Chapter 74: Did the Troublesome Kid Dream of Lion King?
Not good!
A strange wave of magical energy began spreading from the center of the Demon Pillar.
All the Servants tried to evade, but no one could determine what was happening.
"Everyone, be careful!"
Johanna immediately had Tonbi weave a silver net as a shield in front of everyone. But the eerie magical energy easily passed through and continued to spread.
Right after that, a rhythmic melody echoed in everyone's minds.
"This is... music?"
Mordred instinctively halted her sword— the same incomprehensible melody resounded in her head.
The surroundings gradually darkened.
"What kind of trick is this now? Are you some self-proclaimed musician? My father has encountered plenty of swindlers like you."
Mordred immediately swung her sword at the Demon Pillar before her.
Clang————————!!!
Suddenly, another sword unexpectedly blocked her attack.
"————————?!"
This sword continuously radiated a brilliant golden light— it was clearly a Holy Sword.
"Excalibur?!"
In Mordred's wide-open eyes, she saw that familiar face.
Long blonde hair tied neatly, a young woman clad in knightly armor, the Holy Sword in her hands emitting an endless radiance.
"Father?! Why are you here..."
The strength in Mordred's hands weakened, and the next moment, she was repelled by King Arthur.
"Father, look! Even if you refuse to acknowledge me, this sword has recognized me as the rightful heir to the throne!"
Mordred excitedly raised the brilliantly glowing Clarent in her hands, presenting it to King Arthur.
The dazzling white light emanating from Clarent was proof that it had acknowledged a "King."
"That's right! I am the true heir of Britannia!!!"
"Mordred, this childish game ends here."
King Arthur coldly raised the Holy Sword in her hands, pointing it directly at Mordred.
"You merely seized that sword from the treasury. A mere thief."
"Thief... thief?"
Mordred's radiant smile froze upon hearing those words.
"What are you saying, Father?! This sword has recognized me!!!"
Mordred lifted Clarent high, but the very next moment, a surge of black energy suddenly erupted from it, coiling tightly around her like a venomous snake.
"————————?!"
Mordred struggled with all her might, but it was completely useless— the black energy bound her body without a gap.
"Mordred, your very existence is an enemy of Britannia. Right here, I will completely eradicate you!!!"
King Arthur gripped the Holy Sword tightly with both hands, her cold gaze fixed on the writhing Mordred.
"Why... why, no matter how hard I try, do I never receive an answer... Why?!!!"
Mordred's eyes turned bloodshot with fury.
"Answer me, Arthur!!!"
Then, Mordred poured all her strength into swinging her Royal Sword, now tainted with darkness, charging straight at King Arthur.
Clang——————————!!!
Her attack was effortlessly blocked.
Mordred kept swinging her sword, each strike carrying more force than the last.
"Arthur!!!"
In a fit of rage, Mordred raised Clarent, now entirely consumed by darkness, preparing to unleash her Noble Phantasm.
"Mordred!!!"
Suddenly, someone called her name.
This voice... sounded so familiar...
"Mordred, wake up!!!"
She couldn't remember who it was, but the voice made her extremely irritated.
"This isn't good, Martha, stop her now!"
"Got it, Master! Wake up already, you brat!"
A silver flash flickered, and immediately, Mordred felt a powerful punch land on her stomach.
"Ugh…!"
She was sent flying more than a meter away, clutching her stomach as she yelled forward:
"Who the hell are you calling a brat?!!!"
Suddenly, the scene before her completely changed.
The proud, towering figure of her father had turned into Mash, gritting her teeth as she held up her shield in front of her?!
And the one who had just thrown that punch—the culprit behind all this—was standing right before her.
"Ah… Did I hit too hard just now? Oh no, will Master scold me later? What do I do…"
Martha looked at her with a worried expression, as if she had just "messed up."
"What the hell just happened…"
Mordred sat on the ground, utterly confused.
"You were caught in Andromalius's magic. It seems like you were trapped in a dream… But thankfully, you're fine now."
Ethan ran over and sighed in relief upon seeing that Mordred had regained consciousness.
"A dream…?"
Mordred was only now starting to grasp the situation.
"So that… that King Arthur was just my imagination… But, 'a thief'…"
She let out a bitter laugh.
She looked at her Radiant Royal Sword, which had long lost its light, lying beside her.
"So in Father's eyes… I will always be nothing more than an unmentionable taboo…"
"No, you are not a thief."
Ethan stood in front of Mordred.
"Master?!"
"Even if you took this sword by force, it was because of you that it wasn't buried and forgotten—it once again shone as it was meant to. King Arthur wouldn't blame you over something so trivial."
"But the truth remains that I stole this sword, and Father never truly acknowledged me as the rightful heir to the throne…"
Mordred shook her head, smiling helplessly.
"Maybe I was too naïve… Father… perhaps never once truly looked at me…"
To a forbidden child like her, Father… would never acknowledge her in the end.
"Mordred, do you know how King Arthur became king?"
Ethan suddenly turned serious.
"Of course—by pulling the Sword in the Stone…"
"No, it was because before pulling the Sword in the Stone, she had already resolved to shoulder the fate of a king and possessed the spirit of a king!"
"King Arthur carried the entire will of Britannia, and only then did she pull the Sword in the Stone and become king. Before that, no one acknowledged her. As for you, what you need to do is make her understand— that you, too, possess the qualities of a 'king'!!!"
"————————?!"
"Everything you're experiencing now is preparing you to become someone with the spirit of a 'king.' The next time you meet King Arthur, hold your head high and show her!!!"
Ethan's words carried an endless source of strength.
"Ah… that's right! Before becoming the king of Britannia, no one ever thought that a young girl like Father could pull Caliburn! Father must have been just like me, unrecognized by the world!"
Those words reignited the hope in Mordred's previously dim eyes!
"That's right! I just need to keep growing stronger, to prove to Father! To prove that I, too, have the spirit of a 'king'—not to seek her acknowledgment, but to show her!!!"
Ethan extended his hand toward Mordred, who was still sitting on the ground.
"Well? Can you still fight?"
"Yeah, of course! Something this small isn't enough to stop me!!!"