Chapter 225: Pretty Eyes: 1
"Congratulations," I said to Artoria and Guinevere.
After the festival of the White Walls, it wasn't long before Artoria announced her upcoming marriage to Guinevere. After a couple of months of preparations, Camelot was celebrating the wedding which was happening right now.
In that time, two more knights joined the Round Table. The first was Lionel, and the second was Bors.
Lionel was a good fellow, if a bit uptight. He was always talking about how knights should act, and held his head high. He reminded me of a lion, most of the time.
Bors was interesting. He kind of acted like Lancelot, but held back on the women and drinking. They seem to be connected because I always seem them talking to each other and Bors always sighing and pinching his nose whenever Lancelot was flirting with a woman.
I heard Artoria was looking into more people for the Round Table, but didn't get to decide on anyone yet because she was busy with the wedding.
Speaking of, back to said wedding.
"Thank you, Zack," Artoria nodded with a smile and Guinevere mimicked her action.
I didn't know Guinevere that well, but that's because we never really had a reason to get to know each other. We did pass by one another in Artoria's castle, but a simple greeting was as far as we went.
As much as I wanted to keep talking to Artoria, I had to keep walking so the line of people that wanted to congratulate Artoria can move. I found a table with Gawain, Lancelot, and Lionel in it.
Tristan and Percival were still waiting for their turn to congratulate their king. Bedivere was, as always, at Artoria's side, same as Merlin. As for Agravain, he managed to convince Gawain to give him guard duty.
Agravain was not a fan of weddings.
"Good day, gentlemen," I greeted the knights.
"Yes, what a wonderful day," Gawain had a big smile on his face. "To witness his majesty's wedding is such a joyous sight."
"Hmph, and the Green Knight is nowhere to be found," Lionel huffed, crossing his arms.
He wasn't a fan of the Green Knight because he didn't like how a Knight would just hide his identity and not even reveal himself to the king of the land he was in.
It was understandable, honestly. Plus, it would be stupid of me to get mad when the whole point of the Green Knight is to keep attention AWAY from me.
"Gawain, how are your siblings? Are they still insisting on becoming knights themselves?" I asked the knight of the sun, changing the subject.
Gawain grabbed his glass, took a deep swing, and sighed. "Yes. I have no right to stop them. They already signed up to become new recruits next week."
"I hope you do not expect me to give them any special treatment simply because they're your siblings, Sir Gawain," Lancelot commented, as he was the one in charge of training new recruits.
Gawain scoffed. "I might be their older brother, but I'll be extremely disappointed in you if you make it easy on them."
"Hmm, you know, this wedding has me thinking, are any of you planning to get married?" I asked, honestly curious.
Lionel shook his head. "It's rather too early for me. I had just joined the Round Table, after all," he replied.
"I would prefer to focus on my duty for now. Especially with that vile dragon and witch on the loose," Gawain replied before motioning to Lancelot. "Lancelot is more used to speaking to women than I am."
Lancelot coughed awkwardly before looking away. "Yes, well, while I do enjoy the company of a fine woman, I have never considered marriage, and I prefer to not dwell on the subject."
"Good day, fellow Knights," Percival greeted as he and Tristan came from greeting the knights.
"Hello, Percival, Tristan. Would you like to join us?" I offered, motioning to the seats besides us.
"Regrettably, I'll have to decline for now," Tristan crossed his arms, actually opened his eyes for once, and glared at the composers playing music for the wedding. "His majesty deserves nothing but the best on this special day, and those fools have already made several mistakes that I wish to correct them on."
With that, her marched forward to the composers while Percival took the seat I offered. "What were you discussing? I hope I didn't interrupt anything."
"Not really," I shook my head before smiling. "But, this does bring an opportunity. Did you ever think of marriage yourself, Percival?"
Percival blinked, obviously not expecting the question, before scratching the back of his head with an awkward smile. "I... can't say I have. I've always been busy bettering myself as a knight to think of romance," his smile turned more friendly. "What about you, Zack? Is there someone special in your life?"
I hummed before shaking my head. "Not really. I've just never been interested in finding a life partner. I like moving around a lot, so settling down never really appealed to me," I replied before smiling. "Though... I would be lying if I said I never experienced being in love."
"Oh, that's surprising," Lancelot commented with a raised eyebrow. "I was under the belief you had no interest romance of any kind."
I really can't blame his assumption. There was actually a good number of noble women that tried to make a move on me during parties and gatherings, and the parties in the taverns also had a few women trying to start a conversation with me. All of that would always be politely turned down, obviously.
"Well, I never really was interested in anyone but her. So, you're not entirely wrong. Outside of this one woman, I honestly have no interest in romance of any kind," I said, thinking back to a certain Gorgon.
"Can you tell us about her?" Gawain asked. I guess even he was interested.
"Hmm, well, I won't say much, but I will say this," I smiled, reminiscing. "She had the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. I could stare at them all day."
"If you were so interested in that woman, then why did you not take her as your bride?" Percival asked, looking honestly curious.
I chuckled. "Sorry, but I prefer to keep some things personal. I assure you, though, that we didn't part on any bad terms, so there was no tragic twist that separated us."
Honestly, if things had been different... I think I would still be with Medusa and her sisters.
Chapter 226: Pretty Eyes: 2
It's been a month since the wedding. Things have mostly calmed down.
Most villages and cities in Britain have already sworn loyalty to King Arthur. The ones that didn't have either sided with King Lot or been destroyed by Vortigern.
I think Artoria is preparing for a move against Vortigern. She's been studying his territory and sending scouts to study the borders. The fact she's looking for more knights for the Round Table makes me think she's preparing for something big.
But that wasn't my current problem.
My current problem is that, when I came back to my puppet body after relaxing in my real one for the night. I didn't find myself in Camelot. Instead, I found myself staring at nothing but sand as far as the eye can see.
Standing up, I looked around, trying to see where I am. Obviously a desert, but I must have been in the very middle because there was literally nothing around. I was only wondering what the puppet body is doing there for a few seconds before the smell of flowers hit me.
