Episode 208
Dale and Mordred, Charlotte and the Sacred Sword, the Pure White Aurelia and Lancelot.
In the Hall of Swords, two of the three duels had reached their conclusion.
It was a contest among four swords vying for the title of the Celestial Sword.
According to the rules set by the three, the Grand Duke of Lancaster, who had volunteered to be the final opponent, sharpened Charlotte’s senses before the last battle, while Dale of Saxon easily claimed victory over Mordred.
“Prince Mordred has just conceded defeat.”
Dale replied coldly, extending his arm. The icy aura enveloping Mordred began to reverse, as if time itself was rewinding.
Defying the irreversible laws of the world, the cold that had wrapped around the Seventh Prince Mordred seeped back into Dale’s body, and Mordred collapsed to his knees, powerless.
“Gasp, gasp…!”
He couldn’t even maintain consciousness through the pain and crumpled to the ground, his body still trembling and frozen pale.
“I… I haven’t lost yet…!”
At that moment, Mordred desperately gripped his sword and shouted.
“I am the proud son of the Empire, the Golden Knight…!”
As if everything that had happened within the icy prison was a lie.
“Is that so.”
But Dale was unfazed.
A blue butterfly took flight, and at the same time, a blue web had already ensnared the deepest part of Mordred’s soul.
The most crucial aspect of being a spy for the Blue Tower was that they themselves must never realize they were spies for the Blue Tower.
“That’s enough, Prince Mordred.”
The Ghost Sword Sephilia finally spoke to the struggling Mordred.
“As one of the Continent’s Seven Swords, I, the Ghost Sword Sephilia, acknowledge ‘Dale of Saxon’ as the victor of this duel.”
“Sephilia…!”
“Do not act recklessly, Your Highness.”
Sephilia replied coldly to Mordred, who was about to protest.
“In your current state, you cannot defeat the ‘Black Prince.’”
”…!”
Mordred bit his lip at those words. Once again, an insurmountable wall stood before him.
The monster, the Shadow Lord, for whom even the title of the Empire’s greatest genius was insufficient.
“I accept your judgment.”
Mordred bowed his head, biting his lip, unaware of what had transpired within the icy prison.
Another butterfly was caught in the blue web, and controlling that web was no longer the exclusive domain of the Blue Tower’s shadowy ‘Arachne.’
She was a loyal shadow knight and cunning strategist, and the lord she served was right here.
“Gasp, gasp…!”
Before the dancing Sacred Sword’s prowess, Charlotte Orhart finally steadied her breath.
As soon as Dale and Mordred’s duel ended, the fight between the two also concluded according to the ‘rules of three.’ Even if the Sacred Sword hadn’t fought with full strength, the sword wielded towards a disciple before the final battle was not to be underestimated.
Yet Charlotte calmed her breath and maintained her inner composure.
“Thank you, Master.”
“It doesn’t matter what you think of Saxon’s ‘Black Prince.’ The same goes for me. Even if he defeated my son on the battlefield.”
The Grand Duke of Lancaster spoke calmly to the smiling Charlotte, whose expression momentarily froze.
“But if you truly wish to serve him as your lord and have pledged your loyalty… you must become strong enough to protect him. Do you know what that means?”
“To prove with my own hands that I am stronger than my lord.”
Charlotte replied quietly, filled with determination.
When she first saw Dale, Charlotte was a naive girl who knew nothing of the world.
A young girl who knew nothing, she challenged the Empire’s greatest genius, claiming she would protect the Orhart family with her sword.
To prove herself by defeating Dale.
But Charlotte was defeated, and ironically, it was Dale who extended a hand to her.
Even when his own life was at stake, Dale fought to protect her.
That’s why she believed he was a lord truly worthy of her loyalty.
Since then, as the Empire’s greatest genius and the ‘Black Prince’ continued to grow stronger beyond measure… Charlotte realized she was never strong enough to protect him.
Moreover, even being by Dale’s side was not her place.
Charlotte was not oblivious to the feelings Dale showed towards his mentor, the Elf Mage.
Yet nothing would change.
“I am ready.”
Charlotte bit her lip quietly.
In the end, it all circles back to the beginning.
Once again, Charlotte Orhart would challenge the Empire’s greatest genius and Saxon’s ‘Black Prince’ with her sword, and this was no longer the reckless whim of a naive girl.
“I am prepared to defeat Saxon’s ‘Black Prince’ with my own hands.”
Two of the three duels had concluded, and another duel began anew.
In the Hall of Swords, two duels remained.
The contest for the Celestial Sword’s title between Dale and Charlotte.
