Artoria was looking at her as well.
Their eyes met.
Under Morgan's black veil the breathtaking face was no longer aloof, a thoroughly enchanting smile appeared on her lips.
"You've grown so much without me noticing, Lily."
Morgan sized up Artoria, "Have you been waiting for me all this time?"
"Little Mo must have been the bait you used to lure me in, right?"
Morgan knew that ever since she began the White Dragon revival plan, Artoria had been searching for her traces.
It would not be surprising if Artoria had deliberately used Mordred to "fish."
"I never imprisoned her from the start, much less used her as bait."
Artoria's voice pulled Morgan back from her thoughts, "As for why I knew you would return, did you forget you gave me a heads-up last night, big sister?"
As she finished speaking, Artoria glanced toward a corner of the palace, her voice edged with chilling cold, and said, "The return of the Age of Gods leaves no chance for civilians to survive. Are you planning to walk Vortigern's old path?"
As she spoke these words, an awful, imposing aura radiated from the holy sword. Golden motes of light drifted through the air, making Gareth and Mordred behind Morgan's back's hearts race uncontrollably.
There was no doubt. Artoria was truly enraged.
Artoria knew very well that the descent of the Age of Gods meant sacrificing the people of Britain. Even if it were her elder sister, if she embraced such a dangerous idea, Artoria would show no mercy.
Seeing the holy sword in Artoria's hand, a trace of amusement flickered through Morgan's eyes.
"The sword that killed two White Dragons?"
"You pull out such a high-level weapon right upon meeting me. Am I supposed to feel honored?"
Though she said this, a faint sarcasm was clear in her tone.
"I killed two White Dragons?"
Morgan's words cut deeply into Artoria.
She lifted her head and said coldly, "I killed them?"
"If you had not given him those powers back then, if not for your greed, there would never have been that battle between him and me."
"Is that so?"
Morgan tilted her head slightly, "Wasn't it your past weakness that made him decide to clear the obstacles for you?"
When Artoria had first become king, she wanted to make the empire better.
However, the late king left behind a huge hidden problem before dying: the nobles.
Even if Morgan had no plan, Alvin at that time would have used similar means to kill the kings, and his death would have completed Artoria's path.
When Morgan said this, she even expected Artoria to swing the holy sword at her.
But Artoria only silently closed her eyes.
After a long while she spoke softly, "You are not wrong. I did have moments of weakness in the past. I was protected by him."
"Maybe as you say, even without your plan he would have die. But that is only a hypothesis."
The old Artoria was dead. The present Artoria no longer needed anyone to protect her. On the contrary, this time she could protect him.
"I will not let him leave again."
Her tone was calm and resolute.
"Leave again," From Artoria's words Morgan gleaned a great deal of information. She asked casually, "He's returned?"
Though she deliberately controlled her voice not to tremble, a glimmer of hope still shone in Morgan's beautiful eyes beneath the veil.
"He's returned."
Then, from Artoria's mouth, she heard the answer she had been hoping for.
'He really has come back?'
After being pierced through the heart by the holy sword, he could still return in such an incredible way?
While Morgan's heart was filled with indescribable joy, Artoria's cold voice sounded again.
"But this time, I will not let you come within even a single step of him."
When Artoria learned her elder sister had been secretly seducing Alvin, she had once chosen to turn a blind eye for the sake of the greater good.
What that decision produced was only to inflate Morgan's greed, and eventually her attempt to wholly possess him.
"Where is he now?"
Morgan, as if not having heard Artoria, asked the question that mattered most to her.
She expected no answer, yet she saw a thawing smile appear on Artoria's face.
"In my chambers," Before Morgan could react, Artoria said quietly, "Big sister, you will never understand what true feelings are."
"I love him sincerely. He told me he will forever protect me from now on."
At the end, remembering the warmth of the close moments with the boy yesterday, Artoria's face showed a gentle smile.
She raised her head and looked at Morgan, smiling brightly, "Seduction by the body alone, even if you obtain it, will only ever be an empty shell."
Morgan remained expressionless, "Perhaps as you say, what is gained by the body ends up only being a shell."
Watching her smiling younger sister, Morgan suddenly smiled brightly after a long silence, "But Lily, you probably don't know how obedient the shell you speak of once was when it lay in my arms and called out 'Sister Morgan.'"
The air froze instantly.
Artoria's smile faded bit by bit. Mordred and Gareth's eyelids twitched wildly. Their extraordinary perception was wildly alarmed.
Both almost took a step back instinctively.
BOOM!
In the next instant golden motes of mana poured into Artoria's hands. The holy sword radiated heat as though it could melt everything.
