Chapter 366 - Last Stand; A King's Honor

"Iris…"

"Don't talk. You need to conserve your energy."

Though she tried to keep him from talking with her stern words, he didn't plan to stop as he gathered his breaths through his burning throat. 

"Iris. We're still in his domain. That's not normal, right…?" 

"Huh?...Wait, you're right. That must mean--"

Iris stopped short of finishing her words as both her and Ren looked towards the sight of the destruction as the smoke finally faded; standing tall still, though his armor was torn and burned away, the king stood. 

He wasn't in any better condition than Ren; drenched in blackened, corrupted blood with one of his arms torn from not only armor, but its skin as it laid limp at his side, drenched and useless. Even still, the king stood silently, wielding his treasured blade with one hand. 

"Straight out of a hero's tale," is what Ren thought, seeing the king of an old era, standing like an ancient tree embedded into the soil. 

"I should've known he'd be stubborn." 

Even that should be too much for you to recover from. No, you probably were going to die but managed to heal...and this is what you're left with, Ren thought. 

Forcing himself back onto his feet, wincing from moving his body just after attempting to relax, Ren stood as well, much to the dismay of the girl. 

"You can't…!"

"I've been doing it already." 

This time, he retrieved both his longsword and his dagger as he huffed, struggling to take oxygen into his tired, scorching lungs. Drawing just a breath into his body delivered a wave of pain, brushing against his nerves. 

"But...if you're so worried, then help me out."

Ren smiled cheekily, though his lips trembled as his left eye became swollen and shut, already turning black-and-blue. 

"...You don't have to say anything. Of course I will."

She placed herself at his side with a smile; standing together against the foe perceived as insurmountable. 

Just about everything hurts right now. I think I have at least a dozen broken bones. This aching...I'm definitely going to be bruised after this. My eyes are still feeling as if I drenched them in magma. I don't really know how I'm still standing; is this "warrior's spirit" or whatever? It doesn't matter...all that matters is that I'm not done yet, and neither are you. This is our last clash, Arthur. Just a little longer until you can finally rest, Ren thought. 

"Well, I think we'll both get some rest."

Ren smiled as he whispered to himself, raising his blades despite his arms wanting nothing more than to hang limp at his sides.

The moment he learned forward to move, the king followed--ensuing the final act of their battle; the many wounds scaling their bodies as a testament to this truth. 

Before he could fully close the distance, he watched as the bloodied and tattered king raised his glorious blade with a single hand as his other arm hung limp, drenched with blackened blood. Even in the decimated state King Arthur's body was in, it didn't mitigate the imposing truth of Excalibur's unmatched potency as it generated a golden radiance. 

"Araphel: Blackout!"

--Ren countered as fast as he could with what little time he had to act. As intended, a flicker of darkness engulfed the king's senses. 

Temporary as it was, the momentary pause from his towering opponent was all he counted on. With that second awarded to him, he attacked; bringing the edge of Belus down against the king's shoulder as he leapt into the air to bolster his strike. 

At the same time, arrows of light came in from behind him, striking against King Arthur's bloodied, unarmored torso with a burning squelch. 

"...Ngh!"

For the first time since the beginning of their battle, emotion expressed itself across the hollow king's face as his eyebrows furrowed, coated in blood as the steel of the white-haired young man's broadsword carved out a chunk of his shoulder. 

Pushing past the pain as if it simply didn't exist, King Arthur dug the heel of his boots into the soil below, bringing his legendary blade down once again. 

"Ren!"

Iris yelled out, but her companion was well aware of what was coming; Ren allowed his blade to retreat from the king's hide as he ducked and rolled to the side, out of the zone of Excalibur.

As the swing was fulfilled in its arc-pathway, the wind hummed and split, bisecting the soil in front of the blade. It was a narrow miss, barely avoiding the result of splitting the young man in half, just as the ground had been. 

Ren felt his skin crawl just by feeling the change in air pressure that momentarily occurred with the swing of the revered sword, standing still as he witnessed the result of the simple, singular swing while his ears rang.

Even in that state, he has this much power? I can't afford to be reckless, Ren thought. 

It was a mistake he realized he made; an error in judgment when entering this final bout. Looking upon the gallant, towering form of the bloodied, eviscerated king, he thought he would be lesser. 

Normal logic doesn't apply to a legend, does it?...He's King-fucking-Arthur, he's the King of Knights--for a good reason. I have to treat this fight as if he's still at one-hundred-percent, or maybe even beyond that, he thought. 

Jumping back into the battle with a clearer mind, he kept his movements quick and unpredictable; dashing around the king before committing to any one attack--it was a simple plan, maybe a desperate one, but it was all he could think of to avoid the mythical blade's reach. 

Come on, Iris! I've got his complete focus on myself, so give him hell! Ren thought. 

He glanced at the girl who occupied the backline as if signaling her to strike, which she was already preparing for--weaving her own magic. 

Sweat trailed her cheek as she focused intently, having to decide with only seconds to spare what the proper spell was to use. 

I can't use anything too destructive...not with him staying so close to the king. What can I do…? What will work? Just do something! Iris thought. 

"Helios: Exo-bind!" 

The pillar of light originating from the summoned magecraft sprouted directly behind King Arthur, scaling above the king as a dozen tendrils sprouted like a revolting ribcage. 

Just as the wordless, hollow king turned to face the unknown spell, the writhing tendrils wrapped around his bruised-and-battered body, squeezing tightly without any hesitation. 

Ren corrected his hold is his blades of differing sizes as he witnessed the king he ensnared by the luminescent limbs; honing his eyes, he prepared to strike. 

Exo-Bind! Of course--good thinking, Iris! Ren thought. 

From behind the blood-laden king, he swung both his broadsword, "Dunkel: Slicer!"

A large saw of darkness rent the bare back of the defenseless king, resulting in a splash of corrupted blood. 

Being on the receiving end of this attack, King Arthur attempted to free himself of his bindings, but the tendrils intertwined and strengthened their hold the more he resisted. 

—Again, Ren went for another slash, but was stopped as the king managed to rip apart the tendrils with his sheer strength. It wasn't a feat of magic or trickery, but the natural gift of strength embedded into the king's war-experienced body. 

"No way…!"

Iris was in disbelief at her spell being dismantled by such means. 

Without any hesitation, the floor guardian resumed his battle as he pivoted with agility unbecoming of a man his size, facing the young man behind him. 

"Huh—?"

Ren gasped as Belus was stopped by a swift, turnaround strike from Excalibur. 

It was the same finesse as always; unfettered by his injuries, the king was still amidst his final dance—pushing the young man back as he took to the offense, slashing and guiding his blade through the air. 

Ren was forced to evade the strikes while pacing backwards, keeping his eyes foremost on the blade as its heavenly form cut through the air towards him many times. 

—Then his luck was cut short.