Alnus Hill was no longer the simple protrusion of land overlooking an expanse of grass upon a wide meadow and fertile plain. Rather, it had become a fortified military zone in every sense of the word.
Barbed wire lined the perimeter, tied over metal fencing with mesh wire woven to create a secure blockade. Further in, trenches were dug to conceal armed infantry locations where sharpshooters could pick off enemy targets. Near those were the artillery and miniguns used to mow down large numbers of assailants. Camouflage tarps and boulders were moved over the hill to act as further concealment.
The military base on Alnus Hill itself was readily made. Although it didn't boast the full security of established military bases, the location itself was still under construction. Parts of the right wing were undergoing modular construction with materials being hauled through the large Gate that opened atop Alnus Hill.
The entire base was centered around the Gate.
Watch towers were constructed in all four cardinal directions. Equipped with high vantage points, radar towers to be installed, and high-powered searchlights, Japan's military was doing its utmost to maintain its position.
A flurry of military personnel of all ranks manned several stations throughout the base. Radio teams, maintenance crews, and military engineers made up the bulk of the base's interior, while most combat-ready soldiers were stationed further out.
The entire formation was deemed impenetrable by the Empire after the last attempt where an entire army was slaughtered in minutes.
No local should have dared to be so brazen to approach Alnus Hill without fear of death, but this was precisely what was happening.
Rather than wait for Itami and the others on his recon team for an escort, Shirou had opted to go solo after being prompted to act by Merlin. Itami and the rest were in no state to move quickly with Recon Team Three's injuries. That, and waiting meant trying to explain things to Gray.
Merlin knows he was playing with fire already by misconstruing his existence as that of a foreign God to Reins and the other Magi.
Rather than an agreement with a God, Shirou could only imagine the fall out when it came to light that the deal was more of an agreement with a swindler.
Going with the others could have complicated matters far more than necessary as Merlin had spewed a complicated web of lies, truths, and misunderstandings.
["Really, don't make me out to be so manipulative…?"]
Outwardly, Shirou did not respond to the voice in his head, but inwardly, he was nursing a headache.
Shirou's arrival at Alnus Hill was not subtle. In fact, Merlin insisted he do the opposite and march forward as a gallant knight figure. He already had Arturia's armour fashioned over him.
As for the role model, Merlin suggested using Gawain's approach much to Shirou's inner exhaustion.
"Stop!" A flurry of shouts echoed in a slurred foreign tongue.
Shirou glanced up as his presence ignited a hive of activity on Alnus Hill.
The dialect the person was yelling through the loudspeaker was a bastardized version of the current world's local language. It was probably something they'd learned from the locals in their time here, as no one would understand Japanese fluently enough to convey any sort of meaning.
"..."
["Remember, repeat after me, and if things get too hard, let me handle talks and persuasion."]
Merlin began issuing instructions as Shirou was told to play the role of the marriott on strings.
Ahead of him, Shirou was staring at the radio tower where the voice calling him to stop was being broadcast from the entrance of a metal gate where military vehicles were lined up on the other side.
To have gotten this close without being detected by sentries must have alarmed the military base's overseers.
Taking a breath, Shirou knit his brows and cooled his expression while Merlin began reciting lines for him as if reading a script.
["What sorcery is this?"]
"What sorcery is this?" Shirou mirrored Merlin's words, acting loosely like he'd never seen modern technology before.
Part of the reason Shirou had moved without Itami and the others was that they'd interacted long enough with him to see he was somewhat familiar with modern technological advancement.
Good thing they weren't here.
"..." The speaker went silent for a while before a sigh was heard on the other side. Likely, they were viewing Shirou as one of the primitive locals.
"Please leave. We do not wish to shoot," the speaker echoed the tower personnel's sentiments.
["Ah. it's coming from there!"]
"Ah, it's coming from there," Shirou said flatly.
["More passion! Energy! Vigour!"]
