The ground began to shake violently.
Even the inside of the castle showed signs of trembling.
"What's happening?"
Mélusine looked at everything around her, a faint sense of unease growing in her heart.
"..."
Artoria said nothing, simply turning and rushing outside.
Ian followed closely behind her.
The two of them, one after the other, arrived outside.
What entered the dragon's eyes was a scene beyond imagination.
The once perfectly calm streets were now covered in fissures. They were of varying depths, but all of them were faintly radiating magical energy.
Some people who couldn't escape in time fell into the fissures.
They clung to the edges with all their might, but still looked as if they could fall at any moment.
"Ian—"
Artoria, naturally, could not allow such a thing to happen.
And the knight she called upon understood completely.
"ROAR—"
With a roar, the giant black dragon flew into the sky, heading towards the people who had fallen into the fissures.
One.
Two.
Three.
Ian was continuously saving the people of Camelot.
And Artoria was not idle either. She quickly began to command the soldiers, who were frightened by a sight they had never witnessed before.
"Follow him!"
"Go and save everyone!"
"Trust me, you will be fine!"
The name of King Arthur had achieved far too many victories.
So the words she spoke now were like a shot of adrenaline for the soldiers.
Not to mention—
After giving these orders, Artoria did not just watch from on high. Instead, she leaped onto Ian's back and joined him in saving the citizens who had been thrown into crisis by this sudden event.
"The King herself is acting! What are we hesitating for!"
Shouting this, the soldiers began to throw themselves into the work of rescuing the citizens, one after another.
"Here, grab my hand, I'll get you out!"
"This way!"
"There are no fissures over here!"
"No! Don't go that way, follow my sword!"
Flying through the air, Mélusine offered her help.
At the same time, she looked at Ian, who was "fighting side-by-side" with Artoria, with a complicated expression.
They...
...work so well together.
---
After an unknown amount of time, the shaking of the entire royal city of Camelot finally stopped.
However—
The streets had long since been rendered unrecognizable by the sudden danger.
"How could this happen..."
Mélusine, returning to the ground from the air, couldn't help but show a worried expression as she looked at the shocking scene before her.
Not even the attack of the White Dragon before had brought about a situation as disastrous as this.
What on earth happened...
"We made it in time."
Returning to the ground along with Ian in his dragon form, Artoria breathed a slight sigh of relief.
But then, just like Mélusine, she frowned as she looked at the terrifying scene before her.
"What on earth happened?"
"It's magical energy."
A familiar voice came through.
Mélusine and Artoria looked over at the same time and saw Morgan, holding her staff.
"Magical energy has spread into the ground beneath Camelot."
"..."
"..."
Neither Mélusine nor Artoria answered Morgan.
The former was because the concept of "magical energy" was rather vague to her, while the latter felt that the matter was not as simple as Morgan described.
But at this moment, their reactions were both drawn to Ian's actions.
The dragon was attempting to make everything that had appeared in Camelot disappear in the most primitive, and at the same time, most savage way.
That's right.
He was—
Trying to pull the ground back together with the brute force of his hands.
This was, of course, impossible.
But no one tried to stop Ian from doing it.
With a leap, Artoria landed in front of Morgan and Mélusine.
Listening to Ian's roars behind her, she hesitated for a moment, then said softly:
"Let's go over there."
"We'll talk about what happened earlier, later."
Knowing this was Artoria's declaration of a truce, Morgan and Mélusine glanced at each other and both nodded.
Soon, with the dragon's cries as a backdrop, they temporarily moved to the side.
"So—"
"What exactly is going on?"
Watching Ian, who was still trying desperately to "restore" the ground to its original state, Mélusine felt a pang of heartache.
"That guy... he seems to be really rejecting this situation right now."
"Could it be... that this is really related to that suggestion he made earlier?"
"..."
Artoria didn't answer Mélusine, but instead looked at Morgan.
She knew that in the field of magical research, she could never compare to her sister.
"Sister."
"At this point, you know what to do, don't you?"
"You... do you want to see Ian like that?"
"..."
Morgan's lips moved slightly.
Soon, she said softly:
"Artoria, do you know how magical energy is generated?"
"Well..."
Recalling everything she had learned, Artoria quickly gave an answer.
"It's something that every person, every living being is born with, isn't it?"
"It's just that... because people are different, the amount of magical energy they possess and the ways they can use it are not the same."
"No."
Morgan shook her head.
"That is what is mentioned in books."
"What I am referring to is something more fundamental, built upon that foundation."
"And that is, for what reason did 'magical energy' come to be possessed by each of us?"
"Stop being so mysterious!"
Mélusine couldn't help but complain.
"In a situation like this, why are you still speaking in riddles!"
"Ian... he's crying out in so much pain!"
"It is the 'Source'. An easier way to understand it would be to call it Ley Lines."
Morgan gently tapped the ground with her staff.
"Beneath the land we live on, there exists a method to bestow magical energy from that place onto every living being."
"That is the true source of magical energy."
"Wait a minute."
Mélusine held up a hand to stop Morgan.
"Then, in this situation, doesn't that mean there's a problem with that method?"
"Is that why this is happening now?"
"Yes, you are correct, Mélusine."
Morgan glanced at the ground Ian was still trying to pull together, then looked into the distance.
"But this method is not something that can be changed by ordinary people or things."
"While you were saving people, I... did a little research on what's inside the fissures."
"What was it?" Artoria pressed.
"..."
Morgan let out a long breath.
She looked as if even she herself was unwilling to believe it.
"It's a 'Tree'."
"The root system of a 'Tree' has extended all the way over here."
"What?"