Rain

(Artoria POV)

Today is the day....

The day i finally get out of this hellhole.

I had already changed my casual clothes, now wearing a blue and white dress, looking quite stunning in fact. I never liked suits and male, knightly clothes anyway.

I drooled thinking about how Morgan would look like in dresses like this though.

No, this is not the time. I should not be thinking about such dark and wicked desires at the time of ceremony!

But just a little bit.....

*Knock* *Knock*

I was snapped out of the filthy parts of my mind by the sound of someone knocking on the door.

"Come in"

And came in the angelic maid.

I still haven't figured out her agenda with this whole ceremony, but of course she will have to show her colors today.

"Lady Artoria, preparations have been completed, your father has asked you to come and begin the ceremony."

Hearing that, i stood up and looked at myself in the mirror. Just some last minute checking.

After that i walked out of the room with the maid in tow, before the maid spoke out again.

"Lady Artoria, My master wishes to give you a fair warning: Be wary and prepare yourself to fight."

Hearing that, i could make a few guesses about her identity but i knew someone like her, who has infiltrated the place and only now decided to give me a piece of advice, would never tell me anything about herself either.

There is just one little concern...

What am i supposed to do with Morgan? She isn't strong enough to protect herself when these attackers come, and i can't be in 2 places at the same time.

I wouldn't dare asking her to protect Morgan either. Even if there is a small, minuscule chance, i still wish to believe that she hasn't found out about Morgan being a reincarnation.

More than anything, i don't trust her enough to just straight up tell it to her.

Giving her a nod, i decided to stay silent until we reach our destination, the gardens.

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In the gardens, i can see the nun, this time without her 2 partners, my mother and my father, along with multiple old men. Elders of the clan i assume.

My attention was then attracted to the soft humming of holy energy, coming from the ends of the garden. That should be Caliburn. It has a rather gentle aura.

I was snapped out of that thought as i saw my father getting close to me.

I have been.....conflicted, since our last conversation.

He is right in a way.

If i want to be heir to this clan, i can't half-ass my path. I need to wholeheartedly commit into it.

But on the other hand, i don't feel like committing my efforts into this family. A more normal, and safer life with Morgan sounds a lot more beautiful than anything this family is offering me. So i suppose at the end of the day, i just wasn't the person he wanted. I wasn't the Arthur he expected.

*Sigh*

Its either steal Caliburn and kidnap Morgan, which already makes me drool.

Or, take Caliburn, become the new head, and cut all relationships with Morgan, which makes me question my live's happiness.

When its put that way it really isn't the hardest choice.

I will be bringing shame to this man's name.

"Artoria, you look stunning."

"Thank you, father."

"The ceremony will begin in a about 30 minutes, the sword will be brought here, it will be put in a pedestal just like how it was 1400 years ago. I believe you will be able to draw it Artoria. Make me proud." He said, this time with a genuine smile. No i am not kidding he is actually smiling GENUINELY.

I was taken aback for a moment and couldn't answer him, before he passed by me.

Ahhh, it is probably for the best though, isn't it? Those words should remain unanswered.

Looking around for a bit, i decided to just join the nun from before.

Its either sitting with the nun or sitting with the old men.

"It is good to see you in good health, miss. Emilia." I started.

"It is good to see you too, my lady." She said with her sweet smile.

Sitting beside her, gave me a feeling of comfort. She has a motherly aura around her. Well i suppose she is a sister who takes care of orphans quite often.

Though i would have preferred if she hadn't been here.

"You don't look like someone who is about to celebrate her birthday. Something on your mind?" The nun said.

"Not really. I am just considering the decision ahead of me. This is a point of no return after all." I answered, not really minding the conversation.

She put her hands on her chin in a thinking position and nodded her head a few times before responding:

"Typically i would say, it is too early for people your age to think like that, but i suppose this is an exception. You see Artoria, sometimes, when we wish to make an important decision like this, we will exprience internal conflicts. This is because of the unknown elements of future. If you make this decision, you may lose everything you have had in your past 14 years, and you have no idea what you might gain in the future either, so you feel conflicted on whether to commit into this decision and risk everything. The goal of living, is to make a comfortable life you feel satisfied with. So if you already feel satisfied with what you have, then there is no need to change anything. But if you don't feel happy with everything that has happened in your past, then maybe its time to change something for the future." Advised the nun.

If i don't feel happy with it then change it for the future huh.

That makes it so much simpler and more clear.

