Hogwarts and the Holy Grail War

Oh, I can't say. How could some of the founders of Slytherin do this to take advantage of Merlin's popularity just because they are Merlin's fans? Ah, absolutely impossible! I didn't say that. Don't come to me if anything happens!

Due to Merlin's fame, his name has become part of wizarding idioms. In Britain, wizards often use phrases such as "Merlin's beard" or "Merlin's trousers" to replace the Muggle "Oh, my God" to express their surprise.

However, in the Muggle world, the evaluation of Merlin is somewhat mixed.

Some theories believe that Merlin was a great magician with powers that were beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. He went about doing justice everywhere, but finally died because he was defeated by the evil. Some theories believe that Merlin was a cursed black wizard who remained forever young but also lost his conscience. He was involved in the destruction of King Arthur's country, and was finally sealed by Vivian, the fairy of the lake. Other theories believe that Merlin was just a swindler old man who boasted to everyone he met, used some fancy means to cheat everywhere, and finally died in poverty.

Well, there is also a feminized version. It is said that Merlin is actually a girl and secretly married to King Arthur, but because of King Arthur's political marriage, he could not be with him, so he was willing to be a court magician and stay with King Arthur. It was also because of this that King Arthur neglected his wife Guinevere, which led to Lancelot, who was obsessed with wives, taking advantage of the situation and causing a series of tragedies.

It's just that outrageous.

So it is hard not to be suspicious when such a guy, whose grave should have been replaced several times, is standing in front of him alive and well.

Was it someone impersonating him? Or was it some kind of residual soul of Merlin?

The old man who called himself Merlin didn't seem to notice Ethan's distraction and continued.

"Congratulations, young man. You have passed my test. You are the first person to achieve this since King Arthur."

This inexplicably familiar feeling of déjà vu, and just now...

Could it be possible?

"You just said you were...Merlin?"

Ethan sensed something and sneered, staring at the old man in front of him.

"Now that I have passed your test, why don't you reveal your true face? This old and ugly appearance is actually your disguise, right, Merlin?"

"Oh my, I was discovered? Then there's no need for me to disguise myself."

The old man who claimed to be Merlin scratched his head, and his figure quickly changed into a young man with pointed ears and long pink and white hair wearing a fancy white robe. He showed a smile that could definitely charm most women in the world, bowed slightly, and introduced himself in a reassuring voice:

"Let me introduce myself again. I'm Merlin, the flower magician Merlin, and I'm the reliable big brother Merlin."

This frivolous voice gives people the feeling that he is at least two-timing.

Chapter 177 Merlin, fuck! Merlin, fight!

"It's the reliable Merlin brother~"

Merlin raised his head again, waiting expectantly for Ethan's reaction.

"Oh, I knew it." Ethan rolled his eyes, looking a little melancholy.

He should have thought of it long ago. Since there is such a thing as the Holy Grail War in this world, there must be some corresponding characters.

For example, the large Fu Fu spirit in front of you.

But then again, since Merlin is the Merlin he knows, then King Arthur...could he also be Altria?

What should I do? I suddenly feel a little excited.

"Huh?" Merlin tilted his head in confusion, somewhat puzzled by Ethan's reaction.

Merlin had some understanding of his image in the wizarding world, at least he knew that he was a celebrity. Normally, as a wizard, seeing a great magician who only existed in legends standing in front of him, although he wouldn't be as excited as a fangirl screaming, he should at least be a little emotional, right?

But why does this person in front of me look so calm, and even vaguely reveal a kind of... contempt for myself?

"Ah, it's Merlin! The legendary great magician actually appears in front of me. I am so happy and excited!" Looking at Merlin's expectant eyes, Ethan began to read.

He was probably the only one in the world who didn't have the slightest respect for Merlin. After all, he knew that the guy in front of him was essentially a very bad pleasure monster. Because of his dream bloodline, he didn't have human emotions, so most of his joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness that you could see were fake. Moreover, he was very undisciplined in his relationships with women. In short, he was not the image of a legendary great magician at all.

Merlin is... ahem, may the Monkey King bless me, I must never become a person with a lot of romantic debts like him.

“Ahahaha,” Merlin said with a forced smile, “There’s no need to act like that. I’m not the kind of person who would get depressed just because I don’t get the compliments I expected.”

"Yeah, I know." Ethan showed a wicked smile, "I just did this to make fun of you."

"Ahahahahahaha." Merlin's fake smile grew even brighter.

"Okay, that's enough of the jokes." Ethan coughed lightly, "You just said that I passed your test. What did you mean?"

"I'll explain it to you. Before that, let's talk somewhere else." Merlin tapped the ground lightly with the staff in his hand, and the scenery in front of him suddenly became blurred. In just a breath, the two of them were on top of a high tower in the distance.

"Okay, please feel free to sit down. You're welcome." Merlin sat down cross-legged on the spot, looking very comfortable. "You should have activated the teleportation array I left behind, right?"

