Chapter 161: Lancelot and....

"Did you need a hand, Sir Lionel? I have heard from your scribes that you need the mage's assistance," a man wearing a pointy witch hat chuckled to himself as he said those words. "I see that you even brought a mage on the battlefield!"

That bloke appeared beside Sir Lionel and freed him from Sir Lancelot's latch. The wizard hauled Sir Lionel backwards while cracking up a laugh.

"The people thought of you as a king. But now that I've seen your face, those people have thought wrong."

The mage's words only described himself as a caveman who didn't go to the outside world. But that detail didn't matter for this battle, considering that he slipped right through our advantage. Instead of landing a hit against Sir Lionel, that wizard pulled him to safety.

"Merlin! King Arthur is a great king! But we need to create a better world for the people! Think about the demons who don't want any war from us! They are just like us, struggling to survive in this world and the famine!" Sir Lancelot cried.

The wizard Sir Lancelot also called himself Merlin, which was my partner's name. Even Merleen, my companion, widened her eyes upon hearing the name. 

But we didn't have any relationship for this fight, since we were not part of this kingdom. It was a battle between Sir Lionel and Sir Lancelot, with a powerful mage backing the enemy. Even though we had powerful mages as well, this man had a truck loaded with arcane inside of him. My system showed it all, which sent shivers down our spines.

I didn't know what this sorcerer had inside his sleeves, but it didn't look pretty at all.

"You, of all people, should know about the gruesome deeds of those demons! They were the ones who started this war. And now, we will end it for them!" Merlin, the wizard, shouted and waved his hand. "King Arthur's order is to eliminate all traitors of Albion, regardless of their titles. And fortunately, I found one right in front of me. 

Merlin didn't hesitate to project his magic circles upwards, filling the clouds. The mage launched his magical missiles in our direction, with the intent to kill all of his enemies. He didn't even tone down the damage output, as each of those elemental magic could destroy a town. And the only luck we had was the mage's limited prowess.

Even though Merlin conjured hundreds of those magical runes above the clouds, he didn't have any dark magic. That man could only use light as his attack, which didn't do much about the situation. Although Merleen and Merlin could use it to assault someone, light magic was incomparable to the dark one. 

The rest of my team and I stationed ourselves at our fore and prepared our weapons. I readied Aegis for emergency usage, if those magic circles would hit us. This shield would protect us from any damage, preserving our lives during this battle. 

Despite the limited access to the overpowered obsidian magic, Merlin only used light and all the elemental magic. We still didn't know if the wizard's arcane would pierce through Lilith's defenses, considering her darkened prowess. 

As soon as we found an opening, we launched ourselves and fought for our lives. We destroyed as many magic attacks as possible and sent them into oblivion, creating fireworks as we moved. But even though we continued to obstruct those attacks, Merlin's power continued raining above us.

It almost felt like his mana went beyond the roofs and extended like the ocean.

"If we want to win, we need to attack him….or kill him." 

Sir Lancelot said those words, but hesitated after mentioning the latter. Even though he was on our side, Lancelot was still a knight of this kingdom. He didn't want to kill anyone, especially someone like Merlin. 

I didn't know the wizard, but he looked like an official of Camelot. 

Within a few seconds, Merlin called forth a dozen mages by his side. A few of them wore the same uniform, with some staves clipped in their hands. They also conjured deadly magic and aimed at our figures, wishing to eliminate us.

"Let's just make him and the rest of those wizards unconscious. I'd bet he has some barrier of some sort surrounding himself. Or like a defense spell that could absorb any physical damage coming through our attacks," I confessed.

After hearing my words, Sir Lancelot hesitatingly nodded and accepted my offer. But the problem still remained unchanged before us.

'How could we reach the wizard when the soldiers and his magic circles protected him?' That was the question that nobody could answer.

We didn't want to sacrifice anyone and be the distraction, while the rest of us escaped. All of us wanted to live for another day, which made that option rejected.

However, before we could even try, Sir Lancelot interposed, "Your….efforts are admirable, Arthur. But I have made up my mind after stepping out of my cave!"

As soon as Sir Lancelot said those words, he raised his hands as if giving out a signal. My hunches proved me right as a magic circle materialized on the ground. 

These runes below us didn't belong to a knight or Sir Lancelot. Those inscribed texts existed only for mages who could control magic in the advanced level. And these magic circles wanted to transport us somewhere we didn't know.

Whoever was behind these runes planned on saving our asses from this fight. But if Merlin and the rest of those mages planned on following us, we would lose that fight. And if the place had monsters surrounding us, that would just make our jobs more difficult than usual.

"What do you mean our efforts are admirable? What is this bullshit you're talking about?!" I couldn't conceal my rage, as I let it all out to Sir Lancelot.

I tried reaching out towards the Lancelot, but the knight remained like a statue. He pushed me towards my teammates and flashed me a smile.

"I know you have a lot of goals to achieve as a youthful teenager as you are….You're a kind boy, Arthur….You even share the same name as the glorious king of Camelot….Please fulfill my request, Arthur. Change the world for me into a better place ...."

"Screw this, Lancelot! Lilith! Merleen!" I shouted, hoping to catch the attention of the two mages. "I want you to stop this magic circle from happening! We need to protect Lancelot from!" 

I wanted to stop this arcane from completing its magic. Despite being the strongest player of this game, I didn't know anything about teleportation magic. And the game developers treated it as some ancient abilities, banning them for good. Although some of them still lingered inside the game, the players knew nothing about it.

Merleen and Lilith didn't know how to summon those magic, since I never taught them. But the NPCs remembered those skills. And the mages in front of me used it against us.

But I was too late to stop the magic circle as a faint light showered our bodies. I leapt towards Sir Lancelot, hoping to haul him towards our side. But the magic circle was quick enough to drag us into a different place.

Within a few moments, our bodies teleported into a different terrain. The sea of grass cushioned our fall, with the rest of my teammates plummeting behind me. There was a forest in front of us, which led directly to the kingdom's borders. And up ahead was the demonic kingdom, which King Arthur planned to attack soon.

My hand grabbed nothing but air as soon as I opened my eyes. I gritted my teeth, knowing that we couldn't save the knight who rescued our backs. He was the only one who believed in us, but we didn't let him live. That man gave his life for the bright future of this world

It only meant that Sir Lancelot remained on the other side, buying us time against Lionel and the world. Our job was to reach King Arthur as fast as possible and prevent a war from happening.

But before we could even make a sound, a woman appeared behind the forest. The trees and bushes grumbled as the girl marched at our fore. Fenrir sensed some hostility as she tried pushing herself back up. But despite her efforts, Fenrir's body refused to stand on the ground.

The woman chuckled to herself and said, "I've heard you people from my….lover….Come, don't let Lancelot's sacrifice be in vain."

"Who are you?" I asked. "And can you free us from this shackle if you're not the enemy."

"I would love to, but that exhaustion comes from the magic's effect, not mine. You should wait for a few minutes before the spell wears off. And afterwards, we sprint towards the demonic kingdom."

Everything turned out quick, especially this woman before us. And the question glued inside my head, sending me thousands of question marks. 

"Who are you?" I asked once more.