Nathanael slowly raised his gaze.
His golden eyes reflected the sky — no longer serene, but consumed by trails of fire. Lines of destruction cut through the clouds at high speed. Missiles. Dozens of them. Coming from multiple directions, coordinated, precise.
A test.
Or a warning.
But before any order needed to be given…
A red lightning bolt tore through the heavens.
The sound came after — or rather, it didn't. The thunder was so violent, so overwhelming, that the very roar of the missiles falling was swallowed by it. The air vibrated. Space itself seemed to fracture for a brief instant.
It was Mordred's [Mana Burst], the Crimson Lightning.
With it, her body had become pure propulsion, energy exploding from every pore like a divine engine. Her feet touched the air as if it were solid ground, and her advance shattered the sound barrier with brutal force. In an instant, she was in the middle of the swarm of missiles.
Her colossal sword moved like an extension of the storm itself.
One strike.
Two.
Ten.
Each movement carried enough force to destroy a fortress. Her steps against the air reverberated like an invisible earthquake, and her speed made her body vanish and reappear like a scarlet flash.
The missiles coming from the north were cut down before they could even complete their trajectory.
For a second… there was silence.
Then, they split apart.
Perfectly divided in half, the projectiles exploded in midair in a sequence of destructive bursts, unable to even touch the soil of Camelot.
"Very good, Mordred..." Nathanael murmured, a faint glimmer of approval in his eyes as he watched.
But the spectacle was not over yet.
Following the red…
Came the golden orange.
A radiant light emerged from the south, as intense as the sun itself. Heat spread outward — not burning, but dominating. It was an overwhelming presence, divine in its purity.
The twin sword of Excalibur.
The blade of the sun.
Excalibur Galatine.
Wielded by Gawain, the knight who carried the blessing of the sun within his very essence. Unlike the traditional Excalibur, which concentrated its power into a single absolute strike, Galatine unleashed destruction on a massive scale.
He spun the blade.
And the world answered.
A wave of golden energy burst forward, vast and devastating — a tide of solar radiation that swept across the skies. The missiles coming from the south simply ceased to exist, disintegrated before they could even react.
Gawain did not stop.
He spun again.
Another arc of solar light cut across the horizon, annihilating the rest with overwhelming precision.
Meanwhile, in the west and the north…
Tristan remained still.
Calm. Silent. Almost indifferent.
In his hands, the bow Failnaught rested like an instrument — and indeed, it was one. Its multiple strings vibrated gently, as if played by an invisible musician.
He moved a finger.
Just one.
And the sound happened.
Not an audible sound… but a void.
The arrows were unseen. Invisible sonic waves tore through the sky, intercepting each missile with absolute precision. It was as if space itself were being torn into silent lines of destruction.
Explosions echoed in sequence… but never before impact.
Compared to the other two, Tristan was the most efficient. The most precise. The most lethal.
He could have done everything alone.
But there were reasons.
Nathanael observed everything attentively, his arm resting on his knee.
Gawain was necessary for area devastation. Mordred… well, Mordred needed something to destroy.
A soft chuckle escaped his lips.
"Both mother and daughter..." he thought, holding back the urge to laugh louder. "They're the same in that regard."
But his attention soon shifted.
From the skies… to the ground.
Agravain, Bedivere, and Lancelot were handling this part.
Agravain's Iron Commandment dominated the battlefield. No invader could escape its influence. Movements were restricted by his chains and then suppressed for later interrogation.
Bedivere fought beside him, and Nathanael had ensured something important: this Bedivere possessed Airgetlám. The silver arm shone with ancient power, allowing him to stand on equal footing with the other knights.
And then… Lancelot.
Among the knights, in terms of pure swordsmanship and technique, he was the third best.
The one who wielded the counterpart to Excalibur, Arondight. Among the knights, he was the most blessed thanks to the Lady of the Lake, and consequently the strongest after the King and the Queen. With his sword, he cut through tanks and subdued soldiers for Agravain.
In ground containment, he was irreplaceable.
"The others remained in the towers. There is no need to deploy everyone into the field." Nathanael's voice echoed directly in the minds of the Knights, conveyed through his Authority in a clear and unquestionable manner.
Even so, he reflected in silence.
There was something he still did not fully understand. He possessed two Authorities — one inherited from the Goddess Rhongomyniad, and another that emerged with his ascension to the divine, broader, yet still unknown even to him.
Suddenly, something broke his focus. Nathanael felt it. His barrier — the Authority of Rhongomyniad that enveloped Camelot — something had entered it. His golden eyes lifted to the sky, where a large metallic object, cylindrical in shape, was falling at high speed toward the kingdom. It was not an ordinary missile. It was bigger, heavier — a weapon made for total destruction. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he did not move.
Before any action was necessary, golden particles began to rise from the ground, gathering in the air. Nathanael immediately recognized it and glanced over his shoulder. Artoria was there. The Invisible Air slowly dissipated, revealing the sacred blade in her hands — Excalibur, the Sword of Promised Victory. The presence of the weapon filled the surroundings, as if the world itself responded to its unveiling.
Nathanael smiled, and Artoria returned it with a subtle look of understanding.
"Alright then..." he murmured, turning back to the sky. "Well then, humans… it's time to bow before your King and Queen."
Artoria stepped forward, adjusting her stance. Energy began to gather around her, steady, controlled.
"Ex—" for a brief moment, everything seemed to stop. "CALIBUR!"
Golden light erupted from the blade, forming an immense beam that tore through the sky in a straight line. It was not merely an attack — it was an absolute severance, everything in its path erased.
The bomb was annihilated before it could even react. There was no explosion, only disappearance. The light continued for a few seconds, illuminating the sky like a new sun, before slowly fading, leaving golden fragments drifting in the air.
Nathanael watched in silence, a faint smile on his lips. Even already knowing that power, seeing it in person was different. Excalibur was not just a weapon — it was a pure manifestation of the planet's power.
"Nuke? Nah… mine is better." Nathanael couldn't help but remark, growing even more impressed by the power of the Strongest Holy Sword.
His eyes gleamed softly. Compared to modern power… that was on an entirely different level.