Era of Heroic Spirits: I Was Exposed by Alaya

Crack~

The Reality Marble [Unlimited Blade Works] had completely collapsed.

Mash, Bedivere, and the others who arrived before the Lion King, along with all the viewers watching the video, simultaneously witnessed the scene unfolding inside.

No longer were they the useless illusions summoned earlier.

Mash widened her eyes in disbelief. "The Lion King's divinity was shattered by Senpai's sword!"

That was a lofty deity, so powerful that even the sacrifices of the great hero Arash and Pharaoh Ramesses II couldn't harm her in the slightest.

Yet at this moment.

She clearly saw the divine majesty shattered by Senpai's sword!

Reducing the invincible deity to a mere demigod or false god.

Truly worthy of Senpai, the strongest hero in her heart, capable of defeating even a god!

Lancelot was equally dumbfounded, muttering under his breath, "When the foreign stars shine, the White Alliance cracks, the King's radiance dims, and the divine tower crumbles!"

These words were a prophecy.

With the invincible Lion King by their side, none of the Knights of the Round Table had believed it.

But now, Lancelot was shocked to find the prophecy had come true in its entirety.

The foreign stars undoubtedly referred to Nameless and the others.

Upon their arrival, the Knights of the Round Table completely fell apart.

He and Mordred defected, while Gawain and Agravain were slain by Nameless.

The Tower at the End, forged by the Holy Lance, was destroyed by Pharaoh Ramesses II, who sacrificed everything to collide two pyramids in a breathtaking Pyramid Clash.

The lofty Lion King had her divinity stripped by Nameless's sword, her majesty utterly shattered.

Everything came true!

With a single slash of his sword, he swept away the oppressive might of the former gods.

And the crowd erupted in cheers—

-[Damn! Emiya the Hero is forever god-tier! He even stripped the gods of their divinity and reduced them to mortals!]

-[No way, did he really defeat a god? Feels like I'm dreaming!]

-[Haha, I'm already kneeling—this is beyond exhilarating!]

-[As expected of the Hero who gathered all the power of the Emiyas, truly the King of Emiyas!]

-[Could this be the origin of King Arthur in reality—the one who wields the Holy Lance despite having no divinity?]

…

Not just the countless spectators.

Even the Lion King, the very subject of this battle, was filled with disbelief. "A mere mortal… you actually surpassed your limits and severed my divinity?"

Unthinkable!

As a god, she stood above all living beings.

Mortals were nothing more than creatures under her protection, her livestock.

Yet now, a mere human had stripped her of divine authority, casting her down from true godhood to demi-godhood!

"No, I have not lost yet!"

The Lion King's face, usually so serene, was now twisted with fury. "Insolent human, you have defied the dignity of the King—you shall be punished!"

Once more, she raised the Holy Lance, its golden radiance blazing, intent on annihilating him completely.

Even stripped of divinity, she remained an invincible, indomitable King!

"The time has come. Before the ends of the world, on the day the skin of the world peels away to devour it, I will surely reduce you to nothing but a mortal!" Bloodied and covered in wounds, Nameless still pointed his sword at her.

That earlier slash had been the culmination of all the Emiyas across countless timelines—a single strike learned from the Grand Assassin, King Hassan.

Even the mighty Lion King, a true god, had been stripped of her divine authority, no longer a deity in truth.

Which meant her power had been drastically weakened—enough to defeat her completely!

"Come and try it! Even without divinity, so long as I wield the Holy Lance, I remain invincible in this world! A god cannot be humiliated!"

The Lion King's saintly blue eyes gazed down at him with supreme arrogance. "Mortal, I am the King of Storms—I am the end of the world!"

"I shall preserve your fleeting, burning lives forever, turning them into unchanging, eternal treasures!"

"This is a god's love for humanity!"

This was a god.

She was no longer the King who had once willingly sacrificed everything for Britain—only a cold, merciless deity.

Just then.

A knight stepped forward from behind, sighing softly as he looked at her. "My King… I have come to atone."

"Who are you? You seem to be a knight as well." The Lion King frowned slightly, sensing the unique resonance of a Knight of the Round Table from him.

But his entire body looked like crumbling stone—as though his soul and life had been burned to ashes, leaving only the last embers behind.

"Heh, you don't even recognize your own knight, Bedivere? And you call yourself a King?" Nameless sneered without hesitation.

"Bedivere? I know no such person! He is not among my knights!"

The Lion King answered without a second thought.

Those words made Mash tremble as she pointed at her. "He searched for you for fifteen hundred years! You're not King Arthur—you're nothing but a complete fake!"

Not even recognizing the most loyal knight Bedivere, nor Nameless who had taught and protected her since childhood.

She was utterly unworthy to bear the face of King Arthur!

"Alas, I thought as much. Perhaps seeing this will help you remember something."

Bedivere sighed and raised his arm.

It shone with a brilliant radiance, as if embodying the convictions of countless soldiers who sought and yearned for victory.

This was none other than King Arthur's holy sword—transformed by Merlin's formidable magecraft into his Silver Arm—

[Excalibur!]

"Is this... my holy sword?" The Lion King stared fixedly at the glowing arm.

