"Anyway, it's a good thing you're not dead. Alright, stop spacing out here. Quickly notify the rear and join up with the first team!"
Old Man Muramasa patted his shoulder with deep relief.
"Having that sentint is enough. I believe Artoria can see it too."
...
"Is everyone alright?"
"Thanks to your well-wishes!"
Soon, the mbers of the first and second teams gathered together.
After looking around at each other for a mont, everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
They had repelled two overwhelmingly powerful Fairy Knights without losing a single person—it could truly be called a miracle!
This way, they could preserve their strength to the maximum extent to face the Queen, that final big boss!
"Help! Help !"
At that mont.
A terrified cry for help suddenly reached everyone's ears.
The bewildered group curiously turned to look in the direction of the voice.
They were the vanguard spearheading the advance. The rebel army's main force had just broken into the city not long ago and was still behind them. So where was this cry for help coming from up ahead?
Unexpectedly, a female fairy appeared before everyone.
Her face was full of terror as she glanced back behind her, continuously running forward while looking over her shoulder.
The tightly shut doors along the way had nearly driven her to despair. Only when she saw Gudako and the others did she snap back to reality, overjoyed, and hurriedly ran toward them.
"Madam, may I ask what has happened to make you so panicked?"
Her attire was sowhat luxurious, but she should just be an ordinary high-ranking fairy.
Tristan remained vigilant. He silently stepped forward, shielding Gudako behind him, while gently inquiring in a soft voice.
His gentle and exceedingly patient deanor was very much like a prince's.
The female fairy imdiately felt much safer and quickly hid behind him.
"Help! There's a monster!"
"A monster that kills every fairy it sees!"
A monster that kills every fairy it sees?
Hadn't they already made a three-part agreent with Knocknarea and Bogart not to harm ordinary residents?
Could it be that so soldier in their army was disregarding military law?
These were the thoughts that surfaced in everyone's minds.
However, the outco would greatly surprise them!
Erging from around the street corner was soone familiar to every one of them!
He wore a hooded cloak, with sunglasses and a face mask obscuring his features.
But they had seen that outfit hundreds of tis already!
In his hand, he held a gleaming silver sword, walking step by step toward them.
"Such a strong sll of blood...!"
Tristan couldn't help but gasp sharply.
An astonishingly thick scent of blood lingered around him. Even from dozens of ters away, the tallic odor violently assaulted Tristan's nostrils!
The air was thick with the stench of blood!
It was hard to imagine how many people he had killed!
"It's him!"
The female fairy peeked out from behind Tristan, pointing at the cloaked figure as if she'd seen a ghost.
"He kills every fairy he sees! Kills every fairy he sees! Talking to him is useless—he's completely unreasonable! Many fairies I know have been killed by him. They were all just ordinary fairies—why did he have to kill them all so cruelly?!"
Everyone exchanged glances.
To their great surprise, they all seed sowhat indecisive.
Because in their hearts,
Eiji had never been soone who enjoyed indiscriminate killing.
Yet the pungent scent of blood clinging to him couldn't be fake, and with this female fairy as a witness, it didn't seem false either...?
"Hey, Eiji, is what she said true?"
Fujimaru Ritsuka couldn't hold back. She stepped forward, looking at the cloaked figure as if seeking confirmation.
If anyone claid Eiji had committed mass slaughter, she'd be the first to disagree—
"Yes."
Eiji replied succinctly.
Gudako was instantly stunned speechless.
"So... it's actually... true...?"
Even after experiencing nurous betrayals, she never thought Eiji would beco their enemy.
During their usual interactions, she'd vaguely sensed it—while Eiji had many minor flaws, when it ca to major principles, he was always the clearest-headed one.
Now you're telling he slaughtered indiscriminately? It felt like her entire worldview was shattering.
"Mr. Eiji, why did you do that?"
Mash couldn't restrain herself either.
As soone who had lived with Eiji for half a year, she absolutely couldn't accept that he would do such things!
"That's right! What exactly did we do to make you slaughter us so rcilessly? We were just law-abiding fairies...!"
The female fairy finally seed to gain confidence, stepping out from behind Tristan and glaring indignantly at Eiji, as if suffering so unbearable injustice.
I was just doing what everyone else was doing!
If everyone was doing it, then surely I could too!
Why did I deserve to be killed?
She didn't notice.
When she spoke these words, Artoria's expression suddenly changed.
She looked at the female fairy with disgust, then stepped away as if avoiding a venomous snake.
Simultaneously.
"Gush!"
In an instant, the female fairy froze.
She looked down and suddenly saw a blade protruding from the center of her chest.
" re fairy, don't reason with ."
A girl wearing a spring-green haori leaned out from behind her.
Her face, as if covered in frost, was as cold as an executioner's.
"It makes sick enough to vomit!"
Eiji didn't make a move.
Okita Souji did.
Her blade had pierced through the fairy's chest from behind in the blink of an eye, before anyone could react!
"Lord Okita?"
By the ti Tristan tried to protect the female fairy, it was already too late.
He, Muramasa, and the others stared in disbelief at Okita Souji, who had killed without apparent reason, utterly stunned.
The female fairy panicked, clutching her chest, but the blood wouldn't stop no matter what. Warmth and strength drained from her body.
Soon, she collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Her body transford into a large piece of rotten wood.
"Lord Okita, why did you do this?"
Tristan couldn't comprehend it, staring gravely at Okita Souji.
Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash only froze for a mont before recovering.
Grimm remained expressionless throughout.
Artoria, anwhile, wore a look of grim satisfaction.
"At this point, there's no need to hide anything anymore."
The one who answered was Eiji from the other side.
"Okita Souji has never been to this Lostbelt, and there has never been a human or Heroic Spirit nad Okita Souji here."
A gray mist suddenly erged, enveloping Souji.
His figure writhed like an illusion, and under the stunned gazes of Tristan, Da Vinci-chan, and Muramasa, transford into an identical copy of the person opposite him.
"The one who left a doppelganger as Okita Souji by your side to protect you all along—was ."
Replacing the vanished Okita Souji...
...was the phantom-like Eiji.
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