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Chapter 04 – Moral Of The Story

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They could get rid of the Albion easily thanks to Meliodas and Guinevere. Looking to the side, Mordred saw Meliodas talking with his younger self, Slader, and Merlin. Meanwhile, Guinevere was having fun chit-chat with Gelda, Isolde, Elizabeth, Morgan, and Lancelot. Tristan realized that Mordred was still on edge.

Truthfully, the Hydra Sin of Revenge had no hard feelings against the Red Knight because more or less, they were similar. It was Mordred who always kept his distance from everyone as if he had built an invisible wall around him.

Tristan bumped his fist on Mordred's shoulder lightly "What's wrong, Mordred? Chill out. We've got this".

Mordred smiled thinly "I guess I simply haven't been able to loosen the tension, Triss".

Mordred knew that he could not lower his guard down because—.

BOOM!

Just like how Meliodas moved to protect Elizabeth, Tristan immediately moved to shield Isolde while Mordred moved to cover Arthur and Guinevere as the young King of Camelot hugged Guinevere in a protective embrace. Meliodas stood in a stance and announced their opponent's identity once the dust had settled down. It was one of the Ten Commandments, Galand. Just like that time, Escanor was away with Bedivere and Gowther who had agreed to meet and pick up Lucifer and Neiva. It took time for them to come back here. What they could do right now was only to prolong their life and tried to survive. It was frustrating because they were not a match against the Ten Commandment which was still weakened post his revival.

"Not all of them, My King".

Mordred gritted his teeth "Shut up, Cath. This is not the right time".

"Kakakaka! Why did you hold yourself back, King of Chaos? You are the real King! Just release your true power and let me eat. That vile thing is not worthy of being your opponent! Or is it? Are you still afraid and unsure of how your Queen will react?".

True. If Mordred were using his true power as the King of Chaos here and now, they would be able to get rid of Galand easily. However, Mordred was unsure of how they would—Guinevere would react.

In the old time, when they were cornered, because Meliodas was using his Demonic power, Guinevere was using her Goddess power and barely let her Light Side out. It was what happened before she let her Dark Side slide and it was not different this time.

When Galand was about to kill Meliodas, Guinevere blocked his spear as her Dark Side started to get out. Mordred shuddered. It was just the same as the old time. While Tristan and Merlin were trying to protect everyone using the Perfect Cube, Guinevere stood in between Galand and Meliodas. She hummed the cursed Lullaby of Belialuin in the Belialuin language.

Galand was startled "No way! You—who are you?".

Guinevere chuckled darkly. Instead of answering Galand's question, she was singing louder "Hush, child~ Darkness will rise from the deep and carry you down into sleep~".

The darkness beneath Guinevere's feet started spreading broadly. Galand was panicked, swinging his spear to shoo away the hands of darkness which came from the shadow beneath Guinevere's feet. Modred cursed inwardly. Before Guinevere fell more into the Darkness, he covered her eyes and hit her pressure, whispering something beside her ear. Guinevere closed her eyes slowly before she fell unconscious. Mordred cradled her unconscious body in his arms protectively.

Galand smirked and thought that it was his chance, however...

Strangely, Galand shuddered full body as he locked gazes with Mordred. They could see his trembling body and be curious, what had caused the Ten Commandments member to cower in fear like this?

Unbeknownst to them, Mordred released a tiny bit of his Chaos power and right now, his pupils had changed as proof that his Chaos power was activated. His sclera turned dark and his orbs turned golden. It occurred only for a brief second that no one realized it, except Galand who had seen those eyes.

Galand was petrified. He was supposed to be the Hunter here, but why did it feel like he was the one who became the prey?

Luckily, Escanor arrived with Lucifer, Neiva, and Gowther. Galand would be doomed if only Sophia did not show up. Escanor, Lucifer, and Neiva had wanted to follow after Galand and Sophia, but Mordred stopped them.

Cradling Guinevere's unconscious body in his arms, Mordred frowned before looking around "I think we should be more focused to treat our injured comrades. Let them flee for now".

Mordred just finished talking with Meliodas and Elizabeth who had discussed with their kids and in-laws (well, only Meliodas and his kids who knew their blood relationship for now). His hand hovered on the doorknob when he overheard the conversation between Guinevere and Arthur.

Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, leaning her head on his broad shoulder, Guinevere whispered "nee, Arthur. If I changed into a bad person and left you, would you hate me?".

