Primitive Subjugation

Aleanna walked around the forest that was the home of her tribe, fuming as she did so.

She was still mad about the raid several days ago. For some reason, Lady Luck seemed to decide to abandon her right at the crucial moment. When she was about to capture a man, in surprise, he dropped the chest that he had been carrying. Whatever the content was, it was heavy enough that when it fell on her toe, the pain was enough for her to drop her sword and jumping around, holding the toe.

The jumping then caused her to lose her balance and fell to the ground, where her head hit a rock. Once she was able to get up and her head stopped pounding, everything has been finished.

Which was why – when they returned – she became a laughing stock up to this point.

For days, she tried to think about how to redeem herself in their eyes. The only way that she could think of was by being successful in the next raid. Unfortunately, it was unlikely that other Amazonesses would let her considering what happened in the last raid.

"Ah, damn it." She sighed. "What should I do now…?"

She was about to move to another location when she heard the sound of someone passing through the bushes. Curious, she put her hand on her ear so that she could figure out where the sound came from. Once she did, she silently approached the location.

The Amazoness knew these woods like the back of her hand. Thus, it was easy for her to traverse through the forest and approached her destination without being detected. When she was close, she hid behind a tree, observing from behind it to ensure that she remained hidden.

She saw someone wearing a white robe currently picking up a berry. With the left hand holding an elaborate staff, that – along with the outfit – indicated that the person that she was currently observing was a mage of a sort. Aleanna wondered about what the mage was doing in this forest. Perhaps collecting ingredients for experiments. They were quite famous for that, after all.

As she was busy thinking, the observed individual's hand reached for the hood of the robe…

She could feel her heart stopped beating for a moment.

The mage – no, man – in front of her was the prettiest person that she had ever seen. And that was not a simple compliment. She knew how beautiful her mother was and the other Amazonesses. There were times when other Mamono visited the village and their beauty was something that could make any man aroused.

But against this man, all of them pale in comparison.

Aleanna wondered if it had something to do with how Mamono instinctually desires a husband. Perhaps he was simply pretty, considered normal by others. However, because she was a Mamono – one that was single to boot – for her, his prettiness was the most beautiful thing in the entire world.

She shook her head. That didn't matter. For now, she must think of how to capture him. The elders of the village always warned them about the mages. How they never play fair, lacking any honor, and will use any means necessary to attain their goals. They tend to be physically weak, though. So, full-frontal assault before they could cast a spell was a simple yet nonetheless effective method.

Maybe she should change it a bit.

When the man turned around to look at the mushrooms growing on a tree, Aleanna used the opportunity to sneak up on him, sword ready in hands. All that she needed to do was to basically beat him up repeatedly until he was unconscious before bringing him back to the village.

She hoped that he wouldn't be too offended when all of this was over.

Once she was close enough, the Amazoness slowly raised her sword. The mage, meanwhile, was still curiously looking at the mushrooms, picking one from the tree to have a closer look. When it reached the sufficient height, she swung the sword down…

…only to be blocked by another sword.

Aleanna was shocked to see that a sword just suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Even more so when she noticed that the mage was strong enough to not only block her attack but also pushing it back. She put more power into her hands, hoping to overpower him.

The white-haired man was smiling and she didn't like it at all. It was only when light appeared on the tip of his staff, glowing with magical power, that she realized the reason.

As she was engulfed in a pink magical beam, she wondered what she had done that the gods decided to bestow her with rotten luck.

In the village of Amazoness, the time for lunch was close. At the bonfire, the cook was almost done roasting the boar over the fire, surrounded by those who couldn't wait for the pork to be done. Nearby, the men were busy preparing the fruits and roots that they gathered from the forest. They were also tasked to prevent the children from taking a bite or two before the time.

Eating was an activity that was usually communal among the Amazoness tribes. It was believed that it would tighten the bond of those who participated and also ensuring that everyone received a fair share of food. With their village not as developed as human villages and barter was the main way of doing the transaction, the Amazoness had a closer relationship with each other.

It was simply one of many things that they did together.

At the outskirt of the village, an Amazoness stood watch, holding a spear in her hand with the look of annoyance on her face. Lunch could start at any moment and she has not returned yet. While she knew that she was still mad about the latest raid, that was no reason to make others felt the discomfort as well.

Then, they might have gone too far with the jokes and mocking. Everybody has their time when the day simply just plain bad for them. Perhaps an offering to Ares could fix the situation, she thought as she yawned, her eyes closed.

It was due to that that she didn't notice that Amazoness that she was looking for was being propelled towards her by a pink beam.

Both of them collided with each other. However, there was still enough energy in the beam to pushed the two of them deeper into the village. Those who noticed them immediately scrambled away to avoid being hit as well. They finally stopped when they crashed into the cook and the boar that was being roasted.

