CHAPTER 6 Past and Future In short, resistance was futile. Rintarou Magami might have been the reincarnation of Merlin, granting him more strength than the average person as his main trait. But in the abyss, that was as helpful as chickenshit. This darkness was the deepest part of his human consciousness, where all of humanity was connected to each other. Which meant he was fighting against humanity. Facing the infinite void, Rintarou was nothing. He couldn’t resist as the fangs and claws of repulsive things he couldn’t even picture in the dark ripped and shredded him. His flesh was chewed through. His bones had been ground. His marrow had been sucked out of its casing. He was dissolving into the stomachs of these wild beasts, dismembered. As an entity, he didn’t exist anymore. Not even a strand of his hair was left in the world. What…am…I…? His detached consciousness wandered through the darkness. Why…am…I here…? But even his mind was starting to melt, slipping into the sea of darkness. I feel sleepy…heavy…tired… He was disappearing. As an entity, Rintarou Magami was wasting away. As he witnessed this, he thought to himself… I think I remember…that I have to do something… I think I remember that I need to go back somewhere… It was something really important to him. He had promised he would get things done and come home, even if it meant shouldering the risks. But what was it? He couldn’t remember… His existence continued to thin as he tried to recall the important thing… He was liquefying. Sometimes he could see glimpses of hair blond as wheat…and a smile as warm as the sun. Flashes of memories. But…he had no idea who it was…even when he scraped through his thoughts. He was getting sleepy. His consciousness was slipping away. His body was weakening. And…he started not to care about what would happen to him. Someone gazed at him with sad eyes through blond hair…but he couldn’t care less. All he knew was that he was tired. He was so drowsy…so incredibly sleepy… Rintarou stopped resisting. He handed over his own existence to the great darkness, letting it take him until he slipped away. “Rintarou!” Someone had called out in a world of darkness. The voice was loud and clear. Something brushed up against his hand, which he thought had already been taken away from him. “!” It was… — Nayuki battled Sir Tristan. Felicia and Sir Gawain struggled against Sir Mordred. They fought well. Even in this hopeless place, even when they were crushed, they didn’t lose heart. They didn’t give up. They fought desperately. But the enemy continued to dominate them. “Hah…! Hff…!” Nayuki dashed through the snow, leaving a red trail behind her. She was no longer as light as a snowshoe hare. “Ah—‘Ice spirits, come together—’” She sprinted, pounced, twirled, turned her right hand to her back. That was when her right thigh and left shoulder were burned from arrows that sliced into her like lasers. Light burst through the area. “Gah—?!” Nayuki was blasted away, flung through air. Blood splattered. If she hadn’t protected herself with a thin layer of ice, her hands and legs would have been ripped off her body. “Cough… Ugh…!” Her body bounced off the ground. She curled up in a fetal position. From all directions, ammunition showered over her. She had no escape. The arrows touched her skin… CRAAAAAAASH! Her body was reduced into fragments of ice, scattering into pieces. Icy Moon Mirror. “Th-that was a close one…!” Applying pressure on her bloody shoulder and leg, real Nayuki emerged from a different location, turning to stare at Sir Tristan. But he wasn’t where she last saw him. “Wha—?!” “You’ve already shown me that move.” The greeting came from behind Nayuki. “Gh?!” Her entire body chilled. Her hand formed an ice sword as she turned around to swing it. “Sorry.” Sir Tristan brought down his sword at precisely the same time. Her paltry sword shattered. He tried to rip diagonally through Nayuki as she scrambled to get away. “Arghhhhhhhh?!” Blood sprayed magnificently. She shrieked in agony. It was a shallow wound. It wasn’t fatal, but it was a serious injury. “W-winter Storm!” Nayuki frantically leaped back, discharging a biting wind that caused their surroundings to freeze. It spiraled. If he had been a normal person, it would have turned his blood into ice and killed him in a split second. But it only chilled the surface layer of Sir Tristan, who was protected by his concentrated Aura. Without even flinching, he stepped into the current of death, pursuing Nayuki with his almost divine speed. “I’ll finish you.” He hunted down Nayuki, flashing his sword twice. It severed the tendon in her right hand and slit her right knee. “Ah—” Her whole body went limp. Her blood stained the snow when her knees buckled. She tumbled from the force…until she lay faceup to the sky. “…Hah… Hff… Hff…” She had pulled every trick to stave him off, but she had reached her limit. She had exhausted her mana. She had sustained critical damage and succumbed to exhaustion. Nayuki couldn’t even stand or lift a finger. The battle was over. Not that it had been a real fight from the start. Her dainty body used to be as dazzling as an icicle. Now