"What have you done?!"
As the ground split open with cracks and rocks began to fall from above, a dreadful premonition surged in Guinevere's heart. She shouted at Agravain.
"Nothing much. I just activated the self-destruct mechanism of this underground prison."
Agravain said calmly:
"Since Lancelot can't bring you down, I may as well bury all of you here together. That will settle everything once and for all."
Everyone froze at his words. Not just Guinevere's group—even Lancelot was stunned.
"Wait, seriously? We're both still down here! You really plan to die with them?!"
"Honestly, I doubt you'd die anyway," Agravain sighed. "A scourge lives a thousand years, doesn't it? Even if the place collapses and you're buried, you'll probably crawl your way back out."
"And what about you? Are you seriously fine with dying down here along with them?" Lancelot glared.
"I have no choice. I'm no fighter," Agravain replied. "If you can only barely manage that female Gawain, what do you expect me to do against so many of them? Better we all die here than let them kill me and escape."
"You're insane!" Hassan of the Cursed Arm spat, then turned and barked at the others:
"Forget this! We need to get out while there's still time before the place completely caves in—"
"No. We stay."
Guinevere's sudden words silenced him. She stared at Agravain coldly.
"If Agravain wants to die here, then we'll die with him."
"Eh? But—" Ritsuka Fujimaru began, but Guinevere cut her off with a shake of her head.
"There's no way out. If this trap was designed to kill whoever's imprisoned here, then those of us in the deepest part never stood a chance of escape. In that case—"
Her eyes locked firmly on Agravain.
"We'll just wait him out. Let's see who survives."
"Huh?" Ritsuka blinked, but then caught Guinevere's deliberate wink. Realization dawned, and she nodded firmly.
"I get it. I'll trust you, Senpai."
"You…"
Hassan wanted to call her crazy, but after a moment's thought, he chuckled instead.
"Fair enough. No escape anyway. Might as well drag a Knight of the Round Table down with us."
"This is reckless…"
Mash was about to object, but Ritsuka tugged at her sleeve. She turned, confused, only to see Ritsuka shake her head.
"We're staying, Mash."
After a pause, she added:
"I trust Senpai's judgment."
"Wha—?" Mash blinked, then looked to Da Vinci. After a thoughtful silence, Da Vinci suddenly smiled.
"Ah, so that's it… Yes, this might actually be the safest choice for survival. We'll stay too!"
"Tch… This is how you react?" Agravain scowled at their resolve.
But as the cracks spread further across the prison floor and Guinevere's group made no move to retreat, Agravain finally sighed. He stepped back, pressed several hidden panels on the wall in sequence, and triggered another mechanism.
With a heavy rumble, the wall behind him rotated, pulling Agravain with it and swapping him to the other side.
"There! Now we know the way out. Follow me!"
Guinevere rushed forward, quickly retracing the sequence of hidden panels Agravain had touched.
"Eh?" Hassan blinked. "There's a secret passage?"
Then he narrowed his eyes at Guinevere.
"And how did you know that?"
Da Vinci spoke up with a sly smile:
"Simple. That man is Agravain—the king's most trusted right hand. To be frank, he was the single most important member of the Round Table. The downfall of Camelot began with his death."
"Any other Knight might die here with us. But Agravain? Never. He knows his own worth. And since he set this whole trap, even if he miscalculated our strength, he wouldn't design something that doomed himself. There had to be an escape route."
"I see. You people really do think fast," Hassan muttered, rubbing his bald head. "But what if his escape method doesn't work for us?"
Guinevere cut him off:
"If it was something we couldn't replicate, he wouldn't have wasted time bluffing about dying with us. He would've just used it."
She slammed the final switch.
"Enough talk! Move!"
The wall rumbled, spinning to reveal the passage.
"You won't escape!" Lancelot roared, swinging his sword at them—but Bagest stepped forward, intercepting him.
"Go. I'll hold him off and catch up."
With both hands, she forced Lancelot back with a single powerful slash.
"Got it!" Guinevere nodded. "Don't overdo it—catch up fast!"
The group rushed into the secret passage. Lancelot tried to pursue, but Bagest blocked him firmly.
"Your opponent is me."
Standing before the doorway, Bagest's eyes were cold.
"You'll not lay a hand on my comrades while I still stand."
"Why stay behind? Do you mean to die here as well?" Lancelot demanded, enraged.
"Didn't Agravain say you'd survive the collapse?" Bagest answered evenly. "Then so can I."
Lancelot froze, then scowled.
"No. You misunderstand. He simply doesn't care if I live or die. Frankly, he'd rather I perished here."
"Oh?" Bagest raised a brow. "That makes sense. After all, in the tale, you're the one who killed him, aren't you?"
"Then you understand—"
"Doesn't matter. My decision stands." Bagest cut him off. "This place is only a few dozen meters deep. I'll live. I've endured worse."
Even in that dire moment, Lancelot glimpsed pride on her face.
"I'll survive the collapse. I've faced worse and walked away."
"Huh—"
A massive boulder crashed down, cutting them off. Moments later, the ceiling collapsed entirely, burying them both.
Meanwhile, Guinevere's group followed the passage upward, emerging into the open courtyard at the fortress's center.
"We actually made it… Agravain really just slipped away? No traps along the way?" Hassan muttered in disbelief.
"There wasn't time," Da Vinci chuckled. "He needed the passage to escape himself. He wouldn't risk destroying it. And a few falling rocks wouldn't stop us anyway."
"Never mind that—where's Bagest?"
Guinevere peered back into the passage, calling her name several times. Only the rumbling collapse answered. Even after the sound faded, Bagest never appeared.
"That fool…" Guinevere's face darkened.
"Bagest…" Ritsuka's eyes filled with sorrow as realization hit.
"Don't look like that. This kind of setback won't kill her," Guinevere said firmly. "We'll just have to dig her out later."
"Eh?" Everyone blinked.
"Bagest once survived having an entire island fall on her. Her vitality is terrifying," Guinevere muttered. "Right now, we have bigger problems. Haven't you noticed? Why is there sunlight now?"
"Wait, you're right… It should still be the middle of the night—huh?"
Faces paled as they realized the truth.
At that moment, a violent explosion shook the air from the direction of the gate. A surge of magical energy followed. Several figures were hurled through the air, crashing at their feet.
"Miss Hundred Faces? Lady Gareth? Senpai Kayo?!"
Ritsuka cried out, rushing to support the battered Kayo Hinako.
"Oh? They survived?"
A wave of heat rolled in from the gate. The group turned to see Sir Gawain, flames blazing from the holy sword Galatine as he strode forward.
"So you failed, brother?"
Agravain appeared beside him, face dark.
"Yes. That one—Guinevere—saw through me. His wits are sharp. If we're to clear the path for our King, brute force will have to do."
"I see. But brother," Gawain added, "I've learned from them that Mother's shadow lurks behind all this."
"I know." Agravain's eyes lowered, expression unreadable.
"Which is why we must end them here. At least that so-called Fairy Knight Gawain and Lancelot stayed below. The rest… can you handle them?"
"Of course."
Gawain's gaze fell on Guinevere and Gareth, lingering for several seconds. Then he raised his blazing sword.
"In that case, I'll give it everything I have. Forgive me—!"
Flames erupted from Galatine, heat surging through the courtyard until even the air burned.
Meanwhile, Guinevere's group felt their hearts turn cold.
With Kayo, Hundred Faces, and Gareth all incapacitated, and Bagest trapped underground, only Hassan, Mash, Da Vinci, and Guinevere remained.
How could they possibly face a fully unleashed Gawain?