The existence known as King Solomon, in his lifetime, was without question a sage and a king.He was God's messenger, and he personally built the sacred temple that served as the origin of mystery in this world.
Though he mastered the highest mysteries, he never flaunted them, but instead ruled his kingdom diligently with the bearing of a wise man. Though he was the one closest to "God," he never placed himself above mortals nor regarded himself as divine.
His life was like a machine—unceasing, tireless. He was devout, immaculate. Not without mistakes, yet he lived as the purest of men, revealing the mysteries only twice in his entire life.
He never denied the potential of mortals, nor did he arrogantly believe that being king and close to God gave him the right to judge all things at will. His every action followed law and Human Order.Thus, before his eyes now—the two who had forged a miracle that even the Counter Force had no choice but to accept—he truly and sincerely acknowledged them.
Not as a "king," nor as the "ancestor of magecraft."But simply as a "man."
At that moment, Solomon not only saw—He also heard the consciousness of the Counter Force and Alaya, compelled to acknowledge and contain this altered history.He received the directive from the Counter Force.
And in that moment—
[You and Morgan, who had arrived behind you, exchanged a glance. Your eyes both brimmed with laughter.][Everything was within your plan.][Everything was within your expectation.][The two of you had devised this plan together.][You never once thought of abandoning your only wife in this life.][At the very end—][You would fight at her side.]
Yes.The battle was far from over.
"Though you have been contained,""to Human Order, you remain unstable."
The directive Solomon received from Alaya said just that.
Unstable factors must be eliminated.Unstable existences must be cut away.
Though Solomon was not one to obey Alaya blindly, since he had accepted its "summons" and manifested here, he would still do what must be done.
At this point, the battle had to continue.
But—
"One against one, versus two against one—those are not the same thing at all!"
Morgan le Fay sat proudly behind him.
Lucan's confidence at this moment was overflowing—it might have seemed lacking in martial virtue, but it was a fact.
One on one, Lucan could stand against Solomon head-on. He might not win, but neither would he lose.
And Morgan—wielding her mysteries, her mastery of the Twelve Spears of Light from the heavens, and her authority as the island's ruler—though not as powerful as the strongest Lostbelt savior in Lucan's memory, was by no means far behind. At the very least, she was his equal.
Therefore—
"Let's begin."
The Ten Commandments shone brilliantly.The Light Wheels, Demon Pillars—superimposed with the phantom of a great ritual of the highest order—manifested within the palace.The brilliance of magecraft, driven by the God of War's sword in Lucan's hand, blazed even fiercer!
Beyond the palace windows, in the sky, the Twelve Spears of Light faintly stirred.Around the Fairy Queen's body, ancient runes shimmered in dazzling hues—
Mystery clashed against mystery, magecraft against magecraft. The confrontation was about to ignite.
And then—The outline of something unreal, dreamlike, arrived.
"Who are you—!?"
Solomon's gaze sharpened, the mystery he was mustering suddenly divided and shifted.
Lucan and Morgan turned their eyes toward it, momentarily startled.
"Ah... If I said I was just passing by, would you believe me?" Just like years ago, in the palace garden, such a clumsy excuse.
Holding a wooden staff and draped in a white fur robe, the white-haired youth gave a sheepish laugh as the three pairs of eyes bore into him. Awkwardly, he scratched his cheek."Alright, I suppose you wouldn't believe me..."
"Grand Duke Subotai. Lady Morgan.""And... the ancient progenitor of magecraft, Solomon.""My name is Merlin—the first Court Magus of Camelot, the Magus of Flowers."
"...You are not one I am required to eliminate," Solomon said. "Will you involve yourself in this matter?"
"Involve myself... I wouldn't dare."
Merlin smiled at Lucan and Morgan, then at the King of Magecraft before him. He thought to himself that this scene was truly terrifying. Even back in the Age of Gods, it must have been rare.
Such a battle was not one he, a nightmare unskilled in combat, would dare to intrude upon.
But still—
"O great progenitor of magecraft...The obstacle to Human Order you seek to eliminate—what is it, truly?"
Merlin spoke with a smile.
Solomon's eyes bore into him. He naturally disdained such a question, yet a fleeting thought rose unbidden in his heart. The next instant, his gaze grew steely.
He stared at the half-incubus who called himself "Merlin," and said in a low voice:
"What have you done?"
Lucan and Morgan exchanged glances, both a little surprised.
They knew Merlin better than Solomon did. And in that moment, they too sensed it.
They sensed—
"Nothing more than something only I could do," Merlin said. "After all, I am the first Court Magus of Camelot. If you're doing something so deeply tied to magecraft and you leave me out—well then, wouldn't that be rather negligent of me?"
Lucan thought: When have you ever not been negligent?When have you ever pulled your weight?
But looking at the nightmare magus, his form becoming faint and illusory, Lucan only said:
"Even if we don't seek you out—you still come in the end, don't you?"
Though unexpected.Though surprising.Even so—
"You have deceived the 'world.' You have blinded 'Human Order.'""And you have influenced Alaya's perception."
What Merlin had done—what Solomon perceived—what Lucan and Morgan understood—was precisely this.
As a magus, Merlin's mastery of magecraft was supreme. But just as he always knew himself to be—aside from his sword skills, he had little ability for direct combat. As a half-incubus, his illusory nature made it difficult for him to truly engage in prolonged battles.
His strongest magecraft was also the most fundamental.
It was the "illusion"—the deception of the world.
And now, he had used it to deceive the world.
To blind Alaya!
He made Alaya misrecognize the altered history.He made the Counter Force believe that history had never been changed.
"Deceiving the world, is it..." Solomon murmured. "Then it seems this battle is unnecessary."
His form too became illusory.That was the result of Alaya's recognition being thrown into confusion.It was Alaya terminating the summoning of a Heroic Spirit.
The progenitor of magecraft would return to the Throne of Heroes.
"Magus of Flowers, Merlin—I will remember you."
Before vanishing, Solomon looked at Merlin and said so.
To deceive the world with illusion—throughout history, that was almost unheard of.
Even at the cost of furthering his own corruption as a half-incubus nightmare.Even at the price of approaching his own end—his annihilation.
For without offering himself as the price, he could never have deceived even Alaya.
To deceive Alaya—the manifestation of humanity's collective unconscious—was almost the same as deceiving all of mankind itself.
Not only of the present era—But across all the ages of history, nearly the entire human race.
"Ahaha... That is truly my honor, King Solomon!" Merlin gave a weary laugh.
He turned to Lucan and Morgan. "Well then, what do you two think?"
"Hmph... Barely less disgusting," Morgan said, still disdainful, though for once without venom.
Lucan's sharp comment: "Indeed. Though you appear unreal—somehow, it feels more genuine."
Once upon a time,the half-incubus magus Merlin, who had no emotions, who observed all yet only stood by—had truly become a little more real.
"Ah... how very fitting," Merlin scratched his head."Feels almost like twenty years ago, when we traveled together.""But still, I'd like to do at least a little of what I ought to do."
Through all this—No one asked further.No one questioned the reason.
Since it was already done—the reason no longer mattered.
Lucan, however, knew well.He knew the change in the Magus of Flowers.He knew the feelings born in this nightmare magus because of the girl called Artoria.A half-incubus who should have had no emotions, who should have only entered the world as a spectator—for the first time in his life, expressed concern for another.
[You understood this well.][Thus, Merlin's arrival was unexpected to you, but also quite "reasonable."][And more than that—you knew—]
That the existence named Merlin...would not so easily "perish."