"Who are you?" Sylas asked again.
The armored man laughed. His voice echoed through the field, sharp and steady. Without a word, he drove his sword into the ground and slowly lifted his helmet off, revealing the man under the helm.
The moment his face was revealed, every eye locked on him. No one moved. Like time itself stopped. They were speechless.
It was Arthur. But older. It was him—exactly as he looked when he died.
His face was pale.
His eyes… cold. Lifeless. Hollow.
Like he hadn't slept in days.
Like something had pulled him back from the dead.
There was a smile on his face. But it was calm. Confident. The kind of smile a devil wears when it tries to make a deal with you.
The group staggered back. Morgana covered her mouth.
"Who are you, and why are you wearing my face?" Sylas asked. He didn't raise his voice. His tone was low. His eyes were sharp and cold.
The man stared at him without blinking.
"I'm wearing your face," he said softly.
"Because we are the same." A grin formed on his face. "But I'm better."
"What are you talking about?" Sylas's tone remained calm.
"Right after your death… she came."
His voice lowered.
"She said the world didn't need a broken king anymore. So she fixed me." He paused, then pulled his hair back. "She removed the parts of you that made you weak." He started shouting toward the sky. "She made me better!"
He took a step forward, dragging his sword behind him.
"No more hesitation. No more mercy. No more forgiveness. All the things that got you killed—she erased them all."
He spread his arms wide and screamed, "She made me perfect." He pointed at Sylas. "I am what you should have been."
"If you are me, then why is Camelot like this? Why are the people suffering?" he asked.
That same devilish grin returned.
"Because my only reason for existing… is to kill you. To prove to her I'm better than her so-called hero."
He raised his blade.
"I've waited a long time for you to return, so I could kill you. And take the throne, the title that was meant for me."
Sylas looked down. "You are an idiot." He turned to Arthur. "You didn't need to do all that." He paused. Now his tone was gentle and soft. "You could've taken the throne. I didn't care who became the king…"
He cut him off before he could finish.
"I care!" he shouted at him. It was raw, like it consumed all other sound around it.
"No matter how many battles I win for her, no matter how many nations I conquer for her," he paused and clenched his jaw, then screamed, "I was never good enough for her!"
He pointed his sword at Sylas. "You were always her favorite." He stared down at his hands. "She made me perfect. Flawless. Yet she hasn't accepted me." He looked at Sylas. "Because you exist."
He grabbed his face and started laughing. It was sharp. Unhinged.
"Once I kill you, then there will only be me. Then she will have no other choice but to love me."
Sylas tilted his head. "Are you done?"
"I'm done living under your shadow!" he screamed. His voice cracked. He pointed his sword at Sylas.
"I am the one above all. The true heir. The King of Kings."
Sylas didn't say anything. Just then, the system popped up.
[System Notification]
New Hidden Quest Initiated
Name: [There Can Only Be One King]
Objective: [Condition Unknown]
Reward: [+50% Attack | +50% Speed | +50% Defense]
But he didn't read it. He swiped it away. He turned toward the others.
"Set Lancelot free, and I will handle this."
They ran toward Lancelot, who was still blindfolded and ready for beheading. He didn't stop them. His focus was on Sylas.
Arthur drove his sword into the ground. He raised his hand.
"Come at me."
Sylas plunged his sword into the ground and shot toward him. He started off with a punch, but Arthur blocked it and countered with a kick. He lifted his hand up to block it. Arthur used his free hand to throw a punch. It hit him in the face, sending him rolling across the ground.
Sylas got back up. Before he could fully regain his balance, Arthur appeared above him with a front kick. Sylas rolled to the side, dodging it. The impact from his kick cracked the ground underneath.
Arthur moved fast. He reappeared in front of him, this time with a punch. But Sylas twisted his body slightly, grabbing him by the wrist, then using his own momentum to slam him on the ground. He used that chance to get on top of him and started to land a barrage of punches on his face.
Arthur laughed. Every punch hit him—louder each time. Then he extended his arm and his sword appeared. He swung while still lying on his back. Sylas leapt backward, extending his arm as well, and Excalibur appeared in his hand.
They charged. Now their blades collided.
They countered each other's strikes over and over.
Sylas swung his blade from above, but Arthur blocked it.
He used that chance to kick him in the gut, pushing him away.
"Is that all you got?" Arthur shouted.
They both walked toward each other.
None of them rushed.
Arthur still had that grin on his face.
But he was silent. His jaw clenched. His eyes sharpened and focused.
They walked toward each other.
At the same time, they muttered:
"Domain of the King."
Both of their swords sank to the ground.
They charged.
Their swords collided.
Their domains collided.
Sylas's golden field.
Arthur's domain—a dark, violet, gloomy field filled with rusted swords.
Their swords clashed.
Each strike sent sparks flying across the battlefield.
Each clash heavier than the next.
Each time one broke, another appeared in their hand.
It kept going.
Again.
And again.
Cutting through the wind.
Sending shockwaves across the field.
People hid anywhere they could.
Every strike.
Their domains fought for control.
Every swing sent shockwaves through the air.
Wind so sharp it sliced through their clothes,
cutting across their bodies. Thin, light cuts.
Their bodies, faces, were covered in shallow wounds.
But neither of them stopped.
Neither one flinched.
They kept swinging nonstop.
"I am perfect. I'm the true king. The superior Arthur."
His attack power and speed increased. He was getting faster. His domain overpowering Sylas's domain.
Sylas, unfazed, looked at him.
"You are not me."
He put more power and speed into his strikes.
"Because the flaws I carried…"
Sylas's domain pushed back.
"I wasn't chosen to be a king."
He swung, pushing him back.
"I suffered."
Another strike.
"I made mistakes."
He kicked him, pushing him back.
"I learned."
He shot toward him.
"Because of those flaws, I am who I am."
Then he swung his sword from the side at full power, hitting him in the stomach—like a batter hitting a ball.
Sending him flying into the castle—he burst through the walls. Dust filled the air.
[System Notification]
Hidden Quest Completed
Name: [There Can Only Be One King]
Status: [Success]
Reward Activated: [+50% Attack | +50% Speed | +50% Defense]
You have proven yourself as the one true king.
"I became the symbol of hope!" he shouted.
From the smoke, Arthur rose. He walked toward Sylas. His armor cracked. He was breathing heavily.
Sylas looked at him. Now he had that soft, gentle gaze.
"Stop hiding behind my shadow… and find your own path," he paused. "Why try to be like me, when you can be better than me?"
"What am I supposed to do?" he screamed as he charged at him.
But Sylas blocked it with ease and pushed him away.
"Stop hiding in my shadow."
He lunged at him, and Sylas punched him in the face, downward.
"Find your own way."
He fell to his knees.
"And be better than me."
Sylas looked down at him.
"You are not me."
He kicked him, sending him rolling through the field.
"You will never be me."
Arthur pushed himself to his feet.
His voice was soft. Broken.
"Then… do you think she'll recognize me?
And love me more than she loved you?"
Sylas didn't move. Didn't blink.
The name came up again.
First Merlin.
Now him.
His jaw tightened. He was fed up with it.
"Who is she?" he demanded.
"She—"
Before he could finish, someone rose behind him.
And in an instant, her fist slammed into Arthur's chest.
No sound.
It was fast.
Too fast.
His eyes went wide.
Blood poured down his mouth.
He turned.
But he didn't say anything at first.
He saw who did it.
In that moment, his expression cracked.
A tear flowed.
"Why…" he muttered, as his eyes slowly closed.