AN:
The translation of Maldición de la diversión by Rey de Picas was made with the consent of the original author. All changes you will see in this version were agreed upon with him. Next update: a new fanfic about Shirou in Chaldea with a lot of lemons.
White hair fluttered in the air as she looked at the man, she had made king.
A broad back that seemed to cover the entire horizon. The back of Arthur, the true King of Britain. The one who had reached the top in everything.
But why was this perfect king looking at her with pity now? Where did the sadness in those shining emerald eyes come from?
Arthur looked at her as if he was waiting for her to move.
She didn't.
The man lowered his head and she watched him walk away slowly, turning around with each step. Soon she was alone.
It was strange.
With Arthur gone, a sudden feeling of boredom came over her. It wasn't that she had really enjoyed the man's company up until now, but it wasn't like he was a nuisance or anything.
Arthur had been her source of entertainment for a long time, and she had grown accustomed to him. From a timid, tiny boy hiding behind his older brother, he had grown into a magnificent man, whose radiance was as blinding as the midday sun.
And yet, every story always comes to an end. And her entertainment too. She had seen the end of this play the moment Arthur pulled Caliburn out of the stone.
Even knowing how it would end, she enjoyed watching him grow. She enjoyed the process itself, not the end result.
But now the legend was created.
And her entertainment was over forever.
She didn't know what Arthur felt for her now, and even if she knew, she would hardly understand it. She was too far removed from the concept of "human".
Raising her head, the woman saw the sun setting, the bright yellow rays giving way to an orange gradient with flashes of scarlet.
It was a sunset that any other observer would have found beautiful, but for her it was just a moment in which the connection with Arthur was gone forever. She was left with nothing but herself, searching for something to look at or interfere with.
She decided that she would consider the consequences of her actions another time. Right now she didn't feel like doing anything. She tilted her head and looked at the pale orange sunset.
She didn't like the color; it was too dark for her taste, almost lifeless. On the other hand, it was a very good demonstration of the death of light and the coming of darkness. The sunset was an intermediate point between the two.
As the sun went down, the smile on her face faded. All emotion and interest faded away at that moment.
She didn't know what she should be thinking or worrying about. Maybe a world where she was acknowledged and praised?
Maybe, that would be nice. She did like people, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't identify with them. There was some line, a boundary in her mind that separated "her" and "them".
Oh, why did she even think about such complicated things now? Just because she and Arthur had said goodbye to each other didn't mean she couldn't find a new source of entertainment.
So why did she feel a little irritated now?
It didn't matter now, anyway. The woman shook her head, trying to push away all the irritating thoughts.
Sighing, the albino looked at her hands, the cane in her hands, and the sleeves of her suit. Even knowing her appearance and her good behavior, how could she do anything to enjoy the time she now had?
She looked at the ground and saw grass with puddles. She walked and looked at herself in a puddle, her reflection slowly fading in the falling light.
She didn't like it.
A wave of her hand along with the glint of her cane was all it took for her to leave this place without looking back.
…
The smile on Merlin's face returned after some time in that certain world. She had taken an interest in a certain village, the people living in it. In particular, in one young man.
Merlin wanted to create a new Arthur.
An amusement that lasted a long time. The fun she had the first time watching Arthur grow, watching him defy the world, still haunted her.
With this young man, she wanted to achieve a result that would surpass her greatest creation.
Absolute hero.
Merlin bit into her apple with a smile, thinking about what she would do today. She had left the village to find materials for the next step in her entertainment; humans were more than just toys to her, but not that valuable.
She slowly chewed the apple, humming to herself as she thought about what she would do next.
Suddenly, another crunching sound was heard, causing Merlin to freeze. She looked down at the apple in her hand in confusion. There was only a small mark from her bite. Where could that sound have come from?
Merlin turned around carefully, keeping her guard up. She looked up and saw an unfamiliar man lounging on a thick tree branch.
He was dressed in black armor with metal inserts that fit tightly to his body, emphasizing his developed muscles. A tattered white cloak swayed freely in the wind along with his disheveled silver-ash hair.
There was a bored expression on his tanned face as he looked at her as if she was nothing.
It was the first time in her life that Merlin had seen such a look. There was no lust, no desire, no admiration. Merlin had never met a man who was so indifferent to her ephemeral beauty.
The albino's eyes widened when she saw what looked like phantom chains on the man. In an instant, the image was gone. His very presence was not normal.
"Just because the World favors you, doesn't mean you can abuse it." the man said casually, taking a bite.
Merlin gave the man a charming smile and made a small curtsey, carefully holding the edges of her flowing dress.
