Chapter 916
Shirou needs to hurry back to Orkney.
He made the impromptu decision to leave while searching for the Bell of Pilgrimage with Artoria.
Orkney has gathered a large number of ancient Mors, and it would be dangerous to leave Artoria there alone for too long.
After all, Artoria isn't the type to stay put; she's probably still entangled with Mors and the others...
Shirou recalled what Artoria had said to him before he left.
"It's alright! Don't worry about it, leave this to me!"
I've mastered Projection Magic by now! Mors code is a piece of cake for me!
Even without Shirou, I can find the Rain Clan's bell all by myself! Leave it to me!
"Haa..."
Shirou just hoped she wouldn't push herself too hard.
"But..."
Hope wanted to persuade Shirou to stay, but Shirou was really worried about Artoria.
Please give my regards to everyone in the Theater Company.
"..."
The blue-haired girl was silent for a moment, then nodded solemnly. "I understand, Captain."
Shirou turned to Jeanne d'Arc: "Then, I'll leave Lundinium to you."
"Leave it to me with confidence."
The conversation ended, Shirou got up from his chair, being helped away from the war Meeting Room by Hope.
He returned to the room arranged for him by the Round Table Army to recuperate, intending to spend the night in Lundinium before setting off early the next morning.
That night.
A blurry figure passed through the corridor guarded by soldiers and silently entered Shirou's room.
"..."
The illusory figure stood motionless before the bed.
The man lying asleep on the bed before her was the very source of all evil that was causing Her Majesty the Queen to waver.
Once he disappears, His Majesty will revert to the cold and rational king he once was.
But...
If I were to eliminate him here without authorization, I would likely be held accountable and executed by His Majesty afterward.
Even so, this is still the knight's job.
Two hundred years ago, he parted ways with his people and chose to live a life of solitude.
If it weren't for His Majesty's shelter, I wouldn't be alive today.
Now is the time to repay His Majesty's kindness.
Shirou had just fought Woodwose to the death during the day, was still recovering from his injuries, and this was undoubtedly his weakest moment.
Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity will not come again.
Thinking of this, the phantom slowly raised the axe-spear in its hand.
"------!!"
As the axe-spear fell, Shirou opened his eyes.
He easily parried the blade that was slashing at him, and with his other hand he grabbed the phantom's neck.
"...!!"
The Shadow, perfectly blending into the night, was held in Shirou's hand, and its outline gradually became visible.
"How is this possible...? My mirror camouflage pattern was actually detected...!?"
As the mirror shattered, the intruder revealed his form.
That was a Queen knight dressed in standard armor.
"Honestly, there's no more foolish and ugly plot than an assassination attempt that gets exposed."
Shirou threw away the axe-spear he had seized and grabbed the assassin by the neck, then opened his mouth.
The latter tried to struggle, but was easily subdued by the other. "Damn it... weren't you already seriously injured?"
"Hmm? I did suffer a minor injury in my duel with Woodwose, but I've fully recovered."
There is no such thing as an injury that Pan-Human History Magecraft cannot heal.
Shirou smiled slightly.
"Queen Knight... no, I should call you Assassin Knight Bogun."
One of Morgan's trusted knights, the assassin knight Bogun.
Shirou announced the name, which had disappeared from the Fae Kingdom for hundreds of years.
Although Bogun's expression was obscured by his helmet, the trembling in his body betrayed his inner turmoil.
He realized...
This man deliberately portrayed himself as weak during the day in order to lure her into a trap.
He realized he had fallen into the same trap as Woodwose, and was being manipulated by foreigners.
"Damn it, how did you find out I exist...?"
More importantly, tonight's action was a spur-of-the-moment decision... How did you manage to see through my invisibility?
"It wasn't me who saw through the invisibility; it was Gareth."
Shirou explained.
That was when Shirou had just returned to Lundinium and was discussing the battle with the Round Table Army.
He noticed that Gareth was staring at him strangely.
So after the meeting, Shirou secretly found Gareth and asked her why.
The girl said that the air behind Shirou always felt a little unnatural, and the Shadow of the surroundings were faintly reflected in it.
