The Return of the King

A young man sat...

In a random corner in the devastated Slum District of the Kingdom of Selvenia, he sat.

He hated the world. He hated the Waves. He hated the Great Shift. He hated himself for being weak.

Hate.

It was all what was left of himself.

Until one day...

"Hey, you. Be my disciple. I don't wanna waste time searching for whatever talent or bullshit my superiors are whining about, but it's convenient you're here."

A hand reach out for him.

"You know me?"

"No. But you're the first person I saw, so it's gotta be you."

"That's just plain laziness."

"I value my time after all."

"..."

Even if the young man knew that she was just speaking bullshit about valuing time, for some reason, he felt like accepting...

"Alright."

...and that he did.

"Great. Now listen carefully on who I am, okay? I am the Holy King of Selvenia, Arthur. A Master of the Third Step, and the wielder of the Divine Weapon, Excalibur. Nice to meet you...err...what was your name again?"

"Lancell."

"Okay. Nice to meet you, Lancelot."

And so, the legend of the Divine Sword, Lancelot began.

◇◇◇

After seeing that Arthur had now calmed down, Lancell put him down as he told her to follow him.

For some reason, he suddenly recalled his past where he was taken as a disciple by this bold and unrestrained girl, and a small smile unknowingly formed on his face.

'Seriously, she's just plain trouble.'

She was a genius in the Heroic Path as she had managed to reach the Third Step within only 4 years. An unprecedented event, and she was acknowledged as the second coming of the Divine King, hence her title.

'That's why, I need her talent. She might become a powerful asset for the battle against the Calamity Dragon.'

Lancell had never been a man of sentiment and bonds, but at least he now knew what he needed to do.

No one can beat the Calamity Dragon alone. He knew that more than anyone else. And more importantly, he at least knew how to repay debts.

Lancell would never let a debt go unpaid. Whether be good or bad, he'll pay it back with interest.

Lancell glanced at Arthur once more, but she seemed to be in deep thoughts.

"Not gonna ask anything?"

Arthur snapped out of her daze after hearing Lancell's voice, she then looked at Lancell and answered.

"Ah. No, it's fine. As long as I get stronger, I don't care about anything else."

Lancell looked forward, as if reminiscing about something. Arthur saw nostalgia in his eyes, as well as blazing desire. It was familiar for her, as everyday, when she looked at her face in the mirror, she would see a similar look on her face.

"Yeah, I know. I'm like that too. Even if it means dragging down someone, I'll do anything to get stronger."

Arthur was a bit dazed at his words as she suddenly felt some sort of connection between her and Lancell. It was then she realized one thing...

"Hey, come to think of it, what's your name. I can't just call you 'Hey' forever, right?"

"It's Lancell."

"Lancelot?"

"Are you messing with me?"

"Ah! No no no, that wasn't what I meant. I was just curious about this coincidence.

Lancell sighed as he knew what was going on the girl's mind. She was at that age after all. She was prone to believing bullshits like 'Destiny' or 'Fate' or whatever.

"I'm not messing around with my name."

"I see... I'm Arthur."

"Okay..."

"You totally don't believe me at all, do you?!"

"Of course I do."

Arthur grit her teeth at Lancell's behavior. They looked like they were at the same age, yet he acted like he was a mature kind of big shot.

'Well, considering that he's a warrior, I guess he at least have a bit of background. Probably.' Arthur thought.

Thinking about his background made her curious, so she wanted to ask about it, but before she could speak, Lancell had informed.

"We're here."

Arthur suddenly snapped out of her thoughts as she looked at the place they were gonna enter. It looked like som sort of underground passage, but she wasn't sure if this was here before. After all, she didn't remember seeing it here before, so maybe Lancell did something to make it appear?

Without waiting for her to answer, Lancell entered the passage with calm steps. Arthur followed along, but she was getting nervous. The place was dark, so she couldn't avoid thinking about 'those' kind of scenarios.

However, it had seemed her worries were unfounded as after a while of walking straight, they had reached some sort of room. An absurdly beautiful blond haired girl waited for them, and she stood in the middle of a magic circle.

'Is she a Wizard?' Arthur thought as Wizards were those who Treaded the Path of Magic that specialized in Magic Circles.

They were valued around the world as they were capable of making barriers that spanned the sized of a city, making entrapment magic circles, and sealing formations.

Arthur wondered what a Wizard might be doing here in the Slum District, but suddenly remembered about an experiment.

She suddenly grew nervous again but there was no going back now. Arthur saw Lancell approach the beautiful girl, and asked.

"Is it done?"

"Yes. It should be the place where she rested." The girl answered.

Arthur was a bit curious about who they were talking about, but a voice prevented her from doing so.

"Arthur, get inside the magic circle." Lancell instructed.

"C-Can I ask what this does?"

"Not telling, so get inside and don't waste time."

Arthur's frustrations grew as she kept interacting with Lancell. This guy was arrogant, and doesn't even have a shred of respect to people at all!

'Okay, calm down, me. It's for the sake of power. Compared to that, this is a minor sacrifice.' Arthur spoke to herself.

She entered the magic circle, and the moment she did, the beautiful girl, Arkenvalle suddenly disappeared into countless light particles as a sword appeared in Lancell's hands.

An extremely powerful aura suddenly exploded from Lancell as he tapped into the very Laws of the world itself, letting Arkenvalle do most of the job.

He stabbed Arkenvalle into the ground, and the Magic Circle lit up brightly while he focused on listening towards Arkenvalle's instructions.

("Focus. Use me as medium to draw her existence from that world.")

They were trying to do the impossible and take back what was lost.

("That's it, Lancelot! I found her!") Arkenvalle informed as her sword form lit up even brighter and the Laws around them became more chaotic.

Space was twisting, Time had slowed down, and the Laws of Life and Death became obscure as the Laws of Rebirth was altered.

It was an idea that Arkenvalle had proposed a long ago. After half a year ago, she had gained better understanding of her own power, and the ability to tap into the world's Laws.

Although she couldn't bend it freely as it would cause a backlash like a rubber bouncing back after being stretched, she could temporarily make them obscure and use the Laws of Rebirth within her to connect into the past that Lancell remembered.

And now, they were finally putting it into practice.

The entire process lasted for half an hour before it began to settle. The light in the magic circle began to dim as Lancell, who didn't actually do much, wondered whether it had worked.

("So how did it go, Valle?") He asked, but received no response.

("Valle?")

Still no answer.

Lancell started to get unnerved, but as he began to, a voice interrupted him.

"If you're talking to Arkenvalle, then it's useless. She probably won't be able to respond for a few days."

It was a familiar voice, yet at the same time different. It belonged to Arthur, but it was much bolder, more confident, and much more wild.

Lancell turned his head, and saw Arthur holding a golden greatsword.

He recognized that sword. There was no mistaking it. It was the Divine Weapon, Excalibur. The weapon used by one of the greatest Heroes he had ever seen, and the fact that it was here, meant one thing.

The Divine King, Arthur, had finally returned.