Same Expression, Different People

When Mordred thought the coast was clear, she quickly regained her position and tried to land an overhead strike on the standing Valkyrie. But Mavislin merely blinked while unleashing her Elemental Aura, effectively creating a shockwave to repel the Knight of Rebellion's attack.

Mordred cursed as she was flung backward and skidded across the floor. The Knight got back up and was full of rage while Mavislin said nothing. It was then when something snapped within Mordred as she realized she was back in the same position from all those years ago.

The look on Mavislin's face... It was the same as the King's expression from the last battle. The Knight of Rebellion gripped her sword in anger and sadness as she noticed Mavislin wasn't looking at her anymore.

And the worst part about it was that Mordred could have prevented this fight if she was normal and hadn't chosen to fight Bryan. Instead, the Knight charged forwards with her sword above her shoulder.

"That face, that expression of yours... It's the same as his... Don't you know how painful it was for me to find out that you were gone?!" yelled Mordred, slamming her sword at the Valkyrie.

Mavislin moved backward, allowing Mordred to fall frontwards. The Knight quickly turned and tried kicking the Valkyrie, but Mavislin merely moved back again. Then, as she placed her foot back down, Mordred pulled out her sword to strike at Mavislin one last time.

But for this case, the Valkyrie caught the blade.

"No," was the only thing Mavislin said before shooting a beam of Light Elemental Energy from her finger, puncturing Mordred's left lung.

The Knight instantly jumped back without her sword and held her wound, trying to heal it with her Elemental Energy. Her figure was shrouded with thick black smoke as the sword in Mavislin's grasp turned into ashes. As the cloud dispersed, the Knight stood tall with her sword.

"You will pay for what you've done to me. Because of you, I failed to overthrow my father. I thought you were my friend and I could trust Mages... But you've only proved to me that your kind isn't meant to be trusted," said Mordred as she lunged towards Mavislin.

It was only then that Mavislin felt the need to show her emotions as she glared at the Knight. Her eyes changed from gold to crimson in a blink, and the Slayer barely had enough time to process the next event. Mordred puked out blood as she looked downwards.

She couldn't believe it; within a blink, Mavislin had conjured Light Elemental Spikes from the ground beneath the Knight, impaling Mordred in several different areas. It was enough to put someone in a casket twice, but Mordred was still clinging to life.

"Do you see the difference between us? We are worlds apart in terms of culture and power. Even with the help of the Corruption Element, you won't stand a chance to baby Valkyries, let alone me. I have been active from birth until you died and only came back after half a century."

"And don't lump others into the mix when it was fault throughout the entire Rebellion. Had you been stronger, you would've known to activate Clarent in its final form. Had you waited, the King would've given you a weapon surpassing Excalibur if used correctly?"

"But no... You allowed your childishness to dictate your future. And eventually, your death. So, stop trying to stir beef in an empty pot and admit to your wrongdoing," demanded Mavislin.

"I... I thought you were my buddy... I shared my pains with you, so why did you leave me alone? You knew I loved my father, and his rejection of me was unforgivable. You'd even given me a sword to fight him! So why..." asked Mordred as tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

"I didn't give you Clarent to kill the King. My instructions were clear; prove to him that you are as strong as him and a capable leader. I admit my mistake for not telling you how to do it, but I hadn't expected you to incite a rebellion against your father."

"But when I heard you used the sword to destroy Camelot, I decided to turn my back against you. I had meant to come back after a few days of sightseeing, but you went berserk. When I investigated from Agravain, I learned that you had gone on a rampage to overthrow the King."

"So you left and never came back... Because of what I did... That's not fair... That's not fair at all! Why must I be the one at fault here?! You never knew how it feels like to be tossed aside like trash... To be looked down upon by everyone because you were new and had a different way of fighting."