Chapter 242

Rovey, who had already Projection several airbags around himself, glanced at him.

Percival: "..."

I feel like I've been deceived.

He glanced at it silently, then remained silent.

"Aaaaaaah, no!!!"

In the end, only Percival's terrifying screams echoed through the sky.

At this moment, in front of the city gate of the holy city.

After an unknown amount of time wasted and many companions lost, this group of people struggling to survive in the desert finally arrived at the foot of the holy city they had longed for, the legendary holy city that would protect everything— Camelot.

"We've finally arrived..."

With tears in their eyes, the refugees gazed at the flawless city before them and wept with joy.

"That's the legendary holy city, the white city that can isolate all calamities and ward off misfortune. It's truly breathtakingly beautiful..."

The refugees, who had endured countless hardships, could no longer contain their excitement upon seeing this flawless Snowflake Bulwark. In their eyes, this pristine city was so beautiful; its pure white exterior contrasted sharply with the swirling yellow sand and the monster-infested wasteland. The city seemed shrouded in some mysterious force, undisturbed by the wind and sand, solemn and sacred, standing silently on this land where it should not exist.

Meanwhile, the refugees looked back at the road they had come from, and what came into view was a gloomy and dim sky, and the earth was full of cracks, like hideous scars left by time. Broken stones were piled up haphazardly, creating a desolate scene.

Before them, the walls of the sacred realm stood tall and immaculate, without a single stain or damage, pure as if transcending the turmoil of the mortal world. The majestic and heavy city gates were firmly closed, the solid walls seeming to proclaim an unyielding vow, behind which lay the Avalon longed for in people's hearts, the other shore of peace and hope.

Not only in that sacred city, but also the knights in silver armor standing under the city gates solemnly raised their weapons. They distributed food in various places around the city, doing their best to protect these refugees who might be the source of fire that the Lion King needed.

This experience moved the refugees to tears of gratitude. They couldn't help but feel that with such a knight and city, even if the end of the world came, this place would not fall!

Not to mention...

The Sun Knight, who had been guarding the city gate in the distance, was also there, walking steadily toward them.

"That is..."

The refugees noticed the Sun Knight came out. Gawain had an extremely tall physique. He was wearing a set of holy and magnificent armor and had an enviable sunny face. At this moment, he was the strongest defensive force among the Knights of the Round Table. With the real Holy Shield Knight Galahad absent, he alone was the gate of Camelot, and no one could cross it.

Moreover, they felt warmth and a deep sense of security from this adult, because in the brief moment of his appearance, the sun, which had been obscured by the sandstorm, seemed to have—

"Is that... the sun?"

In a daze, the refugees felt as if the sun, which had been obscured by sandstorms for so long, had finally pierced through the gloom and cast its long-lost light.

"Isn't it already almost nighttime from dusk? How can the sun still be out!"

"No way! Did I take a nap?!"

"This is a miracle!! God is truly protecting us!!"

The refugees were terrified. They clearly remembered that it was almost night, but with Gawain's appearance, the sun was shining brightly again.

"Please do not panic. This is not an illusion, nor is it a mirage. This is a blessing bestowed upon us by the supreme Lion King, named 'Never-Night Blessing.' Now you may fully embrace the baptism from the sun."

Gawain's timely intervention calmed the refugees down.

"I am deeply moved by your willingness to come here and overcome all difficulties to seek the miracle of the Lion King. As long as you can pass the trial, Camelot will never refuse anyone because of their background or status, nor will he discriminate against anyone because of your different beliefs. Everyone here will be treated equally. So please calm down, the Holy Selection Ritual is about to begin."

"So, those are the legendary Knights of the Round Table? It really... puts our minds at ease! With his protection, we'll definitely be safe!"

"Avalon that can accept everything, how wonderful, how wonderful... Rused, we are saved!"

Among the crowd, a woman tightly hugged her seven or eight-year-old college student and wept with joy.

She came to Jerusalem from Mountain Village after marrying into it, but with the fall of the city and the disappearance of her husband, she had no choice but to take her children and drift with the tide of refugees. Originally, she wanted to go to her hometown, the Mountain Village, to seek refuge, but on the way, the refugees heard about the miracle of Camelot and parted ways, and she also came here with the main group.

Now, seeing such a powerful knight, she knew her child was finally saved.

