Boom—
The earth trembled, and the world wailed.
The Lance that Shines to the Ends of the World was hurled by Souya in the form of light. Above the vast sea of clouds, it transformed into an infinite chalk-white tower. Then, carrying dazzling light and immense kinetic energy, it crashed down onto the center of Londinium like divine punishment.
The next moment, the tower's body continuously sank. Like a tunnel boring machine from the Age of Gods, it broke through the earth's crust, advancing towards the Spirit Tomb Albion deep underground.
When the time came, this Tower at the End of the World would travel down the passage excavated by the Dragon of Albion, all the way until it shattered the wall of the world separating the surface and the Inner Sea of the Planet.
Ultimately, it would bring the True Ether necessary to sustain the island, thereby prolonging the Age of Gods for all of Britain.
And Souya's final mission was to protect Rhongomyniad from any interference before it completely pierced through the wall of the world.
"The Anchor of the Planet..."
Looking up at the massive white tower thrust deeply into the earth like a nail pinning the world, Merlin's eyes were filled with confusion.
As the omniscient and omnipotent Great Sage, Merlin naturally knew that if Vortigern wanted to prolong the Age of Gods, he had to pull out Rhongomyniad, causing Britain to fall away from the rules of the world.
However, he had originally thought Vortigern's plan was to eliminate all of them first before pulling the anchor. After all, as the pillar of the world, the time and energy required to pull out the Anchor of the Planet were terrifying.
But why is the Anchor of the Planet in Lamorak's hands now? Why can he use the Holy Lance? How did he pull out the Anchor of the Planet while evading my perception?
And...
Pondering this, Merlin shifted his gaze from the giant tower, eventually landing on the young knight still standing not far away.
Compared to all of those questions, what he wanted to know more right now was why him? A mere incarnated fairy, a despicable knight, whose position in destiny was so insignificant. Why, in this final moment, did he jump onto the stage as a supporting character and usurp the role of the protagonist?
I really, really want to know why... This accident, this variable, this path that is completely different from the records of destiny...
Thinking this, a trace of excited and expectant inquiry gradually seeped into Merlin's bewitching purple eyes.
As someone who knew and propelled the script, Merlin wouldn't deliberately change or manipulate destiny. But similarly, his nature as an incubus made him deeply crave and look forward to amusement.
If it weren't for the human factor in his bloodline allowing him to control his true nature, the Britain of today would have long become a paradise to satisfy his amusement.
And now, this Souya who suddenly stepped forward holding the Anchor of the Planet, this variable that transcended destiny, finally ignited the longing in his heart.
Without the slightest hesitation, even though he had just used Clairvoyance, Merlin maximized its effect—regardless of the toll on his eyes—to probe the truth of Lamorak.
However, even though he pushed it to the limit, the life of the knight named Lamorak presented in Merlin's eyes was still the same as the countless glimpses he had seen before.
An accidental birth, Morgan's knight, the experience of hunting the Afanc, the destined severing of the Sword in the Stone, joining the Knights of the Round Table, and ultimately, after the dust settled, being killed by his own colleagues, falling into a predestined tragedy.
No matter how he analyzed it, no matter how he deduced it, the result was always the same.
There was absolutely no scenario where he saw Lamorak holding the Holy Lance, descending before all of them.
But how is this possible?!
How can a person's manifested destiny be completely different from what is recorded!
Unless... unless...
Suddenly, Merlin thought of something.
An incredible light flashed in his eyes, unable to hide the pleasure and anticipation within.
"You are absolutely not Lamorak! Who are you? Who exactly are you! Tell me who you truly are!"
"Heh."
Seeing Merlin's manic appearance, Souya imitated Vortigern and returned a sneer.
"Merlin, you believe you can see through everything, spy on and control destiny, but that also dictates that you will be shackled by those very eyes."
"I am no one else. I am Lamorak, Morgan's knight, the Lion of Britain, the Vile King's co-conspirator, and..."
At this point, seemingly sensing a complex, numb, yet expectant gaze, Souya couldn't help but pause.
He knew who that gaze belonged to, and he knew what she wanted to hear. But with things having progressed to this point, he could not respond to her expectations.
