204 You Can't Hide Anything

Crimson Moon gazed at the lifeless White Dragon Vortigern beneath her and began to explain with an indifferent tone.

"Twenty-two years ago, Vortigern won against Uther in the Battle of Hadrian's Wall. Just as he was about to head south, he fortuitously obtained the Holy Grail. From that moment, a new idea took root in him."

"He knew deeply that humanity's ascent to the Seat of Primacy was an inevitable historical movement. Even if he were to halt it and return Britain to the Age of Gods, sooner or later, it would happen again. One day, the Age of Gods would perish, and Britain would become historical dust."

"To completely crush humanity, preventing any chance of development, he decided to use the power of the Holy Grail to bind himself with the concept of the Age of Gods. He aimed to become the 'Final God'. As long as he lived, the Age of Gods would never perish."

"But the Holy Grail rejected his call. Undeterred, he didn't give up easily. He gathered mages from the entire North and devised a massive and special magic circle, aimed to slowly leverage the power of the Holy Grail."

"Hmph! Daring to tamper with God's creation. Even I must admit, this man indeed had audacity."

As Crimson Moon mentioned Vortigern's deeds, she sneered.

"Shortly after that, I approached him, revealed my identity, and proposed a cooperation."

"At that time, he asked why I wanted to cooperate with him. My response was simple—due to my uniqueness, Gaia and Alaya would inevitably eliminate me. However, if humanity were to perish, Alaya would cease to exist, reducing the threat I faced. Moreover, once he became the Final God, Gaia would favor him, and I would be free of worries. In short, everything was for survival."

"But of course, that was just an excuse. From the beginning, I was after the Holy Grail."

"During those more than ten years, though Vortigern was highly vigilant, I still found opportunities. Slowly, I infiltrated my existence into the magic circle used by Vortigern to manipulate the Holy Grail. Yet, I still couldn't use the Holy Grail, as its control always remained in his hands. Only by killing him could I truly harness the power of the Holy Grail."

"But what worried me was that if Vortigern, who controlled the Holy Grail, couldn't be defeated by anyone, especially after he stole several strands of immortality from ancient gods using the Holy Grail, my hopes seemed dim."

"Fortunately, Arthur appeared. When I saw how he reduced Vortigern to his last strand of immortality in the Norse Realms. I finally believed that he was the one who could truly kill Vortigern."

"And so, I decided to give Arthur a chance. During the war in Kent, I intentionally didn't unleash all my power, including when Vortigern set a trap for Arthur. I took a risky move and absorbed a trace of the Holy Grail's power. Worried that Vortigern might catch wind of it, I stored it within my servant, Trhvmn. The plan was to retrieve it right after Arthur got banished, and then find an opportunity to set him free. But turns out, that man dragged Trhvmn into the mess as well."

As Crimson Moon explained what happened to Trhvmn, her expression became cold.

"If that's the case, do I owe you a thank you?" 

A calm voice suddenly echoed from afar as Arkhan, clad in the usual silver armor, stepped into this sealed world. The golden chains encircling him emitted a faint glow, shielding him from the Holy Grail's influence.

Artoria's eyes lit up with surprise.

Crimson Moon turned around, her expression calm, seemingly unsurprised by the appearance of Arkhan.

"Should I finish the rest of the explanation for you?"

Arkhan asked with an amused tone as he looked at Crimson Moon with a smirk.

"After my banishment, you must have considered absorbing the Holy Grail's power again to rescue me. But then Camelot's army didn't retreat after my disappearance and instead kept attacking. You started to wonder 'Did they find a way to free him, or was he never banished?' You didn't have the answers, but you had no choice. It was your only chance, so you had to take the risk and stick to your original plan."

"If I'm not mistaken, you've already implanted a part of your existence and power into Altrouge. When facing my student, you deliberately showed anger and unleashed your Moon Fall, fully aware that Gaia wouldn't just sit back. Excalibur would be unleashed, and you'd be destroyed, achieving your goal of escaping unharmed, fooling everyone."

"And as expected, I appeared, Vortigern fled, and my student eventually killed him. You smoothly obtained the Holy Grail, am I right?"

As Crimson Moon heard Arkhan's explanation, she stared at him for a while, then sighed softly.

"I finally understand why Vortigern feared you so much."

"Vortigern fears me? Don't you fear me too?" Arkhan smiled calmly.

"In this world, the only thing I fear is the sword forged by this planet. But now, with the Holy Grail in my hands, that weakness is gone. Moreover—"

"Moreover, your 'Real of the World' is almost complete, isn't it?" Arkhan interrupted her.

As she heard his words, Crimson Moon's pupils contracted to pinprick size.

"You must be curious about how I know this, right?" Arkhan laughed. "It's not that difficult to understand if you think about it."

Crimson Moon's mouth twitched slightly.

"Vortigern's magic circle can only leverage a limited amount of the Holy Grail's power. Even less for a hitchhiker like you. Such precious power should be used wisely, right? And for you, is there anything more important than creating the 'Real of the World'? And if I'm not mistaken, Vortigern's domain is the material you use to forge the 'Real of the World', am I correct?"

*Thud* *Thud*

Crimson Moon couldn't help but take two steps back, waves of emotions crashing within her, while a shocked expression surfaced on her face.

"What do you—" 

"Remember what I said when we first met, Crimson Moon?" Arkhan spoke mysteriously, pointing at his own eyes. "I said, in front of these eyes, you can't hide anything..."

"Quit playing tricks!" Crimson Moon gritted her teeth and reached into the Holy Grail.

*BOOM!*

In an instant, the wind roared, the sky changed colors, dark clouds gathered, and the vast land trembled. The white glow domain enveloping Northumbria and Mercia gradually dissipated.