"Oh, you piece of shit!" I cried out, aiming it at a certain Mage of Flowers.
Third POV:
Looking at the message in her hand, Artoria hummed. The reports from her scouts had confirmed that she can no longer take any chances with Vortigern. He was growing more hostile and getting closer.
Her thoughts trailed back to potential knights to join the Round Table. Lancelot had recently told her that he had a prodigy that was like a son to him, but he also said that he was still too young, so she decided to simply keep an eye on them for now.
A knight named Brunor had been making a strong impact, and Guinevere had suggested Cador, who was an exceptional knight himself despite being a bit old. Though, Artoria supposed she shouldn't only look for young candidates.
"Your majesty, Sir Kay and Sir Gawain returned with refugees from the villages in the south," Bedivere stated as he walked to her side.
Artoria smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Bedivere. I will meet with them shortly. For now, tell the knights to tend to the refugees."
Her loyal knight nodded before turning to leave. Before he takes one step towards the gates of the throne room, however, they were burst open by Zack, who looked furious.
"You Incubus bastard!" He yelled.
Artoria slowly turned her confused gaze towards Merlin, who simply smiled at Zack. "Ah, good morning. Did you enjoy your trip? I thought surely you'd try getting a tan."
"You left me in the freaking Empty Quarter!" Zack cried out, marching towards Merlin.
"Oh, is that what that desert is called?" Merlin asked, uncaring that Zack was getting closer.
When Zack reached Merlin, the Mage moved back and stood on the other side of Artoria's throne. When Zack attempted to go around the throne, Merlin did the same in the other direction, ensuring that Artoria and her throne would always be between them.
Artoria herself sighed while pinching the bridge of her nose. The two people that are meant to guide her in her kinghood were now running around her throne like a couple of bratty children.
"Zack, can you please go and check on Lancelot with the new recruits?" She said, attempting to defuse the situation by getting these two away from each other. "I would really like your opinion on possible recruits for the Round Table."
Zack stopped trying to go around the throne but didn't stop glaring at Merlin, who's smile didn't falter for a single second. With a huff, Zack turned around and walked out of the throne room, his feet stomping the floor.
First POV: Zack
I'll get him back for this. If he thinks the Empty Quarter was a good prank, then just wait until he wakes up on the freaking Moon!
As I was thinking of my revenge on Merlin, a voice managed to draw my attention. "You know, you could at least have the decency to greet me."
I stopped in my tracks and looked around. Spotting a small, white furred creature at the end of the hallway. "Oh, it's you? Hey."
"Is that all I get after you come here for a year and say nothing to me? A 'Hey'?" Cath Palug replied with a deadpan look.
I returned with my own look. "And a year to beings like us is...?"
Cath Palug sighed. "Fair enough. But, you still could have said something to me. At least a 'thank you' for making me get ready to start killing but then telling me to stop before I even start."
"Okay, you have a point, my bad," I admitted with a shrug as it walked closer and swiftly crawled up the puppet body to land on my shoulder. "Sorry, but in my defence, do YOU go out of your way to meet up with every child of the planet around?"
"We practically live in the same house," Cath Palug replied as I started walking again.
"You live here. I don't. I practically just visit to do my job," I sighed with a shake of my head. "Which I still do not like or understand. Couldn't they have had you watch over Excalibur in my place?"
"My job is to kill humans, not to watch over them," Cath Palug said back, shrugging his tiny shoulders. "You wouldn't trust a fire breathing dragon to grow a tree, would you?"
Guess he has a point.
We just chatted about the most mundane stuff as I walked towards the training barracks. Heck, we even talked about the weather.
Though it was more Cath Palug saying his preference rather than me saying anything since I can control the weather and all that. I mean, he probably could, but anything he makes would probably be floods and storms.
When we reached the barracks, we saw Lancelot watching over the new recruits as they faced each other in duels with training swords and shields.
Lancelot looked up at the sky, probably to see the position of the sun and see what time it is. Looking back at the recruits, he called out. "Alright, enough! Until late afternoon, you are to rest. After that, we will be having formation training on horseback!"
Lancelot was about to turn around when someone called out to him. "W-Wait!" Looking back, he saw Gareth and Gaharis, wearing training equipment, running towards him. "We can still keep going, Sir Lancelot!" Gaharis added, though his statement wasn't backed up by how and Gareth looked ready to fall over.
Lancelot shook his head. "No, go take a rest. Come back with the rest for the formation training."
"B-But, we can handle more training!" Gareth insisted.
"And who said your training is even done?" Lancelot's statement caused the two siblings to look confused. Crossing his arms, he continued. "Letting your body adjust to what you just put it through is part of training. If you don't let your body take in the trials it was just put through, it would break on you. Training is for getting better, so resting to let your body grow is part of training. Now, I want you two to return fully rested with the rest for the formation training, and I'll be incredibly disappointed if you're not in peak condition."
"Y-Yes, Sir Lancelot!" Both siblings cried out before leaving in a hurry.
I hummed as I watched that play out. That was actually pretty good. No wonder many of the younger knights look up to him. He knew what to do and how to make them realise its what they need.
When Lancelot turned around, he finally saw me and Cath Palug. Though, there was a slight tensing on his part when he saw the latter, it was probably because Cath Palug is without Merlin.
"That seemed to go well. You have a way to be inspirational when you want to be," I commented as I walked closer.
Lancelot uncrossed his arms and shrugged. "I was simply stating facts. Growth takes time, and doing it right requires you to use that time correctly."
"I can see why Arthur put you in charge of training new recruits, little Lancy," I stated with a chuckle.
Lancelot almost choked on his own spit, pink dusting his cheeks as he gave me a weak glare. "Can you please refrain from calling me that?"
Chuckling again, I replied, "For what it's worth, I don't really call you that just to tease you. I actually think it's a cute nickname."
"For a child, perhaps."
"And compared to me, everyone in Camelot is a child," I immediately deflected his defence.
"Please, call me by my proper name," Lancelot breathed a sigh through his nose. "After all, it would a problem if I didn't call you by your proper name, Green Knight."
