I want to just drift through life in Type-Moon.

Page 48

"Hey hey, we've been running for five days, fifteen minutes left is really good news." Orange said jokingly, while turning around to look at the mechanical monster pig that was hot on their heels.

"So, the people at the Atlas Institute always like to create things with such destructive power. I really don't know what they're thinking. And this apocalypse is definitely their fault."

"Miss Orange, you also believe that this apocalypse was caused by the Atlas Institute, right?" Gray then chopped down another doll wielding a chainsaw.

"Of course, you must have heard your master mention it, right? The time and place are just too coincidental. It happens to be the day of the Atlas Academy Dean's succession ceremony, and the place where the first super strong sandstorm broke out is also Egypt. Moreover, the Atlas Academy possesses seven world-destroying weapons. No matter how you look at it, it's theirs, right?"

While running, Orange pulled out a cigarette and lighter from her four-dimensional cleavage, lit the cigarette, and took a deep drag.

When Orange noticed Grey looking at her strangely, she couldn't help but laugh and said, "What? You want a bite too?"

Grey shook her head, then slashed behind her with her backhand, splitting the stone bridge they were crossing in two. All the small magical boars fell into the river and were then crushed by the colossal magical boar.

"I don't smoke, but Master smokes a lot. This stuff is obviously harmful to the body, so why do Master and Miss Orange like it so much?"

Grey had wanted to ask this question for a long time, but every time she saw her master smoking, she knew he must be troubled by something, so she never asked.

"Oh? So that's what you were thinking about~" Orange couldn't help but laugh and tease her, "Let me tell you, Grey, we're not actually smoking cigarettes, we're smoking loneliness."

"Lonely?" Grey repeated, her eyes wide.

"Yes, it's loneliness." Orange suppressed a laugh, putting on a world-weary look. She couldn't help but tease a naive girl like Grey, just like she did with Ryougi Shiki and Kurogiri Senka back then.

Thinking of the two of them, Orange became a little worried again. Of course, her main concern was for Xianhua, who was practically her disciple. She wondered if Xianhua and Gan were alright, since the two siblings were in Germany and the situation there wasn't good either.

Then she decided that after completing this mission, she would go back to Japan to see how her relatives and friends were doing.

Chapter 118 Encounter (Part 1)

Meanwhile, Barthelo Lorelei, along with the Imaginary Number Magician, fled while collecting various supplies. Compared to Orange and her team, the two of them seemed to have it much easier.

The main reason is that Barthelon Lorelei's magic attribute is wind, and her magic properties are all-encompassing. As the "pinnacle of contemporary magic," she truly deserves this title.

Although running away was not her wish, in order to complete the mission smoothly, she suppressed the urge to turn back and fight the giant demonic boar to the death, and kept using acceleration magic to improve the physical functions of the two of them. As a result, during the process of sweeping up supplies along the way, the imaginary space of the imaginary number magician was filled with all sorts of things.

Moreover, they kept moving closer to the detectable source of magical energy.

Waving the pointer in his hand, a sharp gust of wind blew away the car blocking his way. The demon pig behind them had already been left several kilometers behind, but the other party still followed relentlessly.

Barthez looked at the wristband on his hand, where a miniature map appeared before him, with five constantly flashing dots. The four red dots represented the four of them, while the green dots represented the person they were looking for.

Now, two of the red dots are getting closer and closer to the green dot.

"Is it still about two kilometers away?" After calculating the distance, Basemelo Lorelei looked at the man behind her. "Let's rest for a bit. I'll go deal with that demonic boar. As a noble, I can't bring trouble to my guests."

The man nodded silently, then went into one of the buildings to search; this was his primary duty.

“We are now as lowly as carrion beasts.” Barthemello looked at the man’s back with a bitter expression. Although she was proud, she was also a very realistic person.

After that world-changing event, she, who was once full of confidence, took the chorus out to try to solve the cause and source of the anomaly, but reality gave her a rude awakening.

When she led the chorus into Egypt, the overwhelming yellow sand transformed into countless sand monsters, led by the Sphinx and Horus, gods that had disappeared from mythology.

For some reason, the Egyptians directly manifested the magic of the Age of Gods. The magic of the Age of Gods is incomparable to that of the modern world. The magic descended upon them with overwhelming force. If Barthezmello hadn't desperately held off the enemy, the entire chorus might have been wiped out.

