To Become a King and a Magician 666-670

Title: The Boss Has Entered the Next Phase, Get Ready to Use Potions

The world was collapsing.

This was the only thing Gawain and the others could comprehend right now.

And it wasn’t a metaphor—literally, the [world] they were in was starting to crumble.

“This world is a Unique Barrier manifested by Vortigern through the Holy Grail. It was a place he prepared for his rest. Now that it’s collapsing, it means…”

“Vortigern is about to awaken.”

Artoria finished Gawain’s sentence.

“And that’s why so many dragon calamities are suddenly appearing now.”

The three of them were currently outside the White Dragon City. After the battle between Naoki and Arthur began, for some reason, a massive number of dragon calamities kept emerging outside the city. Their numbers were so overwhelming that Tristan alone couldn’t handle them.

As a result, despite their desire to see the outcome of that battle, Gawain and the others quickly returned to the main gate and, with great effort, managed to hold back the dragon calamities.

But to say they were holding them back—

“If this keeps up, it’ll never end!”

Brandishing flames to incinerate the swooping wyverns into ashes, Jeanne Alter sighed heavily and complained.

Unlike Jeanne, whose defense was like a fortress, Jeanne Alter’s firepower was undoubtedly battleship-grade. The main reason she could steadily withstand the dragon calamities’ onslaught was her relentless weapon barrages.

But this had its limits. If she were a Servant, it wouldn’t be an issue, but now Jeanne Alter was using Gray’s body.

“If this continues, this Gray girl won’t hold up! And our resistance like this is pointless!”

These dragon calamities weren’t living creatures but manifestations of Vortigern’s Mana. As long as Vortigern had Mana, they would endlessly regenerate. Though defeating them could reduce Vortigern’s power, it wasn’t entirely futile, but Vortigern was a being with the Holy Grail. Such small losses were negligible.

Everyone knew this fact.

But—

“We can’t just watch and do nothing, right? After all, if we just stand there, we’ll be wiped out instantly.”

“Tch!”

Lancelot’s response made Jeanne Alter pout.

Indeed, though they knew this was a futile effort, wasting energy and Mana, the fight couldn’t stop. These dragon calamities were ferocious, driven only by cruelty, and even Jeanne Alter couldn’t control them.

(That said… Gray, can you still hold on?)

[I can… please don’t worry, Miss Jeanne Alter, I’m fine.]

(Who’s worried about you! I’m afraid if you can’t hold on, I won’t either! And that jerk will worry about you too!)

*BAM!*

While bickering with Gray in her mind, Jeanne Alter swung her dragon flag again, instantly engulfing a massive swarm of attacking dragons in a sea of flames!

It was impossible for wyverns to break through Jeanne Alter’s firepower, but the moment after this swarm was burned to ashes, an even larger group of wyverns filled the void, continuing to dive down!

Just as Jeanne Alter had said—it would never end.

And at that moment…

*BANG!*

A loud crash echoed from a section of the city wall.

A wyvern had slammed its body into the White Dragon City’s wall! It created a small dent, and immediately after, among the countless wyverns, hundreds, even thousands, began crashing into the wall one after another!

Countless debris fell from the city wall, raining down on the camps below.

These camps, led by the Knights of the Round Table, provided protection for ordinary people who couldn’t enter the city. If they were hit by the falling stones…

“Protect—”

“GAAAAAAAA!”

Gawain immediately wanted to rush to their aid, but before he could move, dozens of wyverns slammed into him at full speed in a suicidal attack! Forcing him to dodge!

But after he dodged, the wyverns crashed into the city wall! Once again destroying part of it!

“They’re practically siege weapons… Are they planning to make us unable to defend both sides?”

“No, the biggest problem is their numbers! Even if we unleash our Noble Phantasms, we can only take out the tip of the iceberg. We can’t match their regeneration speed!”

[Oh? Want to compete with numbers?]

At that moment, in the ears of everyone desperately fighting the countless dragon calamities, a voice suddenly rang out. Hearing it, Jeanne Alter and Artoria, previously filled with anxiety, relaxed for a moment.

The same went for Gawain, Lancelot, and Tristan. The appearance of this voice here meant—

*SWOOSH!*

Accompanied by a tearing sound, in front of the wyverns relentlessly crashing into the city wall, countless chains appeared without warning along their flight path, instantly forming a massive chain net large enough to cover the entire wall!