And the ongoing battle for the Sacred Sword’s title.
The Holy Maiden and the Sword of the Lake clashed.
A battle where both poured their full strength into claiming a single title. At least for the Pure White Holy Maiden Aurelia, it was no lie.
Grasping the Sacred Sword Durandal, she transformed into a Seraph with six radiant wings.
The Pure White Seraph launched herself forward. Or rather, she attempted to.
“Your falsehood is beautiful.”
At that moment, the Sword of the Lake spoke.
”…!”
The Holy Maiden’s swinging sword halted. The tip of the Sacred Sword Durandal was poised to strike Lancelot’s golden armor.
“Why did you stop your sword?”
Lancelot asked.
“My father once said, our falsehoods are truer and more beautiful than the truth.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Ah, there are too many birds listening here.”
The saying goes, ‘The birds hear the words spoken by day, and the mice hear the words spoken by night.’ They were blue birds and mice.
Thus, the Knight of the Lake extended his arm.
Whoosh!
The world around them reversed. Aurelia swallowed hard. They were no longer in the Hall of Swords.
The place where they stood was atop a lake.
A world of water stretching endlessly beyond the horizon.
Lancelot stood upon the lake’s surface. Aurelia was no exception.
“Those who are not pure cannot stand upon this lake’s surface.”
Lancelot said.
“But it seems the Holy Maiden is not one of them.”
“Can the birds and mice not hear whispers here?”
“Indeed.”
Lancelot smiled.
“If you defeat the ‘First Prince of the Empire’ here and claim the Sacred Sword’s title… your fame will echo across the continent.”
The Knight of the Lake took a step. Ripples gently spread across the lake’s surface.
“What do you want from me?”
The Holy Maiden asked again.
“Defeat me.”
The Knight of the Lake said.
“Then, as I have told you, no one will be able to deny Holy Maiden Aurelia. It will become a truth truer than the truth, reborn as the Shadow Lord’s sword.”
”…!”
The False Holy Maiden swallowed hard at Lancelot’s words.
“What do you truly want?”
“I do not wish for the Shadow Lord to win.”
The Knight of the Lake replied.
“But I also do not wish for my father, the Golden Lord, to win.”
At his outrageous words, the Holy Maiden Aurelia caught her breath.
“I am tired of the vile and disgraceful struggle between gold and shadow. Therefore, I simply wish for the most noble to win.”
Nobility.
“Those who truly deserve to win.”
The Knight of the Lake smiled as he spoke.
“But as I said, defeating me will not be easy.”
He said, adjusting his grip on his sword.
At that moment, the aura surged, and the Knight of the Lake’s ‘Avatar of Ideals’ revealed itself.
The world’s most noble knight.
Once defeated by a hero, it was said that his body officially disappeared without a trace.
──Sir Vadel Orhart, the Divine Sword, stood there.
“Dale.”
“Charlotte.”
Charlotte Orhart spoke his name, and Dale spoke hers in return.
“You’ve grown splendidly.”
Dale smiled as if congratulating a daughter’s growth, but Charlotte did not smile.
“Yes.”
She merely murmured, her expression devoid of emotion.
“I must become strong enough to protect my lord.”
“I see.”
Dale smiled quietly at those words. As Charlotte’s lord, he faced the sword of a grown knight.
But there can only be one Celestial Sword. Here, one of them must fall and relinquish their sword.
Dale could have easily surrendered, casting aside his ambition for the sword and admitting defeat. But Charlotte Orhart would never accept such a concession. That was simply who she was.
The daughter of the noblest knight in the world.
“I won’t go easy on you.”
And so, Dale drew his sword. The dark blade gleamed ominously in the sunlight, and Charlotte Orhart unsheathed her own greatsword of Saxon.
“You promised, remember? That you’d become strong enough to protect me. And…”
Charlotte’s voice trailed off for a moment.
Her strength. The object of her vengeful hatred had vanished, and the Orhart family, under Saxon’s protection, was no longer in danger. Yet Charlotte’s obsession with strength remained unyielding. For one reason alone.
To stay by Dale’s side.
“I promised I’d come back when you needed me.”
And to fulfill that promise, to ensure Dale needed her, Charlotte had to prove herself.
She had to show that her sword surpassed that of the empire’s greatest prodigy, Saxon’s “Black Prince.”
With that singular purpose, Charlotte adjusted her grip on her sword.
Dale, too, followed the aura heart technique, releasing a tri-colored aura, his sword beginning to glow as darkly as Saxon’s black blade.
At the same time, a vibrant purple shimmered along the edge of Charlotte Orhart’s sword.
A sword with a fragrance.