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Final battle of Camelot started (211)
🕑 Added 2023-05-23 22:21:22 +0000 UTCIn YGGDRASIL, all players possessed an internal clock – which was surprising to Ainz. The game company actually allowed something to be free, sure it’s a basic part of any online game UI, but it was surprising for the company to forgo a possible way to fool Players into losing their sense of time.
There’s a reason why there are no clocks inside Casinos.
Anyway, with the clock, at any moment, a Player could look at the corner of their field of view and determine the exact time, indispensable for any Raid. Just like in the movies, it allowed them to orient themselves by the seconds, by knowing the exact time on how long this or that boss, this or that animation, this or that phase would last.
In a Singularity, however, Ainz was deprived of this luxury, he doesn’t even have a watch!
Furthermore, he doesn’t know how to tell the time by the sun or the moon. And so, for this final battle in the Singularity, all he could do was to transmit through his magic and communication with the Servants the order to begin the battle at the start of dawn. Watching the stars begin to disappear in the early morning dew, disappearing with the darkness of night as the land was blanketed with the light of the early Sun, it was time to begin the attack.
If nothing else, the first opening volley would be bright enough as a signal – it’s not something that anyone could miss.
"Well, here we go…”
More accurately speaking, though, the dots of lights only looked like stars – with the only similarity being their explosive potential. The small glowing dots in the sky looked like beautiful night or morning stars, but instead of gradually fading with the arrival of the Sun, each one instantly began to fill with radiance and light. One by one they began expanding rapidly, turning first into comets that streak across the sky, then into huge glowing pillars of magic that moved at a speed that even the fastest Servants would have great trouble dodging them.
Finally, the falling stars crashed into the golden glowing walls of Camelot, causing them to flash gold for a moment as pinpricks of light rained on the Holy City, each drop resounding like the sound of thunder. Barrage after barrage barreled at the shining walls of Camelot, blinding anyone that looked in its direction closely – even so, Ainz did not need to see the walls to see the effect of the attack.
Semiramis' attack was strong, very strong – and they were utterly useless against the walls of Camelot.
But then again, that was not the goal.
The flashes of light sent by Semiramis were more to confirm Camelot's reaction than to actually do any damage. The attack that could scorch Servants foolish enough to let a powerful Caster build their power base was nothing more than a probing strike. For the walls of Camelot, enveloped by the Goddess' power, they were not even a shadow of danger. The comets disappearing after a moment, with only powerless flashes spreading across the walls of Camelot, the only proof that the attack happened at all.
"As expected." Ainz did not react in any way to this outcome, continuing to watch the impotent attacks of Semiramis' soaring fortress. After all, if Camelot's defenses had suddenly been destroyed by the Queen of Assyria’s usual attack, Ainz would rather be concerned about how unexpectedly easy he had succeeded.
His paranoia would not rest until the end of Singularity – and perhaps not even then.
However, looking at the way Semiramis' attacks only glided impotently across the golden light-covered walls of Camelot, on some level Ainz even felt something akin to calm. Precisely, because things were not so simple as for him to suspect a trap in the wings. "Semiramis is preparing the main bombardment at the moment… Hmm, I almost got hit by it in the past, but never got to see it in action up close, last time I was too distracted by the attack on me. I wonder what the attack from the soaring palace of the legendary… uhm, whoever she is?”
Ainz thought for a moment, trying to remember exactly what his other Servants had managed to tell him about Semiramis during their conversation, but could not recall the specifics, deciding to discard that information as unimportant. "Never mind, the important thing is that I now have the opportunity to watch a shot from a giant flying palace… Hmm, come to think of it, does the term 'mecha' apply to Semiramis' palace in this case? There really weren't any flying fortresses in YGGDRASIL, at least ones that we had to fight in its entirety entirety from the ground."
Moments later, while Semiramis' bombardment continued, Camelot hadn’t responded in any way, then again they were as dangerous as drops of rain. This next attack, however, would definitely elicit a response. Ainz was able to make out a decent distance away, behind the pounding rain of glowing arrows, Semiramis' soaring palace, and the slowly flaring glow of violet light in front of it.
