126 End of the Fun—No, Test

On the top floor of the royal palace, in the stargazing room, Merlin lay leisurely on a recliner. His eyes flashed with various bizarre colors, and a look of interest appeared on his face.

"Wow~! It was a close call there. Kay seems to be on the verge of giving in. But Lily has the protection of Avalon, so she should be fine..."

"Morgan seems to be struggling too? Heehee, these magical energy-nullifying weapons are indeed troublesome for a mage."

"Um? Bedivere is already out? Tch~ tch~ how did that happen so quickly? You have Airgetlam, and you still managed to mess up? Carelessness, huh?

"Ohh~! Lancelot is getting angry. Is he trying to snatch Bedivere back? That's some strong determination. Let's see if you can really pull it off~"

Using his clairvoyance, Merlin's gaze shifted continuously among everyone, presenting an impression of someone thoroughly enjoying a show.

"Hmm... It seems the weapon His Majesty obtained this time is very powerful. It feels like more than just magical energy; many other forms of energy should be affected too. Anyone who gets bound would be miserable..."

Merlin 'looked' toward Arkhan's room, gazing at the sacred and solemn golden cross. Suddenly, he froze.

"1, 2, 3... Ehh? There should be a total of twelve spears deployed. Where did the other two go?"

He wondered aloud, then activated his clairvoyance to trace the whereabouts of the remaining two golden spears.

After a moment, a horrified expression appeared on his face.

*Crash!*

Two golden spears with long chains suddenly pierced through the floor of the stargazing room, instantly penetrating the recliner.

Countless petals fell from the void, and Merlin's figure emerged not far away. Sweat covered his handsome face as he patted his chest with lingering fear.

"That scared me, Your Majesty! I almost went from Big Brother Merlin to Big Sister Merlin!"

Watching the two golden spears shaking their heads and wagging their tails towards him, Merlin chuckled helplessly.

"Your Majesty, I only said a few bad things... Isn't this too much?"

In response, two golden spears thrust forward.

Merlin constructed a sword from who knows where and effortlessly blocked the two golden spears.

"Hehe, easy-peasy~! Don't be fooled by my appearance. Even without magecraft, I'm pretty strong y'know~ Even if you bring on two more, I can still handle it without breaking a sweat!" Merlin proudly declared.

*Crash! Crash! Crash!*

Three consecutive golden spears burst from the ground, twisting in midair like ethereal serpents, their sharp tips directly aimed at Merlin.

A drop of sweat slid down his forehead, and a slightly forced smile appeared on his lips.

"Um, can I take back what I said earlier?"

===

In the room, Arkhan pressed his hand against the golden cross, using the sensory sharing from the Oath of Judah to observe everyone's situation.

From the current situation, facing the onslaught of the Oath of Judah, Merlin was doing the best. Even when facing five spears simultaneously, he wasn't at a disadvantage at all. Although he appeared busy and chaotic, Arkhan strongly suspected that this guy was deliberately putting on a show.

Apart from Merlin, there were Artoria and Lancelot, who showed no flaws, always maintaining a relaxed demeanor.

Kay's performance was a bit lacking. Several times, he was almost entangled by the golden chains, relying on Artoria's support to break free.

Morgan had it the worst.

The Oath of Judah had a powerful restraint on magical energy, rendering her magecraft almost useless, forcing her to dodge awkwardly.

"Even Rune is ineffective, huh? It seems the power of this Divine Key is much stronger than I thought..." Arkhan mumbled to himself.

The golden chains vibrated, proudly standing in front of him as if a child who aced an exam and was boasting to their parents.

"Okay, okay, I know you're strong..." Arkhan chuckled helplessly. Though this Divine Key was spirited, its personality seemed like an immature child.

'It should be enough; playing further would be excessive...' Arkhan pondered inside his mind and then made a decision. "Okay, that's it, Judah."

Suddenly, the people engaged in the struggle noticed that the golden spears in front of them paused for a moment, then, without any coordination, retreated in the direction they came.

"What..." Artoria and Kay exchanged glances, then decisively followed.

They had to figure out the origin of this thing!

Ten minutes later, they followed the traces of the chains to a certain room. They looked at the dozens of large holes chiseled into the walls, showing a hint of surprise on their faces.

"If I remember correctly, this should be Teacher's room, right?" Kay furrowed his eyebrows. "Could it be that the real target of the intruder is Teacher?"

Hearing Kay, Artoria's delicate face immediately became extremely serious. She was about to open the door when footsteps reached her ears.

Turning to the left, she saw a familiar figure in a black dress with blue edges emerge from the corner.

"Elder Sister?"

Kay also heard the footsteps, turned to the right, and saw a familiar figure carrying a golden sword.

"Lancelot?"

The four of them were momentarily confused, then seemed to realize something and said in unison:

""Did you guys also get attacked by those golden spears?""

"Turns out it's true..." Kay looked somewhat surprised. "I thought it was only Lily and me who were attacked, didn't expect everyone else also the same huh..."

Lancelot nodded slightly.

"Bedivere and I were attacked in the training ground. Bedivere got hit by those golden chains by accident and was taken away. I chased after them to here to save him."

"I was attacked in my magic workshop..."

Morgan couldn't help but grit her teeth while speaking as she recalled the frustration of being suppressed by the golden spears.

"I want to see what kind of bastard dares to be so bold in the royal palace!"

Artoria furrowed her delicate eyebrows. Almost all the strongest people in the palace were attacked simultaneously. Could it be that the intruder intended to restrain them so they could take action against the king without disturbance?

*Squeak—*

Hearing the sound of the door opening, the four immediately tensed their bodies, their eyes showing strong vigilance.

However, when they saw the figure behind the door, they couldn't help but be stunned.

""Bedivere?""

Everyone was stunned.

Bedivere wore a wry smile as he stepped aside.

"Come in, everyone. Please rest assured; this is not any enemy attack or anything of the sort."

The four exchanged puzzled glances, hesitated for a moment, and finally put away their weapons and approached the room.

As they entered the room, they saw Arkhan sitting on the sofa, casually crossing his legs and smiling at them.

"So... How was it everyone? Did you find this test I arranged for you surprising?"