I deadpan at him at his threat. Rolling my eyes, I shrugged. "Fine, fine. I'll refrain from calling you that in public," he didn't appear satisfied, but that's the best he's getting from me. Looking around, I saw a couple of practice swords left on the ground. "Hey, would you like a spar?"
Lancelot's anger and embarrassment were replaced by surprise. "What brought this on?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Honestly? I'm just curious and bored. We both have free time, so why don't we use it correctly? Plus, it could be a nice way to trade tips over swordsmanship. I'm always up for learning something new."
Lancelot hummed before nodding with a smile. "A wise mindset. Though, considering you prefer to avoid attention, I suppose we should find a more secluded area for our little spar."
I chuckled. "Oh, trust me, there's nothing 'little' about what we're about to do."
Chapter 227: Pretty Eyes: 3
Me and Lancelot stood across each other in Artoria's personal training ground. Only Artoria and the Knights of the Round Table are allowed to come here.
Facing each other, we each held a wooden sword, deciding it was safer for both of us. Honestly, I didn't doubt we would end up taking it a bit far, so this was probably a good idea.
"First strike wins?" I offered to Lancelot the conditions of the spar.
The knight of the lake nodded. "That seems fair."
We each stood across each other before holding up our swords. The first thing I noticed was how solid Lancelot's stance was. It wasn't stiff or anything, but more on the lines of being a combination of on guard and flexible, which is hard to come by.
Well, we're both waiting for the first move to be made, so I shouldn't keep him waiting.
Third POV:
Zack stared at Lancelot's eyes for a few moments before he moved first, charging forward with a downward swing of his wooden sword. Lancelot did not move until the very last moment.
The knight of the lake twisted his body halfway through, making sure the strike would pass him harmlessly before swinging his sword for Zack's head.
The Elemental's angle from his own attack gave him the chance to bend forward and avoid the strike. Swiftly, Zack swung for Lancelot's feet, and the knight responded by jumping over the swing.
As he was coming down from the jump, Lancelot swung down his wooden sword, only for Zack to jump and roll away to avoid the attack. Quickly getting to his feet, Zack immediately turned to Lancelot and thrust his own weapon.
Lancelot used the side of his practice sword to block off the strike before pushing Zack's sword away. Both swung their swords forward, and the sound of a piece of wood striking another echoed through the field.
Both opponents pushed jumped back and held their weapons up again. A moment of silence passed before Lancelot charged forward, his wooden sword reeled over his shoulder.
Zack used his own practice weapon to block the attack from the side just as the sword was about to hit him. The strike was powerful enough that his feet dragged over the ground for a second.
Using his own sword, Zack maneuvered Lancelot's sword to go over him and to the ground. The Elemental then used the angle to drag his sword on Lancelot's to strike the Knight's face.
The Knight of the Lake managed to lean back just in time to avoid the strike. While he was leaning back, Lancelot swept up his sword in an attempt to strike Zack, who just barely avoided it by leaning back himself.
Both straightened themselves and immediately swung for their opponents, their wooden swords collided, causing the sound to echo through the field again.
Lancelot and Zack pulled back their swords and swung forward. After the two weapons hit each other, they immediately pulled back and swung forward again, getting the same results.
The only sounds in the field were the swords cutting through the air before smacking each other. Both opponents kept swinging their weapons with more intensity with each strike.
Soon enough, their weapons could no longer handle the intensity of their battle.
*Crack!*
Both wooden swords broke after one of the strikes. Lancelot and Zack jumped back and stared at their broken swords.
"This is vexing," Lancelot commented before raising an eyebrow at Zack. "Do you wish to continue? Because we'll need to get new swords for it."
"Don't worry about that. I got it coveted," Zack replied, throwing away the broken sword.
He walked to the side of the training ground, where he and Lancelot left their real swords, before gripping Baraka and stabbing its wooden blade into the ground. A second later, two new wooden swords burst from the ground.
Taking hold of the swords, Zack threw one at Lancelot before holding up the other. "Like we said, the first strike is when this fight ends."
Lancelot easily caught his sword and held it up, his eyes firmly on Zack's with determination filling both of their minds.
A few hours later, Artoria was walking through the halls of her castle, heading towards her next duty as king, when she heard the sound of combat.
Getting curious, the King of Camelot started heading to her personal training ground, and found Gawain and Agravain standing at the entrance.
"What's going on?" Artoria asked.
Hearing her voice, both her knights straightened themselves and turned to her. "Your majesty, we're simply watching over this match."
"Match?" Artoria raised an eyebrow before turning her gaze to the training grounds.
She found that the area was filled with wooden swords, both broken and not. The two currently occupying the training ground were swinging the swords at each other.
*Crack!*
Only for their swords to break as soon as they clashed from the strength the opponents used.
Jumping back, both Zack and Lancelot each grabbed the nearest unbroken sword and charged forward again, swinging their weapon at their opponent.
Artoria found herself interested. She had never seen Zack fight and had only reports and stories to go with. She couldn't help but be impressed that he was keeping pace with Lancelot.
However, there was something about seeing Zack wield a sword that... unsettled her, especially as she looked into his eyes.
The odd mark in Zack's eyes had always made her tense for reasons she did not know. It was instinctive, like retracting her hand from hot water after dipping it in without knowing the temperature.
Seeing Zack go for a downward swing made her freeze for a moment.
For the fraction of a second, the image of a giant made of clouds, with the same mark as Zack's eyes on its chest, swinging down a sword covered in lightning and glowing marks at her flashed through her mind.
However, that image was gone before she can even comprehend it was there, and she couldn't even think back on it clearly, or even remember what it looked like. Just that she saw something dangerous.
Her attention was taken by the swords Lancelot and Zack using breaking once again. Both combatants, same as before, jumped back and picked up the nearest unbroken sword.
Agravian sighed. "This going nowhere," he mumbled before stepping forward and calling out. "Alright, enough!" Lancelot and Zack immediately stopped and looked at the others in surprise, clearly too immersed to even notice them being there. "This has gone on for too long. Don't you two have anything better to do? Sir Lancelot, I assume you finished training the new recruits for today?"
