"Wait, Alter. I'm coming."
Kay's vow sliced through the frigid night air of the North Wales castle.
Then Medusa released her mana and intoned the true name.
"My gentle child, answer me. [Bellerophon (Bridle of Radiance)]."
Hiiiiing~!!
A dazzling surge of magical light, and a mythical celestial horse—not of this Britain—emerged alongside a magic circle.
A massive pair of wings, an overwhelming divine-classified beast rather than a mere animal—a Pegasus.
Medusa leapt lightly and mounted the Pegasus's back, and Kay followed, securing his golden axe firmly at his side.
Tamamo and Jeanne Alter saw them off from atop the castle wall.
"Master! Once you arrive, summon me right away!"
"Hey! Don't you dare push yourself too hard! Use your authority—got it?!"
"Got it. I'll be summoned soon enough."
Kay waved, and Medusa tugged the bridle of Bellerophon.
Kwaaang~!!
The Pegasus did not simply fly with flapping wings. With an overwhelming release of mana, it kicked off the void and shot up into the sky.
From North Wales to Manchester. A journey that would take days on foot, yet this Celestial Steed, said to have nearly reached Olympus with heroic Bellerophon, covered it in mere hours.
"We'll fly a bit rougher, Master. Hold on tight so you won't fall."
"Ha! After facing the Demon Realm's biting winds, this is nothing but a breeze!"
A streak of white shot through Britain's ash-gray night sky, like a meteor on a direct path to Manchester.
Meanwhile, at that moment.
In the castle's field dungeons underneath Manchester—an ancient, sturdy underground prison dating back to the Roman Empire's occupation.
"…Ugh."
In pitch darkness, chains clanged and agonized groans escaped.
A woman with both arms bound to thick iron rings embedded in the wall.
Her black armor lay in tatters, her ebony dress torn and stained with blood and dust—a once-proud knight reduced to a wreck.
She was the tyrant nicknamed for wielding a merciless jet-black holy sword, striking fear into the Saxons across all of Britain—Alter.
Her famed Excalibur Morgan had been confiscated somewhere, and her near-infinite mana bound tightly by cursed chains, reducing her to mere human levels.
Perhaps because she was both dragon and human, her strength sealed alongside her mana, she could do nothing but languish in captivity.
Kk-gi-gi-gi-geek~
With a heavy metallic creak, the dungeon door swung open, and the feeble light of a torch spilled in.
The sound of metal boots halted in front of Alter.
"Damn, you look pathetic as hell. For someone who supposedly devoured all of Britain, you're a sorry sight, huh? Hahaha."
A cruel, mocking voice.
He was a hulking Saxon knight—but not the usual blunt barbarian type.
His skin was oddly pale, his eyes slit vertically like a reptile's, and a faint, otherworldly fairy mana wafted from him.
The Saxons' greatest knight and a confidant of Vortigern—Tacuin.
Half fairy-blooded, known to devastate battlefields with invisible speed.
"…Heh. The rat who scurried around like vermin, and now you play the victor? My one regret is that I couldn't slit your talkative tongue when I had the chance."
Alter lifted her head and glared at Tacuin.
Bloodied face, hair in disarray—but her golden eyes still radiated the overwhelming might and killing intent of a true tyrant.
"Haha! Oh, look at you, all defiant with that glare even while tied up! Losing your Holy Sword but still seething—what a true Pendragon you are."
Tacuin swaggered forward and roughly grabbed Alter's chin, hoisting her face upward.
"Anyway, be honest—you can't blame me for anything sly or underhanded. I beat you fair and square in a head-on fight, right? Sure, your dark sword's power was brutal, but your swings were slow as a slug. I shredded you with speed. Hardly unfair, is it?"
His words were true.
Tacuin's superhuman speed had outmatched Alter's brute strength, leaving her unable to land so much as a scratch. A perfect mismatch.
So much so that, perhaps from tales of Roman Britain, some called Tacuin the reincarnation of Achilles.
"Yeah, it must sting—but I'll tell you why you're stuck in this miserable state."
Tacuin tightened his grip on her chin and leaned in close.
"I'm the brother of Caradoc, former lord of the Tower of Sorrow."
"…Caradoc?"
Alter's brow twitched in slight annoyance.
"Yeah. Our brother Caradoc was butchered by that so-called King Arthur and his pet Pendragons. Sure, death in battle is normal, but avenging my fallen blood—that's what I owe as a brother. You Pendragons will pay the price for my brother's fate."