"Lord Hassan, please protect us..."

"Mommy, don't cry."

The child in her arms hugged her back, and the mother and child nestled together.

"..."

Seeing this scene and hearing the refugees' praise of him, Gawain felt extremely distressed.

If he were alive, he would have been delighted by the residents' praise, but now, just thinking about his next move filled Gawain with utter disgust. He couldn't help but resent Kay and Percival for not fighting him and killing him. He envied his sister Gareth for being able to die peacefully, while he had to bear the punishment of killing her, fighting with his own comrades, and staining his skin with innocent blood.

But now that things have come to this, he has no choice but to obey the king.

Having received the blessing, which also meant being bound by it, he was now a weapon to be used, and even with regret, he could no longer wield the sword against the Lion King.

This is what is meant by "there's no turning back".

Gareth...

My king, forgive me... no, true King Arthur, if we meet again, I hope you will punish this fallen knight.

"Look! That's the Lion King!!"

As Gawain silently repented, a sudden exclamation from the crowd pulled him back to reality.

Someone pointed to the walls of Camelot. There... everyone looked up and saw a figure in pure white wearing an extremely imposing helmet slowly appear on the walls. That was Artoria, known as the 'Lion King', who had already reached the realm of a god.

"It's finally starting..."

Gawain sighed, then immediately began loudly to maintain order.

"Please be quiet, everyone! The Lion King is about to begin his Holy Selection!"

Gawain's shouts quelled the riot, and at the same moment, the Lion King raised the Holy Lance.

"—Only a limited number of people can be led to the end; the essence of humanity is nothing more than something that falls into decay."

"Therefore, I will choose those souls that will never be tainted by filth, those that will never be swayed by evil. Those are—human beings who are born unchanging, forever pure, and also the human beings I idealize. I will take your sparks and carry your light to the ends of the world, until the next era arrives."

As the Lion King finished speaking, a white light emanating from the tip of the Holy Lance immediately enveloped everything, signaling the start of the Holy Selection.

At the same time--

"We're about to land, Percival! Get into landing position."

"Huh? There's such a thing? Arash didn't tell me about it when we took off..."

"It's simple, just cover your head and pray you don't die."

"... Aaaaaaah!!"

In mid-air, Percival, who was known for his honesty and composure, let out a piercing scream.

On the other side...

A faint light gradually emerged among the refugees.

—BOOM!!!

Suddenly, a huge arrow, like a cannonball, struck Camelot's city wall, was deflected by the Snowflake Bulwark, and plunged into the ground below.

The enormous noise instantly silenced the once sacred gates of Camelot.

"Enemy attack! And it's heavy crossbow bolts!!"

The Purification Knights reacted immediately, and they quickly moved away from the refugees, forming a circle around the two men who were being attacked along with their arrows.

"Um... Saint, are you alright?"

Despite being a tough and resilient creature, Percival was protected by his heavy armor, as well as his Servant status and the earth's blessing. Although he was quite disoriented from the fall, he did not suffer any serious injuries and had no side effects other than pain.

"I'm fine. I jumped out of the car at the last minute."

Rovey stood at the end of the arrow, looking down at the somewhat awkward scene below, where forty or fifty Purification Knights had already surrounded the two of them.

"It's the traitor Moses! And Percival too! Kill them immediately!!"

Having recognized Rovey and Percival, the Purification Knights didn't waste any words, drawing his weapon and charging towards them, steadily closing in on Rovey and Percival. However, in the next instant—

They all stopped and stared incredulously at Rovey and Percival, not daring to make a move.

"Percival ...why are you glowing? It's brownish-red, is that the light of Archangel Uriel?"

Rovey discovered that a light, symbolizing earth tones, was emanating from Percival's chest.

"I think so. I feel that blessing has suddenly revived, and my whole body is full of seemingly inexhaustible power. It's possible that the Holy Selection ritual awakened Uriel's power. And... Saint, what's on you... is so dazzling!!"

As he spoke, Percival covered his eyes and looked at Rovey was radiating a white light that was as bright as the sun. His face was full of shock. This light was even more dazzling than the Plasma Spark Tower of the Land of Light.

"Those who are through Holy Selection, lay down your weapons!"

"Bring them before the king."

