"Aaargh! My eyes, my eyes!"
The white nightmare wailed and thrashed on the ground. He subconsciously tried to cover his eyes, which Artoria had blinded, but it was all in vain. With his movements, splashes of purple blood sprayed around him. Before long, Merlin's white robes were completely stained purple, and the air was filled with a nauseatingly thick floral scent.
And the cause of all this, Artoria, was now looking down coldly at her nominal teacher as he writhed in pain on the ground like a maggot.
"Why, Lily?! Why would you do this to me?!"
Finally, Merlin recovered from the pain of blindness, but what surged into his mind was an even more intense confusion and anger.
After breaking his vow to Morgana and escaping from Avalon, Merlin had considered who might want to kill him. Perhaps Vortigern, who had transformed into a demonic dragon. Perhaps the witch who had come after him when she sensed the broken vow, only to be held back by his magic. Or perhaps one of the Round Table knights who might have turned against him.
But even after considering so many possibilities, even taking Kay into account, he never imagined that the one who would ultimately strike would be Artoria, who trusted him completely.
He knew that to avoid the potential dangers that lay ahead, Merlin had hidden his true consciousness within Artoria's spiritual sea. That was why even when Vortigern destroyed the entire sea of flowers with the Inverted Sword of the Rising Sun, he couldn't kill him. That was why when Lancelot summoned the shadows with the power of the White Dragon to trap and kill him, he had only killed a clone that was closely connected to him.
It could be said that among everyone present, the only one who could truly kill him was Artoria.
But how could that be possible?
The nightmare was confident that this girl cherished the hard-won bonds she had with them before she fully ascended to the throne. So even if Artoria found out about the secrets he had been hiding from her due to his untimely intervention, Merlin didn't care in the slightest. He even said something like, "I've hardly ever told a lie," something so obviously false that even a dog would know better.
What? You say Artoria might resent me for this?
How could that be? I am her dear brother Merlin, the great magus who created her existence and gave her a grand ideal. Even if she was deceived by me, at most she would be sad and a little anxious. Then I just need to move my lips a little, and wouldn't she still be my Lily, the Artoria who is about to become the eternal king according to the trajectory of fate?
The only thing to solve was Lancelot, who was in a similar situation and also had a significant influence on Lily.
So how to solve it?
Simple. I'll create an illusion to erase the concept of Lancelot from Artoria's consciousness.
Then, when that guy outside is dealt with by the Knights of the Round Table and the Celtic army, I'll let Lily out and have her kill Lancelot.
When he thought of this, Merlin was filled with anticipation. After all, being killed by a friend who cared about him in such a situation would surely allow him to extract a new and delicious flavor of emotion from this "visitor from another world," right?
As for his earlier claim that he wouldn't let Artoria kill Lancelot...
Hehe, how can you call it breaking a promise when it's the great magus's business?
It was the child of the Red Dragon who killed the second White Dragon of Britain. What does that have to do with Artoria?
Any White Dragon that appears in Britain is destined to be slain by the Red Dragon. All of this is just following the trajectory of fate.
But all these beautiful fantasies were now gone.
All of the nightmare's expectations, all of his desires, were destroyed when the girl pulled out the 'Sword of Selection' and slashed it across his eyes.
Why? Why why why?!
Why is it you who hurts me! Why is it you who destroyed my Clairvoyance! Shouldn't you be the one who believes in me the most, trusts me the most?! Artoria!
Seemingly sensing the intense negative emotions from the magus, Artoria's expression grew even colder.
"Why shouldn't I do this to you, Merlin? Haven't you deceived me enough? Isn't that enough to make me angry?"
From the initial disbelief and self-comfort when she learned the truth about the decline of the Age of Gods from Vortigern, telling herself that Vortigern was just trying to drive a wedge between her and Merlin before he died, to the later disbelief and bewilderment when the supposedly dead Merlin was resurrected and she sought confirmation from him, and then to the anger when Merlin, using the illusionary seeds he had planted in the Knights of the Round Table when he blessed them, went against their will and tried to use them to kill Lancelot.
If all of this had just made the kind-hearted her lose all trust in Merlin and want to never see him again, then when Merlin went a step further and tried to influence her state of mind to make her forget Lancelot on her own, Artoria was completely enraged, and malice and the intent to kill grew within her.
And the way this guy chose to influence her was to make her relive a life without Lancelot.
