The blue-gold light spot detached from the tip of the staff very slowly, like a leaf falling in the water and slowly drifting with the water waves.
Shedding Gods started to shrink back crazily after the blue-gold light spot appeared.
Dark red threads came from all directions trying to block the light spot, layer after layer, as dense as a silkworm cocoon.
But when the light spot hit the silk threads, those threads turned into ashes and flew away.
No matter how many layers of silk threads are blocking the front, the light spot will not stop, neither speeding up nor slowing down, and keeps moving forward.
Shedding Gods let out a scream that had never been made before.
It was completely different from the previous scream that made people's teeth sore. This scream contained a real fear that came from the depths of instinct.
The light spot touched its skull.
The dark red bone becomes transparent at the moment of contact, and then begins to glow from the inside out, like a burnt charcoal.
The light spread all the way from Shedding Gods's skull, through the cervical vertebrae, ribs, spine, and all the way to its lower limbs buried in the cracks.
The entire skeleton turned blue-gold.
Then it starts to disappear.
There was no sound, no explosion, it just faded away little by little, like frost melted by the sun.
The heart in the chest beat for the last time, the dark red luster suddenly extinguished, and turned into a gray stone, which fell to the stone floor with a clang.
Shedding Gods is gone.
The dark red light in the cracks also faded, and the entire inner hall darkened, leaving only the remaining silvery white luster on Sword in the Stone and the skylight pouring in from the hole in the roof.
Lin Ze's knees softened and he knelt on one knee, almost losing his wand.
The dragon scales faded away, and he felt as if 70% of his body had been drained dry. He almost lost the strength to even raise his eyelids.
"Lin!" Sirius rushed over and grabbed his arm.
"It's okay." Lin Ze waved his hand.
"Just... a little tired."
Arthur ran over from the corner of the hall, still holding Sword in the Stone in his hand. The dark red stone on the sword stopped beating and turned into an ordinary, dark red crystal embedded in the sword, like an ordinary gemstone.
"Is this... the end?"
"It's over..." Lin Ze nodded.
Arthur looked at the stone on the sword, then at the broken stone slabs and ashes on the ground, opened his mouth, but said nothing.
There were chaotic footsteps outside the hall.
Boqin led a dozen guardsmen and rushed into the inner hall again, followed by Saira and several veterans.
"Where is your Majesty..." Boqin was mid-sentence when he saw the dusty stone next to the dark red ashes on the ground, and then looked at Arthur standing in the center of the hall holding Sword in the Stone.
He was silent for a while, then bent down, placed the iron staff in front of him, and bowed deeply.
"Arthur·Pendragon, whoever pulls out Sword in the Stone is the king of Britain."
The imperial guards and several veterans behind him also bowed.
Arthur stood on the spot holding the sword, his eyes swept from Boqin to Lucas, and from Lucas to the kneeling soldiers.
Slowly and steadily, he lifted Sword in the Stone up.
The silver-white luster on the sword reflected the skylight pouring down from the top of the palace, and was dazzling among the rubble and dark red ashes on the ground.
"Let's go." Lin Ze patted Sirius on the shoulder, and the two slowly exited the hall as people around them gradually surrounded Arthur.
Arthur looked at the two people leaving and opened their lips, as if shouting something, but was eventually drowned in the roar of people.
The two walked through the pillars and gravel and walked to the square outside the inner hall.
The skylight leaked from behind the clouds and shone warmly on the stone floor of the square.
"Now we have to find a way to return to the original time and space." Lin Ze said softly.
The voices in the hall came out through the corridor pillars. Some people were shouting "Your Majesty" intermittently, and some were shouting "Old minister, I obey the order". It was noisy, like a pot of boiling porridge.
"Actually, I feel quite comfortable here, apart from the two years I was imprisoned by Constantine." Sirius let out a long breath.
"What should we do next?"
"If you want to go back, you must get the "time" finger bone. Before that, we must first help Morgana get the "life" finger bone that she lost. Only in this way can she help us find the "time" finger bone."
The news of Arthur's ascension to the throne spread throughout the capital the next day.
There was no grand ceremony. Boqin met with a few veterans and went through the necessary procedures.
Arthur stood on the stone steps in front of the temple, and Boqin pressed the not-too-heavy golden crown on his head with his own hands. There were less than three hundred guards and onlookers standing underneath.
Compared with the pomp and circumstance when Constantine succeeded to the throne, it is extremely shabby.
Lin Ze and Sirius stood outside the crowd, neither of them pushing forward.
"Do you think this kid can sit still?" Sirius held a grass stem in his mouth and put his hands in his sleeves.
"Whether he can sit still or not is his own business." Lin Ze looked at the thin figure on the stone steps, "We have done everything we can to help."
"Besides, don't forget, he is the famous King Arthur in history."
Saira squeezed through the crowd, the coarse cloth dagger he was wearing was replaced by the patrol officer's leather armor, and the scimitar was hung on his waist again.
"Constantine How to deal with those sons?"
"Arthur didn't touch them." Saira said, "I gave each of them a sum of money and sent them to the manor in the south to raise them."
Saira paused, "Are you two leaving?"
"Hmm."
"When?"
"Today."
Saira was silent for a while, then took off a leather bag from his waist and handed it to Lin Ze: "I'll treat you two to a drink."
Lin Ze took it and weighed it. There was a sound of wine sloshing in the bag. He pulled out the cork and smelled it. There was a sweet aroma of Herbology mixed with honey.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome, shall we... see you again?"
"Maybe..." Lin Ze smiled, "There are many possibilities in life, right?"
Sela stepped forward and hugged Lin Ze with such force that Lin Ze was a little out of breath.
"Okay, let's go." She said.
Sirius spit out the grass stem from his mouth and turned back to glance in the direction of the palace. The crowd on the stone steps had dispersed, and a few soldiers were cleaning up the place. The reflection of the golden crown flickered deep in the corridor.
"What about the boy?" he asked.
"We are discussing matters with Boqin and the others in the palace." Saira said, "We have just ascended the throne and there is a lot of mess waiting to be cleaned up."
Lin Ze took out something from Undetectable Extension Box, which was a Galleon, but this time he did not erase the pattern on it.
"Take it as a souvenir."
Sela took the gold coin and put it into his arms solemnly.
The three of them stood on the edge of the square, and the morning market was starting to unfold one after another. The vegetable vendors set up their sheds, and several carts pushed past. The sound of wheels rolling over the gravel mixed with the shouts of the stall owners greeting each other.
"Then... see you later."
"Goodbye!"