This also resulted in the cook being thrown into the location of fruits and roots. While the people there already evacuated, not so much with the food, which was now being scattered all over the place by the impact.

All in all, lunch was ruined before it could even start.

As many Amazonesses stared at the mess in despair – some even shedding tears, none of them noticed that an intruder was entering the village. It was only after the children yelled at the stranger that others began to notice him as well.

"Hello there." Merlin greeted them with a friendly smile. "Take me to your leader for I have a talk with her!"

Slowly, the Amazonesses started to part away to make a path for their leader. As an Amazoness approached him, the wizard noticed that there were noticeable differences about her compared to other women in the village. Her muscles were more noticeable for one, especially the abs on her abdomen. What little that she wore also appeared to be made from better material. Once she was closer, he recognized the material used for her outfit; none other than the spider silk.

"What's the name of spider monster again?" He wondered. "Arachne or something along that line?"

"You're speaking to her." The Amazoness stated sternly, eyes glaring at him. "Who are you, stranger, and are you responsible for this mess?"

"You can call me Merlin, a wandering wizard." He introduced with a cheeky tone. "As for the mess, yes, it's me. But what can you do about it? They always say that presentation is important."

The Amazoness simply glanced back at the mess – which was currently being cleaned – before looking back at him, intensifying her glare.

"Anyway, I am here because the owner of the caravan you raided demand compensation." The white-haired man continued. "She knows it's impossible to ask monsters to depart from their husbands, so she simply asks you to compensate for the loss of her employees than giving them back."

"I see…" She put her hand on her chin.

"As for me…" Merlin put his hand into his robe first before taking out a scroll. "I want you and every single person here to sign this."

He let the scroll unrolled in his hand. When the Amazoness looked at the content, she soon realized that it was not something good. She might not be a magician, but she knew a magical item when she saw one.

"What is that?" She demanded an explanation.

"This is called geas." He began to explain. "To put it in a way that you normies could understand, it is a magical vow that requires you to do something or prohibit you from a certain activity…or else."

"Oh?" Her tone became more menacing. "And just what is it that you want us to do?"

"Simple; stop with all of the raids and bride – I mean, groom kidnapping. Don't worry, you can still get a husband. But seriously, man, no need to be so rude about it. Just go find someone that you're interested in, talk with him, have a date, fuck each other, and if both of you are compatible, have a marriage."

Slowly, the situation became more intense. The young Amazonesses, those who were still single, glared at him intensely. Kidnapping a man to become their husband was a rite of passage in the Amazoness culture. One could say that it was the most important one. And this man had the gall to simply walk into their home and told them to cast it away.

"You…have the guts…to come here and give such an…unreasonable demand!" The Amazoness leader said almost snarling, giving him a death glare.

"Well, what can I say? That's simply how I roll." Merlin said without any hint of worry. "Speaking of which, are you taken? Because I must say, your breasts and hips are just gorgeous."

"Hey!"

"Ah, sorry, sir." He replied, sounding somewhat sincere. "But don't worry, I am the follower of the prime commandment of the Platonic Ideal. Especially the first Dharma."

Merlin looked at the breasts of the Amazoness in front of him while grinning.

"Looking's free."

For the first time in her life, she was considering taking the life of the man in front of her by slowly choking the life out of him.

"Oh, well." The wizard suddenly sighed. "Back to work."

Without any warning, he blasted the woman in front of him with a pink beam from his staff. As she crashed into a group of Amazonesses, several of them that were out of the way immediately dashed towards the white-haired man. Keeping the smile on his face, he faced them with his staff.

With the improvised weapon in his hands, Merlin kept the distance between him and the Amazonesses. If one dared to get closer, he would either smack them away or used the tip of his staff to hit them. Not even a minute after the fight started and most of the dark-skinned fighters were already on the ground, incapacitated.

One of them, however, managed to hit him in the cheek. The wizard simply rubbed his check for a while before retaliating with his own fist. This fist, unlike the Amazoness', managed to knock out the opponent.

At first, many were surprised at how – despite being a mage – Merlin was able to physically match – no, exceed – some of them in combat. Undaunted by the sight, however, they went back to their houses to pick up their arms.

As he knocked out the last Amazoness, the white-haired man saw more of them coming towards him. This time, they were bringing their weapons with them; swords, spears, axes, any types of weapon. All of them were made by Demon Realm Silver.

"Well, I suppose it is time to utilize my field of expertise." Merlin declared as he raised his right hand.

The Amazonesses stopped their advance, thinking that he was about to unleash his magic. Instead, he materialized his sword in his hand. At first, they were confused by his action. But then, almost instantaneously, he closed the distance between him and one of the swordswomen.

When he swung his sword, the Amazoness managed to block it. However, Merlin simply spun around and kicked her away, causing her to hit another Amazoness. Two of them, from his flanks, roared as they charged with a spear in hands. When they were about to stab him, the wizard simply jumped, causing them to stab each other instead. As he landed, he didn't forget to hit them in the heads with his sword and staff.