Gradually the flaring distant light grew larger, larger and larger, before it consumed the soaring figure of the palace of Semiramis entirely with its violet radiance. The light intensified in each moment, before finally it was as if another small sun had lit up on the horizon. Then without a sound, that light seemed to deflate like a pierced balloon, the light shooting forward from the floating palace in a beam of light.
For a moment, Ainz even allowed himself to admire the aesthetics of such an attack, one that was decently strong even, though not enough to prove deadly to him. And for a moment, drawing closer to Camelot, it was as if the light were about to swallow the city, the white light of the beam fighting for dominance over the golden glow of the city.
For a moment it might have seemed that such a blow would prevail, overwhelming the city’s defenses, leaving no trace of it. But, as might have been expected, instead of an instant victory, Ainz heard only the words of someone from within, or rather, on the city wall, signaling the first response of the city. “Failnaught!”
The speaker's voice was quiet and sad, though it carried an unmistakable sense of power and confidence, in response to his call, the strumming of a harp resounded – and a moment later strings of light emerged from Camelot. Each one seemed to entwine around the beam of light of Semiramis’ attack, then more and more, each string like a whirlwind that threatened to cut anyone that was unlucky enough to be its target, and they were almost countless. Were its target flesh, then they would be ripped into pieces, right now however they were simply the prelude to the real attack.
The arrow blazed like light, smaller, dimmer than the attack it sought to stop, it seemed toy-like in comparison to Semiramis' all-consuming beam of light. It couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Crashing into the very center of the oncoming vortex, the attack was halted for barely a moment, Failnaught’s arrow slashed through with nary a pause. The arrow cut the beam of light into a kaleidoscope of glittering, harmless reflections, and yet that arrow continued on. As if it was unsatisfied, the arrow continued on to attack Semiramis’ castle, testing its defenses multiple times. Before it could attack for long, however, another arrow from inside Semiramis’ palace flew towards Tristan, causing him to lose control of his arrow, causing it to finally fall to the ground, resulting in a great explosion.
All the while, Camelot, flashed with golden light, seemed to remain perfectly still, not even noticing such a grand event a few meters from its walls.
"What a nostalgic view…” Ainz shook his head at this picture.
Tristan's special ability, or, more accurately, in this world, Tristan's Noble Phantasm, Failnaught.
In YGGDRASIL, it was a long-range attack capable of overcoming any physical obstacles placed in its path, hitting its target multiple times. And when multiple opponents were present, Failnaught would pick them one by one, similar to a ‘chain lightning’ spell or something similar.
But unlike those spells, Failnaught would not stop attacking if no second target was available, it attacked the original target again and again and again, until all its twenty procs were used. And it was impossible to dodge Failnaught’s attacks, with the damage inflicted also ignoring any defense. Each attack inflicts all three types of physical damage, stabbing, slashing and bludgeoning and several magical ones at once, pure magic energy, like ‘magical arrow’, fire, light and holy power.
"My heart is at peace." Ainz breathed out as he watched Semiramis' attack, sliced apart by Tristan's, as it imploded like an overflowing water balloon, then exploded with a flash of light. Of course, he wasn't calm about the fact that the Tristan of this world was using Tristan's abilities from YGGDRASIL.
Ainz had long ago learned by bitter experience not to make comparisons between the current world and his past, but rather Ainz was glad for the current development of the situation.
Tristan, whose death had been reported in the past by his Servants, was alive and able to defeat Semiramis' attack, one that is aimed at destroying Camelot's barrier. In other words, this was clearly a development of a situation that should have been called ‘unexpected’ and ‘negative’, and that's why Ainz was calm. Unexpected enemies and a surprise attack that shattered a seemingly proper plan to work was exactly what Ainz had expected and hoped for.
Furthermore, the fact that Camelot had needed to stop Semiramis’ attack, meant that its barriers were not as invulnerable as it might’ve looked.
“So everything is going as it should.” Ainz allowed the delusion in his mind that he was slowly beginning to turn into the very ‘master of all plans’ that the other people around him kept talking about, before dispelling the thought and returning to reality, smiling slightly.
"How good that I was counting on this kind of development after all, and prepared for it – just in case."