Lancelot jolted at the question. Turning his eyes upwards, he paled at the position of the sun and immediately ran out of the training ground, stopping only to give Artoria a respectful bow.
"Guess he and I are solving this later," Zack sighed, scratching the back of his head and throwing away his own sword.
Agravain, meanwhile, clicked his tongue at him. "And do YOU have an explanation for breaking so many of our training swords?"
"I literally MADE this just now. None of them are yours," Zack replied with a roll of his eyes. "You should thank me. I just gave you enough firewood for two months."
"Did you ever see if he has suggestions for possible new Round Table members like I asked?" Artoria questioned.
Zack remained silent for a few seconds before he started speed-walking out of the training grounds. "Hey, Lancelot! Wait up! I gotta ask you something!"
Chapter 228: Between Dragons: 1
Things have been getting heated up in Camelot.
Artoria did confirm to me she's planning a siege against Vortigern to settle things once and for all. She even asked if I'll take part in it.
I told her that, while I will be there, this is her problem, and at best I'll just offer advice. She understood that and even agreed to it, especially because Vortigern was her uncle.
Though, I think what was really interesting was one night when I was about to leave my puppet body.
"Man, this is the last time I challenge a tactician to a game of chess," I mumbled as I suffered more than a few loses to Agravain.
Suddenly, the door to my room was kicked open. I nearly pulled out Baraka but relaxed when saw it was Artoria. I only felt confusion at seeing her state, however.
She was in her sleep wear, which looked like it was put on in a hurry, and her face was completely flushed. She was panting and her eyes looked around in panick before settling on me.
"D-Did you see my sister?" Artoria asked between breaths.
I blinked at her before answering. "Uh... no, pretty sure I won't forget running to someone so unpleasant."
Artoria groaned before running out of room. Seeing the state she was in, I decided to push back returning to my real body and see what was going on, so I got out of bed and followed her.
I found Artoria barking orders at Gawain and Bedivere. "No one leaves the castle! Have guards everywhere! I want my sister found!"
The two knights, despite looking shocked, still nodded and ran to follow through her orders. I can hear them yelling orders to the other knights around the castle.
"So, wanna tell me what's going on?" I asked.
Artoria, who was just getting her breath under control, jumped lightly before turning to face me. Whatever is bothering her, it was enough to make her not notice me being here.
Running her hand through her hair, Artoria groaned. "My sister broke into the castle again, and this time she-..." she stopped halfway through the explanation as her face turned red. "... Stole something. We need to find her as soon as possible."
"What did she take?" I asked.
Artoria froze and her eyes looked anywhere but me and, surprisingly, she was blushing. "It's... personal. I'd rather not go to the details."
"You do realise that, if we find her, we'll know what she stole either way, right?" I questioned.
"I'll deal with that when it happens," Artoria just replied before shaking her head and walking away. "Now let's go, we need to find her!"
We spent the next few hours searching but found nothing. Morgan was good at cleaning her tracks. Could I have found her if I put actual efforts into it? Maybe, but until Artoria tells me what Morgan stole, I'm just going to leave most of the effort to Artoria and her knights.
Several hours later, Artoria had to call back the search as Merlin confirmed Morgan was no longer in Camelot. He also got quite the stern talking to about letting her slip in, but Merlin stated that whatever Morgan used to sneak in must have been well thought out, and that she was most likely planning this for a while.
When Artoria returned to her room, I followed her and stopped her from closing the door by placing my foot in front of it. "We need to talk."
Artoria glared at me. "Zack, I'm not in the mood to-"
"I wasn't asking," I just pushed the door open and stepped in before closing it behind me. "Now, mind telling me why you're so panicked over what Morgan stole? Was it Excalibur or Rhongomyniad?"
Artoria looked at me in shock. "How do you- No, of course you know about the spear," she kept Rhongomyniad a secret from even Bedivere, so she's rightfully shocked I know about it. "As for what Morgan took? It wasn't either of those. It was... not something I can actually discuss."
"Artoria, if what she took has you this panicked, I have the right to know if its dangerous," I explained. Also, I was honestly curious.
Artoria blushed and looked away like before. "It's not something I can just say."
"I am not human. Whatever you think is embarrassing or shameful is nothing to me," I insisted, crossing my arms.
Artoria got even more uncomfortable before sighing in defeat and shaking her head. "Fine. As you know, I am married, but I lack... certain equipment required to conceive an heir with Guinevere," she awkwardly cleared her throat. "So, I requested Merlin to give me such equipment, and I have been planning to... engage in it with Guinevere, but then I found myself falling unconscious and when I woke up, my sister was leaving with a vial of my... essence."
"Okay... wow," I mumbled as I scratched my chin.
On one hand, the explains why Artoria was panicking and looked borderline angry. She was technically 'raped' by Morgan. I could go and get Artoria's 'essence' back and stop her from creating Mordred.
But... Mordred committed no sin yet. I'm not going to stop the birth of a literal child over their parent being annoying. If that was the case then...
Then I wouldn't have taken in Yang.
"This is a rather tricky situation," I mumbled as I scratched my head. "On one hand, we can try hunting her down to stop whatever she's planning, but you have the whole thing with Vortigern to deal with, and frankly, he's more dangerous at the moment."
"But she-!" Artoria was ready to argue over this, but stopped herself and took a few deep breaths. "No, you are... right. One thing at a time. I will see Merlin about increasing security, even if he doesn't sleep because of it. But, we have to prepare for whatever she's planning."
"Don't worry. If it gets out of hand, I can step in," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Artoria looked surprised. "But didn't you say you're not here to help?"
I chuckled as I started backing to the door. "You're right. I'm not here to help King Arthur," turning around, I opened the door before looking over my shoulder. "But I never said I wouldn't help a friend, Artoria."
Artoria's face turned to one of shock, but before I closed the door, I saw her lips turn to a smile.
Chapter 229: Between Dragons: 2
A month passed since that little incident with Artoria's 'essence'.
