My Knights were brave, they knew no fear, and showed no hesitation as they threw themselves into the fight against the endless horde of demons, their swords cutting down demons with ease. It didn't matter which realm they belonged to; before my Knights, they were cut down all the same.
Beside me, Tristan stood, his fingers working the strings of his bow like magic, filling the air with both a sorrowful yet beautiful tune and a rain of deadly arrows made of pure magic. Each arrow found its mark, piercing the heart of a demon, their light banishing the darkness that gave them form. He never missed.
Yet for all their efforts, for all the demons that my knights cut down, for all the arrows that pierced them, for every demon that fell, two more seemed to take their place. The battle was a stalemate, a bloody, grinding war of attrition that we were slowly but surely losing.
Thankfully, plenty of my knights had still not joined in the battle, neither had I, and even beyond that, our victory wouldn't come from killing all the demons of all the hellish dimensions; no, our condition for victory would come later.
But for now, we would have to force the battle to a far grander scale so those in the back would join. "Galahad, unleash your Noble Phantasm and then go deal with Nightmare. He will no doubt want to act once he sees what you are capable of, and we don't want to give him the chance," I commanded over the roars of battle, my words carrying over the din like a clap of thunder.
"As you command, my King," Galahad said, a solemn expression on his face as he moved through the fighting towards a clear spot.
He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath, the air around him shimmering as he began to gather his power. The ground beneath him began to glow, a faint, golden light spreading outwards.
He didn't draw his sword, not even his shield, instead he slowly brought his hands up towards the sky, as if offering up something unseen.
As one of my greater knights, he possessed multiple different Noble Phantasms, one a famous defensive one where he could conjure the walls of Camelot itself, a nearly unbreakable defense that could call upon a fraction of utopia itself.
But this moment didn't require walls, didn't require defense, it required something more... offensive.
"The Grail was not meant for this world of sin.
I was chosen to return it to Heaven…
And Heaven answers still.
Ascensio Graal!"
He quickly chanted the name of his Noble Phantasm, and as he did so, a blinding light erupted from the heavens, a pillar of pure, white-hot energy that descended from the sky and struck the earth with the force of a falling star. The ground shook violently, the very air crackling with power as the light expanded, washing over the battlefield.
The demons caught in its path didn't even have time to scream; they were simply erased, their forms dissolving into nothingness, their very essence consumed by the holy power. The light was so intense, so pure, that it seemed to cleanse the very ground it touched, leaving behind a circle of pristine earth, untouched by the corruption of the Hell Dimensions.
While the knights who were hit by the light found themselves bolstered and blessed by the light of Heaven, strengthened, able to destroy the enemy, and even to turn the very terrain into holy ground, giving us a powerful advantage in future combat. The ground, once a barren, otherworldly plain, now bloomed with white lilies, their petals glowing with the same holy light.
Galahad stood in the center of this miracle, his body radiating a soft, golden aura, the power of a miracle surging through him. He was a beacon of hope in the darkness, a testament to the purity that still existed in the world.
My knights and the Enforcement Knights fought with renewed vigor, their strength multiplied by the holy ground beneath their feet.
They pushed forward, their swords and halberds cutting through the demonic hordes with ease. The demons that had once seemed endless now seemed to falter, their resolve broken by the overwhelming force of the holy power.
But even as we gained the upper hand, I knew that this was only the beginning. The true test was yet to come.
As if on cue, the sky darkened, the air growing thick with a palpable sense of dread. The very ground beneath our feet seemed to tremble, as if some great, unseen force was gathering its strength.
A darkness seemed to seep across the battlefield, draining away the very light itself, clashing with the holy light Galahad produced as he became a channel to the heavens themselves.
A war between light and dark.
The battle itself seemed to pause for a moment as both sides paused to see what was happening.
The demons, who had been driven back by the holy light, now seemed to take heart, their courage bolstered by the darkness. The knights, on the other hand, felt the extra strength that had flooded them just moments before slowly fade, as if drained from them.
Galahad stood still, his hands held up towards the sky, a look of fierce concentration on his face. He was fighting a battle of his own, a battle of wills against the unseen force that was trying to snuff out the light of the Grail.
Then, out of the swirling vortex of the Dream Dimension, a figure emerged, a being of pure shadow, its form shifting and writhing, its eyes glowing with a malevolent green light.
Nightmare had arrived.
