I was a Nerfed Hero in Another World

Mordred also mentioned that Lancelot was a knight from the round table. King Arthur might have held an accolade, a ceremony to confer knighthood. I didn't know if being a knight from the round table would grant him additional powers. The game never mentioned anything like that before in the community. Since the update of this war didn't land on the console, even I had trouble guessing what could happen next.

But that didn't matter for now. 

The system was the strongest power given to players. It was a class that allowed players to choose their prowess and level up through the game's course. And it gave us the strength to overcome any obstacle, becoming anyone we wished.

But that tremendous power came with a cost.

When people obtain such power, they will commit to their desires. And that turned into reality when we faced Mordred and Rain.

We needed to devise a strategy against this pair and head over the demonic border. If we wish to prevent the war from escalating, our team must finish this battle.

Since it had come to this, I whispered my plan to my friends beside me. "Lilith, Merleen, and Guinevere, I want you three mages to fight Rain. Just be careful not to kill her. And be aware of her magic and observant skills."

Rain was an exceptional mage that learned the elements as soon as I explained them. She learned how fire and ice works without having any Scientific knowledge. Equipped with that information, Rain used her wits and conjured it using magic.

Since mages had some relationship with Science, those spells had greater potential. The elements also worked as environmental factors, which wizards could use to their advantage. Everything surrounding us had arcane of some sort that they could use to amplify their attacks. Hence, the mage's upper hand against other classes, especially knights.

Although Rain didn't have any dark magic, she may have already learned light magic. And that was enough to make the obsidian spell tremble.

Lilith, Merleen, and Guinevere were the best candidates against Rain. I had seen both sides how they fought, which made the fight balanced at the very least. 

And on the other side would be the melee heroes, with Meliodas as our exception. Although he was a bard holding a harp, Meliodas was still a force to be reckoned with. That man could boost our speed and strength on the battlefield, which could enhance our fighting power against Afenos.

(Author's Note: Afenos is Mordred)

Fenrir and I would be the front lines for this fight against a knight. I had an excalibur with me, but it didn't give me the power that I needed. Since I would only defend against Mordred, Excalibur heeded my efforts as nothing but futile. The little power that I received came from my will of avoiding hitting Afenos and eventually killing him.

"Remember, guys. Don't kill the two. Even if you have landed a critical hit, don't do it. Our goal is to escape this fight and prevent King Arthur from starting a war. Every second we wasted here, King Arthur marched onwards to the demonic border.

If we wanted to save the land, we had to get through Mordred and Rain.

"Afenos….Mordred, Rain….we don't have to fight. We just want to talk to King Arthur and stop the war from happening. You know what would happen if a war breaks out, do you? Thousands of children will die, and families would follow afterwards. There's a fucking famine hitting our towns, and that would just worsen our situation!" I yelled, hoping Mordred could listen to me. "We are all in this together, Afenos….I treated you as my friend….As my brother….And as someone I am willing to protect with my life!"

"If you really treat me as such, you wouldn't side with a demon!" Mordred shouted back, as he aimed his sword in my direction. "Final warning, Arthur. Choose. Her or me."

It didn't take me a second to return Lilith's gaze after hearing Mordred's words. When Mordred noticed my reaction, he shook his head and gritted his teeth.

"Hmph. Then so be it if you chose their side, and not ours. I cannot let that demon do what she wants, even though it would stop the war."

There was nothing stopping Mordred from taking his desires. Since a demon had choreographed that town's attack, Mordred vented out his anger against Lilith. Considering that she was also a demon, Mordred wanted to shred Lilith's skin into minces of meat. 

"Before you could go to her, you have to go through me."

I didn't imagine the time that I would say those cheesy words in a different world, but I did. After mentioning that line, Mordred launched himself towards our figure. He leapt from the ground, leaving a crater from where he stood. That man charged straight like a bull, with his sword as his horns.

Fenrir was fast enough to react and dodged towards the side. I also slipped through my flank and avoided Modred's lunged. Thanks to the body manipulation of Meliodas, our body movements flowed like water running through a stream. 

But when Mordred regained his balance, he twisted his body and continued his blitz. He didn't give any time for us to rest as Modred bombarded us with his strikes. Each slashes that knight made created a hurricane hovering at my side. 

And when the gust of wind hit me, a cut formed my skin. My body smeared itself with a pint of blood upon contact with those attacks. And as the battle continued, those wounds spread over my body. It almost felt like a tattoo artist painted my appendages. 

Fenrir finally made her move and disrupted Modred's attack. She used her claws and separated Modred from me. Mordred jumped backwards and landed perfectly on his feet, with his eyes still glaring at me. 

Even though Modred had glued his orbs in my direction, he could still dodge a surprised attack. And that event widened my eyes.

"King Arthur also has that sword. It's like the one you're holding right now, Arthur. But if I could compare your sword from my king, yours does nothing but a display."

Modred had the right hunch about that when he said those words. Considering the effect of my Excalibur, my powers were incomparable against higher-players. Thanks to my nerfed character, my sword became rubbish. It made me look like a thief in the middle of the battlefield, equipped with a fork.

Despite hearing Modred's words, I gave him my bluff. If I could make Mordred think otherwise, we could end this fight quicker than we had expected. 

"This sword could conjure dark matter, which could slice anything. Oh, and if you can't use dark magic, you won't win against me," I shouted. "I used this spell to defeat the Caerleon's king, with the help of Lilith. I may not be powerful, but my friends are. They don't look like it, but they do the job well, even without me."

The things I had said to Mordred was not even a bluff, since those events had happened. And I could use them again for this fight if I wished to….But there was something holding me back, which made me tug my tail.

"Then why aren't you using it against me? It's like you've said, Arthur! If your sword could contain darkness, or harness obsidian magic, why won't you use it? Maybe….Just maybe….You couldn't use it? Can you, Arthur?" 

While that happened, my two teammates went to my side and listened to my words. "Buy me some time while I gather the dark orbs around me."

Fenrir didn't have the choice but to follow my instructions. That wolf girl also fought alongside me when we battled the tyrant king. And Fenrir witnessed this ability, which made us win the battle. 

But this ability had a long cooldown, which Fenrir soon understood. And if I used it against Modred, there won't be a next time upon facing King Arthur.

As soon as Mordred mocked me with his words, I conjured the arcane on our environment. Within a few seconds, dark orbs circled on my body. Those orbs came from the forest's mana, which my sword absorbed while I maintained this trance. 

"I don't want to use this against you, Modred….I never wanted to use this during a battle. It's because I want to save you, Modred. This might kill you…."

Modred didn't believe my claim and charged straight towards me. Fenrir tried the best she could to stop Modred from disrupting my concentration. Meliodas was always there at the backlines, controlling Fenrir and my movements. 

The three of us danced on the battlefield, excluding Meliodas hiding behind the threes. As soon as sixty seconds had passed by, I could finally activate my spell.

"I am sorry, Mordred….But you wouldn't listen to me. Maybe you could hear my words after I use force against you."