The next moment, the net rapidly tightened forward, completely enveloping all the countless dragons! Forming a gigantic iron ball in the air!

Then—

*CRACK!*

The iron ball’s size suddenly shrank! The countless dragons inside were instantly crushed to pieces by the external pressure!

The dragon swarm that, moments ago, had covered the sky and earth, as if it would blanket the entire heavens…

“The only one who could do something like this… it’s him, right?”

“Yes, it must be Master.”

Jeanne Alter and Artoria simultaneously looked toward the city gate behind them. Below the wall, already damaged by the wyverns’ impacts, Naoki stood there, raising the iron ball from a distance and smiling at them both.

“You guys are really a mess. Can’t even handle this level? Lia, Jeanne Alter.”

“You’re late and still dare to say that!?” Jeanne Alter wanted to rush over and smack his head with her flag.

(Does he think everyone has demonic strength like him!)

On the other hand, though Gawain, Lancelot, and Tristan noticed Naoki, their attention was on the person standing beside him.

“Your Majesty…”

“My Lord…”

“Has the King finally awakened?”

Hearing the whispers of the three Knights of the Round Table, Arthur, standing beside Naoki, looked at Gawain and the others, a warm smile appearing on his face: “Yes, I’m back. During this time, thank you all for your perseverance.”

“King… no, there’s no such thing as hardship. As long as it’s the King’s command, it’s a duty we undertake wholeheartedly!”

Gawain, stepping forward to Arthur, knelt on one knee and answered.

“Compared to the burden the King bears, our contributions are nothing… I’m so glad you’re back, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, it’s all thanks to Natsukawa. Destroying my Spirit Origin and giving me the Holy Grail from you three finally gave me the ability to keep fighting—raise your head, Sir Gawain, and also Sir Lancelot and Sir Tristan.”

Arthur lifted his head, gazing at the already shattered sky.

“Our battle isn’t over… In fact, it could be said it’s only just begun.”

*RUMBLE!*

As if responding to Arthur’s words, the moment his voice fell, the entire sky shattered to pieces!

Blinding white light covered everyone’s vision.

The Unique Barrier was fully released!

-

Title: What You See, You’re a Dragon Too!

As the white light faded,

Naoki, who had been standing on solid ground, suddenly felt the earth beneath him vanish, and his entire body plummeted uncontrollably downward!

“This… a trap?”

After the Unique Barrier dissipated, what appeared before Naoki’s eyes was a massive, bottomless pit, nearly as large as the White Dragon City itself!

How could there be such a pit in this Singularity?

(No, what’s more important now is—)

Spotting Arthur closest to him, Naoki used Displacement Magecraft to teleport behind him, grabbed his hand, and pushed him through another spatial exchange gate, instantly sending him to the cliff’s edge at the pit’s rim!

Then, he used Displacement Magecraft again, one by one transferring Artoria, Jeanne Alter, Mordred, and the three other Round Table members falling into the pit to the cliff’s edge.

“Phew…”

The last to land on the cliff’s edge, Naoki counted the group: “Looks like no one’s missing.”

“Yes, thank you for your efforts, Naoki. Not a single person is missing.”

“Good.”

Turning to look at the pit behind him, Naoki frowned: “How could there be a pit here? And one this huge…”

Arthur explained: “Because Vortigern is down there.”

“Down there?”

“To be precise, below is Vortigern’s lair. When he was severely injured by us, Vortigern spewed a dragon’s breath to create a massive pit like this, intending to retreat into it to recover through the Unique Barrier.”

A pit, a dragon’s breath…

“Was that the pillar of light from half a year ago?”

“More or less. Of course, part of it was also our attack.”

A single dragon’s breath could create a pit like this. Was Vortigern, empowered by the Holy Grail, really this powerful?

And at that moment—

*RUMBLE!*

The ground beneath their feet shook violently without warning! It was like an earthquake of extreme intensity! Accompanied by the tremor, Naoki suddenly sensed an incredibly powerful Mana reaction from within the pit!

And—

*BUZZ!*

As that Mana surged out of the pit, everyone present felt their bodies grow heavy, as if pressed down by something immensely weighty!

