Grimhild lowered her head as her shadow stretched long across the shattered arena floor.
The crowd screamed for her end.
But when she raised her face, her eyes were burning voids, and her voice cut sharper than any blade.
"You speak of endings, King… but that is what I am."
The earth trembled as a large magic circle manifested above her head with its exterior resembling a clock with Roman Numerals.
"You learned nothing! Your magic is futile!"
"Crono Aculus Grodum!"
The arena froze.
A deadly wave of Spirit Mana shot outward from the Magic Circle in an omnidirectional pathway.
The king stared it down and lifted Arondight high into the air.
"RUINOUS COUNTER!"
With a deadly shout, he swung his weapon downward, reflecting the entire Catastrophe Spell right back to Grimhild.
"Grimhild!!" Elizabeth stood up, shouting her name, but it mattered naught.
It was too late.
Grimhild's entire body was engulfed in her own spell and was transmuted into that of a cogwheel.
"Hm?" Lancelot widened his brow, staring at his supposed victory, but something gnawed at his heart. "!!!" He could feel the subtle change in the atmosphere from behind, causing him to turn around and shield himself. "Ghnnn!!"
A massive fireball collided with his blade, pushing him back.
"Hnnnaaaghhh!!" Lancelot parried the attack with all his might, sending it skyward before it exploded into the barrier above them.
"So you knew?" It was Grimhild, standing a dozen meters away, lifting her hand.
"I've watched your battle against Chroliosa, and I know all about the Yorgana System." Lancelot smirked, though anxiety was palpable behind his grin.
"Is that so?"
"For every spell that you use, you're immune to its essence. You've analyzed them down to their fundamentals with the help of that System of yours. It was obvious that I hadn't killed you." He held Arondight with both hands. "Except Arondight works differently. That's why you can't counter your own spells that it absorbs."
"So I noticed." Said Grimhild flatly.
Aronidght was a weapon that could absorb magic and amplify is greatly, allowing Lancelot to send it right back at his enemy. But in return, it changes the spells properties, while also amplifying its speed and potency.
It was a perfect counter to bypass Grimhild's innate immunity to her own magic thanks to the Yorgana System.
"You've only countered one of the many things that the Yorgana System has to offer, Lancelot."
The Tyrannical King widened his eyes, though he masked his realization with a smirk.
"Heh… I'm aware… but that's what makes this battle exciting!"
[Arondight Analysis Complete. Fabricating Counter Magic; Arithmetic Interface.]
"Fall to Arondight's might!" Lancelot once again lifted his blade into the sky, gradually amplifying its power and utilizing the countless spells it absorbed in the past. "Haaaahhhh!" Slicing forward, a crescent wave of light shot forward.
"Munzelzius."
With a single word, the wave of light collided with her body and caused no harm.
It merely vanished out of existence.
"What??" Lancelot widened his eyes.
"Your attack had no effect on me, how sad. Would you like to try that again?"
Lancelot furrowed his brows.
"What kind of magic?"
Grimhild lifted her hand.
"Fronyir."
A miniature sun shot forth from her magic circle, hot enough to melt steel in an instant.
"Tch. Even if you use the highest ranking fire spell, it will do nothing to my Holy Vessel!" Lancelot prepared Arondight once more.
"Mungolvriem."
Grimhild chanted another spell into existence, and suddenly, out of thin air, hundreds- no… thousands of miniature suns appeared in Lancelot's point of view.
"What?!"
Grimhild controlled each one individually, having them swerve behind the King of Secace, and attacking his blind spots.
"Gaaaghhh!!" Lancelot could only absorb and parry so many spells before he was overpowered, causing a massive explosion to go off, encapsulating him in a smoke cloud.
Everyone in the crowd was shocked, widening their eyes as their cheering came to an abrupt halt.
It was complete silence as the smoke cleared, slowly revealing the King standing in a crater, wielding his blade with one hand, panting in exhaustion.
Grimhild merely walked forward, staff in hand.
"You're outmatched."
"H-How… did you…?"
"I increased the quantity of my spell." She said flatly.
"What?" Lancelot asked in a raspy voice.
Grimhild smirked, confident as ever.
"Arithmetic Interface was a magic I created to counter your Holy Vessel. It allows me to control mathematics, including numbers and quantities."
Natural numbers, negative numbers, and Imaginary numbers. Grimhild now had control over them all.
"Your previous attack had no effect on me because I lowered how much of an increase Arondight could give its absorbed spells." She enjoyed his puzzled expression. "I turned its x3 increase into a negative decrease."
"How… ludicrous!" Yelled Sir Lancelot. "You're truly a foe deserving of praise. But I'll make sure to be the one who comes out victorious, witch!"
"You are no longer facing a witch, Lancelot. You face inevitability."
Lancelot's lips twitched into a grin even through his exhaustion.
"Then inevitability shall bleed before me!"
With a roar, he raised Arondight high into the sky.
The blade glowed, drinking deeper still of every fragment of magic it absorbed.
The crowd erupted again, this time in fevered cries; in terror of what was to come.
Estrilda slammed her massive fist against the railing of the stadium.
"This is madness… at this rate, the entire Kingdom will collapse!"
Jean frowned, restrained only by Kyto's sharp glare.
"Stay seated." Kyto said. "This is her fight."
