The initial "Black Bird" was a close-range, strength-type Stand, similar to "Star Platinum" and "The World" from the original JOJO series, and it couldn't stray too far from Zuke.
However, after devouring some long-range Stands, Zuke's "Black Bird" gradually gained the ability to travel great distances, and its power remained unaffected even at such ranges.
For example, "Red Hot Chili Pepper" was like this. In the original story, Red Hot Chili Pepper could stay in Morioh while its Stand reached the outskirts of the town, showcasing its impressive range.
Now, Zuke's "Black Bird Requiem" is even more powerful in terms of range than "Red Hot Chili Pepper," so Zuke decided to test it by sending it to the distant Holy City. The experiment proved successful.
The Holy City itself has formidable defences, with numerous Righteous Knights patrolling the area. Breaking in directly would cause a huge commotion.
Although "Black Bird Requiem" could easily shatter the Holy City's defenses, Zuke's goal was to accomplish his mission before the ruler of the Holy City—Lion King Artoria—noticed.
"Gawain... perfect, found him right away."
Squinting, Zuke peered through the eyes of "Black Bird Requiem" and spotted the Round Table Knight selecting knights in the Holy City's square. It was Gawain, the one he was looking for.
As for Mordred, who was behind Gawain, Zuke paid no attention—Mordred simply didn't possess any abilities worth his concern.
Gawain, however, was different. His ability, "Numeral of the Saint," allowed his strength to triple during the day!
This was an ability Zuke couldn't afford to overlook. If there was anything in this Singularity that truly caught his attention, it was Gawain's power.
...
"What... what is this thing?"
In the Holy City's square, Mordred looked up in surprise at the descending "Black Bird Requiem," seemingly unaware of what was happening.
She was, after all, widely regarded as a fool. Even in this situation, her first thought wasn't "an enemy has invaded the Holy City," but rather, "this black thing looks really weird."
It wasn't entirely her fault for thinking this way. "Black Bird Requiem" was composed entirely of black shadows, with only faint outlines of facial features. It didn't look human at all.
Unlike Mordred, Gawain reacted almost immediately.
"Attack!"
Gawain shouted sternly, and the knights in the square immediately sprang into action without hesitation.
Countless sharp knight swords slashed down at "Black Bird Requiem." Whether it was a human or a monster, being struck by so many swords would surely cause some damage, right?
However, the moment the blades touched "Black Bird Requiem's" body, a terrifying rebound force shot through the swords. The knights shuddered and were instantly flung backward.
"What!?"
Gawain was equally shocked. He quickly drew his own sword and charged forward as the knights were thrown back.
Without a moment to mourn the fallen knights, the Sun Knight—Gawain—followed closely behind.
His sword, "Galatine," was a holy blade bestowed by the Lady of the Lake, of the same kind as King Arthur Artoria's "Excalibur."
Although surprised that the knight's attacks had no effect, Gawain remained confident in his "Galatine."
But that confidence was shattered in an instant—just as his blade was about to strike "Black Bird Requiem's" neck, the Stand casually raised its left hand and extended its index finger and thumb.
Then, to Gawain's horror, those two dark fingers effortlessly caught his blade, bringing it to an abrupt halt.
The sudden stop of his high-speed swing caused Gawain to feel a wave of discomfort in his chest—the blade felt like he had struck an immovable wall.
Since becoming a Round Table Knight, Gawain had rarely encountered such a situation. Even when facing steel, his sword could cleave through it, so having his blade forcibly stopped was unheard of.
What made it worse was that Gawain tried to pull "Galatine" free from "Black Bird Requiem's" grasp, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't.
As a knight, failing to reclaim his own sword was a blow to Gawain's pride as the perfect knight, and his expression grew increasingly grim.
"Just what are you..."
Gawain, having failed to retrieve his sword, attempted to gather some information from "Black Bird Requiem," but he was quickly silenced.
"Black Bird Requiem's" right hand shot out and grabbed Gawain by the throat.
Under Gawain's horrified gaze, "Black Bird Requiem" pulled him closer, and its body transformed into a mass of shadows, enveloping half of his body. *Crack!*
A sound like crunching bones echoed, and even Gawain couldn't help but let out a cry of pain.
"Black Bird Requiem" began devouring Gawain's body—and more importantly, since Zuke didn't intend to kill Gawain just yet, he only had "Black Bird Requiem" consume half of Gawain's body.
This made the experience even more terrifying for Gawain. He remained fully conscious, watching as half of his body was devoured by "Black Bird Requiem." The intense pain left him unable to react beyond screaming.
In this case, keeping him alive might have been the crueler option.
But Zuke had no choice. He remembered that his main mission was to have Fujimaru Ritsuka summon him to Chaldea after returning.
This meant that Zuke had to demonstrate his value to Fujimaru and her team within this Singularity—and to do that, he needed to leave them with some powerful enemies.
In the original story, Gawain was a significant hurdle for Fujimaru and her team. If they didn't understand the strength of their enemies, how could they appreciate Zuke's power?
For this reason, Zuke chose not to consume Gawain entirely. With the Lion King's blessing in the Holy City, even if Gawain was left with only a sliver of life, he could likely be saved.
Of course, since Gawain had attacked him, Zuke didn't just take a hand, as he had done with Bucciarati and the others. Instead, he devoured half of Gawain's body.
Soon, "Black Bird Requiem" finished consuming half of Gawain, and Zuke felt the power of "Numeral of the Saint" flow into him.
With his objective achieved, "Black Bird Requiem" transformed into a bolt of lightning, shooting straight into the sky and disappearing into the clouds.
Only then did Mordred finally react.
Although it seemed like a lot had happened, given the speed at which Gawain and "Black Bird Requiem" moved, the entire encounter had taken only a few seconds.
Seeing Gawain lying in the square, barely alive and missing half his body, Mordred shouted at the top of her lungs:
"Oh no! Gawain's been eaten by some weird thing and is almost dead!"
To be continued.
Guys, I was sick for past few days that's why I could not post.