radicalducati Page 240
Page 240
However, this also carries a huge risk. If Ariel is rejected by Ankylosaurus, she will likely be in a state of great disappointment.
Shirou didn't know what to do, and in the end, he could only leave the choice to Ariel herself, letting her decide whether or not to seize the opportunity.
Chapter 317 Shirou, you really are a humanoid succubus!
This place can be reached by walking north from the magical city of Sharia for half a day, or by carriage for less than an hour.
There is a ruin there, and the traces show that it was once an ancient fortress. The ground is scattered with rubble that was once stone slabs, and thick stone pillars lie horizontally on the ground. It is a ruin that allows people to feel the history.
Shirou silently approached the front of the ruins and felt a distinct sense of age.
"This is Scott Fortress."
Ariel walked up from behind, her face beaming with interest, and said, "It was built by humans during the Battle of Laplace. It's said that thousands of humans defended it against the demon invasion. However, in the end, they were no match for it and it fell..."
"Your Highness Ariel, you know so much."
Shirou looked at the other person and spoke silently.
"It's nothing, just knowledge from books. As the only country that survived the war intact at the end of the war, the Kingdom of Asura has a clear record of the Second Human-Demon War hundreds of years ago."
Ariel replied with a smile, "Moreover, in order to build good relations with the nobles of this country, it is necessary to understand the country's politics, economy, and culture."
Shirou didn't say anything in response to Ariel's words, but simply watched the blonde girl silently.
He noticed that the other person's face did not appear to change, but his body language showed obvious tension.
This is normal. Although Ariel immediately asked Shirou to take her with him after learning about Percyus, she undoubtedly felt extremely uneasy when she actually had to meet the legendary Ankylosaurus, one of the three heroes.
Especially when she learned that she would be going to board that legendary aerial fortress and meet a legendary hero thousands of meters in the air, she could hardly suppress her inner panic.
However, Ariel's resolve remained strong.
To overcome her fear, she even refused Luke and Fitz's company and decided to go to the aerial fortress alone with Shirou.
Before setting off, Ariel reportedly spent several hours preparing her outfit, ultimately achieving a fresh and radiant appearance, paired with expensive travel attire, making her a stunningly beautiful young woman whose leadership charisma was evident even from afar.
Even someone like Shirou, who lacks a clear sense of beauty and ugliness, couldn't help but feel an instinctive flutter in his heart after seeing Ariel dressing up so meticulously.
That is the natural feeling that humans have for beautiful things.
Fortunately, he and Ariel weren't the only ones on this trip; otherwise, Shirou might have even doubted whether he could control himself and do something against his conscience.
"Stop talking nonsense and get inside."
Nana glanced at Shirou and Ariel.
As the guide for this trip, she was very reluctant to leave the warm room, but she eventually agreed to take Shirou to see Percival.
It was then that Shirou learned that Shichisei had known Ankylosaurus for a long time.
Furthermore, the Seven Stars Summoning Magic was personally taught to her by the Ankylosaurus King.
The Ankylosaurus also told Shichisei how to get to the aerial fortress, and this time, in order to invite Shirou up, he asked Shichisei to help guide him.
"Lord Seven Stars seems to dislike me."
Ariel felt inexplicably disappointed upon seeing Seven Stars' attitude.
To her, Serent Sevenster was an extremely valuable individual; if she could win him over to her side, he could provide tremendous help to the King.
Unfortunately, because Seven Stars didn't want to integrate into this world, he ignored most of the people in it.
No matter how much Ariel displayed her charm, she could not attract even a fraction of the Seven Stars.
Shirou didn't know how to comfort her, so he could only wave his hand silently and follow Nanahoshi's steps.
"Is it really possible to reach Lord Percius's location from a place like this?"
Ariel seemed a little uneasy, and her body instinctively moved closer to Shirou.
Shirou felt a very subtle sensation as the girl pressed herself against him, occasionally emitting a delicate fragrance.
But he knew Ariel's unease, so he tried to speak up: "Since it was Percius who sent his familiar to personally invite you, there shouldn't be any problems."
"That familiar, I remember it was called Radiant Almanfie, who was said to be one of Percius's twelve familiars."
"Yes, one familiar is equivalent to a king-level expert. If twelve familiars join forces, even an ordinary emperor-level being would not be able to withstand them."
Shirou recalled his battle with Almanfy, and a primal tremor ran through his heart.
"Shirou, have you ever considered fighting an opponent of that caliber?"
Ariel asked inexplicably, "Why are you so fearless about things beyond your capabilities?"
"It's not that there's no fear, but even if there is fear in one's heart, one must consider all circumstances and take appropriate measures."
Shirou recalled the past tragedies and spoke with a complicated expression, "Because only by preparing for any crisis in advance will you not suffer from pain and regret when a real crisis arrives."
"..."
Upon hearing Shirou's words, Ariel's expression changed slightly.
The boy's profile gave her a feeling she had never experienced before, and she quickly looked away to regain her composure.
Meanwhile, Shirou was oblivious to Ariel's emotions; he was pondering why Percy, the Ankylosaurus, had come looking for him.
He had heard of the great name of the Ankylosaurus long ago.
In the Kingdom of Asura, he was a figure known to almost everyone.
Percius, the Ankylosaurus, was a hero of the Battle of Laplace four hundred years ago.
According to the book, he controlled twelve familiars, used summoning magic to summon an ancient aerial fortress, and challenged Laplace with several companions.
