Chapter 162: Mordred

"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."

The woman had a similar robe worn by the mages, with a hat covering her head. Her amber hair fluttered below her shoulders, which gave off a dazzling feeling of hope. And that girl also had a wand clipped in her hand that illuminated the surroundings. Those magic circles beneath our feet had the same colour as the woman's magic from the wand.

Everything turned out quick, especially this woman before us. And the question glued inside my head, sending me thousands of question marks. After collecting my courage, I pulled up my chest and returned the girl's gaze

"Who are you?" I asked once more. 

"Lancelot had told me about you and your team, Arthur. My name is Guinevere, the king's official wife….Well, not anymore…."

When Guinever said those words, her eyes dropped on the ground. She had a sour face filled with sorrow and regret as Guinevere changed the topic.

"Lancelot sent you to me. We have already planned this escape when you guys showed up. It doesn't look like it, but I am on your side."

Fenrir and the others wanted to squeeze Guinevere with some questions about her alliance. But we didn't have any spare time to talk about those matters as our eyes gazed around.

"Those soldiers will show up if we don't hurry. I need you to chase my husb….King Arthur and stop the war! You must reach them on time before they could clash against themselves."

All of us agreed to Guinevere's words after hearing her voice. We immediately rose from the soil and prepared ourselves to march onwards to the demonic borders. Since Guinevere's instruction was also our plan, we didn't have any problems fulfilling that command.

However, before we could even progress, an icicle almost struck my chest. It was an ice projectile enough to kill any high tier players that I knew. It happened so fast that none of us had the time to react. My system, Fenrir's senses, and Lilith's experience noticed the assault from elsewhere. But thanks to the speed of that ice, the attacker had a successful ambush.

Fortunately, Aegis activated itself and defended my chest. But as soon as it performed its action, my shield went into a dormant state. This shield had several hours as its cooldown, which made it useless for later. But despite the depressing duration, it still served its purpose.

If it weren't for that shield, there was no chance for me to dodge the spear. And even though I used the saving grace of getting a one-shot, I couldn't still use the shield. Which means that [automatic shield] and [shield crash] got negated until I could use it soon.

And as luck would have it, the attacker chose me as its target. If that silent killer aimed at my friends, someone would have already died in my team. Thankfully, that event didn't happen.

"WHO ARE YOU!" I shouted, and glared where the icicle spear got thrown off. "Show yourself, you cheap mage!"

Guinevere also prepared some defensive spells after witnessing the attack. "I don't know who they are, but they want to kill us. Be alive and prepare for combat, Arthur."

Within a few seconds, two figures appeared from the forest. Each of them shared a different weapon equipped in their hands. 

The person with the shape of a man had a sword and a bulky armour covering his body. That man also had a helmet protecting his head, with a cape fluttering behind him. I could only guess that this person must have been a knight that had the same prowess with the knights of the round table. 

The other had the figure of a woman wearing a robe. We could only deduce that this woman was a mage, since she also had a wand in her hands. There were also several magic circles surrounding their backs, which came from the woman's arcane. 

We buckled ourselves and prepared to fight this pair obstructing our way. And as the dust settled in, those figures revealed themselves before us. Our eyes widened as soon as we recognised the people at our fore. 

"Afenos? And Rain? What are you doing here?" I mumbled, while lowering Excalibur. "How was the village? How are you? I was so worried about you guys."

As soon as I said those words, I marched in the pair's direction. But Afenos raised his hand and swung his sword, creating a devastating wind that attacked me. That gust of air hit my chest, forcing me to tumble backwards and sliding on the soil. 

Thankfully, I barely got a dent from the attack. It was thanks to my class as a knight that absorbed all that damage as if it was nothing but air. And when the momentum subsided, I stood on the ground and stared at Afenos.

"Hey! What's the big idea! Don't tell me you've forgotten all about me already?!" I yelled, still refusing to withdraw my sword.

When my comrades saw that presentation, all of them armed themselves once again. My friends bare their fangs and planned on attacking the two figures before us. However, before Lilith and the others could attack Afenos, I urged them to wait for my signal. 

Even though Afenos attacked me, those two siblings must have a reason. And I would love to hear their words before clashing against them. 

"Yeah….I remember you, Arthur," Afenos replied, and gritted his teeth. "I remembered the day when you became a hero to our village. Everyone praised your and my father after giving your lives for the town. And we tasted that peace for a while, still ignorant of the place."

"But things changed when there were more monsters coming into our village. Some farmers saw them from miles away, which led them requesting some help from the kingdoms. And when those knights arrived, I had no other choice but to train with them. Little did I know that the village got destroyed by the monsters…..Which was led by a demon." Afenos glared at Lilith and aimed his sword at her figure. "We thought you were dead…..I treated you as a mentor and a brother….But what did you do? You were alive all along and teamed up with this….This devil?" 

I couldn't find the words about Afenos' speech about me, especially after hearing the town's demise. That village was the first place to welcome my existence as an otherworlder traveler. Fate could have placed me anywhere that could ruin my second chance of living, but it didn't.

My entire world and perspective changed when Aferous took me in. And Afenos showed me the real reason to become a hero. 

There was a thorn inside my heart that I couldn't pluck when Afenos reminded me of those words. Afenos only told the truth and his perspectives in life as soon as he met me. And I would have done the same thing if I was in Afenos' shoes.

But after a few moments of fighting those negative surges, I finally came up with an explanation.

"I left the town because I thought you guys didn't need me anymore. The two of you siblings are the protectors of that town, while I am just an outsider. And when that giant tossed me to that cliff, I nearly died…Someone saved me….Merleen saved me. And when I could move again, I thought that I needed to go on an adventure," I explained. "I thought you never needed me because we defeated the horde."

"And you've thought wrong! That adventure cost us the town….Everyone died, Arthur. If we stayed inside the village, Rain and I would have also died….And it's because of you! YOU LEFT US INSIDE THE VILLAGE! And what do you mean by 'not needing you'? We needed you….I NEEDED YOU, ARTHUR….I treated you as my brother….And now you will pay….After all we've been through, you sided with the demons. I vowed to protect all people from monsters and demons, like King Arthur's goal!"

"From now on, everyone will call me Mordred! I am a brave knight that will seek a change to this world! You made me sick to think those demons could change…."

Rain didn't say anything about the topic, but her eyes told us otherwise. She had no choice but to fight us and stood strong for their beliefs. 

Our ideas diverged, which led us to fight one another. After that talk we had, there was only one way to win this argument….Afenos….No. Mordred and I would let our fist do the talking, before we could reach King Arthur.

And I was the one who gave them power. Mordred and Rain had the system's arcane running through their veins. And that power would strengthen their bodies, which would become an advantage.