Meanwhile, in the distant palace of Camelot, the Queen, seated on her jade throne, suddenly opened her eyes.
An icy shade emerged within.
"Is that the sound of the Pilgrimage Bell?"
In the bell tower at the top floor of the cathedral, Reiger gazed at the golden bell that kept sounding, his eyes flickering slightly.
"Sounds quite pleasant."
To him, the ringing of the Pilgrimage Bell was only of this much significance.
On the other hand, as soon as the Pilgrimage Bell rang, Altoria underwent a dramatic transformation.
A starkly intense light radiated from Altoria, along with a wave of astonishing heat that caused the temperature inside the entire bell tower to climb rapidly.
Altoria opened her eyes and saw the changes happening to her body, which startled her.
Reiger, treating the radiance and heat emanating from her body as nothing, stepped right up to Altoria, placed a hand on the girl’s shoulders, and calmed her down.
"This is the reward for ringing the Pilgrimage Bell. Take a good feel of it."
At Reiger’s words, Altoria quickly calmed down.
As she calmed down, she could feel it.
The dramatically increasing Magic Power.
The extraordinary power.
Her own strength, originally much weaker than that of an ordinary fairy, was soaring at a speed visible to the naked eye.
At least, through Reiger’s now-transparent eyes, the power surging within Altoria had already reached the levels of Lv.5, or even as high as Lv.6.
And even at this level, Altoria’s Magic Power continued to climb, seemingly without end.
Feeling this power, Altoria was so astonished she could not speak.
Suddenly, Reiger’s eyes hardened, and without a moment’s hesitation, he shoved Altoria away.
Altoria let out a cry of surprise as Reiger pushed her to the corner of the bell tower, and she hit the wall.
At that very moment, a thunderous roar erupted.
It wasn’t the sound of the bell tower’s walls being shattered by Altoria, nor was it the noise from anything blasting apart, but rather the sound of something breaking through the air.
The source of the sonic boom was a white meteor.
The white meteor appeared in the skies above Salisbury, and almost instantly accelerated to a speed that broke the sound barrier. With a booming sound it tore through the sky, leaving a long trail of light behind as it rocketed straight toward the direction of the Great Cathedral of Ash.
The meteor’s target was unmistakably the bell tower at the highest point of the cathedral.
Right before Altoria’s eyes, before all the fairies of Salisbury, it first shattered the bell tower’s stone pillars and then struck Reiger head-on.
This time, it was the sound of an explosion.
The white meteor hit the cathedral’s highest point, hit the bell tower, smashing the place on the spot.
Altoria, pushed to the corner, only felt the ceiling of the bell tower being lifted by a shocking force; the stone pillars that supported the bell tower crumbled one after another. Numerous fragments of stone and rubble fell, prompting Altoria to cry out once more.
The fairy girl saw with her own eyes how Reiger was pinned by the white meteor that descended from the sky, broke through stone pillars, breached the hollowed out walls, and was swept into the high skies, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.
Altoria, snapping back to reality, ignored the bell tower which had started to crumble. She protected her head and charged through the falling debris, rushing into the entrance corridor of the bell tower.
But as Altoria was about to search for Reiger, a group of soldiers appeared, blocking her path.
"The ally of the Child of Prophecy!"
"Dare to invade this sacred cathedral? Unforgivable!"
A group of soldiers roared as they held their spears and encircled Altoria.
Behind them, a fairy, who resembled a butterfly sprite, was issuing commands.
"Capture her and take her to Lady Aurora."
At the fairy’s command, the soldiers bravely charged towards Altoria.
Altoria gritted her teeth, and finally lifted the Staff of Selection she held, invoking the Magic Power that had just been rapidly increasing within her.
The once-naïve and weak fairy, Altoria, was finally engaging in her first battle since leaving Tintagel.
Unfortunately, Reiger couldn’t see it.
Because he was otherwise occupied.
Amidst the incredible sound of something tearing through the air, the white meteor continued to sweep across the sky, unleashing a terrifying assault.
Reiger was propelled by the white meteor, involuntarily soaring backward, while the transparent glow in his eyes flickered wildly.
In Reiger’s hands, the blade once hailed as divine, Hermitage, was already unsheathed, placed before him to block the onslaught of the white meteor.
And feeling the force transmitted from the other side of the blade, Reiger was on the verge of not being able to withstand it.
Right then, Reiger quickly changed his breathing rhythm.
"Full Concentration·Sun Breathing—"
Flames ignited on the black blade in his hands, enveloping Reiger and forming into a sun.
A perfect circular slash fell, causing the Sun’s Fire to explode into the skies.
The battle was about to erupt.