With a pale face, struggling against the pressure on her body, Jeanne Alter, leaning on her flag to stand, gritted her teeth: “What the hell… this Mana… This has to be a joke…”

“Even stronger than a Demon God Pillar…”

Artoria was in a similar state. Though she didn’t need to lean on her weapon to stand like Jeanne Alter, she couldn’t move under this pressure either.

Compared to them, Lancelot, Gawain, and Tristan were faring slightly better, but not by much. It was only a difference in their degree of mobility.

Only two people could move freely: Naoki and Arthur.

*CLICK!*

Naoki snapped his fingers. Instantly, the pressure on everyone’s bodies vanished.

“I’ve applied protection to you, so you won’t be affected by indirect external influences.” Naoki explained. “If you can move, quickly leave this place and evacuate the ordinary people around here. I can sense that the people who were inside the Unique Barrier earlier are now scattered around. Go and get them away from here.”

“I understand.” Artoria nodded. “Then, Master, what about you?”

Pointing to the pit, Naoki smiled: “I’ll stay here to face the creature inside—aren’t I the only one who can handle it? Besides, if I don’t hold it here, should I let it escape and cause massive destruction?”

As Naoki said, with such powerful Mana radiating, it meant Vortigern had fully awakened and was even at his peak. If left unchecked, this Singularity would be completely destroyed, just like in the beginning.

Someone had to stop it, and that someone could only be Naoki, wielding the true Holy Sword.

“Can you win?” Jeanne Alter asked, her brow furrowed.

“Who knows? I’ll have to fight first.” Naoki shrugged. “But I definitely won’t die.”

“Tch, then what am I worrying for!”

Pouting, Jeanne Alter was the first to turn and run.

Arthur also looked at the three remaining Round Table Knights by his side: “As Naoki said, can I entrust you with rescuing the ordinary people around here? Sir Gawain, Sir Lancelot, Sir Tristan.”

“We obey.”

The three Knights nodded slightly.

“Then, my Lord… you…”

“You don’t need to worry about me.” Arthur patted his chest. “Now, within my body lies the Holy Grail from you three, meaning you’re always with me. So the current me won’t repeat the same mistakes.”

The Holy Grail from them was inside their King’s body!

The faces of the three Round Table Knights flushed briefly, then they stood up.

“Then, may fortune favor you in battle, my Lord.”

“Yes, go.”

After watching the three Round Table Knights disappear from sight, Arthur turned to face the pit where Vortigern resided, alongside Naoki.

Sighing slightly, Naoki said: “Didn’t you hear me tell you to leave too? I’m enough here alone.”

Arthur smiled upon hearing this: “Is that so? I didn’t hear it.”

After a moment of silence, Naoki glanced to the side: “Then… Lia, you too?”

“No, I know Master wanted me to leave too.” Artoria shook her head. “It’s just that there’s no rule saying a Servant must always obey their Master, right? Even a Command Spell, I can resist one or two strokes.”

“Besides, my intuition tells me Master is planning something reckless again. Since Gray isn’t here, I’m the only one who can take her place to keep an eye on you.”

“Can’t you trust me a little…”

Naoki felt a bit helpless.

*RUMBLE!*

Another earthquake-like tremor struck at that moment. From within the bottomless abyss, a massive black light suddenly rose from its depths!

The intense light was like a black sun, and in an instant, it ascended from the abyss’s depths to a thousand meters in the sky! The overpowering, dark light nearly blinded Naoki!

And when the light faded, the three immediately saw the true form of the black light emerging from the abyss.

It was a black dragon.

A colossal black dragon, its entire body so dark it seemed cloaked in shadow, as if wearing black armor!

Its body length… at least five hundred meters? From head to tail, it surely spanned five hundred meters. Its two wings spread behind it appeared almost as large, perhaps even larger than its body. When its black wings fully extended, the sky seemed completely covered.

[A hole].

For some reason, Naoki had this impression in his mind.

At this moment, the giant black dragon flying in the sky was like a hole in the world itself, a bottomless void that would swallow everything into its maw.

This was the Demon Dragon Vortigern.

The doomsday device destined to destroy the island of Britain.

And it was the final and strongest enemy in this Sixth Singularity.

“AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!”

The demon dragon’s roar shook the heavens and earth.

-

Title: Ultraman Arthur · Strength Type!

“So that’s Vortigern?”

