Knights Of The Round Table

Just showing partial details of the knowledge I had, granted me an invite to the headquarters of the Round Table the very next day.

A place I thought I would never get access to, due to my status as an outsider and honorary knight.

I had only completed half of a floor of Daedalus' Labyrinth, yet I felt very reluctant to share this information to the British.

Just half was enough to be called a masterpiece…

What would the final product look like?

But there was only one hope that would allow us to win this war and it was the limited time used to create the entire labyrinth.

I don't know what the British would use this information for, which is the reason I am so reluctant to give it away. But at this point, there is no other choice but to give this information away in hopes preparations could be given accordingly.

"Welcome…"

A tired and clearly sleep deprived employee greeted me.

Just a quick glance was enough to know that the people around here have been worked to death, perhaps even more than what Makoto did to his own staff members.

"Please, follow me…"

The man staggered around, not able to walk in a straight line.

'Is he fine?'

I asked myself, but within my mind I already knew that another moment of work and this man would pass out… or on.

We took our time slowly due to the man's wobbly nature of walking but within that time frame I used it to observe my own surroundings.

It was a mix of modern and medieval architecture, there were short white marble pillars and clean white walls maintained constantly since there was no observable dust or grime on them.

When we reached the center of the headquarters, or in other words the place where every other sector intercrossed, on the ceiling were murals of the famed legends of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

Whether the legends were real or not, I could not tell.

But just as how the Sistine Chapel had its own murals done by the famed Michalangelo, this too was its own breathtaking beauty.

~♪

It was a faint, quiet sound. Without a doubt, no one else could hear it due to how quiet it was except me.

'...A… Piano?'

I wondered, stopping in my tracks. Now I was the only person stationary in the middle of this crowded, chaotic center.

My previous emotions were conflicting with running with this information as an act of 'Justice', and my pursuit of revenge dissipated as the tiny small notes traveled into my ears.

Looking around myself for one last time and the staggering employee was nowhere to be seen, he was swallowed within this chaos.

My eyes and ears were drawn to a set of double doors made of dark wood, a type I didn't recognize but looked incredibly expensive.

The right door was slightly open, like it was inviting me inside to hear the melodious masterpiece reverberating on its walls.

Curious, I took a step. Then another…

The strap of leather on my shoulder shifted a bit, making the weight of my briefcase containing the material I was going to present tumble and shake changing its location.

My shoulder jumped briefly before I was in a comfortable position once more.

People walked briskly but in my eyes, they looked like mere mirages.

The music became louder and the symphony of notes felt more clean and precise. 

Traveling further must have diluted it, I realized.

The two double doors now loomed over me and the keys of the grand piano were now more clear than ever.

My hand reached for the open right door and I pushed it.

It seemed off for a grand piano to be within the headquarters of the prestigious Round Table, especially when the organization itself seemed to be shifting more into modern traditions of functionality rather than of long lasting lineage.

But it could be chalked up to the strange 'blend' of aesthetics of both modern and medieval that the place seemed to be.

Unlike what I had seen thus far, the entire room was only of gothic architecture and nothing looked remotely modern in the slightest.

Rather than a light switch, a chandelier took its place, the only thing that was modern was the two vents on the opposing corners for heat ventilation.

The small flames accumulated to brighten the entire room. They flickered and danced to the tunes and notes that came off the piano in delight.

"..."

I stood entranced, it was not mind-altering, nor was it any type of hypnotism. It was pure skill that had me entranced.

Ding~

As the last note was pressed, the room's classical atmosphere recessed into the shadows, waiting for the man to call upon it once more.

"Oh…? And who might you be? I didn't know I had a guest."

His hand closed the piano's top making a thudding sound.

"...I'm a visitor here to present some information."

"A visitor? We don't have many visitors around here, may I ask for your name?"

"It's Takara Takahiro."

"Hmm… I recognize your name, but I don't seem to remember where…"

He held his chin trying to gather his thoughts.

"For now, since you don't seem to have a guide, would you like me to guide you?"

The blazing orange haired-man asked me with his calm and warm eyes.

"Actually… I'm here to see King Arthur, I come with crucial knowledge for the upcoming battle at the new attraction the Daedalus' Labyrinth."

