Chapter 616: The best part is about to begin.
"Tssk!"
A faint sound of breaking the air accompanied a white meteor that streaked across the sky from one end to the other, only stopping above the huge pit in front of the palace.
The figure of Lancelot then appeared within the white meteor, looking down from on high at the giant pit below before descending after a while, landing on a specific spot.
There was a huge piece of rubble.
Lancelot stared at this piece of rubble for quite some time, then reached out, grasped it, and raised it with a thunderous noise.
It must be said that the striking contrast of the petite girl lifting a piece of rubble about ten times her size was indeed powerful.
Lancelot, however, had an undisturbed expression, casually throwing the huge piece of rubble aside, causing a heavy, dull sound as it fell.
Immediately after, Lancelot spoke.
"You’re still alive, aren’t you?"
No sooner had Lancelot’s words fallen than a series of coughs emerged before her.
Gawain lay there, his body covered in fierce wounds, with blood flowing from him and staining the ground red, looking exceedingly miserable.
"Hmm..."
The bloody Elf Knight had returned to his original form, even the horns on his head had regrown, but the wounds on his body were still as they were, showing no signs of healing.
Especially at the chest, where there was a blood hole piercing through from front to back, extremely shocking to the eye.
"...Lancelot?"
The tall Elf Knight seemed barely able to see clearly, his blood-soaked eyes unfocused, proving just how bad his condition was.
"It is I," Lancelot responded, her eyes flickering, her expression cold as she said, "You’ve lost, Gawain."
At her words, Gawain first stared blankly at the sky for a moment, then spoke.
"Yes, I’ve lost," Gawain admitted quite calmly, saying, "Having risked losing my rationality to enter the ’Ancestral’ state, I still ended up losing to him."
"He really is very strong."
There was a sense of relief on Gawain’s face, a sense of acceptance, and even a trace of satisfaction, but not a hint of unwillingness.
Clearly, she had lost convincingly this time.
Lancelot seemed to understand Gawain’s feelings.
Reiger was very strong, which she also acknowledged.
But...
"You haven’t completely lost, have you?" Lancelot said, "After all, you didn’t restore your true name, and your powers are still restricted by ’Gawain.’ If you reveal your true name and bring out your full power from the start, the result might have been different."
To Lancelot’s words, which could hardly be called consolation, Gawain shook her head with difficulty.
"The one who challenged him was Gawain, not the sealed Demon Hound," Gawain said lightly, "I had hoped to defeat this formidable enemy as Gawain, but unfortunately, I failed."
"But it seems you’re in better condition than I expected," Lancelot glanced at the blood hole in Gawain’s chest and said, "Gawain is a knight of the sun, able to exert much greater strength during daylight than usual, but ’he’ does not have such vitality."
"Even the legendary Knights of the Round Table are merely human after all."
"And yet, you are beginning to recover, which should be a sign that your true powers are awakening, right?"
Lancelot’s question was met only with Gawain’s indifferent response.
"When he struck the final blow on me, he revealed my true name," said Gawain, his face calm, "So, my given name should already be becoming ineffective, and soon, I should retrieve my true name."
"...I’m very much looking forward to it," Lancelot was silent for a moment, then said, "To you and me, the king’s gift of a name is merely a limitation, you’ll definitely become stronger than you are now once you take back your true name, and I look forward to seeing you at full strength."
"What about you?" asked Gawain, her eyes finally focusing as she gazed at Lancelot, "When do you plan to take back your true name?"
"Don’t say I didn’t warn you, if you don’t retrieve your true name, even you will definitely be defeated by him."
"You must have seen it, right? The wind he used in his battle with me."
This statement made Lancelot’s eyes flicker again.
She thought of the scene when Reiger called forth the wind, remembered his demonstrated speed and maneuverability.
"In that state, his speed and maneuverability have both surpassed the current you," Gawain said straightforwardly, "If you don’t take back your true name and restore the power of your dragon heritage, then even in your most proud domain of aerial combat, you won’t beat him."
Lancelot did not refute Gawain’s evaluation.
Though she had always prided herself on being the strongest, when someone stands above her, she wouldn’t cling to pointless pride to deny that fact.
"As I am now, I probably couldn’t win against that man," Lancelot admitted to herself.
As long as she remained ’Lancelot,’ she wouldn’t be able to beat him, the Dragon Maiden had such a premonition.
"I... no, I can retrieve my true name at any time," Lancelot suddenly said.
"Although it may disappoint the king, I do not want to lose to him."
What she implied was that if there was ever a possibility that she might lose to Reiger, Lancelot would immediately retrieve her true name, regaining her original identity and strength.
Only in this way, she could possibly win against Reiger, and even if she lost, she wouldn’t feel aggrieved.
In this regard, Gawain felt the same.
Although ’Gawain’ had already lost to Reiger once, the real her had not yet lost.