Bracing against the storm and impact caused by the dragon’s roar, staring at the black demon dragon in the sky, Naoki placed his hand on the hilt of the Holy Sword at his waist—he wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he felt the Holy Sword seemed to react, slightly excited.

“I can sense Mana that truly surpasses a Demon God Pillar… I’m afraid it’s greater than my full power.”

King Vortigern was originally one of the incarnations of the island of Britain, a doomsday device born to destroy it. Its power was so immense that it could even swallow the light of the Holy Sword, turning Britain into a land of darkness.

Even Artoria and Gawain, working together, ultimately had to rely on the Holy Lance to defeat and vanquish it.

And now, Vortigern had obtained the Holy Grail, and its power was undoubtedly greater than when it was alive. Perhaps the current Vortigern—

“Possesses Mana equivalent to the entire island of Britain—that’s how Vortigern can be described.” Arthur said. “Merlin… no, it should be Morgan. She told me that.”

Arthur wasn’t unaware of Morgan’s disguise. After all, she was the Witch who had been by his side for countless years. If he couldn’t see through her disguise, it would be truly unforgivable.

Arthur didn’t care what Morgan was doing by disguising herself as Merlin. At that moment, the most important thing was facing Vortigern, and Morgan had no reason to lie.

And now, it was the same.

Mana equivalent to the entire island of Britain—this information from Arthur’s mouth left Naoki and Artoria unable to hide their shock. All this time, both of them were individuals who never lacked Mana. Naoki had the support of the planet’s Mana, and Artoria could draw Mana from Naoki.

Yet even for them, the amount of Mana an individual could hold was limited. Naoki’s limit was at the Divine Spirit level—it might increase in the future, but for now, that was it.

But Vortigern possessed Mana equal to the total Mana of the island of Britain.

“Does that mean the gap between us and the enemy is massive?” Artoria tightly gripped her Holy Sword. “Even so, we can’t retreat. If we don’t defeat it, there’ll be no future for humanity.”

“Right, Master?”

Faced with such a vast gap between themselves and the enemy, retreating momentarily wouldn’t be shameful. It could even be called a strategic retreat. After all, the enemy’s power far exceeded theirs. Even if they fled, no one would blame them, as there was no rule stating they had to fight an unbeatable foe.

But unfortunately, the three Holy Sword wielders standing here were stubborn people who didn’t understand the concept of being unable to win.

Naoki smiled: “Yeah, exactly. So—let’s move forward, together.”

*TRING!*

A massive magic circle unfolded beneath Naoki’s feet, instantly encompassing all three of them.

This magic circle was a Summoning Magecraft ritual. Artoria recognized it. If it was used at this moment, it meant—

“You’re going to use that move, Master?”

“After all, the opponent is so huge. To face a monster, we definitely need a giant, right?”

【Large entity, dragon species, destructive weapon—enemy elements confirmed.】

【Large entity, fairy species, salvation weapon—elements copied, elements reversed. Summoning conditions confirmed. Using the above three elements as a medium, construct the summoning ritual!】

Under Arthur’s somewhat confused and shocked gaze, Naoki and Artoria interlocked their fingers.

“Open, the gate to the sea of stars!”

“Countless fairies from another world, answer my call and come forth! You are the giants of light who uphold the heavens and carve the future! And also the red dragon who tears the earth and whose roar shakes the skies!”

At the center of the massive ritual circle, over a hundred meters in diameter, a fountain of light suddenly erupted! It instantly engulfed Naoki and Artoria’s bodies!

The next moment—

*TRING!*

Within the suddenly expanding pillar of light, a menacing red armored arm suddenly reached out. As if to shatter the pillar, it swung its arm forcefully, and the pillar of light reaching the heavens instantly broke into countless specks of light!

And beneath the falling rain of light, an armor, entirely red and shaped like a dragon-human, stood there!

Summoning Magecraft · Fairy Summoning · Dragon Species Chain Summoning · Giant Fairy Equipment—

Anti-Vortigern Specialization Armor · King Arthur!

After ten years, it appeared again!

“This…”

Arthur stared in shock at the giant dragon-human before him. With this size, the battle against Vortigern would no longer be as one-sided as before.

