Dimensional Descent

Jessica's four-armed ape fell heavily to the ground, causing the battlefield to quake. 

As though it was a cue, the stalemate broke. A barrage of attacks descended from all sides. If one was looking from afar, it would be hard to imagine that such a commotion was being caused for the sake of one young girl who had long since lost the ability to move. 

Aina's situation only seemed to grow worse by the moment. Whereas before the foul black blood only shot from her mouth when she coughed, now, even when she was only gasping for breath, it blocked her air ways, causing her to subconsciously grasp at her throat even in her unconscious state. 

The grotesque scars traveled down her neck, swallowing it in swelling that made one's heart churn. It felt like the curse was venting its hatred for having been humiliated, lashing out with a fervor it never had before. 

Aina's current mind was in turmoil. All she could feel was pain. 

Her every heartbeat felt as though the walls of her chest were pressing against a cage. It took so much effort just to circulate her blood once around her body, and with every passing moment, it only seemed to become more difficult. 

As though this wasn't bad enough, the blood she was circulating seemed contaminated. It ate away at her flesh, devouring her bones, and dug into her soul. It seemed that it wouldn't be satisfied until it took away everything she had left. 

Aina was completely unaware of her surroundings, completely unaware that so many were fighting for and against her sake, all she knew was pain and darkness. It was the kind of pain that made one rather end it all than suffer for another second…

Noah and King Arthur clashed once again, their blades bending and whining beneath their strength. 

Despite Noah's increased size, Arthur didn't back down for even a moment. 

It had been too long since the King had met an opponent he could go all out against. He had reached the limits of Camelot a long time ago, so long ago, in fact, that many had already forgotten that he was a genius of battle. 

The long he fought against Noah, the faster and swifter he seemed to become. 

However, Noah responded in kind. Every improvement Arthur made, Noah seemed to match, whether it be in talent or him having held back from the very beginning. 

The truth was that Noah knew that Arthur was the key to taking Camelot under their wing with ease. If he died, then everything would become far more difficult. It would be much easier if they could subdue this King without killing him, that would be for the best. 

But, at the same time, compared to the threat Aina poised, Camelot was worth far less. At least… That was what Noah thought until he began to fight Arthur in earnest. 

'It looks like… I have to get serious.' Noah thought. 

In that moment, Noah's body shrunk down explosively, dodging out of the way of Arthur's last strike. 

The density of Noah's skin and bone shot up. It began to reflect like diamond beneath the high sun rays. 

With a hard step forward, Noah's steps shook the earth with more force than even Jessica's ape. 

Arthur's eyes sharpened. With his experience in battle, he didn't need to guess to know that he couldn't take this strike head on. It was simply too heavy. It wouldn't be a surprise if he ended up just as injured as Lancelot if he tried to. 

'They held back all this time…' 

Arthur was pissed, but there was nothing he could do about it. If he was being real with himself, he too held back. How could he not? How could they possibly fight wholeheartedly by the side of an army they thought was another potential enemy?

The issue was that it was clear that Noah and Jessica had held back far more than Arthur and his men had. 

Jessica flicked out several more marbles in Mordred's direction, each morphing into a large predator beast. 

A large King of Serpents, a snow-white falcon, a silver lion, and finally a butterfly with a wingspan of over a meter. 

The pressure that was suddenly applied to both Arthur and his daughter multiplied several times over. At the same time, the number of enemies Guinevere needed to face rose. There was simply no one of Camelot outside a few Knights and Mages that were worthy of fighting in a battle of this quality. 

Though Earth had poor foundations, Camelot had even weaker foundations. It had to be remembered that they were born of tales passed down by humans of Earth. In those tales, the main focus were just a few characters. As a result, the majority of Camelot's strength was likewise concentrated into these characters. 

Now, Camelot was beginning to break free of the constraints of those stories. But, that left them in a state similar to when Earth's Metamorphosis first descended. In fact, even to now, Arthur didn't dare to use his ability in battle because he didn't quite trust it. 

After decades of battle and honing his skill, how could Arthur suddenly change his battle tactics and instincts on a dime? In fact, the same went for the other Knights and Mages as well. 

This mental handicap left them subconsciously hampering themselves. 

The worst part was that even if they got over this mental roadblock, how could they possibly face an army of a thousand talents who had been honing their battle techniques for over a year now?

Mordred's jaw clenched, her wrist flicking as she sent out spell after spell. She felt as though the stamina she needed to cast Mage Arts had dropped by more than tenfold. In fact, the time she needed also fell drastically. 

With such improvement, she didn't believe that she couldn't protect Aina. She didn't believe that she wouldn't be able to stop these people that stood before her. 

Her power had always been something that caused her to be ostracized. But today, she would allow it to display its true might!

Unfortunately, as much as Mordred wanted to believe this, in her heart of hearts, her soul of souls… The gap was simply too wide.