Morgan hasn't done anything since, and Artoria hasn't liked that one bit. She says that her sister is 'too quiet' now. I guess she would know more than I would in this situation.
Artoria, however, put that aside because she was finally going through with the siege against Vortigern. She added two more knights to the Round Table. Brunor and Cador, and has been training the troops extra hard for this day.
But, she still told Merlin to stay extra vigilant of Morgan.
At the moment, Artoria was having a war meeting before they finally headed out to attack Vortigern. Everyone was present... except for Merlin.
"He's late," Agravain groaned, his arms crossed and his finger tapping on his bicep.
Artoria sighed. "We'll start the meeting. I'll just fill in Merlin later-," The doors were burst open by a panting Merlin. Artoria sent him an annoyed glare. "And what excuse do you have for being late THIS time, Merlin?"
Merlin chuckled. "I apologise. I certainly didn't expect to wake up with my entire tower having been flipped upside down," he finished while sending me a quick glare.
"I have no time for your usual tomfoolery, Merlin," Artoria groaned, her gaze hardening. "If you have a reason to be late, say it. Otherwise, take your seat and be quiet."
"I actually did stop to check in on something, and I do have some news on your sister," Merlin confessed.
Artoria's eyes widened for a second. She was obviously interested, but managed to get her emotions in check. "That will have to wait, for now, let us discuss the plan against Vortigern."
With that, they began that I, like usual, didn't really take a part of. They basically went over how much territory is under Vortigern's control, and how many troops he has, and where should they start.
Artoria's plan wasn't complex. She's going to have a full assault at Vortigern's Castle and just charge to the center to finish things with her uncle.
Agravain, Tristan, Percival, and Lionel would stay here in Camelot to protect it in case someone tries to attack it like what Morgan tried to do once. Lancelot, Bedivere, Cador, Kay, and Brunor would lead the troops while Artoria and Gawain go for Vortigern himself.
When the planning was finished, Artoria turned to Merlin. "Now, what is it you have to share on Morgan?"
"She's planning something big," Merlin instantly replied, his gaze intensifying. "And I mean something really big. The Leylines in King Lot's territory are going haywire. I don't know what Morgan is trying to do, but it's definitely bad if she's abusing the Leylines like this."
That bit got my attention. Focusing on my connection with the world, I noticed that Merlin was right. Morgan is treating the Leylines like an Ancestor treats a human, which is basically biting into them violently and viciously sucking them dry.
This goes beyond simply creating Mordred.
"Can it wait until the attack on Vortigern is over?" Artoria asked, though judging by the look on her face, she already knew the answer.
"No, whatever she's planning, she's doing it right now," Merlin answered.
"What if we split our forces?" Lionel suggested. "Can we take on both Vortigern and Morgan?"
"That is a gamble I'm not willing to take," Artoria immediately shot the idea down. Which is understandable since Vortigern was pretty dangerous on his own, let alone with his army and in his own territory.
"Don't worry about Morgan," I suddenly spoke up. "I heard that the Green Knight has been heading to King Lot's territory. I'm sure he's after whatever she's doing."
"Are you sure?" Percival asked, sounding more surprised than suspicious. "How do you know?"
"I work as a messenger. I make sure that word gets around. The last time I was telling the Green Knight of news from King Arthur, he mentioned that was going to King Lot's territory," I lied as naturally as I don't breathe in my real body.
"You should contact him just to make sure. Inform me of the Green Knight's answer so that we can plan accordingly with him," Artoria played along fabulously with my lie and no one -from the ones that didn't know- questioned her.
After more details with the plan were done, Artoria ordered her knights to be ready to leave at noon, including Merlin. Apparently, he needed to personally be there to cloak their forces from Vortigern, or they'll be seen coming a mile away.
When the knights all left and only me, Merlin, and Artoria were alone, she turned to me. "Zack, are you sure you wish to take Morgan?"
"Whatever she's doing is now affecting the world. This stopped being your problem and became mine the instant she decided to pull this little stunt of hers. Whatever she's planning, I'll stop it," I replied firmly.
Honestly, I wasn't even making excuses. If the Pendragon family wants to wail on each other? That's their problem, but when they start messing with the world, I have free reigns to join in.
Artoria sighed. "Very well. Will you need soldiers to help you?"
"If Vortigern's army was made up of humans, I would have considered that, but the fact is, it's entirely made up of Mystics," I replied, crossing my arms. "You're soldiers are human, Artoria. Your uncle's forces might be just lower grades of Mystics, but your soldiers WILL need numbers in order to have an advantage."
The Round Table can't be everywhere, and outside of its ranks, there aren't many that can take on Mystics on their own in Artoria's army.
Artoria sighed before nodding. "Alright, just be careful."
"You, too, and make sure to take Rhongomyniad, too. Excalibur alone won't be enough for Vortigern," I advised as I walked away.
I just headed for my room to rest a bit. After taking a moment to relax, I took out the Green Knight's armor and put it on. I made sure that no one was around before leaving my room.
I was gonna head right out of the castle, but stopped when I saw Bedivere standing in front of Artoria's throne room, his arm raised ready to knock it, but he didn't move one bit.
Even as I got closer, he didn't seem to notice until I called him out. "Is everything alright, Bedivere?"
Bedivere jumped slightly before turning to face me. "Ah, Zachary, I apologise. My mind was elsewhere."
"Do you want to talk about it?" I offered, taking my helmet off and looking him in the eye. "We're both going for a while. This might be the one chance you'll get to say what you want until this is over."
Bedivere stared at me for a few moments before sighing. "I... do not mean to question my king, but I cannot help but wonder why his majesty would ask me to of all people to join such a great battle. I'm sure there's far more fitting knights for the attack on Vortigern."
"Ah, now I get it," I rubbed my chin while humming. "True, compared to the other knights of the Round Table, you're not strong, you don't have any special weapon, and you don't have any special abilities. Not to mention you only have one arm," I listed, his expression going down with each word. "But," I smiled at him. "That doesn't change the fact you earned your place besides your King," Bedivere looked at me in confusion. "Do you know where my sword got its name from?" I asked, holding my helmet with one hand and reaching with the other to pull Baraka out.
