After all the Enforcement Knights I could gather without leaving Albion completely defenseless had gathered together in orderly ranks, I nodded to Wong, who hurriedly arranged for the dozens of portals to be closed one by one by the sorcerers under his command.
With that seen to, I went down to where my true Knights had gathered, the forces of the Round Table, standing ready and waiting for their orders.
"Your Majesty," Sir Bedivere greeted me with a bow as I approached.
I couldn't fully suppress the smile on my face as I stood here; it brought back memories of old days, of taking my knights into wars and campaigns, like the first days of unifying the realm after I drew Caliburn from the stone.
"Gather around," I called as I pulled the sword from my soul, the weight of Caliburn, Golden Sword of the Victorious, barely felt by my current body, yet its brilliance couldn't be mistaken.
It took them but a moment to realize what I was asking them to do, and Mordred was the first to react.
"Fuck yeah!" she exclaimed loudly as she rushed in, drawing Clarent from her side.
One by one, the others moved into position, forming a circle with Mordred and me.
"Arthuria Pendragon!" I said loudly as I held my sword out before me.
"Mordred Pendragon!" Mordred said, Clarent's edge coming to rest on my Caliburn.
"Gawain of Orkney!" Gawain was next, and Excalibur Galatine joined the other two swords.
"Tristan of Lyonesse!" Tristan even drew a sword from his side to join in; he rarely used it in battle, but for this, no bow would do.
"Bedivere!"
"Kay!"
"Galahad!"
"Percival!"
"Palamedes!"
"Gaheris!"
"Bors de Ganis!"
"Lionel!"
"Lamorak!"
"Ector!"
"Lucan!"
All fifteen of us stood there, blades resting on one another. "Knights of the Round Table! Knights of the realm, Knights of justice and honor!" I shouted. "Brothers in arms! We shall battle, we shall fight, we shall earn glory!"
"Glory!" the others echoed.
"We might fall, but it shall be with honor! We might bleed! But it shall be for others! We are Knights, we are the sword!"
"The sword!" the others yelled.
"We are the shield," I continued, and once again, the others echoed my words.
"The shield!"
"Of the people, and we shall not falter, we shall cut down those who stand before us, not in wrath, nor in anger, but in righteous cause!"
"Righteous cause!"
"We are the Knights of the Round Table; we are Knights in brotherhood!"
"Brotherhood!"
As I continued to speak, the air around us filled with energy, with passion, hearts beating strongly in our chests as strength flowed through our limbs. Something like this hadn't been done since before the Rebellion, so many years ago, but now that it was happening once more, it roused the battle intent in all of us.
"For the King!" I yelled as I lifted my blade, pushing against their blades.
"For the King!" the others yelled back as they raised their swords, sending them all skyward.
"Now," I began as I lowered my blade, the others following my lead.
"Galahad, Kay, and Ector, you three have your target; your mission is to assault the Demon Lord Nightmare himself. This is a dangerous task, but it must be done; he must be kept busy." Despite them already knowing their assignment, I still repeated it.
"Galahad, you are in command of this mission. Do whatever it takes, make him suffer," I said.
"As you command, my King," the three responded.
"And show him who the real Knightmare is!" Mordred shouted out at that, and while a few of the knights gave her an annoyed look, I just shook my head at her bad joke.
"Hey... you know... Knightmare with a K? Like Knight?" Mordred tried to explain her joke, which just made it all the more pathetic. "It's a good joke!"
Ignoring her, I continued, "Gawain, Lamorak, and Tristan, you three are also to be a unit, mainly to deal with D'Spayre," I said. That particular matchup was a strange one, even I could admit as much, but apparently, they would be the best fit, or so the Ancient One claimed.
Personally, I could understand why Gawain might work, thanks to my blessing, he had the sun with him, but the other two? They felt like the worst possible match.
After all, D'Spayre was a demon of despair, so wouldn't it be a bad idea to send two people with trauma toward him? But I guess I would just have to trust that they could overcome it.
"As you command," the three of them said.
"Mordred, Lionel, you two will handle Satannish, but I will remind you, your job isn't to kill him, nor even hunt him, merely to fight him if, and only if, he appears; as long as he doesn't, just keep dealing with his minions." I felt like I had to remind them multiple times, or else I had no doubt Mordred would eagerly go fighting a Hell Lord on her own.
And despite her being strong, I wasn't sure she could handle something like that, even if the fighting likely wouldn't happen inside his own dimension.
"Don't worry, Father, I will kill his demon ass and get right back to fighting beside you, don't you worry one bit," Mordred said with a toothy grin, one that clearly told everyone here that she had no intention of taking a cautious approach.
"Hey! Just because I can keep up with her doesn't mean I want to get my ass killed because of some stupid grudge," Lionel shot back, clearly unhappy about being paired with her.
"I don't have a grudge," Mordred shot back. "I just want to kill some demons."
"And you will get your chance," I interrupted, my tone leaving no room for argument. "Your objective is clear, Lionel. Keep her in line." I turned my gaze to the younger of the two brothers, the one whose temper often burned hot but whose loyalty was absolute. "Do not engage Satannish directly unless your king commands it. Understood?"
Lionel's jaw tightened, but he nodded sharply. "Yes, Your Majesty."
"Good," I said, my gaze sweeping over the remaining knights. "Bedivere, Lucan, you will remain by my side." I didn't need anyone by my side; I was by far the strongest of us, by levels that could hardly be measured. Even Gawain, with my blessing, couldn't get close to my power. I was the Goddess Rhongomyniad.
But even so, I couldn't just go out on my own; my Knights would never allow that. This was the compromise I had settled on. I had to allow some to stay with me.
"As you command, my King," Bedivere said with unwavering loyalty. Lucan simply nodded, his grim expression showing he understood the gravity of being the king's last line of defense.
"And for the rest of you," my gaze settled on the remaining knights, "you will serve as the commanders of the Enforcement Knight legions. I trust in your judgment and your valor. Lead them well."
"As you command," they responded in unison, a chorus of steel and purpose.
"The battle is upon us," I declared, my voice ringing clear across the assembled ranks. "Remember your oaths. Remember your purpose. For Camelot! For Albion! For our world!"
"For the King!" they roared back, the sheer force of their cry shaking the very air.
The command posts were assigned. The battle lines were drawn. The oath was renewed.
My knights dispersed to take their positions, their armor glinting in the unnatural light of this pocket dimension. A hundred thousand steel warriors stood in perfect formation, their halberds like a forest waiting to be unleashed.
Above us, the sky of the pocket dimension shimmered with unstable light, the barrier between realms thinning with every passing moment.
Beyond it waited Hell.
The walls were coming down, the enemy was coming, but they would find no weakness here, only sharp steel and sharper resolve.