The numbness in her leg was spreading throughout her body, and Mordred felt her steps becoming unsteady. However, this level of discomfort was not enough to bring down the rebellious knight.
"You're so annoyingly loud, you pompous woman! Keep standing there and putting on airs. This time, I'll cut off your head!"
She wasn't just listening to Semiramis' explanations; she was strategizing.
Long-range slashes were ineffective, and launching a charge like before would be too slow. Even using Mana Burst would still be a step behind.
In that case—
There was only one answer.
"I'll slice you in half with this Royal Sword!"
She was still ten meters away from the necessary distance. She needed to unleash all her strength while charging to that position.
The physical pain was intensifying, but it wouldn't hinder Mordred's advance.
This woman, similar to her mother, was the most troublesome enemy of her father. She had to defeat this poisoner before her father arrived.
The rebellious knight made her decision to charge and steeled herself for it.
At the moment she spoke, she once again turned herself into a bullet.
Nine meters.
Summoned chains attacked, but Mordred easily brushed them aside.
Six meters.
A massive, resilient fish suddenly appeared, opening its mouth to crush Mordred and her armor together.
Her armor creaked under the strain.
"So, it is an insect after all?"
Semiramis' piercing laughter drove Mordred's anger to its peak. This anger, rather than causing her to lose her composure, only increased her strength.
"Shut up, you gill-breathing creature...!"
Utilizing her innate Instinct skill, Mordred instantly grasped the optimal course of action. She switched to holding her sword with one hand and unhesitatingly thrust her steel-clad arm into the divine fish's eye.
The fish writhed in agony. Mordred ignored it, gouging out its eye. Then, gripping the sword with both hands, she stabbed the blade deep into the brain through the eye socket. A horizontal slash followed, severing the fish's lower jaw, and she finished with a thrust into its brain.
The laughter ceased, and Semiramis looked at Mordred with a semblance of frustration.
"You're as brutal as a berserker. You are—"
Mordred, expressionless, stepped on the fish's spine and continued her advance.
Unfortunately, this brief delay cost her the opportunity to charge. Endless chains wrapped around her again, and her body, further poisoned by the fish's bites, grew increasingly sluggish.
First her feet, then her waist, followed by her hands. More chains coiled around her. Each additional chain increased the poison in Mordred's body.
These conceptual poisons inflicted unbearable pain and weakened her resistance. Despite her continuous, desperate struggles, she fought on.
"I called you an insect earlier. Now, you're more like a fish caught on a hook, rebellious knight."
The fully armored figure bounced like a ball.
Her struggle was indeed like that of a fish caught on a line.
"But being a fish isn't so bad. At least you can be served on a table to entertain guests—look over there, the guests have arrived."
Mordred strained to turn her neck, bound by four or five chains and saw two figures running down the corridor towards them.
"Father, Master, don't come in! It's even more dangerous here than she said. Her poison can't be resisted by serum or mystic codes!"
Her desperate shout acknowledged the danger of the Throne Room, but they had underestimated the boost it gave to its owner. Semiramis here was on a completely different level.
A glimmer of understanding flashed across Semiramis' face.
"So, it's serum and mystic codes."
Artoria and Kairi Shishigou halted, anxiously watching the heavily bound Mordred in the center of the Throne Room.
Kairi gritted his teeth, pulled a tool resembling a beast's claw from his pouch, and threw it into the room.
As soon as the claw passed through the door, it melted like a candle in flames, transforming into a bizarrely colored liquid. Simultaneously, Kairi's left pinky felt intense pain, as if a burning nail had been driven into it.
"Ugh..."
Kairi Shishigou unhesitatingly pulled off his pinky finger and tossed it aside.
Controlling corpses is fundamental for necromancers, functioning similarly to how regular magus control familiars, but it's safer and more convenient. Typically, damage to a familiar doesn't affect the master. If a fragile small animal being killed could result in the magus' death, then using familiars would be pointless.
However—
"Very cautious. My poison is a conceptual poison that can erode even causal links. As long as there's the slightest connection, the poison will transfer."
Semiramis' words directly nullified the effectiveness of the serum and protective mystic codes.
Artoria suggested, "There's no choice but to regroup for now."
"Yes."
Kairi raised his arm bearing the Command Seal and unleashed the immense magic power contained within, "By the Command Seal, I order my Saber: Return to my side immediately!"
The magic transmitted, and the Command Seal disappeared, but Mordred did not vanish from the chains' bindings.
A chain tore through the air, lightning-fast, aiming for Kairi's head. Artoria casually deflected it. This was a warning from Semiramis.
"Saber's Master, do you underestimate me? Do you think I can't see through your intentions? Your Command Seal can't break my blockade. And the Ruler who could interfere with me is currently unable to protect herself."
"Damn it!"
Kairi angrily pounded his thigh, while Artoria's grip on her holy lance tightened.
Ignoring the stern looks of the two, Semiramis chuckled, "Don't know what to do? Let me enlighten you. You have four choices—"
"First, my preferred option: you recklessly charge in, and I deal with you all at once."
"Second, retreat now, giving you a bit more time to struggle."
"Third, you have one more Command Seal, don't you? You could try using two Command Seals to break my blockade, though the outcome would be no different from the second option."
"Fourth, do nothing and wait here while I turn this fish into a dish to entertain you... What dish would be suitable? Ah, I've got it. Since the Knight King is the King of Britain, I'll prepare a Stargazy Pie. I've heard from my Master that it's Britain's most famous dish."
As Semiramis spoke, she snapped her fingers. The chain around Mordred's neck tightened, forcing her to tilt her head back, resembling a fish gasping for air.