Chapter 4: Surrender

[3rd POV]

In the forest, Kay and Merlin are making a fire and cooking while on the side, Kyouya and Artorius have started their sparring match.

'This is truly unbelievable.'

Kyouya has thought about this more than once.

Even though this girl is Artorius's sister, her strength is already comparable to his.

If not for the "Rival" not triggering, Kyouya would almost believe that the person in front of him was just Artorius in disguise as a girl.

After all, that guy always had a... somewhat feminine appearance.

"Lily, it's time for us to go."

Just as the two were in the middle of an intense sparring match, Merlin suddenly walked over and stopped them with seriousness.

Obviously, this something is important.

Vortigern's army is starting to approach our location. Their target is clear, and it seems there's a magus' familiar nearby."

"An army? A lot of them?"

Artoria didn't think a small group of enemies could pose much of a threat to them.

"It's not about the numbers."

Merlin replied, "It's that Vortigern himself is leading the group."

Vortigern!

The mention of this name immediately startled everyone present.

Although Merlin's prophecy foresaw that King Arthur would inevitably defeat the Usurper King, Artoria had yet to fully mature.

How could she possibly stand against Vortigern in her current state?

"Then let's leave quickly."

Kyouya said as he slung the bag he had already packed over his shoulder.

After the simulator warned him that Vortigern was targeting him, he had long planned to escape quickly.

"Vortigern is after us? Could it be that he..."

Kay's expression darkened.

Artoria had reverted to her female form precisely to avoid drawing Vortigern's attention, but it didn't have any effect and instead exposed the fact that King Arthur was actually a woman.

"No, he's not coming for us specifically. He's actually..."

Merlin glanced at Kyouya.

With his EX Clairvoyance, Merlin was fully aware of the ancestral traits visible on Kyouya.

A warrior with such pure divine blood to the Age of Gods was naturally someone Vortigern wanted to recruit.

"We've been traveling together for a while, and it's time for us to part ways."

"Wait! If we're going to face Vortigern, we'll have a better chance if we stick together."

Kyouya was ready to retreat and leave, but Lily wasn't willing to abandon her friend.

She knew the vast gap in strength between herself and Vortigern and knew that uniting was the only way they might stand a chance.

The knight, named "Lloyd," might have an... unusual method to combat, but Artoria understood that he was a good person.

She couldn't bear the thought of such a noble individual dying.

"It's convenient for me to move alone. Moreover, if something happens to you, Artorius will only be distracted and held back during battle."

Kyouya said firmly, rejecting Artoria's suggestion.

Vortigern's target was him, and there was no need to drag more people into this.

Furthermore, it would be easier to escape on his own if needed.

'He doesn't bring trouble to his friends, doesn't bully the weak, punishes evil, and helps the good, wins humbly, and loses gracefully... besides his unusual fighting style, he's really a perfect knight.'

She looked at Kyouya's back with sincere emotion. She still remembered the first time they met when she was just a child.

At that time, Kyouya was already a well-known young prodigy in the area while she was merely an unknown nobody.

He didn't feel ashamed or angry at his defeat when they fought each other.

She instead saw the person who defeated her as a rival and trained hard day and night so he would be ready to beat that person in a future fight.

After that, they fought many times, and every time she won. However, those repeated victories didn't bring her confidence, and she actually felt more pressure.

She could feel that this young man was getting closer and closer to her.

Over the past few days, Artoria had seen Kyouya's unusual yet determined "knight spirit" in battle.

If she had to fight him for real, it would be hard to say who would win.

A knight like him would never surrender to someone like Vortigern, and if Vortigern actually defeated him, then he would have an ending worthy of a knight.

...

[You quicken your pace, moving through the mountains. The rugged terrain may slow your movements, but it also hinders the speed of the army.]

[You defeated a group of Vortigern's soldiers, and your reputation has risen slightly.]

[You defeated another group of Vortigern's forces, and your reputation has risen slightly.]

[You encounter an old man who introduces himself as Vortigern, and he appears before you without an army.]

[You tried to fight him, but the huge gap in strength made you lose quickly. You confirmed that Vortigern is definitely stronger than King Arthur and that going alone was the right choice.]

[He seemed to admire you and held no grudge for you killing so many of his soldiers. He simply asked you to swear loyalty to him.]

[As a knight chosen by a holy sword as pure as water, would you break your oath and offer your loyalty?]

[Absolutely!]

...

Seeing the lines pop up on the simulator, Kyouya couldn't help but nearly choke on his own.

Of course, surrendering was the only option since the difference in strength was obvious.

Kyouya figured that playing along for a while to stay alive wasn't something he couldn't handle. However, there was one thing that left him feeling confused.

"I've killed so many soldiers, and won't bring me back cause problems within the army?"

He didn't believe that he hadn't considered that he might be pretending to surrender.

As the biggest traitor of Britain, Vortigern would never have survived this long without being cunning enough to notice such things.

"They're just some Anglo-Saxons. You've killed them, and what's there to worry about?"

Vortigern said it with clear disdain. He clearly valued his Celtic heritage and looked down on the Anglo-Saxons.

"You look down on them? Then why are you leading them to invade Britain?"

He didn't understand why Vortigern had fallen out with Uther Pendragon.

The succession to the throne had long been decided between the brothers.

If there had truly been conflict between them, it shouldn't have taken this long to surface.

"This is a secret, but... you deserve to know."

Vortigern looked at the rising knight in front of him. He could feel the strong aura of the Age of Gods just by being close to him.

They were both the last descendants of the Age of Gods.

To be continued...