Chapter 318: Reveal (1/2)

Peirce stood from the mud soaked grounds and took a step forward, brandishing his two long swords.

”Stand down!”

Gawain looked toward Peirce with reddened eyes. They had just lost three Knights of the Round Table. As things stood now, there was only Gawain and Ector remaining. It could be said that this was the greatest blow Camelot had taken since its establishment.

Gawain's number one priority was protecting the lives of those that remained. He couldn't allow a moment of hot headedness or greed to ruin the foundation of Camelot.

The gaze he looked toward Peirce seemed only a step away from madness. He had too many clashing emotions in his mind.

On the one hand, he didn't agree with the way Arthur was doing things. But, on the other, he didn't want to see his King lose like this nor did he want his fellow brothers to sacrifice themselves one after another.

In the height of his emotions, Gawain believed that Peirce was trying to step in to defend Arthur's honor. Everything he knew about Peirce to this point defined him as a man of honor and nobility. Acting to defend Arthur at this point was exactly what the persona of the past would have done.

However, Gawain would have never expected for a simple command of his to cause Peirce's sword to find its way to his neck.

Gawain might have been in an emotional state, but he was still one of the 12 strongest knights beneath King Arthur. He reacted with an inhuman quickness, arching his back toward the ground and barely dodging the long, slightly curved sword.

Still, he felt a cold wind across his throat. When he brought his fingers up, he found that a thin line of blood had already been drawn across his adam's apple. Death had been just that close.

When Gawain got over his shock, he immediately felt a surging anger.

”Peirce! What do you mean by this?!”

Gawain's roar seemed to be trying to rival the rumbling clouds above, but it was, maybe fittingly, completely drowned out.

PPCCHUU!

Before Peirce even got a chance to respond, Gawain suddenly felt a sharp pain to his back.

He looked down, shaken. His body trembled, blood leaking from his lips as he tried to speak. But, the spear that had gone through his chest didn't seem apt to allow him to do so.

Gawain struggled to turn his head back, only to be shocked to find his brother in arms, Sir Ector.

Shock, unwillingness, resentment… It all flashed through Gawain's eyes in those last moments. But, all he saw in Ector's eyes was a dullness as though he didn't care about taking the life of his friend of so many years.

Gawain's body fell limp and lifeless, the plop of his figure onto the wet ground somehow resounding more than his final roar.

The eerie sound seemed to wake Ector from his daze. He blinked, his eyes squinting in confusion. He looked from his bloodied spear to the body on the ground. When he thought of a certain possibility, his heart shook.