Oh yeah, time for the OG of Servants and the Berserker of Fourth. Just a head's up, I'm not good with action scene if you cannot tell by now.

-Vessel of Legends-

[The Tarnished Lake of the Welsh Dragon]

Just as there are two Princesses of Kuoh Academy of Rias Gremory and Akeno Himejima, there happen to be two Princes in the student population as well, the names of whom could cause any girls to squeal at the top of their lungs in delight, all the while making any man groan in annoyance and envious resentment when they are brought up in any sort of conversation. In the short time that they have been attending the school, it was enough that there large fanbase for the two being formed, comprised of mostly female attendees, of which there is a lot considering the establishment's previous status as an all-girl private school, leading to an imbalance of genders, but that is not the only thing that is unstable about it, for there is a division in this group of admirers, for one specific reason: The two Princes of Kuoh do not get along, at all. As a matter of fact, saying that they have a bad relationship would be an understatement, it would not be an exaggeration to say that those two detested each other to the point that they could not be together in the same room without a fight breaking out.

One might wonder, just what reason do they have to resent each other to such an extent? What has happened that soured their relationship to the point that they rather cut their eyes out than look at each other in the face? Well, that is the problem, nobody is sure of the reason why. Even when tracing back to the day they first met, there are no kind words to be exchanged between them, only animosity to be displayed between the two any time they happened upon one another, one so great that there is an official record in the school of how many time they picked a fight with each other when they stumbled upon each other in the hallway to their respective class, with the number total in two whole digits, an unbecoming behavior for two shining examples of a student, as the admonishment they consistently received during their numerous detentions for the two of them, which the student council have to make the deliberate decision to placed them in separate rooms to make sure they don't start a conflict there either. That is how terrible their relationship truly is.

Due to the ambiguous origin of the hostility toward each other, many students have proposed different speculations to explain the reason behind it, each one more outlandish than the last. Some believed that Yuuto Kiba, the first Prince of the academy, someone generally considered by the students to be the perfect man, what with his good looks, Academic skill, and boundless compassion has not always been like that, in that he once wronged his rival at some point in the past, perhaps when they were children even, leading to their current adversarial relationship, while some suggested that Issei Hyoudou, a transfer student from England, the status that earned him the nickname 'Arthur' from his shares of fan for his equally majestic appearance, unparalleled talents when it comes to sport and apparently being really skilled in the kitchen that there is a bad blood between his family and Kiba's, with a few made the joke theory that they are at each other neck merely because they stoles each other popularity, no surprise which part of the student's body made the last one.

Regardless of which one is the case, there's one thing that is abundantly clear to all, Yuuto Kiba and Issei Hyoudou are not fond of each other, that should go without saying at this point in time, and the contempt they harbored for each other has led to disharmony between the admirers of the two Princes, whose constantly arguing over which one is superior than the other, while the males could only look on in pure, bitter jealousy that those two's rivalry are the only thing they are talking about. Of course, everyone would be much more invested in this if they knew the full extent of their aggression toward each other, for they do not hate each other for what they are, make no mistake, Yuuuto Kiba does not hate the young man known as Issei Hyoudou, what he hated was the thing that the transfer student stands for, what he wielded in his hand with pride and joy, and only Occult Research Club knows this, for they know of the upbringing of Kiba, or rather, Isaiah, the only survivor of the now defunct Holy Sword Project conducted by one Valper Galilel, in which he has witnessed the demise of those he called his friends just because they are not seen fit to grasp the handle of a supposedly Divine Artifacts. What utter nonsense, if these swords are truly Holy in nature, then why is there blood of innocent smeared on their blades? So was the reasoning that Isaiah had in this mind, trying to justify his hatred for the object known as Holy Swords.

A line of thought that Issei 'Arthur' Hyoudou, the rightful wielder of the True Excalibur of legends and bearer of the name belonging to the Legendary King in a time long gone, does not approve. When he learned the reason why Yuuto Kiba held such immense hatred toward him even though they never met up until he enrolled in Kuoh, rather than feeling a sense of sympathy like most people would in his place, all Issei felt was disappointment toward such a pathetic excuse, condemning his rival for directing his irrational anger toward an inanimate object and attempt to destroy them to satisfy his misplaced grudge, ultimately culminated in him declaring the young man as a complete Fool, a statement that he does not take well, resulting in him challenged Issei to a duel, an request that was approved by the Occult Research Club that served as the arbiter of their battle, which is when they realized something is truly wrong with Kiba.

They always know of the darkness he harbored in the deepest crevice of his heart, and have tried everything in their power to ease that pain of his, but in the ensuing Duel between Issei and Kiba, the sheer hatred in him seemingly manifested a physical form, assuming the appearance of jet-black miasma that enveloped his entire being, crystallized into a set of jagged black armor as tassels sprouted from his back, latching into any solid object in the vicinity to delivered right into his palm, which was developed in red markings that spread across the surface, turning the mundane object into something much more, into a weapon, which he took a swing at Issei with a battle cry that sounds like a howl of a Beast than anything a human can produce, splitting the earth layers with the force of the attack, no doubt would have shattered his target's skull had he not dodge in time.

