Typemoon: Starting Out as the Lion King's Personal Knight

Credits: Cinder Kitsune

Hearing Agravain's restrained but furious interrogation, Alaric smiled faintly:

"Did you know, Sir Agravain? I killed Mordred."

The moment those words left his lips, not only did Agravain freeze, but even the surrounding Enforcement Knights and Serenity were left in utter shock.

The Knight of the Round Table, Mordred… killed by Alaric?

"So, you didn't know?"

Noticing Agravain's ignorance of this news, Alaric smiled.

He didn't care whether Agravain simply hadn't had the chance to learn of this information yet. Regardless, Alaric was intent on taunting him.

Agravain, however, ignored the ridicule and took a deep breath. "So it's true. Mordred was killed by you. You are just like that man—"

"I think Sir Lancelot is pretty decent," Alaric interrupted, spinning the hilt of his sword slowly while casting a glance at the approaching Enforcement Knights. "Don't blame others for your petty grievances, Sir Agravain."

Agravain suddenly asked, "Where is Sir Lancelot?"

According to the plan, Lancelot, who had received his orders, should have gone to pursue the Chaldean rebels yesterday. Yet, here Alaric was, appearing as if he had been swayed by Chaldea and joined their side.

This made it hard for Agravain to believe in Lancelot's loyalty to the King anymore. After all, Alaric and Lancelot were known to be close.

"Sir Lancelot? Naturally, he has joined me," Alaric said with a smile. "To help correct the King's mistakes, of course. Sir Agravain, what chance of victory do you think you still have now?"

Alaric's words were calm but filled with provocation as if he were laying everything bare to Agravain while preparing for their final confrontation.

"…So, Sir Lancelot betrayed the King again," Agravain said, his expression dark and cold. But there was no shock in his voice, only a grim sense of inevitability. It was as if he had always known this would happen.

The Knight of the Lake, Lancelot—the most infamous traitor who had betrayed King Arthur in life—had once again chosen to oppose the King, even after being summoned as a Heroic Spirit. It was a betrayal that felt eerily familiar, though it wasn't quite the same.

But now—

"With this, your forces are insufficient, Sir Agravain," Alaric said, his smile fading into a serious expression as he stared directly into Agravain's eyes. "There are only six Round Table Knights left. Mordred is dead and has returned to the Throne of Heroes. Sir Lancelot has rebelled with me. How much strength does the Holy City even have left?"

Alaric's tone grew colder as he continued, "Sir Agravain, are you planning to rely solely on Sir Gawain to resist all your enemies? How many of your Enforcement Knights can truly hold the line?"

Agravain smirked disdainfully. "Do you think you can win, Sir Alaric? Haven't you witnessed the brilliance of the King's light time and again? Do you even understand what the Holy City truly is?"

If Chaldea and their allies still harbored doubts about the Lion King's power, Agravain knew that the man standing before him could not possibly be so naive. After all, Alaric understood the workings of the Holy City better than anyone.

The true Holy City had been born under their very eyes.

"The deployment of the Holy Lance marks the end—"

"I know, Sir Agravain," Alaric interrupted confidently, slamming the blade of his sword into the ground with a sharp, resonant clang. "And it's precisely because I know that I can tell you this with certainty—"

"We will win!"

"This time, we will be victorious, Sir Agravain!"

"The mistakes of the King will be corrected by us, the Knights of the Round Table. Isn't that the very meaning of our existence? Sir Agravain, I don't understand your obsession, nor your pain, but this is nothing more than a dream. In this long dream that we call a second life, you've achieved what you couldn't in life. But it is a mistake—and all dreams must eventually end."

"So, you won't give up, will you?" Agravain's expression grew colder as he raised his hand and gave a sharp gesture.

This single motion ignited the powder keg of tension that had been simmering. The surrounding Enforcement Knights, who had already encircled Alaric and Serenity, surged forward!

But Alaric was faster.

The cold gleam of his blade slashed through the air like a crescent moon, leaving a trail of blood and taking down an Enforcement Knight with a single stroke.

Clang!

"Hm?"

As Alaric deflected the strike of another Knight with a backhanded motion, he felt an immense force behind the blow. Something was off.

"Sir Agravain, when did you develop this new model?" Alaric asked, noting the difference in the strength of this particular Enforcement Knight.

But to him, it hardly mattered.

Zzt!

Crimson lightning crackled along his blade, arcing like a blood-colored crescent moon. The energy cleaved through multiple Enforcement Knights, slicing them in half.

In mere moments, several Knights had fallen.

Even Serenity, who had been preparing to aid Alaric by releasing her poison, found herself with nothing to do. The fight was over before she could act.

"Sir Agravain, this won't stop me," Alaric said, resting his massive sword casually on his shoulder. "Or do you intend to fight me yourself? As I recall, you've never received the King's blessing, have you?"

Alaric glanced at Agravain, who still hadn't moved. "Without the King's blessing, Sir Agravain, this is your greatest flaw—and your ultimate downfall."

When the Lion King had summoned the Knights of the Round Table, each of them had received her blessing. But Agravain had been the sole exception, rejecting it outright.

Alaric didn't know why Agravain had refused the King's blessing, but there was one thing he did know—Agravain was weak.

Even without the power of the Holy Grail, Alaric could defeat, or even kill, Agravain.

As Alaric's provocation words reached Agravain's ears, his expression grew darker and more solemn.

Alaric was right—Agravain had never accepted the King's blessing. To Agravain, receiving the King's blessing meant becoming her servant. And if he ever wanted to act against the King, that would make it impossible.

But Agravain was not the only one without the blessing.

Of all the Round Table Knights, there were only two who lacked the King's blessing—Agravain himself, and the man standing before him, Alaric.

The Lion King dragon's blood, pure and untainted, originating from Artoria Pendragon herself. Yet, why did it give Alaric such extraordinary power?

Agravain couldn't understand. Even when he used Alaric's blood to enhance the Enforcement Knights, he couldn't replicate the same results. The Knights' near-heroic physiques would collapse under the strain of the dragon's blood.

And yet, Alaric had used that same dragon's blood to grow into someone capable of rivaling even Gawain.