The Mirror Bell
Sunlight shone on Britain. No matter what happened in the world yesterday, the sun still rose the next day, as usual. But for Britain, for Gloucester, the usual was completely gone. Most of the humans had been taken away, and the fairies were either dead or wounded. If no one took over, this city was destined to become a wasteland.
On the city wall, Morgan looked at the rising sun in the distance. The warm sunlight shone on the people, dispelling the chill of the night. She looked down, where Beryl had already been dealt with. A hint of disgust flashed in Morgan's eyes. In her opinion, Beryl's death was too quick.
But death is death, and Morgan didn't care about that. After all, she had been betrayed far too many times in her life, to the point that she had become incredibly accepting of betrayal, even somewhat used to it. Her only regret was that her daughter had been dragged into this mess.
The Queen of Winter glanced coldly at the unconscious Muryan beside her and Knocknarea, who was bound hand and foot by Melusine. The former suffered a considerable backlash from the forced breaking of the barrier, while the latter looked at Morgan with annoyance. If Melusine hadn't been pressing down on her, she probably would have pounced on him immediately.
"Damn it... If it weren't for Spriggan and Aurora's betrayal, I wouldn't be in this state, a prisoner..." Knocknarea's words were tinged with bitterness. At this moment, she gritted her teeth, cursing the two bastards in her heart, while praying that her warriors had already cut off their heads and avenged her.
Knocknarea needed to assign Leng Leng to her subordinates, but in doing so, she would become very weak. Once she was beheaded by the enemy, the northern army would quickly collapse. This was the price of taking a shortcut. She had only decided to launch a surprise attack after learning that Spriggan had persuaded Aurora and confirmed that she would not encounter the Britain Melusine.
We were actually fooled by that damned undercover agent! And Morgan in front of us, that guy is so cunning, he even faked his death.
Morgan, unaware of Knocknarea's inner thoughts, smiled subtly upon hearing this.
"Hmm? Betrayed by a fairy?"
Morgan raised an eyebrow. Hearing this, Knocknarea retorted indignantly, "Hmph, if I hadn't been betrayed, how could I have ended up like this? That Britain fairy, so utterly untrustworthy!"
"Foolish! Since you were born in Britain, you should be prepared for betrayal. You're still too young... Alright, now your ambition should stop. Caster, take this one away. She's your friend, isn't she? Let's prepare her mentally. Honestly, she doesn't have even a third of the composure of the previous Queen Medb."
Morgan spoke as he turned and left. After confirming the blockade, Melusine also left; she had stayed up all night and it was almost time for her to sleep. Caster, with a somewhat subtle expression, walked up to Knocknarea.
"Hmph, I never expected you to have such a companion..."
"A companion? That's too much for me. Well, I'll untie you first, but you have to agree that you're not allowed to lay a hand on me after I'm untied."
Leaving the two of them alone, Morgan led Muryan into the interior of a tower in the city wall. Morgan stood up, gray magic coiling around her fingers, and then, like a snake flicking its tongue, touched Muryan's brow. At the same moment, a beast-like vertical pupil lit up in the path they had to take, blocking the needle-like magic.
"Ouch, Your Majesty, please be gentle." Koyanskaya's voice rang out in the room. Morgan seemed somewhat surprised, but her Magecraft showed no sign of stopping. She asked in a voice as cold as a secluded valley, "Beast Larva, so that's where you were. What on earth are you doing?"
"That's a long story. To put it simply, I came to Gloucester and had quite a bit of cooperation with this person. Although that cooperation has ended, I still want to help out out of consideration for our past partnership. Don't worry, I haven't given any information about you to Muryan."
"... I see. That makes sense. After all, Evil of Humanity is also accompanied by Love of Humanity. If one only harbors hatred, then one is not qualified to be a Beast. But I need the Clan Bell. If the Clan Bell of the Wing Clan is destroyed, then I must kill Muryan and allow the Clan Bell to be reborn within her, the clan leader."
"So that's the reason for the Clan Bell... Don't worry, the Wing Clan's Clan Bell is well preserved. I think Muryan would be very willing to make this deal with you. Please let me act as the middleman. Also, if possible, could you please have Mr. Bai Mo come over? This curse is unexpectedly difficult to deal with."
Initially, when Muryan tried to use a curse to eliminate the fairies, Bai Mo repelled the curse with a single blow. However, this inevitably caused the curse to touch Muryan, leaving only a small wound the size of a little finger seam, which was enough to completely destroy Muryan. Fortunately, Koyanskaya was by her side, preventing her from turning into Mors immediately.
"... This is pointless; you're just wasting your time."
"Perhaps, but that's my personal principle."
Morgan snorted coldly, then released a faint glow. The eerie blue light entered Muryan's body, and gradually, Muryan opened her eyes. With a flash of light, Koyanskaya appeared beside Morgan, her gaze filled with wariness. Just as Morgan had said, the Britain on fairies in Morgan was almost impossible to break; it was like the heat generated by burning flames—it had become a natural law.
This curse, born of sin, can only be broken through atonement. At least that's what Koyanskaya thought before. But now, Morgan's methods, though merely delaying the inevitable, have already surprised her. Perhaps the queen's mastery of Magecraft far exceeds her imagination.
Muryan slowly opened her eyes and froze on the spot. At this moment, Morgan had changed back into the Winter Queen's outfit.
Seeing the vanished Winter Queen reappear before her, Muryan rubbed her eyes in disbelief, staring at Morgan in front of her.
"Your Majesty, so you were already dead. Did you go outside the Storm Wall? Alas, I never imagined the people outside were so terrifying; even Your Majesty is dead."
Morgan suddenly felt an urge to slap her. Although he had only made a brief trip to Bai Mo's place, apart from Chaldea which was crammed with Artoria, the local customs and people there were far superior to those of you Britain fairies.
Only after leaving the Fairy Britain did I realize how gentle the outside world was.
"Even if you die, I won't die, Muryan. Instead of wasting time with these words, tell me quickly, where is the Clan Bell?"
"The Clan Bell, I hid it underground at the auction house... Wait, you mean... I'm still alive?"
Morgan raised a finger, and a ripple-like effect appeared on it. Then, the distant auction ruins were torn apart by the lake's light, and the door opened. Melusine walked in carrying a pile of shrunken Clan Bell. Looking at the Clan Bell, may I go home now?"
"That's fine, Melusine."
"Alright, Your Majesty, please continue with your work."
Morgan reached out, sensed it for a moment, and took out an inconspicuous little bell. Then, with a wave of his hand, the barrier on it shattered instantly, and the Clan Bell of the Wing Clan was in his hands.