"BALMUNG!" Richard shouted, swinging the radiant sword in his hand. A terrifying blast of energy shot straight toward Vali, tearing through the air as if devouring everything in its path.
Bikou, Arthur, Kuroka, and Le Fay stood frozen, their mouths agape at the scene unfolding before them—both beautiful and dangerously overwhelming. Never before had they witnessed an attack so heavy with pressure, especially from a dragon-slaying sword.
"Is he trying to kill Vali??" Bikou growled, pulling out his Ruyi Jingu Bang. But Arthur quickly raised a hand to stop him.
"What are you doing?" Bikou hissed.
Arthur didn't respond immediately. Adjusting his glasses, his tone deepened:
"Wait… I want to see if Vali can overcome this. If he can't win this fight, then we won't be able to carry out the plan."
Bikou gritted his teeth but eventually sighed and lowered his weapon. Kuroka's eyes sparkled with excitement, not taking them off the battle. Le Fay shut her eyes tight, too scared to watch.
⸻
On Vali's side.
Vali's eyes widened as the attack closed in. Feeling the destructive energy radiating from it, he let out a roar:
"AAAAAHHHHH!!!"
"DIVIDE! DIVIDE! DIVIDE!"
Vali frantically activated his dividing power, but Balmung's attack was too overwhelming. His body couldn't absorb it all.
"Damn it…" Vali snarled, raising both arms to block.
BOOOOM!!!
A massive explosion erupted. The ground trembled. It was as if Vali had been thrown into a nuclear blast. His body shook, parts of his armor shattered, and blood dripped from open wounds.
"VALI!!!" Albion screamed in panic.
Time seemed to freeze. One second stretched into eternity.
BOOM!!
Vali was thrown to the ground, forming a deep crater. He clenched his teeth, bones cracking under the pressure. But… he didn't give up.
"Hah… hah…" Vali gasped, forcing himself to reactivate Balance Breaker with the last of his strength, pushing his broken body upright.
He looked up at Richard—who was casually walking toward him.
Richard smiled.
"You're strong."
He hadn't intended to kill Vali. And seeing him survive that strike only intrigued him further.
Richard pulled out a healing potion and handed it to Vali.
"Drink this. It'll make you feel better."
Vali took it without a word and drank it all in one go. His wounds began to close, and his strength recovered enough to stand steadily again.
"You too… are strong," Vali nodded, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I've never met anyone who could excite me like this."
Richard chuckled.
"I've also never met someone who tested others with such straightforward force."
Vali retracted his cracked armor. Divine Dividing vanished, revealing his normal form.
"So… what do you think?" he asked. "Join my team. I need someone as strong as you."
Richard looked up at the blazing sunset sky.
"To be honest… I don't even know where I am, nor do I understand what you're all fighting for."
Even so, something about this felt… familiar.
⸻
At that moment, the rest of Vali's team approached. Le Fay rushed to Vali's side, anxiously checking his injuries.
"Vali-sama! You're hurt!"
"I'm fine. It's nothing." Vali reassured her, then turned to Richard with a smile. "Honestly, I'd be ready to fight again if I had to."
Bikou was still stunned.
"Damn… He really beat Vali with a dragon-slaying sword. I've never seen anything that insane."
Arthur stepped forward, stopping in front of Richard.
"Hello, I'm Arthur Pendragon. This is my sister, Le Fay, and the loud one is Bikou. Thank you for not killing Vali."
Richard raised an eyebrow at the name "Pendragon," but then shook his head and smiled.
"It's nothing. He just wanted to fight. And honestly… I enjoy a good battle."
Arthur smiled.
"Richard, right? Your swordsmanship… is truly impressive. I'd like to learn from you someday."
"Whenever you want to spar, I'm always up for it," Richard nodded.
At that moment, Kuroka came over, her eyes sparkling.
"Richard, you were amazing, nya~." she said brightly, hugging his arm. "Join our team? We're lots of fun, nya~."
Richard chuckled.
"I'll think about it. But for now… let's just be friends."
He didn't reject them, because he found this group interesting. They were a diverse bunch—humans and other races mixed together. They didn't seem like villains… more like a group of delinquent teenagers.
"Alright. We'll be fighting again soon, I'm sure," Vali said with a grin.
⸻
That night, the group sat around a campfire and talked with Richard.
He learned that Arthur and Le Fay were descendants of King Arthur. Some even used their ancestral names as a kind of symbol. Because of this, Richard decided to claim himself as a descendant of Richard the Lionheart.
They told him about Sacred Gears, Longinus, and the secrets of the supernatural world. The stories, the battles… it all felt like the start of a new chapter in his life.
And then—
[Notification from the Fate System]
[Main Quest Updated: Restore the Round Table.]
Author :
Most of the time, he would still use Excalibur. He would either transform the weapons he obtained from the system into Excalibur or give them to his Servants. The Excalibur forged from those weapons would definitely be stronger than one made from a wooden stick.