Knight of Avalon
Chapter-17
Kay, Artoria
Tam Lin Lancelot was hitting their shield hard. She was flying at an altitude too high for Da Vinci's machine guns to reach her, and any Aquila archers that were sent were practically disintegrated by her beams of energy.
Kay noted with a scowl that the Imperial army stood still, waiting for them.
Charging out for another assault was not an option. They would get massacred by Lancelot's aerial bombardment as well as Gawain's Galatine.
But at the same time, once Lancelot broke through the shield, they would be facing botht he army and Lancelot from above.
Helga had said that after today she would set up runes to counter Lancelot in the air, but with this surprise attack, Helga had no time.
We're really in a pickle. Kay thought as he racked his brains, before looking up at Sheffield castle.
Suddenly, Kay heard the sound of glass breaking as he noticed Helga's shield shatter under Lancelot's onslaught. Moments later, Galatine's fire beam hit a section of the outer wall, collapsing it completely. More and mroe
"The outer walls have been breached!" Kay shouted as he noticed Anice bring Artoria in.
"Retreat to the inner walls!" Boggart spoke.
"But the moat…"
"Water won't stop them. Morgan blessed every soldier in the Imperial army with the ability to walk on water!" Boggart spoke.
"Oh, are you kidding me…" Kay grumbled.
Retreating to the inner walls already would be a massive blow. They couldn't give ground this quickly into the battle. If the enemy establishes a foothold, Gawain would just blast through the inner walls as well. And if the inner walls fell, it would all be over.
But at the same time, if the moat couldn't stop them with the walls being breached as well as Lancelot bombarding their forces from above, they really had no choice but to retreat.
"We're…retreating?" Artoria asked softly.
Kay looked at her, and noticed the fear in her eyes.
Come on, Kay! There has to be another option. Kay thought.
Time was the thing they required if they were to survive against the numerically superior enemy. And Morgan had managed to snatch that away from them.
Soon, Kay started realising that there was no way out of this than to retreat.
"Damn it…" He muttered as Melusine laid waste to the barracks from above.
"Everybody…" Kay was interrupted by a loud sound as everyone suddenly look up.
Muramasa looked up at the Tam Lin bombing the city from above.
"Damn it, this is actually bad…" He spoke.
Hey, I'm not much of a battle strategist. But I'm pretty sure this bombing is a big problem? Muramasa asked the god Höðr in his head.
Definitely. With the brat dropping bombs on our heads, Boggart will be forced to run to the inner walls. The others can't handle both the imperial army as well as the Tam lin's bombing run. So, if they retreat this early from the outer walls, it won't be much time before those suckers get through the inner walls as well.
So, you're telling me, we're screwed? We just joined this group!
We're screwed only if that Tam Lin remains in the air. Höðr replied.
"Wait, in the air…you mean we have to shoot it down?" Muramasa spoke.
That is our best chance.
But Da Vinci's guns won't reach her, and our archers are getting cut down.
It'll have to be a shot from the ground.
Huh? But who can… Muramasa trailed off as he realised what Höðr was implying.
Oh come on! I can't make that shot! I'm just a blacksmith!
But I can.
Muramasa's eyes widened.
This body you're possessing is clearly that of an archer, from what I felt when I was in control. Give your arms to me, and I'll make the shot for you.
What if she dodges it?
I'm the god of darkness, Muramasa. And she's flying in a night sky.
That…doesn't explain things?
Just give me control. Only thing you have to do is tell me where she's heading.
What?
I am a blind god, you know. You need to help me.
"Alright, alright…" Muramasa spoke before he suddenly couldn't feel his torso anymore. It felt weird, that the only thing he could feel were his legs.
Muramasa's hands turned pitch black as a bow of darkness formed in his hand.
Where is she going?
Muramasa looked up to see Lancelot flying towards the barracks.
"She's going for Boggart's position."
Good, I've got a good read of her approximate position.
Muramasa's body then summoned an arrow of darknessas Höðr inscribed a Raidho rune on it before nocking it on the bow and drawing it back, aiming in the direction Lancelot was coming from.
She's moving pretty fast.
That does not matter. I can hit anything as long as someone can point me to their location and direction. Consider this payback for what she did to us in Camelot.
Muramasa's eyebrows rose before he smirk.
"That's your payback. My payback will be when I kick her into that pit."
Fair enough.
Höðr then shot his arrow, the arrow creating a sonic boom as it released from the bow at supersonic speeds.
In the air, Melusine noticed another arrow coming towards her.
"Hmph, another attempt…" Melusine spoke before veering off to dodge the arrow. But the arrow melted into the darkness of the night sky and reappeared in front of her, traveling at the same speeds straight towards Melusine's chestplate.
"Huh?! What…" Melusine was interrupted by the arrow burst into an explosion of ether, knocking Melusine out of the sky as a dark aura enveloped her armor.
"You got her! That should keep her off the skies temporarily."
Temporarily? I've blocked her out of the skies for this entire night.
Huh?
As I said. I'm the god of darkness. Right now, the sky is filled with my authority and I've cursed her to be unable to move through my domain. That Tam Lin won't be able to enter the skies until dawn.
"Damn…you're a lot scarier than I thought." Muramasa spoke with a chuckle as he regained control of his torso.
"Alright, I think the others could use some more help." Muramasa spoke as he rushed off, leaving his smithy behind as he headed to the barracks for Kay.
Kay's eyes widened as he noticed an explosion of ether in the air, before spotting a blue object falling from the sky.
"Someone…shot down Lancelot…" Kay spoke as his eyes widened in excitement.
"That was Lord Höðr's power." Helga spoke, recognizing the ether in the air.
"Well, if that's true, then he just saved the entire battle." as cheers erupted from Boggart's army. Now they no longer had to worry about Lancelot in the air.
"We don't need to retreat." He told Boggart.
"Hm?"
"You saw Lancelot get taken out. We still have sufficient strength to defend this area."
Boggart's eyes widened. "You're right. Then in that case, do so. I shall send Anice to the Castle."
He turned to Anice whose eyes widened.
"I understand, lord boggart."
Kay tilted his head. "What? Why?"
"I believe I have a way to inflict a crippling blow on Morgan's armies. If you can hold them back, then Anice should be able to use it with little collateral damage to Sheffield."
"Really? Alright then…" Kay spoke looking at Artoria and Anice.
Oh, I hate having to ask her of this. Kay thought.
"Artoria, go to the inner walls."
"Huh? But…"
"I don't want you here in the front lines. Da Vinci told me what you saw, and its better you stay back. I want to accompany Anice to the Castle"
"Puck, continue disrupting their communications!" Kay spoke as Puck saluted.
"Are Muramasa and Habetrot fine?" He asked Da Vinci.
"Habetrot's tending to the wounded." Muramasa spoke as he came up.
