Chapter 33: Warrior of the Demon Realm -1-

"Wait, Alter. I’m coming for you."

Kay’s vow sliced through the frigid night air of the North Wales castle.

Immediately after, Medusa released her mana and intoned her True Name.

"My gentle child, answer me. <Bellerophon (Bridle of Radiance)>."

Hiiiiing—!!

Along with a dazzling surge of magical light, a mythical celestial steed—one that did not exist in Britain—emerged from a magic circle.

With massive wings and a presence far too holy and overwhelming to be a mere beast, it was a Phantasmal Species of the Age of Gods: Pegasus.

Medusa leapt lightly onto Pegasus’s back, and Kay mounted up behind her, securing his Golden Axe firmly at his side.

Tamamo and Jeanne d’Arc Alter saw them off from atop the castle walls.

"Master! The moment you arrive, please call for your Tamamo!"

"Hey! Don’t you dare try to do this alone! Use a Command Spell immediately if you have to, you hear me?!"

"I know. I'll call you soon."

As Kay waved back, Medusa tugged the Bridle of Radiance.

Kwaaaang—!!

Pegasus did not simply fly by flapping its wings. Through an overwhelming discharge of mana, it kicked off the very air and rocketed into the sky.

From North Wales to Manchester. A distance that would take days for an ordinary army to march, but for the celestial horse that had once nearly reached Olympus with the hero Bellerophon, it was a flight of barely an hour or two.

"The ride will be a bit rough, Master. Hold on tight so you don't fall."

"Haha! Compared to the biting winds of the Abyssal Realm, this is nothing but a breeze!"

Cutting through Britain’s ash-gray night sky, a single white meteor shot in a straight line toward Manchester.

At that same moment.

Castle Field, Manchester. In the deepest, dampest dungeon of a fortress built during the era of the Roman Empire.

"…Ugh."

In the pitch-black darkness, a pained groan leaked out alongside the clanking of chains.

A woman hung there, both arms bound to thick iron rings embedded in the wall.

Her black armor was shattered, and her ebony dress was torn and stained with blood and dust—a broken knight in a wretched state.

She was the one known as the Tyrant who wielded the merciless black holy sword, the one who had struck terror into the hearts of the Saxons across all of Britain: Artoria Alter.

Her pride, Excalibur Morgan, had been confiscated, and her near-infinite mana was tightly bound by cursed chains, reducing her to the level of an ordinary human.

Perhaps because she was both human and dragon, the sealing of her mana also bound her physical strength, leaving her unable to even dream of escape.

Kk-gi-gi-gi-geek—

With a heavy metallic screech, the dungeon door opened, and the flickering light of a torch spilled inside.

The sound of metal boots stopped directly in front of Alter.

"Damn, you look pathetic as hell. For a tyrant who supposedly devoured all of Britain, this is a pretty sorry end, isn't it? Kyahaha!"

A voice laced with a fishy, frivolous mockery.

He was a hulking Saxon knight, but he didn't possess the typical bluntness of a barbarian.

His skin was strangely pale, his pupils were slit vertically like a reptile's, and a faint, alien fairy mana wafted from his body.

The strongest knight of the Saxons and a confidant of Vortigern: Taquin.

A man who used his fairy blood to ravage battlefields at speeds invisible to the eye.

"…Hmph. A rat who did nothing but scurry away, and now you play the victor? My only regret is that I didn't cut out that frivolous tongue of yours the moment I had the chance."

Alter lifted her head and glared at Taquin.

Her face was bloodied and her hair disheveled, but the royal pressure and killing intent emanating from her golden eyes had not faded in the slightest. It was the gaze of a true tyrant.

"Hahaha! Look at those eyes, still stiff and defiant even while tied up! Seeing you hold onto that spite even after losing your holy sword... you really are a Pendragon."

Taquin approached with a swagger and roughly grabbed Alter’s chin, forcing her face up.

"But hey, let's be honest here. It's not like I used some cheap trick or a trap; I beat you in a straight-up fight, didn't I? That black sword of yours had mindless firepower, sure, but your swings were slow as a slug. I completely dismantled you with speed. You can't even call it unfair."

His words were the truth.

Taquin possessed superhuman speed, and Alter's heavy strikes, which bet everything on destructive power, couldn't touch a single hair on his head in a direct confrontation. It was a total defeat of compatibility.

Indeed, perhaps because Roman myths had persisted in Roman Britain, some even called Taquin the second coming of Achilles.

"Well, I know it stings, but I'll tell you why you have to suffer in this shitty place."

Taquin tightened his grip on her chin and leaned his face in close.

"I'm the younger brother of Caradoc, the former master of the Tower of Sorrow."

"…Caradoc?"

Alter's brow furrowed slightly.

"Yeah. My brother Caradoc was sliced to pieces by you arrogant Pendragon sisters... no, by that bastard King Arthur. I don't care about enemies killing each other on the battlefield, but as a brother, I've got to avenge my blood in style. You're going to roll in the dirt and pay the price for my brother's share."

"…Ridiculous. You volunteered to be Vortigern's dog for a petty, personal grudge? You foolish, vulgar creature."

Alter spat the blood pooling in her mouth onto Taquin's armor.

