[FDJ]Chapter 131: Tailor-Made (Patreon)

I fell into the trap!

Upon realizing what had happened, Richard faced a massive magic circle beyond his control and was momentarily at a loss. He watched as the golden box at the center of the circle absorbed a vast amount of magical energy from the underground ley lines, threatening to drain all the magic in the city of Tiberias. After much hesitation, he finally approached and touched the golden box, which was affixed with fragments of the Ark of the Covenant, with his bare hands.

The golden box, now possessing properties similar to the Ark of the Covenant, emitted a strong resistance signal when Richard touched it. Violent magical energy, like an electric current, surged through Richard's entire body, creating a radiant glow. The instantaneous force was enough to kill multiple adults.

Richard merely gritted his teeth and frowned. He forcibly lifted the out-of-control golden box from the center of the magic circle, halting its absorption of magic. The magic circle then ceased its abnormal operation and reverted to its previous state.

"Fortunately, the ritual itself wasn't significantly affected." After the magic circle returned to silence, Richard surveyed the many holy artifacts arranged around the circle at the top of the tower. These genuine treasures brought from the Holy City of Jerusalem had no additional damage. If there were any damage, it would be difficult to find replacements.

Richard couldn't say for certain whether Saladin's actions were a ploy, but he was sure that Saladin, who had offered the Ark fragments, knew this anomaly would occur. In just three minutes, the magical energy of the underground ley lines of half the city had been drained. If the ritual ignored the taboo and was set up in the Holy City, the golden box combined with the fragments could have nearly drained the vast underground magic of Jerusalem.

Fortunately, he had considered the religious taboo and didn't set up the magic ritual in the seemingly safest city of Jerusalem. If he had done so, even if he wasn't smitten by divine punishment, the arriving angels would certainly not have spared him.

Despite his worries and fears, Richard examined the temporarily cooled golden box in his hand, emitting a faint divine light surpassing gold. If he could gather the magical energy needed for the golden box combined with the Ark fragments, he might be able to create a replica slightly inferior to the real thing. He couldn't resist this temptation, and before he thought of a stopping method, placing the golden box back into the magic circle would continue to absorb the surrounding magic.

With less than two days remaining, Richard, who had previously eagerly awaited the passage of time, now had an additional goal to achieve. In a sense, it was attractive yet impossible to accomplish conveniently in a short time.

He needed a large amount of magic, couldn't waste the Holy Grail, and couldn't go to the most magically rich Holy City. But finding a suitable location in the surrounding areas of the Holy City, allowing the golden box to absorb magic a few more times, could achieve the goal. On the surface, it didn't seem very difficult. The underground ley lines in the surrounding areas of the Holy City were so interconnected that gathering magic there was more convenient than in any other area Richard knew. With less than two days remaining, there was still some leeway in time. It was as if a snake whispered in his ear, tempting him to alter his plans, to quickly leave the city and gather magic, which could be done in a day if fast enough.

"Not satisfying this new holy artifact's magic requirements would also affect the final summoning ritual." With a sigh of compromise, Richard, in hesitation, convinced himself to make a decision. Taking risks was second nature to him, and he gladly accepted the challenge Saladin presented in the last three-day deadline.

...

"It stopped." Both Eleanor and Suzuki, standing on the chariot, felt that the underground anomaly ended as quickly as it had appeared as if it had never happened.

Eleanor quickly reached a rough conclusion. She realized that through the recent magical anomaly, over 80% of the magical energy from the underground ley lines of Tiberias had been drained, which might take half a month to fully recover naturally.

"Master, although the reason is unclear, the abnormal flow of magical energy in the underground ley lines has temporarily stopped. At least 80% of the magic within this city's region has been drained by an external force. Something is not right."

Eleanor was in a panic. She vaguely guessed that it was related to the fragments of the Ark of the Covenant entrusted to her by Saladin. However, she didn't mention it; she didn't want Suzuki to know about this.

Suzuki looked up at the towering spire of the cathedral in the city. With human eyesight, he could only see the faint outline of the spire illuminated by a weak light. Something extraordinary must have happened there. Curiosity made him want to investigate, but such impractical thoughts were quickly dismissed. Unless necessary, he wouldn't risk his life.

"Rider, let's retreat." Suzuki tried to piece together the clues he had gathered tonight. He felt there were many details he had overlooked, and if he had time to rethink, he might discover some useful information.

"I agree." Eleanor's response was different from before, directly violating the master-servant relationship. She seemed genuinely anxious, and her long-maintained smile had become much colder.

Their eyes met, and for a moment, Suzuki felt a sense of reverence. His servant had always presented the image of a noble lady, but just how noble? Noble enough to make many kings and nobles of this era bow their heads. Eleanor had never shown this serious side to Suzuki before; now it was truly revealed.

