At noon, the group rested in the shade of a rock.
The refugees gathered in twos and threes, sharing water and dry food.
The tall figure sat alone on a rock, his back to the crowd, his hood still pulled low.
Ritsuka Fujimaru gave Mayuri and Mash a wink.
The three of them quietly split up and slowly approached the rock from three different directions.
By the time the tall figure realized it, he was already surrounded from three directions.
"..."
He looked up, and a pair of pale green eyes appeared in the shadow of the hood.
What do you want to do?
Ritsuka Fujimaru crossed her arms.
"Tell me who you are first."
My name is Lucius.
The voice was deep and steady.
" Lucius?"
Ritsuka Fujimaru blinked.
She felt like she'd heard that name somewhere before.
In the legends of King Arthur...
There seems to have been a Rome named Lucius?
Considering this, it's possible that the other party really is Lucius.
"Your goal is also the Holy City?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I happened to encounter this team while I was wandering in the desert."
Lucius's gaze swept over the refugees who were resting in the distance.
"There are many elderly, weak, women and children in the group, and it is very dangerous for them to travel in the desert."
"I asked them about their destination, and it matched mine."
So I went with them.
He paused for a moment.
"I didn't expect to run into the three of you again along the way."
Ritsuka Fujimaru stared at him for a few seconds.
His answer was flawless, with no obvious flaws.
However, his identity remains questionable.
A tall man in armor with long silver hair wandered alone in the desert and then happened to join a group of refugees?
It doesn't seem like a coincidence at all.
Who exactly are you?
"I already said, my name is Lucius."
"This isn't about the name! It's about your identity! Why are you following this group?"
Lucius fell silent.
Her pale green eyes looked Ritsuka Fujimaru without flinching.
I'm telling the truth.
As for my identity, now is not the time to discuss it.
Ritsuka Fujimaru wanted to press for more information, but Mayuri yawned.
"If you can't get an answer, then forget it."
She leaned against a rock, holding Fou, looking completely unconcerned.
"Anyway, we'll know everything once we get to the Holy City."
"..."
Ritsuka Fujimaru sighed.
"Okay. I'll trust you for now."
"But if you dare to pull any tricks..."
She pointed at Mayuri.
"She'll have Leviathan eat you."
Mayuri raised her eyelids slightly.
"Huh? Oh."
Lucius's gaze lingered on Mayuri for a second.
Then he nodded.
"Clear."
The group walked for another two days.
On the evening of the third day, a white outline appeared on the horizon.
At first, it was just a white line in the distance.
Then the line turned into a wall.
The wall grew higher and clearer.
Finally, a massive white city wall came into view.
The city walls are ridiculously high.
It's at least 100 meters long, by visual estimation.
The pure white stone bricks gleamed with a holy light in the afterglow of the setting sun, and the silhouettes of people could be vaguely seen on the top of the city wall—they were patrolling knights.
There is a huge gate on the front of the city wall.
The gate is at least fifty meters high and is carved with intricate heraldic symbols and sacred patterns.
The refugees stopped in their tracks.
Some began to pray, some began to weep, and some whispered words of thanksgiving.
Ritsuka Fujimaru looked up at the castle wall, speechless.
"Is this... really a building that could be constructed in this era?"
Mash was also looking up.
"Impossible. A construction project of this scale and precision would take years or even decades to complete, even in modern times."
"Built overnight..."
Mayuri didn't react in any particular way.
"It's quite big."
That's it?
"Otherwise what?"
Ritsuka Fujimaru gave up on discussing architecture with Mayuri.
The procession continued forward.
It's not just their branch.
The refugees who came from all directions formed a sea of people outside the city walls of the Holy City.
A rough estimate suggests there are over a thousand people.
Everyone gathered in a large open space outside the city walls.
A huge circular array pattern had been drawn on the open ground, its white lines shimmering in the setting sun.
The refugees were guided to stand around the array patterns.
Then.
The door opened.
Two rows of knights in pristine white armor filed out of the gate, forming a neat and orderly line.
The armor reflected a pure white light in the setting sun, and every step was perfectly synchronized, like a precise machine.
The knights' faces were obscured by their helmets, making their expressions impossible to see.
Two people stepped out from the center of the queue.
On the left is a knight clad in heavy armor.
Short, light-gold hair peeked out from the edge of the helmet, and the armor was more ornate than that of an ordinary knight, with a sun emblem engraved on the breastplate.
He was tall and imposing, and each step he took was accompanied by a heavy thud.
On the right is a lightly armored knight.
Long red hair fell from her shoulders all the way to her waist.