"May I know the name of the one who decided to accompany this lady on such a lovely evening?" she asked slyly.
"You don't need to know it. Besides, it's not like my name matters."
"Pardon?" Merlin asked in surprise, keeping her smile on her face.
"It's enough for you to know the fact that I let you live." The man finished his apple and jumped down to the ground to head towards Merlin, who became wary and took two steps back, clutching her staff.
"I'm afraid I don't understand your words, good sir," Merlin's kind and playful tone didn't change, but her gaze was fixed on the man's hands, who didn't seem to be about to take any hostile action.
"As I said before, you don't need to understand what I'm talking about."
Merlin blinked in confusion, and at that moment the man vanished into thin air. He disappeared as suddenly as I had appeared. Only the remains of the apple at the edge of her boots were evidence of their conversation.
She hesitated for a few more seconds before turning around and continuing towards the town she had been visiting for the past few weeks. Merlin used her magic, the air carrying her body as if she weighed less than a feather.
She soon saw a tall column of smoke coming from the direction of the village.
She wanted to believe that it was just a fire. A simple accident that she would have to deal with to protect her assets. But when she stepped into the village, her hopes were dashed.
Merlin didn't even notice how the soles of her shoes were dirty.
The ground was red.
There were bodies scattered everywhere, lying motionless in a variety of positions. The people she had helped were pinned to the walls of houses with sharp iron swords that slowly dissolved into particles of blue.
As Merlin walked deeper into the village, her smile gradually faded from her face. Although she wasn't overly sentimental, that didn't mean she was completely apathetic to those who were the source of her entertainment.
The woman froze, seeing a scene that seemed somewhat grotesque to her.
A man hugging his wife, desperately trying to protect her with his body. A large red puddle beneath them symbolized his failure. Merlin knew this couple, she had played with their child a few days ago.
Now it was just a brief memory in her head.
She continued walking forward, trying not to notice the chaos around her, until she reached the house she had been staying at often lately.
And then she saw him.
Her new project.
The boy who had caught her attention. The one she had invested her knowledge in, believing that the result would provide her with good entertainment. She had high hopes for him.
Which were shattered by the merciless swing of a sword.
The boy lay on the ground with his throat cut, a look of horror on his face. But judging by the training sword he was clutching in his left hand even after death, the boy had tried to fight off his attacker.
There were almost no signs of a fight. It all happened too quickly.
This was not a fight.
This was just an execution.
She stopped and looked at the soulless body of the young man in front of her, thinking about how much potential had been lost in just a few hours of her absence.
Merlin knelt down and closed the eyes of her now former student with a disappointed sigh. An image of a tanned man in a tattered cloak flashed through her mind.
She would never forget him.
…
A new world, a new attempt.
Merlin smiled at the people gathered around her. She liked what these creatures could do, even with all their faults, she really liked the entertainment she could get from these fools.
Even though she felt distant from them, Merlin could still feel the warmth that these sometimes greedy but kind creatures could give.
She sat among the children, played with them and showed them a little of her magic. She always enjoyed the role of "big sister", and her patience was one of the qualities she could highlight in her interactions with people.
All around her was laughter and giggles. Not only children were laughing at the tricks she was performing, but there were also adults and old people with smiles on their faces, watching the children enjoy her impromptu performance.
Merlin smiled. Not because of the overall atmosphere of positivity, but because it was funny to see how spoiled and rotten hearts could rejoice over such simple things.
An imperfect and ugly world.
But it was people who changed it for the better or for the worse.
That was why she loved human society despite all its flaws.
She clapped her hands, and the sparks on her hands disappeared, putting an end to the performance that many people in the square where she was now were watching with such interest.
A burst of thunderous applause was heard, followed by whistles and hoots. Merlin gracefully covered her mouth with her hand, laughing slightly at the people's reactions to such a simple and fleeting happiness.
However, the laughter and excitement soon turned to confusion. Instead of joyful shouts, there were cries for help and desperate screams.
People began to fall to the ground, as if they were pushed in the back by an invisible prankster. Merlin's eyes widened, she could not recognize the direction of the attack, let alone feel the surge of magical energy or killing intent.
These arrows seemed to appear out of nowhere.
As quickly as she could, Merlin swung her staff and created a barrier, protecting the people near her. There was an unspoken pray on their faces, a plea for help.
All the albino could do was watch as the people running towards her fell to the ground one by one, finding no hope of salvation.
It happened in an instant.
It wasn't like she could do much more in this situation. She couldn't even see where the arrows were coming from. Her clairvoyance was suddenly useless, as she could only see a blurry image of a figure.
The number of arrows was incalculable. The metallic rain of death mercilessly exterminated all the people in the city that had become her source of entertainment.