It also makes me realise the lack of a mother figure in my life. Now that i think about it, there was never a time where i had sat and talked like this to my mother.

Don't get me wrong, i like my mother. But why do i feel like her presence was awfully lacking sometimes?

I shook my head. Its not time to dwell on those thoughts now. Lets just try to calm down and get ready for the escape plan.

"Hey Emilia, you said you were sent here to bring me comfort since the cardinals have known about my conflicting relationship with my family correct?"

I will be using you for a bit.

"Yes my lady, that is indeed correct." She said, confused with me bringing this up out of the blue.

"I will need you to guard the main hall in the house in case something happened, can you do that for me?" I asked, not giving her a direct address to Morgan's bedroom, but just the hall that stands in the way of her bedroom.

"Yes that is acceptable, but i have to ask, why do you want me to guard there?" She asked, now getting a bit suspicious.

"Nothing really, i just have a bad feeling about this ceremony, and there are important artifacts hidden beneath that hall." I answered, not really lying, as there are artifacts there, but they are hidden in the underground area and locked behind a billion puzzles, that are put there to waste time.

Her eyes widened in shock for a moment, before regaining her composure.

"Hmm i understand my lady. I will make sure to guard your treasury. If it makes you even a little less nervous, then it falls into my obligations." She said.

"Thank you Emilia. I am happy you are here for me." I said to her with the most grateful smile i could muster.

This way even if we do get attacked, this nun will at least come and defend the hall for some time, giving me enough breathing room to make a run for Morgan's bedroom, and initiate the escape plan.

She decided to silently observe her surroundings after that, visibly more vigilant than before.

Good, thats a bit less pressure for today.

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Time passed quickly and i was brought to the middle of the garden, where a sword was stuck in a pedestal. I could feel that both the sword and the pedestal were enchanted by some kind of sealing spell.

The sword itself was...in the simplest term, beautiful. It was clearly a ceremonial sword as distinguished by the heavy use of precious material and conspicuous ornamentation.

Other than that, it was perhaps a bit longer than an standard straight sword, having a total lengh of 120 centimeters i believe. It actually almost looks the same length as my height which is kinda funny.

As for the power of the sword....

The holy energy it radiates is much higher than the fragments of Excalibur, and Antares believed those swords have high class holy energy in them, so i guess this should be ultimate class.

I could also feel that the sword was holding a spacial barrier around the mansion.

Getting close to the weapon, i put my hand on top of it's handle, and suddenly stopped as i felt a burst of holy energy going through my body, inspecting and judging every inch of my body, before stopping at my heart.

With a small amount of force, i tried moving the sword.

*Creeeek*

It moved a little!

This means i can wield it. Adding a bit more force to it, i tried taking it out of the pedestal, but it just didn't move anymore at all.

Tracing the holy energy, i found it humming inside my chest for some reason. No longer inspecting my body, just silently sitting in my chest.

The sword obviously moved, which means i am capable of wielding it, but then suddenly stopped. Does it want me to do something?

'Does it want me to show him my heart? My goals? The reason why i want to use it?' I thought, confused.

I closed my eyes and prepared myself to commit into this. No half assing things.

'My heart was always in one place and that is with my sister. I wish to use this sword's power to help her, free her and protect her.'

*Creeek*

'I am not a hero, or a king like my ancestor was, that is something i had come to terms with years ago. I am who i am. Just a girl wishing to live a simple life with her loved ones.'

*Creeeeek*

'I have myself to protect. I have a sister i wish to protect. And well....even a friend i guess. A friend who taught me more about swordsmanship than anyone else in my life. A friend who has supported me until now, and i think i can count on from now on too.'

*Creeeeeek*

'I don't want to disappoint them. I want to be worthy of their kindness, and to repay them with my own. I want them to happily smile.'

*Creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek*

As i opened my eyes, i saw that the sword had completely came out of the pedestal, a golden glow surrounding it as it hummed in my hand.

"Heh, hehe, hahahah It worked! I got it." I exclaimed, the feelings of excitement and happiness evident in my voice and my shaking body.

I was even ready to go for a victory lab.

While i was excited on my own, i noticed the elders coming towards me.

But just when i was about to turn around.....

*Boooooooooooooom*

A magical explosion engulfed them all, killing most of them instantly, and even severely injuring those who had time to put up barriers.

Well forget about tje victory lab i guess.

Looking at the direction of the magical trace, i noticed a maid pointing a magic circle at the elders, shooting a second nuclear blast.

