Truth

In the next moment, Merlin dashed toward the royal palace as if she had gone mad.

As the spatial confinement surrounding Camelot completely lifted, she moved like a ghost through the air and, in just a few breaths, arrived at her destination.

Among the rubble on the ground, she immediately spotted two tall figures.

They wore identical pale silver armor, one wielding a radiant lance and the other a flaming greatsword. They stood hundreds of meters apart, locked in a stare-down, resembling frozen statues.

This eerie scene caused Merlin to instinctively halt her steps until suddenly, she heard a faint yet crisp sound.

*Crack!*

A small crack suddenly appeared on Arthur's chest plate, like a line of collapsing dominoes.

*Crack!* *Crack!* *Crack!*

More cracks followed, filled with vivid red-like lava, spreading rapidly across his body.

*BOOM—!*

A fierce explosion erupted as Arthur's silver armor shattered instantaneously.

His body flew backward like a marionette with its strings cut, crashing against a fallen pillar. His naked upper body bore horrific blackened scars.

Rhongomyniad fell from his grasp, hitting the ground as its radiance gradually faded, revealing the cracks on its surface.

"Arthur!"

Merlin let out a blood-curdling cry, appearing beside Arthur in an instant, bombarding him with various healing magecrafts as if they were candies.

Yet, her efforts were futile.

When struck by the Might of An-Utu, it was a fatal blow to any being.

Arthur's body was utterly destroyed, beyond the reach of even the most powerful magecraft.

"Sorry, Merlin... Even with your help this time, I still failed..."

Despite looming death, Arthur spoke surprisingly calmly, there was no hint of resentment in his tone, only a sense of relief.

"No... No..."

Tears streamed down Merlin's face in anguish and sorrow.

Surprisingly, as she wept, her form began to change little by little.

Her long white hair shortened into shoulder-length light blonde hair, her mage robe turned into a light blue dress, and her mature features and body transformed into that of a young girl.

In just a moment, the once cold and noble mage was gone, replaced by a girl with delicate features, on the brink of blossoming into womanhood.

"You..."

Arthur's heart, initially calm, now surged with tumultuous emotions as he gazed at this familiar yet unfamiliar face.

Memories of the past quickly flashed through his mind like a passing storm, dissipating into the depths of darkness until, finally, the truth that had been deliberately concealed emerged.

He remembered now.

Wandering for thousands of years, the Lion King, the Holy Selection—all of it was a lie orchestrated by someone.

"Sajyou... Manaka—!!!"

Hearing her own name mentioned, Sajyou Manaka, with her face stained with tears, smiled faintly. She reached out her slender arms, ignoring the fury in Arthur's eyes, and gently caressed his face.

With a tender voice unique to young girls, she spoke up.

"Don't worry, my dear prince. I won't let you die nor will I let your wish go unfulfilled..."

In an instant, the entire place was engulfed in silence.

No one knew exactly when this lie began.

Was it when Camelot was established? Or during the creation of this Singularity? Perhaps it started during some obscure pursuit? Or was it at the moment when Arthur first uttered "I want to change Britain's fate to destruction"?

However, tracing back to the starting point was pointless because the truth and conclusions had already clearly presented themselves before everyone.

Sajyou Manaka, a girl who connected to the Root, in order to fulfill her twisted love, deceived everyone.

Even the prince she admired had become her puppet, forgotten by the world. Alone, her prince sat on the throne, carrying out his hypocritical responsibility, and guarding his hypocritical kingdom.

Camelot, the Lion King, and the Holy Selection were all mere meticulously crafted lies.

At this moment, what was revealed was a dark and terrifying truth.

A girl twisted by love, deceiving the entire world, sacrificing countless lives just to fulfill her beloved prince's wish.

Yet, the culprit remained oblivious to the madness and terror she had wrought, gently caressing her prince's face before her, her eyes overflowing with love and tenderness like a tidal wave.

"I love you... I love you deeply, my prince."

"You... WITCH—!!!" Arthur exclaimed in anger.

No one could remain calm upon discovering that everything around them was a lie. If not for his severe injuries, he might have wanted to strangle Manaka himself.

"Witch?"

Facing his accusation, Manaka showed no anger, only surprise on her face.

"Saber, are you finally using that word to describe me? How wonderful! Hey, I once delved into your memories, you know? Even when your kingdom still existed, you used the word 'witch' to describe your elder sister, Morgan, right? And... she was the one who bore you a child..."

Manaka stroked her flat abdomen, her face filled with anticipation.

"Since then, I've been thinking, if I could bear a child with you, even becoming a witch doesn't seem so bad..."

As if imagining that scene, Manaka giggled, her delicate face blushing with shyness, as beautiful as a blooming flower.

Yet, Arthur felt none of the beauty.

He shivered uncontrollably as if a cold, venomous snake were spewing black venom before him. Even if it contorted its body into a heart shape, it couldn't conceal the darkness and desire in its icy, vertical pupils.

"You've gone insane, Sajyou Manaka!" Arthur looked coldly at the girl, his emerald eyes filled with an unmeltable icy chill.

"It's all because of you, Saber..." Manaka sighed lightly, tucking a strand of her light blonde hair behind her ear. "If only you were willing to accept my love that time, we wouldn't have ended up like this today, you know?"

"But it's okay..." Manaka continued, smiling brightly again. "Ten times, even a thousand or ten thousand times, it doesn't matter. One day, you'll understand my love for you, my passionate and deep love."

"You are delusional!" Arthur yelled furiously.

"No worries, Saber..."

Manaka gently helped Arthur tidy up his disheveled hair.

"Even the most stubborn rock will one day be crushed by the waves. Who knows, someday you might be moved by me? For that beautiful day to come, I don't mind waiting... You should know that... neither you nor I lack time."

"But for now, let me take care of an annoying pest."

After saying that, Manaka turned to look at Arkhan, her face momentarily covered in warmth turning into coldness, anger, and murderous intent swirling around her like tangible storms, making the temperature drop sharply, pure white snowflakes falling like feathers in the air.

"Snowing...?"

Having never seen such a sight in Camelot, every resident curiously raised their hands, but the next moment, they let out agonizing screams as the delicate snowflakes, like razor-sharp blades, effortlessly cut open their palms, pure white snow mingling with crimson blood, blooming a strange flower on the ground.

Chaos erupted from the residents as they realized the terrifying danger hidden in this beautiful scenery.

They screamed in terror, fleeing, hiding in their houses, not daring to step out again.

At this moment, the spacious streets were devoid of any human figures, only vivid traces of red and bodies that failed to escape, quickly covered by the pure white snow, as if the whole world had turned into this vast expanse of white.

Meanwhile, as crimson flames engulfed the Might of An-Utu burned fiercely, Arkhan stood calmly on the ground as if surrounded by an invisible domain. The snowflakes that dared to approach him were destroyed by the scorching heat before they could get close.

Upon seeing this, Manaka furrowed her delicate brows, looking at the blazing greatsword that posed a strong threat to her.

Although she was connected to the Root and knew all the world's secrets, she couldn't get any useful information about this greatsword.

It felt as if it didn't belong to this world at all.