Chapter 104: Knights of the Roundtable

Zenkichi smirked as he pointed the spear at Gawain. "You think you can take me down? I've faced monsters and gods far more powerful than you. You're just a knight playing dress-up."

Gawain's eyes narrowed, his grip on his sword tightening. "Do not underestimate a Knight of the Round Table. We are the pinnacle of knighthood, chosen by the King herself."

Zenkichi chuckled, his confidence unwavering. "Chosen by the Lion King? That's cute. But I don't answer to any king or queen. I answer, only to myself."

Tristan stepped forward, strumming his harp with a calm expression. "You speak with great arrogance for one who knows not the might of the Lion King. We have seen countless heroes fall before her. You will be no different."

Zenkichi's eyes narrowed, a furious scowl on his face. "That's the problem, I'm no hero." He disappeared in a blur of movement, reappearing behind Gawain with his spear slashing at his neck. "I am, a God."

A steel sword clashed against Zenkichi's spear, stopping it just inches away from Gawain's neck. The sword looked flawless and simplistic, radiating an aura of heat and righteousness. It was the legendary Excalibur Galatine, Gawain's sacred sword.

The holder of the sword gritted his teeth, feeling the weight of Zenkichi's strength push against him. Veins popped around his arms, his temples covered with perspiration. He felt incredulous, he knew that a Divine Spirit was powerful, his king became one after all, but to think he, the knight with the greatest physical capabilities, would be losing in strength!

Fiery flames burst to life from Excalibur Galatine, amplifying Gawain's physical prowess and he quickly pushed Zenkichi's spear, the latter however wasn't pushed back, their weapons once again clashing with incredible force.

The heat from Excalibur Galatine intensified, illuminating the battlefield with a radiant glow as Gawain tapped into his true power.

As the sister sword of Excalibur, Excalibur Galatine is not as well known as a holy sword and rarely mentioned due to having its legend hidden in the shadow of King Arthur's holy sword. While Excalibur collects the lights from the planet, Sir Gawain's holy sword is said to represent the rays of heat from the sun with a Pseudo-Sun contained in the hilt.

Zenkichi grinned, "You dare use the power of the Sun, against a God whose domain is the Sun?" Intense began to radiate from him, his body glowing with a fiery aura.

The entire temperature in their surroundings intensified, as if the sun itself had descended upon the earth. The sand beneath their feet started to turn into glass, melting under the scorching heat. The air crackled with electricity and the sound of sizzling filled the air.

Gawain struggled to maintain his ground, his armor heating up under the immense power unleashed by Zenkichi; his armor, made to be highly resistant to heat, started to strain. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead as he gritted his teeth, refusing to yield.

Suddenly, a flash of blinding blue light flashed across Zenkichi's face, the air around him vibrated and numerous blue lines appeared all around Zenkichi.

He narrowed his eyes, feeling a stinging sensation, his clothes however, were torn to pieces.

"Kyaaaa!" A certain bunny eared girl cried out, covering her eyes with her hands.

"Tch. Not even a scratch? Ah, how sorrowful." Tristan clicked his tongue, strumming his harp with a frown smile.

Zenkichi looked down at his now exposed body, he shamelessly shrugged his shoulders and just went with it. It was probably going to get destroyed in the ensuing battle after all. "Impressive, but is that all the so-called Knights of the Roundtable could do?"

"Don't forget about me, asshole!"

Mordred roared as she charged at Zenkichi, an explosive burst of red lightning gathered around her body, her eyes cracked with excitement and fury as she held up her sword up and a pillar of crimson lightning erupted from her sword.

"Idiot! Don't use your Noble Phantasm!" Tristan slightly widened his eyes, trying to warn Mordred as Gawain was in her range of attack but it was too late.

"CLARENT BLOOD ARTHUR!"

The pillar of crimson lightning surged towards Zenkichi, engulfing him in its destructive power. The ground shook as the blast struck, sending shockwaves through the area and shattering the glass-like sand beneath their feet.

Zenkichi's fiery aura intensified, his body burning with an even brighter glow of silvery light. He raised his arm, infusing The Iron and all his other energy all throughout his entire body; increasing his defensive capabilities by several folds.

Gawain on the other hand, with trembling lips, raised his sword before him and hoped his strong body would be enough to withstand Mordred's Noble Phantasm. Also, he wasn't fast enough to dodge that at point blank.

