Neither was it unworthy of the torment Guinevere had endured. As a manifestation of the Chaos Flame, the Mad Fire revealed its ultimate dominance. At this moment, with Heaven's Fire Unsheathed driven by the Mad Fire, Guinevere wielded a power surpassing even what he could unleash with Heaven's Fire Unsheathed alone.
When the burning sky fell, the chaotic flame burst upward, transforming into a pillar of light that pierced the heavens.
The earth split, the sky shattered, and the curse rooted in Fairy Britain for tens of thousands of years was swept away by that falling Chaos Flame.
Even Cernunnos, the God of Curses who continued to lay his malediction upon Britain and the fairies even after death, was consumed entirely by those surging flames.
[Cernunnos's reaction has disappeared.]
[Curse Calamity, Subjugated.]
When such a message finally appeared upon the system's interface, the tension that had gripped Guinevere's body at last eased.
"Finally… it's over…."
With the power of the Mad Fire, he had destroyed Cernunnos. Yet precisely because of Cernunnos's destruction, the reason he had to continue fighting vanished with it. The effect of "Return to Life" would soon fade, and when it did, he would dissipate from this world.
…How harsh. Not even leaving me time to say goodbye to them one last time.
Realizing how little time remained to him, Guinevere gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
But then, a beam of light suddenly fell upon his face. Guinevere blinked, turned toward the source of the glow—and saw, at the horizon's edge, a faint red light spilling across the sky, as though some invisible brush had casually swept across the canvas of heaven. The red light spread quickly, and soon, the edge of the sun slowly rose from beneath the horizon.
Their battle had raged through the night, but now the dawn had come.
That light upon his face was the sword that split the long night. The cold, dark hours dispersed, and Fairy Britain welcomed once more a new day of warmth and light.
…Sunrise, now. Truly a fine time.
Guinevere looked down at the dragon beneath him and reached out to gently stroke its head.
"In that case, let's use this last bit of time… to soar!"
He lifted his head toward the rising sun and cried:
"Let us chase the sun together!"
[After subjugating "Curse Calamity Cernunnos," in your final moments, you chose to chase the sun together with the Dragon of Albion.]
[And so, the Dragon of Albion carried you upon its back for one last flight.]
[As you flew toward the sun, your time ended. Like the fool called Icarus, you vanished upon the path toward the sun.]
[Simulation Ended.]
When the familiar words finally popped up before him, Guinevere exhaled deeply. In reality, he leaned back, lying down again upon his bed.
"It's finally over."
The final battle against Cernunnos had been far too long and grueling. Not just the Guinevere within the simulation—even the Guinevere in reality felt utterly drained.
[Though you have perished, your companions within this simulation remain alive. Do you wish to view their epilogues?]
After only a short rest, this line of text appeared before his eyes. After a moment's thought, Guinevere sat up again and pressed "Yes."
[In April of Year 2018 of the Queen's Calendar, less than half a month after the centennial disaster in Norwich was subdued, the millennial "Great Calamity" descended.]
[The Northern Queen Nocknare, who first perceived the Great Calamity's arrival, immediately went to Camelot's throne and summoned every force she could muster to resist it.]
[After ten days of siege defense, the source of all curses and calamities—"Curse Calamity Cernunnos"—arrived, beginning the judgment of the fairies.]
[After a full day and night of bitter struggle, the Curse Calamity was finally vanquished. In the process, however, Clan Chief of the Fang and strongest fang-fairy of Britain, Woodworth; the strongest fairy knight, Lancelot; and Britain's strongest human, Guinevere—all perished in battle.]
[Moreover, all fairies of Camelot perished amidst internecine conflict. Of the fairies fleeing from elsewhere in Britain, casualties were devastating—fewer than one in ten survived.]
[Yet thereafter, the calamities that had plagued the Fairy Kingdom for millennia vanished completely. The Northern Queen Nocknare, through Camelot's remaining throne, renewed the covenant with the fairies of Britain and assumed rule of the Fairy Kingdom.]
