Chapter 939

"You've lost your lordship, Aurora."

Shirou said quietly, "You, who cannot even fulfill the duties of a lord, are not qualified to be the Queen of Britain."

"... Ha ha."

Aurora gave a poignant, helpless smile.

"That was just Spriggan's wishful thinking; I never thought I was capable of doing it..."

Anyway... my desire to become Queen is just to make myself more popular...

"You know that's impossible, right?" Shirou said.

Aurora nodded. "Of course... Queen is the most hated job in this Fae Kingdom..."

Just imagining it makes me feel suffocated; it could never suit me...

It's amazing that Morgan... managed to stay in that position for two thousand years.

If it were me, absolutely... only this. I truly admire Morgan.

Aurora seemed to have thought of something again, and her eyes widened.

"Oh, right... I see... that's why Melusine stayed outside and wouldn't come in..."

Shirou nodded in agreement, saying, "She probably didn't want you to face the harsh reality, so I'm cleaning up after her."

"What a gentle child, hehe..."

Aurora her hand on her right arm, which ran through her body, and uttered what was probably the first genuine plea of her life.

"Then... I entrust her matter to you... you who bestowed the name (Melusine)..."

Shirou remained silent and pulled his arm out of Aurora's body.

"----"

The fairy, with a hole in her chest, collapsed heavily to the ground.

Her eyes were wide open when she died on the spot.

The gruesome remains were not preserved; they turned into black dust.

"Even if you hadn't said it, that's what I was planning to do."

Shirou spoke coldly as he left Salisbury, where no one had survived.

When the final bells rang, Barghest was at home in Manchester, observing a period of self-reflection as instructed by the Queen.

The number of Mors who attacked Manchester was not large, Barghest quickly rallied his men to prepare for battle.

Besides her subordinates, many of her subjects also wanted to join the city's defense forces.

In the past, Barghest would have refused them without hesitation.

That's for sure; the weak should be protected by the strong.

She hasn't fallen to the point where she needs the protection of her own people.

However, recently, Barghest's state of mind has changed somewhat.

One of the factors... is probably Artoria.

Long before Shirou returned to the Fae Kingdom, Barghest had a brief encounter with the future Child of Prophecy.

Barghest's first impression of her was that she was a country girl with an unbelievable lack of magic.

Many things happened after that.

At Shirou's request, Barghest fought Artoria one-on-one, but lost to her before she had even rung any of the bells.

Barghest's understanding of strength and weakness was shattered.

She accepted the people's request to join the city's defense forces and then led them into battle.

"Fairy form, expand..."

Barghest unleashed her sealed instincts— A-Ray's tentacles as a form of atavism.

If you're not careful, you might lose your rationality and stop being yourself.

But it doesn't matter anymore.

Artoria is probably struggling against fate somewhere in Britain right now, and of course I can't lose to her!

Barghest used his free hand to stroke the collar around his neck.

I felt at ease.

The Child of Calamity was certain she would not lose herself, for she had exchanged vows with Shirou.

Therefore, she used the forbidden power without hesitation.

"This corner is proof of the law. It is the correction of all improper geothermal barriers—"

Kneel down, Horn That Devours Shemesh (Blackdog Galatine)!

Barghest transformed his burning horn into a sword and swung it down at countless Mors.

The pitch-black flames spread out in one breath, greatly reducing the curse's strength.

She raised the horn that had transformed into a flaming sword high and swung it down repeatedly at Mors. The spirited fairies roared and charged forward in response.

It's unclear how much time has passed, but the number of fairies fighting alongside them has dwindled to almost nothing, and Mors has vanished from sight.

"Did you survive...?"

One of the surviving fairies crouched down with an expression of disbelief.

The other fairies, feeling relieved, exhausted, and experiencing a variety of other emotions, also squatted down.

"..."

Barghest pointed his flaming sword at the defensive wall behind him that protected the street.

