Typemoon: Starting Out as the Lion King's Personal Knight

Alaric, who had finished thinking, suddenly shouted at the humanoid figures before him.

Of course, the puppet-like figures did not respond to him. Alaric wasn't seeking a conversation with these puppets anyway, but rather with the entity controlling them.

"The Holy Grail is right here. Are you planning to hide until this is over?"

Alaric scanned his surroundings, noting the presence of humanoid figures and traces of the nameless Servant.

'A total of four Servant-class enemies...'

And as for that ghostly magus—who knew how many spells lay in wait?

Alaric felt that there wasn't a single safe spot in the entire area.

'I can fight.'

He had already gauged the upper limits of the nameless Servant. If the fight continued, Alaric was confident he would win. The three humanoid figures, however, remained an unknown factor; though from their mana fluctuations, they didn't seem particularly strong.

"Are you sure you want to keep fighting me?"

Hearing no response, Alaric reawakened his dragon's blood. This time, the intensity far surpassed anything he'd achieved before.

Not only did he fully reawaken the dragon's blood within him, but he also used the Holy Grail's mana as fuel, injecting it into the furnace of his dragon heart, greatly increasing the blood's concentration. The power surging within him was like the descent of a red dragon!

A sharp, piercing pain suddenly struck him, forcing Alaricto to release his broken sword and stagger back.

This transformation surpassed anything he'd experienced before. Only the blessing of the Lion King had come close.

Not only did his eyes transform into vertical pupils, but his short, pitch-black hair began to turn golden like sand, growing wildly!

'What is this?'

The pain was secondary. What shocked Alaric was the surge of power and massive magical energy rising within him.

This magical energy was different from the Holy Grail's power—this was true dragon power, his own!

"Ugh!"

Gritting his teeth, Alaric braced himself as a violent gust of wind approached—it was the nameless Servant, attacking once again! The other three humanoid figures still stood motionless.

The blade sliced across his neck, and in an instant, blood gushed out.

Alaric's head snapped up, his golden vertical pupils staring in shock at the nameless Servant before him. The scene flashing through his mind seemed to mirror the nameless Servant's next move— (Advanced Observation Haki Awakened!)

'My intuition… has evolved?'

In a daze, Alaric twisted slightly, narrowly avoiding the nameless Servant's sword as it grazed his neck, and instinctively countered with a punch.

The nameless Servant, anticipating Alaric's move, intercepted with a palm strike and immediately attempted another slash.

When fist met palm—

A burst of crimson light flared, gathering at a single point. No grand explosion, no roaring sound—just violent energy breaking through with ease, piercing flesh, organs, bones—

Boom!

With a thunderous impact, the nameless Servant was sent flying, blood spraying across the sky. Even with a gaping wound in his abdomen, the nameless Servant ignored the injury and charged again!

'He's regenerating?'

Alaric could barely make out that the Servant's abdominal wound, seemingly fatal, was already closing, flesh regenerating as if he'd never been hurt.

As the three humanoid figures drew close, curses began to rise from beneath the yellow sand, surrounding Alaric. But he wasn't one to sit idle. With enemies pressing in from all sides, he surged forward.

He launched himself straight at the three humanoid figures!

In an instant, Alaric grabbed the central figure and slammed it into the ground. The yellow sand trembled violently!

Gurgle, gurgle—!

From the figure beneath him, curses poured out like water, saturating the sand. Forced to retreat, Alaric felt dazed, still adjusting to the dragon blood's resurgence.

"Is this all you have? Just petty tricks?"

Still somewhat dazed, Alaric was about to blow them all away when he suddenly sensed a familiar mana signature approaching rapidly.

"Haaah!"

A familiar, delicate shout rang out, and a steel-hard iron staff swept across, scattering the humanoid puppets!

A figure dashed past Alaric, slamming a palm into the chest of the nameless Servant.

Boom!

The explosive impact whipped up fierce winds, sending the nameless Servant flying hundreds of meters away with a single strike.

"Xuanzang Sanzang!"

A surprised, dazed Alaric blinked. Sanzang had finally finished her battle.

"Hey! Sorry to keep you waiting, little brother!"

Sanzang's long black hair flowed as she turned with a playful smile, winking mischievously.

"Huh? Little brother, did you always look like this?"

Finally seeing Alaric's face clearly, Sanzang tilted her head, confused as though she'd noticed something surprising.

Before Alaric could figure out what she meant, he steeled himself against the overload of dragon blood coursing through him and said, "Ms. Sanzang, could you help me take care of these guys?"

Before he even finished speaking, Alaric saw a flash of golden hair pass before his eyes—

'?'

Only then did Alairc realize his glossy black hair had somehow turned into golden locks, much like the mane of the Lion King.

'The Lion King?'

At that thought, Alaric's expression changed. The significant changes in his body could only be attributed to his dragon blood, and the origin of his dragon blood was that divine atop the tower. Was this the result of assimilation from the dragon blood?

Alaric wasn't sure what he looked like now. Could he be starting to resemble King Arthur? The possible side effects of the dragon blood were something he had anticipated, but the transformation of his appearance was certainly not part of his expectations.

Before he could ponder his body's changes further, Sanzang's cheerful voice rang out again.