Fortunately, after they escaped Egypt, they were not pursued. It is unknown whether it was because those things could not leave Egyptian territory or there were other restrictions, but in any case, they escaped with their lives.

What followed was unremarkable: several monarchs were lost, the chorus she led was severely damaged, the clock tower was thrown into chaos, sandstorms invaded the globe, seemingly endless mechanical legions of unknown origin appeared, and ordinary people slowly disappeared for unknown reasons. The whole world began to enter the apocalypse.

Later, when the clock tower magician finally stabilized, all contact with the outside world had been completely cut off. The several enormous mechanical boars surrounded the clock tower, and they were only prevented from falling immediately after she decisively activated the final defense.

“However, I never expected the outside world to turn out like this.” Standing inside the building, with a wide view, Barthezmero Lorelei was worried about the future.

She glanced at the monitor in her hand again and saw that the target was approaching her at high speed, it seemed that they had been spotted.

“Alright, that will save a lot of time.” Seeing that the green dot was about to overlap with the light dot representing her, Barthemello Lorelei shook her head, informed the male magician who was traveling with her to wait here for the newcomer, and then walked towards the magical boar that had been chasing them.

After all, Barthezmero Lorelei, as a refined nobleman, had to keep his word.

Challenging those giant mechanical constructs alone may seem reckless, but it's actually not that dangerous. The magicians of the Clock Tower once measured their mass-to-volume ratio and found that the ratio was abnormal, meaning that those magical boars weren't as heavy as they looked.

Moreover, after examining their structure, it was discovered that their assembly method was very primitive and simple. But if that's the case, why did the clock tower, which clearly had the power to destroy them, choose to leave them alone?

The reason for this is that their core is indestructible. Even if their shells are destroyed, as long as the core remains, the destroyed monster will quickly reassemble itself into a smaller monster using the parts and continue its attack.

What's even more infuriating is that even those cores have the ability to split themselves. Although the timing of each split is uncertain, the number of demonic boars besieging the clock tower continues to increase at a rate of one every six months.

The increased number of magical boars will suddenly disappear, but as long as they eliminate one of the five or lure one away, the increased number of magical boars will suddenly reappear, replenishing their numbers and continuing their fierce defense of the clock tower.

Since I'm already out, I might as well test the maximum number of times these colossal mechanical monsters can be recombined, in order to prepare for the future breakout battle.

With that thought in mind, Barthez arrived at a spacious square and began to prepare.

On the other side, Arthur had already spotted the giant boar and, judging from the sounds, deduced that someone had appeared in London and a battle was taking place.

Moreover, the battle took place in two different locations.

He now has two choices: either go back to the mall where he used to be, or go towards the people who are clearly coming for him.

"Actually, there's no need to choose; saving lives is the priority."

Charge toward the nearest giant demonic boar, where the battle had already begun, and it seemed the boar's opponent was quite formidable, as the boar had already lost its balance and collapsed.

When Barthez used wind pressure comparable to that of seawater at a depth of about a kilometer to compress the boar's body to half its original size, and then quickly released the pressure, the resulting pressure difference caused numerous cracks to appear in the boar's body, and twisted and damaged parts fell to the ground.

A purplish-black core was exposed outside the monster's brain. After this core appeared, the entire monster completely disintegrated into various parts. Some of the parts reassembled around this core, turning into a new monster only a quarter the size of the original one.

However, strangely, the color of this demonic boar has changed; the other one was iron-colored, while this one is brass-colored.

"Is that all?" Barthez looked coldly at the demonic boar, suddenly somewhat disappointed. "Is our Clock Tower being surrounded by these useless pieces of trash, making us shrink back?"

However, before she could finish her exclamation, an anxious voice suddenly rang out behind her: "Watch out!"

Chapter 119 Encounter (Part 2)

Barthesmer knew perfectly well what the voice behind her was warning her to be careful about, but she didn't think the shrunken boar posed any threat to her. However, it was precisely this arrogance that brought her bitter consequences.

Just as she was about to crush the demonic boar again, the parts left behind by the boar turned into yellow sand, obscuring her vision. In the instant before she could react, the boar's tusks suddenly shot out, flying towards her heart.

"Release! Wind King Barrier!" Seeing that Bartholomew was about to be pierced, Arthur, who had arrived, immediately released one of his Noble Phantasms and threw the Holy Sword. The powerful thrust combined with Arthur's strength caused the Holy Sword to break the sound barrier.

