"Because I'm more interested in you right now," Sajyou Manaka thought for a moment, "I want to know your name. As a knight, before battle, you should usually declare your identity, right?"
Alvin slowly shook his head, "You misunderstand. I'm not a knight."
"Seems like you don't want to reveal who you are, hm?"
Sajyou Manaka stared at Alvin's face. Around her, an ocean of true ether quietly began to gather. A wind of magical energy brushed past, revealing a face as flawless and delicate as a porcelain doll.
"If I win, can you tell me what your name is?"
"You think you can win?", Alvin raised his eyebrows slightly, a bit surprised.
The Princess of the Root. She really was a troublesome opponent. But at her core, she was still a mage's body, while Alvin possessed the body of a white dragon.
That powerful self-healing ability gave Alvin near-invincible endurance in prolonged battles. In Britain, aside from the Red Dragon Artoria, no one could fight a war of attrition against him.
Even though Sajyou Manaka, connected to the Root, possessed infinite magical power, her body was, in the end, far too fragile.
Simply put, Alvin could make countless mistakes, but Sajyou Manaka could only afford to make one.
Yet Sajyou Manaka's expression remained calm as she said softly, "To be honest, this is the first time I've crossed hands with someone when my 'omniscience and omnipotence' couldn't predict the outcome, so I'm not confident."
"But we can try a little."
"With a fragile mortal body?", Alvin said.
"A mortal body?"
Sajyou Manaka slowly raised her head and repeated the words Alvin had just spoken, "Only you possess the body of a 'beast'. Why would you form such a misconception, nameless knight?"
The magical energy in the air seemed to grow increasingly violent in the next instant.
When Sajyou Manaka slowly lifted her head, Alvin's gaze suddenly froze for a moment.
At some unknown point, a red, cross-shaped star seemed to have quietly branded itself into her pupils.
Not just her presence, even the way her magical energy flowed seemed to have changed.
Alvin's eyes darkened slightly as he stared at the girl before him in shock and doubt.
Then, a terrifying thought emerged in his mind.
'Beast?'
———
Outside the Radiant Tower, a large number of knights from the royal palace had gathered without anyone realizing it.
Among them was Lancelot, who had just returned to the palace.
"What exactly is going on right now? Why would the Holy Lance appear in a place like this?"
Lancelot frowned deeply as he looked at the knight reporting to him and said in a heavy voice, "Are you certain two people entered this tower just now?"
Not long ago, after learning that Morgan had returned to the palace, Lancelot rushed back without delay.
Yet before he could even grasp the situation, he was informed that the Radiant Tower had suddenly appeared within the palace.
Perhaps most people in the palace did not understand what this Radiant Tower represented, but Lancelot knew all too well.
The Holy Lance, Rhongomyniad, If it were to fall into the hands of a traveler, it would be a massive threat to Britain.
He had to think of something.
Just as Lancelot was considering this, he suddenly saw a white creature descend from the sky and lightly land on his shoulder.
Lancelot instinctively turned his head. The snow-white, rabbit-like creature tilted its head and looked at him.
"Fou?"
A small wooden tag was held in its mouth, and it dropped as soon as it made a sound.
Lancelot reached out and caught the wooden tag, then glanced once more at the fluffy white creature on his shoulder.
'Merlin's familiar?'
As he was thinking this, the wooden tag turned into particles of light and disappeared.
At the same time, Merlin's voice rang out by his ear.
["Lancelot, don't clash with Morgan… Also, take your people and withdraw from there for now. Having him at the Radiant Tower will be enough."]
"..."
'Who is he?'
Before Lancelot could understand the meaning of Merlin's words, he suddenly faintly heard a slight tremor coming from the Radiant Tower beside him.
Lancelot instinctively turned his head toward the tower that reached from earth to sky, only to realize that at some point, he could actually hear sounds from within it.
It was a man's voice.
But according to the information he knew, the ones who entered the Radiant Tower were clearly two girls…
'Is there a third person inside?'
Lancelot frowned slightly.
For some reason, that voice sounded strangely familiar.
———
In a small forest not far from the Radiant Tower, there was also a woman with a heroic yet cold aura leaning against a large tree, quietly gazing in that direction.
She was tall, stunningly beautiful, with smooth purple hair flowing loose down her back. Her long, shapely legs were wrapped in thin stockings, and she wore heavy military boots that lightly tapped against the ground.
Her arms were crossed over her chest, accentuating her full, high bust. It was not especially large, but perfectly rounded.
Her graceful figure, set off by tight-fitting clothes, was especially alluring, inviting endless imagination.
"Oh," When she faintly sensed the disturbance in the Radiant Tower, she slightly turned her head to look over, and a glint of keen interest quickly surfaced in her gorgeous purple eyes.
"I knew there were many strong people in this era, but I really didn't expect to run into one so quickly."
And judging by how this was going, it looked like a good show would start soon.
