"What the...?!"
Not far from the forest, watching the gigantic wave of destruction spreading across the horizon, Ritsuka and Mash were left completely dumbfounded.
The ground trembled constantly beneath their feet.
In the distance, massive pillars of dust rose into the sky while explosions tore through the forest one after another.
"..."
Ritsuka could only stare at the scene in absolute silence.
Mash also seemed incapable of finding words.
Throughout their entire journey, the two of them had already witnessed countless absurd battles.
But this... this was on another level.
It didn't look like a battle between individuals.
It looked like a walking catastrophe.
As if two monsters from the Age of Gods had casually decided to reshape the geography of the region simply because they felt like it.
And worst of all, the fight still seemed far from over.
At that moment, both Ritsuka and Mash understood something with absolute clarity:
The Age of Gods was a completely absurd place.
No matter how many stories or records Chaldea possessed, witnessing something like this in person was entirely different.
Mash lightly tightened her grip on her shield as she watched another explosion erupt in the distance.
"...I never imagined..." she murmured slowly. "...that he could be this strong..."
Her voice carried pure shock.
Even though she had known Arthur for a long time, she had never seen him fight like this before.
Mash was finally beginning to understand just how monstrous he truly was.
Meanwhile, Merlin observed the devastated landscape with a calm smile.
After taking Ritsuka and Mash away from the battlefield, she had finally introduced herself properly.
And surprisingly, earning the girls' trust hadn't been that difficult.
Perhaps because Merlin simply possessed that strangely comforting presence.
Or perhaps because, at this point in their journey, Ritsuka and Mash had already become accustomed to meeting completely eccentric individuals.
Even so, Ritsuka continued staring at the destroyed horizon with a conflicted expression.
"...Could he really be Arthur..." she murmured quietly. "...Or are we mistaking him for someone else?"
Mash lowered her eyes slightly.
Honestly, part of her was afraid of that too.
Seeing someone identical to the Arthur they knew...
With the same voice, the same appearance, the same mannerisms, only for him not to actually be the same person in the end would be an incredibly cruel joke.
And while the two sank into those thoughts—
A voice calmly spoke right beside them.
"You're not mistaking me for someone else."
The two girls instantly froze.
Then they turned their heads at the exact same time.
Arthur was casually standing there.
"...I really am Arthur," he concluded casually.
"Hello! People from Chaldea. My name is Arthur. Nice to meet you."
The instant she heard those words, Mash froze completely.
Her eyes widened slowly before immediately beginning to water.
Even though she had seen him disappear with her own eyes during the final battle of the Sixth Singularity—
Mash could never forget him.
"S-Senpai..." Mash murmured, her voice trembling.
Before she even realized what she was doing, she dropped her shield, ran forward, and in the next instant threw herself directly at Arthur, hugging him with all her strength.
Arthur blinked slightly in surprise.
"...Huh?"
Mash trembled faintly while clinging to him.
Her fingers tightly gripped his clothes while her eyes became completely moist.
Arthur hadn't simply appeared to help them as a stranger.
He walked beside them and protected them countless times.
And in the end, even knowing perfectly well what would happen to him, he still chose to die for them.
Mash still remembered the moment when he slowly disappeared into golden particles while lying in the arms of the woman who stabbed him.
Even in that state, he still looked at the two of them with that same gentle smile as always.
Just remembering it still made her chest ache to this day.
And precisely because of that, feeling the warmth of his body again completely shattered her emotions.
She truly believed she would never be able to feel this again.
A few seconds later, Ritsuka also moved.
Unlike Mash, she tried to walk normally in order to maintain some composure.
But she failed miserably.
Because the moment she met those eyes again, all the longing she had accumulated since his death in Camelot exploded at once.
"...You idiot..." she murmured softly.
Then she ran forward as well and hugged Arthur together with Mash without any hesitation.
Arthur found himself completely trapped between the two girls, utterly confused.
"...As adorable as the actions of you two may be..." he commented slowly while raising an eyebrow, "I don't know you well enough to deserve this kind of treatment..."
Mash lowered her head slightly, but she didn't let go.
She was afraid this might just be some cruel dream or some temporary illusion.
Ritsuka, on the other hand, tightened her embrace even more after hearing that response.
Then she slowly lifted her face to look at him.
"...You talk exactly like him," she murmured softly.
Arthur blinked a few times.
"Hm?"
Ritsuka stared at him silently for several seconds.
The man standing before her was exactly like the Arthur who died for them.