"Tell your god that he just saved the battle for us." Kay told him.
"Oh, he knows. And for extra measure, he's made sure Lancelot is unable to fly back into the air for the night."
Kay's eyes widened. They were so lucky that they had Höðr on their side.
"But it looks like he'll be occupied with making sure the skies are clear, so Its just me right now. And it looks like you need some help."
Kay nodded as he looked at a Saboteur.
"How many breaches do we have?" He spoke as the saboteur pulled out a map
"Five. Here, here, here, here and here."
"Alright. Da Vinci, take your tank and some soldiers to Southeastern breach." Kay spoke as he looked at Helga.
"Helga, need a little future sight…"
Helga looked at her runestones as her eyes glowed blue. "Gawain will enter the Northwestern Breach and Tristan will enter the Eastern Breach."
Kay nodded.
"Muramasa, Hold down the eastern breach, you'll find Tristan over there."
"Good. I've beaten that little bloodsucker once. I'll kick her ass again, especially with these new powers I've got." Muramasa spoke as Kay noticed his hands turning pitch-black.
"I'll head to the Northwestern breach."
"And I shall do so with the Northeastern breach." Boggart spoke.
"Wait, Kay. We still have the Western gate undefended." Da Vinci spoke.
"Pig's arse." Kay spoke before someone put a hand on his shoulder.
Kay turned around to see the Silent Knight look at him.
"Oh, good. But I'll have to devote some men from the other…"
The Silent Knight shook his head.
"Huh?" Kay spoke as the Knight tapped his chestplate.
"You…you're going to hold it down alone?"
The Knight nodded.
"Are you sure?" Kay spoke before the Knight unsheathed his blade.
"Trust me." The Knight spoke as Kay's eyes widened.
Kay suddenly saw himself staring at Artoria in the Siege of Londinium, blood dripping down the side of her head.
"Kay, don't spread out our forces further. I'll face Vortigern with Gawain." Artoria spoke putting her hand on Kay's shoulder.
"Artoria…you can't be serious!"
"Kay…"
Artoria unsheathed Excalibur.
"Trust me."
Kay stared at the Silent Knight.
"...Ok."
Artoria looked at Kay in surprise as the Knight nodded before running off.
"Are you sure he can do it?" Boggart spoke as Kay looked at him.
"He said to trust him. And for some reason, I've a feeling that he can do it." Kay spoke.
"But that's enough wasting time. We have little time before the enemy enters." Kay spoke.
"NOW, LISTEN UP!" He spoke as the others looked at him.
"Do not let the enemy get leave this area. Keep funneling them through the breaches, but make sure they don't reach the inner walls. Stall them until Anice and Artoria can activate the weapon in the castle."
Kay looked at Boggart one last time.
"Are you sure this will work?"
"Absolutely. From what I've seen, one blast from that weapon in the right place, and we'll have wiped out a significant chunk of the Imperial army.
"Then let's group them up at a location where they're huddled together and use the weapon on that location." Kay spoke. "Preferably on the road leading to the main gate. Stall them, and then trick them into going for an encirclement."
Boggart nodded. "You heard Sir Kay! To your positions!"
Boggart's soldiers roared as everyone headed to the wall breaches to meet the enemy. Meanwhile, Artoria and Anice rushed through Sheffield, heading for the castle to use the weapon Boggart was keeping with him.
Outside the walls, the enemy divided themselves into groups and headed for the wall breaches, Barghest and Sith going for the breaches Helga foresaw they would go to.
At the Southeastern breach, Kelpie infantry charged across the moat of water, before a barrage of cannonballs ripped into their forces, blowing them back.
"What is going on?! Fall back!" A Kelpie soldier yelled as the infantry backed up to notice Da Vinci appear with a bunch of Wulf soldiers, grinning from inside her tank.
"Buona Sera~" She greeted as she opened fire with her tank.
Kelpie and Nuckelavee soldiers screamed as cannonballs ripped through them.
"What monstrosity is this?!" They screamed as Da Vinci settled down to hold down her side of the breach.
In the Northeastern side, a mixture of wulves and kelpies as well as Slave Knights heard a loud roar as Boggart appeared.
"COME AND FACE ME!" Boggart roared as he slammed his sword to the ground, sending tremors that knocked away enemy soldiers. The Slave Knights stood their ground and unsheathed their swords, rushing towards Boggart, only for Leo soldiers enhanced by Helga's Tiwaz runes to meet their charge and push them back.
"THIS FORTRESS HAS STOOD FOR 4000 YEARS, AND BY MY FORMER MASTER WRYNECK'S NAME IT SHALL NOT FALL TONIGHT! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Boggart let out a war cry as his force poured out of the breach to defend it against the enemy.
In the Western breaches, more Imperial soldiers and Slave Knights marched towards what they thought was an unguarded breach.
"There seems to be someone…" A Slave Knight spoke.
"One knight…surely this is a joke." Another Slave Knight spoke as they looked at a lone knight standing in unimpressive and dull grey armor that contrasted with the resplendent armors of the imperial soldiers and Slave Knights. The knight had a tattered brown cloak with a hood pulled over their head as they stood with a sword in their hand.
"Don't advance, this could be an ambush." A Slave Knight ordered as the army slowed their march. The Silent knight, on the other hand raised his blade in challenge to the army as the soldiers began laughing.
The Knight did not pay heed, taking a stance with their sword…
Before blasting forward, hurtling towards the army in speeds that took the fairies completely off-guard as the inscriptions on his sword glowed purple.
The soldiers yelped in surprise as the Silent Knight swung his blade, sending a wave of purple energy that blew an entire line of soldiers back, ripping them apart.
"What was that?!" A soldier screamed, as the air rippled around the Silent Knight's blade, before he parried a strike from a Slave Knight and swung back. The Slave Knight dodged the counter and jumped down from his horse to engage the Silent Knight, but the knight despite his shorter height grabbed the slave knight by the neck and twisted his hand, snapping the knight's neck as he dropped the dead knight to the ground.
The Silent Knight noticed a bunch of Kelpie soldiers rush at him with their halberds, before he stabbed his sword to the ground and sent a wave of energy that tore the soldiers apart, the Silent Knight's armor being splattered red by their blood.
In that bloodbath, the Silent Knight looked straight at the rest of the army as the soldiers stepped back in fright, noticing two bright eyes within the helmet's gaps giving them a stone cold stare.
At that moment, the imperial soldiers realised there wasn't any ambush.
They really were going to face this lone knight. A knight that had just displayed power comparable to the Tam Lin.
In the Eastern breach, The Slave Knight Captain turned to Sith.
"Your highness, may I suggest something?" He spoke as Sith tilted her head.
"What?"
"I believe there might be…" The Captain started speaking as Sith's eyes widened.
In the Northwestern breach, Kay stared at Barghest as she stood at the front of her army.
