Chapter 24: Duel

"Indeed, the energy required to affect the entire universe is something no magician has, and although there are some entities and dimensions with this power, no average entity would let a Sorcerer use their entire power. However, because of your travel in time, you created a breach in space time."

"This is all a bit abstract, but there really is no such thing as fate or destiny. Your past present, is now your future, and everyone else's in your current time period. But this period has already passed, and thus was meant to happen in a certain way."

"In other words, every point in time behind our actual present, has already happened, and so is meant to happen in the way it did. Trying to change this will begin the possible creation of another universe, which means creating a lot of energy. Our spell uses this energy to 'fix' the future, until our present, to happen how it should happen, and thus stops the other universe from being created."

As the Ancient One finished his explanation, Merlin let out a chuckle "It's in those moments I'm glad to be the son of Belial and have access to Blood Magic. The Mystical Arts are such a pain to just understand, or worse, mastering them."

The Ancient One and Edward both rolled their eyes and said at the same time "Lazy."

Merlin laughed for a while, before eventually saying "Well, Serenity, it's not that your presence is unwanted, but I am going to need my full attention for the spell. Your friend is currently recovering in her room, so it might be a good time to properly introduce yourself to the king."

Edward nodded and left the room, but soon realized he got lost. With no choice, he stopped the first servant he saw and asked her for directions.

The castle was bigger than expected though, and so it was only after ten long minutes of search that he finally found the king.

As he got to the door leading to the throne room, a burly man with a nasty scar on his forehead got out, and when he saw Edward he laughed and said "Warrior from another time, here to see the king?"

Edward nodded, so the man said "Once you are done, come find me at the practice ground, so we can fight and see who's light is stronger!"

Edward tilted his head and asked "Who are you?"

The man grinned and replied "I am Sir Bors the Younger, son of Bors the Elder and strongest knight under his majesty King Arthur!"

Edward slightly smiled at the man's energy, although he couldn't see it with his mask, and said "I like to be called Serenity, excuse me if I can't reveal my real name to you, I fear a witch I defeated learns of my identity."

Bors patted his shoulder heavily and said "No worries, I'm already excited about our fight!"

He began laughing as he walked down the hallway, while Edward entered the room, a slight smile on his face.

Inside the room, he saw Arthur, standing in front of a round table with twelve seats around it, one of which was a throne. The king was pulled out of his thoughts as the door opened, and as he saw Edward he said "Brave Warrior, we finally get to really talk to each other."

Edward slightly bowed and said "It's a pleasure to meet you, your…"

Arthur snorted and said "There's no need for such things with me, don't stand on ceremony. You are not one of my subjects, you can call me Arthur."

Edward was deeply surprised by the king's, or rather the man's easy going personality. Edward slightly nodded at his words and said "Then I shall call you Arthur. I am Serenity."

Arthur nodded and asked "What are you goals in coming here, Serenity?"

Edward shook his head and replied "I was sent here against my will, by the woman who was with me. She made a mistake with one of her spells and sent the two of us alongside that demon to your time. Apologies about that."

Arthur waved his hand dismissively and said "That demon actually appeared at an opportune time."

Edward raised an eyebrow in surprise, and Arthur continued "We were fighting Morgana because her lover, the knight Accolon, duelled me and was killed in said duel. In her rage, she would have done something crazy either way, so I would rather have another great fighter under me than face another threat without you."

Edward couldn't help but ask "You seem awfully certain I am a great warrior."

Arthur smiled and said "The Prophecy says you are the only one capable of dealing with that demon, but you are right, relying on a prophecy isn't the wisest choice, which is why I invite you to the training grounds."

Edward smiled at that and recounted his encounter with Bors earlier. Upon hearing that, Arthur chuckled and said "I expect nothing less of him. Let's go then, shall we?"

Edward nodded, and the two walked off. With Arthur leading the way, it was much faster to navigate in the castle, so they quickly arrived to the training grounds.

Edward expected to see Bors there, but he was surprised to see that the all 11 of Arthur's Knights were here, sporting training gear and various weapons.

He sent a look at Arthur, who smiled and said "You challenge one, and you challenge them all. And we all are a bit curious about your strength."

This made Edward smile, a little excited himself. As a martial artist, he liked to battle, and even more so against strong opponents.

