The golden radiance that illuminated the sky destroyed Mystery and shattered the darkness, bringing light to a world shrouded in despair.
As though a hero who had saved the world had completed her mission, the radiant Sword of Stars, the phantoms of the Twelve Knights of the Round Table, and the outfit of King Arthur that Artoria wore all faded away in that moment, returning her to the form of a pure-white knight princess.
Clearly, the time limit on the full-power Saber experience card Su Yun had given her had run out.
A faint weakness washed over her. The girl steadied herself, then raised her hands and looked at the golden starlight that still lingered in her palms. She couldn't help feeling a little bereft.
"So this is... the power of that king at the height of her glory..."
Her heart brimmed with both admiration and longing.
She clenched her hands, as though trying to grasp the radiance of the King of Eternity, then lifted her head to look at the city whose lights had come back on. All that remained in her heart was the resolve to pursue that king's brilliance.
In the distance, Baal stared at Artoria's back, still unable to come back to herself for a long while. With the Mystery Domain gone, communications with headquarters were restored as well.
Murata Himeko immediately asked what had happened there and what the pillar of light that had pierced the sky earlier was.
Even from Tokyo, it had been clearly visible. And the Strategy Room had military satellites at its disposal, so they could naturally see the satellite images too. At that very moment, the pillar of light that seemed to erupt from the Earth was shaking the hearts of countless nations.
Although the battle had lasted only a short time, its impact was incredibly far-reaching. The shock it dealt to humanity was even greater than that caused by the Light Screen and the appearance of the first superhuman.
After all, although the Light Screen revealed what seemed to be the hidden truths of the world, it was still separated from them by a screen. Like a scene glimpsed through mist, it had always felt somewhat unreal. And the appearance of the first superhuman, Artoria, had merely made humanity feel that Mystery could be destroyed directly.
But the effect of Artoria using the full-power Saber experience card that night had literally been earth-shattering.
The energy detectors of every nation blared alarms at that moment. The energy readings had exceeded those of every weapon humanity currently possessed. If that attack had been aimed at the Earth, it would inevitably have caused a super-earthquake, and the islands of Yingzhou might have sunk beneath the sea.
Such terrifying power was enough to inspire fear and wariness in any nation.
Anyone could have guessed that the leaders of the various countries would soon be embroiled in a political struggle.
Still, it was an opportunity.
Murata Himeko understood that the multinational organization to combat Mystery, proposed by the Flame Kingdom's leadership, would most likely be established very soon. Only if Artoria stayed with such an organization would the various nations truly feel at ease.
When the Star Corruptor was destroyed, Su Yun received the battle results and gained over ten thousand Fantasy Power in one go, recouping some of his losses.
Unfortunately, he hadn't broken even. Although the Star Corruptor contained an enormous amount of Mystery power, that power scattered widely when it was destroyed. The system's recovery efficiency wasn't very high, and in the end, it only recovered and converted a little over ten thousand Fantasy Power.
The main reason was that the system's recovery efficiency was fixed. It was like pumping water with a water pump: there was only so much it could draw at a time.
The key issue was that the system Su Yun had created was only the basic 1.0 version. He'd left an upgrade port in it. Once it was upgraded to 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, and even higher versions, its functions would surely become more powerful, allowing it to serve many more purposes.
Still, even though he'd lost a little Fantasy Power, he'd achieved his goal.
After this battle, the Mystery side wouldn't dare attack Artoria so easily. Unless they had a way to deal with the terrifying attack unleashed by the Sword of Stars, those creatures could only keep their heads down.
In fact, the power of that strike had even exceeded Su Yun's expectations, reaching a level beyond the norm.
Only after looking it up did Su Yun understand that it was because of the faith this world had bestowed upon her.
As the Light Screen played, people's image of King Arthur had merged with Artoria's, causing those who believed in King Arthur to direct their faith and blessings toward Artoria as well.
This faith-given blessing was normally useless, but when the right conditions were met, it would draw upon the power of faith and grant a special strengthening buff.
That strike that felled the high-level Mystery represented the glory of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, as well as the Planetary Will's fury.
The power of faith was naturally converted into a strengthening buff, allowing Artoria to unleash that terrifying strike capable of piercing the heavens.
This also made Su Yun realize that the content he played on the Light Screen wasn't merely a way to collect Fantasy Power. It could also turn the faith and blessings present in the real world into buffs for the Operators to whom he granted power.
And so, Su Yun found himself thinking along a new path.
Put simply, the power of faith was "belief": believing that a particular person or thing existed, and feeling respect, worship, and admiration for them, which then transformed into faith.
So, could a character who didn't exist in reality, history, or mythology—but was instead entirely "created"—inspire faith if they were introduced through the Light Screen?
The answer was most likely yes!
Put simply, as long as the character was well-crafted and people liked them, creating the impression through the Light Screen that this person truly existed would naturally give rise to faith.
Thinking of this, Su Yun rubbed his chin, coming up with even more ideas for the plot he would adapt next.