it was battered. “Yaaaay! Giving up, you bitch?” Hitoshi yelled gleefully when he saw her in her pitiful state. “You see that? I’m strong! And this is what happens to people who disobey me! Do you get it now?” “……Cough…” Nayuki hacked up a little blood, shaking. She didn’t have enough energy to come up with a single thing to say to him. “Welp… Looks like their fight is almost done…” Hitoshi looked up. THUD. Something crashed into the snow. Sir Gawain. The daggers impaling his body leaked a red Aura. He was unconscious. It was a miracle he hadn’t perished. Sir Mordred quietly approached him. “…Ah… Ugh…” Her right hand carried Felicia—limp and hanging on to her consciousness by a thread. Her body was smeared in blood, gored by blades. Her breath came out in whispers. Sir Mordred gripped the white sword in her left hand. The blood trickling down Felicia’s skin trailed through the air, drawn to the blade…which was glowing a brighter shade of red by the minute. “…That was something. You’re finally a real knight.” Sir Mordred looked down at Sir Gawain, who had sustained far more damage than Felicia. “…Ugh… I can’t believe it…” Felicia wept tears of frustration, groaning in anguish. “Um…? Reika? Y-you…seem different…?” Hitoshi noted. “Don’t worry about it.” Her condensed Aura made him shudder, but she didn’t seem to care. “About our promise. I can finish them off, right?” Sir Mordred held up Felicia, who was slumped over, grazing her neck with the white sword. “Uh-huh…” But then it seemed he had a moment of revelation. He looked back and forth between Felicia and Nayuki. “Huh… They’re pretty cute, even though they have no brain cells.” He was thinking something over in silence… “You know what? I take it back! Don’t kill them! I’ll take them in—as slaves!” He was saying something criminal. He broke into a vulgar grin. “…Huh?!” “……Gh!” Nayuki’s and Felicia’s faces paled. They were speechless. “S-stop…joking…around…! I’d…rather…die…!” Felicia managed to say. But he ignored her. “Nice. This was actually on my bucket list. It seems like a very kingly privilege…” That was when he noticed Sir Mordred, Sir Tristan, and Sir Dinadan were glaring at him. If looks could kill, he would be dead. “Wh-what?! You have something to say?! I’m a king! Which means I can do anything I want…! You’re just vassals! You can’t look at me like that!” “Master Hitoshi is right.” There was one person who affirmed him. Morgan. “E-Elaine?! I’m not cheating on you or anything! Just so you know! This is just for fun…” “I know. A true king should be surrounded by women… It’s called being resourceful… That won’t change my loyalty toward you, Master Hitoshi.” “R-right! I knew you’d understand! Ha-ha-ha!” “These conquered girls are already yours… How about I engrave a Carved Seal for Control into them…? Ha-ha-ha…” Morgan chuckled with Hitoshi. Her smile was devilish—like she had succeeded in tricking him with a loophole in the rules. But Hitoshi did not notice. “Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! See? Told you! Sir Tristan! We’re bringing those girls home! Tie them up! Find Luna! I’m going to make her mine, too! She’s really cheeky, so she’ll have to learn her place! What’re you doing?! That was an order—Jacks aren’t allowed to deny a royal order! That’s your purpose as a Jack!” “……!” Sir Tristan reluctantly trudged over to Nayuki, who remained crumpled on the ground. “…Rin…ta…rou…I’m…sorry…” All she could do was mutter in regret… “…Please…kill…me…,” Felicia whispered to Sir Mordred, begging her. “I don’t…want…that dreadful boy…to toy with…my body…” Sir Mordred looked at Felicia with narrowed eyes… “I was planning on it… Your death won’t be in vain.” Sir Mordred inched the white blade toward her chest… “Huh?!” “Wha…?!” FZT… There was a sudden weight that hung heavy over the courtyard. “Is this evil energy…?!” Black bolts of lightning flooded the sky, crashing down on Sir Tristan and Sir Mordred like a group of serpents with unhinged jaws. Sir Mordred immediately hurled Felicia aside and jumped back. Sir Tristan similarly vaulted away from Nayuki, just barely missing getting caught by the maw of a black serpent. The middle of the battlefield was the landing ground of a Fomorian who was plunging down from the heavens, exuding an inky Aura and a commanding presence. It was… “…What’s up, guys? Hanging in there?” “Rintarou…?!” “Rintarou…!” …Rintarou Magami. He had already invoked his transformation. His Aura curled around his armor. Golden eyes glittered through the darkness, glinting ominously. On his chest hung the hawthorn pendant in the shape of a Celtic cross. “…Sorry I’m late.” “?!” Rintarou already had Nayuki tucked under his arm and stood next to Felicia and Sir Gawain. Sir Tristan and Sir Mordred had failed to catch his movements. “R-Rintarou…?” “I’m sorry… This is all my fault for taking my time.” Felicia blinked at him, failing to process the situation. There was something…different about him. His creeping Aura was the same…but he had changed somehow. It was like a burden had been lifted from his shoulders… He seemed lighter. And she never imagined she would live to see him apologize. “Good… You came