Witnessing the sheer brutality in Kiba's action, as if he is fully intent on killing Issei right then and there, Rias Gremory has tried to call off the match, but Kiba did not listen, a cause of concern in and of itself, for up until that point, even when his anger overtook him and clouded his mind, it could always be pierced by a firm order from the Gremory's scion, but this time, he refused to heed her word, continuing to attack Issei in a mad attempt to destroy the sheathed blade on his person, acting not like himself any longer, but like a mad dog, one that Issei is quite familiar with, "To think you would be chosen by my finest Knight. Perhaps you could have been worthy of his power, but right now, you are nothing more than a leech to his legacy." Was all Issei had to say, before brandishing his sword, further inciting the Black Knight at the sight of the Weapon, aiming to shatter it into pieces, but the Sword of Promised Victory would not yield under any pressure that the twisted Knight of the Lake would try to inflict upon it, for this sword will do as its name suggest, to see that Issei merged triumphant in this Duel, by unleashing a mere fraction of its true power.

"Seal Thirteen, Decision start!" At that moment, the Vessel of the Once and Future King invoked the power of his blade, where the restraints placed upon it were undone. For the battle being a one-on-one duel, Sir Palamedes, the Knight of Inquest approved the undoing of his seal. For a battle not for personal gain, but for the sake of the Boy before him, Sir Galahad, the Knight of Heaven approved the undoing of his seal. For the battle was not for an inhumane cause, Sir Gareth of the Beautiful Hand approved the undoing of her seal. Through just three conditions approved, the Holy Blade shined brightly, enveloped in the light that purged all things evil as it tapped into a fraction of its true potential, engulfing the edge of the sword in its blinding radiance, before it devoured the raging warrior that was Yuuto Kiba, with the King of Knights unleashing the true name of his weapon, "True name deployment; Arthur Pendragon! Sword of Promised victory! Ex…CALIBUR!" And the result was devastating, quite literally so, when the battlefield was devoured by a torrent of concentrated energy, decimating everything in its path.

The Gremory Peerage screamed out in horror, seeing Kiba being caught in the blast, but Issei did not worry, for he was sure of one thing, that even with three restraints of Excalibur disabled, Kiba would be able to survive it, for within him is none other than The Knight of the Lake, his closet Knight, a man whose talents matched only by his own, a man said to have the potential to be a great king himself, a man that has unfortunately descended to despair when he gave in to his vice of lust, a man that is more than capable to withstands the fractions of the power the Sword of Promised Victory wielded. When the smoke dies down, there lays Kiba, on the ground, barely surviving the attack, and he would not have had he not chosen to be the vessel of the Knight of the Round Table. In the end, the battle concluded with Issei's standings on the top, but it did not feel like a victory to him, how can it be, when his opponent refused to draw that Blade? the Symbol of his new status as a Vessel, the same as Issei?

"Listen well, Yuuto Kiba; You are weak, you are small, and you are a disappointment. You let your Rage dictate your actions, you let your grudge control you, and you let your hatred consume you. As you are right now, you can never win, you can't protect other, so long as you refuse to wield it. As you are right now, you can never hope to move on. As you are right now, you do not deserve his power." With his parting word spoken, having nothing more to say, Issei merely left as the Occult Research Club went to tend after Kiba, who ultimately was shaken by what the Vessel of the Once and Future Knight had imparted to him. With those words haunted him since the Duel, leaving him barely able to focus on anything, nearly resulting in his grade dropping and his health deteriorating as time went on, which became his greatest mistake when through a series of events that involved a duo of exorcists traveling to Japan to retrieved the stolen fragment of the Holy Sword, leading to him confronting the Man whose face continued to reappear in his nightmare, Valper Galilel, who was working with the Fallen Angel Kokabiel, with the goal of killing his King, Rias for the sole purpose of reigniting the great war for a second time.

It should go without saying that was something he could not allow to happen. He owed Rias his life, and as such, he is more than willing to give it up to make sure that she would be able to survive this encounter. Or at least that is what he has initially planned, until the mad exorcist Freed Sellzen makes his presence known, along with the Four Fragment of Excaliburs he has on his person, the sight of which has caused Kiba to erupt in rage, causing the Essence inside him to manifested as that accursed black armor again, granting him immense strength but robbing him of his reason as he immediately went for the swords, once again consumed with the desire to see them be destroyed, which was his greatest mistake when in his frenzy, he did was not able to defend himself or his Peerage when the Insane exorcist merged the four blades together, creating a brand new sword known as Excalibur Fuse, possessing all the properties of the four Holy Weapon, a deadly combination that spelled the defeat of him and his allies in a flash.

