Deep within the royal palace.
Tiamat sat on the windowsill, resting her chin on one hand as she daydread, her white-socked feet idly swinging back and forth.
A pile of treats was laid out on the table nearby, and she casually picked up a cookie, nibbling away with obvious enjoynt.
So of these snacks had been brought over by Alvin—liberated from Artoria's drawers, no less.
Not far from her, the golden-haired King of Knights stood tall, the golden crown perfectly setting off her sovereign dignity and noble bearing.
"Are you not worried about him?"
Artoria's voice was clear and cool, lodious yet edged with an unmistakable calm.
Not long ago, when she learned of the Round Table's vote initiated by Alvin, she knew sothing significant must have happened on his side.
And soon after, she sensed the presence of the two Counter Forces—Gaia and Alaya—descending upon Britain.
Although she didn't know the details, but when those two were involved, it was never a good sign.
"He'll be fine."
Tiamat held up a small notepad, her eyes never leaving the window.
"You're that confident? You're not concerned about what the Counter Forces might do to him?" Artoria asked softly.
"The Counter Force won't directly act. They should just want to recruit him."
Tiamat took another delicate bite of the cookie, the satisfying sound sohow drawing Artoria's gaze for a second or two.
She really enjoys her food, huh?...
"Are you wondering what my own goal is?" Tiamat turned back around, her clear, lively eyes staring straight at the King of Knights.
Despite her seemingly naive deanor, the Primordial Mother Goddess actually understood everything.
Whether it was Artoria or the Knights of the Round Table, they all regarded Tiamat's presence with unease.
After all, she was the Mother of Creation, a Beast-class existence that stood against human order.
Even if it was only her spirit body present, she inspired a sense of awe and fear.
Artoria wasn't quite at the point of fear, but she still maintained a degree of caution.
Her visit today wasn't just to probe Tiamat's true motives… but also to find out if the Counter Forces' descent had anything to do with her.
After all, Alvin was the one who had brought Tiamat here.
When she saw Artoria nod lightly, Tiamat thought for a mont, then wrote on her notebook:
"He said he wanted to show how much the world beyond the Imaginary Number Space had changed."
"Would that cause trouble for you?" she added.
Artoria paused for a mont, then slowly parted her lips,
"Not at all. Britain welcos all transmigrators—as long as they don't harm this land."
So far, there didn't seem to be any malicious intent from Tiamat, aside from, well, maybe just eating a little too much.
Though she couldn't help but wonder what Alvin was really thinking...
Tiamat glanced back out the window, a hint of curiosity sparkling in her gaze.
"Who do you think he'll choose?"
"Between the two Counter Forces… which side will he stand with in the end?"
"If I had to guess, it will probably be Gaia," Artoria answered without hesitation.
As for the reason...
She didn't speak it aloud, but instead simply looked deeply into Tiamat's eyes.
Tiamat was the Primordial Mother Goddess, but she was also a Beast—an obstacle to human order.
If Alvin chose Alaya, it would an that soday, he might have to stand against Tiamat. With what she knew of him, that was unthinkable.
But if he chose Gaia... plus with the existence of the Holy Sword of Stars.. that old fool rlin would definitely lose sleep over that.
As if rembering sothing amusing, Artoria's lips curved ever so slightly, a faint smile surfacing on her noble face.
.
.
.
Avalon.
rlin was montarily stunned, staring off into the distance, lost in deep thought.
Just as Artoria had guessed, he was definitely panicking.
The Sword of the Stars, a weapon on the sa tier as the Holy Lance, its full power was said to be able to cut through entire worlds.
What the hell was Gaia thinking, handing sothing that dangerous to Alvin?!
Does it not realize that beneath that harmless façade lies a complete and utter madman?!
"No… I have to go see for myself!"
rlin, deep in thought, suddenly grabbed Fou from his shoulder and unceremoniously tossed it aside before gripping his staff and hurrying out of Avalon.
.
.
.
At the sa ti, elsewhere—
Present in this space today, besides Morgan le Fay and Ishtar, were several of Britain's Round Table knights.
And at this very mont, a strange silence seed to hang over everything.
Unlike the sword in Artoria's hand, the "Star Holy Sword" was a weapon drawn by Gaia from the depths of the planet's inner sea.
Once its restraints were lifted, it was said to be capable of severing an entire planet.
By all rights, only the King of Knights should have been able to wield it — everyone there had believed so until just now.
Even Mordred thought the sa.
In all likelihood, Gaia never intended to actually give the Holy Sword to Alvin.
It was purely bait, a way to see if he would bite.
But who could have expected Alvin to simply brute-force his way through the sword's rejection and actually draw it out?
"White dragons really are unreasonable, violent creatures…" Lancelot murmured under his breath.
Even he had to admit that he probably could never pull out that sword in front of Gaia, much less wield it.
And now, Alvin was even asking if the sword "belonged to him"…
Even Gaia, normally devoid of emotion, paused in silence for a mont.
At last, after a long hesitation, it responded with a faint "Mn."
"Of course… I keep my word. From now on, that sword is yours."
