One week after Ritsuka and Mash arrived in the Lostbelt.
At the highest point of Boundary Isle Orkney.
In the ruins of the church that once stood there.
*SHUA!*
Accompanied by the flash symbolizing Rayshift, over a dozen people suddenly flooded the small church that had previously contained only three!
"Yo-ho! We're here!"
Mordred, whose childish nature hadn't changed after years, shouted first.
As a native born in Britain, upon arriving in this Lostbelt, she felt a certain familiarity. Though it was a Lostbelt, Britain was still Britain—the birthplace and legend of the Knights of the Round Table.
Artoria felt the same. Only, compared to Mordred, she was far calmer.
While the others began looking around curiously—since nearly everyone present was visiting a Lostbelt for the first time—it was impossible not to be intrigued, especially in this Lostbelt version of Britain, a world ruled by Naoki for two thousand four hundred years.
However…
"You won't see anything here, you know."
Naoki Number Two, shouldering the Holy Sword, drew everyone's attention with those words. "This place is far from Naoki's domain. No fairies or humans. It's the only neglected island unchanged for two thousand four hundred years. You won't see any signs related to Naoki here. If you want to see, wait until we cross the strait and reach the British Isles."
"You're the duplicate separated by Naoki." Aoko looked at Naoki Number Two. "You really resemble the original."
"There's a huge difference. At least in power, I'm not even a thousandth of the original. I'm very weak," Naoki Number Two laughed.
"So, though I understand your feelings, please listen to my general explanation first. Though I think you all know, I still want to explain our objective and operation plan this time."
Operation Plan.
Hearing Naoki Number Two say this, the women present—thirty, forty, even fifty years old—all fell silent for a moment, ready to listen.
Naoki Number Two cleared his throat: "First… Arcueid, can you make a whiteboard with Imaginary Manifestation? I can't use it now."
*PLAK!*
A whiteboard and a box of chalk dropped together in front of Naoki Number Two.
"Thank you—Alright, first let's talk about our objective this time, which is undoubtedly to bring back the original who has become the Fairy King."
Naoki Number Two wrote Bring Back Naoki on the board.
"To achieve this, battles between us and the original, plus the two Fairy Knights and even Queen Morgan, are unavoidable. Regarding the combat strength of these four, I think Merry has already conveyed it, right?"
Naoki with power above Beast, Morgan the god-level Magus who studied Holy Lance Rhongomyniad as Magecraft, Melusine the strongest dragon born from Albion Dragon remnants, and Barghest with the black dog legend and Gawain.
Though there were over a dozen people here, the estimated combat power was only enough to face them separately?
"Then, what about the operation plan?" Rei asked. "No, more precisely, how will the personnel be divided for combat, right?"
"Yes."
Naoki Number Two nodded and divided the whiteboard into four sections.
"First, the people to face the original Naoki. Arcueid, Rei, and Aoko—the strongest in combat power—are definite. If not you three, I don't think you could even buy time against the original."
True Ancestor equivalent to Naoki, the highest-standard Homunculus created by Naoki himself, plus the Fifth Magician—these three were generally recognized as the main force this time.
"Additionally, there's Okita."
Okita was slightly surprised when her name was called, then realized: "Because of my Alter mode?"
Alter Okita Souji—Majin Souji.
Originally a Servant adjusted for the final battle with a one-time flash, now she could switch freely depending on the situation. No, it should be that Okita had been in form for ten years; her true form was Majin Souji, she just usually acted as Okita.
Temporarily release the surface Spirit Origin and replace it with the inner one to become Majin Souji.
Like Ultraman changing forms.
"Then, personnel to face Morgan."
"For Morgan, let me and Mordred step forward." Artoria volunteered. "After all, she's my sister and Mordred's mother. We're the most suitable to fight her."
"My opinion's the same as Mother's," Mordred laughed.
Gray also raised her hand: "Then, allow me to join… Miss Alter and I can help; after all, I have some connection to Sister Morgan too."
Unlike the high-level fight against Naoki, the Morgan team seemed like a grudge match in various senses. Everyone there had deep ties to Morgan.
Though winning chances weren't high, considering Artoria held Avalon, they shouldn't lose. Even if they couldn't defeat Morgan, holding her off should be fine. Worst case, give her the sleeping Naoki's Holy Sword here to boost combat power.
The two most important sections were temporarily handled. As for the remaining Melusine and Barghest…
Naoki Number Two was silent for a long time, then sighed softly: "Melusine… leave her to Angelica, Ritsuka, and Mash."
Melusine was one of two who could fly across all Britain. To fight her, flyers were needed. In this case, Angelica was essential. With the flying ship Vimana from Gate of Babylon, Angelica would engage Melusine in high-speed aerial combat. For close quarters, Mash would be the core, with Angelica supporting.
The enemy was Fairy Knight Lancelot—perfect for Galahad and Gilgamesh to face.
As for the last, Barghest—
"It can only be left to me, Touko-san, Ciel, and Atalanta, right?" Ayaka said with a somewhat serious expression.
With this, all personnel were divided. At least the minimum combat requirements for each side were met. But honestly, Naoki Number Two felt more anxious with this grouping.
The fulfilled power was only the bare minimum. If battle truly started, it would likely be losses across all lines. This was clearly visible.
Especially the Barghest personnel combination—defeat was almost certain. In pure strength, Barghest was the fourth strongest individual in all Britain, even stronger than the aged Wryneck.
Though aged, Wryneck was still a powerful True Ancestor, a planetary cooling organ. As one of the few fairies in Britain siding with the Fairy King, if he knew the situation, he would surely intervene.
After all, Wryneck, Naoki, and Morgan had known each other for thousands of years. Moreover, Wryneck was a fairy pursuing truth over personal pleasure. Thus, if the Fairy King—who had saved Britain multiple times—was attacked, he would act.
So in reality, though everyone had gathered, the combat power here was still vastly insufficient.
"I have a question."
Aoko raised her hand now.
"This thing should count as combat power too, right?"
As she spoke, she opened her palm, showing the ten Solomon rings to everyone.
"Beast I, that is, Goetia restored as the Human Order Incineration Ritual, is inside now. It might not fight Naoki, but against the others—like the Fairy Knights and Morgan… I think it's possible, right?"
"The issue is who will temporarily control it."
Naoki Number Two: "..."
(If there's such overwhelming combat power, why didn't you say it earlier!)