[Together with the great fairies who survived the Great Calamity, led by the Child of Prophecy, she began rebuilding the kingdom upon the ruins, focusing on recovery and abolishing the "existence tax" once levied upon fairies by the previous queen Morgan.]
[Meanwhile, though the fairies suffered catastrophic losses, the opposite was true for humans. Having been spared from previous Moors Tides—which mainly targeted fairies—many humans had hidden in forests and survived. When Nocknare tallied the population during reconstruction, she discovered, to her astonishment, that humans now outnumbered fairies tenfold. Among them even remained elite human forces such as Percival's Round Table Army.]
[Accordingly, Nocknare soon decreed the abolition of human enslavement and proclaimed equality between humans and fairies. Though this policy gravely infringed upon the interests of fairies, especially the upper ranks, the heavy toll of the calamity left them too weakened to resist.]
[Thereafter, Britain entered a long era of recovery. With fairies no longer forming the majority, the nation born upon ruins was no longer called the Fairy Kingdom. That ancient name, used for millennia, was abolished.]
[Yet with the fairy population diminished, and all Primordial Spirits capable of producing fairies long dead, no new fairies could be born in large numbers. Humans, the new majority, lacked the ability to reproduce naturally—only the "human farms" could provide them. Thus, despite Nocknare's efforts, Britain never regained its former glory, and its population stabilized at barely a fifth of the Fairy Kingdom's peak.]
[This problem was only resolved under Nocknare's successor, the new Clan of Kings, who granted humans and fairies the ability to reproduce together. But that, of course, is a tale for later.]
[Centuries later, in the reborn Britain, stories lingered of the calamity long past, and of the legend that arose with it.]
[In that disaster, all of Britain trembled before the sudden Demon King of Apocalypse. Yet, at the moment of Britain's destruction, a hero wielding a flaming sword appeared, riding a dragon. Together with his companions, through great struggle and sacrifice, he struck down the Demon King.]
[Many years later, with the rise of new forms of entertainment and the spread of "magical devices"—portable communication tools—a new pastime appeared: "magical device games." Among these was a gacha game featuring alternate histories and summoned heroes. Its rich story and gameplay spread quickly among youth.]
[In this game, nicknamed "Fate Cat" by players, the legendary savior hero, the Final Dragon Knight Guinevere, appeared as a key character. His legend was retold with artistic embellishment, and his immense popularity led developers to release over a dozen new classes of him—including many "what if" versions, even gender-swapped ones.]
[Yet among them, the most beloved remained the original release version: the Savior Dragon Knight Guinevere, the game's very first ultra-rare character.]
And so, when the illustration appeared—of a golden-haired, voluptuous girl in revealing attire, holding a holy sword—Guinevere couldn't hold back.
"What the… No, wait, what—"
Looking at the image of himself reimagined as a busty heroine who even resembled Artoria, the original Saber of the franchise, Guinevere felt a lump of words stuck in his throat. He couldn't even spit it out.
Dammit, now it's my turn to fail to save my Gil.
Seeing the "original version Guinevere" artwork, Guinevere silently covered his face.
No, this is way too weird.
…Just one more look.
His fingers parted slightly. He peeked again at the blonde girl.
…One more look.
Again, he peeked through his fingers at her.
Still too weird…
Yet even so, as he gazed at the artwork, thoughts he immediately suppressed still rose: "You know, she's actually kinda cute," "At least better than Artoria—she's not flat," "Oh no, I'm actually feeling aroused."
Dammit, too weird.
Fortunately, the illustration that completely broke Guinevere's composure didn't linger long. Before he could hit "Save," the system skipped ahead to the next text:
[Simulation Ended.]
[Summarizing your simulation…]
[Though your life was short, it was filled with legend. Some deeds were so dramatized that later generations debated whether you truly existed, or whether Britain had ever truly faced such an apocalyptic calamity.]
[Yet regardless, through the works of the ancient writer Bavanzi and the records from Queen Nocknare's reign, your legendary exploits were passed down. With the continued creation of literature, your legend endures eternal in the imagination of humankind.]