***
"How could he have foreseen such a thing!" Semiramis let her emotions overpower her for a second before her gaze tried to find the distant point representing Ainz before dispelling that thought. There was no way she could discern a person at this distance. Even the fact that her attack had failed came more to her understanding through her Hanging Gardens than through her vision. "That… That's impossible, so how did he foresee it?!"
Of course, Semiramis knew that she was not capable of handling Camelot alone, even with all her strength and the support of the Hanging Gardens. But she did not assume, could not allow even the thought that her strongest attack would be repulsed, and so easily at that. In fact her whole plan, if she were to be forced to stand against Camelot, was to use her strongest attack to open a breach in the walls of Camelot, for the other Servants to attack the city from. So Ainz's decision to leave Archer with her, Arash, whose aesthetics were completely out of sync with those of her palace, seemed unnecessary – even excessive - to her…
But then, not even a speck of dust had dirtied the walls of Camelot from her attack.
Somehow, Ainz was able to anticipate her opponent's actions, and had taken steps to ensure Semiramis’ safety. And so, when Semiramis' attack was repulsed, instead of Failnaught continued attacking Semiramis, the arrow in Arash's apt hand flew Tristan’s way, causing him to lose control of his Noble Phantasm, before he could direct it against Semiramis.
"Besides, who could have guessed that the dead Tristan would be alive! This is not on the level of a carefully laid plan, but on the level of foresight!" Semiramis gritted her teeth, as her opponent, that is, Ainz, just became more dangerous. Clairvoyance was possible, even mandatory for any Casters, but there was a difference between being able to see a hundred miles away, and seeing into the future of this world.
"And Tristan is much stronger than he should be!" Semiramis grit her teeth once more as she watched Arash send out arrow after arrow, each one meeting its match in the sky as Tristan and Arash dueled.
"Though a Noble Phantasm, why did it break through my attack so easily – and be ready to attack again so soon! Tristan should’ve been much weaker, his service to his Goddess couldn’t have given him this much power… What happened to Tristan?!"
After another moment, Arash fired several more arrows at once and Semiramis was able to finally break away from her musings, remembering the current situation before deciding to act. "The main gun might be unavailable for a while, but I still have plenty of guns in my arsenal!"
A moment later, an entire galaxy of dozens and hundreds of white, little star-like beams flew from the Hanging Gardens, trying to somehow break, squeeze, or at least scratch the shields that covered Camelot. But, the golden glow covering Camelot only responded to Semiramis and Arash's desperate attacks with a few bursts of light, the result was like trying to punch with a fist a steel beam. For all the loudness of clanging it might result in, to the steel beam such an attack meant nothing.
Blow after blow continued to scatter impotently against Camelot's shields, making Semiramis' face crease, as she muttered defeatedly to herself. “It's no good…”
Semiramis' Garden’s strongest attack was comparable in power to that of Excalibur, and should have breached Camelot's defenses – at least that’s what she had calculated. Her attack should’ve allowed the next attackers to proceed to attack the walls themselves, then sneak in, heading for the Goddess, giving them a small window of time and opportunity to deal with her.
But without that window…
No, the plan was still not in jeopardy! Besides Semiramis, there were other really strong allies capable of breaking through the walls of Camelot, but the loss of face that this would do to Semiramis herself… The damage to her prestige as the Queen of Assyria would be irreparable.
Losing to Ainz or the First Hassan was one thing – after all, who could fight the incarnations of Death after all? But the inability to fulfill her part of the mission during the battle? What did it matter if someone forced Semiramis into this plan or not, what mattered was that she could not fulfill it!
And that made Semiramis' blood boil with anger and indignation.
“Arash, deal with the barrier and Tristan, even if you have to sacrifice yourself!” The greatest weapon of the Hanging Gardens had to take some time to reload, so Semiramis used the next powerful weapon available to her.
“I'll try.” Arash replied without interrupting his attack, which broke impotently on Camelot's shields, before he spotted something, frowning as he shifted his eyebrows in interest.
"We have guests.”
Hearing this unpleasant, but in a way expected, remark, Semiramis concentrated on finding the uninvited guest. It didn't take much concentration from her to find the intruder.