"You are a cunning one, knight. But I won't be so careless this time." Barghest spoke as Kay nodded.
I don't expect you to be that. Kay thought, before raising his blade as his soldiers charged forward, meeting Barghest's soldiers in combat.
In the midst of that, Barghest and Kay charged forward, their swords sending sparks as the two of them engaged in a second battle.
As the battles raged on, Artoria and Anice rushed through Sheffield castle.
"Where's this weapon Boggart's talked about?" Artoria asked as Anice looked at her.
"It's…It's in my shield."
"...Wat." Artoria spoke.
"Lord Boggart discovered this weapon when we first met. At first, he was confused, but then he noticed something and ordered me to keep it within my shield." Anice spoke.
"Where did you get this weapon?"
"I-I'm sorry, I don't remember that."
Could it be that Anice's weapon belongs to Chaldea? Artoria thought.
"Hey, Anice…" She spoke.
"Yes?"
"Thanks for helping me back there." Artoria spoke, a soft smile on her face.
"You're welcome, Artoria." Anice replied with a grin.
"Yeah, you really got me back there."
"What?"
"Uh…you really got me? As in you saved me?"
"Artoria, 'getting you' implies I did something harmful."
Artoria's face went red in embarrassment.
"Uh…"
Kay's mocking laughter echoed in her mind, before Artoria shook her head.
Now's not the time, Artoria! Be serious! She chastised herself as the two of them reached Boggart's throne room.
Artoria and Anice suddenly stopped, because they noticed they weren't alone.
In front of them stood Tristan, the Slave Knight Captain and a strange man with glasses and slicked back hair with weird clothing. The man was staring right at Anice.
"W-What…?" Artoria spoke.
"We suspected that Boggart had some kind of deadly weapon from the reports of our human spies. So, me and her highness travelled here through a water mirror and left our forces to the eastern breach. And it seems we were correct in our assumption." The Captain spoke.
"Hello, pig! Long time, no see!" Tristan spoke spreading her arms as Artoria scowled.
"It has been a long time, hag. I can see that from your greying hair."
"Just like how I can see from your fatty belly. You've really let yourself go the last time we met." Tristan spoke in disappointment.
"Oh wow, calling me fat. How original."
"Same to you, pig. Pulling the age card."
"Now, now, Lady Spinel. Control yourself. You're cutting a rather undignified image." The strangely dressed man spoke.
"Although, I can't say your are unjustified. I've heard of underdog stories before, but this…are you sure you're anything more than a doll for these fairies, little miss child of prophecy?" The man spoke with a chuckle as Artoria bristled.
Anice stepped up as the man's eyes went to her.
"Ah, Mash. I've really missed you." The man spoke in a tone that was really creepy to Artoria.
He knows Mash? Artoria thought with a frown as Anice tilted her head.
"Who's Mash?" She spoke as the man frowned in concern, although the concern seemed so fake it made Artoria want to gag.
"Oh, right. You went to the Nameless Woods and lost your memories." The man spoke shaking his head.
"You know, I was asking her majesty whether it's a good idea to force Chaldea to land at Cornwall. But oh well…that doesn't matter. I'm here to take you away…"
"...To Camelot, not Darlington." The Slave knight spoke. "Remember, Lord Gut, we have the master. Its preferable we bring her amnesiac servant as well."
"Master?" Anice spoke.
"Ritsooca…" Artoria spoke. The master of Chaldea, who was Morgan's prisoner.
"What have you done to Ritsooca?"
The man laughed. "Now, now, pipsqueak. Introductions first. I'm Beryl Gut, a simple man from the streets of London. I know your name is Artoria, so no need for your introduction…"
"...And as for your question, she is currently our esteemed guest." The man spoke.
"I haven't met her yet, pig, but mother is strangely excited about discovering her." Tristan spoke sitting on her throne.
"But anyways, this is just fabulous! We have both Mash and the Child of Prophecy. This is almost enough to lift the siege."
"Not while the others are alive." The Captain chimed in in a serious voice. "The others must be executed…"
"...And the pig will end up on George's table, that's what we agreed~"
Artoria glared at them and raised her staff.
"Oh come on, no need for that. Mash, listen to me. You've been lied to this entire time." Beryl spoke as Anice tilted her head.
"What do you mean?"
"You see. Almost everybody from our little heroine's group know who you were before your memories were wiped."
Anice's eyes widened. "What?"
"Yes, they knew you, and they knew the master to whom you were really close to. And instead of going to reunite you with your closest friend, they hid the truth and used you for their own gains."
"H-Hey! That's not true! We went looking for Ritsuka in Cornwall. You kidnapped her and took her to Camelot!"
Anice stared at Beryl.
"Come on, Mash. Just come with me, and I'll reunite you with your real friend." Beryl spoke with a grin as Artoria turned to Anice.
"Anice, don't listen to him…"
"Artoria, did you know?"
Artoria fell silent.
"I…didn't fully understand. But yes, I knew. I knew you were someone named Mash Kyrielight before you lost your memories"
Anice was silent as she stared at Beryl's smiling face.
For a moment, Artoria was gripped by bone-chilling terror as she imagined Anice actually joining Beryl.
"No." Anice spoke. "Thank you for the offer, but I am right now Anice, lady of Sheffield. And I will not let you bring down my city."
Beryl sighed. "Well, guess I tried." He spoke before the Captain dashed forward. Anice gasped as she brought up her shield to block the Captain's sword.
The Captain pushed Mash back as the two of them engaged in battle.
"Mash!" Artoria called out in concern before looking back to see Tristan getting up.
"Shall we, Lord Gut?" Tristan asked as Beryl smiled at her.
"Of course, Lady Spinel…gagh!" A glowing string wrapped around Beryl's neck as Artoria turned around to noticed Helga standing with a scowl, the string emerging from her staff as she yanked Beryl towards her.
Helga unsheathed her own short sword and stabbed it towards Beryl's neck, before the man cut through the strings with a knife and jumped back.
"You have the rotting soul of a Cailleach." Helga noted.
"Woah, a pretty lady mage with a sword? That's a rare sight!" Beryl noted.
"A former Roman soldier in my village trained me to defend myself with a sword." Helga spoke pointing her sword with one hand and holding her ash staff with another.
"Leave this Cailleach dog to me, Artoria. Tristan is all yours." Helga spoke as Artoria turned back to Tristan.
"Round 2, pig?"
"Absolutely, hag." Artoria spoke as the staff glowed blue, while failnaught glowed red in Tristan's hand.
Anice jumped back from the Captain, as the floor beneath her suddenly turned ice. She nearly stumbled as the Captain raised his fist, with ice rising up to cover Anice.
