"Over here!"
Mordred kicked the wall with enough force to crack it.
"—!"
Amakusa Shirou Tokisada, who was knocked to the ground by the flying debris, blinked in silence.
Where am I? Who am I? And why are there rocks flying at me?
"Master? Still alive down there?" Shakespeare crouched by Amakusa's head, whispering with a curious grin.
"If I were dead, the contract would've dissolved," Amakusa sighed, pushing the rubble off himself with an exasperated look.
"Ah, Master, you're no fun at all." Shakespeare shrugged, feigning disappointment.
"Oh~ lucky us, we hit the Holy Grail jackpot," Mordred sauntered in, her greatsword resting lazily on her shoulder.
"You and that 'intuition' of yours," Kairi Sisigou remarked, scanning the area with his shotgun before glancing at Amakusa and Shakespeare—who were in very different states of mind.
"As always! Hahaha!" Even through the helmet, you could practically hear the grin in Mordred's voice.
"Intuition, huh?" Amakusa laughed bitterly. Of all things, her wild hunch had brought the enemy Saber straight to their doorstep. A part of him, the usually optimistic part, was starting to question everything.
"Well, maybe the gods thought your plans were going too smoothly, Master," Shakespeare shrugged again, as if trials and tribulations were just part of the plot.
"Then I suppose I'll just have to push through," Amakusa sighed, drawing his sword with a resigned look. "Not like you plan on helping, right, Caster?"
"Correct. I'm merely an observer of these bloody affairs." Shakespeare spread his hands wide as if to wash them clean.
"Oh? A Master, daring to face me in battle?" Mordred smirked beneath her helmet. "But of course, with that Caster beside you, you wouldn't stand a chance otherwise."
"Excuse me!" Shakespeare snapped his book shut in protest. "I am not some weakling!"
"Please. A weakling's a weakling, even if they write a couple of good plays," Mordred shot back, her eyes narrowing.
"Master, I wish to revise my earlier statement," Shakespeare sighed, taking a few steps forward, face darkening.
"You're going to fight?" Amakusa blinked, surprised and maybe a bit hopeful.
"No, no, I wouldn't dare. Fighting isn't exactly a 'beautiful' endeavor, you know?" Shakespeare waved off the idea as if the thought offended him. "But… this brat? Quite frankly, I've always believed in calling for backup when dealing with unruly children."
"Well, that's... actually helpful." Amakusa allowed himself a confident smile. "With Saber out of the way, I'm more than capable of taking down a Master."
"Hah?!" Mordred twisted her neck, clearly irritated. "You think I'm just going to stand by and let that happen? I'll rip that smug head of yours off right now!"
"Easy," Kairi said, narrowing his eyes. If these two were talking so freely, it meant they were confident about what was coming next. "Better watch yourself, Mordred."
"Relax, Master. They've got nothing up their sleeve that I can't handle," Mordred lifted her sword, the blade glinting as her smile turned dangerous. "But hey, if you're worried, I'll kill them in one hit."
"Girls really shouldn't be so rough," Shakespeare tutted, flipping open his book. The pages flew out like a storm, swirling in the air and creating a barrier around them. "And now… the curtain rises!"
"I'll kill you!" Mordred bellowed, leaping toward Shakespeare, her sword aimed right for his head.
Amakusa quietly shuffled to the side.
Whoosh!
Shakespeare's clothes fluttered in the wind from the sheer force of Mordred's swing, but he remained as calm as ever, casually closing his book.
"Time to meet the parent."
"What—"
A silver-haired woman appeared, her fingers effortlessly stopping Mordred's sword mid-swing. She tilted her head slightly and said, "Mordred, I thought you'd be more decisive."
"No way…" Mordred's face paled beneath her helmet. "How… how are you here, Mother?"
"Morgan le Fay," Kairi whispered in shock, instinctively pointing his shotgun at the silver-haired woman.
Clang!
Dozens of chains shot out from the shadows, wrapping around Kairi, silencing him before he could react.
"Now's our chance!" Semiramis staggered out from the shadows, clutching her chest, barely able to stand. "Finish Saber!"
"You—?!" Amakusa hesitated, then nodded, raising his blade toward Kairi.
Mordred felt it—the shift in the air. Red lightning crackled around her, her fierce gaze locking on Amakusa. Even Amakusa, calm as he usually was, took a step back.
"You've really ticked me off!" Mordred roared. "I am the rightful heir to King Arthur's throne! You think a cheap trick's going to stop me now?!"
Morgan narrowed her eyes. She's not a fake, she thought, but this version of me is certainly getting on my nerves.
"Eh, ask him yourself," Shakespeare shrugged, snapping his fingers.
"You…"
That voice—Mordred froze, mid-swing.
"You aren't fit to be king."
From behind Morgan, a girl in knight's garb stepped forward—her face identical to Mordred's but her eyes cold, emotionless.
"So what if you show up now?!" Mordred spat, but her sword hand trembled. "I killed you once before! I'll do it again!"
Yet, despite her words, Mordred lowered her blade.
Morgan sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I had hoped you would be a suitable successor, but you're a disappointment. You shouldn't have been born. No one in this world wanted you."