Shirou's brow twitched, before he opted out and let Merlin possess his mouth. It was difficult for Shirou to lie without giving anything away, so the arrangement naturally turned to Merlin doing a partial descent on him.
Meanwhile, Shirou acted as a passenger. He had control of his body and motor skills while he let Merlin operate his mouth and facial expressions.
"My name is Arthur Pendragon, Knight of the Round and King of Britain!" Merlin boldly declared. "I wish to speak to your leaders directly, not through magic or a familiar!"
"..." The speaker went quiet at the admission, a flurry of noises echoing from the other side.
"I am offering you courtesy as a King, if you have honor, please reciprocate the gesture. I would not send a mere scout to represent a royal when visiting another kingdom's delegates."
"...Are you really Arthur?"
A new voice reverberated out from the speaker, one that sounded distinctly authoritative compared to the prior person.
"Hmm, curious. You speak as if you know me?" Merlin said with a distinct curiosity in his tone.
Suddenly, the other side seemed to realize something as a faint whisper could be heard in the background.
("He's speaking English sir.")
("Quiet.")
"This Britain that you speak of…I've never heard of it." The other side insisted. "Where is Britain in this land?"
Was that their angle?
The edges of Merlin's couldn't help but curl up in amusement in Avalon. When it came to ploys and deception, who was better than Morgan? It was Merlin who often countered her, and it was only after Morgan had devised a way to trap Merlin in Avalon that Camelot truly fell.
"You wouldn't know even if I said it," Merlin sighed, expression subtly changing into regal melancholy. "I am a King here with no nation or people. Rather, I found myself taking refuge in these foreign lands after a grievous injury. Call it hubris, but I made a promise to return and the Gate atop this hill reminds me of the one I fell through in the battlefield of a place called Camlann."
"You seek passage?" The tone in the speaker sounded skewed as if the person on the other side were sweating or anxious.
"I seek to investigate for a path home," Merlin answered, chest puffed up, shoulders broad, and armor glistening in the light. The Pendragon Coat of Arms billowed over the blue mantle on Shirou's body.
Moreover, Merlin got Shirou to raise a hand and reveal the sword concealed in his grip through Invisible Air.
Excalibur came into full view. Its light was a light beyond mere radiance. Its presence created a mysterious space where warmth permeated and lingered, the Fae language inscribed over the blade, casting a glow effect like golden sand running up and down the blade.
"This sword is my rite of Kingship, and it points me through that Gate." Merlin stated, expression growing firm. "I have been cordial. Please grant me due audience, or I will have no choice but to take matters into my own hands."
Hesitation was rife in the air.
Although Merlin had been speaking to a speaker, the military personnel on the other side of the military gate could clearly see Excalibur. The sword's presence alone demanded respect and awe without any words. Thus was the sword that promised victory among all else.
The sword of the undefeated King.
"Please wait a moment," the person behind the speaker said before the electronic lock of the military gate clicked open.
Barely a few minutes later, a Japanese Military official was hastily making his way to the front followed by a bureaucratic woman in a pleated dress shirt and skirt.
The woman had blond hair, western features, and square-framed glasses that hinted at long hours going over laws and books. There was an air of sophistication around her, marred by dark rings under her blue eyes.
Her name was Olivia Davis, a representative of the United Kingdom's embassy in Tokyo Japan. Due to various political maneuvers and the discovery of Code Name 'Arthur,' Britain had pushed to have a delegate allowed through the Gate.
While the military Official appeared troubled at the sight of Merlin, Olivia's eyes could not stray away from Excalibur's light.
Truly it was the sword in legend. There was none else like it.
It was only after Excalibur was resheathed under Invisible Air that all present snapped out of their stupor.
"-This way." The Japanese military official spoke gruffly, preventing Olivia from speaking out in the open.
Merlin followed with a neutral expression, Olivia not far behind.
The other military personnel in the area began whispering, but none of that registered in Olivia's mind.