Pointing to the defensive barrier they had just defended to the very end, which remained completely unscathed.

When the fairies saw that, they all shed tears.

Some called out the names of their fallen comrades, while others called out the names of their family members.

Some people even apologize for the sins they committed in the past.

Thus, the battle for Manchester ended in victory.

Despite losing so much, they still fought desperately to atone for their sins.

Many fairies perished in the battle.

The fairy's words, "We survived," must have resonated with all the survivors, including Barghest.

As long as they live, fairies must continue to confront their sins.

However, this must be the only way for those who commit sins to survive.

Shirou took away madness, death, and a life lived solely for redemption from Barghest.

That was a punishment that was both gentle and strict, and perfectly suited to her.

As Barghest pondered these thoughts, he looked in the direction of his master.

Volume 11: Chapter 547 A three-way battle involving the husband, wife, and mistress!

Although I was mentally prepared, the last day in the Fae Kingdom was indeed incredibly busy.

Before Shirou could even catch his breath, Artoria's incessant voice echoed in his mind.

"Shirou! Something's happened!"

"Calm down, Child of Prophecy."

"Now is not the time to tease me, a huge alternate dimension has appeared in the northern part of the Fae Kingdom!"

What's going on? This is a lie! When did that appear?!

"Sorry, just saying 'another dimension' isn't enough for me to understand. Please describe it in more detail."

Shirou is currently some distance from Camelot, so he doesn't know what happened.

Artoria: "Um, um, anyway, there's something strange about it!"

What... creature is that? It's black... with only a mouth... Ah, I don't even know how to describe it!

Shirou: "I think I know what that is."

That was a curse that still existed even after the curse of Cernunnos, the Root of the Fae Kingdom, was exorcised; it could be said to be a curse with a physical form.

Artoria: "What?"

"That's an empty concept; it just looks like a living thing, but it doesn't have muscles, bones, or digestive organs."

What you see should be a hole, not a mouth. Just think of it as an endless void.

The earth appeared to be sucked up, but in reality, it was falling.

Imagine a bathtub filled with water; the world is the water in the bathtub, and it is the plug in the bathtub.

What happens to the water inside if the stopper is pulled?

"No, it's water after all, of course it will swirl and rush into the drainpipe..."

Artoria's face turned deathly pale. "... So, it's not absorbing..."

Shirou said, "That's right. It's this world... space itself is falling towards it."

The stopper has been opened; everything on the surface will fall into that hole.

"Ah, I understand the Principle now! But why is that? Is that also a calamity? What we saw in the murals..."

"It's Oberon, isn't it?" Shirou said calmly.

"Huh? Oberon? Why?"

Artoria was completely confused about the situation.

Although she had already realized that Oberon, who had been helping her and Shirou, had ulterior motives, the current situation was something she had not anticipated.

"In short, it's a long story. Oberon intends to destroy Britain before we complete the ritual."

Shirou looked up at the northern sky and said, "Look, he's devouring the island."

"..."

Artoria's mouth dropped open. "How could this be...? What exactly is Oberon...?"

Shirou narrowed his eyes and said, "Oberon's true form is an insect."

It's a conceptual worm, an infinite hole that will destroy Britain and overturn the planet.

"Sorry, I don't understand at all... In short, just think of that giant creature as Oberon, right?"

"Yeah, that thing is Oberon, though I don't know which is the real thing and which is the Shadow."

Artoria muttered to herself in confusion, "What on earth is going on...?"

Shirou smiled and said, "Well, how about letting the person involved explain it? You've been eavesdropping, haven't you, Oberon?"

"Why!?"

Artoria let out a strange cry, and then a third voice interrupted their internal phone call.

"As expected of Shirou, you spotted me."

Oberon spoke in his usual flippant tone.

Artoria shouted, "Oberon! Who are you?"

Oberon paused for a moment, then continued.

"Hmm. Since it's your request, I'll tell you."

He said slowly, "Really, the fairies are hopeless."