Bedivere's confusion was plain as day. "Uhm... It was Baraka, correct? No, I am not aware of the origin of that name."
"This is a really powerful sword, Bedivere. Without exaggeration, it can match Excalibur and Arondite, and yet... I named it after a completely normal human," I said and Bedivere stared in shock. "A long time ago, I met a man who was... completely normal. He had nothing special to him beyond the fact he was willing to talk to me. Yet, I refuse to call this sword anything else, and all I can think about is how he was truly worthy to stand by my side," getting over my nostalgia, I looked at Bedivere in the eye. "Being worthy to stand at someone's side and being special are not related. You have no idea how much of an impact normal people can make, Bedivere. You're King chose you to stand at their side in this battle, and they are not ignorant to your shortcomings. Not only that, but none of the other Knights of the Round Table say a thing, because they knew your position is there, at the side of your King as Arthur leads you to battle."
I honestly meant every word I said. Baraka wasn't that special, but I greatly respect him as an equal all the same. Heck, Siduri was a completely normal human, and Gilgamesh would never do his work without her around.
Sometimes, people see themselves as 'normal' because they just don't realise how much they matter to the others around them.
Bedivere was truly loyal to Artoria. He trusted her a great deal, but it wasn't blind belief. He just had unshakeable confidence in her good nature, and was willing to put his life on the line for it.
Bedivere looked at me in shock for a few moments before he smiled. "I... Thank you, Zachary."
"Don't worry about it, and if you still have doubts, go ask the other knights if any of them will take your place. All of them would turn you down in a second without a good reason," I said before putting away Baraka and wearing my helmet. "Alright, see you later. Make sure to stay alive."
"You as well," Bedivere nodded as we both turned and began walking away.
Chapter 230: Between Dragons: 3
Finding Morgan's castle was easy, honestly.
Even if I can't sense where the Ley Line disturbance is coming from, it would be impossible to miss the castle that looks like it came out of a children's fantasy book. Black stone, gothic towers, dark clouds, and even lightning in the background.
Though, admittedly, the last two are probably because of the Ley Lines being messed with.
I had to go through several barriers just to get to the territory. The castle itself didn't have any barriers, weirdly enough. Though, that could be because whatever she was doing was probably going to mess with the barrier, so Morgan didn't bother putting up one.
The whole place had guards and golems guarding it. The guards, however, were obvious not human, at least not anymore. Their armors looked a bit darker than normal, and there was black smoke running around their bodies.
They were most likely corrupted by witchcraft.
The castle is pretty well guarded. The guards and golems are on every corner. There's even a moat filled with creatures that look like crocodiles, only bigger and blue.
Sadly for Morgan, she made one mistake, which is making sure the castle is isolated.
I guess she just liked her privacy or she just didn't want any distractions for whatever she was doing, but the lack of surrounding civilians and actual humans gave me free reign to do what I want.
Standing at a safe distance from the castle, just far enough to not be spotted, I pulled out Baraka and turned the blade into lava. Stabbing the sword into the ground, I transformed the field in front of me into a sea of molten flames.
Taking a firm step forward, I dragged Baraka through the the lava and swung upwards, causing the entire ocean of lava to fling forward in the form of a wave towards Morgan's castle.
As expected, nothing was prepared for the giant wave of molten fire, and the entire front of the castle was completely destroyed with everything killed. I just stepped over the remains, solidified the lava into a bridge, and walked into the castle.
As soon as I did, the sky rippled like water and an image of a very angry Morgan appeared. She didn't even glance at the destruction around me and glared directly at me.
"I am feeling very generous today," Morgan started, and I can actually tell she's gritting her teeth. "If you beg for forgiveness and turn back, I may just spare you."
"Wow, you almost sounded convincing," I replied, still walking.
Whatever Morgan was doing, it's not something she can just stop. Her 'generous offer' was just an attempt to make me leave without stopping her work
She was getting desperate.
As soon as I got close to the castle's inner gate, the doors themselves burst open as a large, living armor tried to cut me down as soon as it broke through.
How do I know the armor was alive and that no one was inside? Because I cut it in half vertically and nothing was in there.
From the broken gates, over a dozen more living armors walked out, each one holding a different weapon. Holding my sword up, I turned Baraka into Divine Metal and charged forward.
These armors hardly had any skills to them. It was like fighting the ghouls back in the Land of Shadows. It did serve to show me how much I improved, which was a lot.
It didn't take me long to cut down all the armors. When I was done, I walked inside and looked around. Just as I expected, the place was empty, and Morgan was most likely in the middle.
I walked inside and waited for whatever trap Morgan prepared. I doubted she didn't prepare any with how much security this place has. Just as I thought, the ground under me suddenly vanished.
Turning Baraka into Wind element, I manipulated the air to keep the puppet body floating. Instead of spikes, the bottom of the hole was filled with bubbling, purple liquid. Most likely a form of mystical poison or acid.
Floating to the end of the hole, I stepped on the ground and began walking again. But, not two steps later, and the ceiling came down to crush me. I turned Baraka to stone and stopped the debris before it came halfway through.
Wow, she must be really desperate to just destroy her castle like that, since Mages and Witches tend to be protective of their workshops.
Third POV:
Morgan grit her teeth to the point where she was sure something in there broke, but she didn't care. Any damage can be easily fixed later.
What couldn't be fixed later, however, was her current project if anything went wrong, which is why she was greatly agitated that the Green Knight was currently breaking through all the defences she had, getting closer and closer.
The doors to her throne room were kicked open by said knight. He flicked a piece of wood off his shoulder and looked at her.
"I have to say, if nothing else, your creativity is impressive. I definitely didn't expect the furniture to grow hands and attack me," the Green Knight commented before looking around the room.
The throne room was empty save for Morgan herself and a large magical circle with several materials spread around. In the middle of the circle was the body of a child covered in rags.
