Year 1 of the Holy Calendar, month of winter, day 31.
The capital of Esgania, outer city area.
"In three hours, it will be the time for the founding ceremony as agreed upon by the king."
“Well, from now on, the city under our feet will lose the old name bestowed by the despicable King Vortigern and will be given a new name - the Holy City "Camelot". ”
"I heard from my uncle who is a reserve knight in the Knights of the Round Table that the king, oh no, now I should call him Your Majesty."
"It is said that His Majesty will name this new country the 'Forrestal Empire'..."
In the streets, people could be heard talking with joy and excitement.
At this moment, the civilians still had a lucky look on their faces as they had just escaped from the state of war.
After all, it had only been a year since the battle to conquer Vortigern and pin that humble king to death on the throne.
...
...
This land has just been liberated from hundreds of years of war, and peace has just arrived. The devastated land trampled by the abyss monsters, rebels, and bandits is still in ruins. Every surviving victim still remembers the previous disasters, which are scars that can only be healed by a long period of time.
But even so, there were still longing smiles on their faces.
The vision and yearning for the ideal country that is about to be established and promised by the king.
"It's a pity that His Majesty Cain couldn't see this. What he hoped for, what he created with his life—"
"It is an ideal country where there is no famine, no disaster victims, and everyone can live and work in peace and contentment."
Someone spoke in a low voice.
The crowd, which had been cheering excitedly for the upcoming founding ceremony, suddenly became a little depressed.
"yes--"
Someone took out a robe with a black background and red clouds and put it on, with a look of nostalgia and sadness in his eyes.
"He had witnessed the darkest night before, so he longed for the blazing light."
Right now.
Several years have passed since the battle in the Valley of the End and the arrival of the Spear of Punishment that pierced through the starry sky.
However, Cain and the reputation of Akatsuki did not diminish in the slightest with his death in battle.
Even under the active publicity and promotion by the Knight King and the coalition forces, Cain and the meaning of "the dawn that changed the world" were spread to the ears of every resident of Esgania at an extremely astonishing speed.
Even though the supplies were not abundant, many people, whether nobles, knights, or even civilians, would buy an Akatsuki uniform and become supporters of Akatsuki.
As for Cain, the founder, today, people no longer regard him as a historical figure who died in battle.
Instead, it has become a symbol through the people's continuous feeling, singing and fermentation.
Even, a belief.
"Huh?"
Suddenly someone sighed softly and his eyes fell on the city gate.
He was a young-looking boy, with black hair and black eyes, a tall and slender figure, and wearing a simple windbreaker.
Next to him was a girl with the same black hair and black dress. Her eyes were hazy, obscured by the night. Under her skirt were black stockings and on her feet were a pair of sheepskin boots.
The two men walked in through the city gate, passed through the streets, and soon disappeared in the rushing crowd.
"What's wrong?"
"No, nothing..."
The man turned around.
The holy city of Camelot is about to be completed, and the empire's founding ceremony is about to take place. During this period, a large number of residents from other places will go to the royal capital, either to move or to participate in the founding ceremony. This is not uncommon.
What really concerned him was the hair color of the two people.
The mainstream hair color of Esgania is either brown or gold. People with black hair are quite rare and are only found in the North and the Golden Plains.
Of course, this alone is not surprising... However, according to the information circulating among the Round Table and the Oath Family -
The Lord Cain who usually wears a vortex mask has black hair.
Even the young boy's figure was somewhat similar to the statue in Valhalla and the figure with his back turned away from the crowd in the painting painted by Her Majesty the Queen herself, which depicts the scene of the battle in Cain's End Valley and is named "Dawn".
But soon, the man shook his head and dismissed this somewhat ridiculous idea in his mind.
"I saw two siblings from a minority ethnic group... They should be travelers from the North or the Golden Plains who came here to watch the founding ceremony."
He responded casually, his eyes fell on the Akatsuki robe in his hand, and the nostalgia and sadness in his heart surged out again.
Even if they are similar in shape and clothing.
But, after all, that was not His Majesty Cain.
His Majesty Cain is dead, died in the darkest night before dawn.
His tone was somewhat heavy, and he spoke each word devoutly.
"Your Majesty Cain, did you see that?"
"This prosperous age is just as you wish."