Before Arthur could do anything else, another pillar of light rose from the magic circle, instantly engulfing him as well, transforming him into a beam of light that flew into the dragon-human armor’s hand, ultimately forming a massive golden sword resembling Excalibur!

King Arthur Equipment—True Dragon Vein Burning-Type Weapon · Excalibur!

“This… Naoki, what’s this situation?”

The giant sword itself emitted Arthur’s somewhat incredulous voice. For him, retired for ten years, everything happening now felt a bit foreign.

And within the consciousness realm of the armor, just like ten years ago, floating naked as a conscious entity in a red space, Naoki explained: “Simply put, this is Magecraft using Artoria as the main body, then transforming myself into giant armor.”

Summoning Magecraft was originally used to summon fairies and fae. Naoki, now a fairy, was naturally a valid target for this Magecraft. By changing the primary subject during its use, he could naturally achieve this now.

“As for Arthur’s situation… since in this state, our Holy Sword merges with us and becomes an artillery weapon, we can only let you act as the Holy Sword in hand.”

“I see. This way, we can defeat Vortigern, right?”

“At least I won’t have to exhaust myself giving you flight protection and using our Holy Sword toothpick to poke it—to face a giant monster, we naturally have to fight with a giant as well.”

“The main fight is up to Lia. Arthur, you just need to keep outputting your Mana at full power, and leave the rest to me.”

Artoria/Arthur: “Understood!”

“Then—let’s go!”

“Go hunt the dragon!”

-

Title: Wake Up, Arthur

Inside Artoria’s headquarters, five kilometers from the pit.

“Hurry and get inside! Faster! It’s dangerous outside now!”

Ritsuka was helping ordinary people enter the city to take shelter.

She had arrived in this Singularity just a few minutes ago. After she, Mash, and Hinako arrived, they immediately encountered Gawain from Artoria’s side, who was searching for survivors outside.

Recognizing the shield Mash held, Gawain knew they were allies. However, before they could return to the headquarters to explain the situation to each other, the Unique Barrier collapsed. Countless dragon calamities appeared in various places, relentlessly attacking ordinary people.

As a result, Ritsuka and Mash temporarily set aside their questions about this Singularity and focused on assisting the Knights of the Round Table in rescuing refugees and fighting the dragon calamities.

“Seriously… what’s with this Singularity?”

Panting, Ritsuka looked at the swarm of dragons showing no signs of diminishing or stopping. She wiped the sweat from her forehead: “I’ve never faced a situation like this, even in the First Singularity.”

“It’s not just that, Master.” Mash said seriously, raising her shield to smash several attacking wyverns. “Although they’re both wyverns, the ones in this Singularity are far stronger than those in the First Singularity, and they’re not easy to deal with.”

Even though Mash, who said this, had become much stronger since the First Singularity, her use of Galahad’s power was undoubtedly far greater than before.

Supporting Mash’s fight with Mana, Ritsuka gritted her teeth: “Damn it, at a time like this, I wish the Director was here. If it was her, she could probably wipe them all out at once—why did she disappear at such a critical moment?”

Ritsuka, Mash, and Hinako had come to this Singularity to support Naoki, who might be facing a powerful enemy. According to Roman’s speculation, the strongest enemy in this Singularity would be extremely difficult, even for Naoki, to handle.

But now—

(This situation is already dangerous enough! These numbers… there’s no way we can handle them!)

“AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!”

Just as Ritsuka was feeling anxious, a deafening dragon roar suddenly echoed through the sky. Everyone instinctively looked up.

A black demon dragon with massive wings spread wide entered everyone’s view.

【Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! This has to be a joke! These readings have to be a joke!】

Almost the moment Ritsuka saw the black demon dragon, Roman’s panicked voice came through the communicator.

【This Mana reaction… Forget Servants, even a Demon God Pillar is far from this! This is absolutely not Mana a single individual could possess! Even Natsukawa couldn’t pull off something this excessive!】

【Fujimaru! Mash, and Akuta, listen carefully: you absolutely cannot approach that creature. It’s not an enemy you can face—not at all! Not in the slightest! If you fight it, you’ll be wiped out in an instant!!】

Since the Human Order Incineration began, this was the first time Ritsuka had heard Roman sound so panicked. It showed just how powerful that demon dragon was—the pressure from its immense Mana was palpable even to Ritsuka here.