back… That makes me happy…” Held in his arms, Nayuki looked up at him, tears trickling down her face. “Welcome home…Rintarou…” He offered her a soft smile. “I’m back… Let me clean this up. Wait here.” He laid her gently on the ground, yanking out his swords as he approached the enemy. “…Ha-ha-ha-ha… I didn’t think you were still around…!” Hitoshi barked at him like a dog. “There’s nothing you can do now! Are you implying you still don’t know I’m powerful?!” Rintarou ignored him, stalking toward Hitoshi in silence. For a moment, Hitoshi forgot that his Excalibur offered him an impenetrable defense. He shuddered. Rintarou was that terrifying. Hitoshi shrank back a step. And then another. “Dammit…! What are you doing?! Sir Tristan! Reika Tsukuyomi! Get him! Aren’t you my vassals?! Kill that dumbass!” They responded to Hitoshi’s order. “…As you wish.” “Hmph! I was already planning on it…!” Sir Tristan and Sir Mordred blocked Rintarou. “I’m glad you didn’t run away, Rintarou Magami… Merlin!” “……” “Killing you is the only thing I have to do! Prepare yourself!” Sir Mordred declared, enlarging her Aura. “…Shut up, crony. I’m tired of small talk… Come at me.” Rintarou didn’t seem to pay much attention to her. “Just to warn you…I’m ticked off right now… Beat up my friends, and you deal with me. Don’t think I’ll go easy on you, lackeys.” “Can it! And feel my power for yourself… Clarent!” Sir Mordred and Sir Tristan moved. “They’re fast!” Felicia screeched, eyes wide. They were like rockets, unleashing shock waves as the two knights went straight for Rintarou. “Hah……” Rintarou just let out a quiet breath. “Luna…” He squeezed the hawthorn cross at his chest and closed his eyes. — “—Rintarou!” In the ocean abyss, Rintarou’s molten consciousness suddenly resurfaced. Something had brushed up against his hand, a limb that he thought was already gone. His awareness seemed to sharpen. He couldn’t remember…who this voice belonged to… But it triggered a nostalgic feeling. He knew this was a voice he’d wanted to hear. “—Wake up, Rintarou! Open your eyes!” …You’re so damn loud… “—Can you hear me?! Get up! Come back to me! Aren’t you my vassal?!” …I said…you’re noisy… Your shrill voice is making my head pound… “—Don’t you want to come home?! Are you going to just stay in this sad place forever?!” …Of course not… Just leave me alone… “Stop dodging the question! What do you want to do?!” …… The insistent voice made Rintarou go silent for a while. For some reason, his mind drifted off to a hazy memory of a blond girl flashing him a brilliant smile. He thought about a crew of people gathered around her. He couldn’t bring himself to hate them. Rintarou absentmindedly watched the scene float in the darkness. …I want to go home… Thump. He felt like something in his heart had grounded itself. That’s right… I want to go home…but I can’t go back anymore… That was when he realized the truth. He was flooded by a sense of loss. He despaired over something he couldn’t regain. I couldn’t go back. My fate was to vanish. I had been such a fool. I had been in search of something and gotten rejected, only to seek it out again, only to be denied for a second time, leaving me despondent. I had pretended to be stronger and gotten pushed away, and then I put on airs, only to get thrown away again, only to get hurt, leaving me totally isolated. It left me stubborn, mulish, obstinate…until I started to actually believe that I didn’t need anyone else. That, in fact, I liked being alone. That everyone else was my little toy. I refused to let go of this stupid front. I finally found somewhere that accepted me for me, nastiness and all. A place where I belonged. How could I let that go? Why hadn’t I protected it with every fiber of my being? Why had it taken me plunging into a sea of despair to have this revelation? Why couldn’t I keep it close to my heart—in the ancient era and now? There was no end to my list of rejects. I was an irredeemable idiot. Dammit… If I had a physical form…I would have wept like a pathetic kid. “—It’s okay,” someone said. “Rintarou…I’m sure you’ll be able to come back to me…if that’s what you want.” Why do you know that…? “Because you promised.” …Promised what? That didn’t ring any bells. I couldn’t remember swearing on anything. “…You’re going to dash to my side when I’m king of the whole world, remember? You’re going to stay by me. You might have a rebellious side, but I know you keep your promises.” …Huh? I don’t remember you becoming king of the world… “Not yet. But it’s going to happen, which means the contract still stands. If you go against it, I’ll execute you.” The voice didn’t seem to have any sense of shame nor did it shy away from capital punishment. Ha-ha-ha… I realized I was laughing. It was all I could do. I would hate…for you to execute me… “…Right? Then you’ve got to come back. Pronto.” Right. Right. I needed to go back. I needed to go home…to her. I didn’t have time to be absorbed by darkness or drowned by the sea. I needed to go home. No, I wanted to go home. I’m coming back! I’m returning to her—to Luna! I finally remembered the name of who was hiding behind the fog. That was when I gripped