The golden sheath engraved with ancient fairy runes appeared before Mordred's chest.
In the next instant, a soft and ethereal light blossomed around her, completely enveloping her body from every direction.
It was an absolute defense.
A perfect safeguard.
A protection that no attack in the world could penetrate.
Not even the divine sword capable of cutting the world itself could break through Avalon's barrier.
Upon seeing that scene, Artoria was left completely speechless.
She had never imagined that the lost sheath of the Holy Sword was in Mordred's hands.
And no one on that battlefield understood better than her just how absurd Avalon's power truly was.
"This is unfair..."
Artoria nearly lost her composure.
"There's an absurd trap on the other side... and it's MY trap!"
Although Rhongomyniad was a Noble Phantasm specialized in absolute piercing power, there was absolutely no possibility of it penetrating Avalon.
Because the moment the sheath's true name was released...
The user became separated from the real world.
At that moment, Mordred existed within a domain isolated from the planet itself.
No concept of attack could reach her.
Avalon was a perfect mobile fortress.
A supreme defense that ignored physical interference, magic, space, dimensions, and even phenomena from parallel worlds.
The ultimate guardian.
The world's absolute defense.
As for the possibility of someone breaking Avalon...
Leon was probably the only being in that world who possessed even a chance.
And even then, he would not be able to destroy it head-on.
After all, not even Leon's absurd brutality was capable of crushing Avalon through sheer force.
If he wanted to deal with that sheath, he would need to use other methods.
But none of that mattered now.
Because Artoria's finishing blow...
Had failed completely.
"Avalon... return everything to her!"
Mordred roared.
Besides its absolute defense, Avalon possessed another monstrous effect.
Reflection.
All energy directed at the sheath could be returned to the attacker.
Rhongomyniad could no longer stop.
Artoria could only watch with a pale face as the colossal light of the Holy Lance collided directly against Avalon's golden surface.
In the next instant...
The light was reflected.
BOOOOOOOOM!!
The gigantic anchor of light shot back toward Artoria herself.
Mordred: "Farewell... father."
Her voice grew quieter toward the end.
"...And farewell to my cowardice."
"That— no!"
However...
The King of Knights was still the King of Knights.
Rhongomyniad was her own weapon.
Even though it was an unavoidable strike for most people, Artoria knew its structure, magical flow, and weak points perfectly.
At the very last instant, she fully unleashed her battle intuition.
The Holy Sword in her left hand shone brilliantly.
Clang!!
She struck the weakest point in Rhongomyniad's own energy flow with perfect precision, forcibly opening a tiny gap in the torrent of destruction.
Boom!!
The golden explosion barely grazed her body.
Even so, the shockwave violently launched Artoria backward.
But...
She survived.
"Haa... haa..."
Artoria instinctively sighed in relief.
However—
"You lost, King of Knights."
"What?!"
Artoria's green eyes widened.
When she finally stabilized her body and raised her head...
Mordred was already standing before her.
The shining Clarent rested silently against her neck.
The entire world seemed to fall into silence.
A silence so deep it was deafening.
The scene of the King of Knights' defeat stood before everyone's eyes.
And no one could believe it.
"T-The King of Knights lost?"
"That King of Knights... actually lost?!"
"My God..."
"That's impossible!"
"I'm dreaming, right?!"
Even Mordred's own army looked stunned.
Many of those soldiers had once fought alongside Artoria in the past.
They knew the invincibility of that king.
That always-victorious figure seemed to exist above the very concept of defeat.
Because of that...
No one had ever imagined they would witness such a scene.
As for Artoria's side...
It was as if the heavens themselves had collapsed.
"No... this can't be real..."
"My king lost...?"
"Hahaha... this must be a nightmare..."
"God... please... wake me up..."
The King of Knights was their faith.
And when an absolute belief shatters...
The collapse is equally absolute.
Some knights fell to their knees crying.
Others looked toward the heavens in despair.
Some completely lost the will to live.
And some...
Unable to accept reality...
Simply drew their own blades against their throats.
Upon seeing that scene, the light in Artoria's eyes dimmed for a moment.
She understood.
Her myth had just been destroyed.
Her status as the invincible king had crumbled before the eyes of the entire world.
Until today...
She had always been the perfect king.
The undefeated king.
The absolute symbol of hope.
But now...
People had finally realized something.
The King of Knights was not invincible.
She too was merely a person.
"Ah..."
Artoria let out an unconscious sigh.
Then froze.
Because at that instant she felt something unexpected.
Relief.
She had lost, yet strangely, part of her felt lighter.
"...How is this possible?"
She could not understand that feeling.
On the other hand...
There was someone completely different from everyone else on the battlefield.
While all the soldiers on Artoria's side were drowning in absolute despair...
One single person looked as though he was about to jump in joy.
"Wonderful!"
Merlin raised both arms with a radiant smile.
His eyes shone like someone who had just witnessed the greatest miracle in the world.
"She lost! Artoria truly lost!"
The mage almost laughed from happiness.
"What a wonderful miracle! Fate finally did something right!"
The surrounding knights immediately looked at Merlin with murderous intent.
At that moment, many of them genuinely wanted to tear him apart on the spot.
But Merlin simply ignored all those gazes.
His eyes crossed the battlefield and landed on the distant wall.
More specifically, on Leon.
The mage placed his right hand over his chest and performed a deep bow.
A solemn mage's salute.
Merlin possessed clairvoyance.
He could see the threads of fate.
And because of that, he understood something no one else did.
Artoria's defeat should never have existed.
That was an impossible future.
A result that never appeared in the original destiny.
But Leon had changed everything.
The threads of Mordred and Artoria's fates were being held in his hands.
He was the one who had rewritten the outcome of that story.
Even without knowing whether Leon could truly hear him, Merlin still quietly spoke:
"Thank you... Your Highness Leon Fol Palettia."
His smile was sincere.
"You corrected the greatest mistake of my life."
Merlin's eyes returned to Artoria.
This time, filled with relief.
"Now... you can finally rest."
His voice carried genuine happiness.
"Thank goodness... truly, thank goodness."
Merlin slowly closed his eyes.
In the past, he believed Artoria possessed the perfect qualifications to become king.
And it was precisely because he believed that, that he ended up pushing that girl toward a fate far too cruel.
That had always been his greatest mistake.
But now, at last, someone had corrected it.
(End of Chapter)