"…Pathetic. You took up Vortigern's cause over such a petty, personal grudge? Foolish and crude."
Alter spat the blood pooling in her mouth onto Tacuin's armor.
Tacuin scowled, wiped the blood off roughly, then let out a mocking laugh.
"That's not all. This is punishment we Saxons deliver upon your Pendragon household, punishment."
"Punishment? What a ludicrous idea."
"Don't you remember? Your father Uther Pendragon brutally ripped apart our great Queen Angela. Your family's provocations brought bloodshed on our Saxons first! This is your own tragedy you brought upon Britain, got it?"
At his words, Alter's golden eyes grew cold. Even bound, she sneered.
"…You scoundrel, as if your brain cells were muscles. You wretches repay kindness with hostility, then dare talk of punishment? You beasts seem to lack any concept of shame. You make me sick."
"Ah, shit, you talk way too much!!"
Deprived of retort by her brutal truth, Tacuin's face flushed red. He huffed and drew a thick iron rod from his belt.
"Heh. Fine, you're right! But what of it? You invited the wolves into your home because you were too weak and stupid to keep them out! Your excuses don't matter to us victors—they're just dogs barking!"
Tacuin grabbed a fistful of Alter's hair.
"The only reason you're still alive with that big mouth of yours is because we Saxons are generous. But once we tear out your mage circuits and Mental Core, you'll be as good as dead."
"You're hallucinating that your blade will slice my throat. Release these chains at once, and maybe I'll spare your hide… Uggh?!"
As Alter tried to curse, Tacuin pried her jaw open and shoved the iron rod deep into her mouth.
Alter could only emit beastlike snarls, unable to speak further.
"Krrr…! Rrrh…!"
"Haha! Look at you now, once so proud and majestic, now like a pup."
Tacuin tapped the rod at her lips and laughed.
His leering gaze roamed over the tear in her dress, exposing her pale thigh and her curves.
"Man, I'd love to shove something else down there instead of this rod…but until Lord Vortigern decides what to do with you personally, I'll hold back. Consider it an honor."
"Grmph…!!"
Alter's eyes blazed with murderous intent at Tacuin, but sealed as she was, she had no power to act.
Humiliation, rage, and crushing helplessness engulfed her.
Tacuin sneered at her futile struggles, torch in hand, swaggering out of the dungeon.
Kk-gi-gi-geek~ Bang!!
The iron door slammed shut, plunging Alter back into perfect darkness and silence.
Alter's head, suspended by chains, dropped lifelessly to the floor.
'…Is this truly the end?'
Distrusting Merlin, abandoning her sisters, seeking power alone, and hunting for the brother she thought might be out there—only to face a humiliating death in this dank prison.
In her final moment, the face of one person flickered through her collapsing mind.
Five years ago, night after night, rough hands served her delicious meals, silently enduring her impatient complaints—a single savior.
Her only brother, kind and foolish, from a world she could never return to and a world she failed to protect.
`Alter, don't just eat the burgers I make. You'll need to try other dishes someday. Let's dine out in town sometimes.`
`Hmph, if it's made by you, it's the best. Consider it an honor.`
`Seriously, picky eater, you talk too much. Eat something else too, not just meat.`
"Ugh…"
A hot tear, born of pain and longing, rolled from beneath the rod at Alter's lips, falling to the cold dungeon floor.
At that moment.
In Brocéliande, the magical forest of Britain.
Before the magical spring called the Fountain of Storms, the Barenton Well; two women sat.
"What are you doing?"
"Divination."
The beautiful woman who looked like an elf asked the blonde girl.
"Divination? Then is it about your sister? That Alter was captured by that Tacuin, right?"
At her cautious question, the blonde girl nodded.
"Yes. And there's no need to rush off to rescue her right now."
"What? Oh, does the reading say…?"
"Yes. Alter will be safe."
"But knowing she's safe, don't you feel uneasy?"
"I'd be lying if I said no. But it's fine. This matter isn't for me to handle."
She answered calmly.
"Britomart, until now, no matter how much I divined, I couldn't see the future I wanted. But since a few days ago, it's becoming visible."
"The future you desired? What is it?"
"It's this. To meet someone precious again."
"Someone precious? Ah! Could it be that person!?"
"Heehee, who knows~ I'll introduce them later. Once I've fulfilled your request first."
"I always owe you so much. I'll help defeat the tyrant and join your journey."
"Having you by my side is reassuring. Then I can introduce you too. Brother Kay."
The magical forest.
There, a fairy knight and a fairy mage rested for a moment.