the sensation that had emerged in my palm. And it released a blinding light. “What…?!” I squinted at the radiant ray as it drove away the darkness. I wasn’t in the ocean abyss anymore. Sunlight poured down on me. Clear blue waves filled my eyes. I was floating in a sea of light. “…Huh?!” My body had come back. It should have vanished between the seaweed, been devoured by the void. In my hand was the Celtic cross made of hawthorn. It was the pendant I had gotten from Luna. “I-impossiblllllllllllllllllllllllle!” Id was in front of me, struggling against the light and writhing in pain. “Dammit! That pendant! From that wretched woman! When will she get bored of foiling my plans?!” There was no need for me to respond. I brandished my swords and charged at Id, hacking straight into him. “Shut up! AND GET OUTTTTTTTTTTTTT!” “—Ah?!” Id couldn’t dodge my sword in his weakened state, battered by the sun. Crashing down with all my strength, my sword…ripped through him. It was the perfect swing. “Geez…cough… You’re horrible…pal…” With my sword plunged deep in his chest, Id smiled wickedly at me from up close. “Gh… I guess…there’s no way around it… I’ll leave for now…and let you hold the reins…” He chucked the golden eyeball at me. It seeped into my palm, manifesting into a pattern of a creepy eye on the front and back of my hand. “Remember…my defeat is only temporary…” “……” “You’re going to kill Arthur. Even if you’re friends. Even if you’re lovers… And that’s a promise. I can predict the future! That’s our fate…our situation… Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I can’t wait to see your dumb face when it happens, Merlin…! Ha-ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” His body dissolved into black mist, leaving behind me and his curse. “My fate…? I’ll crush our stupid destiny.” “…Yeah?” Id asked. For a brief moment, he looked like he was losing his mind. “…Okay… Well… Try your best… I expect good things… Ha-ha-ha…” And then Id completely vanished. The light poured down on me stronger…until it bathed the entire world in white. And I could feel my consciousness starting to surface… “—Gh?!” Rintarou had come to his senses in the nurse’s office. He was splayed out over the magic circle, the door to his netherworld. In his hand was the hawthorn cross Luna had given him. “I’m…back…” He realized something heavy was on top of him. “Zzz…zzz…” It was Luna. She was on top of Rintarou, snoring gently. She held a hawthorn cross that matched his. “…Hmm? This is…” The cross looked old and shabby. It couldn’t have been made recently by an amateur. It looked like someone else had made it more than ten years ago… Luna gripped it like it was precious, slumbering peacefully. “Heh! I made it myself! To strengthen our friendship, Rintarou. Even if we’re separated, we’ll reunite as long as you have this pendant… There’s no better gift for a vassal! Do you like it?” “…I owe her one.” Rintarou put her back in bed. “Leave the rest up to me, my king. I’ll protect you and your friends.” He evaporated from the room like mist. — “Geez… You—” Rintarou was out there… “…You’re so weak! YOU WIMPS!” …He swung his swords indiscriminately. “GAAAAH?!” “AAAAAH?!” The air quaked from the booming of two shock waves. Sir Tristan and Sir Mordred were blown away. It was almost comical. They slammed into the wall of a building after rebounding off the dirt. “I’m not even disappointed that you’re so weak. It’s laughable.” “Gh—i-impossible…! This! This can’t be…!” Sir Mordred climbed out of a pile of crumbled concrete, trying to invoke Clarent’s power. Aura pulsed out of her body. “I’ve got the power of King Arthur in my hands…! I’ll make sure you—” “What?! What’s that?!” Rintarou called out, pursuing her with such speed as if he’d teleported. He yanked her up by the collar and vaulted into the air. “RAAAAAH!” “GAAAAAH?!” Rintarou smashed her onto the ground as if he were spiking a volleyball. “Hh… Grah!” Something exploded. The surroundings caved into a crater. The earth cracked, gorged out with each rebound as she landed. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Rintarou hit her with a no-trap direct volley shot, sending her flying like a ball. The goal post was the west wing behind Hitoshi. It smashed in half, crumbling like it had been blasted away by a detonation on a construction site. “Wh-what is…he…?” Hitoshi paled, watching the monster cloaked in Aura rampage. “Amazing…,” muttered Felicia, crawling on her hands and knees. “I’ve never seen anything like it… Not even from Rintarou…” She couldn’t hide her hesitation. “That’s weird… Maybe…I’m off my game…” Felicia used to think his power was petrifying. There had been a sinister quality about it. It wasn’t just because it was unimaginably powerful. She felt it had come from evil, something that shouldn’t have been touched by humans. It was grotesque…and sick. “He’s stronger than ever… So why am I not scared of him? …In fact, it’s the opposite…” What could have changed about Rintarou? What was making her feel this way, even though he was violently rampaging? Felicia gaped, continuing to ponder the true character of his power. “Who’s next—?” Sir