"You insist on becoming a nuisance, almost on par with that Flower Fool," Morgan commented, glaring at the Green Knight. Taking a moment to turn to face him, she raised her hand summoned a staff. "Perhaps it is time I do away with you!"
Two new magical circles appeared. One under the Green Knight, and the other above him. From both magical circles, a great blast of magical energy erupted, powerful enough to blind anyone watching of the Green Knight's figure.
The blast kept on for a few moments before it stopped to reveal nothing in place of the Green Knight. Morgan smiled and was about to turn back to her project.
"That would have worked a few thousand years ago," The witch froze and swiftly turned around to see the Green Knight standing near the body of the child. "But, sadly for you, I saw that coming a mile away. Everything you do reeks of magical energy."
"You little-" Morgan pointed her staff again, sending a bolt of lightning towards the Green Knight.
The Green Knight simply raised his sword and the attack was absorbed into the blade. "That's not how you use lightning," he commented, raising his sword and pointing it upwards. "THIS is how you use lightning."
A colossal bolt of electricity suddenly came down from the sky and tore the ceiling of the castle. Anything in it's way would have been destroyed, but neither the Green Knight nor the child were harmed. Instead, the bolt was completely absorbed within the sword.
Holding the blade with the compressed lightning bolt in both hands, the Green Knight took a firm stance before swinging down his sword, releasing all that energy in one attack.
Morgan's vision turned white.
When she began seeing clearly again and the ringing in her ears got weaker, she took notice of the pain she was in. Weakly standing up again, she noticed that dress was mostly gone, and that the left side of her body was covered in burns. Her left arm in itself was almost completely gone.
Looking around, she found her castle a mess. The ceiling was destroyed, the magic circle was ruined, and everything behind her -in the direction that the Green Knight swung his sword- was almost completely gone.
"You're lucky I didn't go for the kill, or give you anything that you can't heal," through the smoke and destruction, she can still hear his voice. Staring ahead, Morgan saw the Green Knight looking back at her while putting away his sword. "Now, kindly be quiet while I take my leave now."
The Green Knight turned and was about to pick up the child when she finally spoke again. "Why?" The Knight stopped and looked at her over his shoulder. "Why are you... doing this? You said you did not care. Why meddle with my plans... when you do not care for what happens to this land?"
The Green Knight stared at her for a few moments before his shoulders began shaking. Soon enough, the sound of laughter reached Morgan's ears, and the Green Knight threw his head back, laughing loudly.
The Green Knight continued his laughter for a good while before getting it under control. Turning around to face Morgan again, he looked her at the eye and she can almost make out something from behind the visor of his helmet.
"It seems you mistook my pity for indifference."
"... What?" Morgan questioned.
"Let me make myself clear: I don't care in the slightest about what feud you have with your family. Frankly, I have half a mind to lock you Pendragons in a cage, give each of you a knife, and let you fight it out," the Green Knight started speaking as he turned to the side and began slowly pacing back and forth. "However, that doesn't mean I'll just sit by while there's actually threats around. The reason I don't care for you, Morgan, is because you simply... are not a threat. I have lived for a long, LONG time and you do not even register as one of the top fifty on the threats I've encountered," the Green Knight stopped his pacing and looked back at Morgan. "The reason I've been ignoring you, however, was not my lack of care, but pity. You, some witch that believes she should be queen just because she was born like her birth was some grand achievement, think you actually matter in the world," laughter broke through his speech. "Hehehe. It's INCREDIBLE how you believe anything here on Britain, be it you, your uncle, or your sister, actually amount to the real threats in this world. If the real threats of this world turned their gaze on Britain, Morgan, they can very well end it within minutes. And yet, despite all that, you-" He motioned to Morgan with his hand. "-still act as if you're actually outstanding through the whole world. An ant joining the battlefield of Gods and thinking its voice is heard? What else am I supposed to feel for you other than pity. You're delusions truly amaze me. It seems as though being ss blunt as possible is the only way to get through you, so listen and listen well," the Green Knight stopped and looked at Morgan directly. "You, Morgan Le Fay, are not fit to be a ruler."
"And that detestable sibling of mine is!?" Morgan's rage finally boiled over. "Is this a jest? Am I supposed to laugh now?! A mere puppet for Uther and Merlin has more right to rule than I?!"
"Hmm, true, in that regard, Artoria has no more right to rule than you do, but there is one key difference between you two," the Green Knight walked towards the child again. Kneeling down, they gently picked them up and glanced back at Morgan. "People chose Artoria to be their ruler. Meanwhile, no one will choose you as their queen. Any idiot can own a pot of land and call it a kingdom, but does that truly make them a ruler?" Holding the child in his arms, the Green Knight begN walking away. "You have my pity, Morgan, and one day, you shall have my mercy in the form of a quick death, but not today. Until then, you and the other members of your family can handle yourselves on your own."
With that, the Green Knight vanished into the smoke with the child in his arms.
First POV: Zack
Holding Mordred in my arms, I left Morgan's castle and started heading out of her territory as a whole. I can fix the Ley Lines later.
Speaking of that, I figured out what Morgan was doing.
She was planning to use the Dragon Core Mordred inherited from Artoria to turn Mordred into an actual dragon by powering it enough to do that.
The chances of that working were actually very slim, which just shows why she desperate to take all kinds of precautions and stayed away from distractions.
She was basically trying to create her own Vortigern.
Sighing, I looked at the unconscious kid in my arms. "Your family is giving me nothing but headaches."
Chapter 231: Black Dragon
After making sure that Mordred was somewhere safe, I decided to check on Artoria and her battle against Vortigern to see when she's coming back.
They were right in the middle of battle.
Vortigern's castle looked quite different from Morgan's or Artoria's. It looked more... primal. It looked less of a castle and more like a mountain carved to look like a castle.
Outside the cast was a huge on going battle. Artoria's forces against Vortigern's, obviously. I can see the Knights of the Round Table leading the charge, with Bedivere and Lancelot at the very front.
