mtlumby2d Chapter 61 Undercurrents
Chapter 61 Undercurrents
The magic workshop of the Linglong Pavilion is located in a lush, deep forest.
The workshop itself is a Western-style mansion with stone walls covered in moss, and the light in the window panes is distorted into a very pale blue by the barrier.
The entire building was covered by an almost transparent semi-circular barrier, which was a protective barrier reinforced by successive heads of the Linglong Pavilion family.
Everything that happens here is beyond the reach of even the Holy Grail's oversight mechanism.
With a violent surge of spiritual energy, the deep blue spearman staggered to the ground.
The crimson spear in his hand emitted a low hum, its tip trembling slightly, and magic still flowed backward along the shaft, as if still recalling the sword light that had just been enough to sever cause and effect.
"Tch, the forced transfer of Command Seals is truly nauseating."
Cú Chulainn steadied himself, hoisted his spear onto his shoulder, wiped away non-existent blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked up at the girl on the steps.
"Young Miss, retreating at this time doesn't quite align with your 'inevitable victory' belief."
Misaya Reiko stood at the top of the steps, moonlight streaming through the skylights in the dome, outlining her slender and cold silhouette.
She gripped the Command Seal tightly in her hand, the stroke of which had faded, her fingertips turning slightly white from the excessive force.
"Shut up, Lancer." Misaya's voice was as cold as ice.
"That was a rational judgment. The opponent was not a Servant, but possessed a level of power far exceeding that of a regular Heroic Spirit."
One person slew Perseus and then severed your causal artifact with pure swordsmanship.
To waste precious resources on a pointless probing before understanding his core strength would be an insult to the Linglong Pavilion's name.
"Although I really want to refute it..."
Cú Chulainn, unusually, did not argue back. He lowered his spear from his shoulder, the tip touching the ground, his eyes deep and thoughtful.
"But you're right, that guy... is a real, living hero, and..." He tapped his finger lightly on the gun.
"His swordsmanship incorporates the killing moves of the Queen of the Shadow Kingdom; the old woman passed on all her most treasured techniques to him."
Misaya's eyes twitched slightly; a bad feeling in her heart had been confirmed.
"It seems that this generation's Holy Grail War has indeed encountered unexpected changes."
A deep male voice came from the corridor deep inside the workshop. Misaya's body stiffened slightly, then she bowed her head in greeting: "Father."
The middle-aged man who emerged from the shadows was the current head of the Linglong Pavilion family.
He walked with a steady gait, wearing a dark gray kimono, with a silver magic ring on the ring finger of his left hand, exuding the unique aura of a prestigious magician.
Behind him, a woman draped in a deep purple cloak followed slowly.
The hood of the cloak covered most of his face, revealing only his chin and lips, which were a deep purple with a hint of cold, demonic power.
Caster, Medea.
A treacherous witch, the princess of Colchis, and a skilled magician from the Greek Age of Gods.
Her blue eyes gleamed mischievously in the shadows as she fiddled with a translucent magic crystal in her hand.
Inside the crystal, the shattered footage of Arthur's battle with Cú Chulainn was playing back.
The golden light of the sword in the lake and the crimson causality that pierced the spear of death thorns—the collision of these two forces was repeatedly slowed down.
"What superb swordsmanship! It's like it was cut straight from the mythological era."
Medea chuckled softly, a hint of barely perceptible apprehension in her voice.
She held the crystal ball up to eye level, and the shattered images reassembled in her blue pupils.
"Master, is this the 'troublemaker' we're facing?"
The head of the Linglong Pavilion walked to the magic pool, which contained a liquid magical observation medium. It was a specially treated ether that could reflect the flow of the entire Tokyo ley line.
On the surface of the pool, there were seven spots of light, one of which, a silver-gray one, had already gone out, leaving only a faint wisp of light.
The other crimson and purple orbs of light burned quietly at the location of the Linglong Pavilion workshop, while the remaining four orbs were distributed throughout the Xindu District.
"That man... he doesn't have a Master."
The head of the Linglong Pavilion gently traced a line on the surface of the pool with his finger, causing ether to ripple and push all the points of light to the edge, leaving only the reflection in the center of the pool—Arthur's face.
Sword in the lake, star-studded cloak, short golden hair, and dark golden dragon eyes.
"He protected the second daughter of the Sajou family, but did not establish a magic contract, which means that he relies entirely on some kind of energy of his own to maintain his physical body in the real world."
"It's 'Dragon's Heart'."
Medea extended her slender finger and touched the crystal ball, stopping the playback and freezing it on Arthur's chest.
There was a golden light there, not the light of the sword in the lake, not the light of magic, but a more essential heat belonging to "life" itself.
"I sensed an extremely strong aura of fantasy on him, a primal magic even purer than the Holy Grail."
