The chamber became a warzone.
Altrouge's talons slashed, shadows bending to her fury, while Krul's divine spear cleaved through the black tide like lightning cutting the night.
Their every collision cracked stone, shook pillars, and sent shockwaves racing through the abyss.
The chained Vortigern's roars thundered with each impact, his massive body straining harder against his bindings, the chains snapping one after another under the vibrations of their duel.
Altrouge blurred, a streak of crimson and shadow, her claws ripping through the air to decapitate Krul, only to find her target dissolve into mist.
Krul reformed behind her, fangs bared, whispering venom into her ear.
"Got you, Half-Blood."
Gungnir pierced forward, grazing Altrouge's ribs again before she could fully react.
Blood sprayed, hissing on the hot stone like acid.
But Altrouge only laughed through the pain, her shadows swallowing her form until she erupted like a storm from every angle, claws and blades of darkness raining down at once.
Krul braced herself, summoning Gungnir back to her grip, its glow searing against the suffocating night.
She spun it like a whirlwind, the spear's divine edge cutting apart the storm.
Her crimson eyes burned with fury. "Let me show you why gods themselves fear this weapon, Half-Blood."
The spear sang, its aura flaring like a second sun in the pit of darkness.
A single thrust shattered the incoming wave, the divine blast blowing chunks of the chamber into rubble.
The clash forced both queens back, but not for long.
Fina-blood Svelten and Rizo-Waal Strout lunged from the sidelines, their monstrous power descending like a hammer.
Krul barely parried Rizo-Waal's strike, his monstrous fists heavy enough to crater the floor on impact, while Fina's blade carved an arc of death that tore open her shoulder.
Krul hissed, ichor spilling, but her grip on Gungnir only tightened.
Vortigern bellowed, his flaming breath scything through the undead horde, burning hundreds to ash.
Yet even as he killed, the ground writhed, Altrouge's army simply reformed, their corpses stitching back together like puppets that refused to stay down.
Altrouge raised her hand, smirk cruel and dripping venom. "You see, defector? No matter how powerful you are, you are still outnumbered. The tide drowns everything, and I..."
Her taunt was cut short as Krul exploded forward, ignoring her wounds, her speed blurring into nothing but afterimages.
She rammed Gungnir straight through Fina-blood's chest, the divine spear erupting with light so blinding it burned his body into dust instantly.
The chamber shook, his scream echoing as his soul was obliterated.
Krul's lips curled into a savage grin, ichor staining her face. "One down."
Altrouge's smirk twisted into rage, her eyes glowing feral. "You bitch!"
Shadows surged like an ocean in rebellion, the undead army charging with renewed frenzy.
Rizo-Waal lunged again, his roar shaking the chamber as his fists sought to crush Krul into paste.
But at that exact moment...
The last chain binding Vortigern shattered.
His colossal body surged upward, wings unfurling in a storm of stone and fire.
His roar was the sound of worlds ending, his hatred flooding the chamber like poison.
Freed at last, the White Dragon King's eyes locked on Altrouge, his fangs dripping with fire and vengeance.
"You dare use ME… as bait?!"
The ground split apart as his massive tail swept across the chamber, obliterating entire rows of undead in a single strike.
The battlefield erupted into chaos, the fragile balance shattering into pure carnage.
And amidst the storm of fire, shadow, and steel, Krul and Altrouge's eyes locked once more, two queens glaring with a fury that blazed between them, and it was in this exact moment that the blinding light erupted before their faces.
Artoria stood majestic and suspended in the air, her form framed by the twelve vast wings that spread out behind her, making her look every bit like a wrathful archangel descended for judgment.
Krul laughed darkly at the sight, while Altrouge froze for a heartbeat, her expression twisting in disbelief.
Her confidence shattered further when she realized her hordes were being butchered mercilessly, Vortigern cutting through them like paper, one of her knights already obliterated by Krul's hand, and her only true ally, Strout, left staggering and pale, drained nearly dry from the blood Krul had torn from him.
