Era of Heroic Spirits: I Was Exposed by Alaya

The grudge between the two began in the twilight of the Age of Gods in Britain.

Souma had originally thought the other party was just a simple pleasure-seeker.

While he and King Arthur were traveling the world together, the other had gone out of his way to stir up chaos.

In his eyes, everyone was merely a clown performing for his amusement.

As an incubus, Merlin couldn't dream himself, so he manipulated and influenced the dreams of others to hunt for delicious sustenance.

Yes—the more interesting a human's dreams, the more delectable they were to him.

That guy had wreaked havoc all over Britain just for his own entertainment.

In the end, he even provoked the fairies and nearly got captured to be "tamed" into a plaything!

Since then, he had been hiding in the Tower of the End, never stepping foot outside again.

Souma had assumed he was merely hiding from the fairies.

But it wasn't until [Alaya] released the side story The Magus of Flowers in The Perfect King that he finally realized the truth—this guy was, at his core, nothing but a troublemaker!

A troublemaker, simply put, was someone whose sole purpose was to seek amusement, completely indifferent to the lives and deaths of others.

Ordinary people might just be bystanders enjoying the show.

But for a candidate for Grand Caster, the "entertainment" he sought was forcing heroic spirits onto the stage to perform for him.

To that end, after The Oldest King video was exposed, this guy deliberately contacted the King of Heroes, hoping to use his power to make trouble for Souma.

One wasn't enough—Merlin then brought in King Arthur, Mordred, and even Jeanne d'Arc.

Three women make a drama.

Now, on top of those three women, there was also the King of Heroes!

A total of four heroic spirits, all gathered in Fuyuki under his instigation.

Souma felt like he was in a game of Werewolf—if his true identity was discovered, he'd be "killed" instantly.

If that happened, all his efforts—fighting across human history to bring peace to mankind, finally having his contract with Alaya dissolved, and retiring to enjoy a peaceful, ordinary life—would shatter into pieces.

Just thinking about it brought tears to his eyes.

Walking through human history, his presence could be found in countless timelines—it was practically a 24/7 job with no breaks.

Now that he finally had a chance to rest, a bunch of heroic spirits had come knocking at his door.

Do I not deserve a break?

Under his gaze,

Merlin stared at the faintly glowing Noble Phantasm and suddenly felt a twinge of unease. "With your shattered Spirit Origin, do you really think you can fight me?"

The other's Spirit Origin was broken, his body seemingly held together by force, devoid of any special power.

Even after watching Vow in the Snow, nothing would change.

He was indeed strong.

So strong that even Merlin couldn't contend with him.

But that was before!

Who knew what kind of terrifying battle Nameless had participated in, reducing his once-mythically invincible body to its current shattered state.

"Are you planning to use the move from Vow in the Snow—summoning versions of yourself from different timelines? But do you have a death wish?" Merlin stared at him in shock.

That was a suicidal ultimate move.

It could only be activated at the cost of sacrificing oneself.

A thousand losses to the enemy, a thousand to oneself—a true mutual destruction!

"No, you're not worthy of me using that move." Souma looked at him with disdain.

Mutual destruction?

A mere trash-tier Merlin wanted him to go down together?

"Oh? You seem quite confident."

Merlin grew even more cautious as he studied him.

Yet no matter how he looked, the other hadn't regained any formidable strength.

What exactly is giving him this confidence?

Bzzzt—

Countless pink petals drifted through the air, transforming the space into a dreamlike fantasy.

The Magus of Flowers fully unleashed his formidable power, smiling delightedly as he declared, "Well then, Nameless, I'll be waiting for your challenge!"

Just then.

Gilgamesh suddenly stood between the two: "Hold!"

"What's this? Does the King of Heroes wish to interfere in our battle? Have you forgotten the contract witnessed by Alaya?" Merlin frowned at the golden king.

Earlier, to prevent his interference, they had specifically invoked Alaya's oversight when forming the pact with Nameless.

That entity held absolute authority over human heroic spirits - once bound by contract, none could defy its terms.

"Tch, Merlin, have you forgotten our wager?"

