Chapter 430

"... I apologize for my intrusion."

Kyoko, who had made the suggestion without permission but failed to hear Novia's Hassan of the Zealot immediately, retreated to the side with a look of self-reproach.

Novia found her timid attitude rather endearing. If he were to take her to meet the Hassan and the Old Man of the Mountain People, he could easily imagine how startled this aloof woman would become.

"It's alright, you can come in with me if you want, after all, Altrouge Brunestud was your Master."

Hassan of the Zealot couldn't help but swallow hard.

She was briefly lost in thought.

The girl had expected to be rejected.

But to my surprise, they actually agreed.

In that case, no matter what, she couldn't possibly give up under these circumstances.

Novia didn't say anything more and went into the Main Hall to face Carl the Great.

In a palace that resembles, but is not quite, the Rome palace, there is a vast Hall.

The Hall is designed like a luxurious opera house or a classical arena, with intricately structured crown-shaped lamps hanging from the Ceiling, casting a pale purple light on the tiered seating.

Although the Gallery are now empty, except for the old man sitting on the Throne.

"Brother, please forgive me for not being able to stand up to greet you."

Charlemagne, who appears in the form of Carl the Great, seems to have a much more composed personality compared to the one Novia met during the Holy Grail War in the snowfield.

There was an undeniable weariness between his brows, like an old man waking up from the abyss of death that comes with each passing moment.

"How strange, Carl, I never expected you to appear here as a king."

"Alright, brother, you don't need to tease me. Appearing like this at first was just for fun..."

Carl smiled slightly. "We had originally agreed with Richard that whoever took Jerusalem would be the victor. It was quite amusing that that rascal Richard came out in the form of Lion. That Purgatory Flame was probably his punishment for life. We just didn't expect that the Human Order here had already completely collapsed before we even arrived."

Carl coughed twice, then continued.

"The being that turned this era into Singularity, that utterly ravaged Human Order, has been lurking around us all along. By the time we entered Jerusalem, it was too late. Richard was deeply entangled in it, while I was struggling to make the Spirit Origin shout out the Mobile Holy City here..."

"After I retreated here, the land itself provided me with some of my Od —the sandstorms that hinder the progress of pollution. This is probably because of you, brother, since I was here before. I've benefited a little from your presence."

Is the Od power here due to Novia's missionary work, or because of his past campaigns as the King of the Huns?

It should be a combination of both; ultimately, in both periods of Novia's reign, everything on this land was subservient to him.

"Molay referred to that creature as the 'Eternal and Everlasting Lord of Fertility,' and the Holy City of Jerusalem had become its cradle."

Hearing Carl's explanation, just as Novia had guessed, it was initially the work of the Mother of the Black Goat, Shabu, but unexpectedly, it led to the appearance of Azathoth as time went by. The former was alright, but the latter was quite a heavyweight.

No matter how Novia thought about it, she couldn't find a reason for it to wake up from its dream and come to Earth to find a vessel to descend upon. Surely it couldn't be some kind of amusement arranged by Nyarlathotep?

To deal with Nyarlathotep, one must find the best vessel for it, namely the Artificial Intelligence located in the Fate/Extra world. After all, it is a vessel that can suppress Nyarlathotep's will while maintaining its own will and using its power. It can only be said that there are different levels among vessels.

Novia also felt a bit sentimental. Theoretically, the New Primates world he and Ilya had created should have produced an Artificial Intelligence similar to BB, but it never appeared on the day of their final farewell. Perhaps it was due to his own complete bottleneck?

After all, all the information comes from the Future.

Novia, an AI, found them quite cute. When they were created, their first words to Novia were:

"Father, I am truly grateful for your upbringing."

Come to think of it, Novia has quite a few children: the Holy Scripture and the False Scripture, Luce, the New Primates and the Ai, and those souls who successfully reincarnated into other worlds and abandoned their children. Lucius must have been marveling at that time, 'The birth rate has skyrocketed since the start of the New World; little Erice will have plenty of companions now.'

"Speaking of which, Brother-in-Law, didn't my sister come with you this time?"

After giving a general account of the information he knew, Carl asked another question.

Novia could tell that his expression was much brighter now than when he was giving the information, as if he was eager to see his favorite pairing appear.

This made Novia chuckle.

"Um, Attila should be somewhere else right now. I haven't seen her much lately because of some things. And you too, Carl. I noticed that you initially appeared as Charlemagne, right? That was to expand the scope of the Mobile Holy City's domain, so you used the age element, wasn't it?"

"I knew I couldn't hide it from you, Brother-in-Law."

Carl sighed and gave a slight smile.