———
Beast, also known as "the evil of humanity," is a large-scale calamity rejected by human history.
Born from human civilization, they nonetheless destroy civilization. To "human order," or rather, the future of humanity, beasts are like cancer cells.
'But… why would Sajyou Manaka touch the realm of beasts?'
Alvin was not given any more time to think, because in the next moment, Sajyou Manaka slowly raised her right hand, chanting something under her breath.
The movement looked incomparably elegant in her hands, like an ancient shrine maiden dancing beneath the full moon.
As Sajyou Manaka raised her hand, the surrounding sea of magical energy began to spin faster and faster, as if sacred chanting echoed throughout the entire space.
Alvin quickly gathered his thoughts and lifted his gaze to stare at the Princess of the Root, who was controlling this vast amount of magical energy.
Soon, he revealed a smile.
"I don't know what's going on, but starting out in a 'beast' form like this means I can't let my guard down either."
The white dragon's core began to quietly operate at this very moment.
Substantial, pitch-black magical energy began to gather around Alvin's body.
When the demonic dragon's heart let out a slight tremor, Lancelot outside the tower suddenly seemed to sense something. He snapped his head up and stared straight in the direction of the Radiant Tower.
'This magical energy… is that him?'
'That guy really didn't die?'
Among the Knights of the Round Table, Lancelot could be said to be the one who trusted Alvin the most.
Or rather, Lancelot believed in the regenerative miracle of the white dragon.
Even after Alvin disappeared for several years back then, Lancelot had always believed that Alvin was probably still alive.
And now… had that guess really come true?
'So that's why Morgan went to the palace,' at that moment, Lancelot's expression wavered slightly.
But soon, Lancelot's expression changed again, because he heard the low chanting of a demonic dragon coming from within the tower.
They were incredibly obscure, incomprehensible words, as though every syllable tugged at the magical energy in this entire space.
"Everyone, fall back! Prepare to meet the unknown magical energy coming from inside the tower!", Lancelot suddenly turned his head and shouted.
The instant he spoke, it was as if a single raindrop fell onto a lake's surface, sending ripples outward.
Then—
BOOM!
The immense magical energies of the two people inside the tower collided in an instant.
Even with the Radiant Tower acting as a barrier, the overflowing magic still blasted the lake outside, light mixed with flying water droplets shooting in all directions.
Bursts of magical energy exploded one after another, sweeping outward in all directions with the Radiant Tower as the center.
But it did not end there, because the two people inside the tower were essentially magical cannons with infinite endurance. Fortunately, the place they were in was inside the "Holy Lance."
There is nothing in this world that can destroy the Holy Lance.
Even so, just sensing the magic overflowing from the tower was enough to turn the faces of many present deathly pale.
At that moment, someone walked forward into the oncoming magical energy.
A silver-haired youth, the knight seated upon the Seat of Calamity, stepped forward and raised the heavy shield in his hand.
"Galahad," Lancelot said instinctively.
Standing before the man was Lancelot's child, Galahad, also a Knight of the Round Table.
His magical energy surged forth, forming a white barrier of light that enveloped everyone within it.
Even Now, a Fortress of Past Visions!
It possessed extraordinarily powerful defensive capabilities, its strength directly proportional to the bearer's spiritual will. In theory, as long as one's heart does not yield, its shield will never disappear.
Seeing the barrier protecting everyone, Lancelot quietly let out a sigh of relief.
"You really saved us, Galahad."
He himself did not fear the magic spilling from the tower, but he worried that others might be injured because of it.
Fortunately, Alvin seemed to have some considerations as well and did not truly go all out.
'But if this continues, Morgan will probably be alarmed too,' Lancelot thought with a hint of concern.
"The intruder inside the tower is very strong, and it seems Merlin knew about this."
At this moment, Galahad's low voice sounded beside him, "Does it look like he wants to use this intruder to wear down Morgan's combat strength?"
Lancelot frowned deeply, his voice frighteningly low, "That guy Merlin is probably hiding somewhere right now, enjoying the 'masterpiece' he directed, and maybe even feeling quite smug about it?"
No… that nightmare would not feel smug at all. He simply enjoyed watching the various choices humanity made in different situations, feeding on them for amusement.
"He'll regret it sooner or later."
Galahad said quietly, "The only thing in this world that cannot be calculated is human nature."
———
"Heh! Heh! Heh! They're fighting, they're fighting."
In Avalon, Merlin looked on with delight at the battle erupting within the tower, an amused smile quickly forming on his face.
Just as Galahad and Lancelot had guessed, Merlin was now happily appreciating the 'plot' he himself had directed.
The plan had been proceeding smoothly from the start. All that remained was for Morgan to arrive, and the real show could officially begin.
Thinking this, Merlin quietly activated his Clairvoyance and looked through the Radiant Tower at the scene inside.
At some unknown point, the clash of magical power between the two had already stopped.
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