When the plot-skips players into the game world

Aiwass had not anticipated that he would encounter Merlin at this promotion ceremony.

As a half-dream demon, Merlin had half of the bloodline of Transcendence, which made him an expert in the art of ritual; and he was also a mage, ultimately becoming an apostle of the Great Sage.

But when it came to the establishment of Avalon, Merlin was an inescapable figure.

Aiwass had even told his students the story of Merlin's love and battle with the lake fairy Vivian.

At the same time, the Holy Sword—the Red-Handled Sword—temporarily in Aiwass' possession, was also sealed by Merlin. The establishment of the Hall of Silver and Tin, the Eye of Avalon, and several other Heirloom Divine Artifacts were also related to Merlin.

From this perspective... Merlin's importance to Avalon was even much greater than that of "Gavin," who had presided over Aiwass's promotion ceremony before.

However, Aiwass had something even more urgent to discuss with Merlin...

"Don't be in such a hurry."

Merlin extended his hand and touched Aiwass's forehead.

Despite being an apostle of the Nine Pillar Gods, he appeared to have no solemnity. He completely lacked the imposing aura of a divine being and still looked like a human—even if he was never human even before becoming an apostle.
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This legendary mage, draped in a blue robe and with a sharp sword at his waist, said with a smiling face, "I know you have something to say... That's why I didn't arrive late today, but rather came early. It's also for this reason that I brought you here ahead of time.

"Don't worry. No one else will come until our conversation is over."

...So I was the first one summoned here by the examiner's cheating tactics?

Aiwass first breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt a tinge of inexplicable loss.

So I'm not that strong after all...

"Aren't you an incubus?"

Aiwass first retorted, "If you have something to say, why not find me directly in dreams?"

"That would leave evidence. I'm now an apostle of the Great Sage. I can't conveniently deal with Arthur's affairs, as it might give people something to talk about and make it easy for someone to try to kill me. Besides, you don't need a ritual to summon me down... If I come to you on my own, wouldn't that be like asking for trouble?"

Merlin said, looking like a fox with his smile, "By contrast, the Dream Realm is much safer. No one can pry into the contents of the promotion ceremony... With just a slight time difference, there's no safer place than here."

Being an apostle seems to be quite troublesome...

Aiwass thought to himself in a flash.

But Aiwass quickly dispelled the thought from his mind and got straight to the point, "Do you still remember the Ceremony of Avalon's Shadow you once constructed? It's the resurrection ritual you prepared for Lancelot I."

He had intended to remind Merlin that there was an error in that ritual.

After pondering for a moment, Merlin showed a carefree and sunny smile, "Sorry, I forgot. Anyway, it's not important."

"...But that's the resurrection ritual for Lancelot!"

Aiwass was shocked, "How can you forget something like that?"

If something went wrong there, wouldn't Lancelot fail to be resurrected at all?

If the feigned death fails, it would directly become a real death. That would truly be making a big scene out of it.

Tragic news, Lancelot I, the founder of Avalon's traditional skill of Feign Death and intangible cultural heritage, unfortunately died during his first performance...

Suddenly, Aiwass realized that this Merlin seemed not very reliable.

So, he explained more thoroughly, trying to awaken Merlin's memory, "'With the blood of twenty-one Du Lacs who were murdered, the ancestor can be resurrected. He will descend again into his own body, holding the Holy Sword Arondight that is awakened and unsealed by the blood.' Now Avalon has pushed this ritual to the final step, with twenty sacrifices already made and just one more needed for completion."

"Oh—"

Merlin drawled, pretending to have an epiphany, "I seem to remember now. But isn't that good? What's the problem with that?"

"The problem is that Ms. Vivian altered the ritual you left behind back then. Now the ritual's link is wrongly directed at the Shadowy Celestial Marshal. If the ritual is successfully initiated, it's likely that not Lancelot Du Lac will be resurrected, but the queen of the Shadow Nation."

"Don't worry, that won't happen."