It slipped my mind. I looked down at my watch and thankfully, the meeting time with Arthur was not yet here with only five minutes to spare.

"..."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Are you our informant? Ah, yes I remember now where I heard your name from."

"If you could, could you guide me to his room?"

"Of course, of course. Please, follow me."

He started briskly walking away.

Within even the chaotic mess that the central hub was, people still made way for him. And even though I should have come to this conclusion earlier.

'Is he a Knight?'

Soon we found ourselves in front of a lavish door, one worthy of being a place where a King would work, I suppose.

Knock, Knock-

"...Come in."

Once opening the door I was met with stack upon stack of paperwork.

"King Arthur, Wolfric reporting in. I've brought the informant for today's meeting."

Arthur stopped his pen and looked up and towards us.

"Oh, Takahiro. I heard earlier that you stopped following the guide I sent you?" There wasn't disappointment in his voice but rather it was something else…

"Ah, yes… I heard music and I followed it… I apologize."

I replied. Even though I could not use formal language, it was more appropriate to do so in situations like this.

Wolfric looked shocked that I had done this.

I'll apologize later…

"Yes, Wolfric's musical talent is quite something isn't it? Anyway, I'm glad you were not late, we need to go now."

Arthur pushed his chair back and nimbly walked through the stacks of never ending paper. I had no time to rest as we headed through a secret passage and back into the outside world.

*

*

*

Unlike the underground headquarters of the Round Table, the actual meeting place of the highest members of the Round Table, or in other words, the Knights, was actually located aboveground.

Different Knights were stationed around the United Kingdom in order to ensure safety to its citizens, though due to the appearance of the Cult of Whitechapel their endeavors have been more and more unsuccessful thus far.

Light peered through the stained glass windows of the meeting place, in the middle was a table with history over a millennium old.

It was the famed and physical Round Table.

Now, all the Knights were gathered around at the famed Round Table discussing their moves from here on.

"Is the situation truly that dire for all us to be here, Arthur?"

A Knight asked with fake concern, his head resting upon his hand. He showed no respect whatsoever and other Knights looked incredulous at the man.

"Yes it is, Sir Callum" Arthur replied, ignoring the disrespect he got from Callum. After all, he was his cousin.

Out the corner of his eyes, he saw Oliver slightly waving at him and smiling before his expression turned serious like the rest of his colleagues.

"Today we are here to discuss our battle plan against Jack the Ripper, formerly known as Lancelot."

Arthur pressed a button that made curtains close automatically and covered the glass windows. In front of each Knight on top of the table, was a large screen that showcased what Arthur had been talking about.

"Isn't the strategic department supposed to deal with this?" Callum asked, no hint of respect whatsoever.

"Normally they are supposed to. But because of this large scale I have decided to call you all here in order to discuss our moves from here on." Arthur looked around the room as he spoke.

The requirements in order to be a Knight of the Round Table were incredibly stringent. Usually people would have to be within the army or show extreme physical potential as well as a strategic brain able to lead a squad or more people into a battlefield.

In other words, everyone currently sitting were battle hardened soldiers that had enough experience to be called generals.

"Our target is the attraction called the 'Daedalus' Labyrinth'-"

Before Arthur could continue his speech, Callum interrupted, "Why didn't you just stop its construction? This is more than a slap in the face for us, not only did they construct this gigantic structure knowing that we were watching. But they also threatened our construction companies in broad daylight."

"Allow me to show you something."

Arthur said, he pressed his remote once more before a video started playing on the oversized tablets.

"Test… 1…"

On the screen was a scientist recording findings onto a piece of paper.

"We found this along with a letter from Jack the Ripper."

He held up a worn down letter before passing it along to the other Knights.

"What he sent was a signature bomb that was crafted by a young expert bomb maker by the name of King Bomber."

"It is small, compact and needs over three hours in order to work but in the end it has enough power to blow up an entire building and is remote controlled."

Arthur continued, "We simply don't know how many bombs he has and how many he has planted."

The video ended with the small bomb going off, the entire testing chamber in shambles.

"...It's a warning." Wolfric said, his hand covering his mouth.

"Yes, if we diffuse one bomb, he may simply detonate all the others. There are teams currently trying to hunt and find these bombs, but even finding one would be akin to finding a needle in a haystack." Arthur commented.