As if to rub salt directly into her open wound, the Knight King's words cut through the chaos, her voice echoing with finality across the ravaged battlefield.
"Let's end this, Eclipse Princess."
The blinding light roared across the battlefield, burning through the screaming hordes, their bodies disintegrating into dust in mere seconds.
But that was not the end, it was only the beginning of her humiliation.
Morgan le Fay's spells rippled through the field, Merlin's illusions cut off every escape route, and the Round Table revealed its fangs.
Gawain's blazing sword cleaved through waves of shadows, Baobhan Sith danced in crimson slaughter, Melusine's draconic might tore through the sky, Bedivere and Kay marched forward in perfect unity, and countless Camelot forces pressed in from every side.
Altrouge threw her head back and laughed manically, a raw and unhinged sound of defiance. "This is not the end, Knight King! I will destroy you, all of you! Retreat!"
Even when the combined might of Gungnir and Rhongomyniad was hurled straight at her, she refused to fall.
Her body dissolved into shadow, slipping away at the last moment.
Strout and the rest of her legions were not so lucky, they were cut down where they stood, bodies torn apart, slaughtered without mercy, their corpses ripped to shreds in a brutal massacre that painted the ground red.
The Eclipse Princess had been cornered and forced into retreat, her pride shattered.
With her defeat, the coalition of Alaya and Gaia was crushed in a single round of battle.
But is it truly over?
No one knows.
Only time will tell, my friend.
Only time will tell.
...
Inside the Brunestud Castle, the black-haired girl with crimson eyes sat impaled beneath her own throne by two divine lances driven straight through her body.
Her condition was critical; blood dripped freely from her wounds, staining the throne beneath her.
Though she had narrowly escaped the combined assault of Camelot, the cost was devastating.
Her hordes were annihilated, her two loyal knights cut down, and now even she herself was left broken and bleeding.
When Altrouge thought it was all over, when the silence of the throne room pressed down like a coffin, a mocking laughter suddenly echoed against the walls.
A delicate hand, feminine yet merciless, reached forward and wrenched the lances from her body one by one with brutal force.
The agony made her body twitch, her head forced up by a cold grip until her fading eyes met the face of the intruder.
Her crimson eyes widened in shock and fury. "You… What are you doing here, traitor?"
Krul Tepes stood before her, smirking with cruel amusement. "Half-blood, did you really believe that after all your insults and attacks against us, you could simply run away?"
Krul leaned close, her smile sharp and taunting. "Such a pitiful creature. Your father despised you, your own sister hates you, and no one has ever respected a half-blood like you. Come to my side instead. Become my daughter. Let mommy love you properly."
She mocked, her tone twisting between cruel and almost sensual.
Altrouge's pride burned hotter than the wounds tearing her body apart.
Her face twisted in humiliation, her crimson eyes blazing with rage as she glared back at Krul. "I may be defeated and shackled in your hands, defector, but mark my words, I will have my revenge."
Krul chuckled darkly at her defiance. "You will address me properly. Mother… or queen. The choice is yours, Altrouge Brunestud."
Her cold laughter cut through the throne room, making Altrouge's vow seem hollow.
Without another word, Krul struck.
Her fangs sank deep into Altrouge's neck, piercing flesh and vein without mercy.
Altrouge gasped and moaned involuntarily as Krul drank greedily, her hands gripping her like a predator manhandling its prey.
With a savage shove, Krul threw her onto her own throne, pinning her there like a doll as she bit her own lips open and let her blood spill.
The thick, hot stream forced its way into Altrouge's mouth, down her throat, burning her from the inside out.
Her consciousness wavered, vision swimming. Her body felt like it was being ripped apart, her veins aflame as the enemy's corrupted blood spread through her.
Heat and pain consumed her, mixing into something unbearable, her throat tightening around the forced feeding.
Krul licked the blood from her lips and sneered. "Enjoy your last day sitting on that throne, Eclipse Princess."
The last of Altrouge's strength gave out.
Her eyes rolled back as darkness swallowed her whole, collapsing into unconsciousness, completely at the mercy of her enemy.