The next morning.
"My Lord, as you said, apart from Marquis Voban, the other Godslayers show no signs of mobilizing at present."
First thing in the morning, Erica came to report on her work.
To deal with the impending Godslayer attack, practically all the magic associations in Italy had been up all night. The only ones who probably got a good night's rest were Su Mo and his group.
For the Copper Black Cross, and indeed for all the magic associations in Italy, for such a wide-scale declaration of war to only attract one Godslayer was a stroke of luck beyond belief.
The collateral damage from a battle between two Godslayers could just barely be contained.
If all the Godslayers came at once, it was unknown who would win or lose, but Italy would definitely be finished.
Yet for Su Mo's side, Erica actually felt a little regretful at this moment. Although she was worried that summoning too many Heretic Gods at once would cause uncontrollable damage, she also had enough confidence in Su Mo's strength.
Even if they didn't all come, two or three would have been fine, right? A single Godslayer, even if it was Marquis Voban, was nowhere near enough for Lord Su Mo to fight.
"It's him, as expected. When will he arrive?" Su Mo was not surprised by this result.
"According to the estimated flight time, there are still twenty minutes left," Erica replied immediately.
"...No, he's already here."
Su Mo, who had been listening to the report, suddenly turned his head and looked out the window.
The originally clear weather had become overcast in an instant. A violent whirlwind was blowing not from the Mediterranean, but from the direction of Eastern Europe.
Fine bolts of lightning flickered continuously from within the clouds. In less than half a minute, the weather above the entire city of Rome had completely changed.
"This is... Marquis Voban's Authority?" Erica also reacted quickly.
This was Marquis Voban's signature Authority, usurped from the trinity of gods: the Earl of Wind, the Master of Rain, and the Duke of Thunder.
It was the power to summon storms and control lightning. He had once used this Authority to destroy a city, leaving behind the prototype for the fairytale of the Three Little Pigs.
Since the Authority had already reached here, it meant he himself had already arrived in advance.
"Is he trying to show off his power to Lord Su Mo?" Erica could roughly guess Marquis Voban's thoughts.
Although he was displeased with Su Mo's declaration of war, for a veteran Godslayer like Voban, actively coming to challenge a junior seemed to be a bit beneath him.
The development that best suited his thoughts was probably to awe this ignorant new king with his power, make him come for an audience, and then teach him a lesson with absolute force.
Whoever was more proactive was one step lower in status.
In the past, this line of thinking would have been fine. But now, times had changed.
"Revealing his own position makes things much more convenient," Su Mo said, looking towards the outskirts of Rome. Marquis Voban clearly had no intention of hiding his presence.
"I'll go over. Erica, prepare a second basement. Saber, stay and guard the headquarters. If you see any suspicious individuals, you may take them down first."
"Yes, my Lord!"
"Yes, Master!"
After giving the two their tasks, a spatial passage immediately appeared before Su Mo. He stepped into it, and his figure completely disappeared.
After Su Mo left, Erica looked at Artoria. "Senior, I'm going to prepare the prison. The King of Swords and Marquis Voban can't be locked up together, or a conflict is likely to occur."
"Mm," Artoria nodded. "Then I'll go out on patrol. Although I can't help Master in a direct battle, I must at least ensure that Master has no worries from the rear."
Artoria was very serious about her duties as an attendant.
Both of them were the type to get things done cleanly and efficiently. After a brief exchange, they left the hall together to carry out the tasks Su Mo had assigned.
While they were still in the hall, the sky outside was dark with clouds, thunder rolled, and lightning flashed. A huge storm suddenly swept through the city.
When they reached the corridor, the wind howled into a tornado, the thunderstorm shone like the sun, and the rain poured down like a flood from the sky.
And when they opened the door, the great storm had completely stopped.
The gale ceased, the downpour dissipated, and even the leaden clouds above had long since scattered, leaving only a washed, clean blue sky.
The warm sunlight shone down. If not for the puddles on the ground, no one would have imagined that just a dozen seconds ago, it had been stormy weather.
Stepping into the sunlight, Erica and Artoria looked up at the sun, then at each other.
"It seems the battle is already over," Erica remarked, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
The concept of time was qualitatively different in the eyes of different beings. Less than half a minute had passed.
They hadn't even had time to complete their tasks, just having stepped out the door, and Su Mo had already dealt with one of the world's once-strongest Godslayers.