For anyone outside its barrier, it was an instant execution. The arrows that were fired by the unknown shooter were clearly meant to kill people.
After twenty seconds, the stream stopped, and Merlin closed her eyes, feeling as if all the life in the city had suddenly disappeared.
A bang sounded in front of her, forcing her to open her eyes.
That mysterious man had appeared in front of her out of nowhere again. Just as suddenly as last time. He looked at her with a blank gaze, as if she were nothing more than an insect under his feet.
Merlin felt a chill, a shiver running down her spine from that look.
She liked it.
"I thought you knew about the line that shouldn't be crossed," the man in black armor and a white cloak looked at the ground with irritation, where dozens of people lay, still clinging to her legs for salvation.
"A line?" Merlin asked, causing the man to close his eyes, then sigh, looking like he was anticipating a migraine coming on. "When we first met, you told me you solved my problem. That's all."
"You can't just make kings left and right," the man said, crossing his arms over his chest.
There was no emotion in his voice despite the fact that he seemed annoyed. His warning sounded too distant, as if he was simply relaying an order from a superior.
Merlin smiled, looking at him with interest, causing the man to raise an eyebrow in response.
"I wasn't thinking of creating someone like that. You're a Counter Guardian, aren't you?" Merlin asked amiably, holding out her hand. "I don't understand why you're interfering with my business this time. I was just having fun right now!"
"Are you serious?" the man cocked his head to the side, his expression unreadable.
"Fu-fu! Should I be worried about this?" she tilted her head in response to his words.
The stranger snorted in disdain, then walked up to the barrier, his hawk-like gaze falling on the people hiding behind it.
"Dispel the barrier and let me finish the job." he ordered.
His words sent the survivors into a panic. Fear gripped the hearts of the people, and they began to look to Merlin as the greatest hope they could have.
The albino continued to smile, but her gaze grew sharper as the man placed his palm on the barrier, assessing its strength. She was sure that he would be able to destroy the protection, but for some reason the stranger was in no hurry to do so.
"How can I be sure that you are not lying? Where is the guarantee of my own safety?"
"The only guarantee is my words. Whether or not to believe them is up to you," the man replied. "Despite my desire to slit your throat and separate your beautiful head from the rest of your body, you're not my target. Collateral damage at most."
"My, my~! Do you think I am beautiful?" Merlin cooed, raising her hands and bringing them to her face, as if embarrassed by his words. "For someone like a Guardian to give me such a compliment? Ah, I must really be beautiful~!"
"Are you planning to dispel the barrier or not?" Merlin's smile faded as she looked at the people pleading for her not to.
Unfortunately, the World wasn't going to listen to them.
"Is there any other possible outcome?" she asked, already knowing the answer.
A hollow smile appeared on the man's face.
"No."
Then came the screams of people and the disgusting crunch of bones. Swords appeared out of nowhere, chasing after people like bloodthirsty hounds. Merlin's white dress turned crimson.
"I don't recognize this kind of magecraft. What was that? Some kind of Guardian special ability?" Merlin looked at the bodies lying beside her.
It was strange, she wasn't the type to care about her "humanity", she knew herself that she wasn't close to these people, but such a cruel death, the tactlessness and disdain for life, made her remain motionless.
"Personal skill." the man answered dryly, stopping in front of her.
Now the difference in their heights was very noticeable, and for the first time, Merlin was able to look at the man up close.
"You know, you shouldn't hide your pretty face behind that old cloak." Merlin smiled shyly.
The sound of blood splashing was her answer.
"You should stop interfering with worlds you can't control." the man raised his hand and touched one of the woman's long locks, winding it around his finger and dyeing it scarlet.
"Coming from you, it sounds like I did something really bad." Merlin's words caused a mocking smile to appear on the man's face.
"Every time you do that, you make my work much harder. Your mere presence on this Side is annoying to the World," he said, making Merlin puff out her cheeks.
"I don't like being considered a burden!"
"That's who you are. An annoying bug you swat away with your palm on a hot summer day," the man's hand moved from her hair to her face, his fingertips tracing her high cheekbones. "Even up until the very last moment, those fools were cursing me, not you."
Merlin looked at the ground, then back at the man, who continued to look at her as if he were laughing at her.
She didn't like it.
"A Guardian who doesn't protect, but only eliminates the consequences, has no right to be called one." The shy smile turned to a pitiful one.
Even with her cheerful nature and calmness in any situation, Merlin was not happy about what had happened. This was the second time that people she liked were killed in such a brutal manner.
"Don't confuse reality with your little game. You can challenge fate as much as you want, but the result will always be the same." the man replied dispassionately, lowering his hand.