After Gareth's reminder, Shirou also noticed that he had been followed by someone when he entered Lundinium.
Following him was the fairy Bogun, known as the Assassin Knight—a descendant of the Mirror Clan possessed the ability to foresee the future and mirror camouflage.
Incidentally, this name was given to Shirou by Mira, the Night Call of the lake region.
After learning that Bogun had infiltrated Lundinium, Shirou decided to play along and staged a scheme to lure Bojon into attacking him.
As the leader of the Fae Theater Company, Shirou's acting has become increasingly realistic lately.
Bogun had no suspicions whatsoever and sneaked into Shirou's room that very night.
"Gareth...?"
The name made Bogun pause for a moment.
"Impossible! No one in this world can see through my invisibility anymore! Who exactly is this Gareth you're talking about!?"
"I don't think I need to answer the questions of a dying man."
Shirou's expression turned cold. "The reason I didn't kill you on the spot wasn't to talk to you, but to complete the final step."
"...?"
Bogun became even more hesitant... What exactly did he intend to do to me?
"The murderer will also be killed; I suppose you're prepared for that, right?"
As Shirou spoke, he exerted force with his five fingers, which even shattered the knight's armor.
The next instant, the magical power flowing from Shirou's body caused Bogun's body to emit a dazzling light.
As the Magic Circle appeared, the light surrounding Bogun began to change.
"Mr. Shirou!"
Gareth hurriedly pushed open the door. "I saw a light coming from your room from the outside, what happened... huh?"
The girl stared in disbelief at the person who had appeared in Shirou's room.
What appeared out of nowhere was a clock.
The last of the Bell of Pilgrimage, which has never existed before, is the bell of the Mirror Clan.
When Shirou encountered Mira in the lake area, he asked her about the location of the Mirror Clan's bell.
Then, Shirou learned the truth from her—
The Bell-Striking Hall in the lake region was destroyed when the clan perished.
Wouldn't the Child of Prophecy then never be able to ring all the bells?
After Shirou asked this question, Mira explained that Chief Ainsel had long foreseen that future and therefore made alternative preparations.
Although the Mirror Clan's bell was destroyed, as long as there are still fairies of the Mirror Clan alive, they can become the new bell at the cost of their own lives.
Ainsel's original idea was to sacrifice his own reincarnation to become the new Bell of Pilgrimage.
However, Shirou is pondering a way to create a clock without sacrificing Ainsel's reincarnation (Gareth).
He learned from Mira that a fairy from the Mirror Clan, unable to accept the future of her clan's destruction, left the village and sought refuge in Camelot.
Shirou had been planning to go find that guy later... but unexpectedly, he delivered himself to his doorstep.
So Shirou transformed the assassin Knight Qiong'en into the Bell of the Mirror Clan.
"Gareth, take this out."
"Ah... um, okay, Mr. Shirou."
The knight girl, completely unaware of the truth, carried out the clock that had belonged to Qiong'en just minutes before.
Okay... with that, all six bells are now set.
Salisbury, the Bell of the Wind Clan.
Gloucester, the bell of the Wing Clan.
Norwich, the bell of the Earth Clan.
The Bell of the Mirror Clan in the Lake Region.
Oxford, the clock of the Fang Clan --
While Woodwose was leading his troops in a standoff with Lundinium at the front, Shirou secretly infiltrated Oxford, located the Bell Tower, and tampered with it.
Now only Orkney, the bell of the Rain Clan, remains.
Let's set off to find Artoria tomorrow morning, and then ring all the bells in one go.
As a result, the next morning--
What awakened Shirou was the sound of bells echoing in the sky above the Fae Kingdom.
"Mr. Shirou! Something terrible has happened!!!"
Gareth barged into the room, shouting in alarm.
"The clock that I moved out of your room last night suddenly went off! I... I didn't do anything!!"
No, not only that, but a continuous series of bell tolls echoed from afar! There were six tones in total!!!
"..."
Shirou remained calm.
He immediately understood what had happened.
I see...
Artoria found Orkney's clock all by herself.
During Shirou's return to Lundinium, Artoria broke through the encirclement of the Mors Group, passed the trials left by the witch, and rang the final Bell of Pilgrimage.