Chapter 99
Throne Hall.
Surrounded by flames of four colors, the king, seated on the Iron Throne, uttered a terrifying question.
Her pupils were molten gold, reminiscent of a raging red dragon in a cave.
Hebe stood between the shadows of flames and metal, observing this sealed memory from a third-person perspective.
"You are Mostima."
Arthur tapped the back of his hand with his fingers.
Hebe saw Mostima remain silent and kneel on one knee.
To Hebe's surprise, Arthur did not ask Mostima anything next.
On the contrary, Arthur began to recount his experiences at Cape of Birds.
There was a period of time between Arthur appearing at the border in response to Hebe's summons and her using the Sword in the Stone to completely destroy the border.
During this period, whether for self-preservation or for some ulterior motive, Andon revealed some hidden truths.
For example, the Principle of the Wing, which symbolizes protection, has almost lost its function.
The April Archon, Fisher King, who was in charge of protecting the world, has been replaced by another great being.
Although the Orthodox Church worships the three goddesses of the Holy Grail, Pearl, and Messiah, it also venerates the Fisher King, the guardian of the world.
Andon asserted that he came into contact with the "truth" of this world during the ritual directed toward the Fisher King.
The reality revealed behind this truth is chilling: if simply performing a ritual pointing to the Fisher King is enough to be infected and assimilated, then how many people in the Orthodox Church, the largest religion in the world, have become "Eris"?
Of course, Andon said all this only to buy time so that he could summon more power from Eris and escape from Arthur's clutches.
He failed.
King Arthur used the Sword in the Stone to smash the border town to pieces.
Andon is a member of the Orthodox Church and also the captain of the Special Inspection Department. Naturally, he is also a member of Albion's authoritarian system.
Arthur easily killed him and concluded that the Orthodox Church was no longer trustworthy.
Not only is the Orthodox Church untrustworthy, but all rituals, secrets, and artifacts pointing to the April Archon must be sealed away. Everything related to the Fisher King also requires the utmost vigilance.
"I intend to take this opportunity to deal with all the Orthodox Church's influence within the territory."
The household registration census was just the overt operation; the hidden intention was to find traces of Merlin.
This intention was both King Arthur's true intention and a pretext to temporarily appease the relevant branches of the Orthodox Church.
By the time the latter realized what was happening, it was too late to resist.
Mostima recovered from his sluggishness.
Her memory still hasn't returned; not only that, but even the faint traces from before have vanished.
Hebe completely erased this part of her memory. For Mostima, this was actually a form of protection.
Hebe knew that April Archon situation was not good. Before that, she had also considered that Eris would deal with her in various ways, given that she could mobilize such a huge amount of power in the mortal world.
Now, a corner of Eris's arrangement in the present age has been revealed: at least one-third of the Orthodox Church may have become the "Eris School".
Mostima saw Hebe bring a stone slab.
"I was hoping to continue catching up with you." Hebe picked up the pen and knife. "Unfortunately, time is precious, Miss Mostima. After urgent and amicable negotiations... from this moment on, you will be employed by the Silent Bookstore and officially appointed as Communications Director."
The Communications Director is responsible for communication and negotiation with other organizations. In other words, they are the exclusive messengers of Silent Bookstore.
After going around in circles, Mostima returned to his old job as a messenger.
Mostima was shocked upon hearing this. "Then, then what about my position in the Special Inspection Department...?"
She had only instinctively said a few sarcastic remarks to ease her shock, but to her surprise, Hebe smiled slightly and said, "The original position will be retained, and the salary will be paid normally."
Double pay? That would be fantastic!
Mostima paused for a moment, then looked at Hebe seriously. "Okay... so what's the first thing I need to do?"
"Go to Sicily." Hebe prepared the letter he had already written. "I want you to contact the current Head of the Saluzzo Family. Our purpose is to investigate the intentions of these Lord of Years. If possible, we can also try to reach some cooperation."
"But remember, you now represent the Silent Bookstore," Hebe reminded her. "A humble attitude is not good."
Mostima took the letter, which was sealed with sealing wax.
She knew about the Sicily Lord of Years —who passed down their lineage through families and sold lifespans.
The current Head of the Saluzzo Family... is the most troublesome among the Lord of Years.
The Lord of Years also walk in the hidden world, an unstoppable force, and because of their trade in lifespan, they often have close ties with the political figures of various countries.
But Mostima knew they were no match for Silent Bookstore.
151 The Burning Witch
After crossing the Alchemy Bottle Bridge, Agravain did not immediately leave Blankog Island.
He visited Mordred again.
Mordred was quite surprised to see Agravain return. "You saw him?"
"Hmm." Agravain nodded meaningfully.
She's still pretending, Mordred is still pretending!
In Agravain's eyes, Mordred clearly knew Merlin's identity all along but kept quiet, and must have been trying to pass this information on to the Morgan, the Bewitching Consort.
If anyone else had done this, Agravain would have already attacked them with his sword and shown them his methods. But because it was Mordred, everything seemed so fitting and perfectly reasonable.
If this Rebellious Knight isn't rebellious, would that be acceptable?
Mordred was slightly disappointed.
She made some guesses based on Agravain's reaction.
Although she had already had this thought in her heart, she still had a sliver of hope.
That's why Mordred encouraged Agravain to go to the Silent Bookstore, because unlike herself, Agravain was a member of the Round Table who knew sorcery, arcane arts, and curses.
Since Agravain hasn't reacted, it means that Hebe really has nothing to do with Merlin.
And so, Xiao Mo and Agravain both ended up having a misunderstanding.
However, precisely because they represented the Morgan, the Bewitching Consort and Arthur, neither side was willing to speak their minds, which led to the conversation being able to proceed based solely on their own imaginations.
