Chapter 278: King Arthur's Resurrection? The Absolute Defense of the Sheath!
Now that we're on the subject, since King Arthur obtained that holy sword in his chronicles...
This implies that in reality, the sword must be hidden somewhere, right?
So surely, there are ill-intentioned individuals scheming to uncover it.
Their first target would undoubtedly be King Arthur's tomb—planning to desecrate his grave.
Perhaps the gods wouldn't stoop to such acts, but what about those who've aligned themselves with the Primordial Gods?
In the human world, there must be sleeper agents ready to carry out orders to excavate it.
So, wasn't Brunhilde concerned about this?
No, she wasn't.
Because she had edited the chronicles, omitting a crucial detail: King Arthur was not buried in the human world. His body rests eternally in Avalon.
That realm is nearly inaccessible even to the gods, hence her lack of worry.
And now, with the comet hurtling toward Earth, why has Avalon reappeared and raised the crystal coffin?
Could it be that King Arthur isn't dead? Is he about to be resurrected?
Well, in a sense, he might not be truly dead, given that Brunhilde had uncovered the truth from the overlapping visages.
As the lidless crystal coffin emerged, the peacefully slumbering figure within became visible—a youthful body seemingly frozen in time.
Then, the body began to move.
"Is... is this a resurrection?"
"He's not dead?"
"But the Akashic System still registers him as deceased."
"So it's just the corpse moving?"
Both humans and gods were stunned and bewildered.
What happened next left them even more speechless.
Wings sprouted from King Arthur's back—translucent, almost dragonfly-like. He appeared to have transformed into a fairy.
Observing King Arthur's movements closely, his actions also appeared devoid of rationality. Not a single muscle twitched on his face, which remained expressionless like a rigid mask, as if he were a robot programmed to operate automatically.
This fairy-transformed King Arthur hovered semi-airborne, raising the Sword of Promised Victory in his hand toward the comet plummeting from the sky.
As if aware that Avalon would interfere, the comet underwent a transformation. From within its nest emerged a monstrous beast with seven heads and ten horns—an image that immediately brought to mind an apocalyptic beast: 666.
However, this creature didn't quite resemble 666; it was more like an aberrant crimson dragon.
It burst forth from the nest, accelerating toward the Earth's surface, while the comet behind it seemed to be dragged along by its tail, speeding up its collision course.
Its seven heads opened their ferocious jaws, gathering light and flames.
In the next instant, a destructive light capable of incinerating everything pierced through Earth's atmosphere in an instant, descending upon Avalon.
At this moment, King Arthur clearly hadn't had time to unleash his ultimate move, causing both humans and gods to hold their breaths in suspense.
Direct hit!
Some couldn't help but shut their eyes!
But—
"This is—!"
"Blocked?"
"No, it's being reflected back!!!"
The aberrant crimson dragon's world-ending strike was deflected by a barrier, and the destructive light retraced its path, plunging into the dragon's seven heads and jaws, vaporizing them instantly. The remaining force, barely diminished, pierced through the comet behind it.
In that moment, countless monsters within the massive nest-like comet were reduced to ashes.
Simultaneously, the comet, struck by this reflected blow, shattered into numerous fragments. As a result, its mass was no longer concentrated, and the impact buffered its velocity. When it crashed into the ocean, it wouldn't trigger catastrophic tsunamis.
"It's... not dead!"
"Knew it wouldn't be that simple!"
The crimson dragon's seven heads regenerated completely!
Not only that, but more monsters emerged from the nest, joining the crimson dragon in launching attacks toward the ground.
In an instant, a torrent of flashes rained down once more.
Yet, just as before, every attack was intercepted, failing to even shake the absolute defense, and all were reflected back again.
So, what was it defending Avalon?
Both humans and gods then noticed it wasn't a pure energy barrier. They saw hundreds of fragment-like objects scattered in the air, forming that impenetrable defensive barrier.
Upon closer inspection, these fragments weren't entirely irregular; they resembled puzzle pieces that could be reassembled.
After rapid analysis, some gods mentally pieced together the reconstructed form, which was—
"The scabbard!!!"
It was the scabbard of King Arthur's holy sword.
Initially, when King Arthur emerged from the crystal coffin, the holy sword he wielded actually had its scabbard.
Now, that scabbard was gone—it had fragmented to protect Avalon.
And the holy sword, now devoid of its scabbard, appeared ready at last.
Endless light illuminated this holy sword, and in the next instant, the light roared. A torrent of radiance flooded the sky, devouring the falling comet.
Everything vanished without a trace beneath this purifying light.
When the light faded, King Arthur's figure reappeared, the holy sword in his hand once again sheathed.
As if having completed a programmed action command, he mechanically lay back down in the crystal coffin.
At this point, both mortals and gods understood that this was not a true resurrection of King Arthur.
After his death, he had merely transformed his body into Avalon's defense mechanism.
Only such a programmatically operating vessel could properly guard the World Tree, for only in this way could it never betray.
After all, the living possess emotions, and emotions most easily influence human actions, often giving rise to desires that should not exist.
Speaking of which, if King Arthur had also possessed the sheath in the previous duel?
Then that battle would likely have ended in his victory.
Hmm? There's a new development in some scenes on the arena.
It seems that after the failure of their actions against the human world, the Primordial God's army surrounding the central celestial realm has seemingly begun their assault in a fit of shame and anger!
In an instant, the entire Central Heavenly Realm shook violently.
The live broadcasts that hadn't been cut off could no longer capture the figures of either side, completely obscured by vast waves of light and flames.
From the arena, one could see towering infernos raging at the farthest edges of the Central Heavenly Realm.
Those flames surged like colossal tidal waves, threatening to engulf the arena itself.
And in such a perilous situation—!
"NOW, the final battle between humanity and the gods enters its ninth round—the conclusion!!!"
Heimdall, the announcer, made the declaration.
The representatives of both sides were about to take the stage!!!