Shinji Matou at Your Service

Kneeling on one knee, the boyish-looking Dead Apostle, Merem Solomon.

Since Arcueid appeared, he had maintained this posture, but Arcueid had not noticed his presence.

Merem had been supporting her for over eight hundred years. Every time she awakened, Merem would rush to her as quickly as possible, up until the time they killed Roa the Seventeenth (Ciel).

In other words, the first person Arcueid saw upon waking up over a dozen times was always Merem. Although their meetings were brief, the bond and loyalty should not have been ignored.

Yet this time, when Arcueid awoke, she only focused on flirting and being playful with her new knight. How heartbreaking—eight hundred years of loyalty, only to be overlooked.

What was worse, even after she realized it, there was no compensation. She simply said in her usual carefree manner:

"Oh, Merem, you're here too. Good morning."

Fortunately, Merem understood her pure nature and never expected his loyalty and admiration to be reciprocated. He was used to waiting, waiting for such greetings and responses.

"Good day, Princess, it's been a while."

"..."

"..."

Yes, then they both fell silent.

Arcueid was at a loss. She never knew how to respond to this Dead Apostle who had offered her his loyalty.

As for Merem, he was used to it. In his eyes, Arcueid was supposed to be like this; the earlier chatter didn't match her image.

At that moment, a cold snort broke the eerie silence.

"Just one sentence? How heartless. I feel sorry for you, Merem."

"Ciel, this is not something you should comment on."

Merem's expression turned cold as he cast a glance at the blue-haired nun who spoke.

This glance also made Arcueid notice the other familiar presence.

"Roa!!! No, not Roa, but also not just a simple resemblance—how are you still alive? Didn't I already—"

"Already what? Already killed me?"

Ciel's eyes were cold, and she expressed her hostility even more directly than Merem's earlier warning.

"If I could, I would prefer that you indeed kill me, rather than always leaving behind some aftereffects, like this time with Forest of Einnashe."

"Ugh..."

Arcueid was at a loss for words, as verbal battles were never her forte. However, even without Ciel saying anything, Arcueid had her ways of finding out.

Just as she was about to use her power to connect with the world and read its memory, Shinji suddenly knocked her on the head.

"Dummy, did you forget your current condition? Stop using your powers recklessly."

"Ugh..."

Another similar sound, but this time not because of a retort, but because of the increasing bloodsucking impulse within her.

"Still haven't obtained the fruit of Einnashe?"

"Not yet. We woke you up just for the fruit. The Crimson Core fled, and we can't chase it with just our strength. We need you to clear the way."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Hearing this, Arcueid grabbed Shinji and rushed out impatiently.

"It's always you who's dawdling. If you didn't waste time acting cute, we would have left earlier."

"Listen, you're just in charge of clearing the way. Leave the rest to me, got it?"

Under the fortress's main gate, Shinji grabbed Arcueid in return and fully unleashed his magic circuits.

Accompanied by the same pure white radiance, a holy beast of the fantasy species, perfectly matching Arcueid, appeared before them.

"Is that… a Pegasus?"

Ciel's eyes widened.

"Be quiet, Seven!"

A restless movement came from within her nun's habit, and Ciel, already in a bad mood, punched the Seventh Holy Scripture hard.

"Such a trump card... what a beautiful creature."

Amid Merem's sighs, the knight and the princess mounted the Pegasus.

Then, Pegasus flapped its wings and soared into the sky, breaking through the fortress's main gate from the belly of Lady Windup.

The aura unique to Pegasus, a high-ranking fantasy species, spread wildly, driving the entire forest into a greater frenzy.

Pegasus was different from fully metallic, invulnerable mechanical puppets. No matter how strong its defense was, it was still flesh and blood, vulnerable to the forest's attacks.

In an instant, more than half of the trees shifted their targets from the tough-to-crack Mechanical Maiden and redirected their fire towards Pegasus, as did the blood-sucking beasts attacking from all sides, aiming to devour the two riders and their steed, just as they did with the King of the Land.

Branches, roots, leaves, vines.

Birds, beasts, reptiles.

Creatures with known and unknown names surged toward the sky like mad.

"Neighhhh~"

Sensing the threat, Pegasus let out a long cry, spread its wings to the fullest, and was about to release magic to destroy the incoming attack.

But Shinji suddenly patted its neck and ordered:

"There's no way to replenish magic power here, don't waste it. Just fly at full speed and leave the rest to me and Arcueid!"

"Mm, leave it to me!"

The connection that had been interrupted was finally restored. Arcueid, a manifestation of nature, once again connected with nature, and the world was altered once more.

Suddenly, a terrifying turbulence appeared around Pegasus. The rapidly moving air, like the sharpest blade, shredded everything it touched.

Marble Phantasm!

Arcueid used her Marble Phantasm to suddenly make a portion of the air disappear, creating a vacuum. The surrounding air, trying to fill the vacuum, formed a powerful turbulence, the force of which was even greater than Artoria's Invisible Air.

This was the simplest, most efficient, and most effective way of striking. The location of the vacuum was not chosen randomly, and none of the chaotic air blades touched Pegasus, not even the wind pressure affecting it.

This might not have been calculated—Arcueid wasn't that meticulous. It was simply the privilege of a natural avatar. Unconsciously not wanting Pegasus to be harmed, the turbulence intentionally avoided it. That's what it means to be a divine presence in this world, the so-called Gaia's daughter.

With the obstacles along the way cleared by Arcueid, Shinji had no more concerns and fully released Lesser Source, channeling all his magic power to Pegasus, making it accelerate, accelerate, and accelerate further!

100 miles, 200 miles, 300 miles, 400 miles...

500 miles, Pegasus reached its maximum speed.

But it kept accelerating, fueled by Shinji's magic and boosted by Arcueid's air currents.

Pegasus, the gentle-natured creature that disliked fighting, had only one passion: running wildly.

In the sky, on the ground, in the sea, and even in places humans could never tread—the throne of gods!

That's why it left Perseus and became Bellerophon's steed. Even when Bellerophon became arrogant and aimed to ascend Mount Olympus to join the gods, Pegasus still carried him on that journey.

Because it wasn't just Bellerophon's dream—it was also Pegasus' dream. Even though it ultimately died of Zeus' treachery, it had no regrets.

And now, having descended from the Throne of Heroes and taken on the form of a constellation, Pegasus entered that state once more. Driven by its master, propelled by its friend's hope, it charged forward with all its might!

Turning into a meteor, into a comet!