"don't be ridiculous. I will never hate you, neither I will let you leave", Arthur blinked his eyes, tapping her nose "but I will punish you, so you better prepare yourself".

Mordred sucked in a deep breath and unconsciously, he held his breath. In his mind, he remembered his conversation with the Supreme Deity.

Supreme Deity declared, pointing down "your true enemy, the young King of the Camelot Kingdom, is no one other than my granddaughter, your wife, Guinevere Cameliard".

Mordred remembered that by this point in time, Supreme Deity was still trapped within the Horn of Cernunnos which Guinevere secured in the secret library underground the Camelot Castle. After he had talked with the Supreme Deity, in the past, Mordred immediately hid because Guinevere came with Gelda. Once more time, Guinevere and Gelda confronted the Supreme Deity before Guinevere absorbed Supreme Deity's power because Supreme Deity refused to grant her wish to break the curses on her parents.

His reverie broke when Guinevere and Arthur opened the door.

Arthur was taken aback "Mordred? Why did you not come in?".

Guinevere squinted before cupping his cheeks "Brother, what's wrong? You look pale".

Holding her wrists, Mordred closed his eyes "...Nothing. Just tired, I guess. Also, we should prepare for our journey".

Arthur grinned "Oh, right. I heard that we will go for a special training. Where'd we go?".

Mordred quirked his mouth into a lopsided smirk "Istar".

Once his comrades were out of earshot and eyesight, as the last one remained, Mordred couldn't help but be petty. Leaning closer to Zaneri and Jenna, he whispered.

"It's so cunning of you, Goddess. To give a mock test by asking Lady Elizabeth to grow the plant in a vase while there are no seeds in it from the first place... I thought Goddesses are supposed to be a virtue?".

Jenna and Zaneri visibly flinched. They took a step backward as they looked at Mordred.

Zaneri stuttered "T-that... how could you...?".

Jenna hissed and tightened her grip on her staff "Who are you?".

Mordred smiled thinly "I am a mere Guardian".

Once more, please remind Mordred how he despised the Fairy's naivety. Sure, King had the right to be cautious but what right did he have to accuse Meliodas of this? Mordred remembered what would happen after this and he despised it.

Here was the problem. Diane chose to separate herself from the group because she wanted to find her Giantess friend named Matrona. It was because Matrona could have died if Diane did not interfere and they knew about it because they accidentally saw the record of death belonged to Neiva. King was wary and concerned over Diane's well-being. No wonder he was on guard. Still, it did not mean that he had the right to accuse Meliodas of probably being the traitor.

Sure, people got to make mistakes. It was alright. It was okay.

"He's from the Demon Clan. Who's there to say that he will always side with us?".

F*ck alright and okay.

Before any of Meliodas and Elizabeth's children took action, Mordred pulled out his sword, pointing it at Meliodas' neck and shocking everyone.

Elizabeth gasped "Sir Mordred!".

Guinevere sucked in a deep breath "Brother?".

King was flabbergasted "What the—?".

Mordred disliked this, but he had to do it and he simply did not care about the outcome right now. Still pointing his sword to Meliodas' neck, Mordred did not waver "Let me fill you in. No matter how strong the Demon, you can kill them easily once you learn how to kill them. The high-rank Demons such as Sir Meliodas or the Ten Commandments have seven hearts in his body".

Lancelot growled, "Mordred, stop. Put down your sword this instant!".

Mordred did not stop. He went on instead. Using the tip of his sword's blade, Mordred pointed to each of Meliodas' seven hearts before pointing out "No matter how strong they are, if you can destroy all their hearts, they will die inevitably".

Meliodas squinted and figured out what Mordred was trying to do. Thus, Meliodas grinned and he chirped brightly "Now, you know how to kill the high-rank Demons like us! How about this? If you ever think that I'm gonna betray you, you can kill me!".

Elizabeth shouted to the top of her lungs "SIR MELIODAS!".

They were shocked by the third princess of Liones Kingdom's outburst.

Panting, Elizabeth blinked her tears away "You wouldn't do such a thing... I trust you... that you are not that type of a person...".

Meliodas felt the pang of guilt as he patted Elizabeth's head "Sorry that I scared you, Elizabeth. I will not die easily. Even if I were to die, I would always try my best to find my way back to you. I promise".

Elizabeth sniffled, wiping her tears "...Promise?".

Meliodas smiled "Yes, of course!".