Thinking quickly, i moved in front of the elders and tried to use Caliburn's ability to cut space.

As the fiery explosion came closer, i prepared my stance, and slashed at the air, cutting the space in front of the explosion, effectively throwing it into the outer spaces of the dimensional gap.

Immediately after that, i charged forward and cut off the maid's arms, but she didn't seem to react to it at all. Her body just went limp, before hitting the ground.

But just after hitting the ground, i sensed the activation of a sigil.

'Merely a suicidal puppet.'

Eyes widened i immediately used Touki to shield my body, as the maid's body turned bright red from inside and then exploded into my face.

After the dust settled down, i regained my bearings and looked around, only to find my father protecting the surviving elders, and my mother, running inside the mansion with Emilia guarding her, as more than a hundred maids surrounded us from all sides.

I gritted my teeth thinking about these maids. They are innocents in this, but now even if i don't kill them, they will just explode anyway.

Meanwhile i felt a shift in the air and a shattered sound.

"The barrier around the mansion broke!" Shouted my father.

And at that moment a giant golden magic circle appeared in the sky, out of which hundreds of woman, wearing robes and holding staffs came out.

'Magicians' I thought, recognizing their style of clothing. But the magic circle was diffrent from what is typically used by magician organizations, i know that because Morgan studies them. So they have to be rogues.

The magicians spread out through the gardens and the mansion, while we were busy dealing with the maids.

In this moment, i couldn't help but worry about Morgan now.

There was momentary thought, about simply using Caliburn to go through the space dimensions and save Morgan and run.

But....

Looking at my father and mother, i.....

I won't be abandoning them now. They may not have been the perfect parents but they were still something of a parent. Consider this, my last act as a Pendragon.

Just need to deal with these suicidal maids sooner rather than later and then make a run for it.

Just as i was making this decision though, a huge wave of holy energy suddenly exploded from the other side of the gardens, wrecking things around and burning many of the magicians alive.

At a closer look, we all managed to see the silhouette of a woman flying, 8 black feathered wings on their back. The woman, definitely the maid, turned and looked at the upper floors of the mansion, before she released a burst of holy energy, which turned into purple particles.

The purple particles came together and formed a massive gate with the same color. The gate opened up as the sound of something roaring came out of it, and just a few seconds after that, a gigantic purple western dragon came out of it.

The woman seemed to talk to the dragon about something, before she flied into the direction of the magician's teleportation circle.

The dragon meanwhile, turned his head towards the entrance of the mansion, and with a single breath, burned any servant or magician that was trying to enter, after which, he planted his royal backside, in front of the mansion, safeguarding it.

Today is the day of weird things.

Ignoring the dragon for now, i focused on eliminating the magus in front of me first.

____________________________

(With Morgan)

Just what is happening outside?

First there is the Barrier shattering, then explosions, then a dragon, not my doll, a real world dragon, roaring and shaking the mansion.

This place isn't safe anymore, obviously we are under attack.

Opening the door of my room just slightly and peeking through the door, i managed to see groups of servants and magicians moving around the hallways.

Seeing the scenery i immediately closed the door, making sure it was audible enough for them to hear it, before going and hiding in the closet.

And as i had expected, 3 magicians and 2 maids entered the room to investigate.

Allowing the magicians to get close to the closet, i pointed a magic circle to the closet door, blasting it off with a massive torrent of conductive water and hitting all the magicians behind it.

I sprang out of my hiding, another magic circle pointing at the ground, out of which came out a blue wave of lightning, aiming at the water, the moment the electricity came into contact with that water, it also targeted all of the maids and magicians, frying them and knocking them unconscious for a while.

'Think smarter, not harder.' I thought, satisfied with my handiwork.

Taking my new staff and walking out of the room, i saw the stairs right in front of me.....

But i also saw 2 groups of magicians on either side of the hallway, surrounding me.

"Oh my, look at that. A cute little magic girl. And here i thought who would have caused all that noise that we heard coming from here. Turns out it was just a little rascal."

'Okay maybe that wasn't the smartest thinking.' I thought, now frightened. There is no way i can fight so many.

'Come on Morgan, think fast. Its either a suicide run to the stairs or trying to outsmart a battalion of witches surrounding you.'

"Ah are you thinking about escaping? How cute. Don't worry we won't do anything bad to you, you are just too adorable with that staff, we might just take you as a slave or something. I promise we won't hurt you." Said another woman while licking her lips.