The Captain lowered his hand, only for Anice to break out of the ice and swing her shield at the Captain. The Captain raised his sword with both hands and took the hit head-on, stopping Anice as the two of them pushed against each other…
Before being forced to step back as Tristan flew past them, launched back by a gust of wind summoned by Artoria.
"How was that, huh?!" Artoria spoke.
"Artoria, a little help!" Anice spoke as The Captain heard the whistling of bolts of mana from Artoria's staff and deflected them with his sword without looking, before chucking a spear of ice at Artoria.
Artoria yelped as she dodged the spear before creating a shield to block arrows from Tristan, who'd recovered as she charged back towards Artoria.
The Captain looked back at Anice and raised his hand, before electricity shot out towards Anice, who blocked it with her shield.
The Captain immediately flicked his hand as the stream of electricity veered off Anice's shield and bounced off the ground to hit her in the legs.
"Grk!" Anice felt the sting of electricity course through her body, but it didn't cause too much pain.
"Morgan's spear…you're a lot tougher than I thought." The Captain spoke in slight frustration. He was expecting his electric discharge to stun Anice into unconsciousness, but all it had done was give her a little sting.
Anice charged forward and hit the Captain head on with her shield, sending him tumbling back.
Meanwhile, Beryl and Helga had made their way to the roof, confronting each other in a duel of magecraft while also engaging in melee combat, Beryl with a knife and Helga with her gladius.
Although Helga was supposed to be more powerful, being a mage of the Age of Gods, Morgan had given Beryl access to Britain's mana-rich atmosphere in order to even the ground with any fae opponents. Or mages like Helga.
"Oh, you're good. You're not an assassin-type, but you definitely know your way with a sword." Beryl spoke as he leaned away from Helga's sword swiping the air where his neck had been.
Helga's cloak suddenly lit up with Perthro runes as she put on her hood and turned invisible..
"Oh, we're playing hide and seek, huh? Well, I guess I'm the seeker." Beryl spoke before his eyes bulged out, as he pulled out some mistletoe berries and popped them into his mouth, chewing them rapidly before inscribing a Duir symbol on his forehead.
Immediately Beryl's senses were heightened to extreme levels as he heard Helga's heartbeat around him, smelt the iron in her Gladius and noticed the air moving in her presence.
"Oh, I can't see her? Well, I guess my rune's not strong enough to fully counter hers." Beryl muttered as he dodged and blocked a number of strikes from Helga with his knife, before cursing as Helga suddenly summoned water under his feet and made him slip.
Helga immediately came up and attempted to stab Beryl with her sword. Beryl rolled back and got up, but Helga went in with an upwards slash and cut a gash on Beryl's chest.
"Oi, I bought this for 40 pounds at Piccadilly!" Beryl complained, before applying an ointment made from willow bark paste and inscribe a Saille rune to heal the cut as well as to toughen his skin.
The two of them darted across the roof, clashing with each other as Helga noticed Beryl's skin deflect her blows due to the Saille rune, so she inscribed an Uruz rune to make her sword sharper, managing to make minor gashes as Beryl scowled.
"Come on! I know Norse runes are pretty versatile, but you're countering everything I've got!" He complained.
Beryl's skin suddenly felt heat behind him and he immediately threw raven feathers that intercepted fireballs from a Kenaz rune put down by Helga. He then heard Helga's heartbeat get louder to his right and stabbed his knife in that direction, catching Helga off-guard as she twisted to avoid the strike and let out a gasp of pain as the knife manage to stab her right arm.
Helga inscribed a sowilo rune as Beryl's eyes were blinded by a sudden flash of light.
"Ow!" Beryl grunted as his heightened sight stung under the flash of light while Helga stepped back, clutching her bleeding arm.
Helga's chest suddenly tightened as her eyes widened in shock.
"Poison…?" Helga spoke before quickly inscribing a Berkana and an Uruz rune to dispel the poison from her body.
She then looked at Beryl, who was still stunned by that flash and noticed his knife was coated with something…
"Yew leaf poison…?" Helga muttered before frowning.
As expected of a killer. Helga thought before dispelling her cloak.
Helga then inscribed Uruz runes on her body, before inscribing a thurisaz rune on her gladius as it found itself wreathed in lightning.
"Oh, boy. And here I thought this would be a boring mission." Beryl spoke before applying some more willow bark paste and inscribing Duir and Saille runes to make his body tougher as well as inscribing an Iodadh rune to enhance the Yew poison coating his knife.
Beryl then rapidly inscribed a series of Beith runes on his left arm as he consumed some wolf fur. At that moment, Beryl's left arm contorted in pain as his hand turned furry and grew sharp claws.
"Now…let's dance." Beryl spoke in a guttural voice Helga swung her sword to send a wave of electricity that tore through the roof. Beryl twisted his body to dodge it as he bounded towards Helga at high speeds, throwing Raven feathers as the mages once again engaged in brutal close combat.
At another distance, soldiers found Melusine on the ground, stunned by Höðr's arrow as they helped her up.
"What kind of stupid arrow was that?!" She yelled as the wulf soldiers looked at each other. Truth be told, they themselves had been flabbergasted when Melusine was shot down from the sky.
"Whatever, I'll look for who did that, and I'll rip them apart!" Melusine spoke as she flew up in the air, before an invisible force pushed her back to the ground again.
Melusine looked in confusion before attempting to fly multiple times into the air, only to be sent back down to the ground again.
"What…What did that arrow do to me?!" Melusine snapped in frustration before scowling.
Fine, I guess I have to stick to ground combat then. Melusine thought as she blasted forward, heading into Sheffield.
Artoria sent discs of light at Tristan, who cut them down with a cackling laugh. Tristan strummed Failnaught's strings, but Artoria tapped her staff to the ground and created a force field that blocked the strings from reaching her.
"Gwyns…" Artoria muttered as she made a yanking motion with her staff, surprising Tristan as she found herself getting pulled towards Artoria, before the fairy swung her staff and hit Tristan right on the head.
Tristan tumbled through the floor as Artoria smirked in victory, before noticing laughter come from her opponent.
"So you've gotten, pig!" Tristan spoke as she got up, ignoring the blood trickling down her mouth.
"Stronger, with an army and all that…oh, you must be feeling so high on your horse right now!"
Artoria scowled.
"I felt so annoyed back when you slipped through my fingers in Salisbury, after all those haughty comments you made…but now, crushing you while you think you stand a chance will make things sweeter!" Tristan spoke, wiping the blood off her mouth as her tentacles came out and darted towards Artoria.
"Tân…" Artoria spoke as she summoned a wall of fire, warding Tristan's tentacles away, before she felt her body freeze up.
Artoria's wall of fire collapsed as Tristan stood standing with a smug grin on her face, as she twirled her finger around a small doll.
A poppet… Artoria realised in horror, remembering the small dolls made from Yew wood taught to her by Merlin.
