Chapter 87: The Grim Reaper's Scythe Unleashed
"Shirou, you… in this form, you feel strange to me," Artoria said, looking at the boy whose hair had turned golden.
There was a familiar aura surrounding him—so familiar it was as if he were her other self.
And the box in the cage he held felt even more peculiar.
"It's fine. Even though my spiritual foundation has changed and I'm affected a bit, I'm still me," Shirou explained calmly.
"Ohhh!!! This voice, this beauty, these beautiful legs! Isn't she the perfect little sister I've always dreamed of?! My lovely lady, may I ask for your name?" The box, with eye- and mouth-like carvings on its surface, shook wildly as it spoke.
"This talkative, sharp-tongued, and perverted way of speaking… could it be Kay?" Artoria frowned at the box.
"Eh? Oh my charming lady, you know me?" the box replied, flattered.
"This is Miss Artoria Pendragon, the King of Knights," Gudako ran over and introduced her.
"What?! Pendragon?! Artoria?! The King of Knights is a woman?!" the box shrieked in disbelief.
"You rude little thing. Did turning into a box scramble your brain? Want me to fix it with a couple swings of my sword?" Artoria raised her holy sword without hesitation.
"Wahhh! That holy sword is the real deal!!" the box wailed as if its worldview had just shattered.
"In this world, Merlin is male too," Shirou, who possessed memories from the other world, explained.
"What?! You mean that black-hearted, yuri-obsessed girl pretending to be young?!" the box yelled again.
"Wait… then that means… this beautiful lady is the adopted sister of this world's me?! Damn it! I want to duel myself! I want to switch places with him!" the box shouted jealously.
"Ahh… I don't know why, but I feel like the only thing that gave me value is about to be taken away…" the mustached old man said gloomily.
Despite its many powerful functions, this magical artifact was essentially a seal.
Inside the cage was a simulated personality—female in voice—but sealed within it was one of the Knights of the Round Table, whose true name was Kay.
Kay was the eldest son of the old knight who fostered the young Arthur.
He was like an older brother to the King.
He once led Arthur and Merlin on travels across Europe for knightly training, leaving behind many legends.
Though a chatterbox, sarcastic, and often made enemies, he might have been the most emotionally loyal knight of the Round Table.
Besides Merlin, Kay was the one who knew the King best. He had witnessed Arthur's upbringing since childhood.
Even though Arthur was just a child, he had been raised as a "king" by Merlin and his father from the start.
This wasn't merely harsh—it was closer to dehumanization.
Every morning, Arthur underwent knight training, then studied military and political affairs, with no rest.
At night, he had to care for horses and patrol.
He got less than three hours of sleep, and even in his dreams, the nightmare-inducing Merlin would continue to instruct him.
From childhood to adulthood, Arthur never got to enjoy the beauty of the country he protected.
Even so, the Knights of the Round Table misunderstood their king.
Tristan left, saying: "The King of Knights does not understand the human heart."
Lancelot, for the sake of Guinevere, killed Agravain after their affair was discovered, and later accidentally killed two other Round Table knights—Gaheris and Gareth.
Their brother, Gawain, swore to never forgive him.
Mordred declared herself Arthur's illegitimate child and demanded recognition. Arthur refused.
Still, Arthur trusted Mordred and assigned her to defend Camelot with Gawain and Kay.
Arthur himself led a campaign to Rome to resolve the mystical depletion causing famine across Britain.
During that time, Morgan le Fay incited chaos.
As tensions in the Round Table worsened, Kay, unable to stand it anymore, chose to leave temporarily.
To him, this country, built on the King's sacrifice, was meaningless—maybe it shouldn't have existed at all. That way, the King might have had a chance at happiness.
What he didn't expect was how disastrous his departure would be.
While Arthur was away, Mordred, provoked and encouraged by others, led rebellious lords in an uprising.
Kay returned with his own cavalry to protect the besieged King in his retreat.
He stayed behind to fight the enemy… and never saw the King again.
Arthur returned to Camelot, leading to the tragic Battle of Camlann, where both sides slaughtered each other in a bloody war.
In the end, Arthur used the Holy Lance to slay the rebel Mordred, but was himself fatally wounded and sent to Avalon.
Only the innocent may enter Avalon.
Having committed what he considered an unforgivable mistake, Kay could not enter.
Haunted by guilt and sorrow, he chose to remain as the gravekeeper of Arthur's family tomb. Even after death, he never left—guarding the tomb as a soul for a thousand years.
During this time, legends of the Eternal King spread.
People believed Arthur had not truly died, that he had been carried to Avalon by four lake fairies and would one day return to save them.
"Add, are you ready? This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to fight side-by-side with the King of Knights," Shirou said.
"Just call me Artoria here," the golden-haired girl replied.
"Ohhh, Artoria… ah! What a beautiful name! I suddenly feel so fired up! Shirou! Let's go! In this state, let's cause a big scene!!"
'Add' instantly transformed.
The cage unfolded like a small birdcage, glowing with a blue ghostly flame. A long scythe appeared in Shirou's hands.
This magical artifact, passed down through a clan for a thousand years, had entered one of its limited modes—a form designed to reap souls like the Grim Reaper. Hence, it was called the "Scythe of Death (Grim Reaper)."
"Jeanne! Now!" Shirou rushed forward, signaling the silver-haired girl who had just run out from a shop.
"I know! This is the roar of my soul, tempered in hatred—'La Grondement du Haine'!!"
Blazing flames erupted, engulfing the street and surrounding the massive wolf, Shirou, and the others in fire.
"Well done! Now the Headless Horseman can't escape! This is a fight to the death!" yelled Kay, now in scythe form.
The giant wolf roared, while the Headless Horseman swung a long scythe and leapt high, its massive claw smashing down toward Shirou.
"Tyrant King's Hammer!!"
Dark magical energy burst from the holy sword.
In Artoria's hands, it transformed into a black giant war hammer over two meters long. Whipping up a fierce gale, she brought it down upon the wolf's crushing claw.
The battle had officially begun!