Grand Foreigner (Chapters 201+)

Chapter 218

Ozymandias the Great, exalted above all the world – in his palace, whose radiance the whole world could not bear, glanced at the figure of Gawain vainly striving towards him through the storm of magic. Satisfied by what he saw, he shifted his gaze to the picture behind Gawain's back.

Surely, in the end, Ozymandias could even let go of his great mercy and acknowledge the dignity of his opponent with a careless nod of his head – but that was the limit of Gawain's power. The mighty knight of Camelot, whether three times stronger under the light of the sun or invulnerable altogether, was in the end no worthy foe for Ozymandias himself.

Even now, as the knight struggles towards Ozymandias, Gawain could barely cope with the magic affecting him. Millions of spells at once cursing his soul, wounding his body and scrambling his mind, Gawain would hardly make it halfway to Ozymandias before he would inevitably falter. Perhaps on the next step, maybe ten steps later, maybe twenty, but he would falter in the end.

For other heroes, one step was their limit and perhaps not even that, dying where they stand when the Pharaoh's Palace shows its splendor to the world. But, Gawain looked ready to make it at least halfway to the ruler of Ramesseum Tentyris - which was worthy of all worldly honors... Or a lazy nod of Ozymandias' head – which was equal to, if not superior to, all the honors of this world.

But it was not Gawain that caught Ozymandias' attention, the knight's demise was already a truth of this world, but the tower that appeared on the horizon. The tower bathed in the golden light of the Goddess of Camelot, in this the Great Pharaoh would not mistakenly take it for something else.

For Ozymandias was well aware of what that tower was – and Ozymandias felt a contemptuous anger looking at the white tower.

For the appearance of the tower meant only one thing.

The Goddess of Camelot, the maddened King Arthur, had decided to do his cursed deed and destroy the world and all of human history in order to lead a few hundred lost souls away like the Pied Piper of Hamelin. In his desperate foolishness, considering it a victory to flee from his enemy.

Ozymandias did not see humanity as something of value in itself, such was the fate and role of a ruler. Sometimes to sacrifice less for more, and more for what was left, but such a shameful action from someone that dares to call themselves a Goddess, as merited as it might be, made him angry.

Angry that even someone he had deemed as a worthy enemy, one of the few Ozymandias would choose to use all his strength to fight, had chosen the shame of flight over the fulfillment of her duty. Not as a Servant, such a paltry reason is not something that Ozymandias would put to mind, but as ruler of the kingdom she was supposed to defend with her life.

This was the second reason why Ozymandias felt this anger.

Let there be no love for humanity too great, there was no contempt or hatred for either. After all, he was Ozymandias, how could he shine so brightly, if not only among the hundreds of thousands of mediocrities whose role in this world was to be his followers? And how could he not fight for them if they were his subjects?

The subjects obey the king, for the king is above them, but every king fights for his subjects, for that is the only possible natural order of things. Subjects die for their king, so that he in turn dies for his subjects – it was not a matter of morality or will, but was the only possible way for this world to exist.

And if the actions of the Goddess threatened his subjects, Ozymandias had to answer her threat in kind.

To crush his enemy with all the might of the incarnate god of all gods.