After all, when it comes to finding someone, isn't there a more suitable candidate?
"You can stay in the palace with peace of mind for the time being. I've already spoken with the King of Knights. No one will disturb your quiet," Alvin said.
Even if Alvin hadn't said anything, both Artoria and the others in the palace knew exactly what to do about this matter.
After all, Tiamat's very existence was far too terrifying. At the moment, she had only descended in the form of a spiritual body. If Tiamat's true body were to awaken and descend upon the land of Britain, just thinking about it was enough to make one shudder.
One had to remember that in the original story, even when all the Heroic Spirits of Uruk together with the gods fought with everything they had, they only barely managed to slow down Tiamat's advance after her descent, and that was under the condition that she had sealed her own power.
'Luckily, I stumbled upon her by accident in the Imaginary World. Otherwise, if her true body were to awaken one day, no Age of Gods magus or modern transmigrator would be able to play anymore.'
'All those schemes and power struggles would be meaningless in the face of absolute overwhelming power.'
'Forget the magi of the Age of Gods. Merlin is probably feeling restless in Avalon these days."
'It's not just that I want to find him right now. Merlin himself is probably desperate to see me too, isn't he?'
Thinking of this, Alvin could not help but smile to himself as he prepared to leave.
Tiamat reached out, grabbed a large meat bun from the table, took a quick bite, then stuffed it into a butter-paper bag and shoved it into Alvin's arms.
"Aaaa (Don't go hungry)."
'At least give me a whole meat bun,' Alvin took the paper bag and said helplessly, "Thank you."
"Then I'll be off. If anything comes up, you can call me anytime."
"Aaa~"
Watching Alvin carefully put away the meat bun, Tiamat nodded in satisfaction, waved at him, and saw him off as he left.
———
[Avalon]
A small river murmured on, flowing water and greenery everywhere. The land was lush with green, and sunlight of just the right warmth poured down upon the ground, as well as upon a tower standing beneath the canopy of the sky.
Merlin sat cross-legged inside the tower, his gaze deep as he looked out at the world beyond.
On his shoulder, a white, fluffy creature lay sleeping, looking exceptionally peaceful.
"So he's finally come out?"
Watching Alvin appear within the palace, a meaningful smile quickly surfaced on the white-haired mage's face.
Ever since Alvin returned to the palace, Merlin had not dared to use his Clairvoyance, fearing that Tiamat might sense him again.
'Judging by the situation now, this should be the best time to meet him alone.'
Merlin gently stroked the soft fur of the white creature and said, "Fou, wait here for a bit. I'm going to see an old friend."
"Fou~", Fou lifted its head and let out a coquettish cry at Merlin.
At this point in time, Fou had not yet been kicked off the tower by Merlin, so it still held deep affection for him.
Fou, also known as the Primate Murderer, bearer of the Principle of [Comparison], the "Fourth Beast (Beast IV)," was, in a certain sense, an existence on the same level as Tiamat.
Of course, the Creator Mother Goddess's specs were far too overpowered. For ordinary beings, becoming a Beast meant growing stronger, but for Tiamat, the Beast class was instead a limitation placed upon her power.
This was also why Merlin placed such importance on, and even felt "afraid" of, Tiamat.
If Tiamat's true body were to descend and incinerate Human Order, then Merlin's Clairvoyance would have nothing left to watch for fun.
———
Merlin gently closed his eyes. In the next moment, a clone quietly opened its eyes within the palace.
Just in time to see the boy who had somehow already appeared before him.
A smile appeared on Merlin's face, "Alvin, I'm relieved to see you're still alive."
Alvin smiled back, "Seeing that you still dare to show up in front of me also puts my mind at ease."
The White Dragon core was already primed.
Merlin immediately shrugged helplessly, "Don't stare at me like that. I was tampered with in secret by the Root Princess back then. That's how I accidentally sent you to the Imaginary World."
"Oh?", Alvin raised an eyebrow, "Whether it was an accident or intentional, you should know best yourself."
Even as a clone, he was still a Grand Caster. Alvin did not believe he could be so easily tampered with by Sajyou Manaka.
Pretending to have been secretly interfered with by Sajyou Manaka, then using that momentum to exile Alvin to the Imaginary World. That was absolutely something Merlin was capable of doing.
A helpless smile appeared on Merlin's face, "Alvin, I'm not as… ruthless as you think."
"That's not ruthlessness. You're a monster of reason. Everything you do is to achieve your own goals, isn't it?", Alvin said calmly.
Merlin was a monster, and thus emotions like ruthlessness or anger did not exist for him.
Everything he did was simply so he could better watch the fun unfold… nothing more.
Merlin opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Alvin continued, "Let's set that aside for now. You should know why I've come to find you, right?"
"You want me to help you find Ishtar, and at the same time confirm whether she's connected to 'Gaia,' correct?"
Merlin let out a soft sigh, "When you're asking someone for help, couldn't your attitude be a little nicer?"
"I'm not asking you. I'm ordering you," Alvin said calmly.
'Ordering?'
The moment he heard those words, the nightmare named Merlin froze for a moment, staring at Alvin in astonishment.
