's face.
Around her, the air began to stir faintly with the forming sea of True Ether. A breeze of magical wind swept through, revealing a face delicate and flawless like a porcelain doll.
"If I defeat you… would you tell me your name?"
"You think you can win?" Alvin raised an eyebrow, surprised.
The Root Princess… she was certainly a troublesome opponent.
But at her core, she still had the body of a magus, while Alvin bore the body of the White Dragon.
His regenerative ability gave him near-limitless endurance. In all of Britain, perhaps only the Red Dragon Artoria could face him in a prolonged fight.
Even if Manaka Sajyou, connected to the Root, possessed limitless magical energy… her body remained fragile.
Put simply: Alvin could afford countless mistakes and Manaka could not afford even one.
Yet her expression remained calm as she spoke softly,
"To be honest, this is the first time I've fought someone whose outcome I can't foresee through 'Omniscience and Omnipotence'… so I'm not confident."
"But… I thought I'd at least try."
"With that frail mortal body of yours?" Alvin asked.
"Mortal body?"
Manaka slowly lifted her head and calmly repeated Alvin's earlier words:
"Only you possess a 'beast's body'... Why would you think that, nameless knight?"
The next moment, magical energy in the air suddenly turned wild.
As Manaka raised her head, Alvin's gaze froze.
At some point, her pupils had become etched with a red, cross-shaped starburst.
It wasn't just her aura—even the way her magic flowed had changed.
Alvin's eyes darkened as he stared intently at the girl before him.
Then, a terrifying thought surfaced in his mind:
...Beast?!
---
Outside the Radiant Tower, a number of knights from the royal palace had unknowingly gathered.
Among them was Lancelot, who had just returned to the capital.
"What's going on right now? Why is the Holy Lance appearing in a place like this?"
Lancelot frowned deeply, turning to the knight who had just reported to him and asked in a heavy tone,
"Are you sure two people entered the tower just now?"
After hearing of Morgan's return to the palace, Lancelot had immediately rushed back.
Yet before he could even grasp the situation, news reached him that the Radiant Tower had manifested inside the palace grounds.
Most within the court likely didn't understand the significance of this tower…
But Lancelot knew exactly what it meant.
The Holy Lance, Rhongomyniad—if it fell into the hands of the transmigrators, it would pose a massive threat to the entirety of Britain.
He had to find a solution...
As that thought crossed his mind, a white creature suddenly descended from the sky and landed lightly on his shoulder.
Lancelot instinctively turned to look.
The snow-white being, which looked somewhat like a rabbit, tilted its head and stared at him.
"Fou~?"
It held a small wooden plaque in its mouth, which fell as it opened to speak.
Lancelot reached out and caught the wooden tag.
Then, he looked again at the fluffy white creature perched on his shoulder.
A familiar of Merlin's…?
While the thought passed through his mind, the wooden plaque disintegrated into particles of light.
At the same time, Merlin's voice echoed in his ears.
"Lancelot, don't clash with Morgan… Also, withdraw your men from here for now. The Radiant Tower—he's already there. That's enough."
"…"
...Who is he?
Before Lancelot could understand the meaning behind Merlin's words, he suddenly heard a faint tremor coming from the Radiant Tower beside him.
He instinctively turned to look at the towering structure and realized that at some unknown point, he could actually hear sounds from within the tower.
It was a man's voice.
But based on the intel he'd received, it should have only been two girls who entered the Radiant Tower...
A third person had entered?
Lancelot furrowed his brows slightly.
Why did this voice… sound so familiar?
---
Not far from the Radiant Tower, in a small grove, a woman of commanding yet cold beauty stood leaning against a tree, quietly watching from afar.
She was tall, stunningly beautiful, with flowing purple hair. Her long and shapely legs were wrapped in sheer black stockings, and she wore heavy military boots that tapped lightly on the ground.
Arms crossed under her chest, full and rounded, not overly large, but just right in their curvature, her striking figure outlined seductively beneath her tight suit.
"Oh…?"
Sensing movement from within the tower, she tilted her head slightly as her brilliant violet eyes gleamed with growing interest.
"I knew this era had many strong individuals, but I didn't expect to encounter one so soon…"
And judging by the energy…
It looks like things are about to get exciting.
.
.
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Beast, also known as the "Evils of Humanity," are large-scale disasters rejected by human history.
Born from civilization, yet destined to destroy it—to the Human Order, Beasts are like cancerous cells to the future of mankind.
But…
Why would Manaka Sajyou be touching the domain of Beast?
There was no time for Alvin to think further, because in the next moment, Manaka was already slowly raising her right hand, her lips moving as if chanting something.
The gesture looked elegant in her hands, like an ancient shrine maiden dancing beneath the moonlight.
As her hand rose, the surrounding sea of magical energy spun faster and faster, and a sacred chant began to echo through the space.
Alvin immediately pushed away all stray thoughts and raised his gaze toward the Root Princess, who now controlled such massive magic.
Soon, he smiled slightly.
"I don't know what exactly's going on, but if you're going straight into a 'Beast' state from the start… then I guess I can't hold back either."
The White Dragon's Core quietly began to activate!
A black, tangible magical energy slowly gathered around Alvin's body.
When the Dragon Heart gave off a subtle pulse, Lancelot, standing outside the tower, seemed to sense something as his eyes shot open, and he stared sharply toward the Radiant Tower.
That magical energy… it's him?!
He's really alive?!
Among the Knights of the Round Table, Lancelot had always been the one who most believed in Alvin.
Or rather—believed in the White Dragon's miracle of regeneration.
Even after Alvin disappeared for years, Lancelot had always maintained that he was still alive.
