Era of Heroic Spirits: I Was Exposed by Alaya

Among the two Grand Caster candidates:

Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, was the model of a wise king who worked himself to death.

Meanwhile, Merlin, the other Grand candidate and the Flower Magus, shamelessly lazed around without contributing.

Every day, he either slacked off, streamed virtual pranks to torment the Doctor, or stirred up trouble.

Nameless had assumed that during the Singularity "Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia," Merlin would finally do something productive.

Yet, to his utter disbelief, this bastard was still secretly backstabbing his allies!

Even as a king, he couldn't carry such a liability!

The Three Goddesses had sworn a pact of non-aggression.

Violating it would invoke fatal divine punishment.

If not for Alaya's exposé video, Nameless would've assumed the pact was too airtight for loopholes.

Turns out, it was all Merlin's fault!

The barrage of comments erupted in outrage—

-[Holy shit, it's Merlin the Unscrupulous again! Just take him out back and shred him with a minigun already!]

-[Quetzalcoatl is insane—throwing a 40-meter axe tens of thousands of meters?! Literal axe missile!]

-[Goddamn it, Merlin! How dare you screw over Quetz-nee?! You're dead!]

-[The divine punishment is brutal—Quetz got wrecked in one hit!]

...

The crowd raged against Merlin.

Nameless, however, felt a twinge of awkwardness.

This time, not only had Merlin screwed over Quetzalcoatl—Alaya had screwed him over too.

Let's not forget, back in the Underworld, he'd flirtatiously teased Ereshkigal.

He'd thought only the two goddesses and kouhai Mash were present… only for Alaya to broadcast it publicly.

The mighty Heroic Spirit Emiya, caught spouting cheesy lines—publicly humiliated!

MD Alaya!

Qin Shi Huang gazed at Merlin on the screen, his interest growing by the minute.

It seemed that once Merlin was captured, the master would be very pleased.

He needed to put in more effort to catch that slippery child of the incubus.

As a candidate for Grand Caster, a master of illusions, and a child of the incubus, actively capturing him was as difficult as scaling the heavens.

Unless he came to you of his own accord!

Meanwhile, Artoria stared fixedly at the screen, still slightly dazed.

"Who would be the most beautiful as your wife, in your heart?"

Truly, only Nameless could ask such a thing.

So, who had he chosen in the end?

Artoria was intensely curious but would never voice the question.

What if the name wasn't hers? That would be far too awkward.

Two mere gods were nothing in her eyes.

After all, she had once been the mighty Lion King, nearly destroying the world alongside the Demon God King.

It seemed she needed to capture Merlin first, to atone for the many mistakes of the past.

The ahoge atop Artoria's head trembled slightly as she silently resolved to redeem herself for those past misdeeds.

This time, she would never let go!

The video continued.

The Blood Temple was pierced by the [Marduk's Axe], and the last obstacle blocking their path vanished.

The group stepped into the temple of the Beast Goddess.

On the walls of the temple hung numerous cocoons.

Each one contained a human being.

Mash's face paled slightly. "Senpai, they're still alive! Even if their appearances have changed, they're still alive!"

"Don't look. They're already enemies!" Nameless pulled her away.

Once encased in the cocoons, these humans would be completely transformed into monsters, driven to seek vengeance against humanity.

The horrifying sight left countless viewers speechless.

It was almost identical to the human-farming robots from sci-fi movies.

Truly befitting the most terrifying Beast Goddess!

The group arrived at the heart of the temple.

There, they saw her.

The colossal Beast Goddess, resting deep within the cavern.

Sensing their arrival, her massive form loomed before them once more. "Oh? Aren't you the insects I spared last time? How bold of you to come before me again."

"You monster! How dare you turn humans into monsters! It's understandable that you seek revenge, but now you're beyond redemption!" Mash couldn't hold back her furious rebuke.

Gorgon, from Greek mythology, had been slain by the human hero Perseus.

Her hatred for humanity was natural.

But now, she had twisted humans into monsters—a fate crueler than death itself!

"Hahaha! Revenge knows no bounds!"

Gorgon laughed wildly. "Crush everything, destroy everything, slaughter the entire world—and myself along with it! That's what it means to be a true avenger!"

A simple statement, yet it sent chills down everyone's spines.

A true madwoman.

She even wanted to kill herself!

Then, Gorgon suddenly turned her gaze toward Nameless. "I have nothing to say to such a girl. But you, Master—if you submit to my will, I'll keep you as my pet!"

"No. I am human, and you are a monster. There can be no cooperation between us."

Nameless firmly refused, slightly lowering his head to look at the little loli in the black hood beside him. "Ana, we're already strong enough to defeat her. You really didn't need to come."

"No, this is my atonement!"

Ana took small steps forward, standing before the colossal Beast Goddess.

She stood only 1.3 meters tall, so petite and adorable she could practically be held in one's palm.