Artoria and Gawain, however, were nowhere to be seen. Most likely going to handle Vortigern himself. Also, I can't see him, but I can tell Merlin is around.
I was contemplating whether or not I should check on the inside of the castle... when the castle itself burst open.
The entire front of the castle was destroyed as two people were sent flying out. Artoria flipped through the air and landed with grace, while Gawain simply rolled harshly on the ground before jumping straight to his feet.
What came after them was a large black dragon with metal looking like it was welded on most of its scales. Other than the shadows covering its body, another notable feature was the pulsing red core on its chest.
Vortigern roared, causing the battle to actually stop. However, the other Round Table knights began barking orders to their soldiers, telling them to steer clear from Vortigern and focus on the troops.
Artoria held Excalibur tightly while Rhongomyniad rested on her back. Gawain did the same for Galatine and the sword ignited with white flames.
Taking a deep a deep breath, Vortigern unleashed a breath of black flames. Gawain was the first to react, swinging Galatine and sending a wall of white flames that stopped Vortigern's black ones.
From the clash of flames, Excalibur broke through as Artoria unleashed it at her uncle. The shadows around Vortigern intensified, and they started absorbing Excalibur's light as soon as it got close, but Vortigern couldn't eat ALL of it away because a small part managed to gaze his shoulder.
Vortigern glared. Spreading his metallic wings, he flew over the ground and took a spin, swinging his tail on the ground and sending a large pile of dirt and debris at Artoria and Gawain, who were enveloped with the attack.
Gawain turned his gaze then at Artoria's forces. I guess he wants her to suffer as much as possible by taking out the soldiers he CAN take out at the moment.
I could help her, but I really shouldn't. This is HER fight.
I really... shouldn't...
Sigh.
Third POV:
Artoria swept the dust and rocks away from her face. One quick glance to her side was all it took to make sure Gawain was still standing before she immediately looked at her uncle, who was now flying in the air.
Reaching her uncle now would be hard, and he was undoubtedly fast enough to dodge their attacks midair, not to mention she needed him rooted in place for what she had planned.
"Man, you're in quite the trouble," a familiar voice broke through the dust as Zack appeared in the Green Knight armor.
Artoria didn't look away from her uncle as he was obviously getting ready to unleash another sea of black flames on her entire army, not just her and Gawain.
"If you're not here to help, then leave!" Artoria didn't mean for her words to come off as too harsh. After all, she knew it wasn't Zack's position to help her in anyway.
"I'm just here to check up on you," Zack reached up and took off the Green Knight helmet. He hummed with an easy going smile. "Things are quite the mess, huh?"
Suddenly, the whole world stopped.
Vortigern ceased whatever he was doing and his body went completely still. The smoke and building flames in his jaws all vanished as he lowered his head.
"That voice..." Even with her uncle's size and the distance, Artoria can tell that Vortigern was ignoring everything to look directly at Zack. "YOU!?" The King of Knights can safely say she had never heard such rage in her uncle's voice. "YOU TOOK THIS WORLD FROM US!"
Vortigern's wings moved and he immediately flew towards them with his claws raised. Artoria and Gawain jumped away to avoid the dragon's claws coming in and crashing on them.
"I 'took this world from you'? Really?" Zack appeared on the other side of the field, looking at Vortigern with a mixture of annoyance and exasperation. "That implies the world was ever yours to begin with. It never belonged to you, or any other Mystic."
"YOU GAVE IT TO HUMANS!" Swinging around, Vortigern brought down his other hand's claws, attempting to crush Zack, only for him to vanish.
Appeared in front of Vortigern, Zack looked less exasperated, and more fed up. "Oh, GROW UP. You had the choice and chance to leave like everyone else, Albion, you just didn't out of your own arrogance. I'm not responsible for your choices. What were you even digging for? Were you so full of yourself that you ignored my statement that there's nothing down there anymore? You're the one who literally and figuratively dug his own grave. And then, like a toddler, you decided to throw a tantrum and blame everyone BUT yourself."
Vortigern roared in rage and was about to charge at Zack again. However, before he could, Artoria moved it into one of his claws and stabbed Excalibur through it, effectively rooting it in the ground.
The Black Dragon glared at his niece and was about to attack her with his other claw, only for Gawain to come in from the other side and stab Excalibur Galatine into it, the same way Artoria did, getting the same results.
Vortigern's darkness slowly went away as it desperately attempted to eat away at the two swords, but it couldn't handle both. Artoria saw this as her chance to end things.
Pulling Rhongomyniad from her back, her Dragon Core pulsed with energy, sending magical energy across her body and cracking the ground beneath her.
Moving in front of her uncle, Artoria pointed the lance directly at Vortigern's chest, where his heart and core should be, before unleashing it's power and jumping forward.
Magical energy swirled through the air, forming a powerful spiral of light that pierced through Vortigern, who had nothing to defend himself, as his darkness was completely used up because of the Holy Swords keeping his arms in place.
There was a blinding flash of light that made the entire battle stop.
When the light subsided, there was no Dragon. Instead, there was a defeated, wounded, weak looking old man in black armor, laying on the ground, just barely alive.
Looking over her shoulder, Artoria saw that Zack was no longer there. A part of her suspected that would happen, so she simply sighed and decided to question him later.
Meanwhile, Zack stood at a good distance from the now-stopping battle like he did before, and watched as Artoria declared Vortigern's defeat.
"What happened to 'I won't get involved'?" Merlin asked, as he suddenly appeared besides Zack.
Zack looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
Merlin chuckled. "Well, you made it clear that you won't be assisting Artoria personally in any of her endeavours, yet you still walked in there, took off the helmet for Vortigern to recognise you, and gave her a distraction to use to her advantage."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Zack denied with a shrug of his shoulders. "I felt hot in the helmet, so I took it off. I just had a few choice words for Vortigern."
"Sure, I'm sure that's it," Merlin didn't seem convinced in the slightest by his expression and how his voice dripped with sarcasm.
"By the way, I hope you taught Artoria some fathering advice because she'll need it after this," Zack suddenly announced.
Merlin blinked in surprise. "A what advice?"