Defeated.
On the land engulfed by flames, Guinevere leaned on her already broken greatsword, barely holding herself upright.
—The gap in strength was too great.
The current Bagster, compared to the enormous black hound she faced in the previous cycle's finale, was more than twice as large in both size and magical power. Its height now reached a hundred meters.
Its fur—already as thick as possible—had grown even tougher. Even Guinevere, whose strength had reached grade B, could not penetrate its defenses. When it moved, it was like a rampaging black mountain, flattening everything in its path with relentless violence.
Although Grim had tried summoning his Noble Phantasm in the battle—calling forth a colossal treant to block its path—that titanic giant, which to everyone else seemed overwhelmingly huge, was like a child facing a massive feral hound in Bagster's presence: in the blink of an eye it was torn to pieces and swallowed whole by Bagster, whose power further increased by the absorbed magical energy.
As for the roaring flames covering the treant, their temperature perhaps could not compare to the domain surrounding Bagster, and thus inflicted no harm whatsoever.
"This is outrageous! That's cheating, right?! Even my Noble Phantasm can be eaten whole?!" Grim was dumbfounded.
If his Noble Phantasm fared so poorly, the others were even less effective. Even with Artoria's magical assistance, their attacks couldn't breach Bagster's defense. Any strike aimed at its vulnerable eyes healed itself in moments.
"No good—retreat!" Noknarei shouted. "We underestimated its strength! Retreat! Immediately!"
\[You have been defeated.]
\[Against the absolute power born of its immense size, you were quickly overwhelmed by Bagster; even breaking its defense was beyond you.]
\[Noknarei decided swiftly to withdraw.]
\[Bagster immediately gave chase. Grim unleashed his Noble Phantasm again to cover your retreat. Then, relying on Rydra's mobility, aided by Artoria's magical enhancements on Rydra, you managed to escape.]
\[However, the portion of the army that had stayed behind after engaging the black hound pack in the distance, unable to withdraw in time, was struck head-on by the black hounds and completely annihilated.]
"Sure enough, she's not even a match..."
"It's my fault... At this point, I still held half-hearted resolve; of course we couldn't win her."
\[On the way back, you notice Artoria is in low spirits and murmuring to herself.]
Seeing her so downcast, Guinevere wanted to comfort her, but before he could speak, he saw a flash of determination cross Artoria's face—as if she had resolved something—and she calmed herself first... then began encouraging everyone.
"It's all right, everyone. After all, she is a legendary Great Calamity. A single defeat is only natural. The fact we all survived is already the best outcome."
"Although we failed this time, as long as we learn from it and prepare based on the intelligence we gathered in this battle... Even if it doesn't work next time, the time after that, we will definitely overcome that foe!"
As she spoke, Artoria turned her gaze toward the direction where Bagster stood, her voice solemn:
"Yes, next time we must defeat it. Only then will the soldiers' sacrifices have meaning... We will not lose to her again."
This... could it be the effect of her quick recovery?
Though Guinevere was used to Artoria shaking off despair and rallying so fast, he instinctively felt this time her rebound was unusually swift—almost as if she had long foreseen this defeat.
Since Artoria faced the direction of their retreat, Guinevere could not read her expression or gauge her true feelings.
\[Because of your defeat, Oxford has fallen—though you had already evacuated all the faeries in Oxford beforehand, preventing Bagster from growing even stronger by devouring Oxford.]
\[Regarding a way to defeat Bagster, Artoria suggests first locating the Sixth Prophetic Bell. According to her, upon completing the full pilgrimage, one might obtain a powerful armament capable of breaching Bagster's defenses.]
\[However, you have no information on the location of the Sixth Prophetic Bell—not even Oberon knows.]
"Prophetic Bell? You're seeking the final Prophetic Bell?"
As everyone exchanged information, hoping for any clue to the last Prophetic Bell, Murien suddenly spoke:
"I found some notes about the Prophetic Bells in ancient texts."
"The Prophetic Bells, or Pilgrimage Bells—also called Bone Bells—are literal 'bone bells,' formed from the remains of the Clan Chief whose life has ended."
"The bell's chime represents submission to the Chosen One of Prophecy, as well as consent to the mission of liberating Britain; it is also the clan's voice of atonement."
"Remains of the Clan Chief? Not the remains of the faerie ancestor who founded the six clans?" Artoria paused, asking.
"At first, it seems indeed the ancestor's remains were used to form the bell's chime; but over the long ages, especially through various calamities, those remains became damaged. In such cases, the bell is formed from the Clan Chief. If that clan has already lost its chief, it will be formed from the last surviving faerie of that clan."
As Murien spoke, her voice shifted slightly:
"This is easy to understand: if a clan has only one faerie left, that last faerie naturally becomes the chief... like me..."
"R-Report!"
At that moment, the tent's flap in the command chamber was suddenly thrown open. A human soldier in a dispatch rider's attire burst in in panic:
"Captain Percival! Scouts bring urgent news—Lentinien is under attack by unknown forces! It's already engulfed in flames! We need reinforcements at once!"