Upon hearing that deafening roar which reverberated throughout the entire island, Merlin and the Round Table Knights quickly wrapped up their respective battles and headed for the exit, curious to see what was going on outside the factory.

Upon exiting, a monstrous sight beheld their eyes as they were taken aback by not only the physical size of the foe standing before them, but also the amount of mana pressure emitted by Armageddon.

Suddenly, Armageddon shot one of its arms towards the Cameronians, which they instinctively dodged. To Merlin's surprise, the creature was not really aiming for them, but for the pirates who were still pursuing them, crushing them under the weight of its hand before they could exit the tunnel.

Merlin acutely sensed that Armageddon's mana level had risen slightly with the deaths of the pirates. Recalling that they were all wielders of the cursed magic weapons, and that Armageddon's mana signature resembled that of those weapons, Merlin concluded that the towering adversary before them was the source of mana used in the construction of the cursed weapons.

Merlin murmured to herself, "To conceal something so powerful and dreadful on this island all this while, have we really been taken for fools by the masterminds of this incident?"

Merlin then turned to face her Round Table Knights, "My friends, truth be told, I've never experienced something that possesses as much mana as this monster, not even the largest mana generator used to power our cities contain this level of mana. This abomination before us is a major threat, not just to our country, but to the world as well. For the sake of our home, we're going to give it our all and destroy this thing right here and now. Who's with me?"

The Round Table Knights cheered in unison as they adopted their respective battle positions, ready to engage the monstrosity before them.

Arthur and Fujika were about to rush in and attack Armageddon before a gigantic sword came crashing down before them, cutting their path. Sharkan teased, "Sorry, we can't let you hurt our baby, not at least while we're here." as he raised his huge sword, ready to execute another swing.

Fujika yelled, "Arthur! Go on without me, I'll hold him here!" as she created a large [Wave Wall] before her, impeding Sharkan's path as he was swept by the fierce water currents, barring his progress.

Despite being halted in place, Fujika felt uneasy that Sharkan could still grin widely in his predicament, and her fears were confirmed when Sharkan tore her [Wave Wall] into 2 with just a simple downward slash of his sword.

Fujika was stunned. She felt no trace of mana being used from her opponent, yet by pure brute force, he could sever her [Wave Wall] which strength was at least equivalent to Master tier. Fujika was beginning to doubt her ability to delay her opponent, not to mention defeating him.

Arthur rushed forward, preparing to make a quick draw with his [Excalibur] to catch the monster by surprise. Suddenly, he heard a voice cackle, "If you can't even draw out the full potential of your weapon, what makes you think you stand a chance against Armageddon, who's at least Emperor tier by now!"

It was Terence, as he stood arrogantly in Arthur's path. Arthur demanded, "Get out of my way now! This monster must be killed, [Bestial Sword Style - Cheetah]!" as he blitzed across Terence, aiming a slash at his torso with his [Excalibur].

CLANG! Arthur was surprised when Terence easily blocked his attack with his own weapon, a blade conjured from darkness. Usually Dark magic was insidious and pervasive, but to have solidified and hardened to the extent that it could go head-to-head with the S-Class Light elemental weapon proved that Terence was among the best of those who possessed Dark affinities.

Arthur refused to relent as he quickly initiated his second attack. "[Bestial Sword Style - Rhino]!" Arthur cried as he thrust his sword forward with all his might. To his horror, Terence sidestepped the attack at the last minute, grabbing one of Arthur's wrists with his free hand while aiming a slash at Arthur's neck with his Dark sword.

Arthur ducked by leaning backwards swiftly, but he felt a peculiar sensation the longer Terence held his arm. It was as though his mana was being…siphoned. Arthur quickly struggled to free himself by launching a horizontal slash at Terence, who leapt backwards to avoid it.

Arthur felt relieved when the draining sensation disappeared, as he wondered what exactly Terence was doing by grabbing his wrist. Terence asked sarcastically, "How're you feeling? Feeling weak? Yes, this is the side effects of my Enigma Ability, [Transfer] which allows me to transfer mana from one place to another via touch.

That's how I've helped to create the cursed weapons with the tiny remnants of Armageddon's power, as well as drain your mana. Against an unskilled opponent like you, I'm invincible!" Arthur's face revealed an expression of staunch defiance as he gripped [Excalibur] tightly before jumping in again to duel Terence.