The fang that was thrusting at her was knocked away and broken off by the holy sword flying from the side with a "clang". The calm Barthez took the opportunity to escape the battlefield. Her good combat awareness allowed her to swing her short whip, and the strong wind dispersed the yellow sand that was obstructing her vision, while avoiding the second fang that was shot at her.

Arthur, who had already arrived, stomped on the two-story-tall demonic boar, causing it to fall into a ditch on all four sides. He then leaped into the air, retrieved his holy sword, and spun around to plunge it into the boar's back.

Golden light seeped out from the gaps in the parts that made up the demonic boar, and then the demonic boar disintegrated again, revealing the cursed beast gallstone once more.

However, just as Arthur was about to cut it to pieces with the Holy Sword, Barthez said, "Wait! Don't destroy it."

Arthur, whose sword tip was already pressing against the gallstone, stopped his attack upon hearing this and turned to look at her with a questioning gaze.

“I want to know how many times this thing can be reborn,” Barthez said in a consultative tone, looking at the man whose face was covered by a hood but whose build indicated he was a man.

“This is the most basic one, and the number of attempts is five,” Arthur said softly.

"Huh?" Barthemello didn't quite understand what he meant at first, but then she watched as Arthur shattered the gallstone with a single sword stroke and watched it completely weather into yellow sand before she realized what he meant.

After a brief silence, Barthezello approached Arthur first, gave a noble bow with his right hand on his left shoulder, and said to Arthur, "Barthezello Lorelei, former assistant to the headmaster of the Clock Tower of the Magic Association."

Looking at her composed demeanor and impeccable manners, Arthur suddenly felt that the environment had become more noble because of her single gesture.

He removed his hood, revealing his brilliant blond hair, and looked at the somewhat frail woman before him, returning her with an impeccable smile: "Arthur Pendragon, an ordinary wandering knight."

When Bartholomew saw the fully revealed holy sword, he was already prepared to encounter a great man. However, he did not expect that the one wielding the holy sword would be its original owner. But in the memoirs given to him by El-Melloi II, King Arthur was clearly a woman!

Although it sounds absurd, El-Melloi II couldn't possibly lie to her. So, could it be that this charming, captivating, and noble-looking man before her was lying?

In truth, Barthezmello believed deep down that this person was the legendary King Arthur.

This person was exactly like the prince charming of every girl's dreams. He wore a neat blue robe and armor that seemed to have a powerful magical effect. His dazzling blond hair was topped with the legendary ahoge that symbolized royalty.

Her emerald-green eyes, like those of a gemstone, reflected her own image, and her face wore a reassuring smile.

More importantly, he held the world-renowned holy sword in his hand, and as an Englishwoman, her innate sense of submission was absolutely unquestionable.

That's why she couldn't understand why the person before her, from his history and appearance to the weapons he carried, all pointed to him as the real King Arthur.

So—what exactly was El-Melloi II talking about?

Meanwhile, when Orange and Grey stepped into the shopping mall where Le Zhengling was hiding, the giant magical boar that had been chasing them suddenly stopped and kept spinning in place, while the magical puppets and flying machines gradually disappeared.

“No need to look anymore. There’s something inside this building that’s blocking that thing’s senses—be careful. Although you don’t feel it, this place has actually become another realm.” Yad, who had been silent the whole way, suddenly spoke up.

"What do you mean by 'exotic'?" Orange asked, holding a cigarette between her fingers and turning her head to look at the scythe in Gray's hand.

“…you can think of it as a bounded field,” Yad said, his tone laced with apprehension.

"Yard?" Sensing her partner's unusual behavior, Grey touched the scythe handle, as if to soothe its emotions.

Orange squinted, looking around. Her keen senses, which surpassed most beings in the world and allowed her to perceive the smallest details, led her to discover many interesting things here.

The large and small footprints in the exhibition hall prove that there were two people here not long ago. A sword was lying in one corner of this floor, and various weapons were placed on a trolley not far away.

The footprints led to a bar not far away, but after just one glance at the bar, Orange realized that it was anything but ordinary.

"I said, your name is Yad, right?" Orange looked at the Grim Reaper's scythe that Gray was carrying and spoke in a very casual tone.

“Yes, I am Yad. What brings you here?” Yad suddenly responded with a screech similar to that of a clown.