"I was waiting to use this little thing after I got some of your blood back in Salisbury. It was so fun making this with Lord Gut in Darlington." Tristan spoke, as she willed Artoria to walk towards her.
I need to destroy it…with fire… Artoria thought, because as long as the poppet existed, Tristan could practically control her blood at will.
"Are you forgetting something, pig~ You can't use magecraft while I have this." Tristan spoke.
Artoria spat at her, as Tristan scowled, before forcing Artoria to her knees and driving her leg to Artoria's side.
"Hehe, hehehe…" Tristan laughed as Artoria fell out to the balcony, lying down as Tristan started kicking her body.
"That's for insulting the princess of Britain! That's for daring to challenge the Queen! Take that! And that! And that!"
Artoria's body contorted in pain as Tristan's heels hit her face and her stomach. Tristan continued laughing as she repeatedly kicked Artoria without mercy.
As she brutalised Artoria, Tristan started venting out all the frustration she'd been feeling ever since she was publicly humiliated at the Seelie Parliament.
All that shame, all that shock, all that irritation. At Woodwose, At the Pig's slave, At the mage, At Murian.
And most of all, at herself. Herself for doing actions she couldn't comprehend. All that anger vented out as she slowly forgot she was kicking Artoria, and started seeing Artoria as an object to take out all her pent up emotions over.
By the time she was done, Artoria lay half-conscious. Her face bruised and bleeding, her eyes looking at Tristan pleading for her to stop.
Tristan breathed heavily.
"Oh, that feels sooooo gooood." Tristan spoke before looking out.
"Would you look at that?" Tristan spoke as she looked down at Artoria, before willing her limp body to stand up and threw her against the railing.
Artoria groaned and looked out at the burning landscape of Sheffield.
Artoria's eyes widened as the memories of Tintagel came back to her.
Fairies screaming
Flames everywhere
Ector…
"This is what happens to those who stand against the Queen of Britain." Tristan spoke with a dark smile.
"Once we've taken care of your miserable friends and kill Boggart…"
Artoria looked at her, as Tristan caressed her cheek.
"Oh, yes, we'll kill him. Mother declared Boggart was going to be captured, but in all fair honesty, we can't risk a prison breakout. So we'll kill him here and parade an illusory copy of him in Camelot. But anyways, after all that fancy stuff, I'll be taking you with me to Darlington."
"And at Darlington…I would love for you to meet a close friend of mine named George Rae." Tristan spoke with a dark smile.
"The three of us will then have so much fun together." She spoke, as Artoria looked back at the burning landscape of Sheffield.
Kay… She thought in fear.
"Look around you, pig. This is what happens to those who stand against Queen Morgan."
Inside, Kay was slowly retreating, luring the enemy forces towards the spot. Both he and Gawain panted as they clashed against each other, Kay's armor smoking and singed from the flames of Galatine, while Gawain couldn't heal the wounds on her body due to the effects of Kay's mystic eye.
Come on, Artoria and Anice. We're counting on you! Kay thought as dodged another fiery black dog emerging from Galatine's blade, before he noticed flashes of light on the top of Sheffield castle.
Kay furrowed his eyebrows, before he pinned Gawain to the ground with a spear to her calf and quickly activated his mystic eye to look towards the top…
…And seeing Helga crossing blades with a man dressed in modern clothing, who slashed at her with a clawed hand and stabbing with a knife.
Shit…the castle's been infiltrated?! Kay realised before hearing something roaring towards him.
"Who…?" Kay's eyes widened as he hastily raised his sword, before a blue object slammed into and sent him flying, crashing straight into a house and flying out to tumble into another street.
What…was that? Kay thought as he got up in a dazed condition. Its as if he got hit full force by a charging bull.
"Lay down your weapon and surrender." Kay heard someone speak before noticing a short fairy with pinkish white hair in futuristic blue armor, along with what looked like gauntlets with wing-like structures on her hands.
"Tam Lin Lancelot." He spoke as he raised his sword.
Oh, Dubric's beard…I have to fight another Tam Lin? Kay thought. He was exhausted and wounded from his battle with Gawain. Fighting another Tam Lin at this point would be disastrous.
…But he couldn't really get out of here, so…
"Let's see how she fares with the real…" Kay grunted as Tam Lin Lancelot bounded forward, sinking her left gauntlet into his torso as Kay was blown into a wall.
"Bloody-!" Kay ran to the side as Lancelot shot bolts of energy from her gauntlets at him, before jumping up with a burst of fire his legs as he attempted to jump over Lancelot. However, Lancelot boosted herself right below him as she cocked her fist.
"Kah!" Kay kicked his legs to propel himself sideways with a jet of flame, as Lancelot's gauntlet missed his face by an inch.
Kay tumbled to the ground as he got up panting.
So far, he'd seen that Tam Lin Tristan and Gawain both fought a bit like their Round Table counterparts. But Lancelot…as far as Kay was concerned, his Lancelot preferred using Arondight then socking his opponents in the face with gauntlets.
He was confident about taking on the other two because they fought like old comrades he'd face. But Tam Lin Lancelot fought nothing like the Human Lancelot. Not to mention she was way faster and stronger.
In short, Kay was in big trouble.
Kay attempted to trap her with his water shield, but Lancelot dodged the whip and crossed the distance between them way too quickly, hitting Kay with a number of punches as pieces of his armor broke off with each one.
Lancelot then hit Kay right in the temple as he flew like a ragdoll through the street.
Kay panted as he looked up at the Castle.
"Your forces are surrounded. You may be strong, but you are outnumbered."
"Is the weapon charging up?!" Muramasa spoke as he cut down a bunch of wulf fairies, with almost all the defenders being pushed back and being encircled by the enemy.
"No! I don't get what's taking them so long!" Boggart spoke in anger.
"Damn it! At this rate, we're going to get ourselves killed! We don't have the numbers!" Muramasa spoke.
"Let's not lose faith, they'll do it." Puck spoke.
Kay sat up as he looked at Lancelot with a grin.
"Like hell we will, shortie…" Kay spoke wincing in pain as Lancelot walked over to him.
"Hmph. Even in the face of death, you make childish jokes." Lancelot spoke.
"Of course. I think I won't be allowed back to the afterlife if I died begging for mercy in front of a midget like you."
"You've been an annoyance to Gawain and to our entire siege. I'll kill you first, then I'll make sure the rest of your pathetic army is crushed."
Two swords resembling Arondight's blade.
Kay stared at the twin blades before closing his eyes.
…If I die here, Helga will take care of Artoria. I'm sure of that. Kay thought as Lancelot raised her right blade.
The Silent Knight held off his part of the army, cutting down Slave Knights left and right as his army was dented and broken with cuts all over his body.
The Silent Knight cut another wulf fairy down before stopping.
He slowly looked back, as if sensing someone is in danger, before dashing off, running at full speed.