…
"I didn't expect that passers-by would mistake us for brother and sister. It's simply the opposite of the truth."
Char walked through the strange yet familiar city blocks, with Augustina beside him. The discussions of the civilians also came into his ears along with the flow of the breeze.
Although it is a thousand years apart, this is definitely Camelot.
Even though many of the buildings were different, the division of the main streets and blocks was exactly the same as Char remembered.
This time, Char did not wear a mask, but showed his true face to everyone... Anyway, in this world, he wore a mask from beginning to end when he used the Cain vest, and no one knew his true appearance.
Xia looked at Augustina who was following beside her, especially the black stockings under her black skirt: "But don't you think that this kind of dress is a bit incompatible with your identity as the Queen of the Night?"
He discovered that Augustina seemed to have the ability to switch between the mature lady appearance of "Queen of the Night" and the young girl appearance of "Princess Kurohime" at will.
And for some reason, Augustina seemed to prefer to show her girlish side in front of outsiders, making it impossible for people to tell that she was actually an old Deng who had lived from the Second Age to the present.
Not only does this Queen of the Night like to act young, but even her clothing style follows the trends of later generations, which makes her look out of place in the city of Camelot a thousand years ago.
Obviously, the other old ladies he knew... his wives, whether it was Sylvia or Hathaway, at least dressed more traditionally.
At least, Char had never thought about what Xi Bao or his own golden elf master would look like wearing black stockings before.
He coughed lightly, forced himself to mobilize his mental strength, and restrained his ever-diverging thoughts.
I just don't know if I'll have the chance to put my fantasy into action... But it's okay for Xi Bao, but if I let my teacher wear black stockings, even the flashback pocket watch may not be able to save me.
"In your words, I am at least the biggest information dealer in the entire Western Continent."
Augustina tapped her white fingers in the air, dark shadows gathered in the air, and she added a small black hat to herself.
"Investigating the latest fashion trends of the human race is naturally part of intelligence gathering."
"Human race?"
Char caught the point: "By the way, before you became a True Ancestor, your original race should not be human, right?"
"You have survived from the Second Age to this day, so you must be an immortal species."
"My teacher once said that she and you are old acquaintances. Are you also a high elf like my teacher?"
He tilted his head, trying to see the shape of Augustina's ears between her black hair, but his vision was obscured by the thin night sky, making it difficult to see clearly.
"Since you are a regular customer of this shop, I think you should know the rules of this shop, Xia."
Augustina chuckled.
"Spying on a native race of the throne... this is a deal at the level of "Angel of Death", and you are asking for information on the leader of the Shadow Council, which is a higher level, reaching the "Prometheus level". ”
"Well, have you figured out how to pay the price? Information at the level of the Fire Thief can only be traded with holy relics, or..."
She looked at Xia with a smile in her eyes: "Exchange yourself for it."
"I can't afford it. Goodbye."
Xia simply shook his head.
What a joke! He didn’t feel it before when he was of a low rank, but now he clearly knows the value of the word "holy relic".
Those were treasures that truly touched the realm of rules, and even ordinary true gods could not make them… Although there were unreliable items like the Holy Grail of Knowledge among them that lowered their value, he had already deeply experienced the power of the Holy Sword and the Holy Lance.
Pure plug-in.
Of course, Char also knew that this was Augustina's excuse for refusing to answer his questions in disguise, otherwise she had revealed so many secrets of the old era to him in the Millennium City before, but she didn't charge him any extra fees.
The two walked side by side in Camelot for a while.
Until the midday sun began to set slightly.
when--
The distant sound of bells spread out from the imperial palace in the inner city.
As the sound of the bell spread throughout the city, the entire outer city area became boiling in an instant.
Then, thousands of surging people rushed towards the inner city and towards the imperial palace.
Everyone knows.
This is the announcement that the founding ceremony is about to begin.
…
In the crowded crowd.
Only Char and Ogutina stood still.
The noisy and chaotic crowd passed by them, but avoided them when they were about to make physical contact.
We are clearly in the same city, on the same street, yet it seems as if we are in two completely different worlds.
"Did you see that?"
Augustina's scarlet-gold eyes looked down at the surging crowd beside her, and her icy and indifferent voice rang in Char's ears.
"Um."
Char just nodded silently.
He could feel the breathing and heartbeats of the civilians in Camelot.
