Soon, the trees ahead on the path began to thin out, and a few more steps revealed the town's perimeter wall.
"This should be the place, alright."
Kay pulled out the map the messenger had drawn for him, then compared it with the town before his eyes.
But immediately after, he frowned, revealing a puzzled expression.
"But where are the soldiers guarding the entrance?"
"Didn't they say there was a magical beast attack? How come there isn't even a sentry?"
"Could it be that most of the residents have been killed?"
Seemingly arriving at a grim hypothesis, Artoria's face turned serious, her hand instinctively resting on the Sword in the Stone at her waist.
In such a turbulent era, even if a town was located in the mountains, it was impossible for there to be no one guarding the gates.
Coupled with the news of the magical beast attack Kay had received, it was easy to connect the dots.
At this moment, Merlin spoke up, interrupting their speculations.
"No need to worry. The residents of this town haven't been killed. Listen, you can still hear voices inside."
"Voices?"
Both Artoria and Kay were taken aback. They instinctively quieted down to listen, and sure enough, faint sounds of arguing could be heard coming from within the town.
"Phew, as long as the residents are fine."
Confirming that most of the residents were still there, Artoria breathed a sigh of relief. She then hurriedly urged Kay and Merlin to go inside and take a look.
"Let's go. First, we'll talk to the villagers to understand the situation and gather intelligence on that magical beast. Then we can consider how to deal with it."
However, upon entering the town and seeing everyone constantly comparing themselves to others, occasionally spouting some utterly outrageous statements, they instantly mirrored Souya's pained expression.
"Now I'm completely certain that guy is the one causing all this."
Merlin rubbed his forehead, revealing a helpless expression.
"To think you're bold enough to personally affect the people of an entire town just to get food. It seems I really have to rein you in, Cath Palug."
"Merlin, are the residents acting like this because of that magical beast? What should we do?"
Hearing the incessant sounds of arguing all around them, Kay asked Merlin with a headache.
But before Merlin could answer, Kay saw Artoria behind him change her expression and yell at him urgently:
"Brother Kay, watch out!"
Kay instinctively leaped backward, his right hand reaching for his sword as he turned his head to see what the enemy was.
But the next second, accompanied by a "Fou!" cry, Kay's vision went black. A fluffy monster cat had pounced right onto his face.
And thus:
Fou used 'Fury Swipes' on Kay!!!
It's super effective!!!
"Aaaargh! My eyes!"
Kay let out a miserable scream, stumbling backward. Several scratch marks were left on his handsome face by Fou.
"Brother Kay, I'll help you!"
Seeing her foster brother attacked, Artoria immediately drew the Sword in the Stone from her waist. Without even taking off the scabbard, she struck at the white monster cat still clinging to Kay's face.
"Fou-kyu!"
But as if it had eyes in the back of its head, Fou leaped nimbly, dodging Artoria's sweeping strike. It then used her shoulder as a springboard, leaping toward Merlin, who was standing a short distance away.
What surprised Artoria was that the moment the monster cat stepped on her shoulder, it actually locked eyes with her.
Looking into those cute, small purple eyes, she didn't see any hostility or killing intent. Instead, there was only curiosity, along with an inexplicable joy and excitement.
Why is it joyful and excited to see us?
Could it have been waiting for our arrival?
This couldn't help but make Artoria freeze for a moment.
And this momentary hesitation prevented her from stopping the monster cat from launching its attack on Merlin.
"Oh? You chose to approach me instead of running away, Cath Palug?"
As the one among the three who knew this supposedly small animal was actually a terrifying infant Beast, Merlin naturally understood that the current Cath Palug was only in its infant form and posed no real threat to them.
Therefore, Merlin immediately decided not to ask for Artoria's help, intending to catch it relying on his own strength.
"Come on then, Cath Palug."
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he calmly chanted an incantation, preparing to cast a spell to catch Fou.
But what Merlin failed to notice was that the moment Fou leaped and targeted him, the gaze that had looked completely harmless to Artoria instantly turned icy cold.
Fou didn't know why it despised this guy with the clashing color palette so much, even though this was their first time meeting.
But the moment it saw that guy's highly punchable smile, and recalled Souya's specific request to hit him hard, dangerous glints instantly flashed in Fou's eyes.
"Fou, Fou! Fou-kyu!"
Merlin! Take my Fou Kick!!!
Like the effect of an Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm, Merlin, who was still chanting his incantation, completely failed to anticipate that Fou's flying kick would be so swift and vicious.
Caught off guard, Fou's kick landed squarely on his right cheek. His initially handsome face instantly deformed and twisted. Then, accompanied by a scream, Merlin turned into a spiraling, advancing white cannonball, slamming into the surrounding wall with a "bang" and becoming embedded within it.
The entire person—no, the entire incubus—instantly lost consciousness, sleeping very peacefully.
"Fou~"
Merlin must die!
Seeing the damn Merlin sent flying so far by a single kick, Fou let out a joyful cry.
Lamorak will definitely give me an extra meal for this, right?
"Merlin!"
All this happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Artoria recovered from Merlin's scream, the latter was already unconscious, having passed out completely.
Having perfectly completed its mission, Fou didn't linger. It turned back to give Artoria one last look before its small white figure disappeared into an alleyway.
"Quick! Lily, catch it! If it gets away, it'll be impossible to catch it next time!"
At this moment, Kay, having recovered from the pain in his eyes, saw the three-eyed monster cat trying to escape. He hurriedly urged Artoria, the only one currently uninjured, to quickly give chase.
"But you and Merlin..."
Artoria naturally understood this logic, but looking at Kay with his red eyes and scratched face, and the unconscious Merlin embedded in the wall nearby, she hesitated.
Kay and Merlin were, after all, her most important companions. Artoria couldn't accept them being put in danger because of her own recklessness.
But Kay didn't think that way.
"It's fine, Lily. I'll watch over Merlin here until he wakes up. You go after that magical beast and see if you can catch it."
"Remember, if you sense any danger, don't push yourself. Get away from it immediately!"
At this point, Kay's tone also became serious and solemn.
"Your life is more important than anything else. You must be careful, Lily."
"Alright. You and Brother Kay be careful too!"
Seeing Kay say this, Artoria couldn't help but grit her teeth and agree.
She then hurriedly set off in pursuit, heading toward where Fou had disappeared.
Watching Artoria's boyish figure slowly disappear, Kay felt inexplicably nervous for some reason.
It was as if something bad was about to happen.
"Was it really the right choice to let Lily chase that magical beast alone?"
Kay frowned slightly. Logically speaking, given Lily's strength, taking down that magical beast shouldn't be a problem.
But for some reason, Kay just felt his eyebrows twitching.
At this point, I should just wake Merlin up first.
After some thought, Kay chose the safer option.
Looking down at the unconscious Merlin, Kay hesitated for a moment.
He didn't have enough water on hand to splash Merlin awake, so what should he do?
After a moment of contemplation, Kay decided to use the most primal method to wake Merlin up.
It's fine. Merlin is thick-skinned anyway; it won't hurt.
The next moment, a crisp slap echoed through the air.
Meanwhile, Artoria's rapidly running figure engaged in a chase with the nimbly leaping Fou through the town.