The figure, moving across the battlefield at many times the speed of any other Servant, raising a huge column of dust as it moved, was quite visible no matter how inadequate one’s sight might be.
"If it turns out that Ainz had left this Servant here for a certain reason, too…” Semiramis allowed an annoyed glance at Xuanzang before sighing deeply.
"I will be very annoyed."
***
Semiramis was far from the only one who was capable of dismantling the barrier covering Camelot. But unlike everyone else except Ainz, Semiramis could do it by attacking from a safe, relatively speaking, distance. And, unlike Ainz, could do it without the surprising horrible consequences that tended to appear every time he used something really powerful from his arsenal.
At least that was what Medb had told him. And as a magnanimous King, he had chosen to believe her.
Still, she was not the only arrow in Ainz’s quiver, albeit the most convenient one of all.
The second most convenient option, after Semiramis, was himself, the Great Ramses the Second, Ozymandias. Using his Noble Phantasm, he was capable of crushing any opponent… Or at least, he should have been able to.
Could he destroy Camelot, even when Semiramis’ strongest attack didn’t even cause a pebble to be moved out of place? Well, to preserve his regal majesty, it was easier to say that the answer to that question was ‘unclear’.
In any case, Ozymandias was more than capable of creating a breach in the enemy's defenses sufficient to sneak in, for the rest of the Servants to rush towards the Goddess. Even if by doing so, Ozymandias would’ve been deprived of the opportunity to face the Goddess directly.
While he had the desire to face an adversary that would allow him to display his full might and majesty, in the end he was not one blinded by his ego. At the very least, he was practical enough to make a division between an acceptable display of his greatness and with the need to act according to plan.
After all, even as King of all Kings, more than aware of his greatness in this world, in the end Ozymandias was a ruler before being a king. Function over title, efficiency over effect, otherwise he would not have allowed himself to be so exalted if his greatness had no real reason, one that is greater than the archaeologists' old tales of his achievements.
And yet, even Ozymandias the Great had convictions that he could not abandon, even for a moment, no matter what his situation.
The first was that the most beautiful girl who had ever lived, and his only lover, was the beautiful Nefertari.
The second is that the holiest of all saints and his only real and true friend was his faithful brother, Moses.
And the third – no matter how many eras pass over the world, he was the greatest of all kings. He was Ra embodied, the one and only Sun who illuminated this world with his splendor.
And while this did not mean that Ozymandias wished to deny the fiery and luminous nature of the Sun of all other demigods or pharaohs. It meant that each of them had to worship him as a reflection of his greatness, and take on the heavy but blessed burden of being one of his most honorable servants.
And so when Gawain, Knight of the Sun, clothed in the glow of midday, stood in his way, Ozymandias' own plan was foregone.
After all, even if it was a trap laid for him – so what? It only required Ozymandias to deal with the fools who had dared to try to trap him like a hunted game, to spring their trap back on them. And having destroyed them, to go on his way.
The enormous barque of Ozymandias soared across the sky, which is the barque of Ra himself, in which he carries the Sun across the firmament each day. Therefore, it also belongs to Ozymandias, which was Ra himself, and carrying Ozymandias, which was the Sun himself.
It was perhaps far inferior in size to the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis, but not so far in its fighting power. It lacked Semiramis' greatest weapon, and the frequency and number of its weaponry were not as significant as Semiramis'. But, unlike the Hanging Gardens, it was far more nimble and maneuverable, and due to its smaller size could be used in personal combat.
And so, when the early morning haze was suddenly replaced by a blazing midday sun beating down, Ozymandias could only stare at the attack contemptuously. How dare a mere knight, a dog in the service of the queen of Camelot, tell the Sun when to rise, when to set, and when to illuminate the world.
In response, he simply waved his hand in the air as if to brush the dust off his barque and several beams of light, colored deep yellow-orange, like molten copper, struck the still distant knight at the same time.
Excluding the Queen of Camelot himself, that is, King Arthur, only two knights really meant anything more than sand under his feet. Gawain, the self-styled Knight of the Sun, self-styled, as Ozymandias granted him no such favor by serving as his chosen herald and loyal sword. And Lancelot, the perfect knight, who was equal, according to his legend, to all other knights of the Round Table.