Elizabeth shook her head, worried as ever.
"She can't withstand that forever… she can't…"
Fhiron leaned forward, narrowing his eyes.
"She can."
Obsidia said nothing, only watching for the climax of the battle.
In the arena, Lancelot thrust Arondight skyward.
The weapon screamed in resonance with the fragment of Excalibur embedded within.
Its light split the heavens themselves, burning the warding mages above as if they were wax before flame.
"Behold!" He yelled. "The culmination of every spell, every curse, every flame and storm cast at me! ARONDIGHT SUPREME!"
He swung.
The strike that fell was a world-ending crescent of light, and condensed mana fused with the weight of history itself.
But Grimhild merely watched with an impassive glare.
Her voice was calm and steady before she lifted her staff again.
"Negativus Infinity."
A shield-like barrier manifested in front of Grimhild as the colossal wave met her spell.
For an instant, the arena was drowned in blinding light, but then, there was silence.
The audience opened their eyes to a sight that should not have existed—Lancelot's ultimate strike had collapsed inward, folded into itself like a devoured star.
The amplification Arondight demanded was reduced to a negative void; an impossibility.
The attack ceased to exist.
"Gielkaizen."
Grimhild immediately cast another spell, launching a wave of mana that shattered spacetime, slamming right into his gut.
The impact hurled Lancelot off his feet, sending him skidding across the arena, coughing up blood.
Arondight dimmed in his hand, trembling as if resisting its own master while he lay in another crater.
Grimhild stepped forward once more, her aura colder than death as it was unleashed from her body.
"This battle is over, Lancelot."
"It… can't be… over… not until… I achieve victory." He spoke hoarsely.
Grimhild took another step forward.
"It is done. No more. Your vengeance transformed you into a man devoid of righteousness. Your craving for power, and your desire to defeat Dracula have done nothing but make you evil."
"But… I can't fail them… I mustn't…"
He forced himself upright, stumbling and gripping Arondight as if it were the only thing tethering him to life. Lancelot grit his teeth as his eyes shone with something rawer than pride.
"I can't… If I stop here, if I admit defeat… then everything I worked for means nothing…"
Grimhild's gaze sharpened.
"Your kingdom lives in chains, built upon fear."
His hand trembled as he pointed Arondight at her, though the blade's light sputtered.
"Dracula gave me my father's head. Dracula tore him apart, and I… I was too weak to do anything! I wasn't Arthur. I wasn't anyone! He instilled this fear inside of me that I always wanted to overcome since my childhood! I cannot let it end here! I must prove myself worthy to defeat him, and surpass my limits!"
His knees buckled as his shoulders shook violently.
"I told myself… if I became ruthless and merciless, then one day… I could become coldhearted with an iron will. Because I was scared. I was always scared of Dracula! I needed a way to drown my fear… to drown my doubts! I needed a way to push past my limit from a strong foe—so that I could achieve that iron will needed to stand before him—and strike him down!"
His voice broke into a hoarse tone.
"But all I did… was turn into the very monster I swore to destroy."
Elizabeth covered her mouth.
"…Lancelot…"
Kyto lowered his eyes, conflicted.
Even Fhiron's usual expression faltered as he exhaled softly.
"So this is the truth of the matter."
Grimhild's staff lowered as her expression still remained hard as ever.
"Vengeance made you blind. And in that blindness… you slaughtered those who trusted you. You are no hero, but there is always a chance of redemption."
Lancelot raised his head, tears finally cutting through the blood on his cheeks.
"I understand that… but if I stop swinging this blade… then I'll have nothing left. Nothing but a child who couldn't avenge his parents!"
The arena fell silent again, suffocatingly so.
Even the barrier mages above paused above the arena.
Grimhild stood over him, and for a long moment, she said nothing, then finally, her words came out, almost compassionate.
"Then don't do it alone. You don't need to deal with this all by yourself. Let us defeat Dracula together."
Lancelot's breath caught in his throat. His wide eyes lifted toward Grimhild, stunned by the words that cut across his despair.
"…What…?"
"You've carried this burden alone for too long, Lancelot. Your pain made you a tyrant, but it does not need to end with you. Lay down your vengeance, and fight with me, for your parents sake. Because I too seek the destruction of Dracula."
The King of Secace stood frozen with his entire body trembling. For the first time, Arondight no longer hungered for battle.
The audience, the knights, even the air itself seemed to hold still, waiting for his answer.
And so he parted his lips.
"I…"
But before the confession could fall, Grimhild widened her eyes as blood spurted on her face.
Standing behind Lancelot, wielding a blade born of Chaos, Merlin the Great Mage had plunged her sword into Lancelot's neck.
He gagged, puking up blood as he wheezed for air.
"Tsk tsk tsk. How ironic for Legendary Hero to trust the word of a witch, but I'm sorry to say you serve no other purpose. We no longer need you in the script. You were a means to an end."
Grimhild stood there, shocked, blood dripping down her lips.
"It's been some time since we last met, dear sister."
Standing behind her was none other than Agnes Gravenworth; dressed in her usual kimono, and wielding Arondight in her hand.
It was pierced straight through the Witch of Destruction's body.
"A-Agnes…!?" Grimhild stuttered.
"Ufufu~! How do you do?"