"What are you trying to do, Succubus?"
In the dark chamber of consciousness, seeing Merry suddenly appear before her, Manaka asked in a cold tone.
The bright red flower—clearly Merry's Magecraft, and by its nature, unmistakably a [Curse].
"Cursing the vixen, what are you thinking?"
"I don't mean to do anything bad. I was just suddenly invited to join a very interesting plan."
A plan?
Manaka sneered. "A plan involving you? How could it possibly be good? Especially cursing the vixen… Finally dropping the act, are you planning to abandon this vixen, like you did with the Prince back then?"
"Such harsh words, like some villainous sidekick in a drama. Accusing me of bad deeds outright is too much. Back then, when Arthur fought the White Dragon Vortigern, I played a part too."
As Merry said this, her face was filled with an innocent, pitiful expression.
But Manaka wasn't swayed in the slightest. The moment she realized Merry's Magecraft was a curse, she no longer believed a single word Merry said this time.
(The curse itself feels connected, a curse that links the vixen to someone else through some kind of bond… The question is, through what are they connected?)
"Trying to figure out the curse's effects to warn Naoki later?"
Merry smiled, then twirled the staff in her hand, tapping it on the ground. Several rings of ripples instantly spread out from her, encircling Manaka. Then, dozens of light pillars rose from the ripple paths, trapping Manaka within.
Manaka didn't resist.
"What are you doing?"
"Even with the double seal from Naoki and the King of Magecraft, it's unlikely you could cause any impact, but just to be safe, it's better to temporarily sever the connection between you and Naoki. If you reveal the puzzle before the King sees the answer himself, the surprise will be completely ruined. But you not resisting is quite surprising—I was ready for a mental power showdown."
"You showed up here, meaning you're confident you can achieve your goal no matter what I do. So, do I even need to resist in my current state?"
At times like this, Manaka desperately wanted to leap up and smack Solomon's head. Why did Merry add another seal? She'd been quiet for years—why were they still so tense?
"Answer one last question, Succubus—this plan, it won't harm the vixen, right?"
"Ehhe~ What if I said it would?" Merry brazenly tested dangerous boundaries. "But, you actually care about the King… Seems like it's time to make a collar-type Mystic Code as a gift for the King."
"A collar? For what?"
"To put around your neck."
Manaka decided that if she ever got out, the first one she'd kill was this jerk!
Under Manaka's murderous glare, Merry waved her hand. "That's my part done. See you later, Manaka-chan—oh, by the way, I was lying earlier."
"I'm not done playing yet. Why would I let the King come to harm?"
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Real World.
Seeing Naoki emerge from the men's bathroom, Artoria, who had been waiting outside, immediately approached. "Master, are you alright? Did you detect anything else?"
"I've roughly figured out the characteristics of this Magecraft." Naoki said, pointing to his chest. "Back when I was in a parallel world, I saw a similar curse-type Magecraft used as punishment. By having a Magus draw runes on the victim's body with their own blood, the two could share senses—simply put, share pain, but only one-way."
"The effect of this Magecraft is similar."
A pain-sharing curse?
Artoria frowned. "Can it be removed?"
"I can't. After all, my Magecraft is only third-rate. My Summoning Magecraft is decent, my Puppet Magecraft is passable, and the rest is just bits and pieces."
"Besides, this is a curse Merry placed on me. Lia, do you think you could remove a curse placed by Merlin?"
"Ugh… no, I couldn't."
"Same here." Naoki said with a wry smile. "Fortunately, this curse only resembles a pain-sharing curse in nature but isn't actually one. I haven't felt any effects so far."
Still, no issue was still no issue, but Naoki had two things he didn't understand.
First, why did Merry curse him? He'd called her from the bathroom earlier, but she didn't pick up. Considering Morgan was now at the Fuyuki Grand Hotel, the most likely reason was that the two were conspiring.
As for Merry being controlled or something, that was impossible even if you thought with your butt.
Second, how did Merry curse him? Naoki wasn't surprised she could curse him from a distance, but for a sympathetic curse like this, a catalyst from the Magus was essential. While anything could be used, for the best effect, it had to be blood.
Merry hadn't applied her blood to him recently.
(Morgan, Merry, what exactly are you two up to?)
*HUFF!*
As Naoki pondered, a sudden gust of wind blew.
It should've been a normal occurrence, but in this gust, both Artoria and Naoki sensed something amiss.
There was an off smell in the wind.
Like the scent lingering on a battlefield after the fighting ends.
"Master, be careful."
Stepping in front of Naoki, Artoria gripped Excalibur, wrapped in Invisible Air, vigilantly scanning the surroundings, alert to the slightest movement.
Moments later, before them, black mist, like steam from a hot spring, suddenly erupted from the ground, quickly coalescing into several humanoid figures.
As those figures became clearer, Naoki's eyes trembled violently!
"Th-this…"
[Holy Grail… Holy Grail… Holy Grail…]
A ghostly knight in black armor, flickering in and out of visibility, emerged from the black mist, repeating like a robot. It raised its weapon toward the two.
Though shrouded in black mist, Naoki recognized it.
"Holy Sword… Arthur?"