"...and the one who will prolong the Age of Gods."
I'm sorry, Lily.
Feeling that gaze turn painful, sorrowful, and even tinged with despair, Souya's heart stung slightly.
And Merlin, upon hearing Souya's words, instantly sneered.
"Morgan's knight? Vortigern's co-conspirator? And the one who will prolong the Age of Gods?"
He smiled, his words seemingly carrying a hidden meaning.
"Looking at it that way, your so-called joining of the Knights of the Round Table was, from the very beginning, to coordinate with Vortigern's plan, wasn't it? The one you are loyal to is not Lily either, but Morgan."
As if he hadn't seen Artoria's head lowering further and further beside him, or the ugly expressions on the faces of the Knights of the Round Table gathering around them, Merlin smiled and added fuel to the fire.
"So, you betrayed and deceived everyone at the Round Table. You are truly as despicable and cunning as the Vile King and the Witch."
Souya didn't answer his question, or rather, he simply didn't know how to refute Merlin. He just remained silent, not saying a word.
But this didn't stop his eyes from growing colder, and the surrounding air pressure from dropping.
Clearly, Souya had developed killing intent towards Merlin.
And Merlin naturally felt the killing intent in the former's eyes.
But he didn't care; instead, he laughed.
"What? Is it because I punctured your lies that you want to kill me to vent your anger? Ah, you truly cannot withstand provocation, Sir Lamorak~"
As if to anger Souya, Merlin deliberately emphasized the word 'Sir'.
Before Souya could answer, he continued laughing.
"However, you fundamentally cannot do it, Sir Lamorak."
As he spoke, he looked at the Knights of the Round Table around him, all of whom he had awakened and deliberately let hear the truth.
"Vortigern was too confident in you. To think he only focused on killing me without killing a single Knight of the Round Table. Because of this, Sir Lamorak, what you are about to face is the highest combat power in all of Britain: the Knights of the Round Table."
Seeing all the knights gathered here, Merlin no longer hid his intentions. He raised his arms and smiled at them.
"Well then, Knights of the Round Table, I believe you all heard Lamorak—who was supposed to be your comrade—personally admit that he is cut from the same cloth as the Vile King and the Witch. Everything he has done, including the way he interacted with you, was a disguise solely to backstab you at this decisive moment."
"Since things have reached this point, there is no need to suppress your anger, no need to strictly adhere to your morals. Toward this traitor, draw your swords, everyone!"
However, the response he received was not the public outrage and verbal abuse from the knights toward Souya that he had imagined. It was a wordless silence.
No response, no answer.
In his perception, there wasn't even the slightest fluctuation of malice.
"You guys?"
Instinctively looking up at the Knights of the Round Table, Merlin was stunned to find that they weren't looking at Lamorak; instead, they were all looking at him with eyes full of disgust.
Ah, so there are fluctuations of malice. It's just that the target isn't Lamorak, but me.
"Compared to Sir Lamorak, who backstabbed us because of his allegiance, you—the guy using this opportunity to provoke our emotions and instigate a fight—should be even more detestable, shouldn't you!"
The one speaking was Gareth. As the youngest, most shy, and most innocent knight of the entire Round Table, she was actually the first to step forward and refute Merlin.
And as if a switch had been flipped, following Gareth's words, the Knights of the Round Table all released their malice towards Merlin.
"Gareth is right. The one who is truly the most sickening and detestable is you, Merlin!"
As Gareth's older brother, close in age and not much older, Gaheris echoed his sister's words.
"If Sir Lamorak has been deceiving us all along, then how are you any better, Merlin?! From Vortigern's words, it is clear that you have been deceiving our King from the very beginning!!"
Bedivere, the knight most loyal to the King, spoke thus.
"Although Lamorak indeed harbored ulterior motives as I originally suspected, Sir Merlin, this is ultimately an internal matter of our Knights of the Round Table. As a Court Magus, you seemingly have no right to interfere."
Agravain brushed the dust off his armor. As the most impartial and incorruptible knight, although he used honorifics, his tone lacked even half a bit of respect for Merlin.
"I believe in Sir Lamorak! There must be a reason he did this!"
Percival's expression was resolute, his tone certain, just like his trust in Souya's character.