Mordred had been buried in the debris of the collapsed building. Rintarou shot a glare in her direction before turning around. Arrows saturated the sky, whizzing toward him. Sir Tristan’s Buffer Bow. “Ha! Buffer Bow? Yeah, right. Trash!” Rintarou’s twin swords came crashing down. He twirled them around to repel and strike the approaching arrows. Flashes of light flickered in the night sky. “Gaaah!” But Sir Tristan didn’t stop firing, continuing to shoot his rounds even faster than he’d shot them in his battle with Nayuki, trying to hold back Rintarou. “I said…it’s in vaaaain!” Rintarou launched himself off the ground, sprinting. With each step, he gouged through the dirt, knocking down all the arrows coming toward him. They could have ignited an armored vehicle with a critical hit, but they didn’t slow him down at all. He closed the distance between them, traveling across dozens of yards in an instant. “Take that!” Two flashes from his pair of swords, followed by a crushing sound. He had obliterated Sir Tristan’s bow. “N-no way…” “Hmm?! What a wimpy artifact!” Rintarou punted him through the air and then raced after him. “You think you’re all that…but you’re all nobodies…! I’ll make you pay for walking around like you own the damn place…!” “AAAAH?!” “I can’t believe they got beat up by you… I can’t take it! AAAH! I’m pissed off! That was my last straw!” He caught up to Sir Tristan, who flew through the air… “And I’m so upset…that I couldn’t protect them from weaklings! That really gets to me!” Rintarou swung his sword to cut off Sir Tristan’s head. Sir Tristan immediately righted himself, unsheathing his blade. They collided with each other, parrying from a close distance. Rintarou’s swords sparred against Sir Tristan’s. “Gah?!” The impact rippled through Sir Tristan, making him spit up blood. “Didn’t you say you were the mightiest of the Round Table?!” Rintarou’s weapons shot against him like bolts of lightning. “I think it’s time for you to give up that title!” Rintarou smashed into Sir Tristan with his sword, swiping, lobbing, jabbing. His weapons stormed, coming down harder and faster than the drums in a death metal band. Sir Tristan barely managed to block him. “Gah?! AAAAAH?!” He couldn’t keep up appearances anymore. He was outmatched. With each blow, his body vibrated from the shock, causing his bones to creak. He was getting slapped around like a puppet in a comedy routine. “AAAAAAAH!” Rintarou didn’t display any mercy, exhaustive in his attempts to rip him up, swinging his sword to crash into Sir Tristan, fending him off, slicing into him, colliding into him, mowing him down, surging up to finish his swing… “THIS IS YOUR END!” His left sword flashed, thrusting forward. SPLASH! Blood sprayed. There was the dull sound of flesh ripping as Sir Tristan’s armor was smashed in. Rintarou’s sword had impaled Sir Tristan’s chest. From force, he had let go of it, letting it stick out of Sir Tristan’s chest as he was blasted backward like a rocket. “Gaaah?!” Sir Tristan was pinned to the wall of the east wing’s fourth floor like an insect specimen. “Cough… I-is this…what…Merlin…is…?!” Sir Tristan hacked up blood, immobile, staring at Rintarou, who glared with cutthroat eyes. Those eyes burned with passion, triggering Rintarou’s Aura to erupt. But it didn’t have the ominous quality that it possessed during the legendary era… Rintarou was fueled by righteous indignation. His friends had gotten hurt. He was blazing with purpose to protect them from getting hurt again. His rage was justified, manifesting for those he held dear. He was completely divorced from evil. In fact, there was a lightness about him. “…Cough… A tragedy…” Sir Tristan hacked up blood as a sarcastic smile spread across his face. “ I…was summoned to serve the role of villain. Of course I’d never win… Ha-ha-ha…” He chuckled. “…I…just…don’t…care…about…anything…anymore…” Once known as the strongest knight of the Round Table, Sir Tristan disappeared into a mist of mana. “Hmph… You might have had a fighting chance if you had been summoned by someone better,” Rintarou said, turning his back to what remained of Sir Tristan. Silence. It was like the battle never happened. “All right…” Rintarou sighed and turned around. “Wh-why…? What just happened…?!” He looked at Hitoshi, who was quivering and retreating. “Why…why am I losing…?! What’s going on?! Sir Tristan and Reika Tsukuyomi are useless!” Hitoshi turned to his side, clinging to the person next to him. “E-Elaine! What do I do?! H-help me, pl—” But Elaine disappeared without a trace. “Elaine…? …Wh-where did you go…?” Hitoshi looked lost. “Before we get to the main event, I’ve got business to settle with you…” Rintarou fixed an annoyed look on Hitoshi. “But you’re cheating with that scabbard… Tch, what am I gonna do?” “O-oh, right!” It looked like a light bulb went off in Hitoshi’s head, as he raised something that had been hanging off his hip with his shaking hands. A scabbard. “I’ve got the Steel Sheath of Undying Defense! You might act like you have something on me, but you won’t even be able to hurt a hair on my head! Serves you right!” That was when something happened. “Huh…?” Rintarou suddenly realized something. He narrowed his eyes, zeroing in on the scabbard that Hitoshi proudly hoisted up. Felicia and Nayuki were scrutinizing it, too. It appeared they were on the same page. “Hmm…? Your scabbard…,” Rintarou started. “…Ha!” He burst into a fit of laughter. “Ha-ha-ha… Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha…! Ha! Hmm? I get it now! …Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” He clutched his stomach, wheezing. “Wh-what’s so funny?!” “Oh… I think I might know who that witch is.” “Huh?” “HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! A masterpiece! Oh, this is good! It’s the same trick again! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Rintarou laughed wildly…as a girl in black stood along the edge of a cliff, facing the sea at Sword Lake Beachside Park. …Morgan. “…‘Arthur. Never will I forgive you, the one who killed my beloved. Feel my malice. I care not what events befall me. Never shall ye have this scabbard.’” Morgan recited a line from John Sheep’s Last Round Arthur, chucking something rod-shaped into the ocean. SPLASH! When that object hit the water…it disappeared, melting into the sea. “‘Morgan stole the enchanted scabbard from her younger brother, Arthur, and replaced it with a replica. And she threw the scabbard into the deepest reaches of the lake. For it was forged of gold and precious stones, it sunk into the water, never to arise again. King Arthur’s magic scabbard had been lost for eternity.’” Morgan giggled. “Hee-hee-hee… Ha-ha-ha. Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Your act is done, Hitoshi! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” She showed no shame as she laid bare her wickedness. “You did well. Merlin is stronger from the fight with Sir Tristan. I wish he’d held out longer… But I never thought that virgin would satisfy me anyway.” Morgan let her cloak billow in the wind as she took her leave. “I’ve never been closer to my wish… If Merlin can take back his power… Hee-hee… What should I do next…? She dissolved into the darkness… “Looks like you’ve gotten yourself involved with a bad girl… My condolences!” Rintarou gave Hitoshi a few hardy slaps on the back, grinning from ear to ear. “As long as you keep your scabbard with you, no one can steal it… Which means the opposite holds true… You gotta watch out for honeypots!” “Wh-what are you saying…?” “By the way, Hitoshi, I heard you saying some interesting things about my friends. After you beat them up, I think you said you were planning on making them your slaves? Ha-ha-ha! Wow. I can’t wait to smash my fist into your face!” His Aura oozed out…curling around Hitoshi. “Wh-what…do you think you’re doing…?!” “Nothing to see here! I’m just strengthening your body with Aura!” “What?!” Hitoshi couldn’t figure out his intentions. “Wh-what’s with you?! Why would you do that?!” “Because you’re just so shrimpy. Duh. I think I could kill you with a gentle shove. I want you to die, but I’d get an earful from my king if I killed you unnecessarily.” Grinning a heretic’s smile, Rintarou continued to channel more power into Hitoshi. “Oh…” Felicia seemed to be skeeved out when she realized what he was doing. “Ha-ha-ha… Um… Rintarou… Don’t take it too far,” warned Nayuki, sweating. “What?! Are you an idiot?! I just told you I’ve got my Excalibur! Do you understand Japanese?! Hellooo?” Hitoshi shouted. “All right, I think I’m done. Let’s start…” Rintarou seemed gleeful when he squeezed his fist. “DON’T YOU EVER SHOW YOUR FACE HERE AGAIN!” He used his entire body as he slung Hitoshi with an uppercut, fist soaring like a rising dragon. “BLERGH?!” Hitoshi blasted into the sky like fireworks. He twirled through the air. Eventually, as though he were a certain saint with a constellation theme, he slammed into a corner of the courtyard. FWOOM! The dirt was pushed out to create another crater… “Gah… Hah. Bleh…” Hitoshi’s eyes rolled to the back of his head. He went silent. He looked like a complete loser. His face was misshapen. His bones were fractured, limbs bent in unnatural angles. He had narrowly escaped death. Liquid leaked out of his front and back holes. A living hell. It would take six months for him to make a complete recovery. It didn’t put his life in danger… But he might have been better off dead. “Whew! Love to blow off steam. Ha-ha-ha.” Rintarou looked like he was a new man as he beamed. “…Oh… I thought he’d changed, but I guess he’ll always stay the same.” Felicia eyed him with disgust. “Ha-ha-ha…” Nayuki recoiled, a superficial smile plastered to her face. “Well, I’m all filled up on those crappy hors d’oeuvres. How about I go for the main dish…?” Rintarou turned around. “This isn’t over yet. Right, Mordred?” He was facing a pile of rubble in the west wing when he called out to her. “Are you ready to fight me seriously? I’m guessing we have a lot to air out between us…” As if to reply, the mountain of debris exploded, unleashing an Aura. An aurora dyed the night bloodred. “Obviously!” Someone stood in the middle of the shooting rubble. Sir Mordred. “Merlin…! Merlin! MERLIN! I can’t lose against you! Not to an egotistical