Faced with such a scumbag, Artoria didn't want to tolerate him anymore.
Fine. Since you pride yourself on being able to see through everything, on mastering the trajectory of fate, on manipulating everyone in the palm of your hand, then I will destroy the 'Clairvoyance' you rely on.
Losing the ability to find the source of his food was undoubtedly the cruelest blow to the pleasure-seeking Merlin.
But Artoria's words clearly did not make him reflect, and instead made the nightmare's expression even more confused.
"What about Lancelot! Didn't he deceive you just as much!"
As if finding an outlet, Merlin questioned Artoria.
"From the very beginning, he approached you with a purpose!"
"His so-called loyalty was just to fulfill his agreement with Vortigern. From beginning to end, he never saw you as his lord, as a companion."
"Lily, you heard Lancelot admit it himself, didn't you? He is the witch's knight, the Tyrant King's ally, but he never mentioned you."
At this point, whether it was genuine or deliberate, Merlin's tone took on a hint of regret.
"Don't hold out hope for him anymore, Lily. Lancelot is no different from me."
"You probably don't know, do you? That guy, like me, is not human."
"He's just a water fairy, who for some reason transformed into his current human form. All the images and behaviors he displays are just imitation."
"Fairies, they are the most cunning of creatures..."
At this point, Merlin subconsciously raised his now gray, blood-rimmed, and terrifying eyes to look at Artoria.
Although he had lost his sight, he could still vaguely see the outline of objects with his magic.
Involuntarily, the nightmare's true nature began to act up again. He began to wonder what kind of expression Artoria would have after hearing these words and seeing that guy for who he really was.
Would it be the same coldness and anger as she had for him, or would it be sadness and struggle?
Ahhh, what a pity... I can't see such a sight anymore...
But when the girl silently listened to Merlin's provocation and then slowly spoke, Merlin was stunned.
"So it was you, Merlin."
Artoria didn't have any negative feelings towards Souya because of Merlin's words. Instead, as if remembering something unpleasant, her gaze towards Merlin grew even colder.
"So you knew all along that Lancelot was once a water fairy. So he didn't leave without saying goodbye back then, he was driven away by you, wasn't he?"
She had once wondered endlessly why the fairy gentleman had left without saying goodbye after making a promise with her.
Was it because she couldn't meet his expectations at the time? Or was it because no matter how much she studied the theory he talked about, she couldn't grasp it?
Or was it simply because she had annoyed the fairy gentleman, so he chose to leave without saying goodbye?
Such questions had troubled the then-12-year-old Artoria for countless nights.
Perhaps some people would think it was meaningless to waste so much breath on such a small matter.
But for some people, it is often not that their childhood heals their whole life, but that they spend their whole life healing their childhood.
Artoria, who had been raised as a tool to become king since she was a child, longed for friendship and love. Her childhood was spent with swords and wounds, and all the things that children should have were irrelevant to her. Even her only friend, her foster brother Kay, was a full five years older than her.
Such a girl finally met a friend one day who would tell her stories she had never known and accompany her as she grew up, only to lose him one day when he left without saying goodbye.
How could this not make her feel conflicted and sad?
And this emotion found a home later when she met him again, now with a body, and discovered that he was the water fairy from back then.
This was the initial reason why she so desperately wanted to have Lancelot.
Perhaps if she had followed the fate given by Merlin, until Artoria became the Arthur from the original history, who was full of divinity but had no humanity, it would have become insignificant.
But now she had transcended history, broken free from fate. She was human, she had a human heart, and therefore she had human emotions and longed for and expected feelings.
So after learning that Merlin was the culprit who drove Lancelot away, Artoria immediately smiled.
If it weren't for you, Lancelot would have stayed with me, right?
If it weren't for you, Lancelot wouldn't have been snatched away by my royal sister and pledged allegiance to her, right?
If it weren't for you, none of this would be like this now, and there would be no rift between them, right?
"Everything is your fault, Merlin."
Without the slightest hesitation, the girl once again swung the Sword of Selection formed from her own mindscape, piercing Merlin's chest amidst his distraught expression.
"Don't try to drive a wedge between me and Lancelot anymore, you nightmare."
"You don't understand the human heart at all, nor do you know what it means to be human, yet you presume to play with and manipulate human emotions. Even if the skin you wear looks human, you are still just a nightmare."
"And although Lancelot is just a water fairy, even if he doesn't have a human form, his character, his thoughts, and his heart are undoubtedly a clear human heart."