Gilgamesh's crimson eyes glared coldly as he continued, "Allow this king to remind you of our terms—"

"Er..."

Merlin blinked in surprise.

He'd hoped to gloss over this matter, but found himself utterly cornered.

This King of Heroes truly cared only about preserving his own dignity!

"If Nameless clears the Holy Grail War in a single night without relying on other heroic spirits' power, then I win!"

Gilgamesh's voice grew increasingly frigid, "Should this king prevail, you must perform 'Gokuraku Jodo' in a cheongsam during a public livestream - these were the exact terms you proposed. What, do you intend to renege?"

HMMMMMMMM—!

A terrifying crimson glow erupted from his grasp.

The entire subspace trembled violently, as if on the verge of complete annihilation.

The weapon capable of "cleaving the world" itself—

Ea!

His stance made clear the ultimatum: comply or face the sword's judgment.

"King of Heroes, let's discuss this reasonably!"

Even as an incubus, Merlin felt his very soul threatened by this anti-world Noble Phantasm.

Against this weapon's strike, only the ultimate defensive armament [Avalon] could possibly withstand the blow.

Well, except for that monstrous Nameless bastard who'd actually attacked mid-swing to defeat Ea's wielder!

Come to think of it, that guy could even forge divine constructs!

Though just creating the framework before endlessly reinforcing it, he'd managed to sever genuine god-forged weapons.

But no matter.

Such full-power attacks required self-sacrifice.

Given Nameless' pride, he'd never resort to such methods.

Merlin feared no half-crippled Nameless... Only the golden king's threats.

Because this bastard could absolutely storm his tower and cleave his sanctuary in two!

Gilgamesh allowed no room for negotiation, gripping Ea as he coldly counted: "This king shall count to three. One—"

"W-wait! Give me time to prepare!"

Merlin panicked instantly.

HMMMMMMMM—

Ea's rotation accelerated ominously, gathering catastrophic energy.

Under such terrifying coercion.

Merlin immediately surrendered: "A bet's a bet!"

"Then begin!" Gilgamesh kept the sword leveled at him.

"Er, shouldn't we wait until my fight with Nameless concludes?"

Merlin attempted to bargain.

Unfortunately, he quickly learned that negotiating with the domineering, primordial King of Heroes was pure masochism.

HMMM—

The crimson glow intensified, making Merlin's survival instincts scream.

He capitulated instantly: "I'll dance now!"

Damn you, King of Heroes! Just wait... I'll expose every last one of your embarrassing secrets!

Originally thinking the other was a fellow mischief-maker, Souma never expected to be tricked again and again!

"Then, let the performance begin."

Gilgamesh still hadn't put away the Sword of Rupture.

Looking at Merlin's crestfallen face instantly lifted his mood.

Indeed, nothing pleases me more than seeing your furious expression of wanting to strike me but being utterly powerless to do so!

Go ahead, try to hit me if you can!

"These two..."

Souma couldn't help but twitch at the corners of his mouth.

These two were undoubtedly kindred spirits who reveled in others' embarrassing moments!

Fortunately, he had become close friends with the King of Heroes in The Oldest King, otherwise he'd surely have been tricked too.

Could it be that the King of Heroes was so eager to publicly humiliate Merlin to crush his morale and increase his own chances of victory?

In battle, momentum is everything.

The first blow is the strongest, the second weaker, the third exhausted.

Merlin's spirit had been severely dampened by Gilgamesh, while his own morale was soaring.

When the enemy wanes and we wax, victory follows!

Could the King of Heroes truly be this considerate?

If only you could transform into someone like Angelica...

The stage was instantly set.

Gilgamesh's [Gate of Babylon], said to contain all treasures of mankind, was no empty boast.

Within it,

Not only were there various ancient artifacts, but even modern weapons like missiles and nuclear warheads could be summoned.

And of course, a complete live-streaming setup with speakers and cameras was effortlessly provided.

Under the intense scrutiny of the two, Merlin changed into a cheongsam and high heels, standing before the camera with utter despair.

Damn you, Nameless! Stop watching!

***

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