"That's right." Ethan nodded and followed Merlin to sit on the floor opposite him.

"If you use the magic power in the earth veins to drive the magic circle, it will only become a simple teleportation array. If you use your own magic power to drive it, and there is enough magic power to successfully open the magic circle, you will enter my trial."

Merlin glanced at Ethan and said with a half-smile:

"And only those who have passed my trial can enter Avalon and talk to me directly like this. In other words, I have been waiting for you to come here."

Avalon, a secluded utopia, is located in the inner sea of ​​the star on the other side of the world.

Legend has it... no, now it should be said that this is a real thing in history. After King Arthur died, his soul was led here by Merlin and rested here forever.

Perhaps because he felt that he had committed a great sin, or because he had a lot of romantic debts and could not survive in the British Isles, Merlin took the initiative to go to Avalon, built a tower, locked himself up, and bound himself in Avalon.

At the same time, as a hybrid with a nightmare, he cannot die and can only stay in the tower forever. The only thing he can do is to look at the whole world as a punishment for himself.

"You're waiting for... me? Why?" Ethan frowned.

"Of course it's because of your identity. Well, I know a little bit about you." Merlin smiled like a caring older brother again, "For example, I know you are not from this world, but I don't know where you came from or how you got here. Unfortunately, the Clairvoyance cannot see other worlds, so I don't know much about your past. I can only see what you have experienced in this world."

"What? So you know that. Then I don't need to be polite to you." Ethan showed a bright smile, and suddenly jumped up and punched Merlin, "Take my punch, old thief!"

"Eh, eh, eh?" Merlin couldn't dodge in time and could only use the staff in his hand to block Ethan's fist. He asked in disbelief, "We were just having a pleasant conversation, why did you suddenly hit me?"

"Why? You actually asked why? Do you know how much I spent to get into your pool? I saved up and spent 1,300 stones, but you refused to come to my Chaldea! Do you know that I could only eat bean sprouts every day for a month because of you?"

Ethan seemed to be provoked by something, and his emotions suddenly became extremely irritable. He grabbed Merlin's collar, lifted him up from the ground, shook him back and forth, and accused him at the top of his voice.

"Calm down, calm down." Merlin laughed awkwardly, "Let's talk it over."

"Calm down? How can you ask me to calm down?" Ethan's emotions gradually got out of control, as if he would kill the big Fufu spirit in front of him in the next second. "I finally waited until the swimsuit was reproduced to draw you, but less than a month later you stabbed me in the anniversary bag! Do you know how painful it is? You are still here asking why as if nothing happened? Damn it, if I didn't have any tools at hand, do you believe that I would crush you into a gold cube on the spot?!"

(Note: This is the author’s personal experience.)

A squirrel-like creature with similar color scheme to Merlin climbed up Ethan's shoulders along his clothes, looked at Merlin's embarrassed look, and called out "Fu~Fu~" twice with satisfaction.

"Kathy Paluge, why are you just watching? I've taken care of you for so long, you should also think about the happy times we spent together. Are you really betraying me?"

Merlin, who was being held by the collar, looked at the little creature on Ethan's shoulder who was gloating over his misfortune, with a look of grief and anger on his face.

Cathy Palug turned her head away, nuzzling Ethan's cheek affectionately while glaring at Merlin.

"I shouldn't have adopted a treacherous beast like you!" Merlin looked heartbroken.

Chapter 178 From the contestants to the referees, they are all my people. What can you use to fight me?

After a cordial and friendly exchange, during which Merlin signed a series of unequal treaties, Ethan satisfiedly let go of Merlin, who was held in the air, and pulled up his trousers.

comfortable.

"Really? You have such a bad temper, don't you?" Merlin tidied up his messy hair and clothes, feeling a little helpless.

"I just don't want you to say that." Ethan chuckled.

“Ahahahahahahahahahahaha.”

The two people who had inexplicably reached some kind of tacit understanding looked at each other and laughed against their will, the level of their hypocrisy comparable to the attitude of a Japanese craftsman admitting his mistakes.

"Alright, alright, I really lost to you." Merlin sighed, "Let's get back to the point. The trial I left behind was actually to get you to come to me. Some things are better said face to face."

"But isn't that a test just about drawing a sword? Aren't you afraid that some guy with abundant magical power and the strength of an ox might pass your test by chance?"

"It's not just 'drawing a sword'. The sword-drawing ceremony can be said to be a replica of the Excalibur in the Stone. I have placed a ban on it, and no one except you can draw it out." Merlin smiled nonchalantly.

“I see…” Ethan gradually understood everything.

What this guy did was the same as when King Arthur pulled out the sword from the stone. On the surface, it seemed that Merlin predicted the conditions for the new King of Britain, but in reality, it was just to convince the public that Arthur could ascend to the throne naturally.

It's not that the person who can pull out the sword is qualified to rule Britain, but that only a person named Arthur can pull out the sword.

