The next chapter should be the end of the current Prologue and should be out by the end of next week (hopefully sooner), I am so sorry for the long wait but I'm back and ready to go! So I hope all of you enjoyed this re-edited chapter and until next time, take care! - October 2022
Uhh...so that next week turned into next year...I guess that's what happens when your laptop stops working.
Ragna: uh-huh
Shush you, anyway I'm back with the...not climax chapter of the Prologue Arc.
Gudako: Wait I thought you said that I this was going to be the last chapter for this Arc?
I did too and it almost was until I decided that it would be best to split it into two for pacing purposes...and not just because it would take me forever to finish writing...hahaha...but I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year. Made some New Year Resolutions of things I wanna work on, so here's to hoping that I fulfill those goals.
Ragna: Like writing more than one chapter in a year.
Hahaha...I don't regret what I have in store for you.
Ragna: Wait what?
Anyway, enough with the details, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Prologue Part 2: The Showdown Against The Lion King
Ragna dodged the incoming attack from one of the knights and delivered a powerful kick to the face, sending him crashing into some of the other knights that were behind him. One of the knights saw that the Ragna was distracted and tried to use this moment to get an opening by aiming for the back, only to be met with a backhand coming from the mysterious rebel. Before any other knights could react, Ragna reached for his sword, turn-drawing it to unleash a back-turning-outward slash, unleashing a tsunami of darkness.
"Seed of Tartarus!"
The tsunami of darkness knocked away the rest of the knights blocking his way toward the third floor. He then began to run up the stairs with a giant smirk on his face.
"Too easy," Ragna said as he went up the stairs only to see more knights on the floor. "Or that is what I would say if it wasn't for all these damn knights!"
"Hey, what are y-?!" One of the enforcement knights was then met with a fist to the face, before being grabbed by the collar and thrown to the knights behind him causing them to fall down as well.
Ragna smirked before hearing the footsteps of more knights coming from behind. Ragna began running towards the stairs to the fourth floor, but soon found a bunch of knights right as he appeared on the floor.
"You've got to be shitting me, how many of these punks are there!" Ragna said in slight disbelief.
"Sir Agarvain, it's complete chaos outside, the castle walls have been taken down from all sides, leaving us defenseless. It won't be long before they make it to the castle town. Please tell the Lion King to unleash his light of Judgment." said an Enforcement Knight
"There is no need for that, we still have the Knights of the Round Table. Tristan is stationed in the castle town. Mordred's forces are outside. Their momentum is temporary. That sandstorm will soon disappear. Continue the fight until it does." said Sir Agravain
"No. Sir Mordred's unit has been routed! It no longer exists!"
"...That is a surprise, the greatest surprise I have come to the Holy Land. What happened?"
"Yes...um..well, Sir Mordred's forces were defeated by a similar unit."
"..."
"Sir Lancelot has betrayed us. The knight of the Lake no longer stands with the Holy City."
"Sir Agravain, there is urgent news! One of the chosen has broken through the main castle defense and is en route to the King!"
"What! How are you letting one person let get past our defense?! Cap-."
Before Agravain could finish what he was saying, an explosion happened, knocking away the enforcement knights. Agravain used his cape to cover his eyes from all of the debris, before being out his sword and saying.
"Who's there?!"
"That voice…you must be that Agarvain," Ragna said coming out of the debris. "The fact that you are here must mean that I'm close to where the Lion King is."
"You're the man with the red coat that his Majesty has mentioned," Agravain said. "What do you think you are doing here? Well, actually it doesn't matter all those who oppose the king must be eliminated."
"Assumed you wouldn't be willing to let me go that easily, but…" Ragna said as he proceeded to charge toward Agarvain. Agarvain saw this and prepared himself for the oncoming attack only for Ragna to suddenly disappear from his sight. "You're too easy."
"What?!" Agarvain turned around to see Ragna running far past him, waving his hands before continuing his advance towards where the Lion King is located. Agravain then looked towards the enforcement knights and said.
"I'll take care of that man, you all deal with the intruders outside."
"Yes sir!"
"I seriously can't believe that guy," Romani said, looking at the castle, more particularly at the hole that was caused by Ragna's explosion.
"What kinda chef blows holes in a castle?!" Gudako said.
"Less like a chef, more like a terrorist," Ritsuka said sweatpanning.
