Extra Chapter 55 – When a Mute Cries, a Crow Falls (23)
The coronation hall erupted with noise as everyone saw the prophecy that emerged in the magic circle.
'The Holy Queen will be betrayed by the one she trusts the most.'
For generations, ominous prophecies had occurred during coronations. In Aradrian's coronation, two great droughts had been predicted, and in the coronation prior to his, the prophecy had predicted the beginning of a long war. The purpose of the tradition was to prepare for the future. Aside from the kings of the peaceful age that had not dealt with much suffering during their reign, most kings had prophecies that predicted disasters and dangers. It was not an unusual occurrence. The commotion was not because the prophecy was ominous, but because just a few years prior, the Witch of Envy had pronounced a similar prophecy about Arietta.
'When you come to know love, the Holy Kingdom will be destroyed.'
The nobles and ministers couldn't help but connect the 'love' that would lead to the fall of the Holy Kingdom and the betrayal 'by the one she trusts most' in the coronation's prophecy. It was natural to interpret that the person who would betray the Holy Queen might also be the one to destroy the Holy Kingdom. Most of those at the coronation were just generally concerned, recalling the prophecies from the past, but the eyes of the knights all turned to one person:
Mordred.
He was a young knight whom Queen Arietta, and now all the Knights of the Round Table, trusted and loved more than anyone else. There wasn't a single knight who wasn't indebted to him for saving their life. The number of troops he had saved on the battlefield was too many to count, and the number of Giant warriors and witches who had died at his hands was nearly in the thousands. After Merlin's battle with Adeline permanently damaged his mana circuit, he had lost a lot of mana. Since then, Mordred had become the knights' proud companion that they didn't hesitate to call the strongest in the Round Table. This was all the more reason for each of them to instantly turn towards him. In the corner of the noisy coronation hall, Merlin coughed, covering his mouth. His skin was pale, and his body, weakened by the aftereffects of the battle with Adeline, couldn't bear the effects of the foresight. He felt like he was going to lose consciousness, but endured through pure mental strength.
Gwalchavad discreetly grabbed Merlin by the arm. "Did you see the future again?" he asked in a whisper.
Those gathered inside the coronation hall were still concentrated on the prophecy, and didn't notice when Merlin vomited blood.
"Yes… I saw it."
"How was it?"
"It's the worst one I have seen. It's been pulled ahead."
In the future that Merlin saw, the destruction of the world was accelerated. In the vision, the warrior, Galak Blade, summoned his lover, who had become the Demon King, from the old Holy Land. Even if they somehow dealt with this, perhaps by using a saintess's powers, the disappearance of the world tree was more than Merlin had expected. Now that the destruction of the world was to occur faster, there was not enough time for Doomstone, the chief of the Crow tribe, to become as strong as he did in previous visions. Actually, comparing the two versions of Doomstone at the same age, this newer version of him was actually stronger. Unfortunately, the early death of his wife was likely the catalyst. Plus, in this version of the future, Zendia survived. However, with the total amount of time they had reduced, they were weakened overall.
"And the plans?"
"We'll keep the main points as they are. But I'll have to change a few small things."
In the past, he hadn't known how to change the future, so his efforts had been in vain. But not now. He had observed the future change after Mordred and Arietta met, and he had watched Adeline and the great witches change the future. Now, it was possible for him to change the future with any method. Still, Merlin didn't act rashly. The future he wanted to change was a distant one, and it would take some preparations to change it how the witches did.
"I must speak to Sir Tristan first, because his eyes are special." said Gwalchavad.
"Yes, I'll be fine after taking a little rest. You can go back to your work." Merlin replied, waving him off.
Gwalchavad bowed slightly and slowly moved away. Merlin guessed that his body would not be able to endure if he looked at the future even one more time. But he knew he would eventually see the future again. For the sake of the world, and for Arietta, who was like his beloved granddaughter.
* * *
Mordred sat in front of the dining table, looking sullen as he stirred his cold soup with a spoon.
"Isn't it too much to react like this? Is the prophecy really that special?"
Ever since the coronation, the way the Knights of the Round Table looked at Mordred had subtly changed. No one thought he would betray the Holy Kingdom, but they were certainly confused.
"All the coronation prophecies are famous for hitting the mark."You are reading on novelping dot com, the official source.
"Right, all the prophecies have been right so far."
Yvain and Ovain sat on either side of Mordred, smiling playfully as they tore at their chicken legs.
"What? Do you guys think I'm going to betray the kingdom, too?" asked Mordred.
The twins shrugged.
"We're not prophets, so we don't know."
"We're not even magicians, so we don't know."
The two were genuinely unsure.
"Isn't it true that you are the most trusted though, Mordred?"
"Her Majesty trusts you now, but who knows what'll happen in the future."
All the knights knew that Arietta was unknowingly relying heavily on Mordred. He was the only one who comforted her without formality when she was tired, and forcefully dragged her out to do things.
"Right, right. I might even end up being the most trusted person in the future, you know?"