"You know, this is our second meeting, but I still don't know your name."
"Archer."
"That's not a name." Merlin was offended.
"The name is not as important as what it conceals," the man answered mysteriously. "Names have the property of being forgotten and erased from the memory of Mankind. I prefer to use the name of my class."
The albino girl watched silently as Archer walked over to one of the benches and sat down on it.
"So much self-pity and self-deprecation… Are all Counter Guardians like this?" Merlin asked, walking up to him.
"You're a lot more sentimental than I thought." Archer chuckled.
"It's not that I don't have emotions, like you think," Merlin sighed, looking down at her blood-stained clothes. "I just… I don't know how I should feel about this. I know I should be sad. I really enjoyed being in this place. Why did you destroy it?"
"You're interfering with the affairs of the World." The man's simple answer made Merlin click her tongue in annoyance.
"That doesn't make sense. Is my mundane desire really that bad?"
She was no stranger to traveling between worlds in search of adventure and new sources of entertainment, but the way the World kept interfering and destroying everything really upset her.
"It may not be bad, but the World doesn't care about good and evil," Archer smiled arrogantly. "Your actions are causing chaos. That's all that matters."
"Really? And here I thought you liked my face~"
"You should keep away from people. Directly or indirectly, your actions are causing disaster in several timelines. You're walking a fine line, and the fact that I can't get rid of you really irritates me."
"You must be very confident in yourself to say that you can kill me so easily." Merlin sat down next to him and casually rested her head on his shoulder, causing the man to raise an eyebrow, surprised by such a casual attitude.
"Killing arrogant mages is not my specialty, there are two people who are more suitable for that role," Archer admitted. "But as a Guardian, my power level is equal to the threat. You should return to your world. Your selfish actions in this section of the branches will lead to big problems."
"Orders from above?"
"Orders from above."
There was silence for a moment. Merlin swung her legs lazily while examining her nails.
"You're much more talkative this time," the woman remarked. "What's different?"
"A little more time," the man replied shortly, looking out at the burning city.
"Uh..." a smile appeared on Merlin's face. "You know, you couldn't have found better company for your free time!"
Despite her blood-stained face, the albino smiled, laughing at the situation. A snort came from the man, and Merlin couldn't tell if it was out of amusement or the absurdity of the situation.
"Sometimes I forget I can talk, but talking to the likes of you reminds me otherwise," the man's voice was mocking.
Merlin would have found it amusing if the emotions the man displayed were anything like real.
"Are you some kind of construct created by humanity as a guardian?" her question made the men look at her with some surprise.
"No. If there was such a Guardian, it would belong to the Moon, not Alaya," the words seemed oddly familiar to Merlin. "I was simply offered a contract, and I accepted without reading the fine print on the left-hand side."
"You don't look human."
"I was told that a lot when I was alive."
"How long ago…"
"I don't remember." the quick answer cut the woman off mid-sentence, causing her to frown.
"Aren't you tired of killing all the time?" Merlin asked, looking at him from under her long eyelashes.
"My opinion doesn't matter. In the end, I'll do it whether I like it or not." Emiya replied, looking up at the blue sky.
"You were once human yourself, right? Don't you have any feelings for these people?" Merlin's voice was genuinely curious.
"You're asking about pity and compassion?" the woman nodded. "What's the point of crying over spilled wine if I knew it was going to happen all along? Knowing the end of a play doesn't give you the same catharsis as not knowing it."
Merlin laughed out loud at Archer's analogy. He was throwing a stone at her, whether he knew it or not.
"But is the ending as important as the acting and the emotions you feel throughout the show?" she asked rhetorically. "I like people. Even though I can't really sympathize with them, I can still feel affection for them. Is that a bad thing?"
Archer was silent, pondering the question.
"I don't know. Any actions you take will be considered undesirable by the World," Merlin blinked at his words, tilting her head slightly, confusion reflected in her pinkish-red eyes. "Sigh… Don't think about it too much. The fact that you're even thinking about it already crosses you off the list of monsters I know. But you still burden me with unnecessary work, jumping from one world to another."
"Tell me, Archer. How would you yourself determine what is good and what is not? You say that my actions are evil. What is your basis for that? Even though I am known for my great wisdom, it's not every day that I get to talk to the Guardian of the Balance."
"The good, you say, huh?" Emiya's gaze became almost dreamy for a few seconds before completely fading again. "The common good and the personal good are two different things, there is no absolute good, just as there is no absolute evil. These words are only needed to designate a specific point of view. You saw what I did to this city. Who do you think I am in the eyes of these people?"
