Guinevere’s manic laughter echoed across the ruins of Stonehenge. The massive pillar of magical energy that had been piercing the sky contracted into a single point and vanished with a final pulse. From its center, a human figure finally emerged. The moment that entity took its first step onto the ashen earth, the storm of mana raging around him settled into a submissive hush, like subjects prostrating themselves before their sovereign.
The pressure was overwhelming. Even for me, a man who had slain gods to become a king, my very cells screamed in warning at the mere fact of his existence—a pure, potent Divine Majesty.
However, once the light fully receded, the figure that stood there was far from the ‘King of the End’ I had imagined. Standing there was no avatar of destruction, but a singularly noble and majestic king. He had golden hair that seemed to hold the sun’s glow and green eyes reminiscent of a deep forest. The blue and silver armor cladding his body was a work of art in itself. He was the perfect, idealized monarch that humans could only imagine—mythology itself made flesh.
He surveyed the ruins briefly before fixing his gaze on Guinevere, who stood dazed upon the altar. A soft smile graced his lips. It was a smile for which soldiers on a battlefield would surely offer their lives without hesitation.
"It has been a long time, my Queen. Did your earnest longing summon me across the eras?"
His voice held a weight of yearning and joy that spanned thousands of years. He then turned his head toward the silver knight standing beside her.
"Lancelot, my greatest knight and my friend. You were here as well, protecting her. I am truly gladdened to see you again."
At that warm greeting, the silver knight’s helmet tilted slightly. A sense of a bitter smile seemed to emanate from within.
"...I am not the complete 'him' that you know, O King."
"What?"
As the King of Knights expressed confusion at the low reply, a shriek of mental devastation erupted from Guinevere.
"Ah... Ahhh... No..."
Her seemingly innocent face contorted into a hideous mask of shock and despair. She backed away, staring at the king before her as if he were the most horrific monster in the world.
"Why are you...! The one I summoned was not someone like you!"
King Arthur’s smile faded, replaced by a look of bewilderment.
"Guinevere? What are you saying? I have returned to this land in response to your desire. To bring salvation to this Britain."
"Salvation?!"
Guinevere stamped her feet like a child and screamed. The Holy Grail of Magecraft fell from her hand, rolling powerlessly on the ground.
"Who wanted salvation from someone like you?! What I desired was destruction! Judgment! I wanted the 'King of the End' who would judge every Devil King in this world and herald the end of the world! Not a Steel God like you, bound by chivalry and trapped within the stale stories of men! A mere failure wearing the husk of a heroic myth...! A failure!"
As Guinevere raved in her madness, Alice, standing behind us, murmured in a voice thick with a mix of horror and sudden realization.
"A failure...? Is it possible... did Guinevere’s ritual fail? Instead of the 'King of the End,' did she accidentally summon King Arthur—the heroic myth that serves as his shell?"
At her words, Alessandro voiced his doubt.
"But Alice, that divine presence over there is unmistakably a Heretic God. He radiates a Divine Majesty far too powerful to be called a failed result. Is that truly the outcome of a failure?"
Alice replied, her eyes fixed on the scene.
"I don't know... but one thing is certain. This is not the result she wanted. And... because it is a failure, it might prove to be an even more unpredictable catastrophe!"
While they spoke, the warmth completely vanished from the King's face following Guinevere’s insulting outburst. A cold fury began to frost his green eyes. The gentle atmosphere from moments ago vanished like a lie, replaced by an icy, ruthless Divine Majesty that seemed to freeze the very air. Under that pressure, Alessandro, Alice, and I all caught our breath instinctively.
"A failure...?"
The King's voice was low, but it carried a wrath that felt as though the heavens themselves were collapsing.
"I responded to your call across thousands of years, yet I am met with nothing but insult. You dare summon me, only to deny the sovereignty I built? Even if you are my Queen, such arrogance cannot be forgiven."
He reached out into the empty air. Space tore open, and a single sword emitting a blinding, brilliant light appeared in his hand. It was no mere blade. It was a Holy Sword, sacred and beautiful, as if forged from the condensed light of every star in the night sky. The moment that sword appeared, I knew. That was a power on a different dimension from the Authorities of the gods I had faced so far—a power capable of severing the very laws of the world.
"Holy Sword of the Stars, let your light purge the sins of the foolish—Excalibur!"
King Arthur. The legendary King of Heroes had descended upon this world as a Heretic God. Without hesitation, he raised Excalibur and swung it toward the Guinevere who had insulted him. A torrent of light surged toward her, threatening to erase the world itself!
In that instant, Lancelot, who had been guarding Guinevere, moved. He swept up the horror-stricken Guinevere into his arms.
"This is my duty. Forgive me, O King!"
With Lancelot’s cry, his silver armor glowed faintly, and both of them lost their forms, scattering like silver mist. The mist vanished like the wind before the sacred light of Excalibur could even touch it.
BOOOOOM—!
Having lost its target, the light of Excalibur struck Stonehenge directly. There was no roar, no explosion. Simply, the megaliths that had stood for thousands of years ‘ceased to exist’ where the light passed through, leaving not a speck of dust behind. Stonehenge vanished without a trace, and in its place, a massive hemispherical crater remained like a scar.
King Arthur, having missed his Queen and his Knight, surveyed his surroundings with eyes that had not yet cooled from their rage. Finally, his gaze locked onto us—we who had witnessed the entire commotion from start to finish. It wasn't just a look; it came with a physical pressure that felt like it was piercing through the soul.
"You there..."
His fury shifted entirely toward a new target. I shouted immediately.
"Alice, Alessandro! Fall back!"
The two of them reacted instantly to my command and retreated. I took a step forward, standing face-to-face with the Hero King who had become a Steel God.
"It is the first time we meet, legendary King of Heroes. I am Min-jun Jeong, the seventh Campione."
However, my concise greeting only served to pour oil on the fires of his wrath.
"What use is a name in these times!"
King Arthur snarled, raising Excalibur once more.
"The sin of interfering with my return, and the sin of letting the criminals escape before my eyes! Pay with your death, O Foreign King!"
With his shout, the light of the stars shot toward me once again, seeking to erase the world once more.
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