Of course, given Agravain's mindset, if this nonsensical conversation continued for a while, he would also be able to sense the disharmony.
However, at this very moment, an unexpected change occurred.
Suddenly, shouts and curses rang out from the street, followed by an abrupt street brawl.
Several apprentices got into a verbal argument, which quickly escalated into a physical altercation.
Then, the leaves of the roadside trees were suddenly torn into pieces by the wind, the curtains twisted and struggled, the glass made a thumping sound as if it were being hit by an invisible heavy fist, and the fireplace in the room made a louder crackling sound than usual, and the fuel that could have burned for a long time was quickly consumed.
All these phenomena indicate that the effects of conflict are on the horizon.
"I felt it," Mordred suddenly said.
"Me too." Agravain somewhat reluctantly, but he still spoke up.
They could all sense that one of the parties in the struggle was the Morgan, the Bewitching Consort.
So here's the question: given the extremely limited number of twilight events in the present world, who is fighting against the Morgan, the Bewitching Consort?
The true form of the World-Encircling River is the endless flow of the Atlantic Ocean.
At this moment, flames that stung the eyes were burning on the blue-green water.
The gray-black flames and dark purple flames intertwined, like a battlefield where two armies clashed. In the center of the dark purple flames, a tall black tower stood silently, with the tides and flames swirling and surging around it.
Morgan stood in front of the tower, her expression indifferent as she reached out and placed her hand on it.
Then, the tower shrank in size and became thinner, transforming into the spear Morgan held in his hand.
The Fallen Empress stared at the gray-black flames before her, her expression unusually solemn.
The fire in the world comes from three rulers.
The fire of Mr. Day, who ruled in January, focuses on foreknowledge, revelation, enlightenment, and purification; it is a religious fire.
The August Archon and the fire of the wolves signify destruction, war, violence, and nothingness; they are the fires of conflict.
Finally, the fire of the September Archon, Celestial Flint, symbolizes destruction, reforging, change, and turning point; it is the fire of forging.
Morgan's own fire mainly came from the wretched wolf, and later took on some characteristics of Mr. Day; but the flame before him was different, it quietly and rapidly devoured everything it touched.
The three leaders mentioned above all possessed some of this fiery characteristic.
Flames surged rapidly from the water, as if the boundary between water and fire had become blurred.
These two distinct entities simultaneously radiated astonishing heat, and between the water and the fire, a pair of weary, angry, and almost numb eyes looked at Morgan.
The air was thick with the smell of conflict.
"Dusk...no, not just dusk," Morgan thought, "It's Opposing Blades."
An Opposing Blades, a relationship that, once formed, cannot be changed again, like that of Scar Father and Wolf. This is part of a true Power Struggle, rather than a temporary fit like that of Kamiizumi Nobutsuna and Tsukahara Bokuden.
Having become Opposing Blades, even death cannot separate them; they will become a cornerstone of conflict, one of the engines that drive the world. Wherever they go, they will inevitably ignite fierce confrontation and terrible wars, whether they roam the mortal realm or linger on the borders.
The relationship between Opposing Blades is more loving than that between husband and wife, because "love is war."
They hate each other even more than mortal enemies, and will inevitably stop at nothing to kill each other.
As long as one side is alive, the other side of the Opposing Blades will continue to live; but if either side dies, the other side can never live on its own.
Every pair of double-edged swords is at least dusk.
Morgan knew about the existence of the Opposing Blades because she had almost become involved with Arthur in that relationship, but Merlin intervened and stopped it.
"But they would never rashly enter a city where another Twilight reigns supreme. Why would the 'Burning Witch' enter London?"
Morgan was somewhat displeased.
Because before she entered London, she discovered that the woman known as the "Burning Witch" would also be heading to the city at the same time.
The Fallen Empress had long regarded London as her own private domain; how could she allow any third person other than Merlin and Arthur to set foot in it?
Therefore, the moment the Burning Witch was about to arrive in the mortal world from the border, Morgan activated the great spell, Water Mirror.
To compensate for its functional shortcomings, Morgan created four major systems of magic: Mirror, Tower, Courtyard, and Coffin. In Morgan's hands, these spells were equally effective even against the beings of Twilight.
The magic of the mirror is used for time-space transfer, escape, and teleportation.
Morgan teleported himself and the Burning Witch directly from outside London to over the Atlantic Ocean. At the same time, the Tower Arts was cast.
The Fallen Empress knew her true nature: Fae of the Lake possessing the Royal Authority of the Island. She was born with an inextricable connection to Atlantis, which Beneath the Waves.
It can be said that, with the support of the Tower Arts and the Atlantic Ocean, she possesses considerable environmental advantages.
The Burning Witch... in history, her reputation has always been associated with "city fires".
At the end of the Second History, during the fire that reduced three-quarters of Rome to ashes, the historian Tacitus witnessed a firestorm soaring into the sky, and it was in this firestorm that the burning figure of the witch was first revealed to the world.
Then came the Great Fire of Copenhagen, which destroyed a third of the city and left nearly 20,000 people homeless.
Also in the Fourth Histories, the Great Fire of Turku destroyed nearly 80% of the city overnight, wiping out countless books passed down from the Second and Third History.
Then came the fires in New York, Chicago, and St. Louis in the United States Federation, and the fire in Moscow in the Greater Caucasus —all of which were witnessed by the Burning Witch.
Morgan that with the support of the environment, he could directly suppress the witch's flames.
But no.
The witch's flames also mingled with water, and were even more fluid than Morgan's.
The waters of the Atlantic Ocean were also empowering the Burning Witch; Morgan could even feel that the ocean itself was being affectionate with her.
I am a descendant of the lake, from an ancient branch of the Pure Water Spirit.
The only one more at ease than her is... a true Pure Water Spirit.