[FDJ]Chapter 122: Exposing the Disguise

In the early dawn over the city of Tiberias, the demon Eligos rode a giant beast, overlooking the northeastern corner of the city. The outer city wall there had already collapsed, most of the houses were razed to the ground, and the surviving residents were mostly driven mad, being dealt with one by one by the soldiers led by Richard.

The entire eastern district of Tiberias was under lockdown, with chaotic sounds starting from the second half of the night and continuing until now.

Eligos's main attention was focused on the servant standing on the collapsed city wall.

Thanks to Rider Baldwin I's timely return, the first king of the Kingdom of Jerusalem had thunderously cleared the "bubbles" attempting to descend. The scale and intensity of the descent were far less than the previous night, and Rider Baldwin I relatively easily resolved the crisis.

However, as a cost, the Lancer originally stationed in Tiberias resisted for only ten minutes in front of the evil god's avatar before being absorbed and devoured.

Eligos had been keeping an eye on Tiberias all night out of concern for the situation getting out of control. If the evil god's avatar were to absorb and devour the entire city, he would have to intervene, even if it meant violating the rules.

Fortunately, the casualty numbers were kept below four digits, and the loss of one servant didn't seem to affect Richard much from Eligos's outsider perspective.

Just as he was preparing to ascend, a rift appeared in the space behind him, as if slashed by a sharp sword. Numerous ravens flew out from it, converging into the form of a female demon.

"Eligos, what's going on? How has this era been infiltrated by an evil god from another world?" The one questioning him was his companion who had previously observed the Battle of Chalons in 451 with him. He called her Katina.

"Not just the evil god. If you come back in two days, you might even see an angel. Not the lower ones with chicken wings, but more likely a seraph leading a legion. If Gabriel herself comes, you might even reminisce about old times with her," Eligos teased, showing no urgency.

Katina shuddered at the mention of Gabriel as if recalling some unpleasant memories. Her already unkind expression grew even darker. She instinctively touched her neck, as if to ensure her head was still on her shoulders.

"Relax, if she comes to this era, I, a pure demon, would be the first to be beheaded by her. If my head is still safe, what are you afraid of?" Eligos seldom saw his companion so scared. He only roughly knew that Katina was one of the few who belonged to the angels before falling. Mentioning a famous seraph seemed to have hit the mark.

A sword blade swept over Eligos' head, and the enraged Katina pointed her sword at the demon companion making light of the situation.

"You like to start wars, that's your hobby. Can you choose the right time and place, Eligos? If Gemory finds out, she'll nag us again, and you know how she loves to report. If we can't handle this little thing, how are we supposed to report back?"

Eligos maintained his indifferent attitude. After Katina finished venting her anger, he patted his shoulder armor, signaling her to let him finish.

"Gemory took on the plan to cultivate human Masters. You have a good relationship with her and got dragged into the plan. But I'm just hired by her. I've been diligent enough. Think about the other companions Gemory has asked for help. Which one didn't just say 'I'll respond when summoned' and then ignore it? Human Masters? What use are they? If I were the Master, without using any power beyond human scope, I'd be a hundred times stronger than him. And the little guy Gemory chose can't even be considered human."

"Then I'll propose that you possess and descend to command the heroic spirits to save humanity. According to the usual practice, a proposal passed by a majority of the 72 seats would be approved."

This time, Eligos' face darkened. If he pretended to be a human Master, he would be chased back to his true form by the heroic spirits of the lawful camp, and the heroic spirits of other camps would likely not approve either.

"Alright, enough joking around. Before the situation gets out of control, let's think of a way to contain it. If things get out of hand here, Gemory will still hold you responsible. I'll take the primary responsibility, and you the secondary..."

The blade brushed Eligos' neck, ready to pierce with a slight adjustment. In an instant, Katina leaped onto the giant beast, closely staring at the irresponsible demon. By human martial standards, Katina's sword strikes were like teleportation. If she had truly aimed at Eligos' vital points, he would have had difficulty evading.

"Do you have any sense of shame?"

"Only when necessary," replied the demon knight in black and red armor, nonchalantly, clearly indicating that he would report back in this same manner after causing trouble.

"Don't you feel embarrassed?"

"Not at all. You know, I've always been like this."

With eyes sharp as blades, the female demon, who had hurried back only to get frustrated, couldn't help but retract her weapon while cursing. She really couldn't deal with Eligos. If she didn't restrain the urge to fight now, it would only make the situation more chaotic.

"Maybe handing you over to Lady Gabriel for some discipline would change you. A fundamental kind of change."