The girl tilted her head slightly, her beautiful face in the sunlight filled with mockery and disgust for Merlin.
"To tell you the truth, Lancelot told me from the very beginning that he and we were not on the same path. From beginning to end, he never hid who his heart belonged to."
"So between us, there is no deceit."
Listening to the girl's words, Merlin finally fell completely silent.
Countless emotions surged through his heart: anger, confusion, jealousy, but he remained silent. The mouth that had once stirred people's hearts was finally closed.
Sighing softly, Artoria took one last, deep look at the collapsed Merlin, then dropped the Sword of Selection in her hand, letting it dissipate with the wind, and turned to leave.
In the air, only the girl's resolute back and her final words remained.
"I won't kill you, Merlin. Although you deserve to die, I am human. Unlike you, I know gratitude. I'll spare your life as compensation for your teaching and care over the years."
"But by the same token, you will stay blind in Avalon for the rest of your life. Don't come out again."
"Goodbye, Merlin."
As for Artoria.
Now, she had to break this illusion and find Lancelot.
Then, have a fight with him.
No words were needed. The clash of knights' weapons could convey their feelings for each other.
She would prove to him, as she had once said, that she had the strength and determination, even if it meant going against the will of the world, even if it meant breaking the fate of the Red Dragon, she would be with him.
To live together, to accompany each other, to welcome and protect the coming of the Age of Gods together.
Even if it meant facing the world's wrath in the end, she didn't want to let go of his hand again.
The current Artoria, no one could separate her from Lancelot, not even the main consort Morgana.
If possible, she even wanted to have a child with him.
Knowing that the so-called King Arthur was just a false lie constructed by a nightmare, Artoria no longer wanted to persist. She wanted to live the life she wanted to live, as a person.
But before Artoria could get far, she suddenly sensed something.
When she turned her head sharply, she saw a tower that had suddenly appeared in her mindscape, and at the foot of the tower, a boundless sea of flowers.
The Great Magus's ultimate spell: Garden of Avalon.
In front of the tower, Merlin's blind and pale figure stood there, a cruel smile on his lips, looking at Artoria with an almost pathological expression.
Seemingly sensing the girl's gaze, Merlin smiled and spoke.
"Lily, since you didn't choose me, but chose that guy, then I can only resort to some extreme measures."
"What I can't have, that guy Lancelot can't have either."
"You will stay in this 'Avalon of Illusions' and quietly wait for everything outside to end, Lily."
"Without your existence, the will of the world will directly intervene and descend upon Britain. Then, Lancelot will die, the Knights of the Round Table will die, and even the whole of Britain will be destroyed."
At this point, as if afraid that Artoria would attack him again, Merlin's figure began to gradually become transparent. His consciousness was about to return to his main body in Avalon.
However, the soul is connected to the body, so even if his consciousness returned, his eyes would still be blind.
Soon, the nightmare's figure dissipated, but his last words still lingered in the girl's mind.
However, the girl's expression was not flustered, only abnormally calm.
Gazing at the towering, ornate tower of flowers, Artoria gently extended her hand.
The next moment, a shining blue-gold holy sword appeared in her hand.
Excalibur: The Sword of Promised Victory.
Not an image projected from her heart, but the real thing. What appeared in this eternal illusion was the true body of the star-forged holy sword.
A long time ago, Artoria had understood a truth.
A sword is not something that decides a person, but a person who decides it.
Even though her thinking had now changed, she no longer wanted to fight for the world, and would even fight against the world for a certain person, the star-forged holy sword had already recognized her as its master.
Then it was no longer the divine armament of the planet, but the personal sword of King of Knights Artoria, and that was all.
This was the destiny of a weapon. To understand this principle was to be a holy sword. To not understand was to be like the Sword in the Stone, to be destroyed.
"Holy sword, release."
In the girl's hand, a brilliant and magnificent golden light shone.
"The breath of the gathered stars, what shines is the torrent of life."
"For my sake, sever this secluded utopia."
A wind blew, the sea of flowers swayed, the girl's golden hair fluttered, and beneath the gentle gold was a pair of firm and beautiful emerald eyes.
"Ex—calibur—!!!"
Surrounded by thousands of flowers, a huge golden pillar of light shot up into the sky, carrying brilliant light and heat. The next moment, the white, solitary tower that seemed to stand at the edge of the sky,
crumbled with a roar
-------
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