Soon, he let out a laugh.
"Interesting! In all my time in Britain, this is the first time someone has spoken to me this way."
Merlin shook his head with a smile, "Alvin, you should know that even if you kill this body of mine, I won't die, right?"
As long as the 'Merlin' in the Tower of Avalon was still alive, he could possess countless clones.
'That's why humans are so interesting, as long as there are still people alive, this world will never be boring.'
"If I were you, I'd rephrase that just now in a gentler tone. Maybe big brother Merlin would be in a good mood and help you find someone."
"Oh! Or you could just call me big brother Merlin."
Alvin said nothing. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
He turned his head and looked toward a certain direction deep within the palace, then opened his mouth.
The atmosphere instantly froze. Merlin looked at Alvin with some confusion, "What are you doing?"
In the next moment, accompanied by surging magical energy, the low roar of a White Dragon resounded deep within the palace.
"Aaa!"
Merlin's expression changed.
"Aaaaa!!"
Almost immediately after, a beautiful singing voice also came from deep within the palace.
Faintly, it felt as though the entire palace was trembling slightly.
'Tiamat!'
Merlin's smile instantly stiffened. He reacted quickly and hurriedly said, "Alvin, you—"
'Who plays like this? Calling for your mom the moment things don't go your way?'
'What kind of Smolder ult is this?'
Feeling the shock reflected in Merlin's pupils, Alvin looked up and smiled gently.
"So, can you help now?"
From the moment of his birth until now, this was probably the first time someone had threatened him like this, and actually succeeded.
Merlin looked at the boy in front of him, and a smile that was half intentional soon appeared on his face.
'Interesting, as expected, a future that cannot be seen is far more interesting.'
Logically speaking, Merlin was a master of illusions and an immortal nightmare. There were very few existences in this world that could threaten his life.
To be honest, even if his life were threatened, Merlin would not care that much.
What he truly cared about was whether there would still be fun to watch in the future.
Tiamat was a dangerous existence capable of destroying Human Order. Once her true body descended and even destroyed Human Order, then even Merlin's Clairvoyance would be useless.
He would only be able to sit idly in 'Avalon,' staring blankly at a world that had already been destroyed.
That was something Merlin did not wish to see.
"All right, you win, Alvin."
Merlin let out a soft sigh, "But actually, finding Ishtar's whereabouts doesn't require my help."
"When a god descends, it must pass through 'Gaia,' and after descending, if they want to speak with 'Gaia' again, there is only one method."
Merlin stared at Alvin and suddenly smiled, "Pop quiz with no prize: how do you directly converse with the will of this planet?"
'Riddle-speakers, get out of—', Alvin frowned and remained silent.
Thoughts flashed through his mind like afterimages, rapidly flickering.
"The Holy Lance… the Holy Lance that connects to the planet's surface?"
Very quickly, Alvin's pupils widened as he realized something, "Ishtar went to find Gray?"
Merlin smiled with narrowed eyes, "That Venus goddess had been suppressing her true personality, but after entering the palace, 'Gaia' released her sense of self."
"If nothing unexpected happened, she should now be trying to directly converse with Gaia through the Holy Lance."
Alvin said nothing more and immediately turned to head in Gray's direction.
Merlin stood quietly behind him, watching. Soon, a meaningful smile appeared on his face.
"Be careful, Alvin," Merlin said softly.
Even though he had never been able to see through Alvin's future, still, unless the planet faced the danger of destruction, a special existence like Gaia would never personally step in.
'Could it be that 'Gaia' believes Alvin has the potential to destroy the planet, and thus sent Ishtar to test him?'
'If that is the case, then things will get really interesting.'
Thinking of this, Merlin could not help but feel a bit more anticipation.
———
The room where Gray resided was on the north side of the palace. This area was usually used to host important guests, with strict guards stationed outside the palace gates to ensure their safety.
However, today, an uninvited guest had arrived in this palace.
"When I first met you, I already felt you looked very familiar. But now that I'm observing you up close, you really do look a lot like her."
Platinum-blonde hair cascaded down like a waterfall. The woman wore an exquisitely luxurious ceremonial gown, standing quietly by the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the sunlight outside.
She toyed with a glass of rich red wine in her hand, then turned her head to look at the gray-haired girl behind her, who was holding a 'birdcage' and watching her warily.
Gray's eyes were full of caution.
Then she lowered her voice and said, "Lady Morgan, why have you come here?"
A trace of surprise flashed through Morgan's eyes, and then she smiled pleasantly, "Much calmer than I expected. No wonder the Holy Lance is willing to acknowledge your existence."
"The Holy Lance? What Holy Lance?"
A hint of confusion appeared on Gray's face, though in her heart, a storm had already been stirred up.
'Why does Morgan le Fay recognize at a glance that the thing I am holding is the Holy Lance?'
'Could it be that she has also seen 'Add' before?"
'That shouldn't be possible. When the Tower of Light appeared, Morgan was not present.'
'There was no way Alvin told her, right?'
As Gray's thoughts fell into chaos, Morgan pointed at the birdcage in her arms and smiled brightly.
"Could you lend me the thing you're holding for a bit?"
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