This level of furnace core can only be found in the dragon race during the most prosperous period of the Age of Gods, and his swordsmanship…”
Medea turned to look at Cú Chulainn, a faint sneer on her lips. "Lancer, you felt it just now, didn't you? That feeling of being suppressed."
"Ah, that kind of swordsmanship was developed specifically for hunting gods."
Cú Chulainn slung his spear back over his shoulder, clearly annoyed.
"Even for me, if I don't use the 'Piercing Death Spear' to cover a wide area, it will be difficult to find a gap in his line of sight."
The head of the Linglong Pavilion remained silent for a long time. The ether in the spell pool returned to calm, and the seven points of light redistributed across the veins of Tokyo.
"The Sajō family..." the head of the Reirō-kan family pondered, "that monster Sajō Aika is also involved."
"I originally thought that with the combination of my father and daughter as servants, plus the magical resources accumulated by the Linglongguan family over the generations, we would be able to sweep everything in this Holy Grail War."
But now it seems that Arthur Pendragon has become the biggest obstacle in our plans.
"Since he acted to protect that girl..." Misaya walked to the spell pool and looked at Arthur's face reflected in the pool.
"Then let's create a reason for him to leave," Misaya suggested, a resolute glint in her eyes.
"If he wants to find a Servant, then let him go. We can use Medea's fortifications to divert the battlefield to a third party."
"No, Misaya."
The head of the Linglong Pavilion shook his head. He lightly touched the surface of the pool with his finger, and ripples spread out, shattering Arthur's reflection into countless tiny points of light.
"Since Aika Sajou has shown unusual interest in him, we might as well go with the flow."
Misaya's pupils contracted slightly. "You mean...?"
"Medea," the head of the Linglong Pavilion looked at the deep purple Caster, "can you contact the 'Golden King'?"
Medea let out a melodious yet chilling laugh.
"That Hero King is not an easy person to talk to. Last time, I just set up a magic detection array outside his building, and he used the Gate of Babylon to blast the array core to smithereens."
Her smile remained unchanged.
"However, if you tell him that there is a 'real deal' here that he is willing to fight with all his might, he will definitely jump off his throne without hesitation."
The head of the Linglong Pavilion nodded. "Let's do it that way."
Medea bowed slightly, the edge of her deep purple cloak trailing on the stone slab. "As you wish, Master."
……
The long table was cleared away, and a huge map of Tokyo unfolded automatically under magical power. The edges of the parchment curled slightly, and the ink on the paper rearranged itself.
Medea stretched out her slender fingers and tapped several locations on the map. Each time she tapped a location, the corresponding coordinates lit up with a different colored dot.
The red dot—Aigo's territory—is currently under the dual protection of Arthur and Aigo, and is an absolute forbidden zone.
Blue dot – Linglong Pavilion Workshop, the command center hidden within the barrier of the deep forest, where Medea has laid more than twenty layers of magical traps.
Yellow – Other Servants who roam the city, such as Gilgamesh and Heracles.
"King Arthur wanted to end the Holy Grail War, which suits me perfectly."
The head of the Linglong Mansion leaned over to look at the map, his finger moving away from the red Sandbar Mansion and slowly tracing the direction of the earth's veins.
"Let him exhaust the other Servants' power; we won't interfere."
With each battle, his magic consumption increases, and his battle patterns are recorded and analyzed by Medea.
His weaknesses will be magnified, and when he is exhausted from running around...” His finger pointed to the red coordinate.
"We will then use Medea's 'All Symbols Will Break the Rules' to sever the last logical link in his existence in this world."
"And before that..."
Misaya's gaze lingered on the red coordinate on the map for a long time before she turned to look at Cú Chulainn.
"Lancer, keep an eye on him, don't fight him. Just act like a stray dog that you can't shake off. If you can lead him to the territory of Hercules or Gilgamesh, that would be even better."
"Ha, a guide? What a boring job."
Cú Chulainn complained, but the spear slung over his shoulder spun around, its tip slicing through the air with a short, sharp hum.
Beneath his short blue hair, the fighting spirit in his beast-like eyes was even stronger than before. "However, it's not bad to witness the end of a myth."
As night deepened, the barrier surrounding the Linglong Pavilion workshop emitted a faint blue glow under the moonlight.
The magic within the barrier began to flow faster, Medea's position was developing new functions, and the ether in the spell pool rippled with fine waves.
On the map, that golden dot of light is burning quietly.
……
It's raining.
Tokyo's late night was enveloped in neon lights. Arthur stood in the rain, his star-patterned cloak soaked through, the edges drooping and dripping water.
He could feel the gazes directed at him from afar.
"This feeling of being manipulated... even in this era, the nature of magicians has never changed," Arthur murmured softly.
Then he raised his head, his gaze piercing through the thick fog, locking onto the skyscraper that exuded an aura of extreme arrogance.
That is the location of the King of Heroes.
It is also the next stop in his plan.