Feeling an incoming danger, the white-haired man moved his head slightly to the left, resulting in him avoiding an arrow. Once he detected the archer, he spun his staff, creating three blue orbs, before sending them towards her. She tried to dodge but, in the end, got caught in the explosion anyway. He then looked at the large group of Amazonesses, changed his grip on the sword so that the tip pointed downward, and stabbed the blade to the ground, resulting in a sea of blue flame engulfing them.

Seeing how many of their warriors were effortlessly defeated, the remaining Amazonesses and the male population of the village silently began to evacuate themselves and the children. Hopefully, with the wizard being distracted by the fighting, they could evacuate to somewhere safe until he was gone.

The pink beam hitting the Amazoness that led the evacuees dashed that hope.

"Sorry," Merlin stated, not feeling sorry at all, considering the smile and the wink. "But all of you must stay here."

"Enough!"

The people on the village – the ones that were still conscious at least – turned their attention towards the woman who shouted, which was none other than the leader of the Amazoness. In her hands – which was covered by metal gauntlets – was a great sword almost as tall as her. As she glared at him, the white-haired man simply smiled back in return.

"Welcome back." He greeted her. "So, have you changed your mind or should we continue this dance?"

"You know, people like you, us Amazonesses consider them to be the best husband material." She stated with a cold tone. "But, after everything that you have done, don't you even think that you would be accepted as an associate."

"Fine by me." The wizard simply shrugged. "Anyway, I suppose it's time to up my game."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a burst of energy just exploded from Merlin. She couldn't help but gulp, able to feel the power that radiated from him. If he managed to defeat many of the warriors of the village with metaphorically a hand tied behind his back…

…how powerful he would be without any restraint?

The answer: a lot.

Merlin immediately dashed towards the leader. When she noticed him, the man already had his sword swinging down, about to hit her head. She immediately raised her sword, almost barely avoiding getting her head injured. It was then that she noticed that his swing was powerful enough to push her, even if a bit. Just how this human could…

It was by then that she realized something. Was the person in front of her even human? He could be a hero, which explained his strength, but there was…something about him that made her doubtful.

In any case, she didn't have time to think as the wizard renewed his assault. Repeatedly, he tried to slash her with his sword and every time, she managed to block them. However, it also meant that she couldn't perform an attack of her own. Furthermore, she realized that she was slowly getting tired while the man didn't show any. He could win by simple attrition.

She couldn't let it happen.

When he pulled his hand back to swing his sword, she roared with her entire might as she brought down her sword towards him. She managed to catch him by surprise, considering his widening eyes. He moved his staff, trying to block the attack, but if she used more power on her swing, making it faster, then…

SLAM

When her sword hit the ground, she was surprised to see that the wizard exploded into flower petals. At first, she raised an eyebrow, confused by what had just happened. When she heard a whisper on her ear, she finally realized it, but by then it was too late.

"Gotcha."

She turned her head around, only able to get a glance before she was engulfed in pink light. Merlin was not done, however; he stabbed his sword into the ground, engulfing the leader of the Amazoness tribe in blue flame. When it disappeared, she was revealed to be lying on the ground, smoke coming out from her mouth.

"Whoops," He said as he made his sword disappeared. "It seems that I have gone too far."

The wizard walked towards her before kneeling beside her head. Too much in pain to move, she only moved her head a bit so that he was within her peripheral vision. In his now free hand was none other than the geas scroll.

"Sign up." He stated with his eyes closed and a smile.

"Go…to hell…" She retorted, face full of pain.

"Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way." He opened his eyes. "I am going easy on you. You're still alive, they're still alive, and after you sign this, I am willing to forget about everything and just go to my merry way. If I want, I could simply kill all of you, loot your valuables, and go back to the town."

"Then…why…?"

"Because, for all your raiding and kidnapping, I know and have seen worse. Let's just say the sight of hundreds of humans being treated like cargo, taken away from their home, and worked until they last breath, is not something you will soon forget." Merlin shuddered. "There's also your nature that I consider. All monster wants husband, it is inevitable. There's nothing I can do about it. Maybe in the future. But right now, this is the only solution that I could think of, making sure that both sides win."

"Win?" She sneered. "You call…destroying our culture…a win for us?"

"Sometimes, it must be done. If you don't sign this and abandon your way, then I am going to use your culture to punish you." He stood up to deliver his announcement. "If you don't sign this, then I will take. Every. Single. Children. In this village!"

Upon hearing that, the children immediately went to their parents, who did their best to shield them with their own bodies. Fear was apparent in their faces, not wanting to have their offspring taken away.

"And after I take them away, I will make sure that none of you will ever see them again!" He looked down at her. "So, what do you say?"

