Chapter 5 – Recall the Tales

After making their way up to the second floor of the castle, Akatsuki turns around and block the entrance by piling a bookshelf over it.

"Probably won't hold them long but better than nothing." "Those knights are only capable of spawning outside the castle so we should assume that the castle probably has a defensive ability of its own on the inside." "The greatest defense of all would probably be..." The King of all Knights himself, Arthur Pendragon. "Does that thing even have a weakness that could be exploited?" Inaba who had no real knowledge of myths and legends could only rely on Akatsuki's insights.

"Hmm the death of Arthur Pendragon is mainly theories; either his nemesis Mordred killed him in the Battle of Camlann or that he suffered a fatal wound from Mordred in that battle and die afterwards." In some legends it was said that the king never died but was taken to the Island of Avalon to heal his wounds. But that's not to say that the king lived in the end either. He may have died in Avalon or another theory is that he lived and remains on that island waiting for the time where he will be called upon again by his country.

"I think we're drifting off topic." "Eh?" "Recall the tales and awaken the snow princess from her dream." The game was not centered on King Arthur but rather Snow White. Recall the tales part refers to the tales of Snow White, hence the name of the game. Awaken can mean two different things. To wake up from a dream or to wake up from fiction to face reality. The dream can mean two different ideas as well but it was unclear to which it was referring to." "Akatsuki-san really is smart..." "Still surprised?" Inaba could only nod. The idea of a brute force reliant person with brains did not mix in her head.

If anything a person like that is just outright dangerous!

"I've more or less figured out your identity as well Inaba." "Eh?" Inaba froze when she heard that.

"Wh-What are you talking about?" "Heh." With a satisfying grin on his face, Akatsuki gleams at Inaba as if sizing her up before a meal. To have their identities or origins discovered could be detrimental for a spirit or any sort of mythological entity really. The death parts of an entities origin could contain a hint to their weaknesses.

"Who knows? Should I spill the beans right here?" "No! Don't!" Inaba panics as Akatsuki began formulating a word with his mouth. She quickly covered the boy's mouth before he could finish.

"Anyways." Taking the hands of Inaba away from his mouth Akatsuki begins to speak once more.

"Just simply knowing the origin or something doesn't always mean that you could get a weakness out of it. At most you can get a vague hint." The legends of King Arthur in this case did not offer a clue as to how to defeat him in battle. But that was not Akatsuki's concern. If push comes to shove he'll charge through with his brute strength alone. It wasn't his concern if he could defeat the godly figure that they may face off against. Solving the riddle has more value since it was the objective of the game.

"Since it's centered on Snow White we should be recounting her story right?" "Exactly." The part that puzzled Akatsuki was the dream part. To recall the tales further. There has to be some sort of analysis on the story that could give him a sound answer to this riddle. Dream as in the idea of waking up from a coma. Dream as in waking up from one's fantasies to face reality.

Either answer seems possible.The cause of Snow White's dead like sleep state was due to the wicked queen's trickery of having her eat a poisonous apple core. To wake up in the original tales the apple core had to be dislodged from her throat.

"Wait..." If this was the after story of Snow White in the kingdom of Camelot after marriage with the prince who can be assumed to be King Arthur then she wasn't asleep anymore. The possible answer would be to awaken from one's fantasies and face the reality.

"I feel like I've been going around in circles..." "Did you figure it out?" "Yeah." "So what is the answer?" "Never mind it for now let's go to Shirayukihime first. Nah maybe I should start calling her Snow Black." Though Inaba was still a bit uncertain of their victory she nevertheless follows Akatsuki up to the third floor. She didn't know why but the confidence that shone from Akatsuki felt contagious as she herself felt like the chances of victory are in their favor. She smiles slightly without reason, the back of this boy looks awfully big. If it was him he should be able to shoulder this Circle and carry them back up to their former glory. None of this was a confirmation but she felt positive for the first time in three years.

"Akatsuki-san." "Hm?" "We'll definitely win right?" "Heh finally starting to sound confident huh?"