8. How the Legend Ended

Arthur had a grim look on his face as he held Excalibur in his right hand, and his shield in his left.

Morgana walked to Mordred with a black helmet with horns growing out from either side of it. He took it from her, and placed it atop his head before two of Mordred's black knights approached him, holding his sword and shield. They gave him the weapons, then backed away from him, taking their positions around him.

"Come father," his distorted voice said through his helmet.

"Come and die!"

The group were in two lines, facing one another. Arthur's round table knights Sir Lancelot, Tristan, Gawain, Bors, Galahad, and Bedivere among them, sized up the nameless Black Knights of Treachery.

Suddenly Arthur lunged forward with his sword, which Mordred parried.

The battle amongst all the knight's broke out, as soon each was dueling one another.

Arthur and Mordred clashed together, shields against swords as sparks burst from their engagement.

"What have you done, Mordred!" Arthur questioned as they grappled for supremacy.

"Their lives mean nothing if it gives me the chance to kill you!" Mordred shouted back, delivering a headbutt to Arthur's face.

Arthur's head snapped back as stepped away from his foe. Mordred lashed out with the Green lightning of the Rune of the Usurper, trying to siphon off his life.

With no way to defend himself, Arthur raised Excalibur in an effort to do just that. To his and Mordred's surprise it worked, as the lightning seemed to be drawn to the sword in Arthur's hand.

Arthur used this moment of distraction the sword had provided him to lunge forward. Mordred reacted, bringing his shield up in an effort to stop the blow.

Excalibur met the shield and traveled up its length to break through the protective liner, stabbing Mordred in the helmet.

Mordred reared backwards from the blow, spinning to his right while bringing his sword back to knock Excalibur away.

Arthur saw it coming and dropped his sword a hair's width, letting Mordred's sword pass by harmlessly.

Arthur lashed out with Excalibur, burying it in Mordred's right thigh, causing the man to scream in pain. Arthur then pulled Excalibur from him and kicked him straight in the chest, sending the man to the ground. Mordred let go of his shield as he fell, but was able to roll backwards on the ground, finding his feet again. He stood unsteady, favoring his right leg as he surveyed the fight before him.

Arthur stood away from him, challenging him to meet him once more. His knights of Treachery fought with Arthur's knights of the round table. They were sorely Outmatched in skill, which Mordred had known. He had planned on his new Rune to give him an advantage, but that plan was now dead in the water.

He shook his head, trying to rid his helmet of the blood that was pouring from the left side of his face. His Foresight Rune wasn't working, which frustrated him to no end. When Excalibur stabbed his face, it had actually destroyed the Rune of Foresight below his left eye.

He reached up and tore the helmet off his head and threw it to the ground as sweat and blood diluted into one mixture.

"Fine, we'll do it like this then." Mordred whispered as he lashed out with the Green lightning once more.

He hit three of his Knight's of Treachery before it moved to their opponents, in total killing seven combatants. Three were his knight's, while the other four were Arthur's. The lightning stripped their bones of their flesh, before nothing was left but ash.

It happened in a heartbeat, and before anyone could react the seven knights were dead.

"NOOO!" Arthur screamed as he leaped forward, smashing Excalibur down on Mordred's blade.

Mordred gave a crazed smile as his body began to heal and strengthen. His leg and face no longer gave him pain, though his Foresight Rune still didn't work.

Arthur pushed down with all his might, but Mordred held firm, grinning up at his father.

The other Knights had seen what had happened, the Knights of Treachery seeming to be in shock at their leader's actions. This cost some of them dearly, as the Knight of the Round Table fought with renewed vigor fueled by rage for their fallen brothers.

Arthur pushed down with all his might, trying to make Mordred buckle, but it only made the man laugh.

Mordred dropped his sword, letting Excalibur slide down the blade before slashing at Arthurs mid section. The blade bit deeply into his side, but Arthur couldn't care less. He struck out with Excalibur, back swinging it as he felt Mordred's sword bite into his side.

He scored a long slash along Mordred's face, taking his right ear and leaving a long deep cut under his eye and into his nose.

"GAH!" Mordred screamed as he brought a hand up to his face. Arthur used this moment to strike out with his shield, hitting Mordred in his undefended back, sending him hurtling into the ground.

Mordred's face was buried into the mud before he freed himself and rolled over. Arthur was on him in an instant, before striking out with Excalibur.

In an effort to defend himself, Mordred used his sword to parry, but it was knocked away out of his hand.

Green lightning burst from his left hand as he tried in vain to escape Arthur's sword but it was all for not. Excalibur struck out, taking four of his fingers before he brought his shield down with all his might into Mordred's face.

Mordred's head slammed into the ground, blood pouring from his eyes, nose, and mouth.

Arthur raised Excalibur to deliver one final blow before a Black Knight tried to tackle him to the ground.

Arthur felt the knight to his right as he tried to tackle him, but he stood firm, bringing his right knee up into the knight's helmet. He then brought the pommel of Excalibur down full force into the back of the knight's helmet, making him go limp and falling to the ground.

The momentary distraction was enough for Mordred to find his sword and feet, before he brought it in a sideways slash on Arthur's left arm below the shoulder. The sword was slick with blood and mud, making it hard to hold, so Mordred hit Arthur with the flat of the blade.

A sickening crunch was heard and Arthur cried out in pain as he dropped his shield. Mordred tried to strike Arthur again with his blade, but his opponent stepped backwards, causing him to score a small cut across his chest.

