Chương 275: Knights of Pendragon

Callum stared at the iron corpse for what felt like an eternity, unable to tear his eyes away from the motionless machine slumped against the cavern wall. The others remained silent behind him, but he barely noticed their presence anymore. His mind had already drifted far from the mountain, far from the hollow lair and the suffocating darkness surrounding them. It returned instead to that day, the day the world he knew had been annihilated. Even now, the memories remained agonizingly vivid.

There had been no rivers of blood. No mountains of severed limbs. No screams lingering in the air by the time he arrived. Only silence. Endless, unbearable silence. Entire streets had stood frozen beneath a blackened sky, every structure scorched into ruin, every warrior reduced to lifeless obsidian statues that littered the kingdom like monuments to extinction. And at the center of that slaughter had stood this being. This machine. The weapon that had erased the most powerful dynasty on Earth.

The weapon whose name alone once inspired terror among nations. The weapon many believed only Barbatos himself could ever defeat. Callum had spent years convincing himself it no longer existed. Years burying the fear, burying the nightmares, burying the image of those burning azure eyes staring down at him amidst the destruction. Yet now it lay before him like a discarded corpse, powerless and silent, and somehow that reality unsettled him even more. His breathing grew uneven.

His hands trembled faintly at his sides. Artoria observed him carefully from a distance, suspicion flickering within her narrowed eyes, though for once she withheld her words. Even Yuki had fallen quiet, her usual sharp tongue absent in the suffocating atmosphere that now consumed the cavern. Eventually, Caesar broke the silence.

"Callum," he said carefully, his mechanical voice softer than usual, "I know this must be difficult... but now that we've found him, I can finally show you what truly happened that day. Not merely what you witnessed... but what-" He paused briefly, his gaze lingering on Callum's trembling figure.

"No," Caesar corrected quietly.

"Who caused it." Callum continued staring at the machine. Slowly, realization began settling into his mind. The construct was completely offline. Dead still. It could not move. Could not attack. Could not kill him. He realized he was safe in its presence. The sensation felt unnatural. Wrong even. After several long moments, the terror within him slowly began twisting into something far colder. Hatred. Not toward the machine itself, deep down, he already understood that this thing had merely been a tool.

A weapon following commands. Destroying the sword would never erase the hand that wielded it. But now... Now he finally had a chance to discover the truth. To uncover who had truly orchestrated the genocide that shattered his bloodline. Callum slowly rose to his feet, his expression difficult to read beneath the shadows cast across his face. The fear remained within him, but it no longer controlled him.

"Get his systems online," he said at last, his voice low and steady.

"I want to see exactly what happened that day." If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Caesar nodded once.

"Understood. I'll need a few minutes to reroute his energy source. Just give me time." As Caesar approached the dormant machine, Artoria finally stepped forward. Her armored boots echoed sharply against the stone floor while one hand slowly settled upon the hilt of her blade. Her gaze lingered on the construct with unmistakable hostility.

"So this," she said quietly, "is the being responsible for the genocide against my bloodline?" Caesar stiffened immediately.

"Whatever you're thinking," he warned, "don't." Artoria's eyes shifted toward him. In response, Caesar's metallic frame transformed instantly. Plates shifted across his body with sharp mechanical clicks, his limbs repositioning into a combat stance designed purely for violence. At the same moment, Evelyn drew twin daggers from beneath her coat while Yuki unsheathed her blade with visible reluctance, the three of them forming a loose circle around the blonde knight.

Yet throughout all of it, Callum never once looked away from the machine. Artoria's gaze slowly moved from one opponent to another, silently measuring each of them. The cavern grew tense enough to suffocate. Finally, Caesar spoke again.

"Listen carefully, Artoria," he said coldly.

"I am stronger than you here. Stand down and allow me to access its memories." For several seconds she remained perfectly still. Then her eyes flickered with something darker than rage. Hatred.

"I do not wish," she said through clenched teeth, "to witness the memories of the creature that butchered my kin." The instant those words left her mouth, she moved. Her blade flashed free in a blur of silver as she lunged toward Caesar with explosive speed, murderous intent radiating from every movement. Even Caesar's enhanced systems failed to fully anticipate it. He had expected resistance. Not immediate violence. By the time he realized his mistake, Artoria was already upon him.

He gritted his teeth and raised a mechanized fist, preparing to meet her strike head-on. The distance between them vanished in an instant, and then another force collided with her first. The impact was monstrous. Artoria's body folded violently as Callum's fist slammed into her abdomen with enough force to crack the cavern floor beneath them. The shockwave erupted outward, sending dust and shattered stone across the chamber as Artoria herself was launched backward like a projectile.

She crashed through the cavern entrance, skidding violently across the rocky terrain outside before finally regaining control. Silence followed. Callum slowly lowered his arm, his expression colder than any of them had ever seen. Even Caesar stared at him in stunned disbelief. Without looking back, Callum spoke.

"Get the machine running before we're done," he said flatly. Then he stepped out of the cavern.

"I think," he continued coldly, "we both need somewhere to place our anger right now." Outside, Artoria rose slowly from the shattered earth, one hand pressed against her stomach where Callum's strike had landed. Fury burned within her gaze, though she forced herself to remain composed as her descendant approached.

"Junior," she said sharply, "why do you protect the thing that slaughtered your family? Do you not see this chance to avenge them?" Callum continued walking toward her, each step cracking the ground beneath his feet with growing force.

"You think," he asked quietly, "you have any right to speak about revenge?" The hatred in his eyes made even Artoria hesitate.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she snapped back.

"Those were my descendants too!" Callum stopped. Then he exploded.

"Then where were you?!" The sheer force behind his voice shook the mountain walls themselves.

"Where were you when they died?! When they needed you?!" His chest rose heavily with each breath, years of grief and rage finally erupting to the surface.

"You were nowhere." Artoria recoiled as though physically struck. Her expression twisted painfully, guilt rippling across her features.

"That's unfair!" she shouted back, though her voice lacked conviction.

"You knew about my corruption! I couldn't possibly have helped you back then!" Callum slowly drew his blade. The sound of steel leaving its sheath echoed through the valley like a funeral bell.

"You think that excuses your absence?" he asked coldly.

"I was the one who suffered, elder." He raised the blade before him, its edge trembling faintly with restrained fury.

"So I will decide what happens here." His voice lowered further.

"And if you disagree... then force your way through me." Artoria clenched her fists tightly enough for blood to run down her palms. For several moments she visibly struggled against herself, against her anger, against her grief. In the end, she failed. Her own sword slid free in a flash of silver light.

"Very well, junior," she declared, sorrow and fury intertwining within her voice.

"If defeating you is what it takes to avenge them... then I shall do so." Her stance lowered.

"But do not worry," she added grimly, "I will try not to injure you too severely." Callum's eyes hardened.

"Don't get arrogant, elder." The air around him trembled violently as his aura surged outward.

"As of this moment... I have far more to lose than you could ever understand."