IBHJ Chapter 820

"No problem. I told you I'd help, didn't I? I always keep my word," Gawain replied with a grin.

Lancelot couldn't help but smile back, feeling the tension in his body ease a bit. But before he could say anything, Tristan pointed at Gawain and casually said, "You were watching from the sidelines the whole time, weren't you? You knew Lancelot was in trouble, but you waited until the last second to jump in."

Lancelot turned to look at Gawain, raising an eyebrow.

Gawain's grin turned sheepish, and he scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed. "Busted, haha! I couldn't resist making a big entrance."

"You bastard!" Lancelot exclaimed, looking at Gawain, speechless.

"Hahaha! The king always said the best time to strike is when your enemy thinks they've won. And I couldn't find an opening earlier on."

"A sneak attack? That goes against the knight's code, Gawain."

"Fairness is for duels between knights. War is all about the winners writing the history books," Gawain said. Lancelot and Tristan fell silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the ground began to tremble beneath their feet.

"What's going on?"

Lancelot took a charging step, shoving Gawain out of the way. The ground trembled, and a giant hand rose into the air, grabbing Tristan. Eldur's terrifying and disheveled face appeared in front of them. "Despicable humans!"

Eldur's arm suddenly tightened its grip. Tristan, caught in his grasp, was squeezed until he coughed up blood and his internal organs burst out.

"Tristan!" Lancelot and Gawain shouted, their voices filled with panic.

"Get out of here! This guy- He won't last long. He wants to take us down with him! Ah-" Tristan's words were cut short as Eldur suddenly crushed him into a pulp, his body disintegrating into spiritrons.

Just like that, he was gone. It was frustrating, but at least this way, he wouldn't have to sit through the awkward victory celebration and listen to the king's awful singing. Tristan let out a sigh as his spirit returned to the Throne of Heroes.

"Ahhh!!" Eldur, with only his upper body remaining, let out a long howl. He lowered his head, his single eye glaring fiercely at Lancelot and Gawain. Then, in a move that sent shivers down their spines, Eldur started using his arms like legs, dragging himself towards them with horrifying speed.

Lancelot and Gawain didn't hesitate. They turned and ran, their feet pounding against the ground as they tried to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the nightmarish sight behind them. The plan had seemed simple enough: keep Eldur busy until his life force ran out. But as they fled, they realized just how naive they'd been.

Eldur was on a whole other level of terrifying. Even as his life was draining away, even as he was literally falling apart, he kept coming. It was like he was fueled by pure willpower, a determination that bordered on madness. Lancelot and Gawain found themselves trapped, their backs against a dead end, with nowhere left to run.

Lancelot and Gawain stood their ground as the monstrous Eldur charged towards them, his single eye blazing with an unholy rage. In a moment of unspoken agreement, the two knights turned to each other, a glance passing between them. They knew what had to be done.

Pouring some mana they had into their holy swords, Lancelot and Gawain prepared to unleash their ultimate attack. The blades in their hands began to glow, each emitting a distinct and powerful light.

"Arondight-"

"Excalibur Galatine-"

The two knights shouted, unleashing their Noble Phantasms. The holy swords emitted a terrifying magical power, converging into one, forming a beam of intertwining light. In the blink of an eye, it pierced right through Eldur's head. 'We won!' Lancelot and Gawain mentally cheered. Chips are the core of machines, Divine Cores are the core of Divine Spirits, and the brain is the core of most creatures on Earth. Once the brain is destroyed, whether it's a Phantasmal Beast or a Magical Beast, they should die. And yet...

"No way..." Lancelot muttered, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Eldur's single eye was a bloody mess, the blood vessels burst and the nerves severed, causing a steady stream of crimson to flow down his face. Even with his brain reduced to scattered chunks, he continued to drag himself forward, his arms pulling his broken body towards the stunned knights, an unstoppable force driven by pure willpower.

"His brain should have been destroyed!" Lancelot and Gawain were completely dumbfounded.

Faced with Eldur in this state, even the battle-hardened Gawain, known for his courage, couldn't help but grip his holy sword a little tighter.

"My king-" Eldur's giant palm reached towards Gawain and Lancelot. For a moment, both of them forgot to breathe. But suddenly, the giant palm stopped just a meter away from them. Then, with a heavy thud, it fell to the ground.

"Ah, my king... the world you see, I can no longer see it. I really wanted to personally-" The light in Eldur's eyes faded.

Looking at the now lifeless giant, Gawain and Lancelot finally caught their breath, panting heavily. Lancelot gazed at the unmoving giant and couldn't help but say, "...What a monster."

Transcending myths and legends with belief, a monster. But in the end, even this monster fell. With the giant army no longer having a commander, victory should be at hand, right?

Gawain and Lancelot raised their heads, looking at the peak of the world tree, clenching their fists. The monster might have fallen, but this was just an ordinary monster. Up there, there's a monster among monsters, the monster king!

So, my king, the final battle of kings, we leave it to you!

...

Shirou, Skadi, Artoria, and Knights of the Round rushed towards the peak of the world tree. However, guarding the way were a hundred elites arranged by Eldur in advance.

"There's no time, leave this to me." Merlin said.

One of the knights frowned. "Merlin... are you sure? There are a hundred of them, and we don't know the extent of their abilities."

Merlin chuckled, "I know I have a reputation for slacking off, but don't doubt my capabilities. I am more than capable of handling this situation."

Shirou nodded. "Then we'll leave it to you. But be careful, and don't take any unnecessary risks."

"Don't worry about me. "I'll catch up with you as soon as I'm done here."

With that, Shirou and his group left, rushing towards the peak of the world tree. The hundred-man elite made a move to stop them, but Merlin quickly intervened, placing himself between the elite giants and the departing king and his knights.

The giants roared in anger, their weapons raised and ready to strike. But Merlin simply smiled, his expression one of calm confidence. "Don't be so tense. Big brother here isn't some monster you need to fear." Putting away his easygoing smile, Merlin's expression turned serious as he slowly drew his sword.

...

Surtr watched as more and more of his sword, Laevatein, slowly melted away, the molten metal flowing like lava before cooling and solidifying into another section of the ever-growing sky road.

"Just a little bit more," he murmured to himself, "Almost there."

He looked at half the missing blade that had already turned into a sky road. It was pretty ridiculous when you think about it. The weapon made by the super ancient civilization to end the world, the one used to suppress Yggdrasil, originally a demonic sword of world destruction, Laevatein, had now become the giant's sword of salvation. It was pretty absurd, but that's just how things were.

Just as he was about to forge the final segment of the sky road, Surtr's brow furrowed, his movements coming to an abrupt halt. His gaze shifted to the chaos erupting in Asgard, where Shirou and his elite knights were engaged in a brutal melee, the blood of the fallen staining the very road he had worked so hard to create.

"What?" Surtr blinked, hardly able to believe what he was seeing. There, amidst the carnage and mayhem, he spotted the unmistakable figures of Eternal King and his Knights of the Round.

How could this be? Had Bergelmir's defense line been breached? It seemed impossible, and yet the evidence was right there before his eyes. Using the power of the Origin Wheels, Surtr sought the truth, and the revelation struck him like a thunderbolt.

"That guy Svadilfari, he actually left a secret passage!"