"Kay…" Artoria spoke.
Were they going to lose?
Was she going to lose Kay?
Artoria let out a soft gasp.
"...Are you my master?"
"Artoria Caster may be weak…but she has a good heart…"
"This is your first big step…"
Kay's mocking grin whenever she did something stupid came to her mind.
At that moment, Artoria felt the same old feelings. Of Anger. Of Hatred. Of Fear.
She saw that same vision again. Of her running to the Nameless Woods like a coward, all of her friends dead, as she wiped her memories clean.
Once again, Artoria's heart was consumed by one emotion:
Fear.
Artoria's expression went emotionless, her vibrant green eyes slowing getting bleached of colour as her blonde hair turned the same shade of silvery color as Morgan's.
"Huh?" Tristan spoke as Artoria felt Arawn's curse course through her body, her hand turning pitch black as Tristan felt something grip her soul.
Artoria did not show disgust towards the curse, instead forcing it to direct all her fear and anger towards the one in front of her.
Artoria thrust her hand, pushing Tristan back.
"You're not taking him away from me…" Artoria whispered as her eyes glowed, before Tristan's poppet burnt to ashes.
Unlike her previous attempts, Artoria felt something whisper to her, as unlike the other times…she didn't feel the curse wreaking havoc in her body. No, it almost as if it was whispering to her.
Artoria looked to her left, and stretched out her hand. The Captain, who had corner Anice, found himself floating in the air, completely frozen as Artoria held down both Tristan and The Captain.
"Anice…now." Artoria spoke, as soon she started feeling the burning pain in her body and the same feeling of something creeping in her soul once again.
Anice stared at Artoria.
"NOW!" Artoria yelled as Anice snapped out of her stupor and ran over to the balcony.
Kay…I can't lose Kay. Artoria thought as she held her enemies in place.
Lancelot brought down her blade to put Kay down for good…
…But found her blade being intercepted by a sword.
Lancelot looked up from Kay to meet the Silent Knight's helmet, staring at her as Kay noticed he was not dead.
"Phew…you took your time." Kay grumbled, as he almost swore he heard a sigh of relief come from the Silent Knight.
Lancelot quickly retracted her other blade and swung, at the knight full force. Lancelot's fist met the Knight's sword, sending a shockwave that sent Kay tumbling off.
Lancelot stared in shock as the Silent Knight stopped her strike cold with his blade.
"How did…not even Gawain could have stopped that." Lancelot spoke, flabbergasted for the first time before the Silent Knight grabbed her head and blasted forward, slamming her face into the ground and scraping her through Sheffield's streets before holding her forward and slamming her through a bunch of houses.
The Silent Knight threw Lancelot to the ground, before raising his sword. Lancelot jumped back as the Silent Knight brought it down, the shockwave of the strike blowing her hair.
The Silent Knight took his stance as Lancelot stared at him.
I feel something…familiar from this knight. Lancelot thought.
"Have I found someone who can match me?" She spoke, her thoughts slowly getting excited at the prospect before she felt mana build up from Sheffield castle.
"Huh?" Lancelot looked up.
At the top of the castle, Anice took a position with a massive rifle that had collapsed outwards from her shield.
This was the terrible weapon Boggart had been talking about.
To the Chaldeans, it was their missing Black Barrel, hidden in the shield of Mash Kyrielight.
It had seen a lot of use on the Great Interstellar city of Olympus, bringing down Machine Gods…
…And now, it would be used to crush the armies of Faerie Britain.
"TO THE INNER WALLS!" Boggart spoke as he detected the familiar build up of mana, his soldiers making a dash for the walls as the enemy soldiers chased after them, only to be blocked by an invisible shield.
Enemy soldiers howled in anger as Barghest observed the scene from a distance.
"What is he doing?" Barghest wondered.
Artoria stared at the weapon as Anice aimed it at the huddle of enemy soldiers.
The weapon…there was something interesting about it. Her bleached green eyes stared at its ominous red aura…
A giant bulbous creature screamed as a bullet pierced its glowing core.
A floating bow-like contraption stared silently as a bullet pierced its core.
A massive ship with a face, floating in the midst of a storm, staring impassively as the bullet punched through its face…
At that moment, something spoke.
"Bring them together."
Artoria walked towards Anice, as if in a trance.
"Artoria, we'll need…" Anice stared in confusion as Artoria slowly stretched out her hands towards the Black Barrel.
"Kill them all."
As soon as Artoria's fingers touched the Black Barrel, its glowing red lights turned cyan.
"W-What are you doing?" Anice spoke, as Arawn's curse flowed into the Black Barrel, latching onto its ether.
"...Shoot it." Artoria spoke in a dull voice as Anice looked at her before looking back upon the army.
For a moment, Anice's heart was gripped by hesitation. The act of killing so many people, even if it was to win the battle, didn't seem to…
Artoria's pitch black hand touched Anice's head as her purple eyes were also bleached of most of their color.
Anice's finger pressed the trigger without hesitation, and the Black Barrel, now fused with Arawn's curse, fired out its bullet.
The world seemed to darken as the bullet travelled towards the army of imperial soldiers.
And when it hit…
In Camelot, Morgan opened her eyes in surprise.
"...The curse?" She spoke, as she felt thousands of her soldiers get not just disintegrated, but have their very beings being obliterated.
In Sheffield, a thousand screams rang out when the Black Barrel's bullet hit in an explosion of malevolent curses, before a sound like the shattering of glass sounded. There was a burst of fire…
…And the screams were silenced moments later, leaving behind nothing but a crater filled with flames. The bullet hadn't just killed them, it had practically erased their very beings from existence.
Helga and Beryl stopped their battle to look at what had happened, both exhausted from using their magecraft.
A lone observer watching the battle hummed.
"...So they have been consumed by the flame of Muspellheim." The observer mused.
The entire battlefield went silent, everyone momentarily forgetting the battle and simply watching in abject horror as they gazed upon the aftermath of the weapon's usage.
Habetrot stared, memories of Aesc's screams of insanity coming back to her.
Kay stared, noting the disturbing resemblance of the power to his Britain's dark magic, and the desolation of Lothian.
Boggart stared, amazed and terrified at the weapon he had in his posession.
Da Vinci stared, finally realising the weapon Boggart was talking about.
"The Black Barrel…" Da Vinci muttered, her voice laced with disgust. "You used the Black Barrel…"
But even if it was the Black Barrel, Da Vinci could also see that it wasn't the same. Something had happened to the Black Barrel…
…Something that should never have been introduced with the Black Barrel.
Artoria stared at the result of the Black Barrel's destruction.
"Its so beautiful." Something spoke inside her, before Artoria's eyes rolled up her head as she collapsed to the ground, her hair and eyes turning back to normal.
