Morgan—The First Offline Solo Kill

[Using the Demon Gun's left hand ability to lock onto wide-area targets, you swiftly gunned down all the Tooth Clan fairies in Oxford who participated in the rebellion.]

[During the suppression of the Oxford uprising, you encountered the Prophetess Artoria and her companions.]

[You quickly subdued Artoria's group and threw them all into Oxford's prison.]

It took little effort. After knocking Artoria unconscious, Gawain dispatched Gareth and Oberon just as swiftly, then handed them over to the Oxford guards who had rushed in at his summons.

Although news of Woodworth's surrender to New Darlington had already spread, Gawain had foreseen potential troublemakers. Upon arriving in Oxford, he used the Water Mirror to contact Woodworth, instructing him to order any Oxford Tooth Clan soldiers: "Regard Gawain as you would regard me." Thus, those loyal to Woodworth dared not hesitate once they received the command; they obeyed without question.

"Here's the situation: the Prophetess and her party have been defeated, bound in mana-sealing shackles, and locked away in Oxford's prison. They won't be able to interfere for quite some time." Gawain reported via Water Mirror in a remote meeting with Woodworth and Bawanshi.

He still wasn't entirely sure if bringing Woodworth into the fold was wise, but at least he wouldn't be bearing the burden alone. In short, the painful full-council meetings were over: from now on he had competent allies, not just nodding fools.

The only problem: Woodworth sometimes proposed ideas Gawain disliked:

"Why not simply execute the Prophetess and her companions outright?"

In Gawain's recovery chamber in Norwich, Woodworth snarled, "They rebelled against the Queen's rule. In my view, they deserve to be killed en masse as a warning to others."

"That's unnecessary, Woodworth," Gawain frowned. "To the fairies of Britain, the Prophetess remains a beacon: they believe she will save Britain. Killing her would only fuel greater resistance to our rule. We should not execute her party."

"Ha? Unnecessary, so we spare them? Afraid of riling up the fairies?" Woodworth laughed scornfully. "Is that really your reason? When you massacred fairies in your own territory, you never uttered such hesitation. If you don't want to kill the Prophetess, just say so—no need for flimsy excuses."

Gawain sighed. Now that others thought for themselves, he could no longer bluff Bawanshi so easily—but that wasn't an issue, since she sided with him.

"Enough, Woodworth," Bawanshi interjected through the Water Mirror. "Gawain and I have discussed it. He doesn't wish to kill the Prophetess, so we won't."

"Ugh… Such a momentous decision—can we just defer to him?" Woodworth grumbled.

"Lord Woodworth," Riko sighed, "a vassal should not question the sovereign's choice. Since this is Bawanshi's decision, we follow it."

"…Very well." Woodworth relented.

Bawanshi asked next: "What was the outcome of suppressing the Oxford rebellion? Gawain mentioned fairies in Oxford tried to revolt?"

"Yes," Gawain nodded. "According to my investigation, the rebellion was led by a powerful fairy named Barnihan, who still had some local influence and harbored resentment toward Woodworth."

"Barnihan… I recall that name," Woodworth murmured. "Wasn't he punished by you before? Blinded in one eye?"

"Yes—he violated my ban by hunting humans in my domain," Woodworth explained. "I punished him: instead of execution, because he had served loyally under the previous leader during earlier calamities, I merely blinded him."

Gawain raised an eyebrow. "Strange. You banned your subordinates from killing, yet you don't care about human lives—only when someone hunted humans directly did you punish him?"

Woodworth replied coldly: "Indeed, I don't value human life. But the Tooth Clan tends toward savagery and might become pure beasts driven by killing and hunger. We've committed crimes before; such deeds must not recur. So I imposed a ban on hunting, opening vegetarian and dessert-only eateries in Oxford."

"As for Barnihan, he flagrantly violated the ban by hunting humans. I severely punished him, blinding his eye. I heard he refused treatment for that injury, taking it as penance—I thought he was reflecting, but apparently I misjudged him. Yet something feels off: after learning of my defeat and your subsequent surrender to us, he shouldn't have dared rebel. Who gave him the courage?"

"That's the point," Gawain said. "According to the Oxford guards loyal to you, Barnihan had contact these days with two individuals: one was Artoria's strategist Oberon of Wales; the other—based on their description—very likely was…"

Gawain paused, gauging Bawanshi's expression. She remained calm, so he continued: "…Beril. He apparently hid in Oxford after escaping New Darlington, operating under Barnihan's protection. Barnihan must have received something from Beril that gave him the boldness to rebel now."

"Beril?! He's still alive? Where is he? I must kill him!" Bawanshi flared.

"Calm down, Bawanshi. We must learn exactly what Beril provided Barnihan and why it emboldened him," Gawain said.

"…It must be that curse," Bawanshi answered after a moment's thought, voice trembling as horrid memories surfaced. "Beril wields a spell that can, at range, reach into a victim's chest and rip out their heart—killing instantaneously. Any target struck has almost no chance to survive."

"But that spell has a side effect: after one use, the caster's soul begins to rot, and that decay extends to the body, causing flesh to rot away. Soon the caster becomes bedridden, unable to move, voice lost as their voicebox decays, left to die slowly in despair and isolation."

Seeing Bawanshi's face pale with distress, Gawain gently interrupted: "Stop there. I understand enough. I'll find and eliminate him."

"...Thank you, Gawain," she whispered weakly. Riko, holding Bawanshi's hand, felt her cold sweat—it was clear those memories still haunted Bawanshi.

"Don't worry, Lady Bawanshi," Riko soothed, embracing her. "You won't suffer that fate. The one who caused those memories has no place in Fairy Britain."

"I'll do my utmost to hunt him down," Gawain affirmed, glancing at Woodworth and Bawanshi. He now understood why in the third simulation Artoria could briefly kill Woodworth despite their vast strength gap—and why she later died inexplicably in the palace. Everything made sense now.

"Proceed," Woodworth spoke up. "As you once ordered in Norwich, screen the Tooth Clan: anyone linked to Beril or who sheltered him must be eliminated without exception."

Gawain: "Understood. Even if it means bathing Oxford in blood, you have no objection?"

"None, Master," Woodworth replied with a feral smile.

With that, for the first time since their pact, master and vassal were in full accord.

Meanwhile, unknown to Gawain, elsewhere in New Darlington, the attendant monitoring the simulations quietly closed the screen. Originally, Gawain would remain in Bawanshi's service throughout both simulation and reality—after all, his Noble Phantasm and Command Spells were useful. She planned not to intervene until the most suitable candidate emerged. But now she changed her mind, for Gawain had inflicted distressing memories on Bawanshi—memories that would linger forever.

Softly she murmured, "So he's in Oxford… at Barnihan's estate." As she spoke, her maid's attire transformed into a dignified black gown; the lace maid's cap shifted into a sharp, weighty crown, and in her hand appeared a black cross-shaped lance.

She stepped through a mirror's surface into the corridor beyond, whispering, "After this, you will never see him again, Bawanshi."

Silence returned to that place. Yet elsewhere in Britain, a new streak of blood-red fate was unfolding.