"He does seem like a fun person to hang around." Da Vinci said. "You two managed to bump into someone that's even crazier than me."
"I'm not sure if that's supposed to be a compliment or not," Mashu said.
"Oi, enough getting distracted by that dumbass and paying attention," Jalter said.
"The Black Witch has a point, sadly," Emiya said. "We don't really have time to gawk at what occurred when the enemy is not too far behind us."
"What the hell do you mean by sadly?"
"Archer has a point, not on the first part I assure you. The allied forces are coming inside the city, but there are a lot of them. They'll run into the enforcement knights eventually. Their forces are taking control of the area around the main gate and heading toward the castle. They're about an hour or so behind you, I think. Let's get going to the castle while they're distracting the city's soldiers."
"Right! Let's head to the castle before the other knights of the round table catch up, Senpai!"
"And before that Mitsuyoshi guy ends up dead…although not sure if we can make it o-OW!" Jalter said as she as the blunt side of a red lance slammed down on her head.
"Don't be wishing for an ally's death," Scáthach said.
"And how are we so sure that this isn't some trap by the Lion King," Jalter said. "He's definitely hiding something, so sorry for not trusting him."
"He created this opening, so he can't be that bad of a guy," Gudako said.
"Eh? I thought you were the more sensible one." Jalter said.
The group then felt the ground begin to shake, Scáthach turned her eye to the top of the castle signaling that it was coming from there.
"I'm sensing two energy readings…one is definitely from the Lion King, but this other one is strange something that I have never seen before."
"That's our cue, let's get going!" Ritsuka said.
"So this is where the Lion King is at," Ragna said as he stopped right in front of the door where the Lion King's throne sat. Ragna smirked before bringing up his leg.
"Time to see who this person is for me," Ragna said as he was about to kick open the door only for it to open causing Ragna to lose balance and fall the to ground.
"W-what the hell?" Ragna said as he got up from the floor, and turned around only to see that no one was on the throne.
"I've been waiting for you."
Ragna turned around to see the source of the voice and saw the Lion King closing the door behind her as she greeted him.
"That wasn't a warm welcome."
"I do wonder how I should greet the person who has wrecked carnage throughout my castle."
"You bring up a good point." Ragna said. "but what do you mean you've been expecting me."
"You are one of the ones that I have chosen. In particular, you contain great darkness, but my lance has decided that you, I am willing to overlook your disobedience if you are willing to help me dispose of the rebels."
"Hmm...how about no thanks, the only thing I want to do is dispose of you."
"...I see." Lion King said as she proceeded to reach out and suddenly a lance appeared from nowhere.
"I thought King Arthur used Excalibur."
"Oh so you've heard about my legend."
"As a bedtime story."
"Well, this is my Sacred Lance Rhongomyniad, the Lance that shines to the end of the world."
So that is what she was talking about earlier about the Ends of the World.
"Nice history lesson, but you know I was never a great student due to my short attention span. So let's skip kicking your ass!" Ragna said as he charged toward the Lion King. The Lion King stood her ground, taking on a defensive position. Ragna reached for his sword and went for a horizontal slash with Lion King clashing with the sword with her Lance. This cause the ground beneath to shake as the two used their strength in order to push each other away. Ragna smirked as he kicked the Lion King in the stomach, sending her back. Seeing this as an opening, Ragna went on the offensive as he charged toward the Lion King with a punch covered with darkness.
"Hell's!" Ragna said as the fist collided with her face, he then used his other arm and unleashed a wave of darkness that carried her into the air. "Fang!"
The Lion King ended up heading toward the wall, due to the force of the attack, but she coordinated herself, ending up landing on the wall with her feet instead of her back. She then launched off the wall, jumping into the air and clashing again with Ragna who had blocked the lance with his sword. Ragna then saw the lance glow with a bright light, not wanting to take a chance he moved back as the Lion King launched a projectile from her lance that created a hole in the floor.
"A lance that shoots out projectiles, great," Ragna said until he was almost skewered by said lance.
"You should pay more attention to this fight, 'Outsider'."
"My name ain't 'outsider', it's Mitsuyoshi!" Ragna said as he continued to dodge the incoming projectiles coming from the Lion King's lance. Ragna charged toward the Lion King, who was prepared for his attack, but instead of attacking the Lion King, he punched the ground instead, creating a sort of smoke screen, as 'Ragna' jumped up.