Olivia was professional if nothing else, shutting her mouth despite the glint of excitement over her features.
News stories and tabloids were going to be printed soon, likely generating a fervor in the United Kingdom, and Japan was going to have a headache over it. It was as they'd feared.
The military official glanced at Olivia Davis, and let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as he beheld her awe at Code Name 'Arthur.'
"Is your name truly Arthur?" The military Official asked in passing.
"I am Arthur. Did I perhaps misspeak earlier?" Merlin replied.
"General." Olivia's tone was downright biting.
Japan had been frustrating to deal with in all matters related to the Gate, and Olivia was already through with it all. It was the same for all other countries that sent enquiries and delegates to the Land of the Rising Sun.
"It's formality. We cannot trust words alone," The military official said before leading further. However, his words sounded forced, like he'd be in trouble if they were found true or if he made a decision on his own without consulting a superior.
In the end, Merlin was led to a make-shift interrogation room under Olivia's heavy scrutiny.
Soon after, General Iwatani, overseer of operations within Japan's Gate, arrived.
His appearance was wrinkled and weathered, but a glint of pride and fire was still in his eyes.
If he let Merlin through that Gate, it would no longer be a matter fully under the discretion of Japan. Rather, Britain and its allies would surely apply foreign pressure along with other nations whose interests may align with pushing Japan's Gate to be an international passage.
Presently, Japan had a monopoly, but variables could change everything.
General Iwatani would rather stamp out those variables now before they could become troublesome. More than it already was with a United Kingdom delegate scrutinizing every detail of what would happen here.
"My name is General Iwatani." Iwatani introduced himself while taking a seat across from Merlin operating Shirou's mouth.
"General?" Merlin pretended not to know the term. "Is that a new title for a noble?"
"Hmm," Iwatani grunted. "It's a rank in the army."
"So a soldier? I would say knight, but you lack the qualifications." Merlin said bluntly, causing Iwatani's aged brow to twitch. "Where is the chivalry in denying royalty reciprocity among rulers? You do not appear to be the leader of your kingdom, but just another representative."
"I am the overseer of all operations regarding the Gate you've shown interest in," Iwatani clarified, letting out air as he composed himself. "I am here to make sure you are who you say you are."
A person whispered into Iwatani's ears, filling him in on all the details Merlin had mentioned prior.
"By your own admission, you say that you're not from this world." Iwatani stated with growing scrutiny. "But can you describe this 'Britain,' you rule of."
This time, Merlin paused as he thought of his reply, but his gaze focused on Olivia who was listening intently from the side.
This could work- The truth that is.
The history between the worlds was roughly the same.
"First of all, my land was not a peaceful one." Merlin began, tying everything together to make it plausible. "In the distant seas and past the shores of Britain, we started as a small colony that hailed from the greater Empire that was Rome."
Merlin did not miss the way Olivia's eyes lit up, and Iwatani's expression turned stony.
"Rome was a vast empire that stretched throughout the known world. Even in this world, I assume that the current Empire is an offshoot of Rome. Likely from people who found themselves in a similar circumstance to myself: stranded in this place. But I digress. The Great Empire of Rome eventually fractured and fell apart from the invasion of barbarians, giving way to Britain."
Olivia pulled out a notepad and began documenting the words, the intent to convey them all back to the United Kingdom blatantly evident.
"Britain, my Kingdom began in conflict and continued well until my birth. It was an isle surrounded by water where invaders known as the Saxons pillaged our lands and stole our women. My Father, King Uther could only do so much against the Saxons, and his rule ultimately left the issue unresolved…but there was hope in a prophecy."
"-The Sword in the Stone."
Olivia muttered, earning Iwatani's hardened glower and Merlin's feigned 'surprise.'
"You know the prophecy?" Merlin did not waste the opportunity and the charm of a handsome face.
He directed it towards Olivia who grew flustered at the attention.