“I—”

Ritsuka opened her mouth, as if wanting to say something.

But before she could—

*TRING!*

Beyond the horizon, not far away, a blazing red light suddenly shot into the sky. Then, just like the black demon dragon in the air that drew everyone’s attention, another being that commanded attention emerged within the blazing red light!

“That’s… a giant?”

“A dragon giant?”

Ritsuka and Mash were slightly puzzled as they looked at the giant standing on the ground in the distance—they felt its form was somewhat familiar.

And under everyone’s gaze, the dragon giant looked up at the black demon dragon in the air, then suddenly leaped, massive flames bursting from its back as it soared into the sky at high speed! It headed straight for the demon dragon!

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Huge.

Though this was evident from the ground, the feeling grew stronger the closer they got to Vortigern.

Vortigern’s body was too massive. Even after the three merged, the giant dragon-human transformed by Naoki was only a quarter of Vortigern’s size.

“Honestly, Arthur, how did you fight him to the point of both of you being gravely injured before?”

With the size of a human-wielded Holy Sword, even if its true name was released, it shouldn’t have been enough to harm a monster this large—unless it was a chant.

Arthur’s voice came from the Holy Sword.

【Regarding that, honestly, I’m not entirely sure. At the time, my mind was filled only with thoughts of how to defeat Vortigern.】

(Alright, I get it, a subjective burst of power, right?)

(But anyway, a world-saving profession like a Holy Sword wielder seems to have some subjective elements. If we really think about it, it’s not entirely unreasonable.)

(However, this might tell us one thing: Vortigern’s defenses aren’t enough to withstand the full burst of a Holy Sword—so that’s easier said than done!)

The level of firepower from releasing a Holy Sword—Naoki could now produce as much of that as he wanted!

“Lia, there’s only one thing you need to do next: keep attacking Vortigern with the Holy Sword in your hand, without stopping for a moment. Arthur, always maintain the Holy Sword’s output at maximum, don’t skimp on your Mana!”

Basically, in this situation, the Mana consumed by both Arthur and Artoria was actually Naoki’s Mana.

“As for defense, evasion, and long-range firepower, leave it all to me!”

“I absolutely won’t let us fall from the sky!”

【Destruction equipment construction initiated, Mana charging preparation, output permission—300%】

Accompanied by the continuous surge of Mana, around the blazing red body, eight massive cannons formed one by one!

—True Dragon Vein Burning-Type Artillery Weapon · Excalibur!

—Eight units ready to fire!

*SWOOSH!*

Beams of light, intertwined with red and gold, erupted from the cannons!

And with this as the signal, Artoria, as the main pilot, immediately charged! She swung the thirty-meter-long giant light sword in her hand toward Vortigern!

The Dragon Hunt Operation had begun!

This time, King Arthur would definitely defeat Vortigern!

-

Title: The Legend of Britain’s Fastest Defeat!

【Such arrogant insects】

This was the only thought in Vortigern’s mind now.

Though he had been slumbering to heal the wounds inflicted by Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, those wounds had long since healed with the near-infinite magic of the Holy Grail.

If it weren’t for Arthur acting as a living seal, Vortigern would have already reemerged and destroyed everything in this Singularity.

So, in truth, Vortigern hadn’t been asleep for half a year as Naoki and the others thought. In fact, he had awakened from his slumber four months ago.

Thus, he knew everything that happened within the Unique Barrier.

The King Arthur who defeated him in the past, the King Arthur from this parallel world, and the King Arthur who wasn’t fully a King Arthur but had inherited the Holy Sword.

Three wielders of the Holy Sword.

Now, to defeat him, they had combined their powers.

【Are there three red dragons of Britain?】

Perhaps this was a situation that would only happen once in all of history, even into the future. It was a miracle confined to this moment.

But—

【Too weak, this magical light】

Just as the attack from the floating cannons and the thirty-meter giant light sword was about to touch Vortigern, his massive, hill-sized body vanished into the air without warning!

The cannon barrage and the slash missed!

“It disappeared?!”

Artoria looked around in shock.

【That’s Displacement Magecraft. He used it when I fought Vortigern before. It must be an ability he gained after merging with the Holy Grail. Be careful】

“Alright—”

Before Artoria could respond, she felt her vision flicker, and the entire machine was instantly displaced hundreds of meters away. Almost the moment it moved, a blazing dragon’s breath fell from the sky like a waterfall!

