Chương 145: A Knight Without Armor(3)

The undead beast rose into the sky as a brilliant golden light devoured the ocean below. From above, the wyvern circled warily, its ruined wings beating against the heated air as it watched the sea transform into a mirror of molten gold. The light swelled and pulsed, then it slowly began to fade. When it vanished, only a single figure remained. A woman stood upon the surface of the ocean itself. Soft ripples spread outward from her feet, gentle and controlled, as though the sea acknowledged her presence.

The wyvern stared, its hollow gaze fixed upon her in confusion and growing unease. Artoria was no longer grey-skinned. She had been reborn. Her hair now shone like spun gold, flowing freely in the ocean wind. Her eyes burned with the same golden brilliance, sharp and resolute. Her skin was pale and fair once more, unmarred by corruption or decay, and she wore the traditional armor of the Pendragon family, reforged, pristine, and radiant with ancient authority. Yet Excalibur was nowhere to be seen.

The reason was simple. The blade no longer existed as a weapon. It had fused completely with its wielder, dissolving its form to restore its master. In exchange for its legacy, Artoria had been returned to her former glory, no, something greater. She clenched her fist and lifted her gaze. High above, the wyvern gathered unholy energy once more. The darkness swirling around it was different now, denser, more violent, refined by desperation. Artoria raised a brow.

The creature released a condensed sphere of pure corruption, a projectile meant to erase her utterly. It tore through the air at impossible speed. She did not move. As the sphere entered her immediate space, reality itself folded. The air fractured like glass. The unholy energy was crushed, twisted, and erased in an instant, vanishing without even a sound. Artoria studied the wyvern calmly as it recoiled, finally understanding that something fundamental had changed. A small smile touched her lips.

She placed a hand against her chest and spoke softly, reverently.

"Thank you… my lords." With a thought, a great blade formed in her grasp. Its surface was flawless, reflecting her image clearly. She regarded it for a brief moment, her smile widening, Then she vanished. The wyvern froze, stunned, its head snapping wildly from side to side as it searched the sky and sea alike. Nothing. Frustration overtook it. Roaring in rage, the beast unleashed beams of destructive energy in every direction.

The ocean detonated beneath the barrage, water vaporizing into steam as shockwaves rolled outward. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Then, Impact suddenly rang. Artoria reappeared far above the wyvern, descending like a falling star. She struck. Her fist crashed into its skull with catastrophic force, sending the creature plummeting into the ocean below. The sea exploded upon impact as the beast vanished beneath the surface.

Artoria landed moments later, standing effortlessly upon the water.

"Alright," she said calmly, peering into the depths.

"Let's not go all out just yet. I still need to get used to this." The water beneath her darkened. A massive shadow surged upward. The wyvern burst from the ocean at tremendous speed, roaring as it charged her once more. Artoria smiled. Both figures vanished into motion, two streaks of light tearing through the sky faster than the eye could perceive. Sonic booms thundered as they clashed again and again, their collisions shaking the air itself.

At the height of their exchange, the wyvern twisted mid-flight and struck her with its massive, bone-plated tail, hurling her downward. She never reached the ocean. The space between them collapsed. Artoria reappeared directly before the beast and answered with a devastating punch. The wyvern screamed as it was launched high into the sky, battered and breaking. Desperation seized it.

Climbing higher and higher, the creature drew upon everything it had left, condensing all remaining energy into a single, cataclysmic beam. Darkness wrapped around it like a dying star. Artoria looked up and smiled once more.

"Seems I'll have to use some power too," she murmured. She raised her arm. Two celestial dragons manifested before her, vast and radiant, far larger than the blight itself. Their forms shimmered with authority beyond flesh, embodiments of ancient forces. They did not move to attack. Instead, Artoria reached toward them. Their massive heads lowered, gently touching her outstretched hand.

"It's good to see you again," she said softly. The dragons dissolved into pure energy, merging seamlessly with her being. A black bow formed in her hands. She drew it back, and an arrow of emerald and violet celestial energy took shape, woven from the essence of time and space themselves. Artoria inhaled deeply. For a single heartbeat, the world was silent. Then, The wyvern fired. A beam of absolute darkness tore through the heavens, roaring like a god's wrath as it raced toward her. Artoria released the string.

The arrow screamed through the sky, cleaving reality as it flew. It tore through the dark beam effortlessly, shredding it apart before continuing onward, Straight through the wyvern. The creature was consumed in an instant. When the light faded, only scattered bones remained, tumbling lifelessly from the sky before being swallowed by the ocean below. Silence returned. Artoria exhaled slowly and looked down at herself. She had won. She had protected her people.

And once more, She had stood as a knight of Pendragon, just as she always meant to. However, Artoria allowed her smile to fade. She turned her gaze toward the horizon, where the world still burned and screamed beneath an endless sky. The battle she had just won was not the end, she knew that with absolute certainty. Her duty was far from finished. In the distance, the sea churned violently as something colossal moved beneath its surface.

A moment later, a giant serpent erupted from the depths, its titanic coils rising like living mountains. Caught within its grip was a demonic bird, its grotesque wings beating uselessly as it screeched in fury and fear. Artoria did not hesitate. She launched herself forward, crossing the distance in a single breath. As the serpent tightened its hold, Artoria flashed past its coils, her blade singing once as it cut through the air. The bird's head separated cleanly from its body.

The corpse fell, lifeless, into the ocean below. It had been a Glutton. A colossal one, certainly, but still a Glutton. A spawn that existed an entire stage below the infamous Blights. Once, such a creature would have demanded everything she had. Now, it was little more than an afterthought. The serpent recoiled slightly, its massive form shifting as it turned its attention toward her. Ancient eyes regarded Artoria with slow, deliberate precision, measuring, weighing, understanding. Artoria felt it instantly.

Harmonic atum. Faint, restrained, but unmistakably aligned. This serpent was not an enemy. Its sheer size was staggering, at first glance, its body stretched for thousands of meters, coils disappearing into the mist and waves beyond sight. It was a being that belonged to myths older than empires. For a moment, an uneasy silence settled between them. The wind whispered across the sea. The serpent, Levianthe, continued to observe her, its presence vast and unreadable. Then, without ceremony, it turned away.

With a powerful surge of its body, it descended once more into the depths, already moving toward another battlefield, another threat. Its judgment made. Artoria watched it go, understanding passing silently between them. Then she turned as well. Without fanfare, without rest, she moved on, vanishing toward the next horizon, the next cry for help. Ready once more to stand between her people and extinction. Ready, always, to protect them, as a knight should.