Chapter 490: Climax

A similar fate had befallen Lucius.

During Morgana’s long conflict with the King of Camelot, she had captured the High Mage for a specific reason; Merlin.

Morgana understood how much of an advantage Camelot possessed through the legendary mage, and taking Lucius was one of her attempts to gain a magical advantage against him.

Much like Agravain, Lucius had been subjected to the Endless Dark for an extended period of time.

The isolation gradually broke down his resistance until the High Mage became susceptible enough for Morgana to bring him under her control.

Both Lucius and Agravain had still been alive when Morgana eventually used her Devouring magic to consume them into herself.

But it was different with Kylarod, the skull-faced demon.

He died at Morgana’s hands before she absorbed his remains.

Although, this distinction between living or dead meant no specific difference to Devouring.

Whenever Morgana chose to bring them back out, they were completely subject to her control for as long as she desired.

-

Morgana began slowly walking in circles around Arthur.

"One thousand years," she began. "It’s been one thousand years, and I cannot lie... it is somehow a pleasant surprise seeing your face again."

Arthur’s gaze followed her as she moved around him.

There was almost no expression on his face. Only caution, accompanied by a slight irritation that he did well to conceal.

Morgana eventually stopped and turned her attention toward Ethan.

"I must say..." Her eyes moved over him with renewed curiosity. "You’re more than meets the eye."

Ethan gave no reply.

Not that Morgana waited for one. She simply turned back toward Arthur and resumed circling him.

"So tell me, how is the land of the dead?" she asked. Then her expression suddenly brightened. "Ah, yes. What about that annoying, slippery fuck, Merlin?"

She laughed lightly, evidently enjoying herself.

The mention of Merlin caused Ethan to stare at Morgana for slightly longer than necessary.

He said nothing, but it was obvious the Queen of Demons did not know that Merlin was currently alive.

Arthur, however, found none of this amusing.

"You will let go of him, Morgana." He said "You will undo whatever magic binds Agravain to you. His time is long due."

Her eyebrows rose as she stopped pacing about.

"Ooh, I’m scared." She said in a mocking tone before laughing again.

"Perhaps the one who summoned you is yet to fill you in, dear brother." Her smile remained as she stared directly into his eyes. "But here and now, I am the one in charge."

Arthur’s magic power suddenly spiked as golden light gathered around his right hand before Excalibur manifested within his grasp.

The King knew Morgana’s strength surpassed his, but that knowledge did nothing to temper the rage building inside him.

Morgana’s eyes widened with excitement. "Oh?"

Ethan sighed.

Before Arthur could make another move, Ethan had given him a mental command to stop.

He pushed himself off the ground and rose completely to his feet before walking over and placing a hand on Arthur’s shoulder.

The King glanced toward him.

Then Ethan dismissed the summoning.

Arthur’s body immediately broke apart into specks of purple light before disappearing from the battlefield.

Agravain visibly flinched.

For the briefest moment, there was something in the knight’s expression; it almost seemed as though there had been more he wanted to say to his King.

But the opportunity was gone.

Ethan turned toward Morgana. "This was supposed to be a battle, not a reunion."

Then he looked back at Agravain.

His body began transforming once again. Blackish-purple scales rebuilt themselves across his skin as his size increased.

Ethan then lowered himself into a fighting stance.

He expected the Knight of the Sun to do the same.

But instead, Morgana raised her index finger and wagged it from side to side. "No, this battle is at an end."

Ethan paused. His posture relaxed slightly as he straightened and turned toward her.

Morgana continued. "I’ll give it to you, son of Izzgur. You are powerful. At least powerful enough that I can believe you capable of fighting an adult dragon."

She smiled faintly. "It seems you know how to apply your wits when strength alone isn’t enough."

Her eyes briefly moved toward Agravain. "But what just happened was very situational."

"Agravain is my puppet. Arthur was his King. You brought your summon here because you realized Agravain would not continue his attack once he saw him."

Morgana gave a quiet laugh. "Clever."

Then her expression became slightly more serious. "But when the creature standing across from you is actually a dragon, what then?"

"Who will you summon to make it stop?"

Ethan said nothing.

Morgana laughed again before turning toward Agravain.

The Knight of the Sun’s body suddenly began to lose its shape.

His flesh darkened before melting into the same grotesque black mass from which he had originally emerged. Within seconds, Agravain had completely collapsed into a fleshy substance that flowed toward Morgana and disappeared back into her body.

Morgana then rose into the air.

There was another reason she had chosen to end the battle.

And that was because it had already reached its climax.

The minutes spent on Arthur’s arrival and their brief reunion had carried Agravain farther away from noon, and the effects of the Numeral of the Sun were already beginning to decline.

With every passing minute from this point onward, Agravain would only become weaker.

Ethan did not have the same disadvantage as his own power was stable.

And more importantly, Morgana had already seen enough to understand that Ethan still had other abilities and strategies he had not revealed.

If the battle continued for another thirty minutes, perhaps an hour, the difference would become increasingly apparent. Agravain’s strength would continue declining while Ethan remained relatively consistent, with the added possibility of him introducing even more tricks into the fight.

Eventually, Ethan would gain the advantage.

The conclusion had become predictable.

And Morgana had no interest in wasting another hour watching a battle whose outcome she could already anticipate.

Ethan watched her ascend but said nothing.

Instead, his attention slowly moved across the surrounding landscape to see what remained of the region they had fought in.

It was completely devastated.

——

Elsewhere in the forgotten province...

The battle against Kylarod had reached a point where it seemed as though all hope was lost for the team.

The skull-faced demon had proven incredibly agile, fast, and physically powerful.

Even Eduardo and Hayley, the two Grand Class fighters among the group, struggled against him.

At different points throughout the battle, Kylarod had engaged both of them simultaneously, weaving between their attacks, blocking a few, and sometimes simply taking the hits before retaliating with blows powerful enough to send either of them flying.

And unlike Kylarod, they could not continue taking those kinds of attacks indefinitely.

Several times, Hayley and Eduardo had been forced to temporarily withdraw from the fight just to recover enough to engage him again.

The rest of the team faced an even greater problem.