"I hate the way you talk, so I want to beat you up, Merlin."
This was the 'Flower of Chivalry', the Knight of the Lake, Lancelot.
"Ah, I am so sad..."
This one goes without saying.
"Eh? Eh? Eh?"
Hearing the Knights of the Round Table hurling insults at him, Merlin showed no signs of anger. He merely looked at the knights with confusion, not understanding why they were acting this way.
I clearly didn't do anything wrong. The one who should be condemned the most is Lamorak, who committed treason and went against their goals. Why are they scolding me instead?
Is my understanding of the human heart truly still too shallow?
Merlin thought this, then turned his gaze to Kay and Gawain, who hadn't spoken yet.
"Sir Gawain..."
"Don't say my name! You don't deserve to!"
Among everyone, Gawain's disgust for Merlin was the most severe. As Souya's 'brother', his older brother, Gawain felt that no matter what wrong his younger brother did, he was still his younger brother.
And in this world, there was no older brother who wouldn't protect his younger brother. If he didn't protect him in front of outsiders, who would?
"Also, give me my sword back!"
Following Gawain's call, the next moment, Galatine in Merlin's hand finally seemed to have had enough. It fiercely broke free from Merlin's grasp and quickly flew back into Gawain's hand, as if fleeing from something disgusting.
"Brother Kay..."
Merlin then looked at Kay. While he was surprised by the condemnation from Gawain and the others, he believed that Kay and Artoria would definitely stand on his side.
But the next instant, Kay's answer made his smile freeze.
"Merlin, I don't care what that bastard Lamorak did, but you shouldn't have deceived Lily and made her sad. In that regard, the two of you are exactly the same."
Kay spoke with a calm expression, but everyone present could feel the coldness and anger in his words.
This Knight Kay—who was usually unreliable but was an even bigger softie than Percival, and loved by everyone—was angry.
"Lily, you have to believe me..."
Hearing Kay's words, Merlin instinctively looked at the young girl beside him, whose head had been lowered all this time. He tried to grab her hand but was avoided by the latter as if by reflex.
Involuntarily, Merlin was stunned.
"Merlin, you have always treated me as a tool. A tool for the sake of the world, for destiny, a tool called the 'Perfect King', haven't you?"
Artoria asked softly. Although her head was still lowered and her tone was very light, it surprisingly made the incubus, whose heart shouldn't have any ripples, feel an inexplicable sense of suffocation.
It felt as if his heart was being pressed down.
But, how could that be possible?
Merlin fell silent, the smile on his lips finally disappearing.
"...Let it end, Merlin. Let everything end. Let the Age of Gods continue. I am truly... tired."
Saying this, Artoria finally raised her head. Only, there was no longer any light in her eyes. That verdant forest seemed to have entered the winter of withering, becoming dead and lusterless.
She didn't look at Merlin, nor did she look at anyone else. She stared fixedly at Souya, who was standing not far away, watching all this in silence, his eyes so complex they seemed ready to overflow.
The young girl's lips moved a few times, wanting to say something, but she suddenly realized she no longer had the ability to speak to him.
But right at this moment, Merlin's voice rang out again.
Only this time, his tone became very helpless and melancholy.
"Oh my, all of this is truly too sad and painful."
The incubus said this, but a smile surfaced on his lips again. This smile, however, held no meaning of joy, only an eerie calmness.
"You are right, Lily. It is indeed time to end all this."
"As long as Lamorak is killed, all of this will end, won't it? You all won't hate me, you won't need to be sad, and the entirety of Britain will return to the correct track of history and not be pruned."
"As long as Lamorak is killed, everything will get better, right?"
!!!
Hearing Merlin's words, Artoria's heart instantly tightened. She instinctively withdrew her gaze and looked at him, only to find the other party looking at her with an equally calm expression.
"Merlin!"
Artoria had just opened her mouth to speak, but immediately after, a pinkish-purple light flashed in Merlin's eyes.
Following that, he raised his right hand and gently snapped his fingers.
The next moment, accompanied by the crisp sound of the snap spreading, the movements of the Knights of the Round Table surrounding him all froze. Then, everyone drew their weapons, turned around, and aimed them at Lamorak.
