Chapter 116: To See How Far . . . V

And so it was, that the King of Knights strode forth, shining golden holy sword in hand, facing down Jun who filled his damaged vessel with the might of Cosmic Furnace and under the light of the holy lance and the starry sky, the grand melee to determine the final victor of the duel began.

One might be forgiven to think that such a situation would favor Artoria but in a situation where they were both exhausted and injured, things were not so clear.

Victory would not go to the mightiest, but to the most efficient and if there was one thing Jun was good at, was converting the minimum amount of effort into the maximum amount of power.

Using Ars Notoria to see through all of Artoria's attacks and even their Lines of Origin, allowing him to reduce them to nothing, Jun used Cosmic Furnace just as a way to enhance his body to match Artoria.

Each time the King of Knights struck with a blast of golden light from her holy sword, Jun simply used a very light version of True Severance to take full advantage of the Lines of Origin he saw, scattering each beam with a precise punch or chop.

And as the battle progressed, the different fighting styles began producing widely differing results. Jun and Artoria were healing at about the same rate. Jun's healing was more potent but his Cosmic Furnace was damaging his body so it evened out but only in recovery speed were the two equal.

Jun's current output of energy was about the same as his recovery rate. While it sometimes rose above it, it also dipped below it in some instances. The result? Not only was Jun steadily healing, he was also not getting exhausted at all.

Artoria on the other hand, while healing at the same rate, was far less efficient at doing so and with her use of Mana Burst, being more extensive than Jun's along with her own version of the ability being much less efficient than his, Artoria was steadily heading towards exhaustion.

Jun realized this as he smiled while continuing to lock Artoria into melee, turning the situation where she was the one charging him around.

Artoria herself also realized she was cornering herself. Unfortunately, her Shining Path skill drew a blank, unable to find a path to victory for her. Still, she was not one to surrender and valiantly fought on.

The King of Knights believed Jun would not show any openings until the end, he was simply not the type to let his guard down simply because victory was at hand. But even if the chance for a comeback would not come, she would fight to the end as a matter of honor.

And so it was, that as Artoria's holy sword got heavier and heavier and Jun continued putting on the pressure, the the King of Knights finally revealed an opening, not a fake one meant to draw Jun in, something which Artoria had realized was futile since he never fell for it but a very real one.

Sensing no deceit, Jun fully took advantage, locking Artoria's wrists and disarming her, before pinning her to the ground with his knee on her stomach and stopping just before his fist obliterated her head.

Clearly, there was no extra mercy given to the fairer sex.

Although Jun did not mind holding back for the ladies, it was only when he was sure his opponent would not be able to threaten him in any way. Against someone like Artoria who could truly defeat him in his current state, Jun finished the fight with brutal efficiency.

It was quite refreshing for Artoria. She knew Jun found her beautiful and saw her not as a King or Knight, but as a woman, he told her as much. But it honestly flattered her that in battle, that perception suddenly shifted and that Jun faced her as the King of Knights.

She deeply appreciated that respect towards her abilities and her efforts. Being Jun's wife at home and his knight on the battlefield . . . It sounded like a perfect like for Artoria.

'I'm already his knight . . . All that's left is to become his wife.' Artoria thought with a smile that covered up her exhaustion as Jun loomed over her.

"Looks like I win~" He teased.

"I expected nothing less than total victory from you Jun." Artoria responded, bringing a smile to his face as he pulled her up.

With the battle over, both of then put their full focus on healing and with their extreme recovery abilities, that mean in a few moments, they were pristine, even their physical exhaustion was nearly gone though the mental fatigue remained.

Meanwhile, back in the room where the battle was being witnessed the group of four who had just observed the duel come to an end, all held different emotions in their hearts.

Scathach's emotions were quite simple as a smile adorned her beautiful face. Artoria had come a long way since they had first met but her joy stemmed from Jun's victory in spite of his weakened state, his performance in the last melee in particular was something that left her feeling proud of her husband beyond measure.

Magdalena and Gray could do little else other than being awed by the overwhelming power shown in the duel they had watched. Neither of them yet possessing the capability to truly appreciate the showing they had just witnessed, though they wondered if that was the power Jun offered to them.

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Morgan however, was feeling quite complicated. Artoria had come a long way. In fact, while Morgan was confident she could crush her Pan-Human History Sister quite handily at the time of their first meeting, she could no longer claim as such in good confidence.

Her victory was still assured. Artoria had yet to reach the level required to truly threaten her with defeat but the progress was staggering and Morgan had no doubt that Artoria could firmly see her back and would drive her to her limit before falling to her might.

Mordred on the other hand, had just felt the true power of the two individuals she admired and loved the most in this World and beyond.

She had gotten much more powerful than she was in life. So much more powerful that even the likes of a full powered Gawain and Lancelot were far beneath her.

Jun's support ad Scathach's training let her potential bloom, resulting in her abilities eclipsing that of any knight of the Round Table.

She had thought to be catching up but Mordred had no illusions of that sort any longer. She was still no where close to her father who had just enlightened her with power that reached or even surpassed the gods themselves.

And then there was Jun who, in spite of being severely handicapped, still clinched a victory that, even if it felt hard won, it left Mordred feeling the flow of the battle had always been held in his hands. It ignited in her an overwhelming thirst for power, greater than she had ever felt.

But there was something else on Mordred's mind as well, her mother's reaction but knowing that gleaning information from observing her mother was an exercise in futility, she decided to just straightforwardly ask.

"Mother?" Mordred called out to no response.

Knowing her mother well enough to realize she was listening however, she asked her question.

"Can you actually beat that?"

"I can beat Artoria and though it will longer be an easy victory like it once was, it would still be a certain one. This is not due to a difference in power however, but simply because of an overwhelming difference in experience and the fact that my skill set is much more diverse."

"Though if Artoria can truly dig out all of her potential, she can certainly match or perhaps even surpass me."

"She's favored by fate after all, her potential is limitless and only when destiny called for her end did she fall in life, otherwise, nothing in the World could have stopped her for reaching the pinnacle."

Mordred could only stare at her mother in shock, completely not expecting such an answer that undoubtedly showed and extremely high appraisal of her father, to come from her mother's mouth. It only went to show Mordred how little she truly knew of her mother's nature.

This was not the Morgan she knew, but someone who, in Mordred's mind and heart, was infinitely her better. But if Morgan's previous words shocked Mordred, those that came next were incomparably more mind shattering.

"Though Artoria has limitless potential, now that your chains of fate have been severed by your association with my husband, you Mordred, carry the potential to surpass both of us."

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