"You are certainly a villain." Merlin replied, raising her hand as if she were a diligent child being questioned by a teacher.
Seeing her behavior, the man chuckled.
"True. But what if I told you that in the future, the people of this city would destroy ten other cities? Maybe not consciously, but their actions would lead to a large-scale conflict and an ocean of blood," Emiya said calmly, watching Merlin listen with concentration. "If the people of the other cities found out that I destroyed the source of the problem, what do you think they would think of me as?"
The woman's silence was an eloquent answer in itself.
"They would call you a Hero," Merlin answered after a moment of thought, then added after a moment of thought. "But only if they knew what kind of danger, they were in."
The man nodded, pleased with her train of thought. He gestured with his hand, urging her to continue.
"If these people don't know what you saved them from…" Merlin's eyes widened as she realized it all. "Then your actions will be considered Evil!"
"Now do you see? Only the Hero himself determines the line between good and evil, and obviously those who are ignorant will have their own opinions on the matter."
"So, who will judge my actions? Me, you, the people around me, or the World?" she wondered what the answer would be.
"There is no judge."
Merlin was taken aback by his contradictory answer.
"Wait, but you just said…"
"I only told you what I see. There is no such thing as an absolute supreme judge who dictates everyone's sentence. Throughout Human History, there have been people who have defied fate and emerged victorious. I can only say that you are much freer than others."
"So, if there is no judge, why are you executing?" the man responded by lifting his white cloak and cleaning her face with it.
Merlin was puzzled. Did he regret doing this?
Or was it because of her questions that Archer now saw her as an ignorant child who did not understand the gravity of her actions, perhaps that was why his bad mood gradually changed to a calmer one when he gave her answers.
The man thought of her as someone who did not understand the power of her own presence and the influence she had on the World. Therefore, the hatred and disgust began to subside. Archer simply did not know what to do with her.
Even though she was the cause of the last distortions, she didn't do it with evil intent, but simply because she didn't understand where it would lead.
She was just a girl seeking entertainment, which for many was condemnation, and for others - death.
"I do not execute, I only follow the will of the World and cannot go against it," the man smiled slightly as he finished wiping her face. "A puppet cannot move its limbs at will. That is what the puppeteer does."
"Do you regret making a contract with the World?" Archer only gave her a sigh and a small, forced laugh.
"There are times when a fool's dream can be more dangerous than it seems at first glance," the man's answer made Merlin stare at him.
His face showed no emotion. Anger, sadness, or irritation at the situation. None of it.
She was now much more interested in him than she had originally thought.
"This is your final warning. You may continue to travel through the worlds, but stay away from places where you can influence the course of events simply by being who you are." Archer seemed like he was going to say something else, but in the end, he changed his mind and just shook his head. "I don't want to get my hands dirty on you."
Merlin stood there, staring at him, not blinking. The question was on the tip of her tongue.
"Are you happy?"
"Happy?" she thought he was unsure of the meaning of the word. "I can't tell you what I don't know."
Merlin's smile widened. Her interest in him grew even more.
"Tell me your name!" she exclaimed loudly, pointing her finger at him. "Don't worry, even if no one remembers you, I will!"
Archer's eyes widened in surprise. He looked at her and let out a quiet, almost evil laugh.
"Why do you need to remember my name?" he asked mockingly. "Are you trying to curse me?"
"I'm going to free you!"
"What?" after a few seconds of apparent confusion, the man sighed. "That's impossible, even with the Grail, something like that can't be granted."
"Are you doubting the power of the greatest mage that ever existed?!" This statement, coupled with exaggerated emotions, made Archer smirk.
Fake.
That's what Merlin could say. It was like watching a soulless doll imitate human activity. An automaton that carried out a specific set of orders.
And that's what hooked her. With every word she exchanged with the man, her interest only grew.
"You can ascribe all the titles you want to yourself. I know that my position is something that cannot be changed." the conviction in Merlin's words seemed ridiculous to him.
Steel collided with crimson amethyst, and Archer turned his back on Merlin.
"Emiya."
With a single word, the man dissolved into particles of blue light, leaving behind nothing but a ruined city and a mountain of dead bodies.
"Doubt it or believe it, I only know one thing, and that's a fact that can't be changed." the man turned to look the woman in the eye, and Merlin found the conviction on her face amusing.
And yet, despite all this, Merlin wasn't sad. She had just found a new source of entertainment for herself.
…
"It's been a long time since I've had anyone to keep me company."
"Don't you think you couldn't ask for a better companion?"
"Honestly? I'd rather have anyone but you."
"Because I'm so cute that you can't control yourself~?"