"After all, I thought I might get to see you and my sister and Brother-in-Law this time, so I didn't plan to come out in this form from the start. As a knight, I was shocked when Richard appeared in his demon Richard. ' Carl the Great, how come you have such a handsome side? If so, why don't you just use it all the time?' It was hilarious. He thinks his Lion form is enough to show off his power, huh? It's just a bit of a pity..."

"Actually, whenever you come out looking like that, I really want you to meet someone. Now, this time, the opportunity should come."

Ritsuka must be quite surprised to see Charlemagne's appearance, since the two look almost like siblings; it's quite interesting to think about.

Novie then hugged Carl, making a very forceful sound.

"But let's leave that aside for now. Anyway, don't worry, Carl, I've made my choice."

He gave a kind smile, then announced it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"As for those Outer God, if they go too far, I will leave them all here."

Novia had this feeling.

Something deadly has stirred within distant Jerusalem.

The impact of the outcome remains to be seen, but he understands one thing for sure.

There is no such thing as an endless battle; it's either victory or defeat.

"Brother-in-Law, what you say will surely come true, I firmly believe that. But for now, let me deal with the 'invaders' of the Mobile Holy City first."

Carl glanced briefly at the Hassan of the Zealot below, then placed the sword at his waist on his thumb, flicked it into the air, and used Od to spread it out, filling the entire Hall with thin lines of light, which then dissipated into the air above the Mobile Holy City.

Thus, in certain parts of the Mobile Holy City, the Hassans from the Mountain People subconsciously heard the sound of heartbeats.

Thump!

It was as if they were about to sink into an abyss where they could not receive a single ray of light, and could only let that light bind them.

Although the Hassans who came here knew that this behavior was indeed wrong, it was His Holiness's command, so they had no choice but to act accordingly.

Who knows why His Holiness would suddenly issue an order? But His Holiness's orders are absolute and cannot be resisted or refuted.

Therefore, they showed no sign of wavering, simply staring at the light, and said:

"We mean no harm; we have come here on the orders of our Venerable One to seek the 'Light of Salvation' that is sure to come."

Chapter 453 There shall be no other spirit before God.

Under the light emanating from the Mobile Holy City of Carl, several figures wearing skull masks were soon found bound at the palace Great Gate.

That is an existence that is difficult for ordinary Servant to detect; that is why Assassin are known for it.

"My health wasn't good, which wasted a lot of time; otherwise, I could have finished much faster."

Hearing Carl speak, Hassan of the Zealot kept her head down and didn't say anything. Only after Novia patted her on the shoulder did she look up with a sigh of relief and stare straight at the door.

Even though she was somewhat prepared, she was still taken aback when she saw it.

Her memory, her soul, and her tempered physique all clearly understood what those people wearing skull masks were.

Those were Hassan of the Zealot from several generations, even Hassans of her own generation, whom Kyonobu had learned his special techniques from. But right now, Hassan of the Zealot suppressed her excitement, her face unconsciously filled with sorrow as she remained silent.

"Is your revered one that 'mountain'?"

Hassan Cursed Arm lives in the present era, raised his gaze upon hearing this and looked at the silver-haired man who was speaking.

He had never met this man before, yet he subconsciously felt a reverence for him comparable to that of a revered monk. The man's gentle voice seemed to penetrate his soul, sounding both stern and tender, and tears involuntarily streamed down his face.

It was unbelievable. This was clearly the first time he had ever seen it. There was no special torrent of Od, no radiance or impact. Nothing was beyond the realm of common sense. Moreover, he was not a so-called Servant like the other Hassans, but a person of this era.

However, after quickly regaining his composure, Cursed Arm respectfully replied:

"Our only revered one is Hassan-i Sabbah, the 'Mountain'."

"Mountain?"

Carl muttered something under his breath. He had heard Richard mention before that he had fought alongside a member of the Mountain Order in his lifetime, which was why he had allowed the Mountain People to come to the Mobile Holy City. However, seeing that they were acting furtively, he had deliberately captured them in order to maintain his authority in front of his Brother-in-Law.

Richard the Lionheart's enemy during his eastern campaign was Saladin. The casualties on both sides even led to the intervention of the Dead Apostle Ancestor. Nero Chaos carried out a massacre that turned the desert red, while another, Merem Solomon, used giant Familiar slaughter people. This forced Richard, Saladin, and the third party Hassans, to join forces to stop the Dead Apostle Ancestor's rampage.

However, the final result was that the two Dead Apostle Ancestor fled after the massacre, leaving the Dead Apostle who wanted a share of the spoils to be ganged up on and beaten to death by the three parties.

Although the Church of the Mountain believes that the Old Man of the Mountain lived in the 11th or 12th century, that was only because Old Man of the Mountain manifested according to destiny. After all, destiny did not allow him to manifest in the previous centuries, and only a very few people, whose legends could not even spread, could occasionally hear about the fame of that Valley of Shadows.

