Episode 27/Chapter 1: The sword of selection (1)
TL: Tsubak
ED: Julsmul
Darkness gushed from the tip of Mordred’s sword. Merlin roared, raising his staff to unleash his mighty power. Both the stream of darkness and wave of magic power collided above the ruined ship, causing its two halves to shake violently.
Merlin couldn’t believe the scene before his eyes. He wanted to deny it.
“You wicked traitor!”
—
On the day of Erin’s annihtion, the walls of Camelot had been breached with ease. To the great dismay of the defenders, there had been a spy, a traitor, hidden among their ranks. Their inner turmoil had swept over Camelot before their battle against the giants had even begun.
Too many people had lost their lives for nothing.
The knights, prepared to valiantly face their enemies with pride, were caught unaware of the unjust sword piercing them from behind.
The same held true even for King Arthur.
Even after so long, Merlin still felt his blood flowing backward when he recalled the scene from that day.
Mordred had pierced the chest of King Arthur with his Treasure Sword, rent. He’d dealt the king a mortal wound that left him without the ability to fight.
If that hadn’t happened....
If the terrible mes of an inner conflict hadn’t engulfed Camelot....
Erin’s destruction may have been preventable. No. Even if that were untrue, its path to ruin would still have been far altered.
As it had happened, King Arthur had perished.
Gawain, the noblest of all knights, had been fated no differently.
It was the same for Lancelot, K, Ghad, Tristan, Bedevere....
To name each one was a miserable process. The Knights of the Round Table had all died wretched deaths.
For Mordred, the cause of all these terrible deeds, to be alive.
For the man that shattered Camelot and Erin into pieces to be alive!
Merlin couldn’t contain his resentful feelings. His current state was far unbefitting that of a wise, old man’s.
Mordred did nothing to avoid Merlin’s curse-like rage. He cursed out against the one who hated him to the core.
“God damn your vile words! I am no betrayer. I am the one that fought to protect Camelot until the very end!”
He yelled like a beast and poured more strength into rent. As he did so, the dark energy surrounding the sword spread out to envelope the entire area. Pitch-ck knights grew from the long-spread shadow to stand alongside Mordred. They were dozens of them. They were the traitorous knights that had revolted against Camelot under Mordred’s leadership.
Merlin faltered. The nightmarish scene before him was too reminiscent of that day long ago, and he staggered in surprise. The strength of his legs grew weak, and he found himself unable to even stand properly.
Mordred grimaced, his gaze coldly fixated upon the great magician. It seemed that with Erin and Camelot gone, the only one now left to hear his story was Merlin.
“I only wanted to protect Camelot. I didn’t betray anything.”
Joy and sorrow dominated Mordred’s words. He continued in a tone raw with emotion.
“That battle was unwinnable! The giants’ forces were too strong, and even if we’d faced them head on, defeat was only inevitable. I had to negotiate with them. I had to! To protect Camelot, to preserve it, I stabbed Father while shedding tears of blood. Yes, I stabbed King Arthur! I stopped him from burning down everything through pointless resistance and opened the gates. I only wanted to protect Camelot!”
His actions were iparably foolish, and Mordred had long since realized that. The fomoires had burnt down Camelot and broken their promise. No, even the fomoires that’d pacted with Mordred couldn’t realize their goals in the end.
The Giant of Fire, Surtr, had burned Erin into oblivion. The Camelot Mordred had vyed to protect, even at the cost of betraying his own father, was transformed into nothing but ashes.
Mordred still couldn’t admit his fault, however. That the truth that his betrayal was for naught. That the actions he’d taken to protect Camelot had ensured its destruction instead of preventing it.
That realization could crush one’s soul. The moment Mordred admitted his mistake, he would degrade to be the traitor of Erin that Merlin believed him to be.
“I wanted to protect Camelot... I’m the one that should be called its protector! Are you aware of my grief from having stabbed Father’s chest? Do you know how strong my love towards Camelot was that I’d go so far to protect it?!”
He howled. It was a burst of emotions that not even Mordred himself could control after almost a century of resentment.
Mordred pleaded for Merlin to understand him, to ept that he wasn’t wrong, and that his actions had been justified. He hoped that Merlin wouldfort him and say that it was not him who was evil but the giants instead.
Deep down, Mordred knew that this was a foolish dream. It was impossible, but he couldn’t help it.
His desire was the scream of a tortured soul begging for relief.
Perhaps that exined why he’d chased after Camelot’s glory like a madman. Rather than aspiring to return Camelot’s glory once again, he may have only wished from a kindred survivor of Camelot to hear that his actions weren’t wrong.
Merlin panted. It felt like all his strength was being sucked from his body. Mordred waspletely crazy. He’d be a raving lunatic, broken under a mountain of guilt.