However, in the astral vision——
What came into view was just an empty, lifeless city.
Only the brilliance of the blood moon under the night sky has become eternal in Camelot.
"Them, these civilians and everything in Camelot."
"They are just phantoms of the past in the fantasy belt, right?"
Xia stretched out his hand slightly, and a colorful butterfly landed lightly on his fingertips, flapped its wings, and then flew away again.
But Char simply closed his eyes.
Whether it is the butterfly or the civilians, they are all real lives and real flesh and blood.
However, as creatures in the fantasy zone, independent of time and space, they have all been deprived of their future.
Having lost the future and all possibilities, we are left with only a phantom of the past, existing in a fantasy zone independent of time and space. Controlled by the red moon and the owner of the fantasy belt, it is like a puppet, following the destined trajectory.
This is a dead city.
Countless souls stripped of their fates, in this eternal kingdom of God, repeat the phantoms of the past over and over again.
“The saddest thing is themselves.”
Char looked at the civilians who had happy expressions on their faces.
“Even though I’m already dead, a phantom that has lost its destiny and future… I still feel like I’m alive, and I feel like I have the power to decide my own life.”
He closed his eyes gently.
When Char opened his eyes again, his attire had been quietly changed.
It was no longer the plain windbreaker, but instead a pitch-black robe embroidered with red clouds.
The swirling mask concealed Xia's handsome and soft facial features, leaving only the forehead protector with scratches and the hat with wind chimes tied to it.
From time to time, passers-by cast curious glances at him, but they did not stay for long.
As the situation fermented over the years, the vast majority of the people in Camelot could be considered supporters of the Akatsuki organization.
As for the followers who imitated Cain's dress, there were naturally countless of them.
However, it is rare to be able to imitate to such a detailed level.
And Char simply opened his arms slightly, and in the eyes of the vortex mask, the runes of the alchemical matrix rotated slightly.
Undead metal was forged in the void.
Carrying that thin figure wearing a black robe with red clouds.
Continue to rise towards the sky.
"Well, Augustina."
"Let's get started."
…
Camelot, inner city.
At the highest point of the palace, between the thrones.
The lone figure stood alone between the thrones, on the pale silver chair.
She looked down at the inner city square below her, at the increasingly crowded and jubilant crowd pouring in from all directions.
This was clearly a day for universal celebration, but as the protagonist of the founding ceremony, there was not a single ripple in her beautiful red eyes, only extreme coldness and indifference.
After a long time, she turned sideways.
Then he looked below the throne, and saw the knights standing one by one beside the huge round table.
"Tell me, what do you want to do?"
"Your Majesty! You once said that you wanted to create an ideal country where the people are self-reliant and strong, and there is no room for the existence of gods. For this reason, you even rejected the invitation and support of the Dawn Church."
"But what have you done now?"
The strong knight in silver armor, as strong as the sun, suddenly stood up.
"The seven gods believed in by the Church of Dawn are at least legitimate gods... Although they are also gods, they still follow a certain order."
"But, Your Majesty, you want to cooperate with an ancient god of the abyss, even at the cost of turning Camelot into the other party's kingdom of God, and turning the people of the empire into followers of Zhu Yue?"
Gawain paused, then spoke loudly again.
"Please deny me! Tell me that all this is just my own unwarranted delusion!"
"Before his death, Merlin was bewitched by Zhu Yue. He wanted to deceive us, split the king and the Knights of the Round Table, and make us kill each other! The sword wound on his body was not from the holy sword, but was forged by Zhu Yue!"
“In fact, you are not prepared to do this at all, let alone cooperate with the “Scarlet Moon”! ”
He looked expectantly at the lone figure on the throne.
However, what Gawain received in response was not a harsh rebuke or denial.
Instead, there are cold, indifferent and lifeless words.
The flying silver hair reveals the girl's delicate face.
However, Gawain could not find even a trace of the familiar and friendly appearance of the young queen when she disguised herself as a man and used the alias Artorius.
"Gao Wenqing, the information you collected is not wrong."
"Merlin died under the holy sword."
The indifferent voice echoed between the thrones.
"The gods of dawn can't give me what I want, but Zhu Yue can."
"Time can dilute everything."