Meanwhile, Merlin and the Round Table Knights were labouring to land even a single scratch on Armageddon. Despite launching Grandmaster tier spells such as [Flame Dragon Bullet] and [Glacial Meteor] towards the hulking abomination, Merlin barely scratched Armageddon's armour as the beast swung its arms in resistance, as though trying to swat flies.

The Round Table Knights fared no better, as the big 3, Firen, Zexel and Cynthia had launched massive elemental blasts of Fire, Wind and Lightning respectively, which only caused minor scratches to Armageddon's torso.

The remaining 3 Knights, Alderon, Sasha and Krow decided to combine their attacks into a single point and see its effectiveness. Sasha swung her hand forward, her fingers converged to one point such that the strings produced would intertwine and form one large whip with a sharp tip at its end.

Alderon concentrated a huge amount of mana in his [Gravios], coating it with mana armament before swinging with all his might, sending a shockwave to the same point Sasha was aiming for. Finally, Krow performed something similar to Alderon, sending an aerial slash towards their common target.

When all 3 attacks connected at the same point, it successfully blew a small hole on Armageddon's body, much to the surprise of Merlin, who concluded that Armageddon probably had a weak physical exoskeleton which explained its heavy reliance on mana armament which in turn can be broke through by converging and focusing their attacks to a single narrow point.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Armageddon roared in pain as its wound started to regenerate, much to the horror of the Cameronians. Armageddon set its sights on Merlin and her fellow Knights, before opening its mouth as it gathered a massive amount of mana rapidly.

Sensing that Armageddon wished to blow them out of existence with a blast that could obliterate an island the size of Blackrock Island, Merlin hastily summoned a [Constellation Gate] before Armageddon's mouth, absorbing the blast that shot forth. Unsure if they would get caught in the explosion if Merlin had redirected the blast back onto Armageddon, Merlin quickly conjured another [Constellation Gate] above an island much further away.

There, the Cameronians were horrified by the extent of destruction brought forth by Armageddon's breath attack. The entire island was disintegrated, sending shockwaves so strong that the resultant wind could be felt strongly by the Cameronians despite the vast distance of about 15 km. Seeing that its attack had failed, Armageddon flailed its hands wildly in an attempt to rid itself of the pests which harassed it.

Merlin remarked as she panted, "Its defensive and regeneration abilities are off the charts and its offensive abilities are not weak either, as seen in that beam earlier. Looks like if we don't go all out now, we'll never live to get a second chance." Merlin and her fellow Knights braced themselves for a long and arduous battle ahead, as Armageddon roared in fury.

Fujika was at her wits' end. She had pulled all the tricks out of her bag against her opponent, using Grandmaster tier spells such as [Water Dragon Bullet] and her signature [Tsunami Surge] spell but Sharkan had easily dispelled all her attacks with mere swings of his sword coated with an incredible amount of mana.

When Fujika conjured a [Hydro Spiral] spell to push Sharkan back, he had merely pressed his palm against the spell, using the water to conjure 5 life-sized water sharks that flew towards her. Thanks to her training as a ninja, she was able to nimbly avoid all of Sharkan's attacks as they exploded upon impact, creating large craters in the ground which surprised Fujika.

Sharkan remarked, "Shishishi, your expertise in water magic isn't bad, in fact, I dare say you have much potential. However, to use my natural element against me, you've got a long way to go, shishishi." Fujika was getting exhausted, but the dominant feeling within her was fear, fear of the grinning demon that stood before her as she wondered how much power he was concealing behind that façade of his.

On the other hand, Arthur's situation was looking bleak as well, his movements becoming increasingly sluggish as he was exhausted on 2 fronts. One, the expenditure of his own strength in attempting to overcome Terence's resolute defence. Two, the loss of his mana through Terence's Enigma Ability.

Nonetheless, Arthur refused to yield as he sent a flying blade of light towards Terence, who easily blocked it with a [Shadow Wall] spell that emerged from beneath his feet. Arthur sent a few more blades of light as he attempted to shred Terence's defence, but Terence simply fended them off with his Dark sword, shattering them upon contact.

Terence scoffed, "Let me show you a true flying blade attack!" as he swung his blade in an upward motion, conjuring a sharp crescent wave of shadows that emerged from his blade and melded with the ground, shooting forward as it travelled along the ground.

Arthur leapt into the air to dodge the attack, which Terence judged as a vulnerable position, extending his shadows on the ground till they were under Arthur, before shooting multiple [Shadow Spike] spells from them. Arthur gave him the slip at the last minute, dodging Terence's spell by leaping forward in a flash.