Mordred cried under his helmet. He had followed the fomoires to Midgard and lived for close to a hundred years like a corpse. He yelled towards Merlin once again.
“I’m asking if you know! About my feelings! My grief!”
“I don’t know, you bastard. I don’t even want to!”
The one that responded was Bracky. He swung his hammer and lightning promptly erupted toward the specters of Camelot. He then red at Mordred.
He’d heard the general outline of the story while charging over.
Bracky could roughly imagine what the guy had done and what his motives were in doing so.
It was a stupid thing. If he’d really wanted to protect Camelot, he should have fought until the end like his brothers. He had vowed to defend all that was good from evil.
So was the path of a knight, and the warriors of Valha held simr beliefs.
Bracky didn’t spout these things needlessly. He instead focused on Mordred and contemted how he could beat him.
They were in the midst of a battle, after all. He didn’t want to share a heartfelt conversation with someone that wasn’t even a beauty but a bastard wearing some twisted, ck armor.
Lightning arced. A miniature thunderp was heard as a specter of Camelot perished under the deadly attack.
Mordred stared at Bracky with a cold indifference, and many specters of Camelot began charging in his direction.
Bracky did not waver as he readied his hammer. Siri and Harabal, who’d arrived a beatter, stood at Bracky’s nk. Together, they faced down the iing specters.
‘He might be crazy, but his level of power is astonishing. Remember, even the weakest of the Knights of the Round Table were at least of the superior rank.’
Cuchinn spoke hastily. Tae Ho activated both ‘Idun’s Warrior’ and ‘Warrior’s Equipment’ together at the same time. The power of Cdbolg was tremendous, and due to its awkward shape, it was difficult to handle in close range.
The magic sword Vein de, which he’d obtained upon defeating the degenerate hero, Ra Chrysa, appeared atop the Unknown sword piece. Together, they formed a powerful aura.
He immediately charged through the path Bracky and Harabal had opened. He closed on Mordred in an instant and heaved his sword forward.
As the two swords collided, there was no sound akin to the shing of sharp metal. The malice eminated by rent didn’t only swallow the noise, however. It also began rapidly consuming the magic power of the Vein de.
Mordred’s gaze pierced into Tae Ho with burning eyes. He applied his massive strength in an attempt to finish Tae Ho off with a single move.
Tae Ho narrowed his eyes. Through the sentence of the Milesians, he applied to the Vein de the power of a God. It contested against rent’s antipathy and defended against Mordred’s attack.
The two swordsmen began exchanging blows. As they fought, countless afterimages of deadly des whipped the surrounding air into a frenzy.
Bracky and Harabal couldn’t help Tae Ho. The specters of Camelot aside, the skills being disyed by both Tae Ho and Mordred were too far beyond their abilities to match. Siri, while desperately wishing to aid Tae Ho, also had to grind her teeth and battle the specters instead.
Like Cuchinn, Adenmaha knew well enough the power a Knight of the Round Table could wield. Because of that, she’d concentrated her attention on dealing with the specters from the start. She spewed out ice breath to prevent them from approaching the river, while Valkyrie Ingrid rescued the wandering warriors and people of Kataron that had fallen into the river. Her actions were desperate as the current was strong and the water was freezing.
“Tae Ho!”
Siri charged a bolt into her crossbow and cried out in horror. It was because Tae Ho’s sword had shattered under Mordred’s onught.
Tae Ho quickly reformed the Vein de, but the problem still existed.
The strength of rent was simply too strong. Overwhelmingly strong.
He could barely endure it even with the amplifying power of Idun.
There was another, more serious problem. The real, clear difference between them.
Tae Ho finally understood the sheer power of the Knights of the Round Table.
The contrast between their swordsmanship was like a candle to the sun.
Until now, the enemies he had faced were very much bestial in nature. The giants used their natural-born power and agility and didn’t need proper techniques or martial arts.
Mordred was different. Even though he’d long since degenerated and betrayed Camelot, he was still a Knight of the Round Table.
Mordred’s sword suppressed Tae Ho without mercy. He couldn’t fight like he had against the giants. He faced Mordred with his physical abilities that were amplified by ‘Idun’s warrior’, but it was not enough.
The limit was clear.
‘Fall back! Buy some distance first!’
Cuchinn screamed in his ear, and Tae Ho attempted to create some space by detonating the power of Idun; however, Mordred didn’t permit him that. ret spun in blinding fashion to block Tae Ho’s sword and squeezed Idun’s power with its hatred. While Mordred couldn’t stop the explosion, controlling the direction was easy enough.
Tae Ho stumbled as the st shot off in a weird direction. As his defense broke, Ingrid intervened at thest second. She swung her harpoon-like sword and shed at Mordred’s waist, but Mordred blocked her attack far too easily.
“It’s light.”