"However, as the price, you must sign a contract with … and beco mine."
Why does that sound like so domineering CEO romance line…? Alvin sighed and shook his head.
"I refuse."
If Gaia had emotions, it would probably have popped up a giant question mark right then.
You just white-knighted my sword, and you're telling you won't join my side…?
"But as long as I hold the Star Holy Sword, if you truly need in the future, I will help with everything I can," Alvin added.
In fact, if sothing ca up serious enough for Gaia itself to be worried, Alvin could hardly ignore it anyway.
After all, anything that could alarm Gaia would probably be a planetary crisis.
And drawing the Star Holy Sword had already bound him to Gaia's fate so, even if he didn't want to be "owned," he was basically on the hook.
"…Very well."
Gaia paused a mont, then agreed surprisingly quickly.
That was awfully fast… Shouldn't it have said sothing like, "You little punk, freeloading my sword and refusing to join ?"
And wait, was Gaia supposed to be male, female, or simply genderless as a Counter Force…?
Alvin thought for a second, then lifted his gaze to the other glowing sphere above the heavens.
It radiated a pure, holy white light, rippling faintly, as if a mont later it might crash down in a fury.
Alaya.
It had arrived at the very first mont Gaia descended, but never even got a chance to speak to Alvin, completely cut off by Gaia's interception.
And even without emotion, Alvin could practically feel Alaya's "anger" through the air.
"…Can I ask you sothing?" Alvin suddenly spoke up.
In Gaia's cold silence, he looked at that vague, illusory presence beneath the sky and asked:
"Why did you choose ? Is it just because I'm a white dragon?"
"You are beyond the reach of omniscience and omnipotence. Perhaps you will beco a variable," Gaia answered.
"Omniscience and omnipotence"… the power to see all possible futures.
It couldn't sense ? Maybe because I'm a transmigrator?
No… if that were true, then the other transmigrators should also block its perception… Alvin quickly rejected that idea.
Then a possibility struck him, and he lightly opened up his own personal interface.
Unlike other transmigrators who had arrived from the start, Alvin had cleared the ga first before reality changed.
'Maybe I exist in a higher dinsion compared to them, and that's why omniscience can't reach ?'
Or… was it because of the power granted by the "Night Watcher"?
While he was still sorting out his thoughts, a deep blue system pop-up suddenly appeared before his eyes:
[You have drawn the Star Holy Sword. Please be careful: enemies beyond the stars have increased their attention toward you by 10 points.]
[New achievent unlocked: "Wielder of the Star Holy Sword" (Once recognized by the Round Table, you may unlock the Star Holy Sword's Thirteen Restraints)]
"Do you have any other questions?"
Gaia's voice asked again.
Alvin paused for a mont.
"How much do you actually know about ?"
"Only a little," Gaia replied.
"Was it you who had Ishtar manifest here?" Alvin asked.
"Yes… I wished to recruit you. Having her persuade you was the best thod, but I had to suppress her divinity first, to prevent conflict with Tiamat."
Alvin's thoughts stirred slightly.
"Why Ishtar?"
"She holds a powerful wish in her heart, which makes her easier to summon."
Ishtar's wish…?
Alvin subconsciously glanced at her.
At this mont, her clear, lovely gaze shifted, and golden eyes locked tightly on this place, as if she could hardly wait to question Gaia about sothing.
"With her 'Beauty Manifestation EX' active, she possesses all mories from her lifeti," Gaia added, almost casually.
So that was it… Alvin sighed quietly in his heart.
Those words confird that not only Britain, but everything he had experienced over countless all-nighters in the story had beco real.
And the person Ishtar accepted the summons for, the one she was searching for… that answer was already clear enough.
Alvin gathered himself, then asked, "One last question — it might be a bit rude."
"Speak."
"Do Counter Forces have a gender?" Alvin probed.
A long silence.
Then Alvin sensed Gaia's power slowly beginning to fade.
At the sa ti, far on the horizon, the clouds shivered violently.
Alaya!
As Gaia's power began to withdraw, Alaya was finally about to descend!
Seeing this, Gaia's figure, which was about to vanish, paused for a mont, then Alvin sensed a surge of power rushing into his holy spear.
Boom!
The holy spear abruptly exploded with a brilliant, blinding golden light, blasting straight toward where Alaya was.
Crack…
With a sound like shattering glass, the light-sphere that symbolized "Alaya" turned even more illusory, until finally it collapsed completely.
With the holy spear's blessing, Gaia's strength vastly outmatched Alaya's — to put it simply, Gaia's "wifi signal" was stronger.
Although Gaia had achieved its goal, it didn't want Alaya to have another chance to contact Alvin, to avoid adding any more complications.
"Gaia, wait a second!"
At last, Ishtar reacted, quickly stepping forward to call out to Gaia as it was about to leave.
But Gaia did not stop.
Instead, a string of words quietly appeared in Ishtar's mind.
"The person you are looking for is in this era."
I want to ask where exactly…
Before Ishtar could say anything else, Gaia had already disappeared from view.
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