"At this moment, no matter how much grief we feel for the deceased, after hundreds of years and dozens of generations, they will be forgotten by the world and become just a mere symbol in history textbooks."
On the throne, the Queen's eyes dropped slightly.
It fell in Valhalla next to the imperial palace, on the figure with its back to the world in the huge scroll.
"He once said that a person is truly dead when the last person in the world who remembers him has forgotten him."
"But I don't want this to happen. I don't want him to be forgotten by the world. I want to see with my own eyes the moment when his heroic spirit returns."
"If this is your goal, then eternity is the only option."
"Use the power of the Red Moon and the Holy Sword to permanently solidify Camelot and the Holy City in the fantasy world, and freeze them into eternal immortality."
"This is the choice I made."
The Knight King's cold words shattered Gawain's last bit of fantasy.
"Of course I understand that the path I have chosen is contrary to the creed that you uphold as knights."
"So, you can continue to follow me, leave, or unite here to defeat me."
"I'll give you five minutes to think about it."
…
Five minutes passed in a flash.
Some Knights of the Round Table chose to follow and submit, either out of loyalty to the king they served, or because they chose to endure after realizing the power gap between the two sides, or because they did not care much about the creed of chivalrous virtues from the beginning.
As a result, their spiritual power was branded with a vermilion mark by the blood-colored moonlight and became a part of the "eternity" in this eternal kingdom of God.
However, more Knights of the Round Table chose to rebel.
"Your Majesty, no!"
"Artorius!"
Gawain's eyes turned red and he let out a mournful roar.
"If His Majesty Cain... If Cain were still alive! He would definitely not want to see you doing these things for him."
"I can guarantee that if Cain saw you in such a hideous and unfamiliar state, he would hate you to the core!"
At the moment when the high temperature roar came out.
On the throne, Isadella's beautiful eyes wavered slightly.
But soon, the blood-red moonlight destroyed those ripples.
She just looked silently at her subordinates and comrades who had once fought side by side with her but were now drawing their swords against her.
Clang——
With a clear sound, the holy sword was unsheathed, and the blade shone with an icy cold light.
Unlike those ordinary civilians who have become phantoms of the past and ghosts in the Zhuyue Divine Kingdom without knowing it, as well as those low-ranking nobles and low-level extraordinary people.
There are quite a number of legends among the Knights of the Round Table.
Legendary strongmen can sense the existence of the long river of time to a certain extent, and the movement of opening up the fantasy zone will inevitably be noticed by them.
Therefore, from beginning to end, this battle.
The internal strife among the Knights of the Round Table was inevitable.
In the red fantasy zone that is independent of history, this bloody and cruel battle has been repeated countless times.
As for the outcome of the battle, it is self-evident.
How could an ordinary legend, even if he had the advantage in numbers, defeat someone who not only held a holy sword but also obtained a throne blessed by an ancient god?
A moment later.
Inside the throne, the last drop of blood splattered.
The blood-red moonlight sprinkled down, swallowing up all the filth, leaving no trace.
Among the Knights of the Round Table, those who chose to surrender accepted the erosion of the Red Moon and became members of the Kingdom of God and their destiny as vampires.
As for those who disobeyed, all traces of their existence were wiped out, and they became ghosts and phantoms of the past in the fantasy belt, who could only act according to the established trajectory and lost their destiny and future.
Clang——
The holy sword is sheathed.
Isadella slowly turned around and walked out from between the thrones.
Then, he walked towards the square where countless people gathered.
That was the sacred ceremony of the founding of the country.
It is also the beginning of the so-called "eternity".
This is also part of the established history of the Fantasy Belt, which has been rewritten and compiled countless times by her, the king of the Fantasy Belt, and is very familiar to Isadella.
But the next moment.
Isadella's steps suddenly stopped, something unexpected happened that was beyond her control.
Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows.
The noisy jubilation disappeared, and she heard the exclamations of tens of thousands of people.
Then, Isadella's eyes narrowed slightly.
In her sight.
A figure in a black robe and red cloud, wearing a vortex mask.
It is rising slowly from the distance.
The black robe embroidered with red clouds fluttered in the violent wind in mid-air.
The sound of wind chimes came along with the shaking of the bamboo hat.
Finally, the thin black-haired figure froze at a height a thousand meters away, at the same level as the highest throne in the entire holy city.
Overlooking all living beings.
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