"An uninvited guest, huh..."
Watching the lightning crackle in the sky, Grim muttered to himself:
"Emmmmm... That murderous aura hidden in the mana—so that's why Guiniweil fled all the way here. He was running from you, Melusina."
"Although I don't know why those two are fighting... I guess I'll try to stop them. After all, Melusina chasing Guiniweil to kill him... Honestly, this is just too absurd."
After thinking for a moment, Grim quickly decided to intervene.
Just as he lifted off the ground with his magic, intending to intercept Melusina, a bolt of lightning suddenly shot straight at him.
Completely unprepared for Melusina's sudden attack, Grim was struck by her lightning spear with a loud boom, sending him flying into the ruins below.
"???"
Covered in dust, Grim climbed out of the rubble, a bunch of question marks practically floating above his head:
"Since when did you get so strong...? Wait a sec, why are you attacking me, Melusina? I'm not your enemy! I just wanted to stop you from making a terrible mistake—was that really worth such a brutal attack—"
Before he could finish, another bolt of lightning came crashing down. Grim barely dodged it, but the residual shockwave singed a chunk of his long hair.
Then he heard Melusina's icy voice ring down from above:
"I'm going to kill him today. If anyone gets in my way, I'll kill them too. Take one more step and I won't care that we were once comrades."
"...Fine."
Grim had fully intended to set aside his usual cryptic style and tell her the truth out of their old friendship. But clearly, Melusina didn't care. They had once been allies, all working together to support the Child of Prophecy, yet now she showed no mercy at all.
As the saying goes, even a clay statue has some fire in it—let alone Grim. After taking two thunderbolts to the face from an unreasoning Melusina, he immediately lost the desire to explain anything.
His only duty was to assist the Child of Prophecy. Neither of these two were that child. If they wanted to fight to the death, that was their business.
"Anyway, I warned you. If you regret it later, don't come crying to me."
Out of a last bit of kindness, Grim left her with that parting remark... But Melusina was already gone, charging into the thick fog ahead, and she never heard a word he said.
So what could Grim do?
Can't save her. Goodbye.
He pulled out a small stool and sat down to watch the chaos.
...
[After repelling Grim, who tried to stop you, you push forward toward the location where you sensed Guiniweil's presence.]
[But as you enter the mist, you're ambushed repeatedly—by the shadows of fallen warriors wandering through the fog.]
"This technique... These are the combat styles used by the knights who once followed Uther... So all these spirits wandering here—are they remnants of Uther's knights? I didn't expect to find them here, rather than in Londinium..."
Looking at the indistinct silhouettes—barely more than outlines—Melusina shook her head and sighed:
"Forgive me, everyone. For Uther's sake, I must pass through here... Rest in peace."
With that, she gripped her spear tightly.
Lightning flashed.
[After purging the spectral knights, you continue onward.]
Yet, as you go, a thought surfaces in your mind.
—If the shadows of Uther's knights are here, then... could Uther's own shadow be here too?
Did Guiniweil choose this place for the final battle because he knew your reason for wanting to kill him—and wanted to use Uther's spirit against you?
—To think he'd resort to something like that... That bastard really is a demon!
The thought deepened Melusina's killing intent.
[Soon, at the end of the path, you see Guiniweil waiting.]
"I was hoping they might slow you down a little... but clearly, that was too much to ask."
He slung his shield onto his back and slowly stood. Sword in his left hand, spear in his right, he took a combat stance:
"In that case, let's begin."
"What's behind that fog gate behind you?"
Suddenly, Melusina asked.
"Oh? That?" Guiniweil raised an eyebrow, then chuckled:
"Take a guess."
In the next instant, he vanished from sight.
Simultaneously, a blazing longsword appeared before Melusina, slashing down toward her.
At first, Melusina wasn't concerned. She calmly prepared to react—then realized she was wrong. In this moment, Guiniweil's speed matched that of her own thunderclaw-enhanced strikes!
[Due to the clear power gap between you and Fairy Lancelot, the trait "Unstoppable Momentum" activates. Your attributes are boosted, ensuring the stat gap never exceeds one tier. This trait cannot raise your stats above those of a naturally superior enemy.]
[Note: If the enemy stat is EX rank, this trait does not activate.]
[Your skill "Valor in Desperation · A" activates, raising all your stats by one tier.]
[You're now more likely to break your limits in battle, and your damage reduction, regeneration, and stamina recovery are boosted.]
—The synergy between "Valor in Desperation" and "Unstoppable Momentum" was undeniable. No matter how absurd the opponent's stats were, he could always catch up.
Its only flaw was how hard it was to trigger—"Valor in Desperation" required you to be nearly dead for full effect. And at that point, you were usually too weak to keep fighting. Plus, you risked dying outright.
But now it didn't matter. In this resurrection state, Guiniweil could fully trigger "Valor in Desperation" without risk. Unless he suffered a fatal blow or lost a limb, his combat effectiveness wouldn't drop.
In short, right now, he was Fairy Britain's ultimate stat-equalizer. His strength would always match his opponent's.
And with stats even, it came down to technique, experience, and skill mechanics.
—Faced with Guiniweil's strangely fast strike, Lancelot reacted instantly. She activated Mana Burst, blasted backward, and crossed her blades in a flurry—unleashing "Twin Blade Dance," dodging Guiniweil's slash and landing two cuts on his body.
But to her surprise, Guiniweil ignored the pain and immediately thrust his spear at her chest.
Melusina instinctively began her signature "Seya Slash" to counter—then suddenly felt a pang of unease.
No, something's wrong. She'd used this move too often, and it had been countered too many times. Guiniweil had no thunder field like Nocknaley's, nor silence debuffs like Bagst, yet as she activated Seya Slash, she still flinched.
Then, with a wet shlk, his spear pierced her abdomen. Her twin blades were caught by his sword.
This was thanks to Guiniweil's skill: "Chinese Martial Arts (Six Harmonies Spear) · A".
It was a newly acquired technique, prepared specifically for Fairy Lancelot. In exchange for dropping one rank of Luck, it gave his spear attacks guaranteed hit status.
If not for her evasive twitch, that strike might've critically wounded her.
"You really figured it out..."
Staggering back and clutching her gut, Lancelot looked grim. But soon, realization dawned.
—He must have limits. Otherwise, why didn't he land a lethal blow at the start? If she'd been hit then, she'd be in far worse shape.
Considering how he had previously used only a greatsword but switched to a spear now... Could it be a weapon-specific ability?
Melusina caught on quickly.
—After obtaining the Thunderclaw Severance, her personality had shifted. She'd grown more arrogant, more combative, more obsessed with fighting the strong. That desire sometimes led her to ignore easier targets, almost like she'd become battle-drunk.
But that was a misreading. She wasn't getting dumber. In fact, her instincts and combat acumen had sharpened. She'd simply become a little more like a berserker.
And once she recognized that, she adapted her tactics without hesitation.
Suddenly, she leapt gracefully, like a waterbird, one leg pointed downward, her scabbards flipping behind her like twin arm blades.
Then, a storm of sword energy howled forth.
Faced with this onslaught, Guiniweil had no choice but to toss aside his spear and grip his greatsword with both hands. He activated his Windmill Sword Style to trade blows at max speed and rapidly heal his wounds.
But just as he matched her Waterbird Dance with his own Windmill Frenzy, Lancelot suddenly changed stances—switching from Waterbird to Twin Blade Dance, slipping inside his sword range and slashing again at his body.