Chapter 1085: Attacked Norwich
"Gareth dear, playing with the children again?"
As Pepe Rongchino arrived at the courtyard where ordinary people lived, he saw Gareth playing with several children, chattering and laughing together.
"So popular!"
"Yes, I love children the most!"
Gareth released the children, revealing a face full of happy smiles.
"What brings you to me, Lord Count?"
"Oh, don't call me Lord Count! It's so embarrassing!"
Pepe waved his hand lightly with a laugh, his feminine gestures somehow not coming across as annoying.
"I wanted to ask you, how much of the future can you still see?"
"Uh..."
"Oh, what a cute expression! The fact that you have Future Vision isn't something you can hide from many people, you know?"
"Could it be that everyone already knows about my eyes?"
"Probably about half know."
"Haha..."
Gareth twitched the corner of his mouth.
"So my identity as a member of the Mirror Clan has been exposed all along. And here I thought I was hiding it quite well. How embarrassing."
"Let's get back to the main topic. How much of the future can you still see?"
"The future?"
When this topic came up, Gareth immediately felt a headache coming on.
"I don't know if it's because I didn't perfectly inherit the previous generation's power, but now I can't even remember the previous generation's name. My Future Vision works only intermittently... And recently, for some reason, reality keeps unfolding differently from the future I foresaw!"
Every member of the Mirror Clan possesses Future Vision.
However, depending on their magical power level and the strength of their atavistic traits, there are significant individual differences in their Future Vision. Weaker ones can't even control their eye abilities and can only passively receive visions of the future.
The current Gareth, being a lower-class fairy with very low magical power, is at this level.
"Reality unfolding differently, as expected."
Pepe looked thoughtful.
"As expected?"
"Yes, my Āsravakṣaya jñāna hasn't been very accurate recently either."
Pepe explained without holding anything back.
Āsravakṣaya jñāna, one of the Six Supernatural Powers of Shugendō, allows one to understand their own and others' fates, sharing some similarities with predicting the future to some extent. But recently, his Āsravakṣaya jñāna hasn't been very sensitive either.
"Is it because a factor with an unpredictable fate has appeared?"
Pepe thought of a certain person and murmured quietly.
"That might indeed be the case!"
Remembering how Mash had previously mentioned that person could evade fate, Gareth immediately nodded in agreement.
"And that sister of his, the Heroic Spirit called Okita Souji - I can't see her future either. What's going on with that pair of siblings? I simply can't understand them!"
"Hehe, Gareth dear, your maiden heart still needs more training!"
Pepe laughed while patting Gareth's head, revealing a meaningful smile.
He was an expert in matters of the maiden heart.
So he could tell at a glance that Okita Souji was definitely not a girl!
Although the appearance, and possibly even the body, had taken on a girl's form, that person's behavior had a characteristically male casualness.
Plus, every time they met, she would avoid him. Pepe had long since seen through what kind of "maiden" that really was.
"Sniff sniff!"
Gareth suddenly frowned, wrinkling his nose like a puppy.
"Strange, is that a burnt smell coming from somewhere?"
"Did someone accidentally burn the food?"
The two followed the direction of the burnt smell.
Unsurprisingly, they found a chicken being roasted in the kitchen that had fallen into the fire. Its skin had turned completely black, clearly inedible.
Beside it lay a pale, clean pig, lying on its stomach with its rear facing them.
"Really, what a waste of food!"
Gareth quickly stepped forward, trying to rescue the roasted chicken.
Feeding nearly a thousand people was no small expense for the Count, and Gareth felt they shouldn't cause unnecessary trouble regarding food.
"Wait, Gareth-kun!"
But at that moment.
Pepe looked around and suddenly changed his expression.
But Gareth had already entered the kitchen first.
He rushed forward, trying to stop Gareth.
"How many fools have fallen for this same trick already?"
The pig lying on the ground suddenly stood upright.
In its hoof, it held a warm orange glowing orb, its pig face revealing a ferocious grin.
"Fortunately, this time we've caught a big fish!"
"Bzzzt—!"
The orange orb suddenly activated, generating an irresistible gravitational pull like a black hole!
"Beryl!!"
Pepe's eyes nearly burst with rage.
The moment Beryl Pig deployed the barrier, he instinctively activated Divine Foot Travel.
Divine Foot Travel, as the name suggests, when mastered to perfection, allows one to go anywhere in the world without being detected by anyone—a god-like miracle!
Even against an Age of Gods-class barrier, he was confident he could escape its power!
But he suddenly stopped.
Gareth was right before his eyes, being pulled toward the barrier!
Pepe's expression tightened.
Immediately, he rushed forward without hesitation.
Grabbing Gareth's hand!
When the gravitational force dissipated.
The two had vanished from the kitchen.
"Truly worthy of a barrier created by the Queen—its power is impressive!"
Beryl Pig retracted the barrier and lay back down on the ground.
"Come, come, keep coming, hurry up and come!"
An intense sense of urgency welled up in his heart.
Faster!
Even faster!
Come back quickly, Mash!
Otherwise.
I won't have enough time!
Oxford is about fifty kilometers from Norwich.
After entrusting the army to Percival, Artoria and Gudao's group traveled light. Pushing themselves to the limit, they returned to Norwich in less than an hour.
But now, in the Count's mansion.
Not a single person remained.
Everywhere was burning flames and smoke rising to the sky!
Surrounding them were fairies who had come to watch the spectacle, along with Fang Clan fairies sent by Bogart to investigate.
"How could this happen?!"
Not just Gudako, but even Mash and Artoria were overwhelmed with fury.
The Count's mansion housed not only the warriors who had been helping them so far, but many more ordinary people!
Now everything had been reduced to ashes!
"Calm down! We haven't seen any bodies, so it's not the worst outcome yet!"
Muramasa quickly restrained the nearly hysterical group.
"Yo, you finally returned?"
A leisurely voice sounded as a pig wearing a name tag appeared before them.
"Beryl!"
"What have you done to everyone here!"
"Time is limited, so I have absolutely no intention of catching up with you all! Go!"
Beryl laughed maniacally.
With a flick of his hand, he flung dozens of black humanoid Mors from the barrier, sending them charging toward Muramasa and the others.
Among them were even several child-like Mors, emitting agonized wails as they lunged at the group as if actively seeking death!