As I stepped through the portal, I first noticed D'Spayre; it was hard not to, he really did stand out. He was, after all, towering in size and gave off an endless feeling of despair.
He also noticed me, I could feel it in his eyes, fear.
He wasn't afraid of me, not truly, but he was afraid of what had happened. He might have thought Mephisto was a fool for this entire plan, but he had always known Mephisto was strong.
And now he was weak.
He was vulnerable.
And that meant the plan was no longer just a plan; it was a disaster.
He had already committed to this plan, he had taken the field, and he was now stuck in a battle he couldn't easily win, and couldn't easily lose.
Should he retreat now, to go feast on Mephisto's realm?
He was tempted, but he was also worried that I would do unto him what I did unto Mephisto. Retreating would make him appear afraid... and deep down, he was afraid, not deeply, but it was there, a shadow on his dark, demonic heart.
"D'Spayre!" I shouted, Rhongomyniad still firmly in my hand. "Will you fight me next?" I taunted.
This was the one weakness they had, their pride.
D'Spayre might not be like Satannish, a warrior who enjoyed a good fight, but he was still a Lord. And to be challenged, and to refuse? That would be a stain on his pride, a mark of weakness.
The demon looked at me, then at the portal, then at the wounded Mephisto's realm. He could feel the tempting energy, the souls, the power. But he could also feel the lance in my hand, a weapon that could wound him.
For a second he didn't respond.
"I thought so," I said with a smirk, "You're all talk, D'Spayre. You talk a big game about despair, but when faced with real power, you cower like a frightened child."
"Silence!" D'Spayre roared, the despair that he radiated intensifying, the very ground around him seeming to weep with sorrow. "You know nothing of despair! You are a goddess, a being of light and hope! You have never known true suffering, true pain!"
"Oh, but I have," I said, my voice low and cold. "I have known betrayal. I have known loss. I have known the pain of watching my kingdom burn. I have known the despair of a thousand lifetimes. But I have also known hope. I have known loyalty. I have known the love of my knights. And that is a power you will never understand."
I took a step forward, the light from Rhongomyniad pushing back against the encroaching darkness. "You prey on the weak, the vulnerable. You feed on their suffering. You are a parasite, a vulture. And it's time for you to be culled."
I didn't wait for him to respond.
I didn't give him the chance to make a choice.
Instead, I attacked.
The lance moved, a blur of motion, a streak of light that cut through the air. It wasn't a full-power attack like the one I had used on Mephisto, but it was still a powerful blow, a concentrated beam of divine might that was aimed straight at the demon's heart.
D'Spayre was taken by surprise. He had been expecting a battle of words, a war of wills, but not a direct, physical assault. He raised a shield of despair, a vortex of shadow that seemed to absorb the light, a vortex of pure, unadulterated sorrow that sought to corrupt, to destroy, to consume.
But the light of Rhongomyniad was too strong.
The shield of despair shattered, the light of the lance piercing through it, striking the demon's chest.
And without much fanfare, he was thrown backward, thrown back through the portal into his domain, and the instant he passed through it, the portal slammed shut.
The countless demons of despair outside who were fighting my knights suddenly lost their path of retreat, left behind to die.
Because it wasn't me who closed the portal, no, it was D'Spayre.
Despite my words, despite his words, neither of us wanted to fight, but his pride didn't allow him to retreat. And so, we had acted as one; his pride wouldn't be overly hurt, after all, he wouldn't be the first to have been thrown back by my attack. Nightmare had already suffered like that.
And Mephisto, who had nearly fallen to my attack, to D'Spayre's pride it wasn't overly hurt from suffering that little attack, and now that he had withdrawn from this fight, he would turn his sight on Mephisto's hell, that tempting prize.
I couldn't help but sigh in relief; D'Spayre was cunning and intelligent. He hadn't taken even a moment to figure out the best way to end things, which took a lot of pressure off my hands. If he had been more stubborn, I would have had to spend much more time dealing with him.
Thankfully, I wouldn't have to.
"Two down," I said, a grim smile on my face as I looked around the battlefield.
The demons were in disarray, their leaders gone, their morale shattered. The Enforcement Knights, on the other hand, were pushing forward, their cold, unfeeling efficiency a stark contrast to the chaos and panic of the demonic hordes.
The battle was won.
But the war was not over.
The portals leading to the realms of Nightmare and Satannish were still open, and I had no idea what was happening inside.
I could only hope that my knights were holding their own.
