Chapter 940
Merlin’s Summoning Ritual
After obtaining the fragments of the Red-Hilted Sword, Eivass began preparing for Merlin’s summoning ritual.
In reality, no such ritual existed. However, when Eivass had met Merlin before, Merlin had given him a prayer to summon him. This was akin to exchanging contact information.
Although Eivass was not a great sorcerer, his proficiency in rituals was far from ordinary.
With this prayer as the core of the ritual, Eivass could directly construct a ritual to summon Merlin.
The core information was that Merlin was a “Knight,” a “Half-Demon,” and also a “Mage.”
Because of this, the key numbers for summoning Merlin were four for Wisdom, seven for Power/Authority, and eight for Transcendence. Combined with Merlin’s fondness for mysterious and beautiful things, and his love for travel, gourmet food, beautiful women, and fine wine, the fact that the word “Merlin” meant “Prime Minister” in some places, the materials for constructing the ritual were determined.
Eivass prepared flowers with four, seven, and eight petals, mixed them together, and cultivated them in fresh soil. He then repaired the white staff that Minister Hermes, who was the Minister of Palace Affairs when Isabel ascended, had broken. Beside it, he placed a statue of Sister Sasha that Eivass had previously used.
As time advanced to 4 AM, Eivass began the summoning ritual.
He added powdered sapphire, which deepened its resonance with the Path of Wisdom, to transparent wine and sprinkled it on Sister Sasha’s statue. The remaining bit was sprinkled on the staff.
Simultaneously, facing the direction where the sun would rise, he softly chanted: “Answer me!
“Disciple of the Great Philosopher, Sage of the Round Table!
“The unbound traveler, the wise man who advises kings in dreams, the one who loves all in this world and is loved by the world—”
Eivass recited, thrusting the staff into the ground.
As the ritual progressed, the now somewhat withered flowers regained their vitality and lifted their heads.
The wine liquid separated from the staff and Sister Sasha’s statue, and the transparent liquid mixed with sapphire transformed into a tide as blue as the sea.
The small amount of wine expanded to dozens of times its volume. Seawater, pouring in from an unknown source, circled the flowers, but it did not scatter them or flood the soil. Instead, it condensed into a ring, gradually rising into a tornado-like formation.
“I invoke you in the name of I—Eivass Moriarty, Child of the Candlemaster, the previous Eternal Pope—Arrive immediately!”
“…Yes, yes, yes, I’m coming, I’m coming.”
A somewhat helpless, lazy voice sounded. “You don’t need to call me with such a grand title… If I were busy and didn’t come, the Great Philosopher would scold me again…”
The water vortex seemed to come alive, splitting and dissipating. But they did not vanish into thin air; instead, they turned into several hopping little rabbits. They looked around, were startled by the man who appeared in the center, and hopped away faster.
Merlin then appeared amidst the flowers.
He appeared to be in his early twenties, not much different in age from Eivass, a young man with a wry smile.
He had messy black short hair and wore a round monocle in his left eye. His right hand gripped a staff, and a short sword hung from his right hip. He wore a deep blue robe, with long sleeves completely concealing his left hand.
He generally looked like an inexperienced scholar, but his deep eyes gave off an unfathomable, dark aura. His wry smile seemed genuinely troubled, yet his expression was inexplicably frivolous—the kind of perfunctory smile a handsome guy would give when he’s late for a date, rubbing his nose.
“I say… Former Pope. You can just call me by your name in the future. If it’s not urgent, I’ll definitely come when I hear it, it’s just a matter of when.”
Merlin complained, “Even if I don’t respond to the summoning immediately—given our relationship, I’ll definitely teleport to you as soon as I have time.”
Once a ritual is established, the summoned party will feel it.
Even if Merlin hadn’t responded to the summoning, he could have teleported over afterward… like checking missed calls and calling back to ask about the situation.
“I don’t think our relationship is that close, Mr. Merlin.”
Eivass retorted, “It’s precisely because summoning you during a summoning ritual is the safest.”
—Otherwise, who knew when Merlin would reply.
Even the Great Philosopher himself had difficulty pinpointing Merlin—this disciple who roamed all over the world was, as his summoning phrase suggested, an “unbound traveler.” He was perfectly capable of being so detached as to “read but not reply.”
Looking at Merlin now, Eivass sighed.
The “young Merlin” he saw in the previous Ascension Ritual was so cute and honest… How did he turn into a greasy player now?