"You must truly underestimate me if you think I would fall for a trick like that." Lion King said as she fired a projectile toward where Ragna was, only for it to be revealed to be his sword, catching the Lion King by surprise.
"I thought they would've taught you what a fake was," Ragna said as he had an opening and unleashed a barrage of punches to the gut, ending his combo with a right punch covered with darkness that sent the Lion King flying into the wall before being forced back down to the ground by gravity.
"Damn that armor is harder than the Red Devil," Ragna said as he shook his hand. He saw that the Lion King was still on the floor. "What's wrong, Lion King, you're done already? I haven't even gotten serious yet. If you're just gonna stay on the ground like that I'll just pack my stuff up and go."
Ragna then saw the Lion King begin to get up, which Ragna expected, but however, he saw that she had a strained look on her face as she began to clutch her face as the emerald necklace on her neck began to glow. This led to Ragna having a confused expression on his face, that is until the Lion King finally spoke.
"...Run..you...need...to...leave..take..everyone and leave..." The Lion King said as she had trouble speaking.
"Huh? Don't tell me you're getting afraid."
This is new...Why the hell is she acting like this?
"Now..isn't the time for jokes...leave..now..before..I-" The Lion King then stayed silent, as if she 'rebooted' before showing her face back to Ragna with a smirk on her face.
Something about this...isn't righ-
Ragna's thoughts were interrupted as he suddenly found Rhongomynaid inches away from his face. Ragna was able to move out of the way barely, by rolling on the ground. He quickly got up and reached for the sword that was next to him on the ground.
What the hell? Where did that speed come from?
"You're not bad, Outsider or would you prefer if I used your nickname 'Mitsuyoshi', you know if the One-Eyed Lotus knew that someone was using his name like this, I don't think he would be happy." The Lion King said to the utter shock of Ragna expressed by the look of utter bewilderment that was on his face.
"Oh that's a new look on your face, you must be wondering "how in the hell does she know this?!"." The Lion King said with a smirk on her face. "I was simply provided this information, although any personal information related to you is completely absent. However, judging that you used the 'One-Eyed Lotus's' name so casually, I imagine that the two of you had some connection, am I correct."
"Look I don't know what the world are you talking about, but you better spit out who told you this information." Ragna said as he charged towards the Lion King only for his attack to be completely sidestepped.
"By the change in demeanor, you do have a connection to Jubei. Interesting." The Lion King then tried to kick Ragna in the stomach, however Ragna was able to defend himself against this attack at the last moment with his sword. "I would like to ask you the same question that I asked when we first met. Will you join me and my cause, Outsider? I don't really see a reason why you ally yourself with the annoying rebels."
"Must be out of your good damn mind, lady. The only thing I plan to do to make you spit out who told you about Jubei." Ragna said as he regained his balance, but didn't attack the Lion King. "Now that we're talking I gotta ask, who exactly brought to this city."
"One of my knights of course."
"That's what I thought too, but then I went snooping around, asking your other knights and none of them knew how I got here," Ragna said. "Only that I was found outside the walls and accepted into the Holy City by you. So why did you bring me here."
"...Nothing that necessarily concerns you."
"You somehow know about Jubei, refuse to give any answers to how I got here, and refuse to answer how you got said information. I thought I was done dealing with cryptic assholes." Ragna sighed. "Well it doesn't matter, I'll just have to beat the information out of you."
"Why do you care about the people in this singularity, since that is part of the reason you decided to rebel against me." Lion King said. "This isn't even your 'World'."
"No reason in particular in wanting to kick your ass other than I don't like you."
"You beat me? It seems like you don't truly understand something..." The Lion King said as her lance began to glow. "...I will unleash the Round Table. Behold, the wave of the Ends of the World. When the outer layer is removed, the true face of the planet is revealed."
As The Lion King said that the scenery of the throne began to change, showing a storm that was behind the throne. Ragna went into a defensive position, as the Lion King began to step towards him.
"I will show what it means to be a 'King', Mitsuyoshi." The Lion King said as she suddenly disappeared from Ragna's sight of view, only to reappear right in front of him. Ragna immediately bring his sword down vertically, trying to get the first attack, only for the Lion King to easily bat the attack away with her lance. The force behind it was enough to send Ragna crashing to the ground. Ragna was able to regain his footing, only to be forced to block the Lion King's lance that was aimed for his stomach, which forced him to crash out of the castle walls.