"No problem! Leave it to me!"

Before she even finished speaking, Sanzang charged forward, heading straight for the nameless Servant. In an instant, she engaged the Servant head-on. The swordsmanship that had given Alaric so much trouble was completely ineffective against the more seasoned Sanzang, who overwhelmed the Servant within just a few exchanges!

Seeing the nameless Servant held off by Sanzang, Alaric turned his attention to the three humanoid figures she had swept away earlier. In a blur of movement, Alaric vanished from where he stood, charging directly at the nearest figure. A flash of red lightning accompanied his approach as he closed in, striking the figure's abdomen with a powerful punch!

Boom!

The immense force compressed the air to its limit before it burst outward!

Almost simultaneously, the other two humanoid figures attacked Alaric from both sides! Alaric turned slightly, grabbed the neck of the figure in front of him, and, with red mana enveloping it, spun and threw it—using it as a weapon to smash into the figure on his left!

As the two figures collided, Alaric spun to face the last one, speaking as he did so, "Do you really want the Holy Grail that badly?"

Crackle!

Red lightning danced across the yellow sand as Alaric extended his long arm like a spear, piercing through the chest of the last figure!

"The Holy Grail is not something you can possess—"

Just then, the figure Alaric had punched through slowly opened its mouth, blood streaming out and instantly evaporating from the heat of his mana.

"Do you think you'll succeed? You're just cowards who escaped from my king and survived by luck—"

Golden hair flying wildly, Alarice smiled as he watched the life drain from the figure.

Suddenly, a surge of mana rose from the figure in front of him. Before he could discard the dead figure, another massive wave of mana erupted from his side, and the surrounding curses began to materialize!

When Alaric glanced toward it—

He saw that the three figures were all preparing to self-destruct together!

Boom!

A terrifying explosion filled with curses erupted beside Alaric, engulfing a radius of dozens of meters!

"Self-destruction, huh."

Alaric nodded slightly.

Crackle—!

The crimson light, mingled with curses, spread outward, clearing everything in its path.

When the explosion subsided, the three figures had turned to ash, leaving only Alaric standing. Soon after, Sanzang's lone figure appeared in front of him as well. It was clear that, after being overpowered by Sanzang, the nameless Servant had chosen to retreat.

Even Xuanzang Sanzang couldn't stop the nameless Servant.

"Aww, they got away—" Sanzang pouted.

"Are you really Xuanzang Sanzang?"

Alaric laughed.

"That's right! I'm XuanzangSanzang! I was summoned to this world under the guidance of the Buddha, and of course, my class is Caster!"

Alaric, who had anticipated this, nodded slightly. However, Sanzang didn't seem to notice his reaction and looked at him with a puzzled expression: "No reaction? Oh well, I'll continue."

"I was summoned a few days ago. Following the guidance, I traveled along the Silk Road and arrived here to stop the unprecedented crisis at the Holy Land."

At this point, Sanzang continued, "To be honest, as a Servant, I'm in the middle of my journey back home from India. Even though it's troublesome, since it's the Buddha's guidance, I have no choice but to follow. So, here I am! In this apocalypse, in the sandstorm-covered Shambhala!"

Alaric raised an eyebrow and finally couldn't help but speak: "Strictly speaking, this is Egypt—"

Sanzang replied matter-of-factly, "Yes, that's obvious! Which means I got lost again! Oh well, a small matter. It's important to keep a broad mind, like the Ganges River. That's the path to true enlightenment, right?"

"As expected of Xuanzang Sanzang! Every word is like gold, and I feel like I'm about to reach enlightenment!"

After hearing her words, Alaric couldn't help but give a thumbs-up.

"But judging by your knowledge of this era, it seems you're already aware of the crisis at the Holy Land?"

"I don't know! I just got here! There's so much I haven't seen yet. How can I know what's wrong if I don't look?"

Sanzang puffed out her chest and said naturally, "By the way, what's your name, little brother? Thanks for your help just now."

"Just call me Alaric. I'm a Knight."

"Sir Alaric, are you here traveling too?"

Sanzang tilted her head with a smile. It's rare to find a knight wandering in the desert.

"Something like that. If Miss Sanzang doesn't have any plans, would you be willing to accompany me to the Holy City?"

After a moment of thought, Alaric extended an invitation.

"Of course! I, Sanzang, always repay the kindness shown to me to the best of my ability! And since I'm a traveling monk, guiding a lost soul like you is only natural, right?"

Sanzang smiled sweetly at Alaric.

"You have my gratitude—"

Alaric spoke sincerely. He truly believed that meeting Sanzang was his good fortune. Another reliable servant like Holmes.

"No, this isn't luck! It's the protection of the Buddha. You are under the Buddha's protection, and specifically, that's me!"

Sanzang said proudly.

"I'm the traveling monk maiden, Xuanzang Sanzang, who will one day become a Buddha! So watch closely! I'll save you with a bang, just like in the palm of the Buddha!"

'A very unique form of salvation—'

Upon hearing this, Alaric couldn't help but recall the sight of Sanzang's heroic battle earlier and wondered who had been doing the saving on their journey to the east.

Maybe we need to form a whole group.