"Yeah, yeah, maybe I'll be the one who's trusted the most by then…"
At their playful consolation, Mordred gulped down the cold soup and disheveled Yvain and Ovain's hair.
"I don't know who it will be, but it definitely won't be you two, you brats."
Palamedes slapped Mordred on the back and laughed loudly, "Ahahaha! Sir Mordred! If you're done eating, let's go train! I'm not going to lose today!"
Mordred got up.
"Okay, what do you want to compete in today?"
Bors and Bedivere also stepped in.
"Hey! That sounds fun! I want to do it too!"
"If there's a competition, there needs to be a bet! Everyone place your bets!"
Everyone shouted cheerfully and boisterously. Mordred, in the middle of it all, had a hunch that there was a small crack that had formed between him and the knights. He also realized there was nothing he could do, even though the crack would grow silently over time.
* * *
One day in the middle of winter, about a month after the coronation of the new Holy King, Percival, Gwalchavad, and Tristan were crossing the alps.
"Sir Gwalchavad, if it's a dangerous monster, wouldn't it be better for Sir Mordred to come with?" asked Percival.
Tristan, who was leading the way, smiled. "What are you trying to say? That I'm not good enough?"
"No, that's not it, but... the way we usually do this, we use Sir Tristan for tracking and Sir Mordred for hunting. Even more so if the target is a monster."
Tristan and Gwalchavad chuckled at Percival, teasing him for making excuses.You are reading on novelping . com, the official source.
"Well, we're far enough away to talk about secrets, so let's just talk here, Sir Gwalchavad." said Tristan.
Gwalchavad nodded and sat on a nearby rock. Percival became flustered, "Huh? Secrets? Weren't we going monster hunting?"
Tristan had said that there was a dangerous monster that would sense danger and escape if several people went, and so convinced Percival to cross the Alps with a small team with clear skills. Percival had believed Tristan because Gwalchavad was also going.
Gwalchavad looked at Percival. "I'm sorry, I asked Tristan for a favor so I could speak to you, Sir Percival, in private."
Having apologized, Gwalchavad began to talk about Merlin's plans to save the Demon King that would appear in the future, and about Arietta.
* * *
The piled-up snow melted in the warm sunlight, and green leaves began to stick out their heads from underneath. Many had frozen to death in the winter. On the front line, the cold had taken more lives than the fighting. Caradoc was saddened to see all those lost souls recorded only as numbers on paper. He felt guilt, too, as he was the one who had killed many of them.
"Sir Gwalchavad."
"Please speak, Sir Caradoc."
"I will follow your suggestion."
Caradoc looked exhausted, with dark circles under his sunken eyes. It was true that he had been busy dealing with the enemy while Arietta had begun her duties as Holy Queen, but he also overworked himself, unwilling to give himself a break.
Gwalchavad looked at Caradoc and asked anxiously, "Is it really all right for you? Remember, the reason why the undead become crazy is because they never get to rest. If you say yes, you may end up living a harsh life where you are not allowed to rest so easily."
"I'm the kind of person who shouldn't be able to rest easily." Caradoc laughed self-deprecatingly, weighed down by his sins.
Gwalchavad discouraged his choice. "There is no way that everything will go as planned. Things may go wrong and you may meet a bad master. Even with all that, is it still alright?"
It seemed Merlin would choose a magician to lead the knights in the future. But what if Merlin changed the future? Or what if another great madosa appeared after Merlin's death and changed the future again? No matter how much he saw the future, he couldn't be certain if time would truly progress in that way. That was why Adeline, the former head of the witches, gave her life to prevent Merlin from changing the fate of the Holy Kingdom.
"Nevertheless, there will be something we can do in the distant future. Didn't you also get involved in this because you feel the same way?" Caradoc asked.
Gwalchavad nodded, and Caradoc continued. "Anyways, is the plan for it to be passed down orally through Sir Caldo Granant? Through great warriors of the Green Mane tribe, to the future great madosa, Pelefasta?"
"Yes, we can trust Sir Caldo Granant." Gwalchavad answered.
"Certainly, if it's Sir Caldo Granant, there will be no problem since he'll have a place to go back to after the collapse of the Holy Kingdom."
Caradoc spoke of the destruction of the Holy Kingdom, but he did not think it would be immediate. At least, he wanted to make sure it was far off, after Arietta had long relinquished the crown. He knew that, throughout history, there was nothing eternal in this world. All he could do was struggle to push the end back as far as possible.
Knowing Caradoc's thoughts, Gwalchavad smiled and drew his sword. "Drifting through faraway times will be painful."
Caradoc also pulled out his sword. The enemy's offensive began and the knights steeled themselves for the oncoming attack.
"It's okay, it's not like I will be drifting alone. Aren't you also coming with? If we can be each other's lanterns in the darkness, at least we won't get lost." said Caradoc.
Then, feeling much better, Caradoc shouted, "All troops!! March!!"
With that, their final bloody battle began.