The crimson lightning clashed against Zenkichi, causing an explosion of magical energy. Despite the strong force of the clash, Mordred merely grunted against the strong wind blowing against her body.

Zenkichi stood tall, seemingly unaffected by the attack. His fiery aura flared even brighter, illuminating the area with its intense light. A mocking, cocky sneer spread across his lips. "Is that all you knights could do?"

'To take on Mordred's Noble Phantasm at point blank without a single scratch on him, only the king could possibly do that!' Tristan inwardly said, perspiration on his temples. He glanced at the sprawled form of Gawain on the glass ground; black marks across his armor and face, his glorious cape set ablaze.

He was going to be angry when he wakes up.

'Powers of the Sun and has an 'invincible' body; who is this Divine Spirit? I know many Deities of the Sun, but none with the name of Zen. And those with the legends of an invincible body are few. If he didn't clearly use powers of the Sun, I would've thought of him as the legendary Trogan Hero, Achilles; with his invincible body and use of a spear.'

Tristan rubbed his chin in deep thought, 'Was the name he gave us a nickname? Most likely, no one is that stupid to reveal their true name. They say that beings of great power wouldn't easily give out their names, as it hold power... Wait, that normally applies to demons.'

Mordred growled, red lightning crackled around her body. "Alright you sunny bastard, I'm going to get serious!"

Zenkichi snorted, amusement flickering in his eyes. "Haha! Laughable, you speak as if I should be scared of you. Little girl, you remind me of a feisty kitten."

A popping vein appeared across Mordred's forehead.

"Huh?" She angrily muttered through gritted teeth.

'Zenkichi, you're being mean to the girl.' Brunhilde reprimanded him, sounding displeased.

'Pssh, a little jab wouldn't hurt nobody.' Zenkichi waved her off.

"Come here, kitty, kitty." Zenkichi curled his fingers at Mordred, like what you normally do when calling for a cat.

Unsurprisingly, that pissed off Mordred further.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!" The glass ground under her foot broke into pieces as she rushed at Zenkichi with bloody murder in her eyes.

"Sir Mordred, no, wait!" Tristan tried to stop her but it was to no avail, Mordred was too furious to hear reason from anyone. He gritted his teeth and began strumming his bow, abundant magical energy converged in his body.

"Failnaught!"

There was a bright flash of blue light hitting Zenkichi's heart, before a barrage of bullets that was moving at a speed beyond mortal comprehension started hitting him from all directions.

And yet, despite being hit by an attack that was moving beyond the speed of light and could kill anyone, Zenkichi was uninjured. He didn't even bat an eye towards Tristan's direction.

'T-That's impossible! Even with my fully activated Noble Phantasm, I wasn't able to hurt him?'

Zenkichi confidently smirks as he stares at Mordred coming at him with fury and killing intent, sword raised and poised to slash him down diagonally.

To the surprise of everyone present, Zenkichi dismisses his spear into motes of golden light and brings his armored fists up. In an expert use of Hirenkyaku, he appeared in front of Mordred in a burst of lightning speed and cocked his left arm back.

An unimaginable heatwave erupted from Zenkichi's fist, a brilliant golden sphere of light appeared over his fist as if it were a sun.

'The sun?' Mordred slowly thought as the fist struck her left check, snapping her head to the side with an audible crack and fiery flames engulfed her whole head.

"Sir Mordred!" Tristan cried out in shock and horror as Mordred's body fell to the ground, this time actually injured.

Zenkichi stood over her, his fiery aura still blazing. "You have potential, I'll give you that. But you're still just a child playing knight."

Gawain, who had finally regained consciousness, managed to crawl to Mordred's side. "You... you monster..."

Zenkichi chuckled, the flames flickering around him. "Call me what you will. But remember, I am a God. And gods do not bow down to knights or kings."

Tristan, his face pale, stepped forward. "Sir Gawain, take Mordred and retreat. I'll buy you both time." He strummed his bow, magical energy gathering around him.

"Sir Tristan..." Gawain looked at Tristan with a mix of gratitude and concern. "Are you sure?"

Tristan nodded, determination shining in his eyes. "I may not be able to defeat this... God, but I can at least delay him long enough for you to escape. Now go! Our king must know of this threat!"

Several strings appeared and bounded Zenkichi. He raised an eyebrow at the bindings and looked back at the Child of Sadness with a sneer.

Tristan gritted his teeth.