Part of her desperately wanted to believe that this truly was him.
Arthur had become someone precious to her long before Camelot reached its end.
No—before that, ever since they met and he began traveling alongside them, back in Orleans.
And because of that, losing him like that had nearly destroyed her emotionally.
Mash clearly felt something similar, perhaps even more intensely than she did.
He had helped both Mash and her so much that it would have been strange if neither of them felt anything for him.
Arthur slowly sighed. He wasn't foolish enough not to understand what was happening here.
So he raised his hands and gently patted both of their heads the same way he usually did with Milim.
Mash and Ritsuka's bodies froze slightly upon feeling that familiar touch.
"I think I understand what's going on now. You're the two girls my other self died trying to save," Arthur said.
Arthur's words made the two girls freeze instantly.
"...Huh?" Ritsuka blinked repeatedly.
'Other self?' she thought.
Mash also slowly lifted her face to look at him, clearly surprised.
Arthur observed their reactions for a few seconds before lightly sighing.
"You two really are easy to read," he casually commented.
Ritsuka finally seemed to recover part of her ability to think.
"W-Wait!" she said quickly while still holding onto his arm. "What do you mean by 'other self'? And how exactly do you know that?!"
Mash also looked extremely confused.
After all, Arthur had literally just arrived.
It made no sense for him to immediately understand the situation.
Arthur opened his mouth to answer.
Then stopped.
After that, he raised an eyebrow.
"...Because Artie herself told me?"
Silence.
"..."
"..."
Ritsuka and Mash looked at each other.
Then they looked back at Arthur with completely lost expressions.
"...Who?" Ritsuka asked slowly.
Arthur stayed silent for a few seconds.
Then his eyes widened slightly as though he had just realized something extremely important.
"...Ah."
He brought a hand to his face.
"I forgot basically only I call her that."
"Artie is just a nickname for Artoria," he added naturally.
The two girls continued staring at him without reacting for approximately three seconds.
Then—
"...ARTORIA?!" Ritsuka practically screamed.
Mash's eyes widened too.
"The Lion King?!" she asked in disbelief.
"You probably remember her more by that name, huh," Arthur said.
Ritsuka still seemed emotionally incapable of processing what she had just heard.
"You... you call the LION KING 'Artie'?!" she asked, completely outraged.
Arthur immediately looked confused.
"...Yes?"
"And you say that like it's the most normal thing in the world?"
"But that's her nickname."
"You haven't changed at all. You still do absurd things like they're perfectly normal..." Ritsuka sighed while looking up at the sky.
"Actually..." he casually commented, "when she told me about the whole adventure I had with you two, she seemed to like you girls quite a lot."
The next instant, Ritsuka immediately covered her face.
"...Oh no."
Arthur tilted his head slightly.
"...Why are you two reacting like that?"
Ritsuka instantly answered without even removing her hands from her face:
"Because hearing compliments from the person who tried to kill us is confusing! Also, you still haven't explained this 'other self' thing!"
Even Merlin began laughing softly while watching the situation.
"Ah..." she commented with a smile. "This really became entertaining."
"...You find everything entertaining," Anna muttered.
"Not everything," Merlin replied calmly. "Only the interesting parts."
Arthur completely ignored Ritsuka's outburst as though it were perfectly normal.
Instead, he slowly shifted his attention back to Merlin.
His gaze traveled over the woman from head to toe for several seconds.
Her long silver hair flowed smoothly past her waist, shining under the light like strands of freshly fallen snow. Several locks swayed delicately around her face, giving her appearance an almost unreal charm.
Her vivid pinkish-violet eyes carried both a mischievous and mysterious gleam at the same time.
Her pale skin looked practically flawless, contrasting even more against the vibrant colors of her clothes.
She wore an outfit predominantly white with golden and purple details spread across the fabric. The attire fit gently against her body, emphasizing her slender figure without appearing vulgar, while the short decorated skirt and long sleeves gave the clothing a magical aura.
The black stockings completely covering her legs created an extremely eye-catching contrast against the rest of the light-colored outfit, making her legs appear even more attractive to anyone looking at them.
To be honest, she looked absurdly beautiful, but dangerous in a way that was difficult to explain.
Like a delicate flower hiding deadly thorns behind its enchanting appearance.
Arthur remained silent for several seconds.
"...Are you really Merlin?" Arthur finally asked, clearly confused.
Merlin blinked a few times.
