Under the blue sky, pitch-black light bearing an ominous crimson bloomed from the tip of the black sword.
Like a black setting sun, the brilliance of the Sword of Reversed Dawn, carrying terrifying magical energy and oppression, smashed down toward the smiling white incubus on the earth.
Hum—
Unlike the grand and holy sound of the Sword of Promised Victory's release, the sound emitted by the Vile King's sword—its reversed aspect—when firing a beam of light was an eerie humming.
This was not only because it represented the darkness after light had been devoured, but also because its power and existence were not recognized by this world and were rejected by space itself.
Yet, facing Souya's 'casual strike' that had already reached the level of an Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasm, Merlin's expression showed not the slightest hint of panic or gravity. Even the smile on his lips remained as relaxed and joyous as ever.
Because he didn't need to make a move at all.
"I leave it to you, Sir Gawain~"
The white incubus smiled as he looked at Gawain. Although his words sounded like a request, the malicious amusement within them was completely undisguised.
"Merlin! I f*ck your horse!"
Hearing Merlin call his name, Gawain instantly realized what he wanted to do and couldn't help but curse out loud.
But even though he was already furious beyond measure, his inner rage like an erupting volcano, under the influence of the illusion Merlin had planted beforehand, Gawain could ultimately only helplessly and furiously be controlled by Merlin. His body was forced to stand between Merlin and Souya.
The next moment, the light of the Holy Sword Galatine shone once more, rising from below to meet the oppressive black dawn light.
Hum—
There was no explosion, no roaring blast. Even though it looked like two beams of light clashing, in reality, one light was rapidly devouring the other.
And this was the ability granted to Souya by the 'Sword of Reversed Dawn' and his dragonification.
'Mana Burst (Dark)'.
Just as Artoria, whose magical energy attribute was originally wind, had her attribute change to light after obtaining the Holy Sword of the Planet, the current Souya was similarly influenced by the black Holy Sword and the Dragon Core, changing his magical energy attribute to darkness.
Therefore, the beams of light he released also possessed the erosion of darkness and the property of light-devouring.
This was exactly the manifestation of the Vile King Vortigern's will.
Shouldering an entire dying era, unrecognized by the people, unaccepted by the world—even though the path he walked was destined to be lonely, he still resolutely stepped onto it.
When that day came, when he chose to leave the royal court in order to prolong and protect everyone of this era, only to find upon his departure that not a single kinsman followed him... Vortigern, this aging old man, had already prepared himself to transform into the deepest darkness.
Fortunately, he was not without a successor.
As a fellow traveler sharing his destiny, Britain's second White Dragon, Lamorak, was precisely the inheritor of this darkness.
And this 'Sword of Reversed Dawn' was the nemesis of all Holy Swords and beams of light.
Without the slightest obstruction, the dark dawn light of the Vile King's sword completely devoured and absorbed Gawain's coronal light in a single encounter. Then, its momentum undiminished—and even increased—it continued to blast toward Gawain and Merlin behind him.
But even so, Merlin still showed no intention of dodging. Even when he noticed the beam of light was about to devour Gawain first, a joyous light flickered in his eyes.
However, the beam of light ultimately did not land on Gawain. At the last moment, Souya shifted the tip of the sword, deflecting the attack by a few degrees.
Boom!
The red-black magical energy grazed Gawain's cheek and landed not far away, completely destroying the buildings there.
Seeing this scene, Merlin finally laughed out loud.
"Just as I expected, Lamorak. You truly cannot bring yourself to harm them."
To the side, Gawain, who had already prepared himself to be killed by Souya, was now pale and panting. Hearing Merlin's words, complex emotions flashed in his eyes.
He opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something to Souya, but ultimately remained silent.
And Merlin's words continued.
"Sir Lamorak, out of what kind of mentality did you choose not to harm them?"
"Friendship? Affection? Or that so-called conscience?"
"Even if they didn't immediately show the intention to subjugate you, you are ultimately enemies, are you not?"
He seemed eager to taste what Souya's emotions were like at this moment, his words unable to hide his thirst for knowledge.
"Since you are enemies, why didn't you take the opportunity to kill Sir Gawain just now? I truly do not understand you, Sir Lamorak."