Gawain hesitated for a moment before scooping Mordred up in his arms and retreating, his heart heavy with the weight of defeat. Tristan stood tall, facing Zenkichi with unwavering resolve.

"God of the Sun, let's see how long you can last against the melody of the Knight of Lamentation," Tristan murmured and readied his bow.

"Oh Child of Sadness," Zenkichi grinned, raising his hand towards him and curled his fingers. "do your worst."

Tristan's fingers moved skillfully along the strings of his bow, producing a haunting melody that echoed through the battlefield. The air seemed to vibrate with the sorrowful notes, as if the very essence of sadness had taken form.

Zenkichi's expression flickered for a moment, a hint of surprise in his eyes. But he quickly regained his composure, his fiery aura growing even brighter in response. He waited to see what the man, the unluckiest knight in the Roundtable, could do.

'Compress, I'll have to further compress my strings if I want to pierce this man's invincible body!' Tristan thought as he concentrated his magical energy.

Tristan's bow, Failnaught, was called a "bow that always hit its target"… but the form of this Noble Phantasm is nothing but a mere "string". He used the string of his favorite harp, and he flicks off the air by shaking this string, firing what should be called a vacuum arrow. The strength behind this Noble Phantasm wasn't its power, but its speed. Because the velocity of the arrow, the bow's angle adjustments, and above all, the loading speed of its arrows are all unusual, it is almost impossible to avoid the entire bullet, no matter how fast the hero is that excels in speed. It seems that the only ways for one to oppose this is by jumping dimensions, move one's body outside of its range, and so forth.

However, Zenkichi's body was of the invincible category due to his skill, The Iron, and the passive skill of his Cattish Tale. Anything outside of a A+ Noble Phantasm infused with Divinity or Divine Authority would likely not be able to penetrate his defenses. Nonetheless, Tristan persisted, his fingers moving with incredible dexterity as he continued to play his melancholic tune.

The strings of Tristan's bow vibrated, releasing arrow after arrow towards Zenkichi. Each arrow moved with incredible speed, aiming for the slightest gap in his defenses. But no matter how precise the shots were, they all seemed to be deflected or absorbed by Zenkichi's fiery aura.

Zenkichi chuckled, his fiery aura intensifying with each failed attack. "Is that the best you can do, Knight of Lamentation? Your sorrowful melody is quite beautiful, but it is no match for the power of a God."

Tristan gritted his teeth, frustration evident in his eyes. He had hoped that his Noble Phantasm, with its exceptional speed and accuracy, would be able to pierce through Zenkichi's defenses. But it seemed that even his best efforts were in vain.

Zenkichi raised his hand, the flames around him growing hotter and brighter. "I grow tired of this little game. It's time to end this."

A wave of intense heat radiated from Zenkichi, causing the very air around their battlefield to shimmer and distort. Tristan felt his skin prickling from the scorching heat, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He knew that he wouldn't be able to withstand Zenkichi's full power.

The strings that covered Zenkichi's body dissipated from the heat. He took a step forward and a strangely familiar dark sword appeared in his hand, flames and crackles of lightning engulfed the blade.

'Lightning? This God also has Authority over Lightning as well?!' Tristan's eyes widened, he knew that the God front of him was holding back, but he didn't know it would've been that much!

"It's over, Child of Sadness." Zenkichi muttered as he walked towards Tristan's direction.

Tristan tried to move away, only to find out that he couldn't control his body! 'W-What? What did he–'

"Out of my respect of your legend, I'll cut you down with the power of one of your brothers in arms." He poised his sword in front of him and raised it up.

"I think it was called, Arondight Overload!"

He slashed down at Tristan, and a line of blue light appeared.

"Y-You..."

"Goodbye, Knight of Lamentation."

Blood spurted, and Tristan disappeared into motes of golden light.

For a brief moment, there was only silence in the glass land.

Zenkichi straighten his back and turned to the silent Egyptian girl that was riding on one of her Sphinx.

"Now, you."

'H-Have mercy...!!' Nitocris went pale white.

.....

❄️Shout-outs to the best Reincarnators of my world of patreon:

•terrence L mccall

•LowTierDood

•Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

•DCor

•ronald.foster

•FalseBeing

•Lustful-Angel96

❄️A bigger shout out to the who ascended to become a One Above All!!

•Daniel Reis

•Vora

•Adrian Durand

•Jonathan