"Ms. Davis!" Iwatani said sternly, but Olivia found confidence in Merlin's presence. Besides, her annoyance at Iwatani and Japan's stall tactics overrode her professionalism.
"He who draws this sword from the stone, is the true King of Britain." Olivia said, seeking affirmation in Merlin's gaze.
It was all too easy to give.
"And so a boy who trained in secrecy until the day of adulthood became King," Merlin said with nostalgia. "Hail King Arthur, long live the king."
Olivia grew fervent at the acknowledgment and-
BANG!
Iwatani slammed a hand into the table, drawing the attention back to himself. He gestured towards a military official and pointed to Olivia.
"Escort her out." Iwatani instructed.
"On what charges!" Olivia clenched her jaw.
"Obstruction of investigation." Iwatani said plainly.
A military official quickly took Olivia by the hands and escorted her out.
"Y-You senile old man! Do you think you can get away with everything just because Japan- mmph!" Olivia was restrained and placed out of the room.
Watching everything happen, Merlin leveled Iwatani with a solemn expression.
"That's no way to treat a woman," Merlin said, openly expressing disdain.
"Chivalry is dead," Iwatani responded just as disdainfully. "And you who are the supposed King of Chivalry and honor should also have remained in the grave."
Merlin, true to his act, maintained his composure and spoke out. "My request is to merely pass through the Gate. Intuition is telling me that through it is my original world. I have a promise to keep, and people who need me."
Iwatani took in a breath, gathering his thoughts as he painted a story based on the impression and words Merlin had given.
First of all, Iwatani was made to infer that time may flow a tad differently through the Gate, and secondly, that 'Arthur' supposedly had no knowledge of the modern world's changes. Therefore, the asymmetrical nature of information could be used.
"Your Britain is dead," Iwatani said flatly. "There's no use going back to a land that has abolished power in their ruling monarchy. Moreover, the threat of invaders, those 'Saxons,' have long since been dealt with. Let me ask you this, what year did you rule?"
Playing along, Merlin put on a pensive expression and answered. "The year was in the five-hundreds."
Iwatani grunted, and delivered an answer that he was sure would shock 'Arthur.'
"The year through the Gate is in the two-thousands. People have moved on and forgotten you. All that's left of you is a legend, meaning there's no significance in your return other than to disrupt the lives that your people built." Iwatani explained.
Should Code Name 'Arthur' refrain from passing through the Gate, Japan could potentially avoid a steep political battle with Earth's other nations.
Expecting 'Arthur' to be taken aback or reeling from the news, things didn't quite play out how Iwatani intended.
Although Merlin did act perplexed and shocked, what mattered was the root of the character he was playing: The King of Knights. He who upheld oaths, duty, and promises to the utmost degree.
"Even still," Merlin said solemnly. "I made a promise, not just for myself, but for my knights who fell and died in battle under my name."
Iwatani's expression fell sharply. "Then we are at a crossroad," he grunted.
"No," Merlin blatantly denied, crossing his arms and broadening his shoulders. He leaned towards Iwatani. "You are. I am no fool. My experience in the noble court can help me smell a snake or a jackal from their gilded silver tongues. You don't wish for me to return."
"..."
"Then I will make my way through whether you like it or not." Merlin prompted Shirou to stand up and grab onto the hilt of an invisible sword.
Glancing around at the modular space made from materials imported from Japan, the level of sophistication and technological detail was indeed beyond the medieval era.
However, That didn't mean anything.
"You are right, Sir Iwatani. Time has clearly marched forward." Magic energy swelled around Shirou's body, creating a flame-like aura that radiated with gold. "However, what you people gained in war trinkets and ignoble weapons, you've lost in magic. For I feel not a hint of it from you or anyone in this camp."
Iwatani's already hardened expression grew dark all at once.
"Tell me, Sir Iwatani, what do you know of magic?" Merlin asked.
Cold sweat began to form on Iwatani's back as he recalled the video that first circulated in regards to Code Name 'Arthur.'