"No. It's just that your mouth won't close for a second in that verbal diarrhea."
There was annoyance in Emiya's voice as he glared at the woman sitting in front of him. She was shifting from one foot to the other, as if she were going on a fun hike or excursion. Merlin smiled, playing with her staff.
"What are you trying to achieve?"
"To free you!"
Her lively, life-filled voice, coupled with the dazzling smile on her face, only made Emiya growl.
"I don't believe you."
"Have I ever lied to you? I don't remember doing anything to lose all your trust~!" Merlin rolled her eyes and puffed out her cheeks.
"Believing you is like believing the words of Judas, or giving Brutus a dagger while turning your back on him. I'd rather believe the sky is red."
"Well… Technically, the sky just refracts…"
"It's called sarcasm, idiot."
"Oh…" Merlin opened her mouth and thought for a few seconds before smiling again. "Are you unhappy with the terms of the deal?"
"This deal doesn't make any sense." Emiya replied, turning to face the woman.
She played with her hair, twirling the ends around the index finger of her left hand. She was wearing her usual attire: a white robe-like garment, a tight black patterned bodysuit, and on her feet, something resembling thigh-high boots with small square heels.
Extravagance.
That was the word Emiya could use to describe this woman, and it wasn't just her appearance, but her personality as well. At least the personality traits he could see.
"Bullshit." He muttered in irritation.
"Ergh… You're hurting this poor girl's heart with such cruel words~"
"Your last words?" Emiya asked, emitting a wave of killing intent.
"Te-he! I don't understand what you're talking about, Mr. Guardian~!"
"I don't know how you arranged for Alaya to summon me here, but I won't tolerate this farce. Just tell me what my mission is already, and we'll part ways."
"Eeh? Why are you so insistent?" Merlin smiled, tilting her head to the side.
"Because I think you're just doing this for fun." Emiya replied, leaning back in his seat.
The two of them were sitting face to face in the train car. The compartment was quite expensive, considering the design and comfort level.
"You say that as if you can see right through me~!" Merlin's smile never left her face, she only looked at Archer, who didn't seem to change, not even the slightest glimmer of hope in his eyes.
She was enchanted by this sight.
"I know you're Merlin, but at the same time, you're not him either," Emiya crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the woman indifferently. "You've achieved a lot all this time, I'm not going to question that fact. But what are you looking for anyway?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Merlin smiled widely. "I've seen them many times during your missions. Red Spot, Crimson Herald, Nameless Ar…"
"Shut up right now," the woman giggled, watching as Emiya rubbed his forehead in annoyance. "Where did you even get these weird titles?"
"Throughout human history, phenomena have had their own legend, but apparently they never got beyond mere rumors. It's sad that even after all these years, you don't even have a small cult following."
"Was that supposed to be a joke?"
"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Merlin repeated after him, imitating his rough voice.
The woman laughed and began pounding the table in front of her. The people sitting next to her began turning around, looking at her as if she was crazy.
"Are you done making a scene?" Merlin raised her head in response to his question, but her cheeks immediately puffed out and she burst into another fit of uncontrollable laughter.
Crazy bitch.
Emiya's face twisted into a grimace of displeasure as he caught a child pointing a finger at them in his peripheral vision, muttering something in his mother's ear.
"S-sorry… It's just so funny!"
"What exactly?"
"The way you're such a stone statue with an inscrutable face!"
"And how do you expect me to act?" Emiya reached out and grabbed the woman's ear.
"Ouch! Ouch! It hurts, put it down!" Merlin whined, pushing him away and cradling the reddened ear. "Moou~! How can you treat a lady like that?"
"Lady? All I see in front of me is an annoying bug." the man commented dryly, to which the albino stuck her tongue out at him, her nose upturned.
"I need your help with something. I didn't negotiate with Alaya for nothing. Moou! It's impossible to talk to that thing!" judging by Merlin's expression, it was obvious that she didn't like the memory. "Hm! Well… I… Could… Or maybe I couldn't! Do something that… Let's just say, upset your Goddess a little… He-he!"
"So, you're afraid that the Counter Guardians will come after you?"
"That's… Not exactly, but… As you know, I'm a free spirit! I move from one place to another according to my heart's desire! And… Well…" Merlin muttered nervously, tapping her fingertips together.
"You ended up in a world you shouldn't have been in and did something bad." Emiya concluded.
"Something like that." The woman smiled bitterly.
"Hm, it must have been something really important for Alaya to personally show up before you," Emiya leaned forward and looked at the nervous albino. "What did you do?"
"I made it so that the Age of Gods would never end~!" The woman muttered shyly, causing Archer to widen his eyes. "You know, I would have laughed at your funny expression, but I guess now isn't the right time."
