As the soldiers began to duck and weave to avoid the returning arrows, Edwin chanted another spell, and a wall of fire instantly flared up, blocking the path. Seizing the opportunity, Edwin immediately turned and rushed back toward Morgana's room. He intended to take Morgana hostage to gain a sliver of hope for survival. Even if he couldn't escape, he could drag Morgana down with him. Although that was incredibly ungentlemanly, he knew Morgana had absolutely nothing to do with his revenge plot.
Edwin considered himself a decent man; he never wanted to drag innocent people into his vendetta. Even with Gaius, he had only planned to use his "misdiagnosis" to have him exiled from court, getting him away from the conflict.
But now, backed into a corner, he had no other choice. All he could do was make King Uther feel the pain of watching a loved one die right in front of him.
Seeing Edwin charge toward Morgana's room, Arthur was about to dash through the wall of fire to follow, but King Uther immediately held him back.
"Don't rush. Kay is over there."
His voice was filled with absolute confidence in Kay.
Edwin chose to go back to Morgana's room because that direction wasn't surrounded by soldiers, only one knight stood guard. Compared to the other directions, the odds seemed much better here.
And that knight was, of course, Kay.
Seeing Edwin rushing at him, Kay sighed. Sorcerers were the absolute worst. Give them an inch, and they'll use some weird trick to turn you into a wreck, or worse, get you killed.
The best way to deal with sorcerers was the King Uther way: gather a mob, and the moment you see one, don't say a word—just pepper them with arrows until they drop. Quick and simple.
What was even worse was that with so many people watching, Kay couldn't use a lot of his usual methods. He wasn't about to perform anything that looked like sorcery in front of King Uther; that would really put their relationship to the test. Based on Kay's life experience, he knew that bonds like that are the most fragile when tested.
Everyone has their own beliefs, and not everyone makes decisions based purely on affection.
But since this sorcerer was now running right at him, Kay had to step up. Thankfully, his superior physical condition made him the best warrior in the entire British Isles, even without resorting to his less-than-legal methods.
Shaking off those distracting thoughts, Kay drew his twin swords from his waist. He crossed them over his chest, offering a brief salute.
"Get out of my way!" Edwin didn't want to waste time fighting a knight, so he intended to use telekinesis to throw the man aside. But in the instant he focused his mind, the knight shifted his stance and launched forward like an arrow released from a bow. Before Edwin could react, the twin swords that had been crossed over the knight's chest sliced across, scissoring through Edwin's neck.
The knight was so fast that Edwin only felt a sudden coolness at his throat before his world went dark.
Soul Energy Acquired!
Kay turned to look at Edwin's headless body collapsing onto the floor, shaking his head. Judging by the sorcerer's reaction, he was a total amateur. Using all those flashy spells was fine for bullying ordinary folk.
But against a real expert... no, even against a prepared, average knight, he would have been defeated. Magic isn't invincible. Combat is a competition of overall skills, and just knowing spells doesn't mean much.
If it did, sorcerers wouldn't be in the predicament they were in today.
"Kay! What was that noise outside? What happened?" At that moment, the newly awakened Morgana noticed the commotion outside the room and asked with some concern.
"Oh, it's nothing. Everyone just got a little excited when they heard you woke up," Kay replied toward Morgana's room, while simultaneously waving his hand for the soldiers to quickly clean up the mess. A lady's room shouldn't have those gross things lying around.
"I'll tell them to quiet down. You just woke up and are still weak, so you need to rest."
News of Princess Morgana's recovery quickly spread throughout the city. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing it. As for what illness Princess Morgana had, few people knew or cared; the most important thing was that she was safe.
Consequently, no one knew about the pharmacist named Edwin who had tried to treat the princess. Morgana herself was unaware of him. She only knew that she had been tired from the banquet the night before, caught a cold, and fell into a coma.
Although Morgana didn't think a simple cold should knock her out like that, the facts were what they were, leaving her little room to argue. So, she reluctantly agreed to King Uther's and Kay's request to rest in bed for two days to recover.
King Uther was purely concerned about Morgana's health, terrified of any potential lasting effects that could impact her life. He required Gaius to check on Morgana at least five times a day to ensure she was perfectly fine.
Kay, however, had a different motive. He knew Morgana was physically fine. In fact, her body was better than ever!
Remember the mysterious power Kay had discovered within Morgana earlier?
That power had been actively fighting the curse. That's why Morgana's body showed no ill effects after she collapsed. Now that the curse was gone, the mysterious power didn't vanish with it; instead, it grew even stronger.
Kay insisted on her resting so he could observe this power. He couldn't determine what it was, where it came from, whether it was good or bad, or how it would affect Morgana. With all those unknowns, Kay decided it was best to proceed with caution.
More importantly, King Uther could not find out about this. Uther was an unflinching anti-magic fundamentalist; because of events in the past, he believed that all magic was evil. Anyone or anything connected to magic must be destroyed.
If Uther knew that his beloved daughter was involved with magic...
Whatever the result, it wouldn't be pretty.
Since Kay knew the stakes, he couldn't let it happen. Their father-daughter relationship, though not perfect, was strong, so why subject that bond to such a harsh trial? Kay wasn't a fan of unnecessary drama. Morgana and Uther were doing just fine as they were; they didn't need any more twists and turns.
Therefore, Kay had to figure out what this power was and find a way to mask its effects.