Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Beginning of the Campaign

When Lancer and Gawain arrived at their destination, they saw Gareth and the others already waiting there.

“Brother!” Gareth called from afar, a bright, sunlit smile on his face.

“Come on, what happened? I don’t believe ordinary people could leave you in such a state. Even if you couldn’t win, you could certainly escape.” Lancelot, who had been waiting, was the first to ask.

“Honestly, I think letting the Vatican handle this would be better than us,” Lancer complained helplessly.

“What’s going on?” Gareth, always a bit slow on the uptake, asked.

“Is an explanation necessary? If you’re calling for the Vatican, it must involve dark creatures. But I’m curious—what kind of creature could frighten you so? Was it a dragon?” Lancelot, not yet familiar with the might of dragons, joked.

“I’d rather face a dragon. With our combined strength, it would be simple enough. But this time, we confronted over a hundred high-ranking dark creatures—among them descendants of Titans, the Hundred-Eyed Giant, Chimera, Venom Lizard, Cyclops, Vampire Princes, witches, and many others whose names I can’t even recall. Which do you think is easier?” Lancer leaned against Lancelot’s horse, resting, but couldn’t help retorting upon hearing the mention of dragons.

The group, once confident in their abilities, fell silent. They knew Lancer would never exaggerate in matters such as these. Most had fought these creatures separately before, but the thought of them all together sent chills down their spines.

“What do we do, then? We can’t let them run rampant, or this region…” Gareth, though somewhat careless, was more popular with both people and nature than other knights because of his very simplicity.

“Chirp!” At that moment, Lancer said, “They’re here.”

“Who?”

“Her Highness and Merlin the Magus. On our way back, I sent White Night to notify Her Highness and Merlin to lead the troops here. I just didn’t expect them to arrive so quickly,” Lancer explained.

“Your Highness!” When Toria arrived, everyone knelt on one knee, their right hands over their hearts in salute. “Enough, don’t waste time. Gawain, tell me about what’s inside. Lancer, fill in the gaps.” With that, all eyes turned to Gawain.

The two recounted their experiences, and finally, everyone saw the flower at their chests. “This is…” Merlin suddenly exclaimed. Lancer, however, stopped him with a single glance.

“What’s wrong, teacher?” Toria noticed Merlin’s astonished expression.

“Nothing. It’s just that the flower Lancer brought is quite rare—I’ve never seen it before.”

“Flower? Oh—teacher, we’re discussing strategies for dealing with monsters right now.” With that, she continued her discussion with the other knights, too focused on the issue of the monsters to notice Lancer and Merlin exhaling together.

To ensure the complete eradication of the monsters in the forest, Merlin was tasked with casting a barrier around its perimeter. Normally, this would be a task more difficult than slaying all the monsters, but for Merlin, descendant of the Lady of the Lake and the first Druid, it was a simple matter. He could cooperate with the elves to seal the forest. The reason the monsters couldn’t be slain outright was that as long as they didn’t threaten the elves, they could only be sealed; killing them would risk the elves’ corruption.

“My King, allow me to lead the vanguard!” As preparations for the campaign were made, Lancer suddenly knelt before Toria.

“Lancer…” Gawain was about to speak, but Lancer cut him off. “Gawain, don’t argue with me. Your destiny shouldn’t end here.” With that, he ignored Gawain and gazed at Toria.

“All right.” Toria’s feelings toward Lancer were complicated, but seeing his determined eyes, she nodded.

Seeing her nod, Lancer rose, leaning on his sword, and shouted, “Stingers! Assemble!” One after another, figures emerged from the ranks behind, gathering before him.

Silently observing the young faces before him, Lancer spoke, “You all forsook your illustrious status and countless honors to follow me in pursuit of my ideals. I am grateful. From today, I will relinquish my position as captain of the Stingers. Leit, you were the first to follow me. Now, I pass the captaincy to you.” He removed his mask, revealing a face covered in vivid purple magic markings. Ignoring the shock of those who saw his visage, Lancer handed the mask to Leit, standing foremost among them.

“Take it. From today, you are captain.” As Leit took the mask, stunned, Lancer turned away without another word.

“May you return victorious!” Gawain, seemingly aware of what was happening, suddenly shouted. Voices echoed after him: “May you return victorious!” “May you return victorious!” …

The shouts resounded through the forest. In that moment, Lancer turned, revealing a smile never before seen, and waved before vanishing from sight. Whether they liked Lancer or not, everyone saw him as a man of few words, or at least one whose mask concealed his expression. That sudden smile stunned them all.

“Have you decided?” As Lancer raced toward his stage, a voice only he could hear reached him.

“I’ve changed history, and the King is no longer as legend tells. I just hope to awaken her once more, to let her become the legendary King of Britain.” Lancer spoke to himself.

His original wish upon arriving in this era was to allow the King not only to be a perfect ruler but also to possess human emotions. Now, however, he realized perhaps only the perfect King could lead the lost subjects of this age. His actions had been eroding the nation’s future. Though it felt cruel to Toria, since she chose this thorny path, Lancer would help her walk it. Having been in this era just over two years, he suddenly felt the need to do something for this country before leaving.

“I was too naive. Since the era chose her, I should help her on that path, not change it and leave her lost. Let me correct it once more!” Two blood-stained, chipped Tang swords appeared in Lancer’s hands. The resolve that had begun to waver now hardened again.

“Let this era remember me—I am the Knight of Blood!” As Roman soldiers appeared before him, Lancer roared, disregarding their counterattacks, slaying every enemy in his path. Excitement surged within him. “I haven’t shouted such slogans since elementary school. Looks like my ‘chuunibyou’ buff hasn’t faded!” With his life assured, the ‘soul of adolescence’ long buried in his heart awakened once more.

“Our knight has cleared the path for us. Now, in the name of King Arthur, I order—forward!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

…

The first chapter of my self-made Fate history is nearly done. Next, I’ll write something more slice-of-life. I keep thinking about those battle transformations and find myself becoming a bit adolescent. While I don’t mind that, I’ve decided to take a break and write something lighter—thus ends this segment.