"Shit, where did all of this strength come from. She definitely wasn't this strong earlier." Ragna said as he was falling. Ragna stabbed the castle wall with his sword in order to stop his descent.
"You're taking too long."
Ragna, in shock, sees the Lion King falling right in front of him with her Lance pointing directly towards him as it shoots out a beam of light. With no time to defend himself, Ragna took the blast head on, causing him to crash through the walls of the castle, landing on the floor. Ragna grunted in pain as he got up from the direct attack from the Lion King. He looked towards the Lion King as she came through from the smoke holding his sword in her other hand.
Oh great, she has my sword and her lance. Getting to her is gonna be a pain
"Don't worry I have no use for this." The Lion King said as she threw the sword to Ragna and charged towards Ragna. Ragna caught the hilt of the sword, just in time to block the incoming attack from the Lion King. The Lion King went for an attack towards Ragna's leg, but Ragna was able to parry it, catching her off guard. Ragna was about to charge towards the Lion King, seeing this as an opportunity, but he saw a glow in her left hand, which caused him to jump away, thinking that it might be a trap.
"...You made the wrong choice." The Lion King said as she suddenly appeared just below Ragna. She then brought out her left hand and before sending a punch towards Ragna's gut. She then grabbed him and suddenly a ball of light began to appear surrounding Ragna.
"Judgement Hold, it's time for you to pay for your sins." Lion King said as the ball of light began to glow, causing Ragna to scream in pain as he was sent crashing up the walls of the castle while still being trapped in the ball, with no way to escape. The Lion King smirked as she chased after him.
"...This is the highest level of the castle. The place of the oath for the Knights of the Round Table." Da Vinci said Chaldea and Bedivere find themselves in front of the door to the throne room.
"There's no going back after this." Ritsuka said. "Everyone's ready?"
"Like there was any going back after we basically declared war on the Holy City." Gudako said.
"Something's bothering me." Emiya said. "There doesn't seem to be anyone inside."
"Huh?...hmm, now that you say it, I don't feel any magic presence behind the door." Jeanne Alter said.
"Are you telling me that the Lion King isn't there? Where in the world could she be?" Gudako said.
The ground below them began to shake as there seemed to be something happening behind the doors of the throne room. Ritsuka remembered that Ragna was supposedly heading towards the throne room and quickly opened the throne room doors. To see Ragna grabbed by his collar by the Lion King, who noticed the group coming in, and looked towards them before saying.
"Oh, I didn't expect the Masters of Chaldea to be here so soon." Lion King said as she summoned her lance. "Me and the 'Outsider' had a slight disagreement on a certain topic, I'm almost done so allow me to 'settle' this."
"Like hell we will! Archer!"
Emiya appeared seemingly out of nowhere, as he threw Kanchou and Byakuya which hit the hand that was grabbing Ragna's collar.
"Nice timing..." Ragna said as he coughed in pain, trying to sit up. "...Damn this is really damn embarrassing. All that talk and I end up getting my assed kicked."
"That's what you get for rushing ahead, dumbass." Jeanne Alter said. "Although, I will say I'm impressed that you managed to survive until we got here."
"Is that praise I hear from the Black Witch?" Emiya said. "Look's like you're finally starting to warm up to the little guy."
"S-shut your trap, Archer!" Jeanne Alter said clearly embarrassed.
"So...Master of Chaldea what did you come to me for?" Lion King said. "Why do you show yourselves before me? Why did you come to my castle? I am the Lion King. The King of the Storm and the Lord residing over the Ends of the World. The remnant of the hero who wields the sacred lance Rhongomynaid.
"I don't understand, why would you abandon the world?! Not only The people who have continuously struggled everyday, but believed in the hope of the Holy City! But also the humans of the current time."
"Senpai?!" Mashu said shocked at Ritsuka's outburst.
"That's some courage right there! Most servants would be cowering before that level of divinity. But that's the spirit, tell her like it is! That's only something you, a human can do."