Bors stood in the battle ring, a large doubled bladed war axe resting on his shoulder. Edward looked at the weapons available, and after a while chose the sword.

There were several reasons for that choice. First, it was the weapon his master mastered, hence the one he was taught the most about. Secondly, it was a weapon well suited for his body shape, as while it was true a spear had more range and power, it was more suited to the tall and lean body shape, which he was, but also long arms, and his were rather short.

As such, the sword was a better weapon for him.

Edward took a stance across Bors, and Bors put his axe in front of him. As the king, Arthur became the referee, and seeing both men were ready, he yelled "Fight!"

Bors let out a mighty roar as he charged at Edward. As he reached Edward, he swung his axe diagonally, making the wind scream as it was slashed.

However, Edward easily ducked under the blow and stabbed his sword at Bors' abdomen.

Bors' weapon immediately changed it's trajectory and went to attack Edward, but much to his shock he felt a strong impact at his abdomen and was forced to retreat.

Trying to understand what just happened, Bors looked at his comrades surrounding them, but saw the same expression of shock on each of their faces.

Edward scratched his head and said "Sorry, I forgot I was facing a regular man. Let's fight again, I will restrain myself to your level of strength and rely on skill, or this match would be futile."

The Knights were still shocked and silent, so Arthur defused the situation "Such strength could only be expected from the warrior of the prophecy. But Serenity is right, with his strength using it to fight would make the fight useless. A fight of pure skill would be much more interesting!"

This seemed to reignite the hopes of the knights as Bors picked himself up and said "Indeed, your strength is impressive, Serenity! Let's see who's the most skilled one!"

Edward smiled and threw himself at Bors, this time with the fitness of a more normal human. Bors branded his giant war axe as he slashed erratically in Edward's direction. Although the strikes looked random, they were all syncing together seamlessly, cornering Edward quickly.

Edward didn't intend on staying on the defensive though, and he started quickly stabbing at Bors. None of the stabs were strong enough to hit Bors, but they came so fast he couldn't avoid them, and their meagre power was enough to push him back and create flaws in his swings.

Finally, Edward used one of those flaws to swing his blade towards Bors' neck. His blade stopped a centimetre from the knight's throat, who gulped as he stopped.

Edward took back his sword and said with a smile "It was a fun fight."

Bors looked at Edward in disbelief though and said "Not only are you much stronger than us, you are also very skilled. You have earned my respect, Serenity."

Edward smiled at Bors and performed a salute he saw them do when they saw Arthur, before asking the rest of the knights "Do you want to give it a go?"

As it turned out, none of the knights were discouraged by Edward's display of strength and skill, and took turns to fight Edward.

They used a variety of weapons and were of different backgrounds, but they all were very skilled, and definitely were great subordinates to have. Edward didn't doubt that they all could take at least ten men by themselves in a war.

However, even though they were about as strong as each other, there was one man above the rest, but below Arthur. The eleventh Knight, the Black Knight, Sir Percy of Scandia.

The blond knight did not wear his famous dark armour, but Edward knew the real danger was the sword in his hands. The sword was as dark as his armour, and Edward could shockingly feel a breath in that weapon, it had a Chi.

The fight between the two was quite spectacular, Edward couldn't afford to block any of Percy's blows as in front of his sword the metal of his sword was no stronger than paper.

This made the fight harder for Edward, but after several minutes of struggle, Edward did manage to win the duel, thanks to his stronger body and superior skills.

As Percy fell on the ground, Edward's sword pointed at his throat, he sighed and dropped his weapon.

Edward smiled as he took back his sword and extended his hand and said "That was a great fight, Sir Percy."

Percy took the helpful hand and sheathed his sword as he said "If it weren't for the Ebony Blade, I doubt I would have lasted very long."

On the side, Bors said "Look at him, being all humble again." The others agreed with him, making Percy roll his eyes.

Edward said "While your sword sure is powerful, it was your skill that troubled me the most. The Black Knight sure deserves his reputation."

Percy smiled faintly and made a short bow before leaving the area.

As Edward prepared himself to do the same though, he saw Arthur enter the arena. Arthur unsheathed Excalibur and said "Do you mind if I join in too?"

Edward was surprised, but then nodded with a smile himself. He was curious to see how powerful a mythical king with a legendary sword was.