Clarent seemed to glow even more brightly at his words as Issei gave Mordred a proud smile, "and I can think of no better a blade to decide your worth Mordred. Now, come knight and claim your sword, your birthright."
The knight just looked at the sword with a sad expression, "the sword will never accept me, the one who stole it and tainted it beyond measure."
"What happened to the brave, haughty and proud knight I saw earlier? Are you really the same Mordred that fought in the Holy Grail War? The one who had no doubt that she would pass the test? Who threw herself into every challenge headfirst? Then show me that drive now!" ordered Issei as he grabbed her hand and placed it on the sword's hilt.
The teen then stepped away as Mordred looked down at the glowing Clarent still stuck into the ground, feeling her hand hesitantly closing around the hilt of the blade. The knight then took a deep breath as she once more glanced at Issei, whom nodded his head with a smile before Mordred closed her eyes and pulled.
And the world was bathed in light.
Mordred opened her eyes to see Clarent giving out a blinding glow as she held it out in front of her, the powerful aura being given off stronger than anytime the knight had seen it do before. The two of them watched as the fires in the surrounding fields slowly went away and the smoke vanished. The rain that had been pelting down on the two completely disappearing as they felt the warm comforting glow of the sun on their faces.
For the first time in as long as she could remember Mordred saw the beautiful sapphire sky above her and as she looked down at where Clarent had been stabbed in the ground, the knight saw a tiny patch of grass growing in the otherwise barren wasteland.
"Congratulations Mordred Pendragon, rightful heir to the throne of Britain," said Issei as he walked over to her, the knight turning to face him with an amazed expression on her face.
"How…how did you do this?" gasped a shocked Mordred.
Issei just smiled, "I didn't, that was all you Mordred. I merely set you down the right path, when you lost your way. After all, that's what families do."
The knight just stared at Issei, watching as the sun shone its light down on the teen and giving him an air of kindness and authority that she had only felt from one other. For a brief moment Mordred thought back to when she had first entered Camelot and seen her 'father,' the pride and admiration she felt upon looking at 'his' face. The knight was snapped from her thoughts as Issei then offered her a hand as he continued smiling at the awestruck knight.
"So Mordred, what do you say? Still want to join our family?" asked the teen, while Mordred stared at him in awe.
'Issei Hyoudou…this boy, no this man. He is someone, I can call my King,' realized Mordred in shock as she stared at the human with admiration.
"I, Mordred Pendragon, the Knight of Treachery, hereby swear an oath of fealty to my King," announced the knight, dropping to one knee as she bowed her head and offered the glowing Clarent to the surprised Issei.
"By the Lord, before whom this relic was holy, I will be to my King faithful and true, and love all that he loves, and shun all that he shuns, according to God's law, and according to the world's principles, and never, by will nor by force, by word nor by work, do ought of what is loathful to him; on condition that he keep me as I am willing to deserve, and all that fulfil that our agreement was, when I to him submitted and chose his will," swore Mordred before she looked up at him with a smile.
"Long Live The King," she finished and Issei looked at Clarent in confusion until his eyes widened and he picked up the blade before gently placing the demonic sword on each of her shoulders.
"A King huh? I think Emperor would be more appropriate," laughed Issei sheepishly, still trying to wrap his head at around how this had happened.
The teen then handed the sword back to Mordred as the knight stood up from the ground and sheathed the blade, "Issei, you might be my King, but a word of warning."
"You tell anyone I was crying, or call me girl again and I will cut you," promised the knight, grimly.
Another smile grew on his face as Issei just laughed, "see, that's the Mordred I know and love."
The teen saw an embarrassed flush cross her face as the knight turned away, "anyway what's my King's first orders?"
"We're going to remake the legend of the Knight of Treachery Mordred, and to do that we're going to stop Arthur from plunging this world into war. So feeling up for a round two?" smirked the teen.
The eager grin on Mordred's face was all that Issei needed to see, to realize the knight was back to her old self as her helm appeared back over her face and she gripped her sword tightly. "That Poser and his toys don't stand a chance," came her cocky voice.
"Alright then," smirked Issei before they both started glowing.
Fill, Fill, Fill, Fill, Fill…
Omake: Atalanta route unlocked!
Issei walked around Atalanta's mindscape, trying to navigate his way through the jungle and back to the racecourse in his search for the Heroic Spirit in question. Apparently, the huntress hadn't come out of the Archer doorway ever since the fight with Artemis and everyone was starting to worry about her, even Tamamo was starting to get concerned.
And since he was the only one able to go in search of her, Issei had been sent to try and find out what was going on. 'Plus it was kind of my fault that Artemis was beaten up so badly, hopefully she doesn't take that too badly…oh who am I kidding? She'll shoot me on sight,' thought the teen as his eyes began darting from corner to corner.
"Welp, I tried but it looks like I can't find her, time to head back," cheered Issei, only for the smile on his face to drop as he heard a soft familiar sound coming from nearby.
The teen looked in the direction of the sound before turning back to the path he had just come from, silently weighing his options before giving a low sigh as he headed towards the soft sound. Sure enough by following the growing noise he found himself on the racecourse and saw the source of the soft sobbing noise coming from the green huntress crying under a tree.