Arthur held his left arm close to his chest as it slowly healed. He fainted to Mordred's left before flicking Excalibur to his right, cutting his sword up Mordred's forearm. The man screamed again as he charged forward, only to be met with Excalibur trying to crush his head.

Arthur locked their swords together with his broken arm, gritting through the pain.

"I am giving you one chance, Mordred. Lay down your arms and forfeit your life to me, and I will let your men live." He said over their locked swords.

Mordred just sneered as he looked at his father, blood still leaking from his face.

"You call that mercy? Fuck your mercy!" He spat in Arthur's stern face.

"Very well, my son." Arthur said as he opened his mouth.

A deep orange started to form in the back of his throat before he began to spit fire into the man's face.

Mordred screamed as he tried to break their engagement, but Arthur held him still as his mutated Dragon Rune did its work.

Just as he felt Mordred start to lose strength, Green lightning shot from his bloodied hand, causing Arthur to close his mouth and step back. The lightning licked at Arthur's skin as it ravaged his body, but he didn't lose his footing.

Instead he stepped forward and swung Excalibur down on the remaining part of Mordred's hand, lopping it clean off.

Mordred let out a shrill scream as he held his wrist at the stump, revealing his disfigured form.

His face melted to nothing but burnt muscle and bone. His lips and eyelids were no more, leaving his teeth and eyes bare for the world to see.

Arthur looked at his deformed son, regretting it had come to this, but not regretting his decision. He stepped forward to end his son's suffering, but turned around and struck a killing curse aimed at him. His Rune of Foresight had seen the curse, so he turned and brought Excalibur down on it, completely destroying it.

Merlin had been fighting Morgana, keeping her busy, but a split second distraction let her fire a spell at Arthur. Luckily he had reacted and destroyed it.

This moment cost him however, as Mordred grabbed his sword with his right hand, then stood and stabbed it through Arthur's back.

Arthur looked in shock at the blade that had sprouted from his chest. Mordred pulled the sword from him, expecting him to fall to the earth. Instead Arthur twisted and knocked the sword from Mordred's hand before grabbing his sword in both hands. He raised his sword high into the air, then brought it down with the strength to cleave mountains in half.

Mordred, not one to stand still, turned his back to Arthur and began to run away.

Arthur's sword seemed to cut through space, as the blade bit deeply Into Mordred's right shoulder and traveled all the way down to his hip, leaving him crippled. He fell to the ground screaming, unable to move.

Arthur let out deep breaths, focusing all his will on survival. He looked about him, seeing his knight's dealing with the last of the Black Knights. He had lost only one more since Mordred had killed the other four, leaving him with five Brothers left.

Lancelot ran towards him, as the others ran towards Morgana who was locked in battle with Merlin.

She saw how disadvantageous her situation was and decided to retreat.

She disappeared from her position, only to appear next to Mordred.

He still couldn't move, but neither could Arthur, who was being held up by Lancelot.

"This isn't over!" Morgana hissed as she grabbed onto Mordred and disappeared with him.

Arthur looked at the place the two had been at and cursed.

Merlin appeared by his side a moment later, taking him from Lancelot's grasp.

Merlin had Lancelot help him lay Arthur down so he could inspect his wound, pulling his hand away after touching his chest.

"Basilisk venom." He said in a grave tone. Arthur just looked up into his eyes, seeing that there was nothing that could be done.

He could feel his Dragon Rune working to overcome the venom, but it was slowly losing. He could feel that this would be his last day on the earth, and resolved himself for it.

"Help me stand up." He commanded. "I'll not die laying on my back!"

Lancelot and Merlin helped him to his feet, before backing away from him. He felt a little unsteady, but after a moment of sheer will to stay standing, he took his first steps. He could feel the venom spread faster, but he didn't care. He knew he had minutes to live, and he would put them to good use.

Gritting his teeth, he took Excalibur into both hands before he knelt with the sword's tip in the ground.

He felt his King Rune react to his will and imprint his soul onto the sword for the next user. He had been arrogant in not finding a successor, and now he paid the price for it.

"Merlin!" He shouted for his oldest friend. The old man came to his side and knelt by him, willing to do whatever his king asked of him.

"Take the sword. Take it and hide it." He said through gritted teeth. "I have no successor, so I will entrust you to find one. I have imprinted a trial on the sword, so that I may test the worthiness of its next user, but that is all I can do. Please." He said as he held the sword out to the old man.

With a grim face, Merlin took the sword, tears starting to form in his eyes.

"Don't you dare start crying, old man. Leave me with some dignity." Arthur said with a shaking voice, seeing his father figure look at him with such eyes.

His remaining knights knelt around him, having brought their comrades' bodies next to them.

"My Brothers. It seems I must leave you, and join our fallen Brethren on the next great journey." He said as he looked into each of their faces.

Tears streaked down their faces as they watched their beloved king in his final moments.

"Take your time to join us on the other side please. Honor our fallen Brothers by ensuring their seats are passed down to their successors." He said, feeling himself becoming weaker with each moment.

He looked at each of them before his own tears started to fall from his eyes.

"By the Gods I will miss you all!" He choked out.

"It has been an honor to fight with each of you." He then turned to Lancelot who was kneeling right next to him, silently crying.

"Please take care of my beloved Guinevere old friend, and take care of Llamrei. He's been such a good horse." He said to Lancelot.

"By the Gods," he said again.

"What a journey we've had." He said as his eyes became dim, and his breath stopped.

Lancelot grabbed his kneeling body and gently placed it on the ground before he put his forehead on Arthur's chest, silently weeping for his beloved king.