At this moment, above Uruk, petals fluttered through the air from time to time.
That was proof that Merlin's flower field was still active.
Because it was already nighttime, the army of undead had once again revived.
Now, they were continuously prowling around the east and north gates. If not for being misled by the flower field, they might have already charged into Uruk by now.
But setting aside the other undead monsters, the Garula spirits were not hindered by Merlin's flower field. Most likely, they had already infiltrated Uruk.
Through his Wise Eye and Mind's Eye, Rozen was able to perceive the reactions of spiritual entities—the miasma of death had grown far thicker than it was during the day.
Under such circumstances, the Garula spirits were likely now fully active, once again targeting those humans being corroded by the Goddess of the Underworld's scent of death.
"All right, everyone get ready," Rozen called out to the noisy crowd.
"The Garula spirits have appeared. Don't let a single one enter any buildings."
As he said this, a charm talisman suddenly flashed into Rozen's hand, which he then hurled into the air.
Zing!
The talisman immediately lit up, shining brilliantly and dispersing much of the surrounding darkness in an instant.
With the talisman's effect, the deathly aura in the vicinity was also disturbed, becoming erratic and highly unstable.
Kaa!
Kaa!
In the next second, on the streets illuminated by the purifying light of the talisman, painful screeches rang out from all directions.
There, from every shadowed corner, spirit bodies clad in black robes appeared—part fog, part ghost, with flickering forms and shriveled, corpse-like faces.
Almost simultaneously, voices burst out from the Chaldea communicator.
"Multiple magical responses detected!"
"The signals are weak! And no signs of life!"
"They're Garula spirits! Garula spirits have appeared!"
Olga Marie, Da Vinci, and Roman all cried out in shock.
"Oh?" Merlin finally perked up.
"They've appeared?"
Anna unhesitatingly gripped her scythe.
"Enemy sighted! Identity confirmed as Garula spirits!"
Mash reflexively jumped in front of Rozen, her hand heavy with the weight of the Round Table Shield, which materialized in a burst of spiritual light.
"Well then, let's get this over with quickly."
Rozen gave a sudden smile as he looked at everyone entering combat mode. He clutched several more talismans in his hand.
Kaa!
Kaa!
The surrounding Garula spirits let out screeches of either rage or hatred, rushing toward Rozen and the others like waves of ghostly fog.
And thus, within Uruk, a fierce battle between humans and spirits commenced.
Facing the oncoming Garula spirits, none of the group showed fear as they charged into combat.
Anna darted between the streets with her small, agile frame, swinging her massive scythe at one Garula spirit after another.
Mash brandished her Round Table Shield, slamming the spirits away one by one.
Rozen unleashed talisman after talisman, the purifying charms flying like streaks of light and exploding in flashes that evaporated the Garula spirits on contact.
Even Merlin, the Magus of Flowers, raised his staff and gathered mana to launch magical bombardments, blasting apart the airborne Garula spirits.
The team faced almost no pressure, driving the Garula spirits back and annihilating them.
Though emissaries of the underworld, the Garula spirits themselves weren't particularly powerful—at best, they were comparable to mid-level or upper-level familiars. Their only tricky aspect was their immunity to regular physical attacks, being spirit bodies.
However, Rozen was an expert in Onmyōdō. Even if he couldn't use full jutsuryoku spells, his talisman arts alone were sufficient for exorcising spirits. And since Servants were essentially high-class spirits, any attack imbued with mana could still harm the Garula spirits.
Given that, the Garula spirits were naturally no real threat to Rozen's group.
In other words, this mission wasn't difficult at all for Rozen and his allies.
Of course, the enemy knew this as well. They understood that Garula spirits alone couldn't threaten Uruk.
Therefore, outside Uruk, an uninvited guest arrived.
Her arrival was destined to change everything.
"...So this is Uruk?"
At the east gate of Uruk, beneath the pitch-black moonlit sky, a figure appeared as if on a casual stroll. Gazing at the fortress city ahead, she murmured softly.
It was a girl.
A girl with neatly cut short hair and pitch-black eyes, dressed in a blue kimono with a red jacket draped over her shoulders.
Her features were beautiful, but her face and gaze were strikingly cold.
This girl felt utterly out of place in this era—like a traveler who had wandered into the wrong time, or a delinquent from some modern underworld. She stood out in every way.
Yet her arrival sent a palpable wave of fear through the surrounding undead.
The spirit monsters wandering nearby were visibly startled and scattered, seemingly afraid.
The girl paid no attention to this. She simply stared at the east gate and the fluttering petals drifting there, her tone oddly casual, like an unrefined man.
"In this time and place… to see a flower field like this—it really is out of place."
Saying this, the girl stepped forward.
As she walked, she drew a dagger from beneath her jacket, concealed at the small of her back.
"I've got no interest in this whole 'war to exterminate humanity' thing, but hey… since I'm freeloading, I might as well put in some work."
With those words, the girl looked up.
In her eyes, her once-black pupils had transformed into icy blue Mystic Eyes patterned with multicolored spirals.
"Sorry," she declared.
"But I'm going to kill you now."
As the words fell, the girl slashed through the drifting petals with her dagger.
Shlick!
With a clean cut, the Magus of Flowers' flower field was severed and vanished completely.
"...!"
On the streets of Uruk, Merlin, who had been fighting the Garula spirits, suddenly turned pale. His body staggered—and he fell to one knee on the ground.
Cough…!
A mouthful of blood erupted from his lips without warning, staining the ground before him red.
"Mr Merlin!"
Mash was stunned.
"Merlin?!"
Even Anna jumped in shock.
"Fou!"
Even Fou, who had been lazily resting on Merlin's shoulder, suddenly jolted upright.
Even Rozen was taken aback—his face immediately darkening.
Because Rozen had just perceived it—the flower field that had blanketed all of Uruk had suddenly vanished, as if erased.
"Merlin's barrier… has been broken?"
Rozen was stunned.
Sure enough...
"Everyone, be careful…!"
Merlin, with an expression more bitter than ever before, shouted aloud.
"My barrier's been broken! Something truly terrible is coming!"