Chapter 626
The Hero Died of Betrayal
“——It was I who witnessed the contract of the people of Beheading Valley back then.”
Merlin had said this to Eivass before. Eivass was curious as to why Beheading Valley had anything to do with Merlin. Now, Eivass finally understood.
Seeing Merlin in his current young state, he shouldn’t have become the “Great Sage Merlin” yet. Therefore, witnessing the contract should be something that happened later… at least, it should be a memento after the Giant Kingdom was ended.
“Yes, Respected Sir Helchin.”
Gawain bowed to Eivass politely and respectfully. “We are the knights of the righteous army who follow King Arthur in punishing the licentious and tyrannical Giant King. Although we are all humans, we also have the determination to defeat the giants. King Arthur traveled throughout the Hrasal Empire to recruit us under his command. We swear—if we can truly destroy the Giant Kingdom of Arctos, we will build a new nation on this Avalon Island. Then Arthur will be our new king… a new king for humans!”
Although Gawain said this, he was clearly still somewhat worried. After all, Helchin was an Elf. He didn’t know if his words would gain his approval.
Eivass, however, merely nodded slightly.
“Well done.”
He praised him earnestly. “To dare to step forward and fight the giants shows that you possess extraordinary courage.”
Eivass clearly heard that after he affirmed their motivations for war, some young knights couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief, and even their posture relaxed a little. Thus, Eivass, with a touch of malice, decided to put some pressure on the young knights.
“—By the way.”
Eivass suddenly spoke. “You all say I became a hero… —Tell me, did I ultimately fail?”
As soon as he said this, the camp fell into silence. The knight and lady who had been whispering in a corner had voices that were actually very low. But after the camp suddenly fell silent, their conversation became so clear. They quickly realized their predicament and were startled, quickly shutting up. They were afraid of being singled out by Eivass to answer his question.
Eivass looked closely and felt they looked familiar— Was this Lancelot and Guinevere?
As Eivass scanned the area, almost no one dared to meet his gaze. This attitude…?
Eivass frowned slightly and spoke, “Mister Merlin.”
“Yes!”
Merlin flinched and responded loudly as if by reflex. Eivass clearly heard a knight suddenly sigh with relief.
“Please enlighten me.”
Eivass said politely, “My life… when exactly did it end?”
“This…”
Merlin hesitated. Eivass softly pressed, putting pressure on Merlin. “Was my death not glorious enough?”
“Not at all!”
Merlin immediately replied. He pursed his lips and still said in a low voice, “You were ultimately defeated. You were ultimately defeated by the Giant Patriarch… Utgarðar-Loki of Wildfire.”
“…The Wildfire Giant?”
Eivass muttered. So, in normal history, Helchin was defeated by the Wildfire Giant? That’s normal… In normal history, Helchin should not have been able to save Origen. And he didn’t have a weapon powerful enough to give to Origen. Lacking this most powerful helper, Helchin might indeed not have been able to defeat Utgarðar-Loki.
…But it doesn’t seem quite right either. Judging by the reactions of these knights, they seemed reluctant to mention this matter to Eivass. If it was just a defeat, what was there to be afraid of mentioning?
Therefore, Eivass said sternly, “I don’t believe I couldn’t deal with him—he doesn’t have Scar Branch in his hand.”
“Indeed…”
Merlin’s expression was somewhat embarrassed, but he still said in a low voice, “Because you were ultimately… betrayed.”
“…Betrayed?”
“—That’s right, betrayed.”
Arthur answered. As Arthur stepped forward, Merlin quickly put on his hat and darted back into the crowd. Mordred tugged at Merlin’s sleeve, letting Merlin hide behind him. And a female knight Eivass didn’t recognize walked over, muttering to Mordred as she reached out to touch Merlin’s cheek to treat him.
Arthur then said in a deep voice, “The war situation of Sir Helchin started smoothly enough. Although some attendants were sacrificed, it still progressed overall. Even the powerful former Protector, ‘Utgarðar-Loki of Wildfire,’ was briefly repelled by you… But when you were staying in human villages, humans betrayed you—exposed your whereabouts and poisoned you. Your food was mixed with poison provided by Utgarðar-Loki. Although they were the dominant side, the giants were unwilling to fight you head-on—because your numbers were too small and your strength too weak, the arrogant giants could not unite due to such pressure. Just as we have arrived here now, the Giant Kingdom is unwilling to send anyone to encircle us. Utgarðar-Loki used conspiracy and trickery. But ultimately, it was the humans you protected who betrayed you.”
Arthur said calmly and fairly, “When ‘Wildfire’ attacked again, you were already powerless to resist. Therefore, you were captured alive by Utgarðar-Loki. The corpses of those who had died in battle earlier were also collected. After you were judged and tortured by the giants, all were convicted and beheaded. All your corpses were placed in the same large pot to be cooked—Supreme Heaven even personally made a new large pot for you. The giants ate your corpses. At the same time, everyone in every human settlement in Avalon was given a bowl of soup—the soup of the heroes they hoped to save but who had betrayed them. This was to tell them that they too had unforgivable sins, and from now on, no one would come to save them. Because the corpses were not buried, the execution ground was left with centuries of wailing vengeful spirits. They have turned into man-eating evil spirits. They have not dispersed until today; and they probably will not disperse in the future.”
Arthur gazed at Eivass and said, “Those were your… former subordinates.”
Hearing this, Eivass finally fell silent. The hero… died of betrayal.
And at this moment.
Merlin suddenly spoke, “It will end.”
Eivass looked over upon hearing this. Merlin met Eivass’s gaze without hesitation. His gaze was resolute. “When everything is over, when the giants are defeated by us, when we achieve the final victory—I will pray to Twilight to bury them; or pray to the Great Philosopher to sublimate them into the Wild Hunt. I heard that the people of Beheading Valley collected the bones of heroes. Although most of the remains were eaten by the giants, a small portion was protected and collected by them at the cost of their lives. With these as mediums, it is enough for them to rest in peace. Also…”
Merlin walked forward and took Eivass’s hand. “I implore you to agree to my plan! This will also help us defeat that powerful enemy!”
“—A plan?”
Eivass asked with interest. “What plan?”
“I wish to conduct the Wild Hunt ritual for you.”
Merlin paused slightly, but still spoke. “What is summoned by ‘Heroic Spirits Summoning’ are merely fragmented pieces of the past. They are not souls, nor do they have bodies. Sir Helchin’s corpse cannot be found, and we are powerless to appease those furious vengeful spirits… but if you were the medium…”
“I see, that’s fine.”
Eivass readily agreed. He felt a sense of emotion and gradually understood… So that’s what happened back then. Beheading Valley, Eagle Cape Village, King of the Wild Hunt… …Lord of Scales and Feathers, do you want me to witness this scene again? Because I want to sign the contract of great sin with Sir Helchin, you think I need to know the complete story before making a decision?
“As for the enemy…”
Merlin said solemnly. “We have already angered the giants, and they have prayed for an Apostle to come and punish us. I presume our King summoned you to this place for this reason. We are about to confront the Apostle of Supreme Heaven—’The Tyrant’ Caligula!”
…That “Tyrant” who was killed again by the Knights of the Round Table after each resurrection?
“What a… rare enemy.”
Eivass’s lips curved slightly, full of fighting spirit. Originally, confronting an Apostle was quite stressful for Eivass. He hadn’t forgotten the great pressure “The City Breaker” Enyo had brought him. But this time, the situation was different! Not to mention Merlin’s ritual… —This Arthur behind me, this big brother is now possessed by a Pillar God! This is a win, this is a win in a duo queue with a god-tier teammate!
(End of this Chapter)