Anice's eyes returned to normal as she rushed to Artoria's side.
"Artoria…Artoria!" Anice called her name as a black liquid trickled out of Artoria's mouth.
The Captain and Tristan were dropped to the ground, both of them breathing heavily as they stood up.
"The curse…" The Captain spoke. "She really is like her…" He muttered before the two of them heard Morgan's voice.
"Return to Camelot."
Tristan's eyes widened. "What?"
"Return to Camelot."
"It seems…we are to call off this siege." The Captain spoke as Tristan's eyes widened.
"But them…!"
"We can take them while we can." The Captain spoke as Anice stared at the two of them, before she went to take her stance…
…Until she heard a roar and noticed the beast from Gloucester break through the wall, nearly biting Tristan in half as the Captain tackled her away from the beast.
The creature let out a roar as it stood protectively in front of Artoria, albeit with a little fear of the Avalon Le Fae.
"Is that the Boar of the Rifts?" The Captain noted.
"You again…" Tristan spoke. "Come on, let's…"
"No. We don't have the time. We can't take down the boar quick enough before Boggart arrives here. Looks like we'll have to try another day." The Captain spoke.
"What?! But we can't…"
"Sith, please." The Captain pleaded to her as Sith stared at him.
"...Ok." She spoke in a gentler voice before glaring at Anice.
"Tell the pig when she wakes up that this isn't over." She spoke before stretching her hand behind her as a water mirror appeared. The two of them jumped in as the water mirror disappeared.
Helga pushed Beryl back with her sword as the mage suddenly stopped.
"What…really? Aww…" Beryl spoke before shrugging.
"Well, Ms. Viking mage, looks like this is where we end." Beryl spoke. Despite his confident look, he was exhausted…
…And so was Helga, as Beryl spread his arms and jumped off the roof, down Sheffield castle as he disappeared from sight.
Helga panted as she sheathed her sword.
"Thor's hammer…that should not have been as difficult as it could have been." Helga spoke, before rushing back to check up on Artoria.
Back on the inner walls, Kay noticed whatever fairies remained stop and suddenly turn back in full retreat, Barghest among them. He also noticed Lancelot moving along with the retreating armies.
"...Oh thank God…" He spoke hanging his head as cheers erupted from Boggart's army.
The Battle of Sheffield was over…and it had ended in victory for the Separatists.
Dawn could not have broken sooner, putting an end to a very long night for the defenders. There had been heavy casualties trying to hold off the imperial army, and severe damage had been done to Sheffield's fortifications.
Despite the victory, most of the defenders were tired and exhausted. Boggart went about congratulating his soldiers, while Da Vinci immediately went to work in beginning reparation of the fortifications.
Anice lay in the infirmary, recovering from her wounds along with Kay, who was sitting on his chair. Helga sat beside him, helping nurse her friend with runes.
"Is she still in coma?" Kay asked.
"Yes. I feel bad for her, though. How many times has she found herself unconscious on the infirmary bed."
"With how bloody annoying this island is, she'll be seeing that bed for a lot of times until she gets stronger." Kay spoke.
"You took a bad beating from Lancelot, from what I heard."
"Give me a damn break. I've spent this entire night fighting either Gawain, her soldiers or those stupidly powerful Slave Knights. I was in a big disadvantage when she showed up."
"Oh, so you could have beaten her?"
"Positive."
Helga giggled. "Oh, Kay. You just don't don't like showing weakness to stronger opponents, do you?"
Kay smirked. "Father always told me to stand tall against bullies as a kid…even if they could easily kick my arse. I've always applied that philosophy later on."
"Besides, I'm pretty sure my dearest father would disown me if he saw me get intimidated by that stupid midget. Seriously, she seems more like a lost child than a Tam Lin." Kay spoke as the two of them shared a laugh.
"Don't be so cocky, Kay. If it hadn't been for the Silent Knight…Artoria would have been heartbroken."
Kay's smile fell. "Yeah. She may love cussing me, but I can tell she really depends on us for emotional support."
"Its such a strange feeling. My Artoria never really did that with me. Never depended on me in such a way. Merlin always told her to be mentally strong and independent. After she found out her true identity, Artoria started depending on herself more. To see this one lean on us for support…"
"Us?"
Kay snorted. "Don't put everything on me, Helga. She looks up to you as well. You're maybe the first mage she's ever met face to face. And you should hear what she says about you in our sparring sessions."
Helga stared at him in surprise.
"Really?" She spoke.
"You always were about going past the limits. You didn't just accept what you were given. You tried to make things better. You always strove to improve your craft." Kay spoke.
"Back on Ynys Mon, I saw how hard you worked to make sure your runes got more effective and regular on the clock while we hunted Cath Palug. I saw how each setback we suffered on Ynys Mon only strengthened your will to put an end to Cath Palug once and for all. If you hadn't pushed yourself to ensure your magic is working at top efficiency, our hunt wouldn't have succeeded."
"I think the will to striving for bettering oneself…it really stood out to Artoria. And I think a part of that is why she wants me to teach her to use a sword."
Helga stared at Kay in surprise.
"Oh." Helga spoke, her voice turning somber as she looked at Artoria in melancholy.
"She's a sweet girl. But I pray the curse she has in her doesn't make her suffer like Seidr did to me."
Kay's eyes turned downcast. "Helga, what happened to your mother…"
"Don't. No matter how much you tell me, I cannot deny the truth. I made a mistake. A mistake that cost me so much." Helga spoke looking at Artoria.
"I hope she doesn't make a mistake like that."
Kay got up from his chair and wrapped an arm around Helga.
"She won't. I won't let her fall to the fate my sister fell to. I'll make sure she comes out of this fine…"
"...Whatever it takes."
Helga pursed her lips. "Whatever it takes." She repeated after Kay.
The two friends sat down on chair as Helga leaned her head against Kay's shoulder.
"Helga, how are you, by the way? Heard you got wounded fighting that mage?"
"Nothing serious. That Cailleach dog couldn't inflict anything that my runes cannot heal. But I do admit its embarrassing to have struggled against him, even if he was being enhanced by Britain's mana."
Helga sighed in exhaustion.
"Thank Odin for Marius teaching me how to use a sword…"
"You still haven't told me how he managed to go from Rome to Scandinavia…"
Helga smiled.
"Well, my friend, I don't think there's a better time than now."
Once they were well rested, the two of them would be called to attend a celebratory feast with Boggart. They'd talk to everyone there, eat, drink and celebrate their victory.
It was still a long journey from beating Morgan. But the first roadblock was done.
He and Artoria had established a foothold in Britain. Next, was making herself known to the wider parts of Britain…
…And what better way than the Calamity of Norwich?
Far away in the Lake District, the Worker silently examined a piece of Albion's fang, on his table. Nearby, lay glass containers of liquified mana taken right from the curses covering Cernunnos.