heretic!” “Heh! If you’ve got something to say, say it with your sword!” Rintarou barked. “AAAAAAAAH!” Sir Mordred howled, swinging her white blade. Her compressed Aura seemed to expand, multiplying. The crimson aurora swept up, threatening heaven, roaring into an eddying storm that swept through the area. “Clarent! I need more! Give me more power! GAAAAAAAAAAH!” Sir Mordred’s Clarent sinisterly radiated crimson from the drawn blood, breaking its limits to channel more strength into her. “—Ngh! Does she have more power?” The battle defied all comprehension. Felicia was stunned. “Rintarou…” Nayuki watched him go, praying… “…This is the final showdown, Sir Mordred.” Sir Dinadan had a complex expression on his face, continuing to watch Sir Mordred from somewhere. “To replenish its power…you even let it take long drags of your own blood… Tell me I’m wrong!” shouted Rintarou. “You carry King Arthur’s blood in your veins, too! Right, Mordred?” The crimson Aura pummeled Rintarou as he continued to calmly stare at Sir Mordred. “That’s suicidal. Satiating your hunger by eating your own flesh—” “MEEEEEEERLIIIIIIN!” BAM! Breaking the sound barrier, Sir Mordred pressed in on Rintarou. KLANG! The sword over her head swung down, stopped by Rintarou as he crossed his weapons over his head. The impact broke into a storm, gouging the earth and making it rumble. Their Auras collided, detonating red and black lightning that wrestled against each other and spread a storm of destruction. “Are they at a standstill?! Is he finally getting overpowered?” “Rintarou!” Felicia and Nayuki were in his periphery. Sir Mordred and Rintarou struggled against each other, meeting each other with their swords, glaring at each other from a close distance. “Merlin! Why did you do it?! Why did you enthrone…Father…? Why Arthur…?!” Sir Mordred exploded at him, full of fury and resentment. “…Gh?!” Rintarou froze in place. “Arthur—Father—wasn’t fit to be king! And you knew that! You know what happened to Logres after you disappeared! You know what transpired during the last days of Britain…!” Rintarou was silent, his expression bitter. That was right. Rintarou knew what she was talking about. Merlin knew. King Arthur was not the knight king of justice as told by the modern world. He had certainly united his allies, defeated his foes, accomplished many quests, and continued to protect the people. He had been a hero who’d succeeded in great undertakings. His feats and contributions weren’t fabrications. Maybe they could blame his exhaustion. He had fought more battles with enemy countries than he could count. Or maybe they could blame his burden of responsibilities. After all, he had to protect a territory that had grown too large… Or maybe it had been his arrogance, caused by exorbitant amounts of glory and prosperity… …But something had turned King Arthur into a crook, steadily and silently. Take for example when the great Celtic hero Fionn mac Cumhaill had murdered Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. He had lost the support of the Fianna warrior group and their cohesive power. Any hero would always have their decline. And King Arthur was no exception. “My father started to host meaningless tournaments! He started to have extravagant banquets for no occasion! He pressured the treasury to hand over more money! And that tab was paid by taxing the people!” Rintarou fended himself from Sir Mordred’s sword. She took another swipe at him. He quietly stopped her swing, pushing it back. “That wasn’t all! I’m the product of Arthur and his own sister! My entire existence is repulsive! And to save himself, he killed all the children born on the same day as me! Do you think a king should do that? He should be protecting the people!” “……Ngh?!” Sir Mordred tried to mow him down with her sword, attempting to rip apart his shoulder. He hit her weapon away, quiet. “And to restore his country from impoverishment, he tried to reverse the damage by seeking out the Holy Grail! He claimed the chalice would bring prosperity. And he ignored me when I told him not to rely on it to fix his problems!” She hacked forward, trying to lacerate him. Rintarou parried, holding his ground as the impact rang through his body. “We lost so many knights to that stupid quest! And the kingdom hadn’t been in worse shape! Enemy nations were eyeing us. Apparitions became more active. And then his little bubble burst—and there was no more peace! The country was in chaos!” “……Gh!” “So save me your little speeches! ‘Mordred, the traitor!’ ‘Mordred, the one who destroyed the kingdom!’ Really?! Is that how things played out?!” “—Ngh!” She pushed him back with her sword, forcing him to take his distance, before swinging her blade up. She hacked into him. Her furious strikes crashed into his weapon, trying to get through. Rintarou continued to parry in silence. “I just wanted to save it!” The weight and passion of her swings spoke her truth. “Call me a traitor! Call me a disgrace! I just wanted to save the kingdom from going to ruin! I wanted to protect the people from an unfit king! They were praising him like some hero because he did some good in the past…while the country was drowning under his rule…! I wanted to do it for my home…!” That was why Sir Mordred had started the rebellion. That was why she had lashed out at King Arthur. Her methods were controversial. The consequences were nothing worthy of praise. It hadn’t even gone according to her plan, and she had been followed by a black mark for generations. But even then, Sir Mordred had stood up for her kingdom and its people in her own way. King Arthur was remembered as a great hero in spite of his decline. And no one could imagine going against someone like that. If anything, they would imagine themselves as his dutiful followers and turn a blind eye to his bad side. Which was why someone needed to defy him, turn their fangs on him. There was a need for a new age. They needed to air out the bad. That was why Sir Mordred had done what she did. “……Gh!” Rintarou kept staving off her sword. He was remembering a bittersweet memory. It was from the legendary era. He had been deceived by someone from the Dame du Lac, sealed away, and made nothing but a spectator of the events that transpired. “Ahhh, Merlin…I can’t do this anymore… I can’t stand it any longer… “Everyone only sees me as the king… No one knows me for me… “…I’m exhausted… Without you, I’m… Ah… “I want to see you… I want to see you one more time…Merlin… “Why…did I ever become the king…?” Rintarou had suddenly recalled seeing his closest friend hanging his head on his throne by himself. “Merlin, you’re a prophet! You should have seen the limits of his abilities as king!” “I did.” “But you crowned him!” “I know. I made him king.” “…‘Now, boy. Our young king. On this most holy day of our Lord and Savior, you must pull this sword from the stone,’ said Merlin. “‘Ye there, Sir Ector, must understand this already. This boy had been born to this world the rightwise king of Britain and ruler of the entire world.’ “‘Ye lord, ye knight, bear witness. Christ, born onto this night, will show us a miracle to point at who the rightwise king of this realm is to be.’” “…Gh! Merlin! I’ll ask you this now!” Her intensity almost blasted his emotions away. She thrust her sword at him. “Why…did you make him king?! Why did you make Arthur square off with Excalibur?! WHY?!” Her scream could break eardrums, carrying over a thousand miles. Blade gritted into blade. Sparks from their impact pushed away the darkness. “…The reason…why…I helped him become king…was…” In that moment, Rintarou recalled his memories of the previous age. The Dame du Lac had wanted to make Arthur the savior of humanity. But Merlin was the one who had taken up their request, guiding Arthur down this path. He could have told them that Arthur made a poor candidate. He could have said he just didn’t have it in him. “…Because it seemed like it’d be fun.” She couldn’t read his emotions. Her eyes flashed with fury. “To be honest, it was a little joke. I had a feeling I wouldn’t get bored around him…so I made him king. I didn’t think into it too deeply.” “I see…! I knew it…!” She was bursting with rage. Her Aura seemed to roll off her with increasing force and radiance. “In that case—I really can’t forgive you! You…caused the downfall of the kingdom, MERLIN!” She crashed into him with her sword. The air appeared to warp and twist. Upon taking her hit with his twin blades, Rintarou was knocked back a dozen yards. His soles scraped through the soil as he skidded to a stop. “Yeah… Maybe,” Rintarou muttered with his swords still readied. “…Yeah… Until now, I’ve blamed everyone except me for the collapse of the kingdom and the Round Table… But I was part of the cause…” “You’re only realizing this now? Die to repent! I will bury your past blunders!” Sir Mordred channeled more Aura into her sword— “I will become the new king in his place! I will save this world! That’s why you have to die, Merlin! —and brought it down on him. At the eleventh hour, she had unleashed her mightiest swing. It could have cut through space itself. It spoke of every conviction in her soul. It was an assault that even Merlin couldn’t defend himself from. Metal screeched. Wind whipped around them from the impact. Dirt blasted skyward. “Sorry, but—” Rintarou obstructed her swing with his left sword. “—I’m not going to die.” Over their crossed blades, he fixed a stare on her. “Wha—?!” “I’ll tell you one thing. I know you think Arthur wasn’t fit for the throne, but he…was a real king.” He broke into a smile, letting an unexpectedly carefree grin stretch across his face. Even though they were battling to the death. It was like he was bragging about his friend. “I might have made him a king for shits and giggles at the beginning…but there wasn’t anyone else more fit for the role in that era.” “……” “Who else was there? He beat the eleven kings of Britain, united the country, escaped from the tyranny of the Roman Empire and ruled over them, stopped the invasion of the Saxon warrior, cleaned up the apparitions… Who else could have done those things? Could you?” “I—I…!” “Well… He wasn’t the type to be king by himself… He was only worthy of the throne when he was supported by his friends. That was why—”
Chapter 44
36 min read