*BAM!*

The dragon’s breath struck the ground below. The once-uneven terrain transformed into a massive, burning meteor crater under this attack!

Its depth was likely around a hundred meters.

“Just one attack…”

“I told you not to stop!” Naoki shouted sharply. “I’ll handle evasion and defense. You just need to keep attacking with all your strength!”

(That’s true, but Vortigern using Displacement Magecraft is completely unexpected—this won’t be easy.)

That thought briefly crossed Naoki’s mind. The next moment, the blazing red machine vanished into the air just like Vortigern, and when it reappeared, it was at a higher altitude than Vortigern in a single strike!

Holy Sword output: maximum!

Thrust output: maximum!

The shining light sword slashed at Vortigern with full speed! Its velocity was so fast it resembled a falling meteor!

*BAM!*

A swift and heavy strike hit Vortigern’s back! The loud sound and vibrations instantly dispersed the surrounding clouds and atmosphere!

However…

At the spot struck by the Holy Sword’s heavy blow, let alone leaving a wound, there wasn’t even the slightest damage to Vortigern’s massive dragon body! It was as if the slash had landed on empty space!

Not only that, the moment the Holy Sword touched Vortigern’s scales, the giant light sword visibly shattered and disintegrated, turning into countless specks of light and vanishing… no, it was entirely swallowed by the darkness enveloping Vortigern!

Then—

*BUZZ!*

A wave of darkness suddenly erupted from Vortigern’s body!

Naoki used all his Mana to form a defensive barrier for the first time. Even so, when the dark impact hit the barrier, the three felt a shock as if struck by a train at full speed!

*BAM!*

With a dull sound, the blazing red dragon-human was sent flying hundreds of meters through the air!

Artoria stabilized the machine with all her strength: “Such a powerful impact… Master! Are you alright?”

The blazing red machine’s body was Naoki’s, magnified exponentially and transformed by summoning magic. Any damage it took would fully transfer to Naoki himself.

“I’m fine, just got hit, no big deal.” Naoki replied. “Minor injuries like this will be healed by the scabbard in no time, but the problem is…”

The Holy Sword’s slash was ineffective.

No, it was the Holy Sword’s light that was swallowed.

“Arthur, how’s your situation?”

【Not great. Though it’s the Holy Grail, so output won’t decrease, it definitely can’t maintain maximum output all the time—Naoki!】

“I know!”

Just as Arthur reported his situation, Vortigern turned toward the blazing red dragon-human again. A blazing dragon’s breath spewed from its bottomless abyss-like mouth! A black-and-red laser instantly tore through space!

Though he still didn’t know how strong this attack was, judging from the situation on the ground, if they took it head-on, it would be a massive disaster! Even with the scabbard, he’d lose half his life!

Without hesitation, Naoki instantly vanished via spatial displacement from the dragon’s breath’s path, then reappeared behind Vortigern—

“Fire!”

The eight floating cannons fired at full power!

A golden and red blazing storm, equivalent to the True Name Release of the Promised Sword of Victory, erupted!

Unlike the scattered attack before, this time Naoki focused the shots on a single point!

(How’s that!?)

*BANG!*

The answer to Naoki’s thought was a giant dragon tail that instantly shattered the golden and red blazing storm. The massive dragon tail, shrouded in dense darkness, obliterated the light cannon barrage in one strike without taking any damage! Then it slammed hard into the blazing red dragon-human!

Without any suspense, Naoki, as if forgetting about Displacement Magecraft, froze in the air and took the full brunt of the dragon tail’s strike!

*BAM!*

Like a falling meteor, the giant dragon-human crashed into the ground below. Amid the deafening roar and earth-shaking tremors, it smashed into a small hill, shattering it to pieces!

It had no chance to resist.

【Foolish】

Spreading its wings in the air, Vortigern looked down at the severely injured, grounded red dragon like a dominating demon king. Its dark red dragon eyes were filled with mockery and indifference.

Foolish.

Utterly foolish.

With only this level of power, you dare to try saving this world? If you can’t even overcome the end of a single island like him, saving the world is nothing but nonsense!

No, after all…

【The world has long been burned to ashes. You, the last unburned firewood, can do nothing】

【You are powerless】