“I failed my surprise attack, huh? And here I thought my timing was pretty good...”
“You’re the one who attacked His Highness at the palace!”
“The Poison Queen!”
Gawain and Merlin both exclaimed in surprise.
“Stop calling me a queen. I told you I’m the Poison King!” retorted the newcomer—Caim. Strangely, he was also carrying Millicia on his back.
“To think I would be caught off guard... Impressive!” Arthur shouted as Merlin healed him. He hadn’t sensed Caim’s approach until right before his ambush, which shouldn’t have been possible considering the sheer amount of mana he possessed thanks to his fusion with the Poison Queen. “But how did you...? No, wait, I know! It’s because of Millicia!”
Arthur stared at his sister on Caim’s back, and she silently glared back at him. Just as Arthur had guessed, Millicia had been the one who had concealed Caim’s presence. After the opening strike, Caim had regrouped with Millicia, and then he had carried her while using Suzaku to fly around the battlefield. Millicia’s Sacred Arts not only allowed her to heal people, but also cast barriers—which is what she had done to conceal Caim’s mana. After that, they had stayed above the clouds, where even a mage of Merlin’s caliber hadn’t been able to sense his presence.
“I’d heard you were staying in the rear to treat the wounded, but I guess that, too, was false intel,” Arthur said.
“So you really did have another spy, huh? We were right to be careful,” Caim replied on Millicia’s behalf.
Lance had suspected that Abus wasn’t the only mole in the eastern army, so he had lied during the war council and told everyone that Millicia would stay in the rear.
“Anyway, time for our rematch. The others are getting quite rowdy too, so how about we join the fun?” They could hear the sounds of battle all around them. Lance’s and Arthur’s soldiers were fighting fiercely, creating a huge tumult. If it had been a festival, this would be the grand finale. “It’s the perfect time to settle things, don’t you think?”
“Indeed. I shall be your opponent.” Arthur accepted Caim’s invitation and stood up, but just as he was about to draw his sword, he coughed up blood.
“Do not be reckless, Your Highness!”
“Stop moving. You’ll die.”
“Shut up... Don’t make me—the overlord—lose face!” Arthur rebuked his Twin Wings. However, while he wanted to answer Caim’s challenge, the poison had weakened him too much. His legs trembled, and there was no strength in the arm that held his sword. Compared to when he had faced Caim in the imperial palace, he was like a completely different person.
And yet, the pressure he exudes hasn’t diminished... He really is an amazing man. Caim sincerely respected Arthur. Part of him even thought that if he had met Arthur before Millicia, he would have sided with him. As they both loved battle, they surely would have gotten along.
Caim faced Arthur, but he made no move to attack. That was his way to show his sincerity to the man he respected.
“Are you all right, Lance?!” Millicia asked her brother.
“Yeah, just peachy— Ack!” Lance also coughed blood.
“You are not! Your face is green, and you are practically bleeding from every pore!”
Millicia started to heal Lance behind Caim. Both princes were in a very bad state.
“Merlin, can you take His Highness and teleport somewhere else?” Gawain inquired.
“I can. Only him, though. I don’t have enough mana for both of us.”
“That’s enough. Do it. I’ll protect you.” The Black Knight exuded a powerful fighting spirit. He was ready to sacrifice his life to defend his liege.
“Wait... I can’t allow that! Gawain, Merlin! An overlord can’t flee from the battlefield like this!”
“Highest Rank Teleportation Magic—Fairy Road.”
“No!” Arthur tried to stop her, but Merlin activated her spell, and Arthur vanished, teleported somewhere else.
“He escaped...” Caim muttered, disappointed—though another part of him was actually relieved.
Wouldn’t be fun to kill someone so weakened anyway. And it was my poison that made him that way, so we can call that my win. Finishing Arthur off in such a weakened state wouldn’t satisfy Caim, so he was actually glad that he’d been prevented from doing so.
“I hope you two won’t run away as well. You’ll be my opponents, right?” Caim said.
“Of course.” Gawain drew his black iron sword.
“I suppose I don’t have a choice.” Magic circles appeared above Merlin’s palm.
I guess I’ll save Arthur for dessert and have my rematch with these two first.
“Well then, let’s do this.” Caim grinned savagely and leaped at the Twin Wings.
“Here’s a little help! Strength Up! Guard Up! Speed Up! Antipoison!”
“OOOOOOOOOH!” Gawain roared as Merlin cast her Support Magic spells on him.
“What pressure...!” Caim shuddered, stopping in his tracks.
“Don’t blame me for butting in,” Merlin said with a grin. “This is war, after all. There are no rules. Unfortunately, though, I’ve used up all of my mana, so I won’t be able to join myself. Have a nice man-to-man fight.”
“I wasn’t complaining... Whoa?!”
“Hah!” Gawain slashed horizontally at Caim with astonishing speed.
Caim immediately ducked down to dodge. If not for his amazing reflexes, he would have been cut in two.
Gawain assaulted Caim ceaselessly, his speed and strength far exceeding their ordinary limits thanks to Merlin’s spells.
“Come on, give me a break!” A cold sweat ran down Caim’s back as he continuously evaded the Black Knight’s onslaught.
Gawain was strong. He was already as strong as Caim’s father—Kevin Halsberg, the Master Pugilist—to begin with, but the Support Magic had strengthened him so much that a single instant of inattention would cost Caim his life.
“Genbu!” None of that, however, was enough to discourage Caim—he focused condensed mana in his arm and blocked Gawain’s powerful strike. And yet, even though he had perfectly defended against it, a sharp pain assaulted Caim’s arm. He then counterattacked with Hebi, creating a snakelike whip of compressed mana to strike at Gawain’s neck.
“Too weak!” Gawain yelled, repelling the blow with his armored gauntlet. Gawain wasn’t only protected by his black suit of armor, but also by a veil of mana so dense it rivaled the Toukishin Style. His defense was as exceptional as his offense, so no ordinary attack would be able to break through it.