"Hm, the bone's holding well." The Worker noted as he observed the fang's structure.
He then looked to the side.
"Ah, Sheffield's survived." The Worker noted as he rubbed his palms.
"Perfect, that means there's no chance we'll be going to the old timeline."
The Worker looked at Albion's skeleton.
"Now I can really start working on the Black Dragon."
A/N: Well, 17 chapters. About 135,000 words. Part-1 of this story comes to an end. Instead of the destruction of Sheffield, Sheffield instead survives Morgan's attack. Artoria now has a foothold in Britain, a base she can return to after she's gone around doing Child of Prophecy stuff. A lot to unpack this chapter.
First with Melusine. I actually didn't have Muramasa shoot down Melusine at first, it was going to be someone else. But I felt it was a bit too much Deus Ex Machina and immediately remembered that Muramasa had Höðr, a god who uses a bow as a weapon, with him. Its still a little Deus Ex Machina, but way less than the initial version.
After that, the Silent Knight's one man army defense. I've been waiting to write this since chapter-2, all because I wrote an earlier chapter while listening to 'Statues' (The music that plays in the siege of Hogwarts in Harry Potter) and just couldn't get it out of my head.
I didn't put a second fight between Kay and Barghest, because that would be redundant. I instead did Anice vs the Captain, Artoria vs Sith and Helga vs Beryl. Not going to lie, Helga vs Beryl was the most fun one, because that fight was basically Celtic magecraft vs Scandinavian magecraft. And also, I just wanted Beryl to have a bit more of his magecraft lean towards plants, which I showed by having him use different tree and herb extracts as well as inscribing Ogham runes, which I've talked about in the Foot Notes. A lot of the stuff Beryl displayed in this chapter takes inspiration from Wicca beliefs on magic. As for Helga, her
And for Artoria's curse usage...I'm noticing I'm putting Artoria in an unconscious situation too many times. I'll dial back on that. Plus, a little reflection on Sith's character arc so far while she's literally venting out her frustrations by kicking Artoria into a pulp. Poor Artoria. Gets her ass kicked by Anice and suffers from the curse, gets impaled by the knight in the Nameless Woods and suffers from the curse and then gets kicked like a lost puppy by Sith and suffers from the curse. I've been too harsh on her in this story so far.
Beyond that, I'll now be taking a break from this story. I stopped updating my PJO fanfic after just 2 chapters so that I could wrap up the Battle of Sheffield. So, now I'll completely focused on finishing the PJO fanfic before I start updating chapters on this story as well as Remnant: The Soulless Plains. So, consider this goodbye for now. I'll be back with Part-2 in the future.
Hope you guys enjoyed and constructive criticism is appreciated!
P.S.: Since this is the last chapter before I take a break from this story as well as me having finished part-1, here's a bit of a personal note:
So, the idea of writing a fanfic about Kay had been on my mind for almost 2 years now. I had only 2 weeks of experience in writing fanfiction, and I had decided that one day I would write a fic about Kay. The main catalyst for this was a fic on SpaceBattles set in Camelot Zero, talking about Kay's thought process the night before he would die to the Lion King. I don't remember its name, but the dynamic it displayed between Kay and Artoria...it really stuck with me. So, I decided about writing a fanfic where Kay replaces Bedivere in the Camelot singularity. This was the phase when I was thinking about all the fanfics I could write, before I decided to make a roadmap of a gigantic franchise with my fanfics connecting to each other's storylines and scrapping out ideas that I couldn't fit in. Kay in Camelot singularity was one of them. A year passes by, and I have an insane stroke of luck last June rolling on the LB6 banners on FGO NA. I've gotten all the LB6 characters, and back when Oberon's banner hadn't come out, I'd made a promise to my readers that I'd publish an LB6 fanfic. When I managed to get Oberon, I decided to follow through with my promise. And at that moment, the old idea of a Kay fanfic once again came to my mind. That, combined with LB6 still being fresh on my mind along with me getting burned out from writing my other fanfics, resulted in the birth of this story.
This story started out as just having LB6 play out with Kay inserted into it, but It has become so much more than that. It was with this fanfic that I could feel my mindset for a storyline was maturing. This fanfic really showed me what I wanted out of the stories I wrote, and that was a mature and grounded story. Comparing this story's beginning with my first fanfic's, is a really big difference, and I can confirm this fanfic will be a part of the franchise of fanfics I've planned out above (The Hsuyaaverse, you could say). Besides that, we're close to hitting 200 favourites in only 17 chapters, an achievement that I remember took me almost 50 chapters in my first fanfic. In that sense, I just want to thank all of you who've read this story. This story will be the beginning of essentially a rewrite of the Lostbelt Arc after Olympus. So, as Kay said, its a long journey to the end of this story.
And I hope you all will be there with me when I post the epilogue.
Thank you and goodbye, until we meet again.
Foot Notes:
Uruz: Rune of Strength and Healing. Once again, Norse runes have multiple meanings and I'll only be listing the meaning that was appropriate to the rune's usage in the chapter.
Raidho: Rune of traveling/motion. Different from Ehwaz which focusses more on means of transportation than the motion itself.
Sowilo: Rune of light.
Ogham runes: An alphabet that was popular in Ireland in...well, its not confirmed how old the Ogham alphabet is. But its range is from 1st century BC to around 6th century AD. Its letters usually symbolise a type of tree of the British isles, which have their own significance to Celtic belief. While there is no concrete evidence, there is a possibility druids used ogham runes for divination like how Futhark runes were used by Völva in Scandinavia. So, Ogham runes are essentially the Celtic cousins of the more well-known Futhark Runes.
(Honestly Nasu could have used Ogham symbols rather than futhark runes for Cú and Scathach. Even if the time periods may not match, at least Ogham is closer region wise than Elder Futhark.)
Below, I'll now list the Ogham runes. First I'll put in the tree each rune symbolise, and then that specific tree's symbolism in celtic belief.
Beath: Ogham for the Birch tree - Tree of Change.
Saille: Ogham for the Willow tree - Tree of Healing.
Duir: Ogham for the Oak tree - Tree of Strength.
Iodadh: Ogham for the Yew tree - Tree of Death.
Response to Reviews:
Ruule: Yep. My ladder point wasn't exactly about magic. I was referring more to historical siege warfare, but yeah. When you have magical superpowers, why ladders?
Dasgun: Hello. I honestly don't know how to respond to your review, but ok.
Darth Kyuubi Kurama: Thank you.
Sword Boi Hero: Alright, I'm not really able to follow what you're trying to say, so I'll leave it at that.
King0fP0wers: Hey, at least we got a jet dragon. Valstrax has competition. But anyway, I remember that apparently Albion is both the Red and the White dragon for some reason. And also Albion's Remnant is red, so we did get the red dragon fae in a way.