"As expected of Master!" Artoria also sensed the sudden weakening of the enemy's presence. Having witnessed Su Mo's power, she naturally knew what had happened.
An enemy on the level of a Godslayer was no trouble at all for her Master.
After a moment of emotion, they both quickened their pace. They couldn't let Su Mo finish his battle while they hadn't even prepared anything.
After saying goodbye to Erica, Artoria left the Copper Black Cross's headquarters.
She had only taken a few steps when she heard another loud thunderclap. A huge flash of electricity suddenly erupted on the battlefield in the suburbs.
If it were an ordinary person, they might think it was a continuation of the previous thunderstorm. If it were a magus, they might think it was Voban's lightning.
But Artoria was different. Her current state was both that of a Servant and a Heretic God, so she quickly sensed the subtle differences between the two types of lightning.
"Besides that Godslayer, has Master encountered a new enemy?"
"This presence... why does it feel somewhat familiar?"
Her ahoge trembled slightly. Artoria vaguely sensed that the second opponent Su Mo was now facing might be related to her. Could it be that another Heretic God from the Knights of the Round Table had descended?
Thinking this, she didn't intend to abandon her mission to go and rescue Su Mo. Setting aside that Su Mo could summon her at any time if he needed to... even if that wasn't considered, if the enemy was only on the level of a Heretic God, Su Mo didn't need her assistance at all.
"I'll ask Master later!"
Pondering this, Artoria circled around the Copper Black Cross headquarters.
Before she had time to observe her surroundings, her powerful intuition and an incredibly familiar presence forced her to focus all her attention on a petite figure by the side of the street—a golden-haired girl with the beauty of a faerie, who looked to be no more than twelve or thirteen, staring straight at her.
The moment she saw this girl, the ahoge on Artoria's head instantly drooped, and her expression became slightly complicated.
Even when facing a Heretic God version of herself, she could eliminate it without a second thought. But upon seeing this girl, she revealed an extremely complex expression.
Though their appearances were different, and their personalities and temperaments had changed, the incomparably familiar Spirit Origin already revealed the other's identity.
"Guinevere, why have you come?"
Remembering Su Mo's earlier instruction to arrest all suspicious individuals, Artoria quickly suppressed the complex emotions in her heart and asked the woman who, in terms of Spirit Origin, should have been her queen.
Looking at the upright and honest King of Knights before her, Guinevere suppressed her own surprise and fondness.
The Heretic King Arthur who descended this time is actually a girl? And such a cute girl at that?
Unlike the disappointment and atmosphere she had felt when she saw that other Heretic Arthur, upon seeing Artoria's incredibly petite, incredibly beautiful, and incredibly dignified figure, which seemed to be the very ideal of her legend, Guinevere's fondness for her instantly soared.
As the creator of the Arthurian legends, the creator of the Heretic Arthur, at this moment, she looked at Artoria as if she were looking at a cute daughter she had raised herself.
So, even sensing Artoria's vigilance, she didn't mind in the slightest. She even took a step forward with great enthusiasm and took Artoria's hand.
"Arthur, quick! While the demon king is away, come with me!"
"?"
A question mark suddenly appeared above Artoria's head. What does she mean? Is the Guinevere of this world very close to me?
Seeing her confused look, Guinevere thought she hadn't explained clearly and immediately said, "Don't worry, Uncle has already gone to hold off that demon king. With the power of the Northern European Wolf King, that evil demon king is surely done for!"
"Now you leave with me. No matter what power that demon king used to control you, I can use the Holy Grail to break it!"
Clearly, Guinevere believed that Su Mo had used some despicable method to control Artoria. Otherwise, why would Artoria, a Heretic God, need to listen to a demon king?
So, while Su Mo was away, she wanted to come and rescue this foolish child.
"The demon king you speak of... you mean Master?"
Even if Artoria were slow, she now understood Guinevere's meaning.
Thus, she gripped Guinevere's arm with one hand. The power of her Red Dragon bloodline made her grip impossible to escape.
Remembering Su Mo's previous order, she raised her other hand, materializing an enhanced version of the Sword of Promised Victory.
Finally, under Guinevere's bewildered expression, she asked back, "Is there a possibility that I am following Master of my own free will?"
"Huh?"
Feeling the inescapable force and looking into Artoria's incredibly serious eyes, Guinevere was completely dumbfounded.