Then she delicately placed a hand over her chest and answered with a gentle smile:
"In the flesh~"
Arthur continued staring at her silently.
Then crossed his arms.
"...You're a little different from how Artie described you."
"Hm?" Merlin tilted her head slightly, clearly interested. "And exactly how did this Artoria describe me?"
Arthur immediately answered:
"First of all, she said Merlin was a man."
Merlin's eyes widened slightly.
"Ah."
"Not a beautiful woman."
Merlin's smile immediately widened in amusement.
Arthur then rested a hand on his chin as though trying to remember Artoria's exact words.
"Artie described Merlin as..." he began slowly. "A young man like the wind blowing across the grasslands."
Merlin remained silent while listening attentively.
"Anyone would feel the tension leave their shoulders when near Merlin," Arthur continued. "A refreshingly righteous person. However..."
He paused briefly.
Then revealed a slightly amused smile.
"He can also easily be seen as a shameless swindler because of his apparent irresponsibility."
Arthur casually added:
"Oh, and apparently he also boasts absurdly about his own magical abilities."
Merlin immediately lifted her face proudly.
"Because I really am amazing."
"..."
"..."
Arthur continued: "Someone who constantly says all other magi are jealous of him."
Merlin then crossed her arms while letting out an amused little laugh.
"...That's a little embarrassing," she commented with a smile. "But honestly... I'm more similar to that Merlin than I expected."
Arthur stared at her for a few seconds.
Then shrugged.
"Actually, I prefer you being a beautiful woman."
Merlin blinked slowly, then leaned slightly forward.
"And why is that?"
Arthur immediately answered:
"Because I'd much rather look at a beautiful woman than at a guy who looks like a swindler."
The surroundings fell silent for several seconds before Merlin began laughing softly.
She didn't seem offended at all.
Quite the opposite.
She looked genuinely entertained.
"How cruel~" she commented with a serene smile. "But understandable."
That was the moment Ritsuka finally exploded.
"YOU CAN'T JUST CHANGE THE SUBJECT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CONVERSATION AND START FLIRTING WITH ANOTHER GIRL!" she shouted indignantly.
Arthur slowly turned his face toward her.
"...I wasn't flirting with her."
"YOU WERE ABSOLUTELY FLIRTING!"
"That's not what it looked like."
"I KNOW YOU WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE!"
Mash slightly looked away, clearly embarrassed because... Ritsuka wasn't wrong.
Arthur looked at her with genuine confusion.
"Why do you seem so irritated?"
Ritsuka immediately pointed at him.
"Because you and the Arthur I know are exactly the same type of person!"
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"...And that's bad?"
"YES!"
"I don't see the problem with resembling myself." Arthur crossed his arms. "Explain why you think that's bad."
Ritsuka took a deep breath.
Then dramatically pointed at him like someone about to present evidence in court.
"First, you still wear way too many golden accessories."
Arthur looked at his own clothes. Besides his earring and necklace, he also wore golden bracelets on both wrists.
"...That's called style."
"It's tacky!" Ritsuka practically ignored his interruption. "You're also a professional womanizer!"
Arthur looked genuinely offended.
"...That accusation is extremely exaggerated."
Ritsuka immediately began counting on her fingers.
"TWO Jeanne d'Arcs, Atalanta and Medusa in Orleans."
Arthur fell silent.
"Nero Claudius in Septem."
"..."
"Francis Drake in Okeanos."
The more she spoke, the more irritated she seemed to become.
"..."
"Tamamo-no-Mae in London."
"..."
"Scáthach and Nightingale in America."
"And I'm not even going to START talking about Camelot!"
Mash immediately turned her face away completely red.
"YOU SLEPT WITH DIFFERENT WOMEN IN EVERY SINGLE SINGULARITY WE VISITED! EVEN DIRECTOR OLGA DIDN'T ESCAPE YOUR EVIL CLAWS!"
"That proves nothing."
"HOW DOES THAT PROVE NOTHING?! YOU'RE THE BIGGEST PLAYBOY I'VE EVER MET IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!"
Merlin watched the entire scene with eyes sparkling in amusement.
"Ah..." she commented softly while smiling. "Humans in love really are adorable."
Ritsuka instantly froze.
"...Huh?"
Mash also completely froze.
Merlin simply continued smiling calmly.
Like an older sister watching children who were incredibly easy to understand.
"Don't worry," she commented gently. "Those kinds of feelings are perfectly normal for girls your age."
The two girls immediately turned completely red.
(End of Chapter)