And now it seemed… that belief had become reality?!
So that's why Morgan returned to the royal palace…? Lancelot's thoughts were shaken for a moment.
But soon, his expression changed again, because he began to hear a low incantation echoing from inside the tower.
A deep, ancient chant that seemed to stir the magic of the entire space with each syllable.
"Everyone fall back! Prepare for unidentified magical energy erupting from the tower!" Lancelot suddenly turned his head and shouted.
His voice was like a droplet hitting a lake, setting off waves of tension.
And then—
BOOM!
The two enormous magical forces inside the tower collided violently in an instant!
Even with the Radiant Tower's containment, the overflow of their power exploded across the lake, light mixing with soaring water droplets as it shot out in every direction.
Wave after wave of magic burst outward, radiating from the tower like a flood.
But it didn't stop there.
Because inside that tower… those two were infinite magical artillery, and they were still building momentum.
Luckily, they were inside the Holy Lance—a place where nothing in the world could be destroyed.
But even so, just sensing the residual magical overflow turned the faces of many nearby soldiers ghostly pale.
Then, someone stepped forward against that torrent of magic.
A silver-haired youth, seated upon the seat of calamity, a knight—marched ahead, lifting a massive shield.
"Galahad…" Lancelot muttered instinctively.
The one who appeared was none other than his son, and fellow Knight of the Round Table, Galahad.
His magic surged forth, manifesting as a white barrier that enveloped the surrounding crowd.
—The Distant Ideal City.
It possessed an incredible defensive power, directly proportional to the user's spiritual strength.
In theory, so long as the heart remained unbroken, its shield could never be destroyed.
Seeing this shield protecting everyone, Lancelot let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"You were a big help, Galahad."
He himself was not afraid of the magic bursting from the tower, but he worried the others might be injured by it.
Thankfully, Alvin seemed to have been holding back as well, not using his full strength.
But if this continued… even Morgan would probably be alarmed at some point.
Lancelot thought to himself with growing unease.
"That intruder in the tower is incredibly strong. And from the looks of it… Merlin seems to have known this would happen."
At that moment, Galahad's low voice came from beside him:
"Looks like he intends to use that intruder to weaken Morgan's forces, huh?"
Lancelot frowned, and said in a terrifyingly low voice: "That damned Merlin… he's probably hiding somewhere right now, smugly enjoying the 'masterpiece' he directed."
No—that nightmare of a man wouldn't feel smugness.
He simply delights in watching human nature react under various conditions and feeds off those choices for his own amusement.
"He'll regret it sooner or later," Galahad murmured. "The one thing in this world that can't be calculated… is human nature."
"Hoh hoh hoh… they're fighting, they're fighting."
In Avalon, Merlin was watching the battle that was breaking out in the tower with a look of pleasure on his face, and soon an amused smile appeared on his face.
Just as Galahad and Lancelot had suspected, Merlin was indeed sitting comfortably, gleefully watching the drama he had orchestrated unfold.
Everything had been moving according to plan from the very beginning… All that was left was for Morgan to arrive—and then the real show could begin.
Thinking this, Merlin quietly activated Clairvoyance, gazing through the Radiant Tower into the battlefield inside.
At some point, the magical clash between the two had… stopped.
Manaka Sajyou stared into Alvin's golden eyes, then sighed softly:
"How boring… You've been holding back the entire time… Were you worried about affecting the people outside?"
"Didn't you also hold back?" Alvin asked, confused. "Why?"
If Manaka Saijyou really wanted the Holy Lance, she should've been trying to break through him as fast as possible. Yet Alvin could tell that she was simply playing around, she wasn't going all out either.
Anyone unaware might have thought their battle just now was nothing but a performance.
Manaka gently placed a hand over her chest, her face breaking into a charming smile:
"I never intended to kill you from the very beginning… I only wanted to know your name."
"Even now… you still won't tell me?"
She gazed into the boy's eyes again, her voice calm and genuinely inquisitive.
Alvin stared back, uncertainty clouding his thoughts.
At this moment, he could truly feel no hostility from Manaka.
After a pause, he finally opened his mouth and gave her what she asked for:
"Alvin."
"Alvin…?"
Manaka tilted her head slightly and softly repeated the name, and then, almost like recalling something, she murmured:
"The Night Watcher… so you're the White Dragon of Britain?"
The moment she learned his name, her Omniscience instantly granted her the entire profile of Alvin within the context of Britain.
…Why is she looking at me like that? Alvin frowned slightly as he watched her from a distance, feeling unsettled by her gaze.
At that moment, Manaka happened to lift her head and offered him a sweet, almost bashful smile, a kind of pure and shy charm fitting for a girl her age.
The shyness and reserved allure she exuded in that instant was almost overwhelming.
Her eyes shimmered faintly, and in a soft tone, she asked:
"Alvin… I can give up on the Holy Lance. But could you give me something else in return?"
"What… do you mean?" Alvin didn't quite follow.
While he was still dazed and confused, the girl had already begun walking slowly toward him.
When she reached him, she stopped, hands clasped behind her back, looking up at him with a bright smile.
Their faces were now incredibly close, almost close enough to feel each other's breath on their skin.
Then, with a touch of restraint and a shy tone, she gazed at him expectantly and asked. "I want a relic from you… Is that okay?"
Avalon.
Merlin stared blankly, his eyes vacant as he gazed at the scene unfolding before him.
"..."
"..."
"..."
After a moment of stunned silence, he finally blinked as if waking from a dream, then quietly glanced over at Artoria with a hint of guilt.
Why did it feel like things were getting a little… off script?
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