He had committed a foolish mistake in the past and destroyed a pure and flawless girl.
Together with the late King Uther, her entire life had been planned even before her birth.
Nothing stopped her from drawing the Sword of Selection.
In Merlin's eyes back then, that was probably an even greater sin than pushing all of Britain toward destruction.
Merlin: "Ah... remembering this now really makes me nauseous."
Watching the King of Knights finally defeated, or perhaps freed, before his eyes, Merlin could not help but sink into memories of the past.
Years ago, in Britain.
"Whoever can pull this sword shall become the King of Britain!"
Those words gathered knights from across the entire island.
Countless men tried to challenge the sword embedded in the stone, the legendary proof of the king's selection, but every single one failed miserably.
It was a sword that symbolized authority and absolute power.
But whoever drew it would have to bear a cruel fate.
The weak did not even possess the right to touch it.
Then, after countless challengers failed, it was finally that girl's turn.
Under the silent twilight, Artoria stared at the Sword of Selection before her.
Instinctively, she knew.
She would be able to pull it.
The hilt fit perfectly in her hand, as though that sword had existed solely for her from the very beginning.
She knew.
That was the sword of the chosen king.
And she also knew that she had been born carrying a mission.
The mission of becoming the "ideal king."
However, at the very moment she was about to step forward—
"Before taking that sword... think carefully."
Behind the girl, a mage appeared.
It was the man who had appeared in her dreams ever since she could remember, the man who taught her night after night how to become a qualified king.
The white-haired mage spoke with a faint smile:
"Once you draw that sword, you will cease to be human for the rest of your life. You will be hated by everyone... and you will certainly meet a tragic end."
That was not advice.
It was a predetermined future.
A destiny observed by a mage blessed with clairvoyance.
The moment that girl drew the sword, she would step onto an inevitably cruel and tragic path.
Merlin: "Ah... thinking about it now, I really was a hypocrite. Ever since she was little, I disguised her as a man, taught her to become a perfect king, took away her nights of rest... and I still had the nerve to say something like that."
If he truly wanted to stop her...
All he had to do was throw the sword away.
That was nothing more than false compassion.
Even so, if that girl had feared the future and given up on drawing the sword, Merlin was willing to respect her decision.
Even if it meant preparing another plan to choose a king.
The price would merely be making the British people suffer for a few more years.
In any case, that island was already destined for destruction.
However...
The girl's determination never wavered.
She tightly gripped the sword's hilt.
Not because she desired power.
Not because she was unafraid of the future.
But because she had already decided to bear that responsibility.
If she became king...
Fewer people would die.
If she became king...
The war would end sooner.
If she became king...
That land could survive a little longer.
Artoria: "If many people can smile... then I think that must be the right thing."
As long as she became king...
Many people could be happy.
Thinking that, Artoria pulled the sword from the stone.
The golden sword of promised victory shone beneath the twilight's light.
And then it was raised high above that girl's head.
At that moment...
The King of Knights was born.
She chose to fight.
No matter how cruel the future awaiting her might be.
She chose not to run away.
She chose to fight for that small and beautiful possibility of hope.
Merlin: "Ah... you chose a difficult path."
That was probably the stupidest decision he made in his entire life.
Because the figure of that girl at that moment was far too dazzling.
She shone so brightly that even Merlin ended up believing in it.
She was the ideal king.
She possessed the qualifications to become the greatest king.
Merlin: "Yes... if I could go back in time, I'd probably punch myself for understanding everything so wrongly."
What "ideal king"?
That was merely a girl strangling herself while bearing inhuman responsibilities.
Merlin still remembered it clearly.
After drawing the sword, Artoria quickly stopped laughing and crying.
Little by little, she abandoned her human emotions and transformed into the perfect King of Knights.
Even though that entire ideal was nothing more than a lie.
In the end, it held no value at all.
That island destined for destruction survived for so many years solely because of that girl's self-sacrifice.
No...
Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it martyrdom.
Without a doubt, that was the sin of both him and the late King Uther.
But by the time Merlin realized that, it was already too late.
He had lost his final chance to save her.
Artoria had already drawn the sword.
And because of that, she would inevitably walk toward tragedy.
An irrational fate awaited her in the future.
"It's truly painful to watch..."
Merlin liked observing beautiful things.
Faced with Artoria's inevitably doomed fate, he even considered looking away and never watching that girl's ending.
But that was also his responsibility.
It was his duty to witness the end of that king.
And then...
Something unexpected happened.
An ideal king truly appeared in that world.
A young man just as young as Artoria, yet absurdly talented.
Someone who possessed true power, true authority, and enough capability to single-handedly carry the ideals and hopes of the people.
A future Merlin had never seen.
A miracle that transcended fate itself.
Leon appeared before Artoria.
He destroyed her ideals.
Broke her undefeated streak.
Tore her down from the throne.
And turned the king back into a girl once more.
Merlin was deeply moved.
What a miracle...
So this future truly existed.
That was why he could not contain his happiness.
Cheering for the king's defeat, celebrating like a madman, consumed by pure euphoria.
"That Merlin..."
Artoria looked back speechlessly.
Merlin was radiant over her defeat.
Overjoyed beyond belief.
She immediately thought:
You're that happy just because I lost?!
Believe it or not, I'm going to skewer you with my holy lance right now!
That Merlin really was a complete scoundrel!
And yet...
Artoria had no intention of giving up.
Even if her reputation had collapsed.
Even if many knights would probably abandon her in the future.
She was still the King of Knights.
Her talent was real.
Although she had failed this time, she was not completely defeated yet.
As long as she could escape from there, she would still have a chance to regroup.
However...
Leon's script contained no flaws.
Artoria's final possibility of recovery was completely blocked.
From the direction of Camelot, a knight appeared riding desperately toward them.
Upon seeing Artoria, he did not even have time to notice that the king's neck was being pressed against Mordred's sword.
Instead, he shouted in panic:
"My king! This is bad! Camelot has fallen! Your sister, Morgan, usurped the throne while you were away!"
"W-what did you say?!"
(End of Chapter)