What the hell?

Just as i was preparing an air force spell to help me speed through the stairs, i heard a cold voice, sending chills down my spine.

"Ara~ara~ what is this? A group of pedo witches gathering around a baby girl, planning on slaving her? Do you have any idea how many commandments of god you just broke? I am afraid as a nun, i just can't allow your filth to stay in this paradise any longer."

I saw a nun with my mother coming upstairs. Looks like i am safe to some extent.

"Lady Pendragon, i would suggest you take the girl and make a run for it. Watching my future actions is not recommended for children below 14." Continued the nun.

Mother nodded at that and quickly grabbed my hand and dragged me down stairs as we heard the sound of women screaming from upstairs.

When we reached the hall, we made a turn to the left, towards the servant's rooms and i realized the place is getting more quite as we go on.

Finally, we reached a servant's room and decided to take shelter there until further notice.

Noticing that the danger was away, i decided to asked the important question:

"Mother how are the others doing? Where is my sister? What is happening?"

She looked at me for a second before letting out a sigh and explaining:

"It seems your sister wanted to get away from the family and the church. In order to do that, she had made a deal with a group of magicians and attacked us now. Your father is currently holding her down, trying to take back Caliburn from her."

When i heard those words, something inside me just snapped. It wasn't new to me, this had happened multiple times before. My reincarnation was special. I didn't receive any memories but sometimes i get feelings that aren't my own, i enter a trance and receive thoughts that don't belong to me.

And now, that thing inside of me, was really furious.

"Don't worry Morgan. Everything will be okay. Your sister is just making a rash decision. It will all end soon."

Something inside of me roared.

'She thinks she can lie to me? To meeee? I am literally the one who invented the concept of witches, and she thinks she can trick me?'

Trickery.....

My mother used spells on the servants.....

The servants rebelled against us....

The magicians attack.....

Mother's spells...

"Morgan are you okay baby girl?"

'Kill her!'

"You are lying! You were the one who contacted the witches! This is your doing." I screamed as i took some distance from her.

"Ehh.... what are you talking about? Why would i endanger my own family." She said.

I didn't even bother talking at that point. I slammed the head of my staff into her face with all my strength.

She was clearly taken aback by that action as she didn't even defend herself, allowing the staff to hit her and make a mess out of her teeth.

She spat a bloody tooth out of her mouth, before turning her head around to my direction, long gone were those kind and concerned eyes, now replaced by furious eyes that promised pain.

"You know, it is not optimal to use an immature body. It really isn't, but i suppose some people just don't need to live until their physical maturity." She said, now grinning like a feral beast.

She used a magic circle to freeze my legs, slapped my staff away, and then grabbed my neck, suffocating me.

At that moment, something activated inside of me, i could feel it. Some foreign magic was coming from my mind.

As i tried resisting the magical energy, i thought of ways to get out if this situation, but the only solution came from a furious voice within me.

'Kill her, just kill her already!'

I did have a thing up my sleeve that could be useful. A gift i had received from my sister the first night she came back.

While i was thinking on that however, i felt a strong force pulling my mind ever so slowly.

I focused my mind on the shape of the object i wanted, and i felt a click in my head, as i knew the object has been successfully projected.

I clenched my right hand, seemingly grabbing the air, before plunging it into Alessia's chest.

*Blurt*

Blood flowed from her heart and her mouth, as it covered the invisible object in my hand, revealing the bloody shape of something resembling a sword. This was Excalibur transparency, the sword that my sister didn't give to father.

"Damn you...you accursed witch. Damn...you...and your...sister." Said Alessia with widened eyes, clearly on her deathbed.

I was too busy trying to stabilize my mind however. The spell had worked, just not the in the way it was intended. Even if it was just for a few moments, my mind was pulled to hers. I felt knowledge coming in and out, emotions of hate, anger, frustration. Things. that weren't my own.

I have never felt such an immense headache in my life ever before.

A few seconds later, with my mind a bit more stabilized, my attention was brought to the pale, soon to be dead corpse in front of me as i pulled the sword out of her chest.

She stumbled a bit, before hitting the ground.

"Why.....spell..." She said, as her eyes lost their color, her heart beat finally stopping.

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I just stood there, silently looking at that corpse. The weight of what i just did, hitting me.

*Boooooom*

The door was slammed open, a figure with blonde hair was visible, as she took in the corpse and the blood in the room. Her eyes widened, horror evident in them.

"Morgan you..."