Arthur cried, "[Bestial Sword Style - Peregrine Falcon]!" as he made a wide slash upon his descent. To his horror, Terence easily caught his sword between his fingers coated with mana armament, jesting, "This is the power of the Holy Sword, [Excalibur]. It's light doesn't even burn me, which shows that the weapon can only be as strong as its wielder."

Terence quickly held Arthur in place as he stabbed him with multiple [Shadow Tendril] spells, immobilising him. Terence then placed a hand on Arthur's forehead, absorbing all of Arthur's remaining mana slowly with his Enigma Ability as Arthur's consciousness began to fade.

Terence laughed, "So much for the revered Crown Prince of Cameron. You are merely a failure who can't use [Excalibur - Armed]! I used to be a failure like you, but that was before I met Lord Jiro, the benefactor who boosted the power of my Enigma Ability tremendously. Now, I've grown to be one of the strongest thanks to Lord Jiro. Time to face your death, you useless twat!"

Terence mercilessly drove his blade into Arthur's chest, as Arthur could only close his eyes and resign himself to fate. To his surprise, Arthur didn't feel any pain whatsoever. He thought with his eyes closed, "Am I dead? How is it like in the other world?"

When he opened his eyes and allowed the light to shine into his eyes, he realised that he was still in the world of the living, despite Terence's blade still lodged in his heart. Terence was mystified as he stammered, "W-What's going on? How're you still alive?" Arthur had no idea what was going on as well. By logical explanation, he should be dead by now…unless it was an Enigma Ability, but who's?

Arthur turned to face Fujika who had tears in her eyes by now. She choked, "It's my Enigma Ability, [Body Substitution]…it was Gilbert's final request to take your place should you meet your end in this dangerous mission. I-I didn't want this to happen, so that's why I tagged along to make sure that you come to no harm…I'm so sorry Arthur, for not telling you, it was part of the deal with Gilbert, who was loyal to Cameron and her royal family to the very end."

Terence hastily pulled out his blade from Arthur's chest as he stuttered, "Ha, t-that was a fluke earlier, it doesn't matter, I'll kill you now!" As Terence swung his blade at Arthur's neck, it was as though time stopped for eternity for Arthur as he struggled to accept the reality of Gilbert's death.

Gilbert was more than just a butler to Arthur, he was the person who accompanied him through his growing years, taught him a wide array of things, ranging from literacy to basic sword fighting, and finally, served as a listening ear to all his adventures and woes outside the palace.

One piece of advice he'd received from Gilbert that he always held close to his heart was, "Most of the time, sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. You can't be the one who always reap the benefits, sometimes, you have to be the one who bites the bullet for everyone else."

This advice was given to Arthur when he was still a vagabond teen who went around merrymaking all over Cameron, as Gilbert tried to instil in him the need to appreciate the sacrifices committed by the ancestors of Cameron to keep the peace that Cameronians enjoy today, in hope that one day Arthur himself would mature and contribute back to the society that had provided him so much.

It was these words that motivated Arthur to start volunteering in various parts of Cameron, to discover a greater purpose in his life than simply inheriting the throne. Gilbert was, simply, like a father to him…

Back to the present, just as Terence's blade was about to land on Arthur's neck, suddenly, a bright light shone from [Excalibur] as Arthur howled, "[Excalibur - Armed]!" Arthur's body was enveloped in white light as Terence was blinded temporarily, halting his attack.

From the light emerged a fully armoured Arthur, who was dressed like a paladin with a golden helmet and white cape. His sword shone ever brighter, so bright that Terence found it difficult to materialise his Dark magic. Terence muttered, "Impossible…he wasn't supposed to be able to use [Armed]. To think that the S-Class Light elemental weapon could dispel darkness to such an extent…just need to touch him to shut him down…"

Arthur, who had a resolute expression despite the tears in his eyes, mumbled, "I'll live to carry on your will, Gilbert. Your death has given me the resolve I need to wield this power, as my forefathers had done. Cameron's success has always been built on the blood, sweat and tears of our ancestors and I won't let the people before me down! Take this! [Shining Nova Drive]!"

Before Terence could reach Arthur, he was eradicated by a gigantic white beam of light, which was as intense as the Sun's rays from close proximity. The beam tore through the landscape of Blackrock Island and eventually reached Armageddon, decapitating its left arm as it roared in pain.

Arthur looked at Armageddon resolutely, ready to lay his life if required in tribute of the noble butler who gave his own life for the sake of the future.