"...A reason, huh? Humans always want to ask that, no matter the era. I am abandoning the world, in order to help you, humans to survive. The history of the planet will come to an end due to the work of one man. Humanity will be incinerated and history will vanish. That goes against my purpose, we were born thanks to you humans. A god can't exist without humans. Which is why you humans must remain. I will protect you no matter the cost." The Lion King said. "...This is my free will. If the King of Mages is allowed this much freedom, I am also going to do as I see fit. Yes, I shall confess. I have always wished for this. I love you all of you. You are all important to me. That is why I cannot bear to lose you. I've decided to grant humans eternity. To souls worthy of remaining in the next world..to those who don't know evil or do any even when affected by it. I will gather these pure souls, freeze them, and archive them. No matter how much time passes, I will store them in my lance as something that whose value value will never change. What is wrong with that? My work is all for you, humans."
"This is…" Bedivere said.
"You're treating us as if butterflies on a board!" Gudako said. "Do you hear how insane you sound?!"
"...Is that what you think. Do you also think the same, O knight of the Shield? Human lives are finite. Amongst them, there are few lives that are even more limited. Mash Kyrielight, you understand my ideal, don't you?"
"I…" Mashu said as she looked down at the ground. "I.."
"Mash?"
"Ritsuka and Gudako, that's enough talking! The Lion's King mental structure is now completely that of a diety. She's lost her value as a human! This won't end with just talk!" Romani said. "Fight, and destroy that lance. Time will go back to normal if you do that!"
"Something's wrong here..." Da Vinci said. "...her Spirit Origin feels off..."
"What do you mean by that, Da Vinci?" Gudako said.
"...It's nothing."
"...Imprudent Romani, but I've come to same conclusion myself
"So, Mashu was it?" Ragna said as she turned around to him. "Do you agree with the Lion King's big spiel?"
"..."
"Well if you ain't gonna answer, let me get some words in." Ragna said as he was still on the floor, he looked towards the Lion King when he began saying. "Damn I thought we were dealing with a tyrant, turns out that you're just a giant dumbass."
"...What do you mean by that, Mitsuyoshi." The Lion King glared at Ragna. "You're saying a lot for a person who's currently unable to fight."
"It seems like you've lost a more lot that your values as a human, you've seemed to also a lot of common sense. You talk about saving humans, but you aren't afraid to drop the 'Light of Judgement' onto people who've only tried to live."
"They were people who know good but commit evil, therefore not fit in the uto-."
"Even if what you say is true, what gives you the right to decide whether they should die or not? They are still human and while alive have the possibility to change, there ain't no justifying what you did. Murder is Murder, simple as that. You say you love humans but aren't willing to fight against this King of Mages instead wanting to retreat to this so-called 'eternity'. So not only are you a dumbass, but also a coward."
"...You've got some nerve to say that to me, Mitsuyoshi. You aren't even from this world, so why should you care."
"Not from this world?" Romani said. "What did you mean by that?"
"That would explain why he feels so out of place. So I guess he might be from another time period." Gudako said.
"You are half-correct, Master of Chaldea."
"Half-Correct?"
"You might not know this, believe it or not that this world is the only one out there." The Lion King said. "Beyond the stars, there are countless worlds, in fact, there might even be a 'you' who is sent to the future to fight off a new threat." The Lion King then turned to Ragna before continuing. "In another 'world', 'I' or the 'King of Mages' exist, perhaps a Black Beast might have ended up being the threat to humanity instead...or maybe it might have been an imbalance in 'aer'."
"'Sent to the future' Black Beast? 'Aer'?" Mashu said.
"I've heard of some crazy shit in my time, but I have absolutely no idea of what you are talking about." Ragna said.
"...Nothing that you need to be privy to, Mashu Kyrielight." Lion King said. "Nevertheless...why should I care about the lives of those who weren't chosen by the lance, in the grand scheme of things, their lives are nothing but specks of sand in a desert."
"..You're saying that just because they weren't chosen, they have no value…" Bedivere said while looking down and clutching his fist.
"That's the biggest load of crap, I've heard!" Gudako said.
"Even my most loyal knight Bedivere decides to side with those who know Good but only do Evil…." The Lion King whispered.
"...?" Ragna said as he had heard what she just whispered. "Wait…didn't she-."
"Enough talking, we all know that this won't be settled by just talking. If you are to deny me, I will deny you as well. Your death is inevitable, and now it draws near. Lament the limits of your life. Know those limits, and accept my divine grace."
"Here she comes, Ritsuka and Gudako, prepare for combat! The enemy is Artoria, the Lion King…No, she's not a Heroic Spirit anymore. If I was to give her a name…She is the goddess Rhongomynaid, an avatar of the sacred lance!"