"I should have been summoned the moment you… No, never mind," Emiya stopped mid-sentence. "How did you even manage to get out of that whole disaster? Sigh… Never mind. I can already guess."
"I tried to recreate Arthur in the world outside the realm of light, but… It took too long for anything to move forward, so I decided to speed things up a bit for the sake of entertainment."
"Entertainment, which is a problem since it's my responsibility."
"That's right. But I didn't think it would cause the world's development to shift so much."
"I see. What's the mission then?"
"To end the Age of Gods."
There was silence for a while after that. Emiy froze, looking at the woman with a look as if he expected him to admit that this was some kind of bad joke.
That didn't happen.
"You... You created a version of the World that is comparable in its level of distortion to Lostbelt?" the man muttered incredulously.
"I wouldn't call this World a full-fledged Lostbelt. It's not just the lack of a Tree of Fantasy, but the fact that humanity's development hasn't deviated that much from the main branches. They haven't gained immortality or evolved into a new life form. I would assign this World... Rank D, or something like that." Merlin said.
"And you don't have any control tools."
"Exactly."
"So Alaya realized that this was your doing and you came to an agreement with her, somehow convincing her that you could handle it yourself without involving her resources in the form of an army of Heroic Spirits or Guardians?"
"Yep."
"All this to make sure that your former student won't chase you across dimensions as a threat to humanity… I don't know whether to praise you for how well you use your tongue or to ridicule your idiocy."
"Personally, I expected congratulations from you~!"
Even if he wanted to get seriously mad at that annoying woman, she was too talkative and eccentric for him to actually do so.
"Congratulations. You're getting on the nerves of a deity that could make your life miserable." Emiya snorted sarcastically, clapping his hands.
"Thank you, thank you~!" Merlin bowed, accepting the congratulations and wiping away her fake tears.
"Sigh… You have no idea how much I want to chop off your head right now." Emiya said tiredly, placing his elbow on the table and looking into the woman's eyes.
"Eergh… So, that's how you flirt with someone? You know, you don't have to separate my head from my body to use it however you want." The woman made a pointed gesture, holding a clenched fist in front of her face and shaking her head.
"Maybe another time," the man chuckled. "Right now, I'm interested in the details of the mission, since I'm going to have to participate in it."
"So, you're in?!"
"It's not like I have a choice. Even if I find you useless, I'll still need to cooperate with you. At least until I figure out the situation. You can just sit in a shelter somewhere and leave the work to me."
"But I don't want to sit and do nothing~!" Merlin pouted in an offended manner before sitting down next to the man and leaning her head on his shoulder. "I want to have fun!"
"You're acting like a child."
"You've said that before."
"How did Arthur grow up to be a worthy knight under your care?"
"Hey, I'm a great big sister!" Merlin said proudly.
"Hm… I don't think you want to get involved in all this. My mission is to end the Age of Gods. You know what that means, right?"
"Yeah~! And you do realize that I'm offering you freedom?" the woman's smile widened as she raised her arms and hugged Emiya from behind, pressing her cheek against his face.
"What are you trying to achieve with this? It's a zero-sum game for you. Alaya is already unhappy with your actions."
"I want to know what you'll do once you're free. You've always been fun to watch. Besides, I have nothing to lose. Alaya has already drawn a target on my back. It's only with a pencil for now, but my feminine intuition tells me that she won't tolerate me for long. You won't abandon that weak lady in trouble, will you~?"
"Weak lady? There's a monster sitting next to me." Emiya snorted.
The man watched sideways as the people on the train began to lose consciousness and the magical energy around Merlin grew.
The woman's amethyst eyes seemed to shine, while her face lost its luster, save for a wide, snow-white smile.
A ferocious stream of magical energy tousled his hair. The display of strength, casually shown by a woman who, judging by her small gestures and childish behavior, seemed to be just a harmless person, was stunning.
"I don't know if you're trying to threaten me or if you really think you can impress me with this pathetic charade." Emiya said boredly.
One second later, everything was back to normal.
As if satisfied with his words, Merlin laid down on his lap.
"You know what I like about you? You're a walking contradiction. You hate humans, but you care about them in your own way. You always act in the most efficient way, but at the same time, you sabotage Alaya's orders. I find that very interesting~!" the woman reached out and touched his face.
"It sounds like you know me well."
"You could say that."
"The less you know, the better you sleep, Miss Avalon."
"But aren't dreams boring then?"
"I can't answer a question I don't understand."
Merlin stared at him for a while, shaking her head from side to side every now and then.