Earlier, within the bounded field, Nameless had projected an identical Noble Phantasm, which she had derided as a hollow counterfeit.

But now.

She realized with absolute clarity that before her stood the genuine holy sword!

"My King, I am guilty! My unwillingness to lose you caused me to fail in returning the sword all three times!"

Bedivere knelt on one knee, his eyes brimming with tears that could no longer fall.

After fifteen hundred years of searching and waiting, he had long since shed every last tear, his entire existence crumbling toward death.

But it was enough.

This time, with the assistance of Nameless, Mash, and the others, he had finally stood before his King once more.

His scarred face gazed tenderly at her: "This is my fault! My failure to return the sword turned you into a wandering King of the Dead. Now that I've found you at last, please... return to being King Arthur!"

Fifteen centuries of perseverance had brought him to this moment—to the hope he had clung to all this time.

The hope of atonement!

Yet, in the face of Bedivere's desperate plea,

"I remember the name Bedivere, but no memories of you come to mind. Cast that sword aside—I have no need of it."

The Lion King spoke dispassionately: "If you are indeed my knight, then come to my side and stand against these rebels!"

"No, I refuse! Lion King, you are but a puppet of the Holy Lance now—you are no longer my King!"

Bedivere shook his head without hesitation, turning to the young man beside him. "Nameless, give the order. I will assist you in restoring the humanity our King has lost!"

Nameless sighed softly: "You must understand—it is the holy sword that has sustained you all this time. Once you return it..."

"I was wrong three times before! This fourth chance you've given me—I will not waste it!"

Bedivere's voice was unshakable, his resolve absolute.

This was the conviction that had carried him through fifteen hundred years—a will surpassing even his own life!

Countless spectators watching this scene felt their hearts tremble—

-[God, a fifteen-hundred-year journey to return the sword... the weight of that atonement is unbearable!]

-[The holy sword may halt the body's aging, but the mind continues to grow old. How could anyone endure for over fifteen centuries?]

-[To endure such an eternity alone... what cruelty is this?]

-[Ah, he who only wished for his King to live was never at fault—the world itself is to blame!]

...

Under the moved gazes of all present,

"You have endured endless suffering for fifteen hundred years, without even a glimmer of hope. You have atoned for your sins tenfold—with torment far worse than death."

Nameless looked upon him with admiration. "You clung to your duty through hopeless ages, and from the ashes of your spent life, you now fulfill the promise left unkept so long ago."

"Bedivere, do not lose heart, do not regret. Stand tall, for you are the most perfect knight!"

The young man's simple words drew unanimous agreement from countless onlookers.

His fifteen-hundred-year journey of atonement had long since redeemed all his sins.

Compared to the other Knights of the Round Table, he had done more than enough.

Nameless turned to gaze at the distant king: "The time has come—this is the day to devour the heavenly gods. O Lion King who has lost humanity, let me cast you down to the mortal realm!"

"No, I absolutely will not lose, for I am a god!"

The Lion King raised her holy spear, unleashing a dazzling golden radiance.

Holy Judgment was about to erupt once more, annihilating all rebels before her.

Yet.

She clearly saw countless golden chains manifest behind the young man, each one madly surging toward her.

It was the mightiest Noble Phantasm said to bind even gods—

[Enkidu!]

Layer upon layer of chains coiled around her.

When the Lion King had been a true deity, she possessed divine-level defensive power that could never be restrained by Nameless's projection of Enkidu.

But now, his sword had severed her divine authority, stripping her of godhood.

Thus, she could never escape these chains!

"My King, on behalf of all Knights of the Round Table, I must thank you."

Bedivere stepped forward, his arm glowing brilliantly, "Back then, it was you and Nameless who protected Britain. You were our brightest star. My King, at last I can return Excalibur to you!"

"Wait! Using that sword will kill you!" the Lion King exclaimed in shock.

"I should have died fifteen hundred years ago. What remains is but a lingering corpse."

The light from Bedivere's arm grew ever more radiant, "Devour my soul and charge forth,"

"Switch On - Airgetlam!!!"

Boom!

His arm transformed completely into the true form of Excalibur, carrying with it the convictions of countless soldiers who sought victory, and struck fiercely at Rhongomyniad!

Under this blinding assault, the holy spear was utterly destroyed.

The power that had corrupted the Lion King and transformed her into a deity dissipated completely in that instant!

Simultaneously.

His entire body began crumbling into broken stone, collapsing and shattering uncontrollably!

This sight.

Finally moved the Lion King's expression: "I remember now. On the hill of swords, the face of that knight with eyes swollen from weeping... So it was you, wandering all these years burdened by that regret!"

"Stand tall, Bedivere, you are the most perfect knight!"

Crack~ Crack~

Bedivere's body completely disintegrated into nothingness.

Yet for the first time, his face blossomed into a radiant smile.

In his final moments, he had at last atoned for his mistake!

Excalibur had been returned!

-[Damn, got dust in my eyes!]

-[Ah, getting older makes it hard to watch such sad scenes...]

-[Bedivere, you were the most perfect knight. You did wonderfully!]

-[Fifteen hundred years of perseverance to atone... truly heartbreaking.]

***

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