Mordred smiled gently and spoke in a soft tone. As he did, the Treasure Sword, rent, emanated an all-epassing malice with the intention ofpletely swallowing Ingrid. Ingrid attempted to pull back her sword and dodge the wave of energy, but it was impossible. The two weapons were stuck together, and by the time she abandoned her sword, the malice had already reached her.
Ingrid grimaced before crying out in agony. Tae Ho roared and charged towards Mordred, but thetter saw through Tae Ho’s strike as if it were childsy. He swung rent without hesitation.
Vein de was shattered once again, and the tip of rent carved deeply into Tae Ho’s shoulder.
It wasn’t a simple wound. The moment the de touched his flesh, Tae Ho felt a pain beyond imagination. It was the effect of the malice that rent contained.
Idun’s power surged forth to protect Tae Ho. It single-handedly stopped Tae Ho’s mind from breaking.
Treasure Sword rent.
A sword that symbolized the royal throne of a species that resided beyond Erin.
Mordred wasn’t one to get drunk on a momentary sess. Despite his apparent madness, he was still a Knight of the Round Table. He swung rent quickly and tried to sever the heads of both Ingrid and Tae Ho.
However, Bracky didn’t let him do that. He’d fired bolts of lightning without a second thought. The aftershock may have harmed Ingrid and Tae Ho, but there was no room to consider such repercussions.
Mordred changed the direction of his sword. He destroyed the lightning using the hatred within rent.
Cuchinn felt frustrated. Thebined power of Mordred and rent was too strong. A peerless warrior had gotten hold of a magical sword.
In order to fight on even ground, a swordparable to rent was necessary. Regardless of the consequences, they had to unveil Cdbolg.
It was at that moment-
Merlin, who’d by nownded on the riverside, ced his hand on a sword instead of a staff. He, a great magician of Camelot, had judged that rent had been strengthened a few times over. The specters of Camelot were responsible for this.
One couldn’t see everything with only their eyes. Thousands of specters resided within rent. They were the souls of the ones who’d died when Camelot had been destroyed.
Merlin had to liberate them, and there was only but one thing capable of doing so.
It was the sword that symbolized the true King of Camelot.
The legendary sword which King Arthur had pulled from a stone.
Merlin sent magic power flooding into Caliburn. Camelot’s glory revealed itself.
Mordred felt it immediately. He kicked off the ground and closed in on Merlin without a second thought.
Surprisingly, Merlin turned away from him. Upon seeing his actions, Merlin finished applying magic power unto Caliburn and threw it away from Mordred.
‘Why?’
Mordred was bewildered; however, his instincts took the better of him. He stopped rent mid-swing and reached out to Caliburn.
rent releashed a joyful cry as Mordred revealed an expression of many mixed emotions under his helmet. He sheathed rent and grabbed onto Caliburn’s sheath.
He expected to draw it and finally bear the true sword of Camelot.
Despite his best efforts, however, the sword refused to budge. It almost seemed that the sword and sheath had be one, and it didn’t even rattle.
Merlin smiled, for he’d watched such a scene ur countless times before. No one could draw Caliburn without King Arthur’s blessing.
Mordred roared in anguish. He let out resentful cries at Caliburn whichy quietly in his hands, and then a great malice burst from within him.
However, Caliburn was unmoved.
The reason for this was really quite simple.
It wasn’t because Mordred had betrayed Camelot nor because he was a bastard that’d in his own father and king.
It was something Merlin had long since realized.
Caliburn already had an owner. The Sword of Selection, Caliburn, had already selected its master after the death of king Arthur and the century that had followed.
The sheath Mordred was clutching suddenly melted, and so did the hilt Merlin had made for it.
The de of Caliburn appeared while emanating a righteous aura of intense heat. It transformed into light within the hands of Mordred, who’d wanted to wield above all else, and then scattered.
It had disappeared.
No, that wasn’t the case.
Mordred cried in grief which he could not contain and slowly turned around.
The particles of light were gathering in the hilt of the Unknown sword piece, forming the distinctive shape of a sword.
Sword of Liberation, Caliburn.
The sword which only obeyed the true King of Camelot.
By now, Tae Ho had also realized the sword’s identity and the truth of its intention.
But it didn’t stop at that.
The words which the Milesians had told him said so. Caliburn was speaking to him.
He thought of Heda’s face, and he remembered the words she had told him.
Sword of Selection, Caliburn.
A sword that, by itself, could considered a legend.
[Synchro rate: 45%]
Tae Ho inhaled deeply as he added the power of Idun to Caliburn. It then emanated a pure, white light.
He epted the legend within the weapon, and thus he began a new saga.
[Legend-ranked Saga]
The sage foretelling the glory of Camelot which shone like the sun.
[King of Camelot]
Caliburn cried out in joy.
It had proimed the birth of a new king.
< Episode 27 – The sword of selection (1) > End
TL note: Thanks for reading~