Orange's cigarette fell because of it. Looking at the cigarette that had only been lit recently, she frowned and stomped it out with the sole of her shoe.

"The feeling you're describing isn't something as simple as a fixed barrier, is it? Gray, come with me into that bar and take a look." Although Orange was asking Yad a question, she didn't expect an answer. Instead, she pulled Gray toward the bar that made her feel uneasy.

"Wait, wait! Don't go that way!" Yad shouted urgently, "That's not..."

"Don't worry, there's no problem there anymore." Orange waved her hand. "Something might have happened there before, but it's all over now. Trust me."

The interrupted Yad silently sensed the location. Although it had already sensed where the target was, it realized something was amiss when it arrived there.

The strange aura emanating from the place Aozaki Touko was pointing to truly gave it the feeling of being in another world, making it have a premonition that things were about to get complicated.

Therefore, it can only trust its partners and companions now, hoping that things won't go too wrong.

Chapter 120 Encounter (Part 2)

Upon entering the bar, Orange noticed that her magic eye was malfunctioning, while Gray frowned, feeling that the long scythe in her hand was unstable.

"This is really bad~" Orange looked around the bar, her gaze finally settling on the ceiling, where she felt the strongest urge.

“Our magic systems are completely different types of things; it’s practically an invasion of foreign objects.” He lit a cigarette again and used it to draw a rune in the air. The magic that was supposed to release a burst of flame only flickered twice in the room before disappearing.

Seeing this, Orange couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement. "Even though they've already left, the impact is still so huge. It seems that what appeared here before was something extraordinary."

"Miss Orange, should we continue the investigation?" Although Grey didn't quite understand the deeper meaning behind Orange's actions, she could tell from Orange's tone that this trip was very troublesome.

"...Since we're already here, we should definitely find out what's going on. After all, as a magician, I also have my curiosity, but before that, let's find our target first."

Orange lit a cigarette, took a deep drag to refresh himself, and continued, "It seems our target should be one of the people involved here. If we find that person, we should be able to get the answers."

As she spoke, Orange looked at Yad and said, "I'm telling you, you know where that target is right now, right?"

"Of course! I am Lord Yad!" Death Scythe continued in a nonchalant tone, "This great one will show the way to the two beauties, but remember to be careful—I don't know what you'll encounter."

"Don't worry, I will take good care of your master." Orange waved her hand. Of course, she understood the meaning behind Yad's words. Orange also planned to cover the retreat if anything unexpected happened. After all, even if this body died, she could be resurrected in another body.

This fearless attitude made her completely unafraid of death, so the two of them, guided by Yad, approached the wardrobe where Yue Zhengling was hiding.

Orange and Grey remained silent as they stood in front of the wardrobe.

Fear stems from the unknown, and behind this door lies their target. Although they don't understand why it's in the closet, that no longer matters.

Orange waved her hand, signaling Grey to step back.

Grey nodded knowingly, took a few steps back, and assumed an attack stance to deal with any unexpected situation.

Orange put on a black glove, then gently placed her hand on the cabinet door and slowly pulled it open.

As the light gradually shone into the cabinet, Orange squinted. She didn't see anyone inside, but strangely, the rest of the cabinet was empty except for the first shelf in front of her, which was lined with a layer of velvet, and there were unnatural indentations in the velvet.

Noticing something amiss, she took off her glasses and activated her magic eye. Sure enough, when the magic eye looked at that spot again, a person who seemed to be asleep appeared there.

When Orange saw the person inside, her heart skipped a beat.

She was a person as delicate as a doll and as beautiful as a fairy, who looked to be around thirteen or fourteen years old. Her long black hair, as fine as the finest silk, was scattered around her body. She wore a hospital gown, and the skin exposed outside the clothes radiated a soft glow like white jade.

Its overly ethereal quality almost made Orange think it was the work of a Grand Doll Maker.

However, this speculation was quickly interrupted. The doll-like, illusory figure suddenly widened its eyes and said to itself in a very displeased tone, "I'll let you find it..."

But when that person's gaze fell on his face, he stopped speaking before he could finish, and the disgust in his eyes instantly turned into incomprehension.

Le Zhengling stared blankly at Chengzi, then propped himself up and sat up, looking directly at Chengzi's face. Finally, he said incredulously, "Chengzi?"