As he lay there, Kiba could not help but remember this exact scenario with the one that happened a few months prior, where he was utterly defeated by the power of the Holy Sword that Issei, who he now realized through his connection with the spirit residing within him is the Vessel of the King of Knights, wielded, the blade that in truth, was beautiful, something he could not recognize until now, a majestic blade that is the far cry of the weapon that bested him here. It was almost humiliating in a sense, being defeated twice over like this, in almost the same fashion, but his Pride as the Knight piece of the Gremory Peerage no longer matters, not when he finally understands what Issei has said to him. He truly is weak, small, and a disappointment, he has indeed let his Rage influence him, let his grudge tell him what to do, and let his hatred fill his being, making him forget what is truly important, leading to him forsake his friend in an effort to sate his thirst for vengeance. Indeed, Issei was right, as he is right now, he can never win against the Vessel of the Britian King nor Freed, so long as he refuses to wield it.

Arondight, the Sacred Sword favored by Sir Lancelot of the Arthurian legend, the shining blade that reflects the surface of the lake, forged by the fae that no mere mortal hands could hope to recreate, a weapon that truly deserved to be called Holy. On the day he became the Vessel for the Knight of the Round Table, and subsequently gained the information of the Essence infused into his soul, Kiba swore to never touch the weapon, believing that doing so, because doing so would spit in the face of all his friends who perished in that experiment...But now, in his moment near the door of death, he has seen them, those that departed before his very eyes, presenting to him the Golden Blade, just as the lady of the Lake has presented it to Lancelot, urging him to accept it, for the sake of those he cared for.

And so...

"Reach the End of this World, and goes beyond its Limit." Manifesting into his arms was a blade of golden gleam, "Like a Glimmer from the surface of Water," Which soon shined with the light of the moon beneath a tranquil lake, "Burn Brightly and dazzling, My Sacred Sword!" Though he has many regrets, this is not one of them, not any longer, "O' Distant King, bear witness to this Light!" For he shall prove to the Once and Future King that he is not weak, that this strength shall belong to him. Picking himself up from the ground, the Sacred Sword was bedazzled in a blinding light, the Energy overloading the weapon, but where most blades would shatter at the sheer amount of magic imbued into it, Arondight stands strong, for a true Holy weapon would not give to any pressure placed upon it. Here and now, Kiba stands, not as the Knight of Gremory, but as Sir Lancelot, Knight of the Lake, "True name Deployment; Lancelot Du Lac! O' Unfading Light of the Lake, Shine with Hope!"

"ARONDIGHT OVERLOAD!"

And his enemy sinks deeper into the bottomless lake.

"Hyoudou-kun…" Of all the people that the Vessel of the Once and Future King as expected to meet when he was walking down the vacant hallway in search of a spot where he could have his lunch in peace, away from all the admirers of his who would offer him their food to him, the last person in that list would be his Rival, Kiba, making him anticipated for a fight to breaks out between them again, but unlike all the previous encounters the two of them has had thus far, there is no tension in the air, no sense of foreboding in the atmosphere, and absolutely no hostility in the tone of the Prince of Kuoh that made Issei's Instinct flared up in alarm, if anything, the emotions in his voice is more akin to Respect now, "I have been looking for you. I just wanted to say that I'm…Sorry."

"Oh?" Now that is something that he thought he'd never hear, then again, he has never once been addressed with Respect from Kiba before, so that is another new thing. Apologies to him, huh? He can think of several reasons for why right off the bat. Maybe he finally realized his unwarranted animosity toward him to be as irrational as it sounds. If that is the case, then perhaps the opinion he had for the boy would be wrong after all. Would not be the first time. Well, only one way to find out, "And what exactly are you apologizing for, Yuuto Kiba? If this is out of obligation, know that I have no need for them." Issei declared, voice stern and face firm, waiting for the answer, sincerely hoping to be the one he had been wishing to hear.

"I want to apologize for my disrespectful behavior. You were correct in your assessment of me. Just a few days ago, everyone I cared for nearly died because of my Blunder, because of my weakness. And I thank you for making me realize that." It was as though a massive burden had been lifted from his shoulder when he grasped Arondight for the first time, accepting the brilliant majesty these Sacred Swords hold rather than letting his hatred blind his vision toward them, and right now, he felt at peace for the first time in a long while, "In order to express my gratitude to you, I shall show you that I am worthy of Arondight. Please, meet me after school for our rematch."

"…Looking forward to it, Sir Lancelot." With a grin that had no small amount of excitement in them, Issei extended his hands to Kiba, offering a handshake, to which the Prince of Kuoh profusely accepted, taking the first step to mend their strained relationship. Unbeknownst to them at the time, however, that they were not entirely alone in that hallway as they thought they were, and soon pictures of The England Transfer Students and the Prince Charming were circulated everywhere all over the school, courtesy of a certain bespectacled Girl who would end up being the lead writer to a popular adult literature created by the Manga Club known as Knight x King, not that the two are aware of it.

But that is a story for another day.

Special Thanks to Kamenmaximus for providing me with the idea for this chapter. You rock dude. :)

Looking forward to more from you my Man. :)

As for the Guest review that requested Gramps, I'd love to, but could you provide me with the general outline for the plot as well? In fact, from now on, if you guys wanted to make a request, please give me a basic idea on what would happen in those scenario, please?