Era of Heroic Spirits: I Was Exposed by Alaya

As soon as these words were spoken, the group of knights all froze momentarily, wondering if their ears were playing tricks on them.

Just how arrogant must someone be to directly provoke every knight present?

Could he be insane?

The nameless one pointed his sword at them, sneering contemptuously: "Britain is already in a life-or-death crisis, yet all you can think about is fighting for power. Are you even fit to be kings?"

"Why wouldn't we be? Only by becoming king can we properly lead Britain to victory!"

A burly knight responded angrily without hesitation.

[He who draws the Sword in the Stone shall be king of Britain]

This was the prophecy Merlin had left.

Powerful knights had gathered from all directions precisely to compete for Britain's sole throne.

Whoever drew the Sword in the Stone would be crowned king, gaining legitimate royal status.

"Hah, I don't even want to expose you. Do you really want to save Britain? You're just lusting after the British throne, you shameless wretch!"

The nameless knight mercilessly tore apart his pathetic lies.

The burly knight's face instantly flushed red with anger: "You're slandering me! Let's duel!"

The other knights all looked at the nameless one with ill intent.

In their eyes, this guy who dared provoke everyone had already become a dead man.

"Oh, since you all want to challenge me, let's not waste time. Come at me together!"

The nameless heroic spirit calmly pointed at every knight present.

At this moment.

Artoria walked up beside him and said softly: "Nameless, let me handle these people."

"No need! They're just trash—easy to crush!" The nameless one smiled.

But his eyes burned with blazing flames, as if to scorch everything!

-[Damn, what an overbearing declaration! He's so cool!]

-[Is this really the nameless heroic spirit? Can you believe it?]

-[So cool! I wish I had a knight like that to protect me, I'm so envious!]

-[Hey, you're a guy... something's not right with you!]

-[The perfect nameless knight, guarding the perfect King of Knights—what a destined fate!]

...

"Dammit, why is this guy so good at showing off?"

Mordred almost couldn't stop herself from slamming the table in frustration.

Just a mere movie actor—how dare he outshine me?

Once this video is over, I'm going straight to him, grabbing him by the collar—and begging him to teach me how to be this cool!

Every move, every word, every action of this person was so unbearably cool that Mordred couldn't tear her eyes away.

She wanted to be a glorious and towering knight too, to bask in everyone's admiration and reverence.

Not to be secretly called a brat behind her back!

Beside her.

Gawain stroked his chin, deep in thought. "I feel like I've remembered something, but it's just out of reach."

Watching the [Perfect King] video, he had the strange sensation that some part of his memory, heavily sealed away, was slowly being unlocked—revealing fragments of a forgotten past.

There is no darkness under the sun.

As the illustrious Sun Knight, how could he possibly have any hidden dark past?

"What a liar…"

Artoria's expression was complicated as she stared at the screen.

Upon seeing the video of herself and the nameless heroic spirit, countless forgotten memories began flooding back.

The first time she heard the Eight Knightly Virtues spoken from his lips.

The warmth of his chest as he personally taught her swordsmanship—a sensation she hadn't forgotten even after fifteen hundred years.

The way he prepared delicious meals for her, watching with a smile as she enjoyed them…

Fragments of memory returned one after another.

This liar… he had promised to always be her most loyal guardian knight.

But.

I'm here now—so where are you?

"Yeah, this guy's a total fraud, a professional liar!"

Mordred nodded repeatedly, her irritation palpable.

How could a knight this impossibly cool even exist?

Upholding justice, willing to sacrifice, content with anonymity… even she couldn't live up to that!

In her eyes, a knight should stand above all, basking in worship while protecting others.

If you want to stay nameless, why even be a knight?

In the video.

The battle began.

Provoked by the nameless heroic spirit's taunts, the knights were instantly enraged.

Yet, they disdained fighting together, choosing instead to challenge him one by one.

"At least they're a bit better than those fallen knights—they still cling to some shred of knightly honor."

Mordred scoffed, though she couldn't bear to watch their inevitable defeat.

Strangely, as a battle-hardened heroic spirit, she could tell the fight looked unnervingly real.

So real it felt like an actual knightly duel!

Could the video be genuine?

No, no—Father herself called him a liar, so it couldn't be real!

But for some reason, Mordred was starting to panic.

What if, just what if, it was real?

Didn't that mean she'd have to eat Gawain's potato mash for a whole year?

The selection concluded.

The nameless heroic spirit defeated every knight who dared challenge him.

"Will you be my guardian knight?" The girl looked at him with hopeful eyes.

To everyone's surprise, the nameless knight only smiled and shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I won't become a knight. However, I can walk in the shadows and eliminate all your enemies."

"Fine… one day, I'll make you my knight!"

Artoria lightly bit her lip, her face flushing slightly as she made a declaration that bordered on a confession.

-[Dammit, force-fed dog food again!]

-[Ahhh, I'm so jealous!]

-[Um, I think I understand why the Heroic Spirits of France and Britain are hostile to each other...]

-[Stop talking, I get it too. Just waiting for the video to end so we can enjoy the drama!]

-[Damn, you guys are terrifying—count me in!]

...

"Eh? What drama are you talking about?" Illya asked curiously.

"Idiot! Of course, it's the most entertaining kind—the 'kitchen knife' scene! Hmph, this guy totally deserves it!" Roya laughed brightly.

No matter how powerful you are, it's useless in front of these two Heroic Spirits!

She called out to the other side, "Souma, peel an apple for me."

"Get lost, do it yourself!" came the reply.

"Tch, fine, don't peel it then. No need to get angry—it's not like I provoked you!" Roya pouted.

At that moment, a casual glance suddenly revealed a flood of [High Energy Ahead] warnings.

What was happening now?

Under her intense gaze, the screen's image changed abruptly.

The entire mountain was shaking violently, spewing endless flames.

An unimaginably massive white dragon emerged from the volcano.

It spread wings that blotted out the sky, circling over all of Britain.

"My foolish brother Uther, watch from hell as the lifelong work you and Merlin created turns to dust, hahaha!"

The white dragon issued an utterly arrogant declaration.

Flames that could destroy everything boiled forth, devouring all things on the earth.

Countless people fell into wails of terror.

Yet this fear became even greater fuel, wildly igniting all of Britain.

The enormous white dragon perched atop the royal palace of Camelot, howling to the heavens: "I am the Vile King Vortigern, the World-Ender of Providence, the Terminator of All Things!"

"Unstoppable, unopposable, I am the apocalyptic calamity!"

***

Hey readers!

Want to read ahead? 📖 Join my Patreon for early access to 30+ advance chapters! Your support helps me write more and bring the story to you faster.

🔹patreon.com/aarvan🔹