"What is going on!"
Feeling his body move on its own, and the magical energy in his whole body converging towards Galatine in his hand, Gawain's expression instantly turned terrified.
No, this can't be...
"Merlin, what the f*ck did you do to us? Why are our bodies out of control!!!"
Kay roared loudly. He tried to forcefully twist his body to grab Merlin's collar, but found it was all in vain because his hands had already drawn the sword at his waist of their own accord.
And the other knights were the same. Whether it was Lancelot or Tristan, they all uncontrollably drew their weapons and began charging their Noble Phantasms, aiming at Souya.
"Enough, Merlin!"
Seeing this scene, veins bulged on Artoria's forehead. Her eyes were almost bloodshot as she roared at Merlin, almost like a beast.
But before Artoria could make her next move, caught off guard, she made direct eye contact with Merlin and crashed into a sea of pinkish-purple flowers.
The next instant, the young girl's expression instantly became vacant, her eyes turning hollow and lifeless.
"Rest assured, Lily. I won't let you make a move."
Merlin smiled gently. He reached out and stroked the young girl's cheek, his tone doting.
"You only need to watch. In that illusion where you cannot touch reality, watch as I kill Lamorak. When that time comes, you will still be Britain's perfect King Arthur."
"After everything is over and you have returned the Holy Sword, come back to Avalon with me. There, you and I will be master and disciple forever."
After Merlin finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Lamorak, the smile on his lips widening again.
"After so long, you should be able to move now, Lamorak. Since that is the case, are you prepared to be killed by me?"
Sensing that Rhongomyniad had finally entered the underground leylines and no longer needed him to provide magical energy, Souya slowly raised his arm, pointing it at Merlin, his eyes and words brimming with killing intent.
"I will kill you. You damned, disgusting incubus."
"Heh. Such big words."
Hearing Souya's words, Merlin instantly sneered. He looked at him with mockery and said:
"You? The you right now, having lost the Holy Lance, without Vortigern, and with your magical energy nearly depleted... on what basis can you kill me? On what basis can you oppose the Knights of the Round Table enhanced by my blessings?"
As Merlin's words fell, the aura of illusions bloomed once again from all the knights. Immediately after, the previous blessings of 'Nightless', 'Immaculate', 'Sure Hit', and so on returned to their bodies.
"Heh."
To this, Souya merely sneered. Then, right in front of Merlin, he took out an item: a sphere encased in blood-colored crystal.
Seeing this object, Merlin's brow twitched slightly; he seemed to have realized something.
Immediately after, at Souya's mental command, the blood-colored crystal melted instantly, revealing a massive, slowly beating white heart encased within.
"The Dragon Core of Albion! Lamorak, what are you trying to do?!"
With just one glance, Merlin recognized what that was. But just as he tried to stop him, Souya had already taken a vicious first bite.
In less than five breaths, that Dragon Core was completely swallowed by Souya. At the same time, a powerful and eerie aura instantly erupted from his body.
His depleted magical energy quickly refilled, his azure eyes turned into golden slit pupils, and his heart beat violently, resembling thunder.
As if sensing something, the 'Queen's Fortress' on Souya's body quickly retracted into him, replaced by countless white scales and massive wings tearing out from his back.
Slowly extending a hand that had completely transformed into a white dragon claw, at Souya's summon, a black longsword flew swiftly from not far away, landing in his grasp.
The black Holy Sword, or the Vile King's sword.
At the same time, a cold mechanical voice rang out.
[Ding! You have obtained the skill 'Dragon Core (A)'.]
[Ding! You have unlocked the Noble Phantasm 'Sword of Reversed Dawn (Excalibur Morgan)'.]
The white dragon wings flapped. Unlike Vortigern's complete dragonification, Souya's dragonification was a half-dragon, half-human form. He looked like an angel, yet also like a pale demon.
But even if the form was different, Merlin's perception still clearly informed him:
This was the second White Dragon, following the White Dragon Vortigern.
He looked down at the incubus like a sovereign king, his face covered in scales resembling an iron mask.
Without any extra words, Souya pointed his sword at Merlin. The next moment, a red-black light of dawn violently erupted.