"Whatever I'll burn her and that sacred lance to ashes!" Jalter said as she charged toward the Lion King with her black sword. The Lion King didn't bother moving out of the way, instead deciding to parry the attack with such force that it knocked the sword out of her hand. "Weak." The Lion King was about to strike Jeanee Alter before noticing Kanshou heading towards her neck, which caused her to back away.
"Damn I was hoping that she leaned a bit more," Emiya said as he summoned another Kanshou.
"Are you alright, Madam Jeanne!" Bedivere said.
"Yeah…." Jeanne Alter said as she summoned back her sword. "Just back me up, I've got a plan."
"Oh?" Scáthach said curiously. "It wasn't really like you did when you rushed in like that."
"Shut up, let's just say I didn't sit around while she was doing her monologue," Jalter said as she charged towards the Lion King.
"Again with the same tactic?" The Lion King said as she prepared to parry the oncoming attack, only for Jeanee to move out of the way, so that Emiya can shoot
"Tsk." The Lion King was forced to move back due to the small arrows. However, this put her directly in line for Jeanne to get in a good attack using her flame covered sword to send a horizontal slash toward the Lion King's abdomen area.
"Ha! How did you like that!" Jeanne Alter said.
"Like what?" The Lion King said as it's shown that the attack didn't do much, only being able to put a dent in her armor.
"Tsk. You really are a show-off, huh?" Jeanne Alter said as she moved her eyes toward Mashu.
The Lion King noticed this and smirked as she quickly dodged the incoming attack from where Mashu was coming. "Planning to distract me with that, do you take me for a fool?"
"Heh." Jeanne Alter smirked as Bedivere came from behind Jeanne, rushing towards the Lion King as she was trying to attack Mashu. The Lion King's eyes widened in surprise as she quickly switched to defending herself from Bedivere's oncoming attack so that she didn't prepare herself from getting stabbed by Gae Bolg.
"Ugh!" The Lion King said wincing in pain. Bedivere took that opportunity to attack as he positioned his sword so that it would hit the sacred lance's handle causing the Lion King to lose the Lance as it flew into the sky, landing several feet away from the King's current position.
"Got you now!" Jeanne Alter said as it seemed like they had the Lion King in checkmate until she received a punch to the gut from the Lion King.
"Wh-" Mashu wasn't able to finish as she found herself sent flying due to a kick to the gut. Mashu ended up colliding with Emiya, sending them both crashing into the wall. Before Bedivere could even blink, the Lion King appeared right in front of her, turning her upside down into the air before doing a shoulder tackle.
"Eh? I thought King Arthur was a swordsman, not a martial artist?!"
"Well, when you have the amount of time that I do, you decide to get a new hobby." The Lion King then reclaimed her lance from the ground and charged toward Scáthach, who blocked the oncoming attack with ease.
Mashu got up from the ground and looked towards Jeanne Alter, who shook her head in agreement as the two rushed towards the Lion King, aiming to attack from behind.
"Take this, you bastard!" Jeanne Alter said as she was close to the Lion King about to cut the Lion King horizontally from the back. The Lion King sidestepped the attack, causing Jeanne Alter's sword to hit Scáthach's lance. The Lion King then smirked as dodged the oncoming attack from Mashu and pushed her toward the three.
"Right where I want you three." The Lion King said as she suddenly appeared before the three, aiming her lance towards Mashu, before it was blocked by Scáthach and Jeanne Alter.
"You're not laying a hand on her!" Scáthach said as she began to push back against the Lion King's lance, which started to glow, unbeknownst to the two.
"Shisou…."
"That's right, if you want to get to her, you'll have…to…get…to..us!" Jeanne Alter said struggling to push back the Lion King's lance.
"That's fine. I'll just get all three of you." The Lion King said as she turned her eye to see Emiya and Bedivere rushing towards her, as they got closer and closer, her body started to glow a yellow light.
"What's going on with her body," Gudako said.
"Whatever it is going, we'll stop it with this combined strike," Emiya said as he looked to Bedivere, who agreed in response as the two were mere feet away from the Lion King about to strike.
"She left herself wide open, we need to take advantage of this opening!"
"...You are still very young Masters of Chaldea and sadly too naive. There's more than one way to unleash a Noble Phantasma…"
"...?!" The five servants has confused expressions on their faces until they released the sudden spike in the Lion King's magical energy.
