"Can you send him back?"

I looked the Green Knight over while I spoke. There was a dent in his helmet. He had two Swords strapped to his back. The Gray Knight's Bequest, and the one with the yellow pommel stone that the others had brought back from Tír na nÓg. I didn't know what powers it gave, but I did know it wasn't what I was looking for.

Nynyane looked around at the courtyard. The remains of Roderick's ritual were scattered about, carved into the ground and walls. "Not here. This is profaned ground, now." She shook her head. "Even if it wasn't, the ritual is... slow. And delicate. It would take hours to set up, and I would need total concentration."

Each Knight had to spare sheaths for Swords of the Bequest. I peered at Mike. His sheaths were empty, and the straps that held them had been jury rigged to hold guns and his stupid ammo fanny pack. Patrick must be the one that had the Pink Knight's Bequest.

The boom of the shotgun made me jump. "Talk faster," the Red Knight urged. "That was the last one."

"Hold on a sec," I told the Lady. I walked over to Buttchug, stepping around the pile of bloody parts that was Roderick's son before an evil deity turned him into a Wendigo. The God's head was splattered, but the hole in the front was shrinking. The God's spear was only a few inches from one outstretched hand. I went to kick it further away, but paused. I'd seen the damned thing turn a man into a Wendigo. Touching it myself was probably not a good idea.

I swung Solais like a golf club. The blade burst into light as it carved through the ground and up under the spear. My strike was a little off center, but the Strength of Seven let me put enough oomph into the swing that it didn't matter. The spear flipped up into the air and clattered down a good fifteen feet away. I'd kind of been hoping to launch it out of the courtyard, but whatever.

I heard a curse. Mike had unstrapped the assault rifle from his back, only to find the thing was broken. The barrel was bent, and the (I don't know guns) middle part of the rifle was cracked and dented. Must have taken a few hits when Mike was fighting the Revenants. He dropped the thing and pulled out a pistol.

With a start, I jolted my attention back to the dead God. He wouldn't be dead much longer. The front hole in his head was almost closed. I slashed Solais across his chest. Like always, the blade burst into light, passing through with no resistance. I was pretty sure I got his heart, but I slashed him again for good measure, then stabbed him in the head.

No one had said it, but I figured Solais was the most powerful weapon we had. A sword made by Gods to kill other Gods. If that didn't put Buttchug down, I didn't know what would. I left Solais there, embedded in the head of the God of Hunger. I took two steps back towards Nynyane, and almost tripped over the Brown Sword of Bequest.

"Do you think that'll keep him down?" the Red Knight asked.

I looked over at Buttchug. Were the gashes in his chest healing? They were. I swore. "Nope," I asnwered. Sword made to kill Gods my ass.

Still, not having it in hand was making me nervous. Solais was the sliciest thing I'd ever seen. Better than a lightsaber. Leaving it in easy reach of an evil God seemed like a stupid idea. Especially after I'd gone to the trouble of taking his spear away.

I picked up the Brown Knight's Bequest and stomped back over to Buttchug. I let go of my shield strap long enough to jerk my favorite sword out of the head of my current problem. Then I slammed the Brown Knight's Bequest down through his skull. Take that, Buttchug.

Honestly, this whole thing was going a lot better than I'd expected. Roderick's Knights had kicked our asses, but the God they summoned didn't seem like that big a deal. Yeah, he was big and scary and could probably do all kinds of crazy magic shit. And yeah, we didn't know how to kill him. But it's not like he was actually doing anything. As long as we kept shooting and stabbing him faster than he could heal, we shouldn't have a problem.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"You fucking wankers..." the Green Knight hissed. He climbed to his feet, shaking with rage. "You fucking fucks..."

"William..." Lady started.

"No!" William cut her off. "We had them. They were right here..." His gaze settled on the Red Knight. "And you. You fucking shot me."

"Damned right," the Red Knight leveled his pistol at him. "You want to doom the world for a fucking grudge? Get a hold of yourself."

The Green Knight's response was an inarticulate howl of rage. He rocketed forward. Mike emptied the pistol into his head. William powered through. Apparently regular bullets didn't have the stopping power to deal with a Knight of Avalon. A still screaming William sliced the pistol in half, along with a good portion of the Red Knight's hand. His sword whipped back around. Mike tried to get his shield in the way, but he wasn't fast enough. The Green Knight slashed through his abdomen, spilling his guts on the ground.

