The war didn't stop.
It just… changed.
I felt it the moment the Holy Grail was severed from me.
My army—once unstoppable—was now mortal.
Death Knights shattered and stayed down. Trolls fell and didn't rise. The endless tide had become… finite.
And yet—
Camelot was still losing.
Because I was still here.
My eyes locked onto Merlin.
If he fell…
This war ended.
I moved first.
A shadow portal snapped open beneath me and I dropped through—
Reappearing above him, already mid-cast.
"Azazazuth-Kinekh-Thoon."
The Skathe-Hrün formed in my grip as I descended, purple fire spiraling around its length.
I swung downward.
Merlin didn't block.
He shifted.
Space folded—
And he stepped sideways through reality itself, my strike slamming into the ground and splitting stone like glass.
"Predictable," he said coldly.
I smirked.
"Then keep up."
Time stopped.
Everything froze.
Fire hung in the air. Soldiers stood like statues. Even Merlin—
Paused.
But not completely.
His eyes…
Moved.
"…Of course you can still act," I muttered.
I didn't waste the moment.
My shield opened—
And I unloaded everything.
Missiles.
Rifles.
Explosives.
Blades of shadow suspended mid-air.
Dozens—no, hundreds—of weapons positioned around him in a perfect kill formation.
Time resumed.
Hell followed.
Gunfire erupted. Explosions detonated. Shadow constructs pierced forward from every direction.
Merlin raised his hand.
And reality bent.
The bullets slowed—then curved.
The explosions folded inward, collapsing into spheres of contained energy before vanishing entirely.
The blades—
Shattered.
A pulse of golden force exploded outward, clearing everything in an instant.
I was already moving.
I stepped through a portal behind him, staff spinning in my hand, and struck.
He blocked with his own staff—
The impact sent a shockwave across the battlefield, flattening soldiers on both sides.
We didn't stop.
Strike.
Block.
Counter.
I twisted low, sweeping his legs—he lifted effortlessly, floating just above the ground as he retaliated with a blast of golden energy at point-blank range.
I took it head-on.
My shield flared, cracking under the force as I was thrown backward—
But I turned the momentum into movement, flipping mid-air and firing a barrage of purple bolts back at him.
He walked through them.
Not dodging.
Not blocking.
Walking.
Each spell dissolved inches from his body, erased by raw magical dominance.
"You're losing control," he said.
I smiled.
"Am I?"
The shadows beneath him opened.
Hands—thousands of them—erupted upward, grabbing, clawing, dragging him down into darkness.
He slammed his staff into the ground.
Light erupted.
The shadows burned away instantly.
But I was already there.
Close.
Too close for spells.
My staff drove forward—
He parried—
I pivoted, slamming my elbow into his side, following with a knee aimed at his ribs.
He caught it.
And threw me.
I crashed through a broken wall, stone collapsing around me—
And immediately surged back out, fury blazing in my veins.
The sky darkened.
Storms formed.
Not natural ones.
Mine.
Lightning crackled—black and violet—striking the battlefield indiscriminately as I raised both hands, pulling on everything I was.
Shadow.
Magic.
Time.
Will.
Merlin answered.
The sky turned gold.
A second storm formed—his storm—clashing against mine as thunder roared across Camelot.
We fired at the same time.
A beam of pure shadow and destruction—
A beam of golden, reality-warping force—
They collided.
The world broke.
The ground beneath us collapsed.
Buildings disintegrated.
The air screamed as the two forces pushed against each other, neither giving, both absolute.
I pushed harder.
So did he.
Our eyes locked through the chaos.
"You killed him," Merlin said, his voice cutting through the storm.
I didn't respond.
Because for a moment—
Just a moment—
I saw Arthur.
And it almost made me hesitate.
Almost.
My power surged.
The beam intensified—
Cracks forming in Merlin's attack as I forced it back, inch by inch.
But then—
He changed.
Not his stance.
Not his spell.
Him.
Something deeper awakened.
Something older.
The golden light turned… white.
And suddenly—
I wasn't winning anymore.
The pressure reversed.
My beam faltered—
Then shattered.
The force hit me full-on.
I screamed as it slammed into me, tearing through my defenses, sending me crashing across the battlefield, carving a trench through stone and earth before I finally stopped.
Silence followed.
I lay there for a moment.
Breathing.
Thinking.
Then…
I laughed.
"…Now this is a fight."
I rose slowly, shadows gathering around me once more.
Across from me, Merlin stood—
Brighter.
Stronger.
More dangerous than ever.
Good.
Because I wasn't done yet.
And neither was he.