He stood there for a moment, taking in the scene before him, his gaze sweeping across the battlefield, a look of amusement on his face.
He seemed to be enjoying the chaos, the fear, the despair that he could feel emanating from the mortal souls that were fighting for their lives.
"So, this is the best that Earth has to offer," he said, his voice a sibilant whisper that seemed to slither into the mind. "A handful of holy knights and an army of animated tin cans. How... disappointing."
He raised a hand, and the darkness seemed to intensify, the very air growing colder, the light from the Grail flickering as if struggling to stay alight.
"But I must admit, I'm impressed by the sheer audacity of it all," he continued, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "To challenge the powers of Hell on their own ground. It's almost... admirable."
"Sword of Selection, grant me your power!
Cleave the wicked! Caliburn!"
I didn't wait for Nightmare to finish speaking before I unleashed a bright beam of golden light from Caliburn; the darkness that had been creeping in from all around was instantly cleaved apart as the blast hit the lord of nightmares, throwing him back through the portal he just came from.
Silence instantly spread across the battlefield; the demons and horrors of darkness were instantly frozen in shock at what had just happened. Unable to believe what they had just seen, the mighty Nightmare, the lord of nightmares, one of the Four Lords of Hell, had been sent flying by a single attack from the King of Knights.
Even my knights turned to look at me, shock and awe in their eyes at the sheer power I had just displayed.
"Damn, that was awesome, Father. That fool was really pissing me off trying to monologue like that, really got what he deserved, didn't he?" Mordred said with a wide grin on her face.
But I didn't share her grin; I simply raised my sword, my gaze fixed on the portal where Nightmare had disappeared.
"He will be back," I said, my voice calm, betraying none of the turmoil I felt within. "And he will be angry."
"He will also be more cautious," Bedivere added, his keen eyes scanning the battlefield. "He won't underestimate us again."
"So we have to finish him before he can adapt," Galahad stated, the holy light around him intensifying, pushing back against the darkness that was trying to reclaim the ground.
"Then go," I commanded, my gaze turning to Galahad. "Take your team and finish this."
"As you command," Galahad responded with a nod, before he turned to Kay and Ector, who were already moving to join him.
"Don't have too much fun without us," Kay said with a smirk, "I'll be disappointed if there's nothing left for me to hit by the time we get there."
"Kay, stay focused," Ector said sternly. "This is not a game."
"I'm always focused," Kay shot back. "I just like to have a little fun while I'm doing it."
"Enough," Galahad said, cutting their bickering short. "We have a mission to complete."
With that, the three of them moved forward, their auras shining like beacons in the darkness, their blades held at the ready. They were a formidable force, a trinity of power and purpose, and I had no doubt that they would succeed.
But as they moved towards the swirling vortex of the Dream Dimension, the demons that had been frozen in shock finally seemed to shake off their stupor.
With a collective roar, they charged, their fury and desperation giving them a renewed sense of purpose.
"Song of my pain and sound of my grief.
Failnaught...
This is my arrow."
Tristan followed up the release of my own Noble Phantasm with his own; the army of demons moving to attack Galahad and the others was instantly struck down.
Failnaught could hit one, or it could hit many; its nature was, after all, an Anti-Army A+ type. This was its full power, a perfect, piercing arrow that cut down all in its path.
It was like a scythe cutting through wheat, the demons falling in droves, their forms dissolving into nothingness. The path forward was clear once more.
"Thank you, Tristan," Galahad said with a nod.
"Just doing my part," Tristan responded, his fingers already working the strings of his bow, preparing for the next shot.
Galahad and his team didn't hesitate, charging through the path Tristan had cleared, their blades held at the ready, their eyes fixed on the portal that led to Nightmare's realm.
They disappeared into the swirling vortex, their forms vanishing from sight.
For a moment, there was silence.
Then, the demons, sensing an opportunity, charged again.
"Forward!" I commanded, my Caliburn pointing towards the approaching hordes.
The battle resumed, the clash of steel against demon flesh once more filling the air. The Enforcement Knights, their strength bolstered by the holy ground beneath their feet, fought with renewed vigor. My Knights of the Round Table moved through the chaos, their auras shining like beacons in the darkness.
But even as we fought, I couldn't shake a sense of unease. Nightmare's presence, even though it had been brief, had been a sign, a sign that the battle was heating up, that even the mighty powers behind it were starting to move.