"Could it be... it can't be, right? Sir Lamorak, as someone who shouldn't exist in this era, have you truly developed so-called feelings for the people here?"
One question after another was thrown out.
Merlin looked expectantly at the figure floating silently in the air, seemingly lost in thought.
But to his slight disappointment, even though his tone was full of provocation, Lamorak showed no sign of losing his composure or answering his questions.
What is he trying to do?
He's neither attacking anymore, nor answering my questions. Did he really fall into deep thought just because of a few words from me?
Harboring this thought, Merlin seemed to realize something.
Instinctively, light flowed in his eyes. He once again used Clairvoyance on Souya.
Only this time, he didn't try to pry into his destiny, because he knew that such a destiny was obscured and meaningless.
With the activation of his 'Present Vision', he finally understood the meaning behind Souya's actions.
"I see. Are you stalling for time, Lamorak?"
"Is it because Rhongomyniad takes too long to anchor, or because you haven't yet mastered and adapted to this body?"
Having said that, Merlin smiled at the latter, and this time, he finally saw a change in expression on his face.
"Phew..."
Letting out a soft sigh, feeling that he had barely adapted to this body, Souya finally stopped suppressing the disgust and malice toward Merlin in his heart.
"Using those disgusting eyes of yours to snoop again, Merlin? Truly as disgusting as a rat in a gutter."
The massive dragon wings slowly spread to their maximum, and Souya extended his loosely clenched left hand towards Merlin.
"I admit it. Just as you said, I do not want to lay a hand on Gawain and the others. But that does not mean you, hiding behind them, can rest easy."
As his words fell, Souya clenched his hand fiercely.
Devour Light!
The next moment, it was as if all the light in the world had been swallowed by some indescribable darkness.
Everyone present, including Merlin, only felt their vision go dark, as if their sense of sight had been stripped away. And when everything recovered...
Everyone was astonished to find that Souya's ferocious figure had vanished from his original spot.
And the instant Merlin discovered Souya's figure missing, a chill rose in his heart.
Instinctively, Merlin wanted to use Magecraft to leave this place. Mastering High-Speed Divine Words from the Age of Gods, he only needed to slightly open his mouth to cast such Magecraft.
But he quickly realized something was wrong.
Because he couldn't move.
As if his body had been eroded by darkness, Merlin only felt a chilling cold enveloping his entire body, and even his consciousness became sluggish.
Immediately after, Souya's voice rang out behind him.
"Tormenting you is as easy as breathing."
"Ah!"
Accompanied by Merlin's scream, the black Holy Sword in Souya's hand flashed with a dark light. In a mere instant, it swept across Merlin's eyes, obliterating that 'Clairvoyance' that could see through everything in the world.
And this was the final gift Souya gave him before killing him.
The next moment, Souya moved his hand. The black Sword of Reversed Dawn swung out hundreds and thousands of black streams of light in an instant. Amidst the crisscrossing sword gleams, Merlin's body was shattered to pieces like withered flowers and broken ears of grain.
Did he succeed? Is Merlin really dead?
Seeing this scene, the Knights of the Round Table were all stunned, and then complex colors erupted in their eyes.
But they quickly realized things weren't that simple.
Because they still couldn't control their bodies, and the illusions on them still existed.
"..."
Souya silently watched the sliced fragments of petals fall to the ground and instantly wither and die.
Among those petals was a cluster of purple blood.
"Truly hard to kill..."
Sighing again, Souya finally understood the feeling Vortigern had when he 'killed' Merlin earlier.
It was as sickening as Darius being endlessly kited by Karma.
Right at this moment, Souya saw the Knights of the Round Table who had surrounded him at some unknown point, as well as the massive Celtic army rushing toward them from afar.
Beneath those overlapping layers of silver armor were countless purple eyes and eerie smiles.
Everyone seemed to have the same face, the same smile, the same disgust.
The faint laughter of the incubus seemed to drift in the air.
And at this moment, there were still three hours (six hours in modern time) before Rhongomyniad was completely driven into the Inner Sea of the Planet, and only four hours left before Souya's dragonification ended.
Before then, what he had to withstand were all the Knights of the Round Table and this army of tens of thousands.