It was like a model student in their first year who seriously participated in all extracurricular activities, never skipped class, and even attended meaningless assemblies attentively, but by their third or fourth year, they were selectively skipping mandatory courses, actively avoiding electives, and when reprimanded, they’d say, “Say whatever you want, I won’t change anyway,” becoming a completely incorrigible troublemaker.
Eivass wondered if it was Arthur’s fault, Lancelot’s fault, or the Great Philosopher’s fault…
“Hmm…”
Merlin didn’t deny Eivass’s words; instead, he narrowed his eyes with pride. “That’s indeed the case. You’re quite intelligent, Eivass. You’ve only met me a few times, and you’ve already understood this scoundrel’s incorrigible nature.
“—Speaking of which, what’s going on that made you summon me so suddenly? I have a date in Iris Flower.”
“A date? With whom?” Eivass’s interest was piqued.
“An ordinary shepherdess, met during a romantic encounter.”
Merlin stated his plans without reservation. “Compared to the witches, sorceresses, and fairies from the Path of Love, ordinary people with mixed desires are better. I’m probably a butterfly; air that’s too heavy will prevent me from flying.”
“…Alright.”
Eivass shrugged, offering no comment.
He was somewhat constrained – Viviane was currently taking care of Bishop Mathers’ sister, her nominal adoptive mother; and Morgan had gifted Eivass a “Dream Realm property.” These two Lake Fairies, who had a poor relationship with Merlin, had a deep connection with Eivass, making it difficult for him to speak ill of them to Merlin.
So, Eivass bypassed the topic and got straight to the point: “I hope you can help me Unseal this.”
“Hmm?”
Hearing this, Merlin was initially a little confused—he wasn’t particularly skilled at curse removal, so why was there a seal specifically summoned for him to break?
But he quickly realized.
What needed to be Unsealed by him… must be a seal he himself had placed.
Because Merlin wasn’t particularly skilled at sealing, his seals were often crude and chaotic.
It was like an abnormally complex and extremely redundant program that made people dizzy and didn’t add comments—making it difficult for others to break through. Because at a glance, it was impossible to see where the effective statements were. It would make anyone trying to remove the seal want to strangle him.
The “redundancy” he set up could only be seen through by someone with a Succubus bloodline. Others would easily get stuck in a loop.
A seal set by an ordinary person was like a refined and strict anti-theft system, usually relying on surveillance and alarm systems, complex locks that couldn’t be opened quickly, and a few trigger mechanisms to prevent intrusion. But even proficient phantom thieves could easily break through.
Merlin, on the other hand, had thrown the safe into a giant labyrinth and merged the labyrinth with a bustling marketplace. Amidst the rush of a huge crowd, the winding labyrinth would make people unable to find the correct path, let alone approach the real treasure.
Merlin looked at the key Eivass presented and immediately recognized it. “I see… the Red-Hilted Sword. The power of this sword is indeed formidable.
“I presume… you intend to repair this Cursed Holy Sword to fight against the Fallen Heavenly Envoy?
“I must state beforehand, this sword harbors the curse of Hengwo and can only be wielded by the most resolute and pure. Among the entire Round Table, only Galahad can use it. Even Lancelot dared not use it, and another knight, Balin, went mad from the curse after using this sword.
“As long as one harbors evil intentions while using this sword, wanting to kill someone or do something wicked, that part of desire will be permanently amplified, driving one to madness and paranoia.
“Do you think you… are suitable?”
Merlin’s words were not at all tactful.
His meaning was clear—he did not think Eivass had the heart to wield the Red-Hilted Sword.
“Why does this sword have Hengwo’s curse?”
Eivass countered, “Or rather, why would Hengwo curse a sword like this?”
“This is a question I’ve happened to research.”
Merlin replied immediately, “Because this sword’s power actually comes from its ‘red hilt.’ And the ruby that forms the hilt is a crystal fragment of the Beast Lord. Perhaps it’s His bones, perhaps His eggshell, or perhaps something else… But in any case, it retains the original power of the First Origin River.
“Strictly speaking, this isn’t exactly a curse. It’s just that this power contains the ‘Beastiality’ of the Beast Path, and only the purest ‘Love’ can suppress it.
“Because it’s not a curse, I believe it cannot be removed by Curse Removal—which is why I shattered its blade, making it ‘not a sharp edge,’ blunting its sharp claws and teeth; I destroyed its sheath to remove its fur and scales for protection, forging a prison with amber and sacred wood to confine it.
“—Therefore, what I was doing back then wasn’t ‘sealing a demonic sword,’ but imprisoning and confining a ferocious monster.”
Merlin said solemnly, “For this reason, I warn you—it is by no means just a ‘demonic sword that slays its master’.”