"Wait a minute, the Lion King's magic energy is beginning to rise…you can't tell me…" Da Vinci said as she started to realize what was going on. "Ristuka and Gudako, call all of them away quickly!?"
"Everyone, get away!"
"Too late." The Lion King said. "Light of Judgment."
As the Lion King said this, she grew brighter and brighter until the same golden light enveloped the entire room. Even the cries of the Masters of Chaldea as they reached out for their allies. After a while, the light disappeared with the Lion King standing as the five servants clearly took heavy amounts of damage.
"That's another way of unleashing a Noble Phantasma that I came up with myself, well if it was anyone other than me, they would have ended up dead. Hmmm…it seems like I underestimated you, Archer." Lion King said as she turned her attention to Emiya. "Casting Rho Aias on everyone to protect them from taking the Light of Judgement directly."
"...Dam…n…it…should've…known….you..were…going..to…"
"Save you breathe, Archer. You all did well, but in the end, this fight was already pre-determined for me to win. I wouldn't be a King if I were to lose to servants."
"Her magical energy can reach all the way to Chaldea. Damn it, I can't get a clear visual! Is everyone okay?! Did you defeat Rhongomyniad!?"
"Ah…This is bad..There's too much of a difference between us…the Power of Divinity that surpasses that of a genius..that is truly the power of an Authority…A normal servant could stand up against that."
"Ugh…I can't…move..my..legs." Bedivere said as he tried to get up from the ground, using his sword as support. "The King is mistaken! We must fight for the king's sake as well…but..my body…won't listen to me!"
"This is so damn frustrating!" Jalter said as she found herself with too much damage to get up.
"I've entertained you rebels for long enough….it's time to end this." The Lion King said as she raised her lance to the sky. "As your lives wither away, the Ends of the World shall be unleashed. I am the King of the Storm, the wave that will swallow this earth. I am the one who shall bring an end to this world!...But feel no sadness, as happiness will be brought to you humans as your limited lives will receive eternity. I will freeze your lives that will burn up and store them so that they will lose no value. That is the meaning behind "protecting" lives. The Ultimate Conclusion of what it means to protect humans."
"That's not right! It isn't right!" Mashu yelled as she got up from the ground, even with her injuries.
"Milady!"
"Mash…"
"You're wrong. I don't agree with your concept of happiness. I've seen a lot of different lives in this era. Someone died to protect a child! And there was someone who grieved about it! And..they continued to live on in spite of it. There was someone who thought that their mom would continue living on as long as they were alive! Having an end isn't meaningless! Life continues on, it doesn't just exist for only a single moment! Even if these losses continue to mount forever, life will continue to spread out, connecting us all!"
"..."
"Rhongomynaid! If you call yourself the Storm…If you are the end of the World..! I will fight you with everything I have!"
"Took the words out of my mouth," Ritsuka said. "No matter what happens we'll keep on fighting!"
"Very well. Show me. My sacred lance calls forth the storm. It shows the truth lying underneath the peeled skin of the world! Sacred Lance, anchor unleashed. For thou art the Anchor of Storms which splits the sky and connects the earth. Unleashed your light from the Ends of the World! Rhongomynaid!"
"Here I go! Ritsuka, give me strength!"
"You've got it," Ritsuka said as he brought out his right hand which had his command seals glowing. "Watch us, director…we'll prove to her the foundations of our humanity! Mashu, use your Noble Phantasma!"
"That which heals all wounds and grudges, our glorious homeland. Manifest yourself, Lord…." Mashu said as she grabbed her shield and buried it on the ground. "Camelot!" Suddenly the walls of Camelot appeared in front of the group to seemingly act as a shield against the oncoming attack.
"Interesting...let's see how long those slender arms of yours can support the white walls of Camelot!"
"Ugh...Uhhh...Aaaargh!" Mashu said, pushing herself to her limit trying to keep the Light of Judgement from hitting Chaldea's group.
"This isn't good...who knows for how much longer she can hold it down!" Emiya said.
"You can do it, Mash!"
"Disappear, you pests from Chal-." The Lion King was interrupted as she was suddenly grabbed by the neck by Ragna's right hand, causing her to lose her focus, and causing the strength of the Light of Judgement to weaken significantly.
"GOOOO! MASHU!" Ritsuka said as his second command seal disappeared.