"I thought you'd be more surprised when you found out what I did~"
"It's been a long time since I became a Guardian. A world where Gilgamesh screwed up and didn't end the Age of Gods isn't all that surprising when viewed from the perspective of an outside observer outside the World Tree."
"That sounds pretty interesting~" Merlin lazily swung her legs over the edge of the seat and began to swing them up and down. "I thought you weren't paying attention to what was going on around you."
"I have a lot of free time. I know a lot of things about many creatures and phenomena. You are no exception." Emiya replied calmly.
His hand reached up to the woman's face, whose features relaxed, and she allowed Emiya's hand to run over her cheek and hair.
The man stopped dead in his tracks before lowering his hand and gently wrapping it around Merlin's neck, causing her serene expression to disappear, but her smile remained.
"That was a good try, I won't deny it, your charm must be quite strong," the pressure on the mage's neck increased, she curled her toes and raised her hands, trying to remove the man's hand from her neck.
"You are... Much stronger... than your stats suggest." Merlin croaked, tears welling up in her eyes.
Emiya suddenly released her, and she immediately began coughing, trying to catch her breath.
"Sheesh! Is this how you treat beautiful women who want your attention?"
Emiya was starting to get annoyed by the woman's smile, even though she had drool dripping from one corner of her mouth and her eyes were red from crying. Merlin, on the other hand, was smiling at him as if this was all just a little game.
"I could have easily snapped your neck." He commented dryly.
"You could," Merlin agreed, leaning against his chest, catching her breath. "But you didn't~?"
"And what makes you feel safe?" the man asked, placing his palm on the mage's stomach. "It would be easy for me to kill you right here and now."
"You could try, but you wouldn't succeed."
"Want to test this?" Emiya's voice was slightly interested.
"If you kill me, you won't be able to escape from Alaya's clutches."
"Using the magical energy of the world you corrupted to break the contract is the most ridiculous idea I've heard of in the last few millennia."
"Mmm~ From your point of view, it might be so," Merlin smirked as she sat on the man's lap.
The two of them were now facing each other, and the woman hugged Emiya, causing him to raise an eyebrow.
"You know, I like handsome guys~"
"And that will be your undoing. Or maybe that's what you really want? To smile while being strangled. I'm sure it will be a smile of euphoria and pleasure, not agony."
"Ooh, that sounds so hot~! So you're the type who likes it rough in bed?" Merlin moved her hips and tried to lower her hand, but Emiya stopped her by grabbing her wrist.
"How are you going to use the magical energy of the beings of this world to free me?"
"Create a copy." The woman looked at Emiya with a challenging expression.
"A copy?"
"It would be like leaving a golem in your place. A living being on the outside, but with no intelligence on the inside. Wouldn't that be fun? I mean, to see who's more human, an artificial creation or you."
At first, Emiya showed no emotion. But the longer he looked into Merlin's eyes, filled with absolute confidence, the more cracks appeared on his mask of impassivity.
"It won't work anyway." The woman sighed against his chest and relaxed in response.
"What I'm proposing is just a temporary measure. I don't intend to waste all my magical energy on you, after all, I have my own interests in that world. However, it might fool your crazy jealous 'wife' long enough to be able to break your contract with her." Merlin said, making air quotes with her fingers around the word wife.
"That's impossible." Emiya shook his head in confusion.
"Hey! Who do you think I am~?"
The man sighed and released her hand, allowing her to happily raise her arms and cling to him even more.
"So, you want to create the Age of Man and destroy this world's Age of Gods, huh?" Emiya looked at the woman, who excitedly nodded in response.
"Yes!" she exclaimed joyfully, looking at him with childish joy in her eyes. "You will not regret our cooperation!"
"Sigh… I am already doing it."
AN:
Well, I was going to publish a new version of Grand Cuck, but something went wrong and I encountered writer's block. So, the release of Grand Cuck is postponed again, because for the third time I write about 30 thousand words, get ready to publish, and then the next day I think: what a piece of shit this is. Anyway, I can't get the result I need, and to unwind, I decided to switch to something else for now.
I contacted the original author of this fanfic, discussed some things with him and received permission to translate. The word "Re" is in the title because it implies that this is not just a translation, but some kind of rewrite/alternate version.
In some places the plot will be very different from the original, there will be added those things that the original author came up with, but for some reason did not add. Consider this fanfic to expand on the original version, in particular, there will be more interaction between EMIYA and the world of DxD other characters from Fate, not mentioned in the original, may appear.
I received complete carte blanche to change the plot taking into account the author's notes, but I still strongly recommend that you familiarize yourself with the original work and show respect to the author.
I will try to release this fanfic once every two weeks, on Fridays.