Gelda, Merlin, and Isolde scurried away to stand beside Elizabeth, trying to soothe the upset princess. If only Morgan and Isolde did not hold them back, either Lancelot or Tristan would beat Mordred for it.

King demanded, "Why did you go so far—?".

"That's funny to hear it coming from you when it was you who suspected Sir Meliodas, was it not? This is what you want to know, no?", Mordred cut him off and turned a cold shoulder, going to the bar to take a wine. Pouring a light wine, Mordred drank it before he glared disdainfully at King "If you want to leave and search your woman, so be it. I would have searched for my woman if I were in your shoes. However, what right do you have to accuse Sir Meliodas when you know nothing about him?".

King hissed "How could I know when the Captain never told us anything?".

"What if he wanted to tell you guys, just could not? Because someone's life is at the stake if he's ever to reveal the truth", Mordred crossed his hands over his chest "If you want to leave, leave and never look back. Go on. If you stopped believing in Sir Meliodas just because he is from a Demon Clan, then your trust towards Sir Meliodas is only this far. Don't you dare to regret it when it's too late, Fairy King Harlequin".

King looked ashamed and clenched his fists before leaving. The next second, they were shocked when Guinevere slapped Mordred.

Guinevere growled, "Should you pull that stunt and went so far as pointing out Dad's weakness?".

Holding her wrist, Mordred looked straight at her eyes "I know how to kill Demons and Goddesses. If I want to, I can end this easily and quickly, but I don't... if you put it on the opposite side, it means I do know how to protect you guys and prevent your demise".

Lancelot raised his eyebrow "Who will protect who from who?".

Cupping Guinevere's cheek, Mordred tilted her chin up "Remember what I told you once, Guinevere? You just need to stay safe and be happy. However, there's no safe place which was truly safe to run and hide, now the Ten Commandments have been revived. Thus, we just need to unite and create a safe place for all of us, where we can live peacefully. We can't afford to disperse".

Tristina sceptically asked, "Good point you have here. However, to get your expectancy violated by people is a common thing to happen. What's the guarantee that you're not gonna betray us?".

Meliodas chided her "Tina".

Tristina huffed. She did not know Mordred like Tristan and Guinevere did, after all.

"Guinevere, I'm not speaking as your Knight right now. I'm speaking as your family. It's only the two of us who survived the Cameliard Kingdom. So, listen well", Mordred put his sword in Guinevere's hand before he declared "I know your sorrow, your suffering, and your pain. I will never betray you, ever. If you ever think that I will betray you, you may end my life with your hands but do remember this. My sword is meant to pave the path you and King Arthur have chosen till you two can create and rule over the everlasting Kingdom you've dreamed of, together. Nothing will make me happier than to serve you two by your side".

Guinevere felt like crying. She dropped the sword in her hand and hugged Mordred "Although we're not related by blood, I love you so dearly. You're my brother. You should be happy, too".

Behind Guinevere, Arthur narrowed his eyes and declared with determination, ruffling Guinevere's head "She's right. You are our family, too. Don't say such things as if you're going to die in this War. We still need you because, for me, you are one of the greatest Knight I've ever met, Mordred. You are not allowed to die".

Mordred chuckled "If the King and the Queen I serve to wish so, I will do your command".

Deep down in her heart, Guinevere was afraid. Mordred always felt so distant. She realized that her older brother was clumsy sometimes and just had no idea of how to reciprocate or accept and deal with the people's care.

Why did it always feel as if he was gonna leave her side?

Then, it came. When they entered the tournament in the Vaizel, they inevitably got separated in the maze.

In the maze, Mordred lifted his hands, glancing sideways and looking behind over his shoulder "What a surprise, Lancelot. Are you still upset about what I did to your father?".

Pointing his sword to the older man's nape, Lancelot did not waver "Who are you, Mordred?".

A/N:

Yeah, I guess you can figure out what will happen next.

Yes, the Vaizel Arc.

*shudder

I truly will go all out for the Dark Side *laugh_devilishly

Now to answer the review:

to Ansy:

Thank you very much! I've been doing well. If you ever found my account in AO3 as well, I've been busy with real life such as marriage, pregnancy, the babies and writing Hahahaha. I admit I almost abandon the stories but thanks to you, Readers, I tried to write again and tried my best to continue till I can finish my stories.

Mordred was, after all, still Arthur the cinnamon roll. LOL. Of course, he would be sweet to Gwen.