"HAAA!" Mashu said as she successfully repelled the Light of Judgement, preventing it from hitting Chaldea's forces.
"W-where did you come from!" Lion King said
"By your own words: You should pay attention. Our fight hasn't finished yet, Lion King." Ragna said as he then let go of her neck, as she backed away from him. She then felt weak causing her to kneel down to the ground, using her lance to support her.
"W-what did you do to me?!"
"Oh nothing, in particular, my right arm just has a habit of absorbing people's lifeforce," Ragna said as he then proceeded to show the wound that the Lion King gave earlier to be gone. "I can then use said lifeforce to heal myself, pretty neat ability, wouldn't you say."
"I see...you should've taken the chance to take off my head, since now that I know what your ability is, all I have to do is be wary of your right arm." Lion King is still feeling weak from having her life force drain, but starting to regain her strength.
"I know, but it doesn't matter since I'm not gonna lose to some fake," Ragna said as he knelt down to the Lion King's height, facing her eye to eye.
"Fake?! You've got some nerve to be saying that to me, Outsider!" Lion King said as she proceeded to attack Ragna only to dodge the attack.
"What was that attack you, fake King?! I'm over here, you know!" Ragna taunted from a distance.
"Why y-?!" The Lion King was then forced to block the attack coming from Gae Bolg causing her to be sent backward. Scáthach, despite the heavy injuries, used Gae Bolg to support herself up.
"Heh, not bad, using her pride as a weakness. I didn't know you could play dirty like that, Mitsuyoshi." Jeanne Alter said as she was still on the ground.
"..." Ragna stayed silent
"Wait, are you actually trying to imply here...that the Lion King we are talking to isn't real?"
"There's something that didn't really make much sense when the fighting was going on, particularly when she said that the Lion King shouldn't have known…." Ragna said as he looked toward Da Vinci "Didn't you say something about the Lion King's energy reading being off."
"That's correct…her spirit origin is strange to say the least.." Da Vinci said.
"I have no idea about what you are talking about." The Lion King said
"Really? Cause I could have sworn you didn't remember Bedivere earlier when you were talking to the Round Table." Ragna pointed out. "However before you started fighting, you said….."
Even my most loyal knight Bedivere decides to side with those who only do Evil….
"You are right, she did say that, and if what you're saying about her not knowing Bedivere….then there's an inconsistency," Ritsuka said.
"Your speaking utter nonsense" The Lion King didn't answer only charging towards Ragna. Ragna dodged the upcoming attack and grabbed the emerald necklace with his right arm.
"Blazblue, Activate!"
"What?!"
"Idea Engine Linked, Invert!" Ragna said. "Time for whoever you to get out!"
"AGHHHHHH!" The Lion King yelled
After what appeared to be an eternity, the Lion King went silent. Ragna let go of the necklace allowing her to fall to her knees, facing the ground.
"What just happened and what was with that 'Blazblue' thing you said?" Jalter said.
"...Ugh.." The Lion King said as she proceeded to get up from her kneeling position. "Well done…outsider.."
"..This spirit origin…there's no doubt about it…this is…the Lion King, alright. Without any of the weird data that was coming up before."
"You're kidding?! So I guess Ragna's guess was on the spot." Ritsuka said.
"So is this like an alternate personality or something cause I'm honestly pretty lost as to what's going on."
"...You all have a lot of questions that I sadly don't have the time to answer to...before 'I' awaken...I have one request that only you all can fulfill."
"Your Majesty..." Bedivere said
"...Ok, we're willing to hear you out, make it quick," Ragna said.
"Kill me."
I just want to say a thank you to Mori, who left Arc System Works not too long ago, so I just want to wish him good luck in his future endeavors. Thank you for making me one of my favorite video protagonists and I wish you well, Mori.
Moving on from that, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that reviewed and also noticed the error that I somehow didn't notice while editing. That's what I get for making last-minute changes I guess. Next chapter should the finale of this Prologue and for this upcoming arc, shouldn't be more than 6 chs in total (watch it be more than that) and we won't be jumping around like the first chapter. There will be less fights as I wanna focus more on other aspects. I do have have some surprises, in fact, one might be revealed next chapter. I hope to get the next chapter out much sooner, since I have a new laptop so I wont have to deal with not be able to work on chapters.
Until next time, see ya! Also don't forget to lemme know if I made any errors in the reviews!