Hidden within air, Iwatani was well aware that the sword seen in the video was present in Code Name 'Arthur's' grip.
"I have given you courtesy enough," Merlin gave an ultimatum. "Grant me passage or I'll challenge this entire camp to a noble duel."
It was agreed to let Shirou through.
In fact, it was probably for the best considering that the alternative was a conflict against 'magic,' a concept the modern world was not familiar with. Moreover, by agreeing, it served as a delaying tactic as Shirou would be escorted with a delegation through the Gate rather than him going through on his own.
Iwatani was left with a headache while coordinating and communicating with Japan's current government about what was to come.
Meanwhile, Shirou was organizing his thoughts while seated in a waiting room. Refreshments were placed on the side, and for the sake of formalities, Iwatani had assigned some guards to stand by the doors to keep people out.
It wasn't difficult to speculate that the arrangement was targeted at Olivia Davis.
However, those same guards kept glancing at Shirou and whispered to one another.
Shirou stood out like a sore thumb.
As the only one dressed in plate armor and a billowing mantle, he was easy to spot in a base of soldiers wearing tactical camouflage.
Then again, he didn't intend on making anymore of a scene now that things were going his way. Once Iwatani had conveyed messages to Japan's government, Shirou would be escorted through the Gate.
All that was left now was to wait.
However, nothing always went to plan.
"You, and you all!" A sudden shout echoed from the hall directed at the guards posted on by the doors. "We need your help! If you have hands, come use them!"
"But corporal, the general-"
"There's no time. People are dying!" The corporal yelled back before the guards could reason. They put on troubled faces, but soon acquiesced to the demand when the corporal insisted.
"I'll take full responsibility, now hurry!"
Ushered away to help, the guards left Shirou alone in the waiting room, leaving the door unoccupied.
Perhaps waiting for this exact opportunity, it wasn't long before a certain woman found her way towards the waiting room Shirou was staying in.
Knocking on the door, she entered without much reservation, already knowing that she'd find Shirou inside.
It was Olivia Davis.
Having been frowning at the security Iwatani had placed on Shirou the entire time, Olivia quickly changed her expression when the opportunity came.
"Allow me to formally introduce myself, your majesty." Olivia took off her glassesand extended a warm hand. "My name is Olivia Davis…of the United Kingdom of Britain."
Her eyes were practically shining with a type of anticipation and wonderment that Shirou could hardly respond to out of genuine shame.
Perhaps if he switched Arturia, the expression on Olivia's face would be more deserving. However, Arturia did not have the face to maintain Merlin's charade, so she was out of the running by principle.
Shirou's expression twisted with awkwardness before he quickly composed himself and called out to the man who made things so complicated.
'Merlin.'
["I'm on it."]
"You are a Briton?" Merlin said with learned class and courtroom etiquette.
Olivia brightened while nodding her head, doing a slight twirl to show off her modern attire. "Not what you're used to, is it?" she jested. "Though, dresses are still all the rage in Britain. Every young girl's dream really."
"Arthur Pendragon," Merlin introduced, maintaining the stoic expression Arturia always used in such occurrences. "So, the kingdom has really moved on without me, I see. Sir Iwatani was not lying. It's been over a thousand years?"
"Yes, it has indeed been many many years," Olivia coughed, noticing the subtle sorrow in Merlin's feigned expression.
As an Incubus, Merlin had a natural tendency to read and exploit the emotion of others even when he didn't mean to.
"What of Camelot? The Saxons? And the fate of the Kingdom?" Merlin pressed with earnest gusto. He sat up, gaze imploring Olivia for a straight answer.
Yet, Olivia flinched for a fraction of a second on the mention of Camelot, a place largely assumed by scholars to be fictional.
"Camelot has never been found," Olivia admitted. "The Saxons invasion ended centuries ago, and Britain still stand to this day, though not as united as it once was. I'll tell you more at another time in a more official setting. That hard ass general is probably gunning for me since I left my accommodations without alerting anyone."