"We only have a single, narrow way of winning. We must kill Jack the Ripper and end this madness that has plagued our country for over a millennium."

"Due to our problems, I've brought someone here that could help us."

"Please, come in."

The double doors opened and the dark room had light once more.

Clack.

Clack.

"Hello, my name is Takahiro, I'm an informant that knows some knowledge that could help your situation currently."

The doors shut automatically behind Takahiro as his bag that was slung over his shoulders came off and the materials inside spread across the middle of the Round Table.

An elaborate yet somehow incomplete blueprint was in the dead center, able to be shown to all the Knights sitting around the table.

"For now I suppose my presentation can come to a close." Arthur said, he aimed his remote to the ceiling where the curtains unfurled and the glass stained windows brought in light from the outside.

"If I may ask, just to clarify… Is this what I think it is?" Wolfric asked, his eyes widened.

"Though it may not be what the current floor plans are, this is a prototype of the Daedalus' Labyrinth" Takahiro answered, nodding his head at Wolfric's question.

"A prototype? How would this help us?" Callum criticized.

"I completed the prototype, therefore this should be the current plans for the first half of the floor of the Labyrinth."

One Knight raised his hand, "If I may ask, where did you get such fragile information that not even our top investigators could get?"

"Your name is…?" Takahiro asked, not sure how to call this man across from him.

"My name is Alistair."

"...Alistair, I would rather not get into the intricate details of my information but if you need to know… one of the people who made the labyrinth was one of my 'teachers'."

"Teachers, you say? If 'they' were your teachers how do we know that you aren't working with them?"

Alistair asked. All the Knights except Arthur's eyes sharpened at the implications of Alistair's statement.

"You don't. But at this point, where you all are backed against a wall, do you truly have a choice?"

While the words were insulting, the Knights had nothing to say. What Takahiro said was true, they should just be grateful for the knowledge being given.

"What if this was a trap, huh? What then?" Callum said, witty as ever.

"...If you do find a trap and die because of me, then when you find me again you may kill me. That was what I guaranteed Arthur with our contract after all."

'Though, only verbally…'

Takahiro added within his mind. Even though it was only verbal, if his revenge along with his other goal was finished, he would allow anyone to kill him. He would have no more purpose, therefore no will to live.

Callum smirked and leaned back against this chair.

"Arthur, you seriously trust this guy?"

Arthur, who was quiet watching everything happening, finally spoke.

"From his own track record, I do indeed trust this man."

"Hmm… Alright, why not? Let's see where this takes us shall we?"

Except for the extremely calloused members of the Knights, everyone else had a shocked expression on their faces.

The finicky and most immature Knight had finally agreed to something? It was unheard of.

"W-What?"

As the meeting progressed and the curtains furled and unfurled multiple times, the Knights along with Takahiro finally came up with a plan.

This plan was either the saving grace for the United Kingdom, or its doom. 

Only time would tell…

~~~~

Ho ho ho~

Merrrryyy Christmas, children!

Ahem…

So first of all, the reason why I was not posting chapters (even though I said I would) was because my best friend was visiting my house for the break.

So yeah… 

Uhh…

The next chapter should be out by 'today' (after I get some sleep).

And I'll be starting to rewrite and touch up the previous chapters starting 'today'.

Random Fun Fact(s):

If you wanna start reading Fate or basically any of Nasu's works, go to ( tri-hermes.org ) it has legit everything, from Fate/Zero novel's to other stuff… 

(Also kids, never trust a strange man about going to some random links on the internet, you never know if your IP could get stolen… so go at your own risk)

Also, the original Tsukihime VN is now on a website where you can play for free.

Link:

https://holofield.fr/tsukiweb/title

I shall be reading the new Witch On The Holy Night VN for the lore of Magecraft along with Realta Nua and the already mentioned original Tsukihime… so if I disappear again, you know why…

Oh, right.

The reason the scales were 'unbalanced' between the Cult and the Knights was because the Knights in total were twelve (thirteen including Arthur) but the Cult was thirteen (fourteen including Jack).

Now the scales are even more unbalanced since the Knights are now eleven (twelve including Arthur) vs the Cults 14.