"Head to the desert, you say?"
"That is where they head next. The Atlas Institute. Fulfill your role as a roving knight, Lancelot."
"Yes. —Lion King, you are..."
"Ah, there is no need to stand. Nor is there need for thanks."
"Hah... wha—"
"Because we shall never meet again."
From the Lion King's fingertip, the Holy Lance was fired.
Before he could even evade, Lancelot took a direct hit and was blown away. With tremendous force, his body alone was blasted straight into the middle of the desert.
"—Farewell, Knight of Ferocity. The next time we meet, you will likely no longer call yourself a Knight of the Round Table."
The Lion King murmured quietly and left the throne behind...
Operation: Fortress Demolition
Agravain's Fortress...
A place of interrogation without blood or tears, where prisoners were tormented and tortured to wring out flesh, blood, and information. The horrific, exclusive stage of the Man of Iron.
"Rumor has it that under Sir Agravain's hand, even a hippo would beg for help in human language. That's how nasty it gets."
"Seriously? What kind of cruelty makes a hippo talk..."
"That ain't all. The ruins built underground are stuck with grudges, and they appear, every time!"
"Seriously? Is that seriously true?"
"That ain't all either. I heard that..."
"There's too much bad news about this fortress! Ah, I wanna live in the Holy City...!"
"I wonder about that. I heard the Holy City is in deep trouble right now too. Pests, rain of blood, gruesome calamities..."
"...Guess it's the same everywhere, surprisingly..."
Soldiers of the fortress continued their idle chat while stretching in the morning sun.
There were only prisoners here, and this fortress was located far from the Holy City, so there were no external enemies or threats. Their laxity was born of that belief—
"—...Huh?"
Suddenly, the entire area was wrapped in darkness. The calm and quiet morning glow vanished, and a jet-black space, the darkness of night, enveloped the surroundings. A veil of darkness descended, so thick one couldn't even see right in front of them.
"H-Hey, it's morning, right? It was morning, wasn't it?!"
A soldier raised his voice at the sudden nightfall.
"C-Calm down! We're probably just dreaming!"
"Don't be stupid! It was morning just a second ago! I brushed my teeth! I washed my—Bwah?!"
Smashing into the soldiers' faces—sand. And gravel.
"Pwah, waph?! —Sand?! Gravel?!"
They instantly turned into wind, gained momentum, swirled up, blew up, and raged.
"Hey! What is this, what's happening! Is this—a sandstorm?!"
"Hah?! Don't be stupid! We aren't in a desert, so why would a storm blow through?!"
"Like I know! Is this a dream?! Gaaah, my eyes! My eyes hurt!"
"Crap, we don't have sandstorm gear!"
Confused by the impossible, unforeseen situation, the soldiers fell into chaos. Even as they panicked, trying to seek instructions from their commander—
"H-H-Hey...!"
One of the soldiers pointed to the sky, trembling.
"W-What, what is that—"
All the soldiers recognized It, were stupified, and dropped their weapons.
"Ah, ah, ahhh..."
—There, floating in the air against the backdrop of the night darkness, was a [Skull Mask].
[O Living Ones, O those who devour life—]
—It was floating there. [That Thing].
A phenomenon created by the Cloak granted to a single girl, creating an Assassin's exclusive stage.
The sandstorm gained momentum, strengthening to the point where they couldn't even open their eyes, couldn't even stand on their feet.
—[That Thing] shone its hollow eye sockets, the eyes of an empty skull—and proclaimed.
Stirring up the sand.
Beckoning the living.
Resonating with a majesty that would harvest souls, making the very space wail solemnly—!
[—BARE THY NECK!!!]
At that sentence of death—
""""""U, UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!""""""
Without shame or reputation, driven by instinctual terror, they threw away their weapons, abandoned their posts, and fled in confusion, clinging to life.
No command, and morale wasn't that high to begin with. Pierced into that was—the fear of death.
Driven by primal emotion, the pitiful soldiers fled in confusion and fear—
But the soldiers' suffering, their long day of terror, had only just begun.
[—Everyone, now! Get to work!]
"""Understood!"""