That is, Lancelot, while alone, could equal the rest of the Knights of the Round Table combined. And right now, he was facing someone that could equal such a knight, Gawain.
Of course, though the silent order to attack was given with only a careless movement of his hand, it did not diminish its strength. Most Servants would have disappeared in ash just by receiving one of the attacks from one of his Noble Phantasms, Mesektet, not to mention several at once.
But perhaps fitting for someone that would dare claim to be the Knight of the Sun, Gawain responded by simply unsheathing his blade… And all the power of the Sun, which made the earth bubble at its touch, evaporating into gas, could not make Gawain retreat.
And so, when the barrage of light ended and Gawain remained perfectly fine, it caused some measure of annoyance in the greatest King. The displeasure was so great that it caused the Sun King to frown, besmirching his immaculate appearance.
Why couldn’t his adversary accept the simple truth and be destroyed and scattered to ashes as an unworthy usurper of his servant's title in peace? And yet it made Ozymandias lift the corners of his lips slightly in a semblance of a slight smile. After all, even though Gawain had dared to usurp the title of Knight of the Sun, a title Ozymandias not given to him, he at least was adequately strong.
After all, wouldn’t it sully the name of Ra if the usurper of the title of servant of the Sun was weak? Ozymandias himself would have felt annoyed and disappointed that someone so weak had dared to encroach upon the powerful name of Ra.
“I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but I'm afraid you can go no further.” Gawain replied in a respectful tone, deferentially bowing towards Ozymandias even though the man was his sworn enemy. But, in Ozymandias’ eyes, Gawain had not yet earned the right to be seen and honored with his words. And so, Ozymandias moved his hand slightly to the side, checking with the powers of his Noble Phantasm to see if Gawain's defense had been only a one-time stunt.
As might be expected a few seconds later, when several rays of Mesektet, Ra and Ozymandias' towering barque, came together in a single fist before striking at Gawain, the latter was still standing, unperturbed. Instead, Gawain was only continuing to hold his blade in the same position as before, as if to affirm his power and his right to stand in Ozymandias' way.
And for all his possible annoyance at Gawain for daring to stand in Ozymandias' way, the latter could at least appreciate such bold insolence in his presence, patronizingly accepting if not for his intelligence, but courage. It was enough to let Gawain hear his voice. "You will die here, Gawain.”
Though Ozymandias uttered these words in a tone full of contemptuous grandeur for Gawain – Ozymandias considered it beneath his dignity to lie to one who was at least strong enough to survive Ozymandias' mild irritation. And so, he uttered only one unequivocal truth, for there could be no other outcome – whoever stood up against Ozymandias would perish, it was only the truth of life, like the sun rising in the east every day.
“I'm sorry, Your Majesty, but I don't plan to die so easily.” Gawain merely smiled in response, then, in a slightly theatrical gesture, tossed his enormous blade into the sky. The blade, which was superior in size to other two-handed swords, but judging by its hilt, was intended for one hand use, though it would need great strength to do so. That large blade did a full flip in the air, before Gawain caught it with his hand, like a juggler performing an acrobatic skit.
Ozymandias, however, did not respond to Gawain's words – what use was it to him to dissuade the deluded usurper? Ozymandias had not yet elevated Gawain high enough to allow himself to argue and bicker with him, and so replied with only another slightly irritated movement of his hand.
And the battle was struck.
***
“Ozymandias the Great himself has entered the fray!” Completely ignoring her mission, excited by the appearance of her favorite star on the stage, Nitocris literally squeaked, throwing up her arms in a ridiculous attempt to show Ozymandias that she was here.
Medusa, who was next to the excited Servant, allowed herself to raise one eyebrow slightly in askance at the behavior. But finding a moment later that her other company, Scáthach, wasn't even reacting to Nitocris' antics, instead she was ready to leave her behind as soon as she took her eyes off the plan followed her soon after. Medusa allowed herself to linger on Nitocris for a second, before gently yanking Nitocris from her sudden bout of mania.
“Ah, what!?” Nitocris was snapped out of her cheering, finally remembering that they were supposed to be doing something else. They were not here to be supporting and cheering fans to Ozymandias’ battle, but were supposed to be participating in the attack on Camelot.