After sealing Laplace, in praise of his achievements, the calendar used in the world today was named the "Ankylion Calendar".
However, Percius did not rule the country as a king.
He left the palace and remains stationed in the sky fortress, traveling the skies around the world, seemingly waiting for the day when the demon Laplace is resurrected so that he can wage a final battle against him.
Such people generally have little interest in worldly matters.
Indeed, Ankylosaurus had almost never left the aerial fortress for hundreds of years.
There are exceptions to everything.
Percius left the aerial fortress and appeared in the human world several times.
The most recent instance was several years ago when he appeared at an auction in the capital of the Kingdom of Asura and personally bid for the weapon forged by the blacksmith Muramasa—the Jewel Sword Zelrich.
It was an auction that surprised even Shirou Muramasa, who was in power at the time.
Because he never expected that the unfinished gem sword would be bought. Since it was so useless, even someone who blindly worshipped Muramasa would find it hard to make up their mind to buy it. But Ankylosaurus asked for an exorbitant price without batting an eye.
In fact, many people were already shocked when Ankylosaurus appeared at the auction, not to mention that Ankylosaurus also bought weapons.
This incident also became the origin of Muramasa's peak reputation and worldwide fame.
That's why, when the Ankylosaurus invited him to meet, Shirou instinctively suspected that the other party knew his identity as Muramasa and wanted to communicate with him as Muramasa.
If that's the case, Shirou's move of bringing Ariel along might have serious problems.
Because if that happened, Ariel would most likely find out about Muramasa's identity as a blacksmith.
However, Shirou couldn't let Ariel miss such a good opportunity to win over a powerful person, so even at the risk of exposing his identity, he chose to give the opportunity to her.
After all, Shirou still has to work hard to find Senis.
Ariel, however, had no idea when she would have to return to the Kingdom of Asura for a final battle.
If he had failed to find Senis before then, and Ariel had been unprepared and died in the Kingdom of Asura, Shirou would undoubtedly have regretted it.
If Ariel could gain the help of King Ankylosaurus, even if Shirou wasn't around at the time, her chances of inheriting the throne would be greatly increased.
“We’re here.”
As Shirou's thoughts became increasingly complicated, Shichisei stopped in the very center of the ruins.
Although there was nothing around, a conspicuous stone tablet was placed in the center.
That was undoubtedly the monument of the seven great powers.
During the Great Transfer, Shirou saw the stone tablets of the seven great powers.
Upon closer inspection, the seven names on the stone tablet have remained virtually unchanged, indicating that the seven strongest individuals in the world have not changed.
After arriving in front of the stone tablet, Qixing took out a metal flute, put his mouth to it, and blew hard.
"Pfft!"
The flute did not produce any sound, only a soft, breathy sound.
Just as Shirou and Ariel were somewhat confused, the familiar golden flash reappeared, and the man in the yellow mask appeared before them.
It was the glorious Almanfie.
He glanced at the three of them, seemingly unsurprised by Ariel's arrival, and then quietly said, "Very good. It seems you do know some etiquette and did not bring the demons onto the aerial fortress."
"Aren't demons acceptable?"
"Lord Percius is magnanimous, but he despises demons."
"So that's it."
Shirou recalled that Percyus had personally participated in the Second Human-Demon War, and must have witnessed a lot during the war, which is why he felt a deep hatred for demons.
Almanfi then gave the three of them a metal rod, the surface of which was engraved with intricate patterns, undoubtedly a magic circle.
"This is the link for the teleportation magic. Once you have it, Lord Percius will use teleportation magic to summon you to the aerial fortress."
"Transfer magic?"
I never imagined magic could be so convenient.
Shirou couldn't help but recall the Einzworth family's substitution magic, and even the essence of the Heroic Spirit cards was a manifestation of substitution magic.
"...I feel so nervous."
Ariel was visibly nervous; she even tried to lean on Shirou to ease her tension.
But if the other party does that, Shirou will get nervous.
Therefore, the latter decisively distanced itself from it.
After a while, an amazing magical power emanated from the metal rod.
Shirou was stunned for a moment, and when he came to his senses, he found himself in a pure white place.
Upon seeing this space, Shirou inexplicably thought of the area where the gods resided; this place was extremely similar to the place where the gods appeared in his dream.
Before he could think it through, the teleportation ended.
"What a huge magic circle..."
Shirou looked down and found himself standing on a huge magic circle with a radius of more than ten meters.
Besides the magic circle, the scene before us was also quite breathtaking.
It was a huge castle, at least fifty stories high, with wide banners. Overall, it didn't look tall and thin, but rather gave off a sense of solemnity.
Most importantly, behind the castle lies an endless sea of clouds.
They are now at the top of the sky.
"..."
Ariel stared wide-eyed at the sight before her, speechless.
Moreover, her hand had somehow become completely gripping Shirou's arm, as if she had unconsciously made this gesture during the teleportation.
Seven Stars glanced at them and said with a subtle expression, "He really is a humanoid succubus just like in the anime, Emiya Shirou-kun."
"What humanoid succubus?"
Shirou stared at Nanaboshi with a completely bewildered expression.
The latter had already gone inside the castle.
The aerial fortress was enormous; it took more than ten minutes to walk from one end to the castle.
The person who came to greet us was a woman, whose most distinctive feature was a pair of astonishingly large, jet-black wings on her back.
"The Celestial Clan?"
Ariel exclaimed in surprise.
The woman nodded silently: "I am Lord Percius's first servant, named Sivaril of the Void. I will take you to see Lord Percius."