"You…!"
Mordred's brows shot up. Though she couldn't say that she was surprised by such a change, she was still somewhat caught off guard. Her entire mind had been focused on Aina's condition, so she wasn't particularly worried about what others were thinking at this moment.
King Arthur frowned.
"Hang in there." He spoke to Lancelot quickly. He had been by the Knight's side, but it seemed that he wouldn't be able to remain there.
Unlike Leonel, it took King Arthur several moments to cast a Three Star Mage Art. Not only could he not spare the time, but with the condition of his body at the moment, he couldn't spare the stamina to heal Lancelot either.
Just the action of moving forward made Arthur feel as though his bones might collapse at any time. In order to protect his men and his wife, he had become the main frontline fighter against City Lord White, and it seemed that it was coming back to bite him now.
Noah's expression remained indifferent, his planted leg suddenly growing explosively in size.
BANG!
His body was like a bolt, crossing the remaining distance in a flash. By the time he landed, his leg had already returned to its original length and he was beside Aina.
He reached out a hand, allowing it to grow to the point it could capture Aina completely.
At that moment, being so close, he could smell the foul air coming from her. It was as though he had stepped into sewage. The change was simply too different from what she had been just moments ago.
Aina couldn't even react to what was happening around her. Violent coughing fits shook her body, a mixture of blood and foul liquids shooting out with every heave. It was difficult to tell if it was just a terrible cough or if she was vomiting.
Just as Noah's enlarged hand was about to wrap around Aina, he smelled the scent of danger. But, Jessica was to his side.
With a simple command, the demonic beasts under Jessica's control shot forward, intercepting Mordred's rain of dark arrows from above.
Without suspense, each one was pierced through and died in mere moments. But, Jessica didn't even flinch. She had taken control of all of these demonic beasts in the first place so that she could use them as canon fodder when she needed to.
However… that didn't mean that all she had was canon fodder.
Jessica gripped at a set of polished marbles hanging from her hip. At the instant Mordred was slowed, she flicked one of these marbles forward.
In one moment, it seemed like nothing more than a child's toy. But, in the next, it grew explosively in size, becoming a massive four-armed white ape.
The ape's roar shook the skies as it soared toward Mordred, intercepting her descent with four hammer fists.
Jessica didn't want to use her personal beasts until now because she had invested too much into them. Not a single one had an ability worse than the S-grade at birth and not a single one hadn't been nurtured with all the finest nutrition and environments.
However, they were ultimately still infants. It wasn't that they were too weak to participate. In fact, they were the strongest trump cards Jessica had. It was just not worth it in the grand scheme.
But now, facing an opponent she was sure wouldn't be a threat to the life of her precious babies, she no longer hesitated.
Mordred's eyes widened. This was something she had simply never seen before.
But, as a veteran of battle, her reaction speed was still frighteningly quick.? Dozens of dark shields appeared before her with a single wave of her palm.
This ape had no ability to maneuver in the air. Simply delaying it for a moment already gave her ample time to press off another shadowy platform and change direction, shooting past the ape.
But, by the time she had, Noah's enlarged hand had already begun to wrap around Aina's body.
King Arthur entered the battlefield, his gaze flashing with determination.
Aina was the reason Camelot could continue to stand now. He had no intention of allowing her to be taken away just like this.
At that moment, streaks of sharp blue tore through the skies. A familiar barrage of ice javelins aimed for Noah's wrists, causing him to frown.
His hand quickly shrunk back to its original size, dodging out of the way of the Javelin's.
By this point, Nile and the others had reacted as well. Knowing that their Prince and Jessica would be hounded from all sides, they shot forward as well, blocking off the remaining Knights of the Round Table.
Nile brandished a spear of almost two and a half meters long, leading the vanguard against Queen Guinevere. He knew well that he didn't have the strength to match up against her alone, but this was precisely why he had brought support.
Noah reacted quickly to the change, reaching for Aina once again. But, by this point, King Arthur had already closed the remaining distance, brandishing Excalibur against the Prince.
Noah swung out his massive saber, looking to block Arthur while continuing to reach for Aina's convulsing body.
Mordred swung out her wand. A rain of arrows fell once again, pincering Noah from his opposite side.
Noah's gaze narrowed. He planned to allow Jessica to protect his back, but at that moment, Arthur's sword met his saber.
A deep, reverberating clash of blades shook the battlefield as Noah was forced to retreat several steps.
Noah stumbled out of range of Aina, only to be assaulted by a rain of arrows to his back.
Jessica reacted quickly, her whip lashing out several times in quick succession.
In the blink of an eye, the battlefield split into three. The Knights and Guinevere against a team led by Nile. Noah against Arthur. And finally, Jessica faced Mordred.
They stood in a triangle around Aina's convulsing body, the pressure growing palpably.