In the infinite multiverse, Xuanzang's display of divine might truly stunned the audience on the other side of the screen.
Chanting "My Buddha is merciful" with every word, while delivering a wraith-obliterating palm strike with every blow.
If she was this powerful, how did she manage to get captured by demons so many times during her journey to the West? And every single time, she needed Sun Wukong to come and save her.
---o---
[Light Curtain Commentary]
Detective Conan: "This seems a bit different from the Journey to the West I've read. Wait, does a Tang Monk like this even need Sun Wukong?"
Sun Wukong: "Whether she needs me or not, I don't know. All I know is that if my master was half as strong as her, I could have saved myself a lot of trouble."
One-Punch Man: "Oh! Physical exorcism? Isn't that what I do? Looks pretty cool!"
Kurumi Tokisaki: "It's not just her gender that changed, but her strength has changed so drastically too? It's like she's a completely different person."
---o---
[On the light curtain, sensing the changes within the dungeon, Agravain opened his eyes and said in a low voice, "Sir Lancelot, it seems your plan is already halfway to success."]
"These people are an obstacle to the King. We must eliminate them all."
Agravain's cold voice carried a trace of killing intent. It was clear that he had absolutely no intention of showing mercy to those who had disrupted the Saint Selection ceremony.
Lancelot did not reply, merely nodding his head.
Since he had already chosen to pledge loyalty to the King, then… no matter how much blood stained his hands, Lancelot would not waver now.
With this thought, Lancelot slowly rose and walked towards the dungeon.
This fortress had been built for the decisive battle against the Sun King. The entire stronghold was filled with all sorts of magical devices; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to consider the entire fortress a Mystic Code.
Under these circumstances, the fortress itself was impossible to breach.
Any entry by individuals other than the Purified Knights and the Knights of the Round Table would be detected by the fortress.
Therefore, the moment Ritsuka and her team flew into the fortress on their swords, Lancelot and Agravain, who were in the meeting room, had already discovered their presence.
However… they did not act immediately. Instead, they continued to sit there, waiting for Ritsuka's group to venture deeper into the dungeon.
Now, the entrance to the dungeon was already filled with Purified Knights. Ritsuka and her companions were trapped with no escape.
"Wait, Sir Lancelot…"
Just as Lancelot was about to wipe out the intruders, Agravain spoke up.
"To ensure there are no mistakes, we will wait until they have reached the deepest part of the dungeon before we make our move. And… it won't just be you. I will be going with you."
Agravain said with an icy expression. Just as he had thought before, no matter how Lancelot expressed his loyalty, Agravain would not trust him.
Although it was Lancelot's doing that brought the mountain people and the Chaldeans into the dungeon, Agravain was still worried that Lancelot might defect midway.
After all, among that group of intruders, aside from Hassan of the Cursed Arm and the traitor Bedivere, all the others were exceptionally beautiful women. Given Lancelot's character, it wasn't impossible for him to betray the King for these women. To ensure there were no mistakes, he had to supervise the battle personally.
Perhaps seeing through Agravain's plan, Lancelot's brow furrowed, his eyes filled with displeasure. "As you wish."
"However, without the King's blessing, don't you dare hold me back. If you let these people escape, you will have a hard time answering for it."
Lancelot said gravely. He had figured it out; no matter what, Agravain would not trust him. This treacherous courtier was probably slandering him in front of the King every single day.
Hearing Lancelot's mocking words, Agravain remained unfazed, simply replying, "Rest assured. Even without the blessing, I am not someone a group of third-rate Servants can handle."]
---o---
[Light Curtain Commentary]
All Riejuu Should Explode: "I can't believe Lancelot and the others knew from the very beginning that Ritsuka was coming to rescue them. No wonder they chose this place as the battlefield. It seems they'll be discovered as soon as they enter."
Sushang (Cloud Knight): "Phew, Little Gui, oh Little Gui, you absolutely cannot let anything happen to you!"
Yukino Yukinoshita: "What does Lancelot's statement mean? Agravain doesn't have the blessing? Isn't he also one of the Lion King's subordinates? Did the Lion King not grant him one?"
L: "No, all the other Knights of the Round Table have one. It's impossible for her to exclude Agravain alone. From the looks of it… this was likely Agravain's own request."
---o---
[ "Fou, fou…."]
Deep in the dungeon, the group was unaware that the exit had already been surrounded by hundreds of Purified Knights as they continued to press onward.
Just then, Fou, who had been perched on Mash's shoulder, suddenly cried out, gesturing to the group.
"Master, there's a secret passage here! And a cell inside!"
"And next to the cell are… the Purified Knights on guard duty! It must be Miss Guinaifen and Miss Serenity!!"
After running around in circles for half a day, Mash finally found the secret passage with Fou's help and immediately reported to Ritsuka.
Without a second thought, Ritsuka said, "Miss Sushang, please! Take care of those two Purified Knights!"
Swish, swish!
As the flying swords shot past, the Purified Knights guarding the cell collapsed to the ground.
It seemed that as long as her opponents weren't ghosts or wraiths, Li Sushang was very reliable.
At that moment, the group crowded towards the cell, but what came into view was neither Guinaifen nor Hassan of Serenity, but a Servant they had never seen before.
The Servant had a green ponytail, a tall and sturdy build, and tan skin, with half of his chest muscles exposed. From his appearance, he seemed to be a hero from some historical or mythological tale.
"Hey, no way."
Seeing this Servant, Xuanzang's face filled with surprise, and then tears began to stream down her face.
"Touta! Isn't that Touta?! Sob… I've been looking for you for so long… I thought you'd been killed!"
