Chapter 14: The Suffering of the Brat, Bedivere Appears
WHIP!
Another lash.
Mordred finally couldn't help but let out a painful scream.
"Uwaaaaaaaaah—!!!"
The whip made of thunder, as it struck, carried the pain of skin splitting and the numbing sensation of electric shocks. However, because the lightning was controlled by Shirou, it didn't cause much substantial damage—at most, it left a few faint red welts.
But for Mordred, she had no idea what the lower half of her body looked like at this moment; she only felt her entire being filled with numbness following every strike of the whip.
The feeling of the electric shock surged through her whole body, making even Mordred's speech slurred and incoherent.
She had intended to grit her teeth with dignity and not make another sound, but in the end, her consciousness became blurred. With her eyes rolled back and her tongue lolling out from the numbness, she could no longer maintain a conscious state.
Watching this increasingly unbearable spectacle, Gudako and Mash were both left in a daze, their mouths slightly agape, staring blankly at the scene.
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Lancelot, who was unaware that Mordred was suffering at this very moment, was confronting someone else in the area outside the village.
It was a silver-haired knight.
With upright posture, a slender physique, and beautiful silver hair swaying in the sandy wind, he was a handsome youth possessing a trance-inducing, androgynous beauty.
He was courteous, calm, and gentle. Despite being a knight, he possessed a delicate sensitivity akin to a woman's.
He was not only a knight as gentle as water but also a valiant one.
Although he had only one arm, he was an outstanding general and a knight with superb swordsmanship. Among the Knights of the Round Table, where numerous heroes who surpassed humanity gathered, he was the "only one who assisted the King as an ordinary human."
"Bedivere... why have you appeared here?"
Lancelot did not strike immediately, but his movement of placing a hand on his sword hilt carried a tremendous sense of oppression.
After all, he was the knight with the greatest swordsmanship among the Knights of the Round Table.
Bedivere was as if facing a formidable enemy, watching Lancelot with caution.
If it were the one-armed Bedivere, he naturally would have been unable to fight Lancelot; the gap in strength was too vast.
But the Bedivere of today possessed the "Silver Arm," which could rival these Heroic Spirits.
The origin of this "Silver Arm" could be traced back to the incident where Bedivere failed to return the sword to the Lady of the Lake.
Because of that, the King could not fully let go, assimilated with the soul of the goddess inside the Holy Spear, became the Lion King, and completely lost her humanity.
And Bedivere, holding the Holy Sword, could not die because of it. When Merlin found him, he had already weathered into stone, still clutching that Holy Sword, shedding tears for someone he did not know.
Seeing this, Merlin gave Bedivere a chance to correct his mistake and reforged the Holy Sword into the "Silver Arm," allowing him to use it.
However, the cost of driving the Holy Sword with a mortal body was the very little flesh and soul this knight had left.
Even so, Bedivere had to move forward. To make up for his mistakes, he would not hesitate, even if it meant offering up his flesh and soul.
"No matter what sacrifices are made, this time I will definitely—"
"Ah, this time, without fail."
"Bury my King with my own hands."
"Therefore, devour my soul and gallop, Silver Meteor—『Dead End Agateram』!!!"
The silver arm transformed into an ultimate flash, making Lancelot unable to keep his eyes open, but this did not hinder the counterattack of the Knight of the Lake.
"The light of the water beneath the moon, the blade that will never be destroyed—『Aroundight』!!!"
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"No... I can't take it anymore... I... I know I was wrong!"
Mordred's two arms dangled weakly.
Her heart was filled with humiliation, as well as frustration toward Lancelot.
Her comrade was suffering, and that guy didn't know where he had run off to.
Now, to take a harsh revenge later, she had no choice but to admit defeat for the time being.
"Hmm, it looks like you've completely repented."
Shirou let her down quite satisfactorily. She immediately collapsed to the ground as if falling apart, and it was only with great difficulty that she used her sword to prop herself up and stand, glaring at Shirou.
"Just wait, I—"
Before she could finish her threat, as Shirou slightly raised the lightning whip, Mordred immediately swallowed those words.
Having encountered such a humiliating event here, she didn't want to stay for even another second.
Against an enemy she couldn't beat even by going all out, this kind of fighting was completely meaningless.
Nothing to be done; she didn't know where that guy Lancelot had run off to.
She had to gather the other knights to defeat this enemy.
She didn't even have the courage to look back at Shirou; Mordred limped away, propping herself up with her sword.
"Running back like a loser like this... I'll definitely be mocked by everyone... Damn it...!"
Mordred gritted her teeth, already calculating how to assemble her troops and stage a counterattack.
Shirou dissipated the lightning in his hand and walked into the village with Gudako and the others.
Because Shirou had beaten away Mordred, who had recklessly intruded, they received a very warm reception from the villagers.
The Heroic Spirit who had confronted Mordred earlier also walked over, smiling and introducing himself.
"Yo, nice to meet you. My name is Arash. As you can see, I am an Archer."
Then, Arash patted the shoulder of the tall Hassan next to him.
"This here is Cursed Arm Hassan, the chief of this village."
Seeing this, Gudako, Mash, and the others began to introduce themselves one after another.
After some conversation, Cursed Arm Hassan glanced at the villagers outside and said to Shirou and the others.
"Various kinds of people gather in this village; none of them are willing to be slaves to the Lion King or the Sun King."
The villagers also cast curious gazes in their direction.
Cursed Arm Hassan was a man of few words. After giving an overview of the village, he left directly to patrol its surroundings.
After all, a crisis caused by the Knights of the Round Table had just occurred, so it was only natural to strengthen security to prevent the villagers from falling into a panic.
"Well then, let everyone rest here for a while."
Having finally brought those people here, Shirou had intended to see if they should set off, but seeing that it was already late, and Gudako looked somewhat sleepy, he didn't force her and decided to rest here for the time being.
Not long after they entered the assigned room together, Cursed Arm Hassan returned.
This time, he was carrying an unconscious man on his shoulder.
With long silver hair and an androgynous, beautiful face, the moment Shirou saw this man, he couldn't help but reveal a smile.
"So you were here all along... Bedivere."
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