"Mike!" I charged. Patrick got there first. William danced out of the way of the Blue Knight's rapier and lopped off his sword arm at the wrist. The son of a bitch was almost as fast as Roderick. In almost the same motion, the Green Knight slammed his shield into Patrick's helmeted face. The Blue Knight dropped.

I stopped in my tracks. I'd seen William fight before, but it never really registered how fucking dangerous the man was. He'd been fighting for three hundred years. He was skilled on a level I couldn't match if I trained the whole rest of my life. Attacking would be suicide.

The Green Knight didn't stop. If I wasn't coming to the party, he was going to bring the party to me. He bolted forward, sword flickering into my chest. Green light flared from the blade, dispelling the illusion I'd left when I turned invisible and dived out of the way.

"Fucking coward!" William spat. "Face me!" He caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He spun faster than I could speak, lunging at the shape coming to a stop behind him. His sword speared through Nynayne's chest. Her arms were raised. Her attempt to yell his name cut off in a gurgle. The Lady of the Lake fell to her knees, eyes wide.

"My lady..." the Green Knight's voice quavered. The Lady tried to speak, but all that came out was blood and gurgles. She reached for William for one frozen, horrible moment. Then she fell backwards, sliding slowly off her murderer's sword.

"Nynyane!" William dropped his sword. "Nynyane, oh god!" He flung his shield aside and grabbed the woman with both hands. "Nynyane..."

I climbed silently to my feet. My breath was coming hard and fast, but I ignored it. I ignored the blood pounding in my ears. I ignored my body clenching. I even ignored the overwhelming urge to go over there and invisibly turn William into a pile of bloody chunks. He was the only one that could heal the Lady Who'd Just Been Stabbed. Unless she was already dead. If Nynyane was dead, then the world was fucked anyway. I'd chop the Green Knight to pieces. I'd keep killing him until it stuck. Or until Buttchug got loose and ate our souls.

To my immense relief, the Lady gasped. Then she rolled over, coughing and gagging. I guess she still had blood in her mouth.

I glanced over at Buttchug. His chest was smeared with blood, but the wounds were gone. The Brown Knight's Bequest was still sticking out of his head. Satisfied, I made an illusion of myself appear. Stabbing the Lady might have shocked William back to his senses, but I wasn't taking any chances with the murderous moron. "William."

The Green Knight didn't hear me. He was too busy blubbering all over Nynyane. Nynyane had upgraded from coughing to vomiting. She wouldn't be any help for a minute or two. I stuck Solais into the ground and willed my own Sword of the Bequest to manifest. It appeared in my hand and I threw it at the stupid asshole. "WILLIAM!"

It was a surprisingly good throw. The hilt of the White Knight's Bequest clanged satisfyingly off the back of the little shit's head. The Green Knight jerked his head in the direction the throw had come from, and saw my illusion of me. Illusionary me pointed at the other two Knights on the ground. "Are you planning to let them die?"

The Green Fuckhead cursed. He ran over to Mike and laid his hands on him. The Red Knight's guts were suddenly back where they belonged. William healed Patrick next. The Blue Knight's arm reappeared, armor and all. Patrick immediately reached for his rapier. William jumped back, hands raised in a placating gesture.

"I'm so sor-" he started.

He didn't get to finish his sentence. The Red Knight's fist crashed into his helmet, right where his jaw should be. The Green Knight slid bonelessly to the ground.

"Fucking asshole," the Red Knight muttered. "I can't believe you call yourself a Knight."

"You can't believe it?" The whispering echoes that accompanied the voice of the God of Hunger sent goosebumps all the way down my body. We all turned. Buttchug leaned down, picking up his spear with an offended expression and the Brown Knight's Bequest still sticking out of his head. "How do you think I feel?" The Devourer pulled the sword out, tossing it behind him. "My finest servant betrays me, tries to plot my death," his lips curled in disgust, "and the best he can send is you?" He shook his head. "If the betrayal itself wasn't enough, the sheer insult has earned him suffering beyond the imagination of mortals." He leveled his spear at Nynyane. "He might suffer almost as much as you will."