Echoing through the space, responding to the overlapping voices of the Grim Reaper and the girl, were three voices.
"『Zabaniya (Delusional Heartbeat)』"
Through Cursed Arm Hassan's technique, his body became completely smoke and mist, blocking the soldiers' escape routes and surrounding them.
"What smoke is this?!"
"Open up! Help meeee!"
"Hiiiiiiiiiiii?! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"—Hundred Personas, I leave it to you!"
Responding to Cursed Arm Hassan's command, Hundred Personas Hassan kneaded mana and unveiled her Secret Art—
"Leave it to me! In front of the First Hassan, failure is absolutely unforgivable! 『Zabaniya (Delusional Illusion)』!"
Hundred Personas Hassan's true worth was being an individual yet a group, a group yet an individual. A true worth that sublimated the multiple personalities of life into the Old Man of the Mountain's Secret Art.
"Skeletons! The skeletons multiplied—!"
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
"Silence! Sleep for a while! Be grateful you aren't being killed!"
Zayid bewildered everyone with dance.
"Too easy—Too easy—"
"What is th—gebuah!"
"H-Hey—gofah!"
Immediately, the monstrous-armed Gozul knocked the soldiers unconscious with lariats.
"————..."
The swift Makoul quickly collected the scattered soldiers, organized them, tidied them up into a bundle, and stacked them.
"Is this everyone?!"
Cursed Arm Hassan released his right arm, scooped up the soldiers, and counted them.
"—...It matches the reported numbers. No problem. Let us tie them to the trees outside the fortress."
The three Hassans quickly flew away from the fortress. Taking out the All-Purpose Cloth Hassan, they wrapped up the unconscious soldiers, bound them, and neutralized them.
[Everyone, good work!]
Ricca, clad in the Evil Dragon Armor, appeared via instant teleportation accompanied by blue flames.
"Lord Ricca, the clearing of people is complete. Was our execution lacking—could you assess us?"
The three knelt. Nodding at Cursed Arm Hassan's words, she gazed at the fortress.
—By donning the First Hassan's cloak, Ricca was able to borrow the technique of Blue Flame, the technique to distinguish Flames of Life.
The Technique of Blue Flame. The First Hassan's assassination art of teleporting oneself, or burning enemies to ash, or taking their backs to accomplish an assassination.
And the technique of gazing upon Flames of Life. An Assassin's eye power that can gaze upon and see through the locations of those hostile to oneself, those who live.
[—Yep! It's okay! There are no soldiers anywhere! Everyone, good work! Leave the rest to me and stand by!]
"""Your will."""
The three Hassans dispersed and retreated in an instant. Ricca also looked up at Vimana and instantly returned to the ship's deck via Blue Flame Teleportation.
[The soldiers have been evacuated! Now, let's go! Artemis!]
She activated the Goddess's Bow on her left hand.
[Go! My Bow! My Faith!!]
Cutting a pose inherited from Achilles, she threw the arrow with all her might directly above the fortress.
—The Veil of Night was for this—!
The arrow flew into the heavens with tremendous force. Ricca clasped her hands together in prayer.
'Here we go, here we go~! Ricca, ready, set!'
With the approval of the Moon Goddess Artemis, the Moon Goddess's arrow pierced through the clouds, converting moonlight into prayer and power, exceeding critical mass and slamming down!
[『Reach unto you, All of the Moon: Agneia Endymion (Artemisium Artemit Ray)』!]
Light released from the moon, a massive mana beam of Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm class, rained down on the fortress.
Though small, it was a fortress, a facility with defense as its main objective. A base where life was also considered.
The white majesty, authority, and torrent of light mercilessly swallowed them, blew them away, and embraced them—
'Really, this isn't a spell a human should be firing...'
'Well, it's Ricca.'
—Master is amazing! I realize that anew!
From the moment it touched, the fortress was purified, blown away, annihilated, and sublimated without leaving a speck of dust.
Due to the excessive energy, it went beyond collapsing and caused the phenomenon of vanishing, dissipating into mist. If a human were caught in it, not a piece of meat or drop of blood would remain.
...And by the time the irradiation was complete and the prayer was released—
[—Phew! It went well! Artemis!]
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