It's Time to Give a New Cheat

It was a massive lump of flesh, a thing cut from the same cloth as the mysterious entities.

A gargantuan mass of flesh, over four hundred meters in diameter, hung in the air. It possessed countless tentacles, yet lacked eyes, ears, or a nose—it had only mouths.

Countless mouths, lined with sharp, jagged teeth, all turned inside out; it was a truly terrifying sight.

The moment it descended, every person in Chiba lost the ability to speak. Fear permeated their hearts; those who had been sound asleep woke up in that instant, only to feel as if their throats were being throttled, unable to utter a single sound.

Unable to comprehend what was happening, unable to imagine the situation, the entire city plunged into pitch-black darkness under the influence of the mysterious domain shrouding it. Every light that would normally remain on throughout the night vanished in that moment.

Pitch black and voiceless, stripped of language, humanity seemed to have fallen into the deepest abyss of terror.

This was the most fundamental ability of the Star Corruptor. Representing "language," the Beast of a Thousand Mouths, possessing countless mouths, stripped humanity of speech and sound just as a god wielding the laws of reality would.

This was its rule as a mysterious entity, and yet, it was not its only rule.

As a high-level mysterious entity, the Star Corruptor manifested multiple rules, and its rules for killing humans were even more varied.

Once it unleashed them, there would be no survivors in all of Chiba, save for Artoria.

Even Artoria, upon seeing that horrific monster, felt her hand gripping her sword begin to tremble slightly.

She couldn't win.

She absolutely couldn't win.

Against such a monster, it was impossible for her current self to triumph...

The girl's Instinct was screaming a frantic warning, urging her to run away immediately. If she stayed here, she would truly die.

This intense sense of crisis made the girl realize that staying meant death; fleeing was the only way to save herself.

But...

The girl did not run, nor did she take a single step back. Even though her heart was filled with fear, she still gripped the Sword in the Stone tightly.

Because, behind her and all around her, were millions of people!

Even if the resistance she could offer was of no use...

In this moment, the girl understood: the Church of Mysterious Words had come specifically for her. As the absolute protagonist in the Light Screen, and also the first superhuman of humanity, the Church of Mysterious Words viewed her as a threat to their side. Thus, even though she was currently weak, they intended to strangle her in the cradle.

Reality is not a game. In games, the villains wait obediently for the protagonist to level up and train. In the real world, however, enemies give no such opportunities; once discovered, they strike to kill.

Perhaps the Songstress who appeared the night before last was also sent by the Church of Mysterious Words—a test, and an attempt to nip the threat in the bud.

If Artoria and the others who appeared in the Light Screen were not superhumans, they would simply be erased. But if they were superhumans, and the mysterious Songstress couldn't kill them, then the Church of Mysterious Words would take direct action.

This was reality. A true Demon King does not give the hero time to grow.

However...

If the enemy could know Artoria's movements immediately, it could only prove one thing: the Church of Mysterious Words was capable of monitoring Artoria.

Then...

Was it some special ability or a mysterious artifact, or...

Was there a mole from the Church of Mysterious Words inside the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Office?

In an instant, Artoria's mood turned heavy.

Equally heavy was the mood of Murata Himeko at the headquarters of the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Office. She, too, had considered this possibility. A brainstorm occurred in her mind as she contemplated the potential for an internal traitor, and she reached a new decision.

"It seems that when I establish the new international organization, I will have to take the opportunity to properly screen and restructure the Supernatural Disaster Countermeasures Office. I can tolerate spies from other countries within our ranks, but I cannot tolerate the existence of human traitors!"

"Will this be my final battle?"

This thought could not help but arise in Artoria's heart, followed by a quiet sense of desolation, for the answer required no thought—it was already laid out before her.

Yet, even if it were her final battle, she did not want to die in vain. At least...

Let me save the people here!

Destiny, if this organization truly exists, if those powerful beings truly exist, please help me at a time like this. I beg you, if you truly exist...

The girl yearned and prayed. She hoped with all her might that Destiny still existed and was still guarding this world, for if Destiny had indeed met with disaster as she suspected, then tonight was destined to be nothing but endless tragedy.

However, in that very instant, the girl felt a lightness in her mind, and then she saw the scene before her change drastically.

It was a space shrouded in black mist, with many things covered in black aura surrounding her; she could not clearly see what they were.

Yet, in the center of this space, atop a high pile of what appeared to be ruins and debris, sat a person whose face could not be seen, shrouded in black mist.

The entire image resembled some kind of villain.

But for some reason, Artoria felt no malice toward them at all. Instead, an unspoken and extremely sorrowful emotion welled up in her heart for no apparent reason, as if this mysterious person were bearing something so heavy that it made her feel a poignant sense of empathy.

"Ugh... what is happening? This... that... who are you..."

Then, before the other could answer, information suddenly flooded Artoria's mind. It was knowledge she had received alongside the inheritance of King Arthur, only it had remained dormant until now, activated by this moment.

Archbishop of Destiny! The creator and leader of Destiny!

His true name had long since been worn away by the dust of history; all that remained was his identity as the Archbishop of Destiny.

"So, is this the Spiritual Sanctuary that only Destiny Operators can reach, the Destiny Domain?"

Subconsciously glancing at the pitch-black surroundings, she couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't a pleasant place, yet information regarding the Destiny Domain existed within her inheritance.

As a Spiritual Sanctuary accessible only to an Operator of Destiny, this was a mental space where time flowed entirely differently than in the outside world; even if a day passed here, only a few seconds would likely have elapsed outside.

Therefore, upon arriving here, Artoria no longer needed to worry so much about the Star Corruptor.

Looking toward the Archbishop of Destiny, Artoria pleaded with a sincere tone: "Lord Archbishop, please help me! Chiba City is currently under attack by a Mystery, and that monster will kill millions of people. My own power is insufficient to contend with it, so please, help me! I beg of you!"

Then, Artoria saw the Archbishop seemingly raise his hand, and a golden radiance suddenly flew out, crashing directly into her body.

In that instant, she felt her consciousness being pulled away from the Destiny Domain, while simultaneously, new information was acquired.

The appearance of that monster was entirely within the expectations of the Archbishop of Destiny, for although the Mystery lacked human intelligence, it was aided by human traitors; thus, the Mystery side also practiced the method of nipping threats in the bud.

However, to Destiny, such a monster was merely a slightly larger ant, not worth mentioning compared to the true enemies Destiny had to face. Even for Artoria, once she matured, annihilating that monster would be an effortless task.

Yet, the Archbishop would not intervene directly; instead, he intended for Artoria to use 'her own' power to eliminate the monster.

Because this was a trial belonging to Artoria—a trial left behind by King Arthur—it was also meant to make her understand the true meaning of the King of Eternity.

Indeed, that existence known as King Arthur had long foreseen all of this, and while signing a contract with Destiny during her lifetime, she had left behind a portion of her power to be kept by the Archbishop of Destiny.

Now, the Archbishop of Destiny was simply returning that power, which belonged to Artoria, back to her.