Merlin said with a smile, "Celestial Marshals aren't so easy to descend into the Material Realm. Otherwise, what you'd be worried about wouldn't be foreigners, but the Bear Celestial Marshal."

"It's different this time. There might be the involvement of the Serpent Celestial Marshal in the ritual. He has a ritual that can pull great beings from the Dream Realm into the Material Realm."

Aiwass had no more concern for the secrecy of intelligence. Although he couldn't explain the sources of this information, he still hoped that Merlin would quickly resolve the issue since it was rare for him to encounter the Great Sage.

Even if the bug couldn't be fixed, at least shut down the ceremony first—

Upon hearing this, Merlin finally became a bit more serious.

After pondering for a moment, he asked, "Ring of Ouroboros?"

"Yes!"

Aiwass immediately felt a surge of joy—being able to skip the need to explain the Ring of Ouroboros to Merlin meant a lot less trouble.

"Heh," Merlin merely chuckled, "I won't ask how you came to know of such an ancient ritual… Do you really think that Vivian could modify my ceremony without leaving a trace, ensuring it runs silently without any errors by leveraging the conditions I set earlier, and incidentally achieves the effect of the Ring of Ouroboros without any guidance? And that the ritual was intense enough to pull down the Shadowy Celestial Marshal, while also having the permission of the Serpent Celestial Marshal…

"Don't forget, she is the Fairy of the Lake from the Path of Love, utterly clueless about the Path of Transcendence."

Listening to Merlin's casual words, Aiwass was slightly stunned.

He quickly caught on: "Are you suggesting… this matter has something to do with the Serpent Celestial Marshal?"

"I didn't say anything. That's your own guess. I'm not responsible for those remarks."

Merlin cut to the chase without beating around the bush with a swift threefold evasion.

Aiwass's expression subtly changed.

Didn't you just say you had already forgotten about it...

For some reason, Merlin gave Aiwass a sense of déjà vu with Mycroft. Though their Paths, races, personalities, and even their presence differed completely... that ungraspable slickness was remarkably similar.

But if Merlin's implications were to be considered, the issue with the "Ceremony of Avalon's Shadow" may well be related to the Serpent Celestial Marshal.

…Does Lancelot know about this? And what about the Crown Lord?

No, the Crown Lord probably doesn't know. If He did, He would have warned Sofia.

If the Crown Lord is unaware, why would Merlin know? Or is it that he knows but isn't telling the Crown Lord?

Realizing this, Aiwass understood—it wasn't that Merlin knew the matter was related to the Serpent Celestial Marshal.

Rather, Merlin hadn't fully trusted Aiwass's words from the beginning. He harbored a subtle wariness toward Aiwass.

Everything he said subsequently was based on the premise that "Aiwass's words were not false"—in other words, what he did was much like Sherlock's approach.

Despite portraying an "I have nothing to do with these statements" attitude, seemingly hinting to Aiwass that the truth was as such, Merlin didn't give a definitive assertion. This way, if he were wrong, he could put on an innocent face and say to Aiwass, "I told you I said nothing"…

It was impossible to fathom his intentions.

Such a crafty old Fox...

Aiwass felt he had learned another trick.

"At the very least," Aiwass added, "Prince Wolfram the Giant's case requires your attention, doesn't it, Mr. Merlin?

"After all, it was you who said he should be kept here. Now that he's escaped from the prison you designed… he's causing quite a bit of trouble for Avalon, isn't he?"

Though the regular forces have already been deployed, Aiwass thought to himself.

With a beaming smile, Merlin said, "Alright, alright, I'll help..."

"What specifically will you do?" Aiwass wanted a definite answer.

"You will know when the time comes. Would I lie to you? Ah, it's getting late. I better let those people in."

With those words, Merlin vanished from behind Aiwass.

When he reappeared, he had transformed into a huge stone statue in the center of the area.

—Not as a black-haired young man, but rather in the form of a white-haired, old man.

Before Aiwass could comment, new figures appeared beside him.