But I couldn't dwell on it. I had to act, to press the advantage.
I turned my attention to the remaining demons, the mindless hordes that were still fighting, their instincts driving them to attack, even in the face of certain defeat.
"Enforcement Knights," I commanded, my voice ringing with authority. "Show them no mercy."
Next, I turned to my true Knights, "The Gawain, go help Mordred, the rest of you, help clean up the place." I believed that Mordred and Lionel would be able to hold on, more so with Gawain helping them.
That confidence came from what I knew about Satannish, the Ancient One had given me plenty of information about him, and he was as much a slave to his concept as the others.
To be the lord of a dimension granted one great power, but they were also bound by the rules of the realm they ruled.
And while it was foolish to think he was some unthinking brute, he was also not someone who enjoyed endless scheming. When a fight was in front of him, a challenge, he would face it. He would take his time to enjoy it.
Only use enough strength to dominate the fight, to suppress, but not end it too quickly, he would fight, always having the upper hand, but allow his opponent to fight back until they exhausted themselves, until they could no longer bring him joy and excitement.
And I knew Mordred well; she wouldn't grow tired this quickly. She should last days if push came to shove, so the battlefield that needed me the most was Nightmare's.
Nightmare wasn't someone who would play with his food. To withstand his onslaught, Galahad would need to rely on his Noble Phantasm, and it had likely been hours since he had deployed it. To use it for that long wasn't easy.
So I looked up, my attention turning to the final portal, the swirling vortex of shadow and dreams, the gateway to the domain of Nightmare.
"Bedivere, Lucan," I said, my voice calm and steady. "We're going in."
"As you command, my King," they replied in unison.
I took a step forward, my body fading from the physical battlefield, my spirit ascending, my consciousness merging with the dream.
For a moment, there was a void, a space between spaces, a place of pure potential, a place where anything was possible.
And then, I was there.
In the realm of nightmares.
The air was thick with fear, a palpable entity that clung to the skin, that seeped into the soul. The ground was a shifting, swirling morass of self-doubt and regret. The sky was a canvas of terror, a swirling vortex of shadow and pure fear.
In the distance, I could see it.
A beacon of light in the darkness.
A phantom city of pure, unadulterated hope.
Camelot.
And in front of it, a towering giant of shadow and pure fear, a living embodiment of the terror of failure, the fear of insignificance.
Nightmare.
-----
Gawain stepped through the portal to Satannish's realm, the sudden shift from the open battlefield to the claustrophobic, rage-soaked dimension was jarring, but he was a knight, and he was prepared for anything.
The oppressive heat hit him like a physical blow, the air thick with the stench of brimstone and raw fury. The ground beneath his feet was a blackened, obsidian rock, cracked and scorched, rivers of molten lava crisscrossing the landscape.
In the distance, he could see them.
Mordred, a whirlwind of chaotic energy, her armor smoking, her sword a blur of motion as she clashed with the towering form of Satannish.
Lionel, a calm, stoic figure, his movements fluid and economical, a perfect counter to Mordred's reckless aggression.
And Satannish, a towering giant of pure rage, a being of immense power and cruelty, a lord of a dimension who was enjoying the fight of his life.
"About damn time you showed up, sunshine!" Mordred yelled, a wide, toothy grin spreading across her face as she parried a vicious swipe from Satannish's massive claws. "We were starting to think you got lost on your way to the party!"
Satannish turned his eyes towards the newcomer. He was aware of what was happening outside his realm; he had seen this Knight stand up against D'Spayre, a legendary feat, overshadowed only by his King defeating Mephisto. Something that only made him want to fight against Arthuria all the more.
But before he could challenge her, he would have his fill fighting these knights, these half mortals, half spirits. "Come, Knight of the Sun, join your friends and fight me, fight me to your heart's content, give in to the rage and the endless fight!" He roared, a sound that shook the very foundations of his domain.
"Aye, I'll give you a fight," Gawain said, a grim determination on his face as he raised Galatine, the blade humming with power. "I'll give you a fight you'll never forget."
With that, he lunged, his body a blur of motion, the sun's light shining brightly around him, a beacon of hope in the darkness. He met Satannish's charge with a ferocity that was born of a deep, abiding loyalty, a loyalty to his king, a loyalty to the ideals he held dear.
The clash of their two powers created a blinding flash of light and a shockwave that sent Mordred and Lionel stumbling back, the sheer force of the assault a testament to the power of the Knight of the Sun.
(End of chapter)
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