"Let's go back and confront that old fox, Saladin. Your confusion should be cleared up by him." Saying this, Eleanor also got onto the chariot. She stood at the front, and the two magically-formed horses obediently carried them towards the city wall.

"And we have to bring along a certain little girl whose desire for battle has skyrocketed. Hmph, she thinks that obtaining a Noble Phantasm from a servant makes her no longer human." Eleanor's tone was cold, with a clear hint of sarcasm. She was now severely disturbed by both anger and worry and didn't want to waste a moment.

The chariot quickly brought them to the collapsed section of the city wall, which had now turned into a chaotic battlefield where Aphaf and Don Quixote were besieging Archer. Tristan was constantly parrying the master-servant duo's attacks. He had tried to attack Aphaf, but the armor on the girl felt like hitting a steel plate, rendering ordinary attacks ineffective. In the high-frequency melee and pursuit, Archer Tristan couldn't use his Noble Phantasm.

In contrast, Don Quixote was still in his old form and hadn't used his Noble Phantasm to transform into a younger state. With the boost from Eleanor and the assistance of his master Aphaf, he was truly suppressing Archer. Though it was unlikely they could defeat Archer here, the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable for Tristan.

As the chariot arrived at the collapsed city wall, Eleanor immediately called the master and servant besieging Archer to get on the chariot and leave Tiberias.

Using magic to bypass the collapsed ruins on the ground, the fully armored Aphafdistanced herself from Archer Tristan. Although unwilling, she obeyed Eleanor's order to retreat, recognizing that it wasn't suitable to stay any longer. With her master's actions, Don Quixote, who had little intention of fighting from the start, followed his master Aphaf, keeping a close eye on Archer's movements to prevent a sneak attack. Both quickly boarded the chariot.

One put away the armor gifted, while the other remained vigilant against the now-free-to-move Archer Tristan. The chariot swiftly passed through the gap in the collapsed city wall and sped towards the valley. Don Quixote didn't lower the lance he held as a shield until the chariot drove out of sight of Tiberias, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

"What just happened?" Suzuki hoped that Aphaf and Don Quixote knew something.

The elderly knight shook his head; he had no understanding of magical matters.

"The underground magic was massively drained," Aphaf said, still catching her breath after removing her armor. It took her a while to continue. "My Mystic Eyes saw the underground ley lines of the entire city become active, with all the normally stored magic being absorbed by one place. It's estimated that 85% of the ley lines' magic was drained in just three minutes."

Aphaf's explanation matched Eleanor's. She had seen it even more clearly. While participating in the fight against Archer, she had used her Mystic Eyes the entire time. Though the surroundings were hard to see at night, the flow of magic was exceptionally clear to Aphaf. For example, the pursuing servants and the sudden anomaly in the underground ley lines.

In her eyes, it seemed as if hundreds of tiny streams throughout the city suddenly began to boil. The active magic illuminated the ground, and the "light" perceived by her Mystic Eyes flashed so intensely that she could barely keep her eyes open.

She also believed that the source of the magic absorption was the cathedral in the city, and she was certain it came from the highest spire of the cathedral. Through the light emitted by the magic, Aphaf sensed a strong craving emanating from the direction of the cathedral, almost as if a ravenous beast was desperately consuming the magic. By her estimation, the anomaly lasted for three minutes due to someone forcibly intervening to stop it. She didn't feel any decrease in the "desire" for magic from the source of the absorption.

Additionally, she vaguely saw the holy radiance emanating from within the cathedral, all concentrated at the top layer of the highest spire. If they could reach that place, they would immediately understand what had just happened.

After hearing Aphaf's description, Suzuki had a general understanding of the anomaly that had occurred. According to Aphaf, even after absorbing 85% of the underground magic from Tiberias, the source of the anomaly was still unsatisfied.

"No need to guess further; we'll know as soon as we return and ask Saladin. As long as he's willing to tell us," Eleanor's tone was quite curt, especially towards Aphaf. If it weren't for Suzuki being by her side, she would undoubtedly choose to leave Afaf and Don Quixote behind at this moment and let them find their way back on their own.

Though she often joked around, if someone truly threatened her precious son's grand plan, she would not let it slide, especially since it involved passing on the fragments of the Ark of the Covenant through her. Just thinking about Saladin's "sincere" look when he handed her the fragments made Eleanor angry. If she could act on her emotions, she would very much like to drive the chariot directly to Saladin's temporary palace upon arriving at the valley, letting that old fox see the splendor of the Plantagenet dynasty up close.

"Massive absorption of magic?" Suzuki was concerned about the Holy City of Jerusalem in the farther distance. The underground ley lines of the entire Middle East converged there. He had learned in Chaldea's geography courses that the Holy City was a forbidden zone for magus on the mystical side. No matter how abundant the underground magic resources were, no one dared to tamper with them.