"You scared me to death! I'm supposed to be the master… but I couldn't even save a single disciple. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Touta…!"
Upon seeing Tawara Touta, Xuanzang began to wail, leaving everyone else completely bewildered.
Perhaps Xuanzang's voice was too loud, as it woke the resting Tawara Touta from his sleep.
"Ngh? This terribly undignified, embarrassing voice… Hey! Could it be Xuanzang!?"
"Waaaah, it's me, it's me, it's Master! Touta, you're okay, you're not hurt!"
Seeing Tawara Touta completely unharmed, Xuanzang cried with even less grace, making it seem as if Touta was the master.
Mash, however, focused her attention elsewhere. "Did you just casually walk out of the prison cell on your own!?"
Tawara Touta stretched. "Of course. I could have come out anytime. I was just getting tired of sleeping in here. It's time to get to work."
As Touta explained, the group gradually understood why he was here.
It turned out that Tawara Touta, like Xuanzang, was a Servant summoned by the Holy Grail of this Singularity. For some inexplicable reason, he was taken in as a disciple by Xuanzang and ended up playing the role of Sun Wukong, vanquishing demons along the way.
Later, due to Xuanzang's recklessness, Touta was pursued by a horde of Purified Knights. Though he managed to escape, he was separated from Xuanzang.
Despite being hunted because of Xuanzang, Touta didn't blame his "useless" master much and planned to reunite with her.
But just as he was about to act, he witnessed an unbelievable sight.
As he said this, Tawara Touta's expression suddenly turned serious. The light curtain, following his voice, showed the viewers what he had seen.
After escaping the pursuit of the Purified Knights, Tawara Touta had hidden in a derelict altar.
Such architecture was common in the Middle East during this era. But even though the altar was abandoned, with ruined structures everywhere, the decorations inside were still spotless.
This piqued Touta's curiosity, and he began to explore on his own.
However… as he reached the center of the altar, something unexpected happened.
The idol of the deity worshiped at the altar seemed to "come to life," glowing with a faint green light that was particularly eye-catching in the darkness.
It was this sudden glow that made Touta notice the strange and unfamiliar idol.
That's right… unfamiliar and strange.
This was the first impression the idol gave Tawara Touta.
He had no idea who the deity in the idol was.
It had three pairs of hands and held a stalk of wheat. It looked gentle and kind, but it gave off a strange feeling.
Even with the knowledge and information granted to him by the Holy Grail, he couldn't identify which deity the idol represented.
The only thing he could be sure of was that this unknown deity possessed power at the level of a chief god, or even surpassed it! Even Amaterasu Omikami, or Zeus from Greek mythology, would seem powerless and weak before it.
For such a god to appear in this Singularity was clearly not right.
Just as Touta wanted to get a closer look at the idol, the green light surrounding it rushed towards him.
Faced with this ghost-like power, Touta had no ability to react and was hit directly.
"You got hit? And then what? Since you're here now, it proves that it probably wasn't a problem, right?"
Listening to Touta's story, Li Sushang felt like she was hearing a ghost story. A strange altar and a strange idol—if she had encountered such a thing, she would probably have been scared stiff.
Touta simply shook his head slowly and said, "Nothing happened after I was hit. In fact, the injuries on my body completely recovered, and even…"
"Even?" Ritsuka pressed.
Touta thought for a long while, as if trying to figure out how to describe it, before finally saying, "It's life…"
"If I had to describe how I felt then, it would be as if I had 'come to life.'"
"Not in the metaphorical sense of 'living,' but in the true sense of having a human 'life.'"
"Although I ran away in time and didn't obtain a human body, if I had stayed there any longer, I might have truly been resurrected as a human on some level."
"And so, after frantically escaping the altar, my heart couldn't calm down for a long time. To compose myself, I deliberately lost to the pursuing Purified Knights, planning to take a nap in prison. And when I woke up… I woke up to find you all."
To be resurrected as a human.
As Touta's words fell, both Ritsuka and the viewers outside the screen were thoroughly shocked.
One must remember, Tawara Touta was a Servant, summoned by the Holy Grail into this Singularity!
Being a Servant meant that he was already dead. To rewrite the fate of death, perhaps only the Holy Grail, which could grant any wish, could achieve such a miracle.
But now… a mere idol had nearly resurrected Tawara Touta, who had been dead for who knows how many years.
What kind of being was the god behind this idol?
Ritsuka and the others looked at each other and took a sharp breath. It seemed this Singularity was far from being as simple as it appeared on the surface.
"By the way, Touta, we're currently looking for two other prisoners. Do you know where they are?"
After the brief shock, Xuanzang did not continue to press about the unknown idol's power, instead asking Touta about the location of Guinaifen and Hassan of Serenity.
"Hmm, I don't know if they're the ones you're talking about, but there should be two more prisoners down the hall to the left."
Hearing Touta's words, Hassan of the Cursed Arm said gravely, "Thank you very much. Let's go quickly. I have a bad feeling about this."
At this moment, Xuanzang skillfully climbed onto Touta's back and said shamelessly, "Yes, let's go quickly! And Touta! I'm tired, carry me for a bit!"
"You again… hey, you'll get fat if you're too lazy, you know?"
Touta looked at Xuanzang before him and said helplessly, to which Xuanzang replied with dissatisfaction, "I will not get fat~! And how many times do I have to tell you."
"I am your master, you know? A master is a great person, you know? You must obey them absolutely, you know?"
Hearing this, Touta's face instantly darkened. "Right, this again. Listen up, Xuanzang, Tang Sanzang, I don't remember ever acknowledging you as my master."
"Okay, okay. No more nonsense, come on, let's go!"
"…I really can't stand you…"]
---o---