This naturally includes Avia and Altrouge Brunestud from the fifth century, which is the fundamental reason why Hassan of the Zealot later recognized Black Princess as her Master.

"A Valley of Shadows valley where the boundary between life and death is blurred, hmm."

Novia nodded to herself, "I think that's what the old man's mountain is called."

Upon hearing Novia address their master in such a manner, the Hassans present, including the Hassan of the Zealot, couldn't help but exchange glances, some unsure of what to say.

Although we all instinctively feel awe for the person before us, it seems that speaking of our Venerable One in this way isn't entirely wrong... No, no, no matter what, it still won't work. After all, our Venerable One is an unparalleled being. But, however, then--

"You don't need to worry about it so much. The so-called light of salvation that your 'venerable one' speaks of must be me."

Novia, sensing their inner turmoil, continued, "However, your revered one may not necessarily be the actual person in question."

"What... what does this mean? I don't understand what you mean at all."

Don't you understand?

"Not understand."

"Your revered one shouldn't have ever left the temple, right? No, given your personalities, you wouldn't dare to enter that temple without permission."

Novia made a gesture of looking up at the sky and sighing, but the next moment she smiled and looked at Hassans.

"After all, the Himalayas Mountains are still mountains."

"But there's absolutely no way we wouldn't recognize it. We've been striving all this time to be able to, how could it be... that ghostly blue flame..."

"Alright, alright, the Venerable One in the temple was indeed able to enter because of the old man. You haven't done anything wrong, he wouldn't dare to harm you. If it really comes to it, I'll go and talk to the old man."

Novia rubbed her temples, trying to comfort Hassan, who thought, "How could I have mistaken the Venerable One for someone else and followed his words? This must be a grave Hassan."

As someone who had the connection to the 'mountain' in the Tezcatlipoca, Novia was naturally very familiar with all sorts of 'mountain' concepts. While it was true that Hassans ilk possessed the 'mountain' aura of the Old Man of the Mountain, Novia still sensed a subtle difference in Old Man of the Mountain understanding of the 'mountain'—

Himalayas Mountains.

It's so hard to guess. To have some connection with the Himalayas Mountains, and then for the Old Man of the Mountain to let him "stay" in the temple and tell him the name "Light of Salvation" that the old man had once called him, it's really hard to know who he is.

Hassan of the Zealot, wearing a face covering, glanced at Novia out of the corner of her eye. Although she knew it was wrong, she acted on it instinctively.

Novia's expression reminded her somewhat of the way she looked when she met those 'respectable' women in the Snowfield Holy Grail...

Could it be that the princess among the Dead Apostle has appeared? After all, she also possesses the aura of a Venerable One...

Hassan of the Zealot thought of it naturally.

Then she shook her head; there was no point in thinking about these questions now.

All you need to do is your job.

Therefore, the Black-Haired Girl spoke respectfully to Novia.

"In that case, would you please accompany us to meet the Venerable One? Although I am truly sorry to speak at this time, since it is the Venerable One's suggestion, there must be some compelling reason. Please be sure to go and see for yourself. If there is anything I can do for this, I will certainly do it. Is that alright?"

Although Novia could understand Hassan of the Zealot's somewhat humble feelings, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Ahahaha, that's troublesome. No, it doesn't seem that troublesome. But it's still a bit troublesome."

Carl chuckled and adjusted his posture. He immediately thought that the Hassan of the Zealot treated his Brother-in-Law- in-law so well was a good prospect, unlike the other Hassan who just stared blankly. He thought it would be quite interesting to have her as a maid for his sister, but that was just a thought.

"I'll go to Jerusalem first; I'll visit that venerable one later."

Novia immediately stopped smiling and said with a serious expression.

Although Hassan of the Zealot had long expected this kind of reaction, she wiped her forehead with a handkerchief and forced a fawning smile.

"Whatever you think is fine..."

If it's related to the Himalayas Mountains, then it's undoubtedly one of the three Goddess of India. Adding to that the azure flame mentioned by the Cursed Arm, it's most likely Kama. Speaking of which, Novia is quite sentimental. She originally wanted to bring Kama back to Chaldea with her, but it was put on hold because of Maitreya's affairs.

After returning to Chaldea, I discovered that I had lost contact with that world as well. I tried to summon it several times using Chaldea but failed. I never expected to end up here. But it seems that the Spirit Origin has been prepared? Otherwise, given the Old Man of the Mountain's personality, he wouldn't be so easy to talk to the beasts.

After all, if someone has both a beastly Spirit Origin and Grand, then Human Order might become quite difficult to maintain.

Given Kama's personality, now that she's recovered, she'll probably start referring to herself in that way again.

It was at this very moment that an indescribable fluctuation caused Novia to momentarily lose her composure—a truly unique occurrence.

Because he saw a woman.