Artoria's holy turquoise eyes snapped open like the gates of heaven bursting wide. The dazzling brilliance outshone the sun beneath the sky.
"MORGAN!!"
———
Deep in the palace.
Kayneth with golden back-combed hair sat in the garden and watched the distant battle. Even the faint aftershock of that golden pillar piercing the sky made the Clock Tower's ruler uneasy.
Reines also looked up, her eyes full of longing and admiration, and softly said, "The Promised Sword of Victory, forged from human belief, the legendary ultimate divine weapon forged by the 'planet'. It seems a powerful enemy infiltrated the palace and was discovered by King Artoria?"
Even without keen perception of mana, when Artoria drew the holy sword, the terrifying and scorching golden radiance could be felt by any mage.
"Thankfully Artoria is a wise ruler," Reines breathed a sigh of relief.
Previously Artoria had ordered the capture of all traversers.
One could not imagine the cost if the traversers truly made enemies of Artoria.
Kayneth for once had no snarky remark.
He was a once-in-a-century genius, but even the most talented mage could be overshadowed by the mythic Camelot Empire.
Just as now the sun's brilliance was eclipsed by the holy sword.
But what sort of enemy had Artoria encountered?
Remember, besides Artoria there are twelve Round Table knights and the court mage Merlin. Who would dare storm the palace?
"I wonder how Alvin and Gray are doing," Reines said softly.
Kayneth replied calmly, "I don't know about your friend, but Alvin, he is much smarter than you think. When faced with something like this he will run as far away as possible."
"In any case, an enemy who can forcefully break into the palace would not target a child who is barely even a mage."
Reines seemed relieved and said, "That's true. Alvin has always been smart."
Kayneth frowned slightly.
'Reines cares a bit too much about Alvin for a classmate.'
Though Alvin once taught Kayneth how to please a girl and succeeded, it made Kayneth that much more wary of Alvin.
Especially Reines's reaction made him uneasy.
As one of the few geniuses in the El-Melloi family, Reines might become the next head of the family. Even choosing a spouse, she should at least have noble blood.
'Alvin does not meet those requirements.'
Reines did not know her offhand question had let her brother imagine a whole scene.
She had only thought of Alvin because she remembered the white-masked young man beside Artoria earlier.
'According to Artoria, Alvin should already be in the palace.'
Yet Reines had not seen him since entering the palace.
'Is he under soft house arrest? Or does Artoria hold certain expectations for him?'
"If the traversers all return to the modern world when the countdown ends, this battle will spread through the mage world in a day," Reines said.
"Of course. After all, this is Artoria."
Kayneth looked out the window and said gravely, "I think you don't need to wait for their return. Traversers near the palace should already have sensed it."
Unlike heroic spirits, even in the late Age of Gods, Artoria was at the peak of her power.
This battle would be something traversers would talk about and boast about later.
As Kayneth said, others had sensed the palace disturbance, namely traversers near the city.
As magi they were extremely sensitive to mana. When Artoria condensed her mana into the holy sword, the overwhelming power covered much of the palace. Even from far away traversers were terrified.
Most magi are proud and confident.
But since arriving in Camelot, their confidence had been repeatedly dented.
Especially seeing the terrifying mana released by the holy sword, they felt crushed and defeated.
At the same time people wondered what enemy Artoria faced that forced her to use the holy sword.
———
"What on earth is happening."
In a small tavern in the royal city, a plainly dressed man with an elegant little moustache looked toward the palace.
Though he had maintained noble elegance since crossing over, anyone who knew him would see his expression today and know his composure had cracked.
As the current head of the Tohsaka family, his gem magecraft was personally passed down by the "Jewel Old Man." Tohsaka Tokiomi had long kept noble confidence and pride.
However, from the first day he crossed over, a subtle change had come over him.
This is an era full of danger. From day one Tokiomi knew this.
He had just sneaked into the legendary royal city from the forest and happened to witness Artoria's battle with a mysterious powerful being.
At first he wanted to ask Artoria why she was so extreme in capturing traversers.
But at the sight of the holy sword's unleashed mana, Tokiomi was completely stunned.
No wonder Artoria ordered indiscriminate arrests of all traversers. To her in the Age of Gods era, these traversers' combined strength might be insignificant.
'If only the old master who left the gem magecraft to the Tohsaka house was around, but how many gem mages like the Jewel Old Man exist?'
"I didn't expect to meet someone familiar here."
═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═❀═
[email protected]/AmbitiousTranslator
🥳Joining P@treon keeps me motivated and eager to work diligently, so please consider joining.🥰 You can access upto 20 advance chapter through P@treon.