She didn't dare waste time and said quickly to Fujimaru Ritsuka, "Leave here at once… Mash, move fast."
"But Fou hasn't come back yet," Mash looked around anxiously.
Fujimaru Ritsuka, however, made a snap decision, "No time to think about all that, just go first!"
["How could you possibly get away now!"]
Olga Marie pressed her forehead, ["You're already surrounded."]
At this moment, Fujimaru Ritsuka finally realized, these knights weren't here to protect the refugees at all, but rather...
Gawain's voice came from the front, "For you all to willingly come to the Holy City, I offer my heartfelt gratitude."
The burly and mighty knight spoke with courtesy, yet without losing solemnity, "The age of mankind has already been destroyed, and this small world too will meet its end."
"That's right. Outside of the Holy City of Camelot, there no longer exists any land where humanity can survive."
Gawain spoke with utmost reverence, "Our Holy City is supreme, flawless, a perfect millennial kingdom. Pass through this main gate, and you shall see the ideal world itself."
Once those words were spoken, the crowd boiled over.
"The legend is true!"
"What nobility. The Knights of the Round Table… even if they come from another land, such radiance is beyond question!"
The woman too showed joy, "Amazing, benefactor, we won't have to keep wandering homeless."
Yet Shirou spoke plainly, "If anything strange happens next, you follow her immediately…"
Shirou pointed to Fou, "She will lead you to find a girl who looks much like me, and she will protect you."
The woman paused, worried, "But what about you, benefactor?"
"I must ask that person directly, so very likely I won't leave here…"
"Get ready!"
Upon seeing the target, Shirou's face tightened, his gaze locking on the city wall. There stood, clad in silver armor, the pure Lion King.
After Gawain's speech, she slowly appeared.
'Too strong!'
'Too strong!'
Such a reaction was no longer something mere humans could bring forth.
If the invincible Gawain beneath the sun still made people feel his overwhelming might, then before the pure Lion King, Gawain's strength was nothing but a dimensional suppression.
This wasn't only a difference in power, but an enormous gulf in very dimension.
Because the opponent wasn't even human at all, but a true divine being.
Since the Lion King wore a helmet, Shirou couldn't make out her expression for the moment.
But the instant she spoke, he was certain, it was Saber.
That voice, even if cast into hell, even across a thousand, ten thousand years, he could never forget.
Just like now, that clear and ringing voice, sweeping aside the darkness with ease.
And yet it made Shirou's whole body turn cold.
"—Those who can be led to the very end are extremely few," A voice stripped of its unique color.
Different from Alaya's "nothingness." The Lion King loved humanity, but…
"The essence of man is decay."
With cold indifference the Lion King declared, "Therefore, I shall conduct strict selection. To choose souls that can never be tainted, to choose souls unmoved by evil, to choose humans who by nature, from birth to death, remain forever unchanged, eternally without stain."
When the Lion King's words fell, brilliant and dazzling light, intense yet not blinding, enveloped Shirou.
"Benefactor?"
Just like him, the woman's body also shone with light. She said, "The radiance on your body isn't the same as mine."
"Mom and big brother, why are you glowing?", The little child didn't understand what this meant.
Shirou also realized, the radiance blossoming from him wasn't the same as the other three.
Not in color, but in a way visible to the naked eye, rarer, more precious, more worthy of being recorded.
"You are?", The Lion King, who should have been announcing the end of the selection, saw the pure brilliance on Shirou's body and said, "Even if fallen, you will never betray your heart, an eternal unchanging one, step forward, let me see you."
At this moment, Fujimaru Ritsuka finally saw Shirou.
Her pupils widened.
"Emiya…"
"Emiya Senpai!"
Mash was quicker, joy spreading across her face, "No mistake, it's Emiya Senpai!"
["Emiya!"]
Olga Marie shoved Roman aside directly, pressing her flawless face right against the glowing screen.
"——"
"Even our King praises this pure one?", The Knight of the Round Table, Gawain, fixed his gaze on the red-haired boy, still shining even after the other three had dimmed.
And in a loud voice proclaimed, "Step forward, boy. Speak your true name!"
Upon hearing this, Shirou did not hesitate to stride forth, his eyes locked on the Lion King.
As he advanced, the crowd parted to make way for him.
The woman murmured to herself, "I said so… he must have been born with some mission in this world."
By all rights she should feel happy, yet her heart held only sorrow.
Because this meant their parting was at hand.
All eyes fixed on the boy.
Including Fujimaru Ritsuka, so emotional she could hardly control herself.
If not for Da Vinci holding her back, she would already have rushed forward.
"Don't be rash, we must get out of here quickly!"
"But Emiya Senpai…", Fujimaru Ritsuka's face twisted in struggle.
"This so-called 'selection,' it would be better described with the opposite word!"
Da Vinci said, her mood sinking to the very bottom, "Don't worry about that boy. Those who pass the selection won't be harmed. But those who don't… like us, perhaps not so."
"What do you mean?", Fujimaru Ritsuka didn't fully grasp it yet.
By now, Shirou had already reached the front of the Holy City's gate.
Because the Lion King was on the wall, Shirou had to look up to her.
Likewise, the Lion King was looking down at the boy.
Yet Shirou could not feel that sensation of once locking eyes with Saber.
'Because of the helmet?'
He preferred to believe that was the reason.
The silence dragged on for a long time.
Gawain sensed something was wrong and spoke again loudly, "Chosen youth, state your name."
Shirou still remained silent.
He was waiting for the Lion King to speak.
But she said nothing.
"My King, this is…?"
Finally, the Lion King spoke, "The selection is complete. Bring those chosen by the Holy Lance into the city. As for this boy, I shall receive him personally later."
"My King?", Gawain's face showed shock.
Personally receive.
Summoned here for over half a year, never once had he heard the King say such words.
Yet now, towards…
Just as the Lion King was about to leave, Shirou finally spoke, "Saber."
That single word made the Lion King halt. Even the expression hidden beneath her helmet began to twist in pain.
She seemed to remember this voice.
Not as something vaguely familiar, but far more important, absolutely unforgettable, never to be forgotten, never allowed to be forgotten, a memory from long, long ago.
'Yes, this voice—'
This voice that so easily crossed time and space, tearing through the endless years.
Even if a thousand years had truly passed, it could never be forgotten.
"Shi… rou…"
The next second, divinity eroded. Coldness seized the King's peerless beauty.
She hid it all beneath the pure white, lion-like flowing helm.
Resolutely, she turned and left.
Her back cold and distant.
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