A few minutes later, in a scene reminiscent of a classic grave-robbing drama, Naoki and Bersac walked side by side through an underground corridor entirely made of ancient bricks.
Through the lantern he held, Naoki could vaguely make out his surroundings. However, it was meaningless—from the beginning until now, the environment had never changed, always the same monotonous bricks.
"Such a quiet place, like a graveyard." Naoki said half-jokingly, trying to lighten the gloomy atmosphere.
Glancing back at Naoki, Bersac, who was walking ahead, nodded. "Indeed. If I had to say, this underground place is the true burial ground of Blackmore. By the way, why are you walking so far behind me?"
Although Bersac and Naoki were walking together, there was a distance of about five steps between them, just enough to see each other's positions by the light of the lantern.
"It's because I'm afraid that thing you're holding might accidentally kill me." Naoki replied, smiling as he looked at the object in Bersac's hand. It was a large, somewhat worn-out axe.
"I only have basic Magecraft abilities and no combat strength whatsoever. If you suddenly turned around and swung that axe at me, I'd definitely die. Besides, we don't trust each other, so you understand, right?"
"Hmph, you're quite cautious for someone so young."
"If I weren't cautious, I would have died a year ago."
"The Holy Grail War?" Bersac frowned. "You said you summoned King Arthur, right? What was she like?"
Naoki was caught off guard by the question. He paused for a moment, then raised both hands. "Just an ordinary person, at least in my opinion. Aside from having a huge appetite and eating a lot, which nearly drained all my savings, there was nothing special about him."
"Was your relationship with her good?"
"Who knows? To others, I might seem like a coward who was always protected by him, and that's pretty much the case. During the Holy Grail War, he always protected me, until I grew stronger and fought alongside him a few times. In that sense, I guess you could say I was his comrade?"
As he spoke, Naoki didn't realize that his tone and expression had become relaxed, as if he were talking about an old friend.
However, Bersac, who was listening, furrowed his brow slightly.
There was one part of Naoki's words that didn't align with his knowledge.
"She?"
Bersac stopped walking.
"Isn't King Arthur a woman? Why did you say 'he'?"
"Ah, I forgot to mention, I didn't summon Arthur from this world, but from another world... or more accurately, a parallel world's Arthur."
Seeing Naoki smile as he said this, Bersac turned around and gripped his axe tightly. "You lied to me?"
"No, I just withheld part of the truth. If I hadn't, you wouldn't have brought me here, right?" Naoki laughed. "Or, now that we're here, are you planning to turn back? Giving up halfway isn't a good habit, old man. At your age, a little walk is good for you, isn't it?"
"But I think my physical condition is much better than yours. A Magus who's always cooped up in a lab should get out and walk more."
"So I came out to accompany you on this walk, didn't I?"
'This shameless, smooth-talking kid...'
Bersac frowned deeply and sheathed his axe. Naoki was right—they had come this far, and turning back now would be pointless. Moreover, they were already close to their destination. Going back would only waste time.
Just as Bersac was about to continue—
"By the way, there's a fork up ahead, right? We need to turn left there, correct?"
Naoki's sudden question made Bersac stop again.
"How do you know that?"
"Who knows? Ever since entering this place, I've had a vague feeling in my mind, like 'I know the way,' as if I've lived here for a long time."
Naoki, of course, knew what was happening. The power of Arthur within him was resonating with the artificial spirit of Artoria in this tomb. Simply put, Artoria might be sending him a personal message, continuously transmitting signals in his direction. The deeper they went, the faster the signals became, now reaching ten times per second.
Honestly, if Artoria were doing this on purpose, when they met, no matter how great the difference in their strength, Naoki would definitely throw a fireball at her face. Sending signals ten times per second? What does that even mean? It's so noisy! His brain was almost fried, as if there were an alarm ringing in his ears that couldn't be turned off, destroyed, or even have its batteries removed.
However, there was some good news. Naoki not only knew how to reach Artoria but also knew her current movements—Artoria was also heading toward him.
"Tomb Guardian, may I ask how strong your combat abilities are?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because if we take two left turns and then a right, we'll encounter about thirty skeleton soldiers and that creature."
"That depends on your actions." Bersac replied. "If you want to leave, I can take you out. But if, as you said earlier, you want to defeat that creature, be prepared for the possibility that we both die here."
"So, we're going to fight?"
Naoki laughed, then walked ahead of Bersac, removing his Mystic Eye glasses. The sky-blue Mystic Eyes emitted a faint glow in the dark tunnel, and at the same time, the world he saw changed instantly.
"There are so many souls here. It truly deserves to be called a graveyard—a paradise for necromancy. Compared to Glastonbury, this place is a bit lacking."
"Then, let's consider them as additional combat power. Please follow my commands."
As soon as he spoke, all the souls within the range of his Mystic Eyes paused for a moment, then transformed into powerful evil spirits, almost materializing!
"GAAAAAAA—!!"
In an instant, chaotic crow-like cries echoed through the underground.
Seeing the scene before him, Bersac frowned in discomfort. "Your eyes... truly are Mystic Eyes that make me uneasy."
Naoki smiled faintly. "Likewise. By the way, for some reasons, my Mystic Eyes can only be used for about five minutes."
What he meant was that if the battle wasn't over in five minutes, they would retreat.
Bersac snorted coldly. "That's why I said you Magus types need to get out more. You have no stamina at all."