Taquin scowled and roughly wiped the blood away, then let out a sneer.

"That's not all. This is a punishment the entire Saxon race is delivering to your Pendragon household."

"Punishment? You speak in delusions."

"Don't remember? Your father, Uther Pendragon—that man brutally tore apart our great Saxon Queen, Angela. Your family started the bloodbath by provoking the Saxons first! This is a tragedy of Britain that you brought upon yourselves, you understand?"

At those words, Alter's golden eyes grew cold. Even in her bound state, she did not hide her scoff.

"…You're such a thug that your brain cells must be made of muscle."

Alter's voice was low and heavy, but it carried a chilling rage.

"The Saxons were uninvited guests in Britain from the start. When the Roman army left and internal unity collapsed, Britain brought in you Germanic mercenaries to stop the common enemy, the Picts. You were mercenaries hired for a fair price, yet you were the first to betray your employers, invade British territory, and ravage innocent people. You Saxons are nothing but disgusting scoundrels."

She stared directly into Taquin's reptilian eyes, pouring out her contempt.

"To dare speak of punishment because the leader of a band of thieves—who repaid kindness with enmity and harbored ambitions of invasion—died on the battlefield... it seems you beasts have no concept of shame. I am practically nauseated."

"Ah, fuck! You talk way too much!!"

Unable to counter the brutal facts, Taquin's face turned beet red. He huffed and pulled a thick iron rod from his waist.

"Heh. Fine, you're right! But what about it? It's because you Britons were too weak and stupid to begin with that you let the wolves into your living room! The excuses of losers who got rolled are just the sound of dogs barking to us victors!"

Taquin roughly grabbed Alter by the hair.

"The fact that you're still alive and wagging that fancy tongue is only because the Saxons are generous. Once we rip out the magic circuits and the core that handle the holy sword, you're a dead woman."

"You must be hallucinating a vision of your head flying off by my sword. Release these chains this instant, and I will—mmph?!"

The moment Alter tried to pour out another curse, Taquin roughly pried her jaw open and shoved the thick iron rod deep into her mouth.

Unable to speak, Alter could only let out beast-like muffled sounds.

"Mmmph…! Mmm-nnph!"

"Hahaha! Serves you right. Where did that arrogant look go? Now you're just like a little puppy."

Taquin laughed, tapping the iron rod in Alter's mouth.

His greasy gaze blatantly scanned Alter's pale thighs and curved figure, exposed through the tears in her dress.

"Damn, I'd love to shove my cock in your mouth instead of this piece of iron right now... but I'll hold back until the White Dragon decides your fate personally. You should feel honored."

"Grrr-rrgh…!!"

Murderous intent erupted from Alter's eyes as if she would tear Taquin apart on the spot, but with her strength sealed, she could exert no physical force.

Humiliation, rage, and a profound sense of helplessness enveloped her entire body.

Mocking her futile struggles, Taquin took his torch and swaggered out of the dungeon.

Kk-gi-gi-geek—Bang!!

The iron door slammed shut, and perfect darkness and silence once again pressed down on Alter.

Hanging from the chains, Alter's head dropped lifelessly toward the floor.

…Is this where it ends?

Distrusting Merlin, abandoning her sisters, pursuing power alone, and searching for her brother—only for it to end in a humiliating death in this dark prison.

In her final moments, as she crumbled, the face of one person flashed through her mind.

Five years ago, the one savior who prepared delicious meals with rough hands every night and silently endured her irritable tantrums.

The kindest, most foolish older brother in the world, whom she could never return to and failed to protect.

"Alter, aren't you eating too many of my burgers? You have to eat other people's food eventually. Let's go out to eat in town sometimes."

"Hmph, it just means yours are the tastiest. Consider it an honor."

"Geez, for a picky eater, you sure have a lot to say. Eat a balanced diet, don't just eat meat."

"Ugh……."

From behind the gag, a single hot tear—whether from pain or longing—fell onto the cold dungeon floor.

At that time.

Brocéliande, known as the magical forest of Britain.

In front of the magical spring called the Fountain of Storms, the Barenton Well, two women were sitting.

"What are you doing?"

"Divination."

A beautiful woman who looked like an elf asked the blonde girl.

"Divination, I see. Is it perhaps about your sister? That Alter was captured by Taquin."

At the cautious question, the blonde girl nodded.

"Yes. And there's no need to rush to rescue her right now."

"What? Oh, did the divination say...?"

"Yes. Alter will be safe."

"But even knowing she'll be safe, aren't you anxious?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. But it's okay. This isn't a matter for me to step in."

She answered nonchalantly.

"Britomart, until now, no matter how much I divined, I couldn't see the future I wanted. But a few days ago, it started to appear."

"The future you wanted... what is it?"

"It's this. Meeting a precious person again."

"A precious person? Ah! Could it be that person!?"

"Hehe, I wonder~ I'll introduce him to you later. After I've helped you with your request."

"I'm always indebted to you. Once the tyrant is defeated, I will definitely join your journey."

"It'll be reassuring to have you with me. Then I can introduce him to you as well. Brother Kay."

The magical forest.

There, a fairy knight and a fairy mage were taking a brief rest.

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