Blushing momentarily with shame, drooping her eyes and stumbling over her words, Nitocris rushed forward to join with Scáthach and Medusa. “I b-beg your pardon…”
For a moment Medusa felt the urge to chide Nitocris for her behavior, gently of course, not wanting to offend her, but wanting to share with her important advice. No one in this potentially dangerous battle should be distracted by outside events, before she decided that Nitocris was probably well aware herself that she shouldn't be doing this, but she just couldn't help herself. And that in turn meant that Medusa didn't need to give her information, but to influence her personality…
Medusa in turn wasn't sure she could do that in any way. Such a thing would require someone far more distinguished in terms of human psychology, who understands a person’s heart and has the charisma to move it like Ainz – or at least Ozymandias.
Scáthach, on the other hand, simply didn't care about Nitocris' thoughts, and so the three Servants continued to move silently toward Camelot, as if she hadn't paid any attention to Nitocris' momentary distraction.
Medusa and Scáthach were to be the ‘eyes’ for the inside of the enigmatic city of Camelot. After any of the attacks, whether Semiramis’ or Ozymandias’ or even Ainz’s or Arthuria’s broke Camelot's barrier, Medusa and Scáthach were to get inside and do a quick recon of the area. Well, there’s Nitocris too.
While Ainz and Medb dealt with the main threats inside Camelot, that is being the Goddess, they were to assist the rest of the Servants that were to attack Camelot. Either by providing information and something Ainz called ‘kaiting?’ the enemy, manipulating enemy positions, and at the same time moving quickly and freely across the battlefield, providing support wherever it was needed at any moment.
Nitocris in this case served as mobile support for this group, as well.
To be clear, Medusa saw no real secret reason why Nitocris had been assigned to their group. Had Medusa not known that every seemingly random action by Ainz was part of a far more complex plan than any other mind could guess? Medusa would have assumed that Nitocris had been assigned to Medusa and the Scáthach because she had found nowhere else to go. So Nitocris was here, because, well… At least put her where she could be useful.
But because it was Ainz, who did not operate with such simple logic, Medusa was well aware that finding Nitocris in this place and at this time had its own extremely important reason, which Medusa simply could not unravel. Well, she would find out soon enough.
In any case, without destroying the barrier and the walls of Camelot, neither Medusa, Scáthach, nor Nitocris had the ability to break into Camelot on their own. Even though the two of them were strong Servants, breaking into Camelot was a non-trivial task even for them. Given that their area of operation in this case was the support of the rest of the force, it was all the more reason for them not to ‘pull ahead’.
“Enemy, two o'clock, Lancer.” A moment later, after Scáthach’s clear and cold response, as if simply relaying information from a triggered electronic radar, the spear flashed in the witch's hands. It soon meets its counterpart and crashes a huge spear that spews flame behind it, as if it were a missile.
Scáthach’s spear did not buckle under that impact as the thrown projectile spewed some more flame behind its plunging spearhead, as if it had hit an insurmountable obstacle, but still trying to overcome it, or at least move it. Finding no purchase, the spear bounced back with a slight movement, flipping through the air as if it had hit a large rubber band. But, not paying attention to the spear, rather, to Lancer herself, Scáthach only narrowed her eyes a little.
“Gareth.”
The short girl who appeared, clad in armor that seemed ill-fitting to her lithe size, did not react to these words. Picking up her spear, she only glanced with a dead unseeing gaze as if seeing through Scáthach, uttering in an even, emotionless, equally devoid of a spark of life, voice.
“Please, die right now.”
“I'd be glad to,” Scáthach answered these words from her adversary with almost a sneer, as she twisted the spear in her hand before Medusa and Nitocris followed after her. “But I can't.”
After these words some emotion flashed in Gareth's eyes for the first time ever, and her voice, so monotone before, suddenly broke over as a lump appeared in her throat. The moment of clarity bought her time to say what she wanted to say before this meaningless battle, to one that could understand the pain she’s suffering. "I'm so sorry…”
A moment later Gareth looked up, full of sadness, regret, and… Understanding.
But Gareth did not allow herself more than a moment of that emotion, as she rushed madly into battle.