The Mystic Eyes that devoured souls—abbreviated as "Soul Eater Mystic Eyes"—had been awakened for a year. During that year, even though they were suppressed by glasses, Naoki would still try to control them whenever possible, as there were many places in this world where these Mystic Eyes could be useful.
After training, Naoki could now control his Mystic Eyes for five minutes.
This didn't mean the Mystic Eyes would stop functioning after five minutes, but five minutes was the time frame that ensured they wouldn't go out of control. Even after a year, Naoki still couldn't freely control his Mystic Eyes. On one hand, these Mystic Eyes were extraordinary and difficult to control without guidance. On the other hand, it was a matter of his own ability.
The Soul Eater Mystic Eyes would continuously transform nearby souls into evil spirits once activated. As time passed, the number of souls turned into evil spirits would increase. Although, in theory, all these evil spirits were under Naoki's control, he was still only human and couldn't possibly control so many evil spirits.
One person controlling a hundred? He simply couldn't handle it!
Thus, Naoki's control over the evil spirits was basically limited to simple commands like "advance" and "retreat." Even so, he could only maintain control for a maximum of five minutes. If the number of evil spirits grew too large, that time would shorten.
If it exceeded five minutes, the Mystic Eyes and the out-of-control evil spirits would go berserk, creating a ghostly parade.
Therefore, in any situation, Naoki would only use his Mystic Eyes for a maximum of five minutes.
Seeing the horde of roaring and screaming evil spirits around Naoki, Bersac frowned in displeasure. "You really have no respect for the dead."
"That's just how my Mystic Eyes are. Is it my fault? Instead of that—"
Naoki looked ahead. He had sent dozens of evil spirits to scout the path forward, and a second ago, he felt all of them being destroyed simultaneously.
"It's faster than I expected. Old man, are you ready for a post-lunch stroll?"
"Shut up."
Shouldering his axe, Bersac was about to move forward, but Naoki stopped him. "Ah, don't step into the range of my eyes for now. My Mystic Eyes don't discriminate. If you enter, you'll become like these evil spirits. What I mean is, I'll deal with that creature. If I lose, you can just run. It's not like you have to fight too."
As he spoke, the sound of clanking armor echoed from the tunnel ahead. In the next moment, the scattered bones on the ground seemed to be pulled by invisible strings, floating into the air and assembling themselves. In their hands, they held weapons made of bone—swords, spears, bows, and arrows. From their equipment, it was clear they were likely ancient soldiers.
As the skeleton soldiers stood up, Naoki noticed something.
"They're absorbing Mana here."
His Magic Circuits felt a slight pain and weakness. With so many creatures suddenly appearing that required Mana, the Magic Circuits that had been freely absorbing Mana from the air were now experiencing a shortage.
Although the feeling subsided in the next breath, Naoki still frowned.
"My Mystic Eyes are useless here. I can't see their souls... They're not ordinary souls. Mana from the surroundings is being injected into records inscribed in space, using bones as a medium to create these moving forms. Failed Servants?"
Although most of Naoki's Magecraft knowledge was still at a basic level, he had learned about souls from Waver.
Without saying much, Naoki waved his hand, and the horde of evil spirits surrounding him instantly transformed into ferocious wolves, charging at the skeleton soldiers!
Normally, souls couldn't interfere with the physical world. Even if they turned into evil spirits, they could only disrupt the Mana around them or affect the souls of others. Their ability to physically intervene was extremely limited.
But if the opponent was also a soul, the situation would be reversed.
"GAAAAA—!!"
The howls of the evil spirits were like tidal waves, echoing continuously. As the horde of evil spirits made contact with the skeleton soldiers, the skeletons that touched the evil spirits seemed like machines with jammed gears—their movements slowed and stopped!
"Evil interference between souls and souls?"
"Yep." Naoki nodded with a smile in response to Bersac's observation. "After all, they're just defective Servants. It's already hard for them to maintain their movements. With the interference from my evil spirits, their original functions are disrupted."
Simply put, it was like a computer full of holes being attacked by a virus and temporarily shutting down.
"Fire, burn."
A flame suddenly ignited in his palm. Naoki blew on it gently, and the flame turned into many sparks that floated forward, quickly expanding into dozens of fireballs the size of fists, shooting toward the immobilized skeleton soldiers!
The not-too-wide underground tunnel was instantly filled with fire and explosions. Fortunately, Naoki's fire Magecraft focused more on high temperature than explosive force. Otherwise, with dozens of fireballs exploding simultaneously, the tunnel would have collapsed.
However, even so...
"Their magic resistance isn't bad." Naoki sneered as he saw the skeleton soldiers with half their bodies melted. Although they were failed Servants, they were still bones with a long history. Soaking in the Mana-rich underground for years had given these skeleton soldiers considerable magic resistance.
"Once isn't enough? Then twice."
Naoki was about to gather Mana to use Magecraft again, but at that moment, a figure that didn't belong in this environment suddenly appeared in his sight.
It was a figure that looked like a girl, seemingly leading a group of shadowy spirits, like a queen. He couldn't see her face because she wore a metal mask, but her posture was very representative and very familiar to Naoki.
"Are you the one?"
A somewhat cold female voice echoed through the tunnel. There was a slight difference, but it was indeed Kawasumi Ayako's voice.
Reaching out to remove the mask covering her face, the Corpse King revealed a face almost identical to Artoria's, staring at Naoki.
"Are you another vessel of the King?"