Era of Heroic Spirits: I Was Exposed by Alaya

The knight collapsed to his knees in overwhelming regret.

At that moment, he realized he had committed an unforgivable mistake.

Failing to cast the holy sword into the lake allowed the holy spear to corrupt the king, turning her into a wandering king of the dead.

"I am guilty!"

Bedivere fell to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

He wandered to the edge of Avalon, turning into a human-shaped rock, becoming nothing more than a walking corpse.

Waiting for his reunion with the king fifteen hundred years later…

"Bedivere, the one time you made a mistake, it was this fatal one—even though I warned you repeatedly!"

Souma sighed softly, feeling as though everything had been ordained by fate.

This man was one of the original Knights of the Round Table, also serving as the royal steward of Britain, tasked with personally caring for the king.

He was steady, gentle, and utterly trustworthy.

Yet this time, he couldn't bring himself to throw the holy sword into the lake, leading to the terrifying Singularity that followed.

Soon, Alaya would likely expose the related footage, shocking the entire world!

The video continued.

King Arthur, having lost both the holy sword and its sheath, began to be tainted by the holy spear.

Her body, eternally frozen at the age of fifteen after pulling the sword from the stone, now saw "a part" of it resume growing.

Under Roya's disbelieving gaze, the flat, steel-like chest of the king underwent a tectonic shift—two Mount Everests violently rose in their place.

Even her height, originally just under five feet, rapidly shot up to over five and a half feet.

In the blink of an eye, the soft and adorable girl King Arthur transformed into the charismatic and formidable Lion King who could rally the masses!

"Coach, I want to learn this!!!"

Roya nearly drooled with envy, unable to hold back her exclamation.

This was simply too enviable and frustrating.

"Keep dreaming!"

Souma shot her a sidelong glance.

He had layered this girl with one magical spell after another, perfectly "protecting" her.

Ninety-nine percent of his remaining power had been poured into Roya's body to prevent her from going berserk and becoming a world-destroying brat.

There's always a trade-off.

Her body, like King Arthur's after pulling the sword from the stone, could no longer grow.

"Ahhh, I refuse to believe this! I'll defy fate!"

Roya gritted her teeth in frustration.

Over the past year, she'd realized her body truly wasn't growing at all, permanently stuck at 145cm.

The only consolation was having a shorter best friend, Illya, who also wasn't growing at all.

But she was still so envious, ahhh!

The audience was equally shocked by this earth-shattering transformation—

-[So that's why! I wondered why our King looked different when the 'Perfect King' video ended!]

-[Flat chests rule the world—conquering is easy but ruling is hard! Small breasts can't rally the masses—only those who win hearts can rule the land!]

-[The bookstore didn't have the book upstairs, so I just blasted it with my Noble Phantasm. Did I do the right thing, bros?]

-[Brilliant! No wonder our King couldn't hold onto Britain back then, but now she's perfectly guarding the kingdom!]

...

"Is this the power of the Holy Lance?"

Mordred stared blankly at the video.

Her father, who had once looked exactly like her, had now transformed in the blink of an eye into a queen with ample charisma!

Was this the power of the Holy Lance?

Back then, Nameless had told her about it.

The Holy Sword was meant to destroy enemies, while the Holy Lance was the Tower of Light that anchored the planet's surface.

Simply put—

The human world, the world of spirits—they were all like a layer of skin draped over the planet, stitched together by "pillars of light" like the Holy Lance.

Aside from King Arthur wielding the Holy Lance, there was also a monkey far in the East holding another pillar of light.

If these pillars collapsed, the entire human world would peel away from the planet's surface.

Bringing about the extinction of mankind!

But none of that mattered. What really mattered was—

This was the very lance that had stabbed her to death!

After the video The Perfect King aired, netizens dubbed it—

[The Child-Stabbing Lance!]

Back during their battle, father and daughter clashed.

She had deliberately tilted her Noble Phantasm's power slightly off-course, yet her father responded with a heartfelt remark—

And ran her through with a single thrust!

Just looking at this lance made Mordred's chest ache.

Literally!

"Mordred, stop thinking about it. There's no way your father would ever let you touch the Holy Lance!"

Gawain brought over a serving of potato rice large enough for ten people. "See? I'm the one who treats you right! Eat up, and maybe you'll grow into your father's image!"

"...Are you sure?"

Mordred eyed him suspiciously.

She couldn't shake the feeling that the Knights of the Round were all conspiring to trick her.

"Not really—"

Gawain thought for a moment, then said very seriously, "Because your father eats even more!"

"Fine, I'll eat. I refuse to believe I can't surpass her!"

Gritting her teeth, Mordred took the food without hesitation.

If it meant surpassing her father, she'd endure any suffering in the world!

Mask of agony firmly in place, she shoveled down potato rice while continuing to watch the video.

After King Arthur's transformation, the video neared its end.

There stood the flower-clad mage in white robes, atop the Tower at the End in Avalon.

In his hands was a small, adorable white creature.

"Go on, Cath Palug. I'll stay here."

Merlin smiled warmly. "Go and experience all the truly beautiful things in the world to your heart's content!"

Whoosh~

The soft, fluffy white creature was tossed from the endless tower.

"Fou—Fou!!!"

Its shrill cries echoed as it plummeted, yet no sound of impact followed.

Then, text scrolled across the screen—

[1,500 years later, Fou finally hits the ground...]

[This side story ends here!]

[To find out what happens next, stay tuned for the next video!]

The screen slowly faded to black.

The audience froze for a second before flooding the chat—

-[GODDAMMIT, YOU MADE THE POOR THING FREE-FALL FOR 1,500 YEARS, YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD MERLIN!]

-[Fou: That's it, Merlin. When I see you, I'm ending you. I'll scatter your ashes to the winds!]

-[Fou: Merlin, I &%&%…$&$!]

-[MERLIN MUST DIE!]

...

Chaldea.

Everyone had been watching the video.

Romani Archaman blinked. "Wait, that's it???"

"Bedivere failed to return the sword to the Lady of the Lake, allowing King Arthur to be corrupted by the Holy Lance. She'll likely transform into a divine being!"

Da Vinci's expression was extremely grave.

Chaldea was merely an organization jointly established by Heroic Spirits from various nations, serving to mediate conflicts between them.

Yet this [Nameless Heroic Spirit] could traverse human history and accomplish such incredible, monumental missions.

Da Vinci couldn't shake the feeling—was this perhaps what Chaldea was truly meant to do?

Could this be events from some alternate timeline?

Beside her, Mash blinked: "Nameless Heroic Spirit... feels somewhat familiar."

"Don't worry," Romani Archaman snapped back to attention, still unable to suppress his gritted teeth, "[Alaya] will expose everything. That Merlin really is a heartless bastard—when we meet him, I'm definitely punching his face!"

The side story "The Magus of Flowers" had laid everything bare.

For the first time, Romani realized someone could be so utterly despicable—so loathsome that everyone would want him dead!

Truly, there was no limit to how terrible a person could be.

During break time.

Romani hid in the lounge, idly browsing streams while eating strawberry cake.

Then he saw a new VTuber—and instantly felt his heart race.

She had silver-white hair, ruby-like eyes, and a brilliantly adorable smile.

"She's so cute! Like an angel—so kind and lovely!"

Romani clutched his chest.

Was this love at first sight?

One glance felt like eternity!

Just that first look instantly confirmed she was his favorite angel—he absolutely had to stan her!

This new VTuber's name was—

[Magi★Mari!]

***

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