Chapter 276: The End and The New Beginning

"Yes, after all, Britain is still at the twilight of the Age of Gods, and Gaia is constantly suppressing it," Lott replied thoughtfully, looking at Morgan. "So, of course, this place is completely different from Britain."

Hearing this, Morgan sighed wistfully and said, "If only we could bring this place to Camelot."

Lott nodded in agreement, then froze, his eyes widening in realization. He turned to Morgan, who was already meeting his gaze with the same surprised look.

"Why not just do that?" they exclaimed in unison, their voices overlapping.

Lott realized he had been stuck in a narrow mindset. This could be the solution to their problem.

Meanwhile, outside of this secluded place, Altria was stationed in the Chalk City. As she patrolled along the walls, Merlin's figure materialized beside her.

"Teacher?" Altria asked, surprised. Merlin's sudden appearance puzzled her. Hadn't he left with Ritsuka Fujimaru? Shouldn't he be planning their next steps with the Chaldeans? Why was he here? And wasn't he worried about her sister and Lott causing trouble?

"Yes, it's me, Altria," Merlin responded, waving with a gentle smile.

Before he could say anything more, a figure clad in purple appeared beside Altria—Scáthach. Upon seeing her, Merlin instinctively shrank back.

Scáthach cast a stern glance at Merlin before turning to Altria. "Let's set old matters aside. We need to prepare for a formidable enemy."

"Who is it?" Altria asked, her grip tightening around Excalibur.

"Oberon," Merlin answered gravely.

"What? Oberon?" Altria was stunned. She knew of Oberon, but seeing the grave expressions on both Merlin and Scáthach's faces, she realized something was wrong.

"He's not the same as before," Merlin warned.

At that moment, they spotted Oberon approaching the city walls. His entire form had turned pitch black, radiating an intense malevolence. He glared at Merlin, Scáthach, and Altria, his eyes filled with disdain.

"I thought I could hide longer, causing harm to both Chaldea and Camelot," Oberon sneered. "But it seems you've seen through me. And whatever you did has sent Gaia into a panic. I have no choice but to swallow you all to extinguish the last glimmer of light."

Before anyone could respond, Oberon's body transformed. The sky darkened as he took on a monstrous form—a grotesque, terrifying creature, its massive, disgusting maw ready to consume everything.

Just then, Ritsuka Fujimaru and the others were teleported to the wall, witnessing the horrifying sight.

"This is on the same scale as Tiamat," Ritsuka gasped, her voice trembling as she looked at the monstrosity.

"He wasn't like this before," Scáthach said, her tone urgent. "Something has agitated Gaia, pushing him into this state." She tightened her grip on her twin spears and charged at Oberon.

"Prepare for battle! I might be ready to die, but not at the hands of this repulsive beast. We must win!" she shouted as she rushed forward.

The fight began in earnest. Altria, Merlin, both Gawains, Galahad, Bevidere, Tristan, Melusine, Baobhan Sith, and the other Knights of the Round Table unleashed their most powerful attacks. Despite their combined might, they barely made a dent in Oberon, who now towered thousands of meters into the sky.

Scáthach's spear pierced his body, but the wound was superficial, barely hindering the monstrous insect-dragon.

It opened its massive jaws, intending to devour everything in its path.

"How do we stop this?" Altria asked desperately, glancing at Excalibur, which seemed ineffective against this foe. She turned to Merlin.

"In this situation, I'm at a loss too," Merlin admitted, his usual calm demeanor faltering. "Oberon is not just acting alone. He's backed by Gaia herself. His power is almost insurmountable."

Merlin hesitated, then added, "At this point, only those who haven't shown up yet might have a solution."

"What do you mean?" Altria asked, realizing that amidst all this chaos, two significant people were missing—Lott and Morgan.

"Are you saying that they're the reason Oberon has changed?" Altria pressed.

"Yes, their actions must have triggered this transformation," Merlin confirmed.

Altria felt a surge of hope and anxiety. "Then we just have to wait for them to show up."

The pull of Oberon's power grew stronger, and everyone struggled to keep their footing. Altria and the others were on the brink of being sucked in when Merlin spoke again.

"It seems we need to be ready to fight on the other side," he said, a trace of resignation in his voice.

Altria braced herself. She wasn't ready to give up yet, but if they had to face this monster in another realm, so be it. Just as she was steeling herself for the worst, she felt a drop of water on her forehead.

What's this? Rain? She glanced up.

To her astonishment, a river appeared in the sky, flowing downwards like a waterfall.

"What in the world is that?" she exclaimed, bewildered.

Not just her, everyone, even Oberon, was taken aback. They all stared at the river, confused and intrigued.

"Wait! There are people up there!" Scáthach's keen eyes spotted two figures.

"It's Lott and Morgan!" Tristan shouted, recognizing them.

The river descended from the sky, cascading towards Oberon, who, despite his enormous size, was caught off guard. Lott and Morgan rode the wave, descending like gods.

"Oh, next time we turn into Heroic Spirits, we should unlock the swimsuit option," Lott quipped to Morgan, then turned to face the insect dragon. "What happened? Why is he like this?"

Morgan's voice was calm yet commanding. "Because this world will no longer belong to him."

Leonardo da Vinci's image appeared beside them. "I see now why this place felt so strange. It's not a singularity or a parallel world. It's your timeline that's the issue."

"What do you mean?" Lott asked, still confused.

Leonardo looked at the long river of time with a complex expression. "This world's time has been corrupted. You've created a new timeline, and that's something Gaia cannot tolerate."

Lott and Morgan exchanged a look. They understood now. This was the final battle, not just against Oberon, but for the future of their world.