When the Purification Knights saw that both of them were radiant, especially the one named Rovey was more dazzling than all of them combined, they immediately put away their weapons, instantly disengaging from the fighting and the encirclement they had been in.

"Huh? What's going on?"

Percival was a little confused; he was all prepared to confront Gawain head-on.

"Percival... you actually..."

Not only him, Gawain was also stunned. He didn't expect that these two guys could also pass the Holy Selection. Moreover, unlike the faint golden light of the others, one of them had a brown light and the other had a blinding, holy, and intense white light.

He had never heard of such a situation before.

"Mom, are you glowing?"

Rused saw that his mother beside him was also emitting a faint golden light. Then, without the refugees' understanding, the three refugees who were emitting golden light were led to the city gate by the Purification Knights.

Meanwhile, Rovey and Percival were also a bit stunned. Just a second ago, they were riding Stella and ready to fight as soon as they landed. Now, their light made the other party not only not hostile, but also invited them into the city. This development was quite absurd.

Especially Rovey, but after thinking about it for a moment, he understood what was going on.

The brown light emanating from Percival does not mean he has passed the Holy Selection; rather, it means the Earth Angel has passed. The brown light is emanating from the "Earth" blessing within him. After all, angels are divine beings, high-ranking gods of Heaven, so naturally they would not be rejected by the Holy Selection.

He himself was without Original Sin, and his soul was even more so. Everything he possessed was incredibly pure. It could be said that he was the ideal form of humanity in its earliest days, surpassing even Adam and Eve in purity. He was the perfect template. Therefore, when this Holy Selection was illuminated, a spark tower almost appeared, making him completely different from ordinary people.

"?"

Seemingly sensing a gaze, Rovey raised his head, his eyes meeting those of the Lion King on the city wall who was watching everything. Through the helmet, he could even feel the fervor and desire filling the other's calm eyes.

Although there was no verbal exchange, Rovey realized what the guy was thinking—

"I must get him! I have to get him no matter what!!"

The other party ignored everything else and focused on him.

Meanwhile, the Holy Selection has also concluded, which means—

"Everyone, it is truly a great pity, but this is for the sake of future generations."

"The King awaits your solemnity, so—now, the Holy Punishment begins."

Gawain's words immediately stirred up the refugees.

"What is Holy Punishment? Wait, wait a minute! What are you doing? Why... are you pointing your weapons at us?!"

At each end of the refugee line, inhumane massacres began without any hesitation.

Those Purification Knights whom the refugees believed to be protecting them from harm were actually nothing more than killing machines surrounding and slaughtering all the refugees. The reason they were surrounded was not for protection, but to prevent them from wandering off and revealing what was happening here.

"The Knights of the Round Table! How could they have fallen so low?!"

Seeing them slaughter unarmed people, sparing neither women nor children, Percival's eyes burned with boundless rage.

Rovey also realized that, just like Mordred's Purification Knights, these guys had no human empathy whatsoever. So, whether their opponents were enemies from other factions or unarmed refugees, they would carry out their disgusting orders without any hesitation.

We can't just stand here anymore; it's time to leave.

"Get out of my way!"

He raised his hand and unleashed Light Execution, a white guillotine lashing out. Three Purification Knights who had tried to bring him into the city were instantly cut in half at the waist. Then, a silver cane reappeared, and like a baseball bat, it crushed several knights who hadn't reacted. In an instant, seven powerful Purification Knights died a violent death. This scene made the leader restless.

"Moses? No... You are not Moses. Since you were able to pass the Holy Selection, it means you are human. Although I don't know what happened to Percival, you are definitely different. Because of the King's will, I will give you one last chance. Stop this pointless rebellion, Camelot. Both the Holy Punishment and the Holy Selection are the King's mercy."

Gawain, one of the Knights of the Round Table, strode quickly toward Rovey.

"You're talking nonsense! That sounds nice, but is the king you serve only capable of indiscriminately slaughtering unarmed civilians?"

This time, it was Percival, the most mild-mannered of them all, who finally snapped and started cursing. He couldn't take it anymore after seeing the terrible scene.

"Open your dog eyes and look at Gawain! The King would not issue such an order! She is merely a god who has usurped the King's body!!"

"Percival, there is no room for explanation for what we have done, nor is there any point in explaining it. To dedicate everything to the Lion King is the meaning of my existence."

"You're completely blind, Gawain!!"