"Ruler, we..."
"Bedivere, we just need to keep moving forward. Leave everything else to the others."
The pillar of light soared into the sky as New Camelot City contracted. Outside, the battle raged on.
But everyone understood: unless they shattered this shell encircling the city, not only would those outside be unable to enter, but Mash and the others would be trapped inside even after rescuing the Holy Selection survivors.
"Bedivere, just trust me. Trust everyone."
Worry was etched across his face, and his pace slowed involuntarily. But after his gaze fell upon the twin swords in Guinevere's hands, he nodded and resumed following closely behind her.
Along the way, Enforcement Knights stepped aside and regular soldiers dodged out of their path. Leveraging their familiarity with Camelot City, the two of them took the fastest route to the Royal Palace in the Inner City.
Stepping inside marked the official start of their final journey to the Lion King's throne.
No handmaidens, no knights—the path was filled with nothing but dead silence. It was as if the Lion King was meant to be utterly alone, which she would have been if Guinevere hadn't allowed Agravain to return and fulfill his loyalty.
When they reached the Throne Room at the highest point, the Lion King had already been waiting for them for some time. Agravain had just issued his final command as the city's commander.
He ordered all Enforcement Knights to fight to the death but permitted the locally recruited regular soldiers to surrender.
"Queen, we..."
"Sir Agravain, we are in a hurry, but not so much that we don't have time for one last conversation. Right, King of Knights of another possibility?"
"King of Knights? I am no longer worthy of that title. Everyone calls me the Lion King. Or, you may call me the wielder of the Holy Lance, the Goddess of the Storm Rhongomyniad."
The Lion King's voice was cold and devoid of humanity, even more inhuman than the King of Knights had been before meeting Guinevere.
Even so, she did not weigh anchor immediately. She still wanted to hear what her Queen had to say.
Guinevere. That was the name she remembered. In her fragmented memories, she felt a profound sense of apology toward that name—an apology that mirrored the King of Knights who, even before accepting Guinevere, had always been drawn to women.
However, Guinevere was not the first to speak. She already knew that words alone could never persuade the Lion King.
She kicked Bedivere's iron greaves, signaling him to step forward. Guinevere then watched as he knelt on one knee, his head bowed low, and began to recount his story to the Lion King, confessing his sins.
But...
"Bedivere... Who is that...?"
Time rewound. Back before Merlin had freed Bedivere from his petrified state, before they had even departed from Avalon, Bedivere had already learned the truth.
Merlin had told him: The King no longer remembers your name, nor anything related to you. Even so, will you still return the Holy Sword, burning your last vestiges of soul and body to do so?
At that time, Bedivere's only reply had been: "Yes."
Returning to the present, Agravain let out a sigh upon hearing the Lion King's response. He felt it was a cruel injustice to Bedivere.
When Guinevere and Bedivere had first appeared, the Knights had announced both their names before the Lion King.
The Lion King remembered Guinevere but had asked who Bedivere was.
Taking a step forward, Agravain intended to crush Bedivere's hopes once and for all. He wanted to tell him that, just as the Lion King had introduced herself, she was no longer the King of Knights—only a remnant, a corrupted version transformed into the Goddess Rhongomyniad, wielder of the Holy Lance.
But...
Guinevere stepped forward, silencing Agravain with a look. She planted her sword in the ground before Bedivere and spoke:
"Sir Bedivere's story is true. He was indeed one of the top twelve Round Table Knights, the last knight entrusted with the Holy Sword after Camlann Hill.
"Another possibility, Lia, is that you yourself have forgotten your memories and failed this knight. This is your personal failing.
"Also, I've already unleashed the Holy Sword and caused such a massive disturbance. Are you all still unable to see the Excalibur in my hand?"
She held two swords, nearly identical except for the Faerie script engraved on one. Without careful inspection, it would be easy to mistake them.
But the people present were the Holy Sword's original owner and Agravain.
"Do you see it clearly now?" Guinevere demanded. "This is your sword. The body I'm using is also your uncorrupted form. If you understand that, then you will remember! I don't care what your ideals are now—you must remember Bedivere and accept his apology!"
The Lion King's divine presence felt alien, sharing only a thirty percent resemblance to the Lia Guinevere knew. This version wore a laurel crown, and her towering armor completely covered her chest, unlike the adult Artoria Guinevere was most familiar with.
Guinevere raised the sword higher, forcing the Lion King to look more closely. A sharp pain shot through the Lion King's head, causing her to squeeze one eye shut and press a hand to her temple.
Just as Guinevere remembered from the game's plot, seeing Excalibur clearly finally triggered the Lion King's memory of Bedivere's name. She recalled that he, too, had been one of her Knights.
However, she still couldn't remember his story, and she had no intention of stopping her plans.
"If you are my Knight, and if you have apologized for your wrongs, then return to my side. Await the Final Ritual's arrival alongside Sir Agravain."
Agravain had said the Lion King's ideal was pure and untainted—a necessary choice made to preserve a fragment of humanity.
Guinevere, however, knew that the only way to stop the Lion King was to prove that Chaldea possessed the power to restore the Human Order and defeat the Demon God King.
The simplest way to do that was to defeat her in direct combat first.
And at that very moment, the Sun King's attack—the one Guinevere had been waiting for—descended.
Ramesseum Tentyris—this was the name of one of the Sun King's Noble Phantasms. He had declared that the past, present, and future all existed for him, and thus all temples belonged to him. His achievements in constructing numerous pyramids also manifested as his Noble Phantasms.
With this EX-Rank Noble Phantasm—classified as Anti-Personnel, Anti-Fortress, Anti-Barrier, Anti-Enforcement, and Anti-Noble Phantasm—he could gather a colossal sphere of electricity imbued with the divine might of ancient gods, or he could rain down all his pyramids from the sky, crashing them into his target's grave.
He first attacked with the great sphere of electricity. The first shot shattered New Camelot's mana barrier, and the second dealt a severe blow to the shell forming around the Holy Lance.
But just as the Lion King's gaze shifted, intending to inflict Divine Punishment on the Sun King from afar, Guinevere finally pointed the Sword of Promised Victory at her.
"Bedivere, you and Agravain will bear witness. You have made your apology; this battle is no longer yours to fight.
"Now, it is my turn to strike you down, Lion King—you who have strayed from the path and must be corrected!
"I, Guinevere, Chief of the Round Table Knights and Queen of the King of Knights, hereby declare war on the Lion King.
"Duel me, Artoria Pendragon of another possibility!"
Even now, Guinevere did not call her the Storm Goddess Rhongomyniad. Her goal remained correction.