The ensuing battle had little left to describe.
Vortigern had vanished.
What remained?
A ragtag army nothing more.
Many of them were even conscripted hastily from Saxon tribes.
Their strength had always been pitifully weak.
And now, even the one who led them was gone.
How could they fight?
Soon enough,
the war came to an end.
Camelot's army achieved a great victory.
Yet, the soldiers felt little joy.
Vortigern's transformation into a demonic dragon had left behind a pressure far greater than before.
"Why the long faces? Anyone would think we lost the battle! Come on, smile for me."
Seeing this, Lot laughed and encouraged them.
"Yes, we still won this battle."
Artoria Pendragon nodded firmly.
Then, she turned to Lot with an expectant look.
"Your Majesty, does that mean tonight's celebration feast can be a little more extravagant?"
"Of course. Eat as much as you want no restrictions."
Hearing her request, Lot thumped his chest in assurance.
[After all, Vortigern's army left behind plenty of provisions. No way Artoria could eat me into poverty this time.]
He thought to himself.
Nearby, Morgan, overhearing his thoughts, smirked in amusement.
"I was wondering when my husband would ever be this generous. Usually, he'd begrudge my sister even a single bowl of porridge a day. Sure, the main issue lies with her appetite, but this guy is hardly the picture of generosity."
She mused internally.
Morgan stepped closer and gently took Lot's hand.
"Come, let's celebrate our victory."
She said to him.
"Mm, of course."
Lot nodded lightly. Then, with a proud tone, he added:
"Oh, and dear did you see it? That strike I delivered earlier? Utterly magnificent. With my sword, even if Vortigern had transformed into something far worse than a demonic dragon, I'd have cut him down all the same."
[Mustn't let my wife worry.]
He reassured himself.
However
He hadn't considered one thing.
Morgan wasn't worried at all.
Not because she was heartless, incapable of fear even in the face of Vortigern's monstrous transformation.
But because
She trusted Lot completely.
No matter what, he would handle it.
And so, amidst laughter and cheer, they prepared to return for the victory banquet.
Yet, on the way back
Merlin appeared before them.
"Oh? Our great Mage of Flowers has finally returned?"
Morgan greeted him with a mocking smile.
This Merlin was utterly unreliable.
She had gone out of her way to ensure Artoria was placed under Lot's care, just so this old swindler could step in when needed.
But instead, Merlin had vanished without a trace.
And make no mistake
Though Morgan's current abilities still fell short of Merlin's, she had sensed his absence these past few days.
"Ah, I merely lost my way on the path of life."
Merlin chuckled, feigning ignorance of her glare.
Originally, he had intended to follow his disciple.
But then
She appeared.
Scáthach, the Queen of the Land of Shadows another wielder of the "Clairvoyance" he so dreaded.
And so, he promptly made himself scarce.
Only today did he resurface.
He had witnessed Lot's glorious strike with Joyeuse.
He had seen Vortigern's transformation and flight into the skies.
And now, he had come to deliver a warning.
"Though our paths may differ, there is one thing I must make clear to you both. The fruits of your battle with Vortigern do not let others steal your victory."
[Of course, the only one who should claim those fruits is me.]
He wisely kept that last thought to himself.
He preferred not to get beaten.
Just then
A scream erupted from the soldiers cleaning the battlefield.
"What is this?!"
Some beings, once dead, could no longer maintain their disguises.
And thus, Lot and Morgan discovered that besides their own forces and Vortigern's
Fairies had also been present in this war.
"Well, well. These creatures hid themselves quite thoroughly."
Morgan's expression darkened.
To be fair, this was somewhat of a misunderstanding.
The fairies hadn't chosen to remain hidden.
Vortigern had dragged them here prematurely.
The fairies embedded within the army were low-ranking hardly in any position to make decisions.
Lot, observing the scene, spoke solemnly:
"I won't let anyone take our victory from us."
Having said that, he shot a glance at Merlin.
[You may have left that last part unsaid, but did you really think you could hide it from me?]
[If I hadn't exhausted myself today, I'd have beaten you black and blue.]
Morgan nodded in agreement beside him.
Beat him. Beat him good.
This old fraud deserved nothing less.
Merlin, sensing the murderous intent from the couple, promptly performed his signature vanishing act.
Time to go. If I stick around, I'll end up with another thrashing.
...
Night fell.
The soldiers reveled in their triumph.
But Lot and Morgan had no time to rest.
Lot busied himself with tending to the wounded, arranging cremations and burials for the fallen.
Morgan assisted him while silently contemplating their next move against Vortigern.
"It has become a dragon. Which means our enemy is now solitary just one dragon. All that remains is to slay it."
At this thought, she glanced at Lot.
Now she understood why he had once claimed only Artoria and Gawain together could defeat the demonic dragon.
But
Two problems arose.
First, her daughter was still an infant barely months old.
(Though admittedly, she didn't quite resemble a typical baby.)
But a child nonetheless!
Second
Why do I feel that even if Gawain grew up, she and Artoria together still wouldn't be a match for Vortigern?
… What do we do?
We can't possibly let that demonic dragon rampage across Britain for over a decade, can we?