"----"
Silence visited this space once again.
The apocalyptic scene that had seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
Yet the injuries on Artoria's body told everyone that everything that had just happened was real.
But precisely because it had really happened, it was impossible to accept.
"...Why did you stop?"
Mounted on her beloved steed and holding the holy lance, Artoria stared at Luo Zhen. Ripples began to appear in her usually calm, emotionless eyes.
"You ran out of power... Surely that isn't why you stopped the summoning, is it?"
Artoria gazed at Luo Zhen, who was still releasing astonishing magical power from his entire body without even the slightest sign of panting, merely looking coldly in her direction, and spoke.
"What are you plotting, human?"
Artoria questioned him.
It was obvious that after the battle just now, Artoria had acknowledged that Luo Zhen posed a threat to her.
Moreover, it was a threat of a fatal degree.
Her opponent possessed unfathomable magical power and strength, on a scale that made it hard to believe an ordinary human could possess them.
If she had not had the holy lance and the Holy Grail in hand, she would have been annihilated by those terrifying Familiars long ago.
Of course, the fact that Artoria had been able to hold out for so long while surrounded by eleven calamity-class familiars, suffering only injuries of this extent, was likewise enough to prove her strength.
Precisely because of this, Artoria was not afraid, but she was puzzled.
She was puzzled as to why Luo Zhen had stopped.
Puzzled as to why he did not continue fighting.
Yet Luo Zhen ignored Artoria. Even Mashu and Artoria〔Alter〕 remained silent, as though they would no longer respond