Katina touched her neck again. She had instinctively used an honorific earlier and didn't dwell on the angel issue, quickly changing the subject. "What's the current situation?"

"The strongest Berserker exited a day ago, followed by Assassin in the evening, and Lancer a few hours ago. Richard is left with Rider, Caster, and Archer. On the other side, Rider Eleanor continues to gather 'knights' stealthily, with unclear intentions. The rogue servant Alterego was supposed to be the first to exit but reverted to book form using a special method and is waiting to regain magical power. The main problem now is the evil god 'Yog' continuously attempting to descend. While these avatars are no match for us, the current servants—except for the two Riders—are too weak to fight."

The giant beast carrying the two demons rapidly descended until they were a hundred meters above Tiberias. From their vantage point, the city below was fully visible, though the humans and servants in the city couldn't detect them.

"Should we kill them all?" Eligos casually pointed at Richard and the few servants.

"What does the Master with the Holy Grail intend to achieve? Have you figured that out?" Katina ignored Eligos's reckless suggestion.

"He plans to create a singularity, using the power of his 'God' to transform the entire singularity into a terrestrial divine kingdom. From what I understand, he has already used the Holy Grail to set up a summoning ritual, successfully contacting an angel and summoning it to this era. According to him, the angels should arrive in 2 to 3 days."

The female demon Katina pondered for a moment and rejected Eligos' completely unreliable solutions. She offered her view, "We still need the Master chosen by Gemory. If we rashly interfere to stop the descent of the evil god or the angels, it would cause numerous problems. We can't directly intervene unless necessary."

"So, what do you suggest?"

"I'm very curious how humans of this era made contact with an otherworldly evil god. First, we control the faction with the least connection to the Holy Grail War, then follow the trail to catch the mastermind."

As they spoke, numerous ravens emerged from the darkness, scattering in all directions. As the first rays of dawn illuminated the earth, Eligos, and Katina's figures gradually faded away.

...

"Ah? Isn't this His Majesty the Sultan? Why are you sneaking around your sentries, coming here under the cover of night?" Eleanor materialized in front of Saladin. She made no effort to hide from the numerous visible and hidden sentries observing Suzuki's house nearby, greeting Saladin in a normal voice.

"Have you even seduced the magus here?" Saladin glanced at the obvious sentries, who theoretically could hear the voices coming from behind the house.

"Don't use such inelegant terms, Your Majesty the Sultan. I have knighted them, so they voluntarily obey me." Eleanor took a few steps closer, her eyes seemingly piercing through all the items hidden under Saladin's robe. "Not here to assassinate my Master? Then what are you sneaking around for?"

"Assassinate your Master? With just me? Lady Eleanor, I may be ruthless, but I'm not stupid. Fighting against a servant? Besides, killing your Master doesn't directly benefit me," Saladin said, glancing at the night sky, which was already starting to lighten.

"You could take my Master's head to show your sincerity to Richard."

"Let's not play games with each other, Eleanor. We're both the same type, bullying the weak and currying favor with the strong, but only when it's profitable. Your precious son didn't kill Suzuki; if I acted, it would ruin your plans." Saladin had indeed considered killing Suzuki to seize control from Eleanor, but that was just a fleeting thought when they first met. Eleanor hadn't incited the soldiers to rebel and take away Saladin's military power, which was fortunate.

Eleanor nodded in agreement. Meeting Saladin alone meant she didn't bother to disguise her intentions, and since they had already probed each other's information, it was time to lay their cards on the table.

"You came to me with ill intentions from the start. That seductive fox smell can't be covered up, even if you soak in incense for three days. I always believed in your credibility and character, but they don't exist in you." Saladin finally voiced what he had been holding back since meeting Eleanor. Many of his soldiers had been "knighted" by Eleanor, and while he had reason on his side, he didn't dare to act.

"Same to you. If you were a servant, you'd probably outdo me in deception. Old man, what's so urgent that you sought me out alone? Though you're old, you could still become one of my knights." Eleanor, leveraging her status as a servant, boldly stepped forward, brushing Saladin's gray beard. "Jealous? Servants can choose to manifest in a youthful form."

An unusual fragrance filled Saladin's senses. He took a close look at the patterns on Eleanor's red dress and quickly closed his eyes. "I surrender. I'm just a 50-year-old man; I can't handle the charms of a beautiful woman. Let's talk business."

Eleanor snorted, spun away gracefully, and stopped using her Queen's Crown ability. She watched as Saladin pulled a large cloth bundle from under his robe. Unwrapping the shroud revealed a golden relic: a wooden fragment inlaid with gold and jewels.

Eleanor immediately recognized the relic, "Is this a fragment of the Ark of the Covenant?"