In layman's terms, Merlin gave the Sword in the Stone an identity authentication lock. Once it was detected that the person who drew the sword was Arthur, the lock would open.

I can only say it's an old shady deal.

"But how did you know I would go there..." Ethan reacted instantly before he finished speaking.

This guy has a clairvoyance that can observe everything in the world. Although he can only see the current scene, Merlin also has a very amazing reasoning ability. Coupled with the extremely detailed and complete existing information he has observed, he can calculate what will happen in the future to a certain extent.

He must have calculated that he would end up there, so he prepared a magic circle leading to the trial in advance.

"Oh, your intuition is very sharp." Merlin's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, "It seems that I didn't find the wrong person. Some of our conversations can save a lot of trouble."

"After saying so much, you should at least tell me why you came to me, right?"

Ethan raised his hand and gently rubbed the chin of Cathy Palug, who was lying on his shoulder. The latter made a satisfied purr because of his touch.

"Before that, I want to ask you something." Merlin put away the frivolous look on his face, and his smiling face became serious. "You are going to Red Tomb City now, right?"

"That's right." Ethan nodded.

"The first thing I would say is: Don't go, at least not now."

"Why?" Ethan was confused.

"Something bad is going to happen there. If you must go, it's best to wait until the storm has blown over before going there."

"Then I have to go even more." Ethan shrugged. "I roughly know what will happen. It's probably something only I can prevent. If I just stand by and watch because I'm worried about something unexpected, that would be terrible."

"You can't do anything." Merlin smiled and shook his head.

"You know the power I possess, Merlin? Even so, you still assert that I can do nothing?"

"Well, it is indeed a powerful force. But some things cannot be done by brute force alone. You are not enough to solve this problem right now. Worse still, you may even lose your life. So you'd better give up." Merlin patted Ethan's shoulder and nodded earnestly.

"Why do you care about me so much?" Ethan found it a little funny. "It seems that you are more worried about me getting into an accident than I am."

"Well, after all, I have something to ask of you." Merlin smiled unnaturally, "There are some things that only you can do, so I don't want you to get into any accidents because of your whim before you grow up."

"Well, what you said makes sense." Ethan nodded in agreement, holding his chin in his hand as if in deep thought.

"But I'm not going to accept your offer."

"Oh, it seems that I can't persuade you?" Merlin scratched his head, "Then there is really nothing I can do. I can only give you some help."

"Can't you see with your clairvoyance that persuasion is bound to fail?" Ethan grabbed Cathy Palug, who was running around on him, from the top of his head and held her in his arms, gently stroking her fur.

"Clairvoyance is not mind reading. There is too little information about you to predict your future. So I can only try. If I succeed, that would be great. But the current situation is within my expectations." Merlin was a little helpless. "In any case, what happened in Red Tomb City is not as trivial as what you have experienced before. You must not let your guard down."

"Well, I took note of what you said." Ethan nodded seriously.

"So now you can tell me about your so-called 'request from me'?"

"It's nothing particularly important, just some personal matters." Merlin walked to the edge of the tower and looked at the sea of ​​flowers below, "I want you to help Altria."

"Who?!" Ethan's pupils trembled.

He must have heard it right just now, right?

"Oh, in your words, it's King Arthur." Merlin was rarely melancholy. "Altria... has walked into a dead end. She blames herself for all the mistakes and wants to change the fate of Britain, even if the price is that she will never be reborn. But I don't want her to become like that. Britain is destined to be destroyed, and it has nothing to do with her."

"Until now, she has not been freed and is still addicted to the trap of illusion. So... it's my selfish desire. I hope you can bring her out."

"Bring it out, how do you bring it?"

Ethan frowned. According to Merlin, Altria was still hanging on to her life in Jianlan, tempted by the restraining force to participate in the Holy Grail War with her flesh and blood in order to win and change the past. He couldn't travel through time, so how could he go back to Jianlan more than a thousand years ago and bring her back?

Or, was Merlin's idea to summon her during a Holy Grail War and then slowly influence her?

Forget it. He is not a righteous partner. He does not share the same ideals with the Knight King who has reached a dead end. I am afraid that it is not something I can do to communicate with her and persuade her to untie her knot.

It would be better to say that the King of Silence was kind-hearted enough not to throw a curry stick at him after discovering that he was actually half a joker.

Le.jpg

Chapter 179 Lancer died again!

"I'm afraid I can't just agree to this."

Ethan shook his head and said, "I don't mean to refuse, but I'm not sure if I can really do it."

If Merlin only asked him to kill a few dangerous monsters, or get rid of a few villains who intended to destroy the world, then he could still pat his chest and promise and say, "Just wait and see, I will kill him within three days and scatter his ashes."

But if Merlin asked him to be a psychiatrist... he didn't think he had the talent in this area. It was a blessing from God that he didn't lead Dai Mao into a trap and make him even more crazy with his broken mouth.

You can't just give her two big slaps in the face to wake her up in the physical sense, right?