The armor is much lighter than the one on the left, almost a close-fitting light armor, but the workmanship is equally exquisite.
He was holding a bow in his hand.
The bow has a peculiar shape, resembling a hybrid of a harp and a bow.
The two walked to the front of the array patterns and stood still.
Behind them.
A white horse slowly emerged from inside the city gate.
A person was riding on horseback.
White armor, and a pristine white cloak that draped from the helmet down to the horse's belly.
The helmet is shaped like a lion's head, completely covering the wearer's face.
The crowd fell silent.
More than a thousand people stood in complete silence.
Even the crying children stopped.
The heavily armored knight with short, light blond hair took a step forward.
A handsome face, with short, golden hair that looked like a burning flame in the setting sun.
Welcome to the Holy City of Camelot.
His voice was loud and clear, carrying throughout the open space.
My name is Gawain, one of the Knights of the Round Table.
He turned to the side and pointed to the figure riding a white horse behind him.
"And the one standing before you—"
"He is our king."
" The Lion King."
A low murmur arose from the crowd.
Then came a reverent silence.
The Lion King did not speak.
She simply sat on her horse, her golden eyes slowly scanning the crowd below.
Gawain spoke again.
"Today, the Holy Selection begins."
"A minority of you will be selected and granted the right to enter the Holy City."
"This is the king's blessing."
His voice paused for a moment.
"Let's begin."
The array patterns lit up.
The white lines begin to glow from the edges, with the light converging towards the center.
A commotion began to rise in the crowd.
Then.
Three beams of light rose from the array patterns.
Golden pillars of light shot straight up from the ground into the sky, like three golden pillars supporting the twilight.
Each beam of light contained a person.
Ritsuka Fujimaru squinted at her.
The first one was a young man.
The second one was an elderly person.
The third one--
She is a mother.
A young mother is holding a child who is about five or six years old in her arms.
The mother was enveloped in a golden beam of light, her face a mixture of confusion and fear.
The child was crying in her arms.
"Mother..."
Some people knelt down and bowed in the direction of the pillar of light.
A golden pillar of light slowly rose and moved towards the city gate.
The three chosen individuals seemed to be lifted by an invisible force, floating towards the gates of the Holy City.
The mother struggled within the beam of light, reaching out as if trying to grasp something.
But she couldn't move her body.
Her child was crying inside the beam of light, his little hand reaching towards the crowd.
"Mommy! Mommy--!"
The beam of light drifted into the city gate.
They disappeared behind the city walls.
The cheers continued.
But Ritsuka Fujimaru did not cheer.
The child is still crying.
The mother was taken away.
Where are the children?
The child was not selected.
Then.
Gawain's voice rang out again.
" Holy Selection is over."
The sound of metal clashing echoed from the city wall.
She looked up.
The city walls were lined with heavily armored knights.
There were at least several hundred knights, lined up neatly at the top of the city wall.
Each person held a bow in their hand.
The bow has been drawn.
The arrow was nocked.
The arrow is pointing downwards.
Towards the more than one thousand refugees in the open space.
Ritsuka Fujimaru understood.
The chosen person was taken away.
The rest of the people--
" Mash!!"
Ritsuka Fujimaru's voice was ripped from her throat.
Mash has already moved.
The cross-shaped shield gleamed in her hand.
Magic surged from her body and flowed into the shield.
"Imaginary Noble Phantasm - Simulated Deployment--"
" The Foundation of Human Order!!"
A gigantic, phantom shield unfolded above the refugees' heads.
A translucent, enormous cross-shaped shield covered the entire open space like a sky wall.
A rain of arrows fell.
Hundreds, even thousands of arrows rained down from the city walls, obscuring the twilight sky.
The arrow struck the enormous phantom shield.
The clanging and clattering of metal filled the air.
The arrows were deflected and landed on the outside of the shield, embedding themselves in the sand around the open space.
Like a patch of steel thorns that suddenly sprouted.
The refugees stood there, stunned, protected by the shields.
Some people remained in a praying posture.
Someone's mouth was open, but they couldn't speak.
Some people finally realized what was happening and started screaming, running, and shoving each other.
Panic spread through the population like a plague.
"Run! Run!"
Ritsuka Fujimaru rushed into the crowd, grabbed the arm of the nearest old man, and pulled him toward the edge of the open space.
"This way! Quickly!"
Mash stood still, holding the shield aloft with both hands, maintaining the enormous phantom of the shield.
Mayuri stood at the very back of the crowd.
She looked up at the city wall.
He glanced again at the Lion King, still mounted on his horse in front of the city gate.
The Lion King was also watching her.
Crimson eyes and azure eyes met in the twilight.