Time passed quietly. For the next two days, the Yingzhou authorities were busy.
There was no way to cover up the incident in Chiba City that night. They had to reassure the public and provide an explanation.
Fortunately, although the incident had caused widespread panic, the super-Mystery had also been destroyed. The authorities only needed to announce that Chiba City had been attacked by a level-five Mystery, which had then been eliminated, to reassure the public.
This approach was also the result of discussions among the Five Great Nations. There was no need to conceal what had happened at all. Making it public could instead curb the growing doomsday sentiment and boost humanity's confidence.
In fact, the multinational organization to combat Mystery had already been confirmed. There were still many details to discuss, and each country would select personnel to join the new organization, but it had indeed been established.
And it was all because of Artoria and the strike she had unleashed that night with the Saber experience card.
There was no doubt that the golden radiance had not only destroyed the super-Mystery; it also showed that the sixteen-year-old girl possessed supernatural power enough to overturn the world. She was a weapon of the final battle in the truest sense.
The girl had said that she couldn't unleash an attack like that again, and that she had created the miracle by drawing upon the legacy King Arthur left behind.
But...
What if she could unleash an attack like that again in the future?
Or, to take it a step further, what if that was just an excuse?
Either way, no one could afford to leave such power unchecked.
However, with the support of the great powers' conciliatory policies, and with Artoria being a member of the Holy Britannian Empire's royal family, her unusual status gave her considerable autonomy, whether or not her identity as the reincarnation of King Arthur had been confirmed.
In short, whether or not they meant it, at a time like this they had to say something politically correct, such as, "Artoria is a treasure belonging to all humanity, and her personal wishes must be respected."
The girl wanted to stay in Yingzhou and supported the creation of a multinational organization. So that was what they would do!
And so, the new organization was established.
Its name had also been decided: the Human Order Continuation Foundation—Yao Guang. Its Britannian name was Chaldeas. The organization existed to protect humanity and would not involve itself in the politics of any country. Its sole purpose was to fight Mystery on the front lines!
The organization would establish bases in countries around the world. In the territory of any member nation, it could send advance notice and then act immediately, providing a written report afterward. It didn't need to wait for approval from the local government.
In a sense, it had the authority to enforce the law across national borders, though only in cases involving Mystery. In any other situation—even if it came across a murderer or criminal—it had no authority to arrest them on its own.
Its restrictions were considerable, but so were its powers.
The great powers had no objections. After all, they held over thirty percent of the shares in the new organization, and the first director was one of their own. Naturally, they had no complaints.
The Holy Britannian Empire had no objections either. Although it held only twenty percent of the shares, its princess was currently the strongest combatant—and was even suspected to be the reincarnation of King Arthur. What more could they ask for?
Once the world's first and second most powerful nations had reached an agreement, the remaining three of the Five Great Nations could only nod, even if they were unhappy. They then joined the thirty-odd other countries that had signed on alongside the Five Great Nations to divide up the remaining fifty percent.
And so, the super-organization dedicated to protecting humanity and fighting Mystery—the Yao Guang–Chaldea Foundation—was established.
Moreover, the organization would not be secret. It would be made public.
After all, fighting Mystery was a just cause for all humanity. There was no point in keeping it secret. Making it public could instead give the people confidence and hope.
In short, the great figures had their own considerations. The establishment of Yao Guang–Chaldea marked a new chapter in humanity's fight against Mystery, and finally turned international cooperation into concrete action.
Artoria, the person who had driven this transformation, showed up at Su Yun's doorstep that weekend.
After taking one look at Artoria, Su Yun invited her inside.
The young man and the girl sat down at the dining table. Su Yun expertly made Artoria a huge serving of beef chow mein with an extra-large portion of his secret-recipe beef. She immediately grabbed her chopsticks and happily dug in.
It was a lovely meal. Su Yun didn't ask Artoria why she'd come, and she didn't say. The two of them shared the meal in a tacit, comfortable silence.
After they finished eating, Artoria watched Su Yun sitting across from her as he drank some water. A gentle smile appeared on her face, and she said lightly, "Thank you, A-Yun."
Su Yun murmured in response and put down his glass. Then he stared at Artoria with a peculiar expression. "Lia, are you about to say a bunch of sad but determined things, then give me one last farewell? You'll resolve to bear everything and not drag me down, draw a melodramatic line between us, and shoulder the burden and sacrifices of protecting the world all by yourself?"
Artoria: "...?"
Su Yun put on a serious expression again. "Well, it sounds romantic and tragic, but what era is this, Lia? That kind of plot is way too melodramatic. It doesn't suit you and me. Even if you inherited King Arthur's legacy, that doesn't mean you'd drag me down. Do you think that little of me?"
Artoria: "Uh... A-Yun, how did you..."
Su Yun: "How did I know all that, right? Because I'm part of Destiny too."
Artoria: "!!!"
The girl was so shocked, you'd think she'd aged two thousand years on the spot.
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