"-ARGHHHH!"
A horrible scream echoed through the halls, something primal and guttural born from agonizing pain.
Olivia started, pupils dilating in alarm.
In contrast, Shirou frowned and stood up to move in the direction of the noise.
Rattled by the scream, Olivia only snapped out of it when she realized Shirou had already walked out the door and was moving in route to Alnus Hill's medical bay.
The guards that had been pulled from their posts earlier were hurriedly lugging injured soldiers to the medical beds where field doctors were scrambling to patch wounds and treat injuries.
Screaming, crying, and groans filled the entire space, making it reminiscent to its own type of battlefield. One where the doctors and nurses appeared to be utterly losing.
After all, the people in the medical ward appeared to be the soldiers that had had a run in with the magi around the second Gate.
"These readings just don't make sense!" One doctor yelled in frustration while looking over a woman in military garbs.
The woman was hooked to a machine, IV drip inserted into her left arm, while a machine monitored her vitals.
"There's nothing wrong with her!" The doctor was scrambling for an answer. There was no injury to be seen on the woman, nor did testing for bacterial or viral infection reveal any positive result.
Her complexion continued to pale, and the necrosis of the skin would lead to an onset of gangrene if not treated for the source.
"It's a curse." Shirou said, having ended up in the middle of the medical bay where the doctors were attending to patients.
Olivia watched with blatant interest.
This time Merlin wasn't filling in Shirou's place, but Shirou himself acting on his own initiative.
"A curse?" The doctors, men and women of science were appalled. "Who let this fool in here?!"
Shirou ignored the insult while Olivia looked torn between chewing the doctor out, or praising him for the care he was showing his patients.
Taking a knee next to the patient, Shirou recognised the tell-tale signs of the spell cast over them.
Gandr.
"A curse of weakening. It saps the victim of their vitality and shrivels them with debilitating sickness." Shirou said before raising an empty hand to the air.
"Who even is this person? Why is he wearing knight's armour in the medical ward?!" The doctors had just about enough of the interference.
Lives were at stake and-
From golden motes of light, a sheath formed in thin air atop Shirou's palm. Made of golden highlights and wreathed in regal blue, the sheath gave off an otherworldly glow.
All at once, the noise stopped as many eyes turned and stared.
"Hold this close."
Shirou didn't waste time. He made eye contact with the barely conscious patient and gently laid the sheath down over the patient's chest.
The golden motes of light shone ever brighter, pouring down over the patient where they absorbed into the skin.
"W-What is that?" The doctors fell mute, staring in wonderment as the patient's complexion began to grow healthier, their breaths visibly easing.
"That sheath?" Olivia whispered, but in the silence, her voice was heard.
"It's called Avalon." Shirou said. "The promise of an Ever-distant Utopia. It heals all wounds, no matter the severity so long as the person isn't dead."
As far as Olivia or anyone in legend knew, Avalon of legend was the only sheath of its kind.
For Shirou who was in unknown territory to part with it even momentarily for the sake of a soldier he did not know spoke of his character.
"Why?" Olivia asked.
Because healing them was neither wrong, nor did it misalign with Shirou's goals. The friendlier the impression, the better the treatment. Moreover, if one day Shirou hoped both sides to cooperate, the fewer casualties, the easier it would be.
But Merlin had a better answer.
"A King does not let men or women needlessly suffer."
Shirou didn't bother contesting the notion of loss or gain and merely moved around to heal as many as possible within his sight.
The once noisy area had become dead silent as they watched Shirou move from one patient to another with his 'magic' sheath.
This feeling growing in their hearts, admiration or awe of integrity, it mattered little.
The feeling was the same while watching Shirou.
-King Arthur and the Legend of the Undefeated King.
It was no wonder he was so loved in Legend that people await his return even now.
The return of their Ideal King.
Olivia took out her notepad.
Thanks for reading!
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