Chapter 90: Helpless
Immediately, Leon found his legs frozen completely to the ground, halting his charge in an instant.
His eyes widened in shock and confusion as he tried to force his legs forward, wondering just what was going on.
It was like his body was suddenly filled with heavy lead, and he could not move his muscles anymore no matter how hard he tried.
Every limb felt completely stiff and heavy, rendering his strength and skills useless against this unseen force.
He strained his neck with immense effort to turn back to Arthur, gritting his teeth in frustration.
"What is this... what did you do to me?!" Leon demanded, his voice filled with rising panic.
Arthur smirked calmly, looking at the paralyzed player.
"Did you forget, I’m a king?" Arthur said with a cold tone. "When a king speaks, others listen."
’I didn’t know there was a skill like this in Excalibur... one that could freeze people with a word from him?!’ he thought.
It was a terrifying reality to comprehend, as such power of command was far beyond normal skills.
And now, he had fallen under that same skill without any way to resist it, rendered to nothing but a sitting block for Arthur to cut down.
Arthur scoffed softly at Leon’s helpless state, shaking his head in disappointment.
"Watch, and learn how strong Excalibur could be," Arthur said, his voice echoing loudly in the darkness. "When the heart of its user isn’t clouded with hate."
He slowly raised the blade high into the air above his head.
The holy sword immediately shone with a blinding golden light that exploded outward in waves.
The brilliant radiance washed over Arthur, filling the entire empty space with energy.
His short golden hair rapidly grew longer under the intense light, cascading down his shoulders in heavy locks.
His eyes glowed bright golden, burning like two miniature suns in the illuminated expanse.
Leon could only watch in silence as the king transformed before his very eyes.
The oppressive pressure filling the space grew ten times heavier than before, suffocating Leon where he stood.
Arthur stood there in his true form, radiating an ancient power that made the void tremble around them.
The sheer amount of power radiating from Arthur was unlike anything Leon had ever felt in his life.
Leon tried to twitch his fingers, but the numb feeling in his body kept him completely motionless.
His heart pounded against his chest as the bright golden light reflected off his face.
Arthur looked down at Leon with his glowing eyes, holding the radiant blade with effortless grace.
A beautiful golden armour formed over his body, glowing with an intense and brilliant golden light that illuminated every corner of the void.
The armor materialized piece by piece, wrapping around his chest, shoulders, arms, and legs in a seamless display of pure light.
The armour looked like it was molded directly from living golden flames, constantly shifting and radiating a strange, god-like aura that shook the very foundation of the space.
The heat and power washing off the golden armor felt entirely transcendent, carrying the weight of ancient divinity.
Even Leon, staring at it while completely bound and helpless, was utterly mesmerized by its terrifying beauty.
His breath caught in his throat, and his mouth opened wide in pure awe as he stared at the majestic ruler before him.
He had never seen a form so perfect and radiant, making his own transformation feel like a faint, pale shadow in comparison.
Arthur looked down at the frozen young warrior, his voice echoing like sacred thunder as he said, "Witness it... the one true Ascension given by Excalibur, Holy Knight."
The title resonated through the dark space with absolute authority, carrying the full weight of the sacred relic’s true potential.
Leon’s eyes widened even further in awe, his voice barely a whisper as he muttered, "Holy... knight..."
The words hung in the illuminated air, marking the absolute pinnacle of power that the sacred sword could grant to a worthy wielder.
Arthur nodded his head slowly and solemnly, his glowing golden eyes locking onto the young hunter without a trace of mercy.
He raised his arm with deliberate grace, pointing the tip of the radiant golden sword directly at Leon’s chest.
"You failed," Arthur said. "You’re not worthy of Excalibur, now face judgement."
The moment the final word left his lips, a powerful, blinding wave of golden light burst violently out of his body.
The surging energy expanded rapidly into the void, splitting and shaping itself into twenty distinct shapes around the frozen boy.
The light solidified in an instant, forming into twenty golden figures that were completely identical to Arthur in every way.
Each copy shared his exact regal height, posture, and terrifying presence, standing in front of Leon.
They even had the exact same armor he had on, except their forms were crafted entirely out of dense, flickering golden light.
Each of them also held an identical copy of Excalibur in their hands, raising the burning blades together in perfect unison.
The twenty kings pointed the glowing tips of their swords directly at Leon from every single angle, leaving zero room for escape.
Leon’s body trembled uncontrollably in sheer terror as the overwhelming pressure of twenty divine blades locked onto his soul.
The instinctual dread of absolute destruction washed over his mind, making his heart hammer wildly against his ribs.
He gritted his teeth as sweat poured down his face, screaming inward to regain control of his senses, ’Snap out of it... snap out of it!’
He refused to die here in the dark, paralyzed like a helpless animal waiting to be slaughtered by an ancient spirit.
The awe and admiration in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a dark, ferocious burn of raw hatred and desperate survival.
He forced his mind to focus entirely on his physical body, ignoring the crushing pressure that threatened to break his spirit.
His muscles bulged and strained violently beneath his skin as he poured every drop of his remaining strength into his limbs.
Veins popped along his neck and arms as he fought with everything he had, trying frantically to break free from whatever spell Arthur had placed on him.
However, no matter how hard he tried though, he couldn’t move, not even with Atlas’ burden still active throughout his entire body.
The skill boosted his physical capabilities to astronomical levels, yet his muscles remained completely locked in place by the king’s command.
His golden hair was already starting to dim rapidly as his mana reserves were starting to empty at an alarming rate.
The radiant light around his head flickered and faded, unable to keep Radiant Ascension active for long under such severe strain.
The skill required a massive, continuous consumption of raw mana to maintain its ultimate golden form and elevated attributes.
Coupled with Atlas Burden and Hydra Breaker that he had also used during his aggressive assault, his energy reserves were drained completely dry.
It was only expected that even his abnormally large mana pool would empty in no time after stacking three legendary skills together.
That was precisely why he had gone all out from the very beginning of the fight, throwing every powerful technique at his opponent.
He had been hoping to somehow beat Arthur before he reached his absolute limit and ran out of magic power entirely.
Arthur raised his glowing blade high into the air with smooth, unhurried grace, holding the divine sword above his golden head.
All twenty golden figures surrounding Leon did the exact same as him, raising their identical swords in perfect, terrifying unison.
Arthur smirked calmly at Leon, his voice echoing through the vast space as he muttered, "Holy Severance."
The legendary execution skill activated instantly across the entire area, bending the very fabric of space around the target.
Immediately, twenty one different golden cross lines appeared in front of Leon’s body, glowing with an intense, deadly light.
The marks crisscrossed over his chest, arms, and legs, designating the precise, unavoidable paths where the blades would strike.
One line was particularly prominent among them all, shining far brighter than the rest as it moved straight across his torso and directly over his neck.
Leon shivered violently in terror at the glowing lines drawn across his body, his eyes wide as a cold dread washed over his soul.
The realization hit him like a heavy blow to the chest, making him realize with absolute clarity that the fight was already over.
He was completely out of mana, his body was frozen by a king’s command, and twenty-one lethal spatial marks were locked onto his vital organs.
There was no trick left to employ, no skill left to activate, and no shield left to summon to block the divine execution.
Arthur then swung his blade down, bringing the glowing sword through the air to deliver the final strike.
And all twenty golden figures did the same, bringing their burning swords down simultaneously.