While the Beast Goddess towered dozens of meters high, an absolute behemoth.

But.

When she removed her hood, the massive creature before her began trembling violently!

"Damn it, what is this thing? Why is it making my entire body shake uncontrollably? My reason... my reason is actually returning!"

Gorgon writhed in agony, "Kingu! Kingu, save me! Get this ugly monster away from me right now! Don't let her stay in front of me!"

For a monster to call the little loli a monster left countless viewers dumbfounded—

-[Damn, where's that prophet from earlier? Someone execute him!]

-[They guessed right—little Anna is actually the Beast Goddess's reason!]

-[Holy shit, no wonder the Beast Goddess went so insane—her reason turned into a loli and left!]

-[Uh, I have a friend who wants to know—can my reason turn into a loli too?]

...

"Reason Evaporation???"

Lancelot frowned as he glanced at the pink-haired knight beside him.

This guy also had a passive ability [Evaporation of Reason] that made him incapable of keeping any secrets.

He specialized in stabbing you in the back, speaking bluntly without filter, and rubbing salt in your wounds mercilessly.

Now he understood—no wonder Astolfo's intuition was so terrifying. So this was Evaporation of Reason.

Thankfully, his hadn't completely eroded away, or he might have turned into a horrifying Beast Goddess!

Wait, why did that sound even more exciting?

No, no!

This guy had previously claimed that Lancelot had some form even cuter than his in another place.

Could that actually be true???

Lancelot imagined himself—the glorious and majestic Knight of the Round Table—transforming into a soft, adorable little loli—

Would his daughter forgive him instantly then?

Astolfo smirked: "Don't even think about it. If that ever happened, it'd definitely be a Lostbelt!"

Everyone's gazes suddenly turned toward him, making Astolfo shrink back and hide behind Jeanne d'Arc.

In the video.

"Just as Master said—you really can't see me! Gorgon, if you could see me, there might still be a chance for redemption."

Ana let out a soft sigh, her small face filled with sorrow: "I've always told myself... I'm here to atone for my sins. I don't deserve to laugh, nor do I deserve to live... though I truly want to live, I want to smile..."

Before coming here, she had a dream at night.

She dreamed of days gone by, of the happy times when she lived on the island with her elder and second sisters.

Even though they had been exiled there, those days still felt incredibly blissful to her.

However.

Dreams must eventually end.

Countless fanatics, incited by others, began violently attacking the three sisters.

Slaughter, battle, despair, hatred, destruction... And so, the demonic nature hidden within her gradually eroded her reason.

In the end.

A monster that devoured the Gorgon sisters was born—none other than the Beast Goddess before them!

"This isn't your fault."

Nameless produced a flower crown and offered it to her. "The old lady from the flower shop you helped earlier wanted me to give this to you. She said you'll grow up to be the loveliest and most beautiful girl in the city!"

"No, I don't deserve this. You keep it!"

Ana's small face grew even more sorrowful. "I only helped her out of curiosity at first... She couldn't even distinguish flavors anymore, yet she kept offering me all kinds of delicious food..."

"But what she didn't know... was that her child, who died in battle, had been killed by the very beasts!"

The terrifying monster born from devouring the three sisters had already caused far too much bloodshed.

That was why she had been summoned—to resolve this monster's existence and atone for its sins!

"No! You are you, and the monster is the monster!"

Nameless forcibly placed the flower crown on her small head, then lifted her up in his arms. "See? I'm not afraid of you at all. In fact, I think you're absolutely adorable!"

At this, Ana froze for a moment as she gazed at his gentle smile, tears suddenly welling up in her eyes.

Her two pale little hands cupped his cheeks as she leaned in and planted a soft kiss on his face. "Thank you... Thank you so much!"

Even knowing her true identity, he still treated her like an ordinary girl—this was the greatest salvation she could have asked for!

This scene also left countless onlookers with mixed emotions—

-[Nameless actually got a kiss from little Ana! I'm so jealous!]

-[Open up! Water meter inspection! Do you know you're breaking the law? (Professor Luo's expression)]

-[Sigh... No wonder little Ana always wore such a sorrowful and gloomy expression. Just like Bedivere, she saw all this as her own sin!]

-[It's not quite the same though... Little Bedi actually made mistakes, while Ana was purely a victim!]

"Dammit, I'm so jealous too!"

Jeanne d'Arc gritted her teeth as she glared at the screen.

This rationalized form of the Beast Goddess actually dared to kiss Nameless right in front of everyone.

Even Artoria, who had a child, hadn't managed to do that!

Let alone her.

She didn't even know where Nameless was right now!

Beside her, Mordred was equally indignant. "You bastard! Even I haven't done that yet, and you got there first?!"

***

Hey readers!

Want to read ahead? 📖 Join my Patreon for early access to 30+ advance chapters! Your support helps me write more and bring the story to you faster.

🔹patreon.com/aarvan🔹