Arthur looked at Morgan, a frown on her face, clearly displeased but not going to the extremes her sister was.
But in Mordred's eyes, it was yet another rejection from her father.
"What am I supposed to—"
Amakusa's blade pierced through Mordred's core, but it wasn't the physical pain that made her collapse. The weight of Morgan's words, the pressure of Arthur's presence, it all broke her down. She fell to her knees before Arthur, just like during the rebellion.
All she wanted... was some acknowledgment.
Father… hate me. At least that way, I know you care…
Her armor shattered, and she crumpled in front of Arthur. Once again, Arthur said nothing.
"Now! Finish off Saber's Master!" Semiramis shouted, snapping Amakusa out of his stupor.
"Huh? Oh, right!" Amakusa gripped his sword and charged at Kairi.
"Hey! Weren't you done already?" Kairi growled, his body glowing with the faint light of his Command Seal as he bit through the chains. "Mordred! You're the one who wants to be king, right? Is that it? Is that all your wish amounts to?"
Mordred flinched at his words.
"I believe in you! You're worthy of being king!"
Amakusa swung his sword, aiming for Kairi's head, but Mordred suddenly roared, springing to life.
"Shut up already!" Mordred grabbed her sword and swung, releasing a torrent of red lightning.
Arthur watched impassively as Mordred's sword sliced through the air, cutting down Morgan—and sending Shakespeare scattering in retreat.
"I'm the rebel knight who killed King Arthur!" Mordred's voice thundered, and in one swift motion, she drove her sword into Amakusa's chest.
"Master!" Semiramis gasped, stepping in to shield Amakusa. But Mordred's blade didn't stop. It cut through Semiramis, piercing Amakusa's spine.
"Gahhhhh!"
Mordred howled in fury as she flung their bodies aside. Her sword pulsed with red lightning, the symbol of rebellion burning bright.
"Even if I'm a third-rate knight…" Mordred coughed up blood, her body beginning to fade. "I'll still protect my Master!"
As the courtyard erupted with red lightning, Arthur's stoic face softened for the briefest moment as she watched Mordred, the rebellious knight, swing her sword with unyielding will.
"Clarent Blood Arthur!" Mordred roared, slamming her sword down, unleashing a pillar of red light that tore through the sky.
The blazing light faded, leaving only the shattered remains of the courtyard. Semiramis and Amakusa were nowhere to be found—only traces of their magic left behind.
"Tch, they ran away," Mordred muttered, tapping her sword on her shoulder.
Shakespeare, meanwhile, had quietly disappeared.
"You really went all out at the end, huh?" Kairi sat on the ground, exhausted.
"A king protects their people. What's wrong with that?" Mordred grinned, though her body was fading, becoming more and more transparent.
"Shouldn't you… I don't know, talk to her?" Kairi pointed to Arthur
"Che! Like I care about being a knight!" Mordred growled, glaring at the spot where Arthur had disappeared, her grip tightening around the hilt of her sword. "I'm after your throne, not some dumb title!"
Kairi glanced over at her, a tired smile tugging at his lips as he leaned back against the rubble. "You sure talk tough for someone who's almost see-through," he muttered, pulling a cigarette from his pocket.
Mordred huffed, pretending to ignore the fact her body was becoming more transparent by the second. "Don't think I'm done just because of that!" she snapped, snatching the cigarette from Kairi's hand before he could light it and jamming it between her own lips.
"You've got to be kidding me." Kairi sighed, though he didn't seem too surprised by her antics. He pulled out another cigarette, lighting it with a shaky hand as he eyed the space where Arthur had vanished. "So... you gonna say goodbye or what?"
"Goodbye? To her?" Mordred scoffed, taking a long drag from the unlit cigarette. "I'd rather cut her down a second time!"
Kairi chuckled softly, blowing out a puff of smoke. "Sure, sure. But you've got, what, five minutes left? Gonna spend 'em sitting here sulking, or actually do something with 'em?"
Mordred was quiet for a moment, staring at the ground as her legs slowly faded into mist. "Tch… like it matters anyway. She'll never see me as more than a failure." Her voice cracked, barely audible.
"You're no failure," Kairi said, his tone surprisingly gentle. "Not to me, anyway."
She blinked, clearly caught off guard by his words, but quickly masked it with another scowl. "Yeah, well... you're just a scruffy old man with a death wish."
"And you're a stubborn punk with no sense of self-preservation," he shot back with a smirk. "Guess we make a good team, huh?"
Before Mordred could respond, her body shimmered, the last of her form beginning to dissolve into the air. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized her time was almost up.
She glanced one last time at the space where Arthur had been, the conflicting emotions warring in her chest too complicated to put into words. And then, with a frustrated growl, she slammed her fist into the ground.
"Damn it…!"
Kairi watched as she faded completely, the rebellious knight disappearing into nothingness, leaving behind only the sword that had once belonged to her king. He sighed, taking another drag from his cigarette as the wind carried away the last traces of her presence.
"Guess that's it, then," he muttered, flicking the cigarette away and rising to his feet.