…

…

"Where should…I sign…?"

The wizard made a smile. However, if one looked closer, there was a hint of sadness on his face.

"In the end, I am just a monster pretending to be a human."

When he arrived and basically poured the weapons into the table, the Gyobu Danuki could only look at him in disbelief.

"You did it…" She commented. "You mad bastard, you did it!"

"I gave my words, after all," Merlin replied as he took a seat. "So, what about my reward?"

"Oh, fine." The Zipanguese grumbled for a bit before taking out a small wooden box. "Since you're a wizard, I am sure this will suit your taste."

The white-haired man accepted the box and opened it. Inside was a pendant with a red gem as the main jewelry. He took it from the box and held the gem up to the light, one of his eyes closed as he observed the precious stone.

"I must say, this is quite an interesting Mystic Code." He commented before putting the pendant back. "I can think of several ways for me to use it."

"What's a Mystic Code?" The Gyobu Danuki asked.

"Just a term I created for myself." He waved his hand. "Now, about the room…"

She simply tossed the key to him, which he effortlessly caught. Merlin stood up from his chair and – after giving a smile – walked away from the table. Once he was gone, the merchant lightened up her pipe before inspected her newest merchandise, already thinking about potential customers and how much she could gain from them.

Back in the Amazoness village, after he was gone along with the weapons that he confiscated as compensation, there was a meeting between the leader of the tribe and her small council of advisors. Despite still feeling the pain from the fight, they decided to not postpone the meeting for even a second.

"Well, first thing first, we need to create replacement weapons." The leader spoke up. "Unless we want to eat only fruits and vegetables, we're going to need them to hunt for food."

The others agreed with the statement.

"Another thing is, well…" Her mood went down. "…I am sure I don't need to explain it further."

"How do we know what he said is not a simple bluff?" An Amazoness asked.

"Don't you feel it when signed the scroll?" Another Amazoness said back. "I am not sure what it is, but there's…something that suddenly appears. I believe it's some kind of magical bond that will make sure we follow the oath."

"So, it really happens? We have to…abandon what makes us…us?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." The leader of the Amazonesses stated. "Perhaps we can ask the Sabbath to sever the bond. But until then, let us not risk it and follow the contract that we've signed."

"And if that failed?"

"Then we should adapt to the changing circumstance. With that in mind, I believe we should move to a nearby Mamono-friendly settlement."

"I know one. We should be accepted there, provided we don't cause a mess."

"Good. It is decided then; after forging the new weapons, we will pack up and move to the friendly settlement where we will stay until we established our new village. Any objection?"

There was none.

"Then the meeting is adjourned."

As her advisors stood up and exited her house, she couldn't help but covering her face with her hands. In just one day, their entire life was changed, most likely permanently. As much as she said the possibility of the Sabbath being able to break the magical oath, she had a feeling that it would simply end up in vain.

She let out a long sigh and looked upward.

"Lady Ares, why have you forsaken us?"

After he hanged his robe on the rack, Merlin walked towards the table where he had put out his quill, ink bottle, and several papers. He walked towards the chair and – once he sat down – stretched his fingers before starting.

"Alright, which one first?" He spoke to himself as his hand supported his head. "Greilia…Nah, she'll just throw my letter into the trash can unless it's about medicine or the latest healing technique. Avi…does she even knows the concept of exchanging letters? Perhaps I should tell her when we meet next time."

For a while, Merlin simply spent his time having his eyes closed, thinking on to whom he should write the letter.

"Oh, that's right! It's been months since I write one for home!"

He quickly took one of the papers while also dipping his quill into the ink bottle. He cleared his throat first before starting to write.

"Dear Sasha…"

He suddenly stopped writing. He looked upward so that he could focus better, making sure that his Clairvoyance didn't make a fool out of him. Once he confirmed it, Merlin sighed before looking back at the paper in front of him.

"That old man Noscrim is up to one of his antics again, huh?" He commented. "I suppose things will be more 'interesting' from now on."

He continued writing his letter, though his mood was no longer as cheerful as earlier.

Answers to some reviews:

NomadicNine: How Merlin is there is a spoiler, so I can't tell you. As for other Fate characters, this is how I am going to answer it: they are both there and also not there.

MoonCell: I see. Perhaps I should have the flashback part written in italics.

He does send a birthday gift to Sasha, Primera, Lucian, and the kids in the orphanage. Unfortunately, he couldn't send one to Francisca since nobody celebrates her birthday

The best thing that he could do – as for the moment – is giving her a good dream 😉

Reaction to Fou, well, let's just see, shall we?

AMAZING EZ-8: That's because both Elt and Merlin are the same person (and also neither).

BTW, credits to Ezok from Spacebattles for the "Merlin is the follower of the prime commandment of the Platonic Ideal."

If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.

Review, please!