Chapter 17
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The lion was proving to be quite the challenge. Not because of its strength or speed that outclassed Arthur’s, he was already used to those odds. Its durability and seemingly endless stamina was the biggest problem. Elizabeth didn’t lie, its hide absorbed any spells he flung at it and bounced off any attack he would make with his sword. His only chance was trying to tire it out. He’s been trying that for a good twenty minutes and it was going nowhere. It wasn’t getting any slower, but he was. Elizabeth was sitting on the ground, observing the battle while the villagers were also there, cheering him on. There was a beauty in the simplicity of common folk: they saw something they liked, for example bravery, and so they cheered.

Arthur swiftly evaded another lunge and tried to hit the lion’s eyes with his sword. The beast moved its head and its mane caught the hit instead. It turned around for another lunge and something unexpected happened. The young warrior dropped his sword and instead met the attack head on, punching the large cat in its face. There was a moment of silence from the villagers as the lion was blasted back, disoriented. It has been hit before in the battle, it has been ragdolled even by spells, but it always got up right after. Not this time. It was dizzy and couldn’t react in time to Arthur jumping on its back. It threw itself on the ground, tried to throw him off, but couldn’t. Arthur got its neck in a vice grip, squeezing it with all his magic enhanced might. The dance of death continued for another minute before the beast dropped to the ground, dead. Not taking any chances, Arthur snapped its windpipe before standing up.

The villagers burst out cheering, congratulating him, commending him for his valor and determination. Well, not exactly those words, but we can’t blame them for it.

“You did hella good, son!”

“Nice job giving it a beatin’. Bet you’d make a fine woodcutter.”

“You must be tired, we can give you a room to rest.”

They swarmed around him, but all Arthur could look at was Elizabeth as she walked over to the corpse, her shadow becoming larger until the body fell through the ground and into the darkness that was her shadow on the ground.

“It’s time we went back.” Her voice cut through any noise despite saying it very softly.

Arthur nodded and said goodbye to everyone before they got on their horses and rode off. Their horses were tired and so was he. Once they could no longer see the town, she opened a portal in the middle of the road that led them to just outside the city, once more, away from prying eyes.

“That’s handy. When will you teach me that?” He asked, half-jokingly.

“When you surpass those who blessed you in raw power.”

His eyes went wide from that. “The spirits?”

“Yes.”

“How would I get that much power?”

“Eat a planet or two. Maybe the spirits themselves.”

“Unbelievable.” He couldn’t help but laugh. “So, Merlin, what now? We barge into the throne room where you declare me the heir?”

“First, we find an inn to spend the night in. And I think I have more in common with Morgana, to be honest. The looks at the very least.” Arthur's head snapped toward Yuuki at the realization, on her face an unreadable expression. “I think we’re long overdue for a little chat.”

Arthur wordlessly followed her to an inn where she rented out two rooms that were next to each other. Arthur occupied his own room, sat down on his bed and stared at his door. He was brought out of this trance when Yuuki walked through the door and moved a chair to face him and sat down.

“I have my own questions, but I’ll listen to yours first.”

“You’re from the same world as me?”

“I am.”

“When?”

“Born in 2002, died in 2035.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

“I assume you survived World War 3?”

“Not quite, I was born just after it. You died just before it ended.” Arthur’s mind was flooded with more questions he wanted to ask, but he decided to pick one. “Which side did you fight on?”

“The losing one.”

“Oh." He knew better than to assume she was automatically evil just because that's how the winners wrote history. "What was your rank?”

“Does it matter?”

“I’m curious.”

Yuuki stopped a bit before answering. “Were all documents unclassified after the war?”

“No, I don't think so.”

“Project Phantom.”

He racked his brain for a bit. “Doesn’t ring any bells.”

“Probably for the best. Any more questions?”

“Yeah, how did you get so powerful?”

“I’m not allowed to answer that.”

“Eh? Who could tell you what you’re allow- you know what, never mind it’s probably best that I don’t know.” He sighed. “So, what are your questions?”

“You said I died right before the war ended. What day did it end on, exactly?”

“October 6, why?”

Yuuki didn’t even notice, but she tensed up a bit. “Was the war ended by nukes?”

“No, it did get close to it though. Apparently it was stopped by some rogue secret agent or something. Everyone kind of just stopped fighting after they realized they were all going to die and didn’t want to.”

She let out a sigh. “What was it like after the war?”

“Oh, it was bad. Well, you died in it, so I don’t really want to complain about it to you, but the war really did a number on the food supplies of the world. Lots of government leaders were also dead, so it was anarchy in a lot of places. It got better eventually.”

She sat there, silent for half a minute. “Just one more: are you sure you wish to be king?”

“Yes. I want to make sure as few people have to live horrible lives as possible. Do you think I can do it?”

“You care more about people than about personal power of wealth. You’re not greedy, manipulative or particularly cunning. If it wasn’t for your own knack for fighting and the fact that I will help you, you’d be assassinated by your own court in a matter of months. People won’t follow you out of fear, they will follow you because you inspire them. You’ll have a lot of allies and a lot more enemies. They will be scared because you give hope to people that a king doesn’t have to be a tyrant. I don’t think you’ll be a particularly good ruler, but you’ll be a damned good leader.” When she finished talking, she stood up and put the chair back in its place. “You should rest.” She said more softly than she usually did, as she walked back through the wall.

Arthur went to bed, feeling more exhausted than ever before. Except maybe for those times he trained with Elizabeth… He was healed after those though, so it’s the most tired he has ever gone to bed. The conversation also tired him out. It was the most honest Elizabeth had been with him, he could feel it. With far too many things on his mind to count, he fell asleep.

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