West's Summer [Comprehensive English and American]

"I should never have told Arthur Mordred to help Carla escape."

When Merlin said this, the Knights had been searching the territory of Camelot for three days, but they still couldn't find the whereabouts of the young knight.For Amoris, who was deeply troubled by the Druid's fable about 'the man who finally killed Arthur', this is undoubtedly the last straw that crushed him, which means that fate will finally follow the original track Moving forward, the Eternal King will eventually usher in his curtain call—even if those who love him try their best to stop it, it is useless.

The druid priest let Merlin see the scene where Mordred killed Arthur, which made him wary of the knight from the beginning.As a result, I doubted again and again, disappointed again and again, and made wrong choices again and again.He could have brought the magic back to Camelot, but he didn't.Arthur could have forgiven the girl and let her leave Camelot with Mordred, but he couldn't.He obviously so eagerly hopes to change the hopeless future imposed on him, and obviously wants his king to live so much, but in the end he is only trapped in a cocoon.

——He always thought that he was changing the future, but he always inadvertently contributed to the fate... Whether it was Morgana or Mordred, it was the same.Everyone in this world seems to think that Emerys is omnipotent and can finally bring the magic back to Camelot and complete his destiny.But only Merlin himself knows that he has never been willing to be great. Compared with those false names that go down in history, he always only hopes that the people he values ​​can live well, instead of being so powerless to be manipulated by the gods and can only survive in the torrent of fate. Involuntarily wandering.

"It's not your fault, Merlin." Quietly listened to the mage's murmur, even without using psychic powers, she could feel the turbulent and sad despair on Merlin's face.West sighed silently, remained silent for a long while, but in the end he could only speak like this, "You just want to protect Arthur too much... If you want to protect someone so much, no matter what you do, it's justifiable."

"But that's just an excuse."

Listlessly laying the pillow on his arm, he didn't feel that he was just so comforted.Merlin turned his head to avoid the young man's empty gaze scattered in every corner of the room, feeling inexplicably ashamed—not only because he would hurt others because of selfishness and jealousy, but even though he tried his best to avoid the doom of fate, But after all, he got nothing, and could only continue to move forward along the established path in embarrassment.

——He didn't want West to see himself in such a failure.But in fact, apart from West, no one in Camelot could make him confide in such an unreserved manner.

"What should I do, Serena?"

With flustered and helpless eyes, the black-haired mage raised his head slumpedly, desperately seeking help from the person who could stand beside him in the end.

There was a hint of complexity flashing across his expression, of course he knew what it was like to watch a loved one slip into the abyss of death little by little.West couldn't help but think of how the blue-eyed girl's life was slowly passing through his fingers at the bottom of that dark and dark mountain, without even the slightest chance to save her.Even after countless days and nights of baptism, sadness is still deeply seared into every inch of blood and bones like a mark of sin, and it has rotted bones and hearts over the years.

Now, Merlin seems to be facing the same situation, but fortunately, it is not over yet.And Charles taught him that no matter how certain a thing looks, everything is variable before it is really settled.

"You have magic, Merlin, and you are the most powerful mage in the world. Emerys will never lose to anyone."

Recalling the history books I once saw in the Oxford library, how those poetic and beautiful words described the incomparable power of Archmage Merlin.West groped to cover the boy's slightly trembling hand, and the slightly cold fingers gently fell on the palm of his hand, bringing a tingling and tingling feeling.For a moment, Merlin's throat tightened, and his heart beat like thunder.

"And, you still have me."

In the silence of the whole world, he seemed to hear the boy say that.At this moment, those empty and dark eyes seemed to be full of energy, and they fell directly between his brows, with pious eyes, as if they were making the most ordinary oath, but enough to stick to it for a lifetime.

West smiled lightly:

"I will never let you become like me, Merlin."

Absolutely, I will not let you suffer such heart-piercing pain, you can only suffer in regret and longing forever.

……

After closing the door, the breeze blows over the hair on the sideburns, drawing a small arc in the air.Walking out of the dark library, he was caught off guard by the sun. Although the gap in vision is not immediately acceptable to everyone, for him now, in the endless darkness, changes are no longer something to worry about. hinder.

Walk slowly along the corridor towards the outside of the castle.West avoided the oncoming patrolling soldiers and turned into a secluded path that few people passed by.Although relying on brain waves and airflow to accurately distinguish everything around, it is not as intuitive as vision after all, and occasionally bumps into people or other things in places where the crowd is too dense, causing some troubles.Therefore, since he lost his sight, he actually rarely walked out of the house alone like this... except today.

Because, he has something to confirm——

"You mean, places where visions often occur, or people who are born with magical abilities?"

Pushing the glasses, the old library guard kept flipping through the old yellowed parchment in front of him, his tone a bit puzzled:

"Aren't you really looking for wizards and their colonies, my dear boy?"

"Of course not." With a helpless sigh, West rubbed his tightly locked brows and explained to the old man for the first time: "The magic of wizards comes from acquired learning. Apart from this, they are just like ordinary people." People are no different... What I'm looking for is someone with a real talent, maybe they're like a wizard, and they can do things beyond imagination. But, that power definitely comes from their physical instincts, and No outside help."

"...that sounds about as unpleasant as a wizard's."

Buried in the pile of papers, the voice sounded a little fuzzy.The old man thought for a while, but he did not find any relevant records in his memory, so he shook his head regretfully at the young man:

"Forgive my ignorance, son. But I think you should ask Gaius about this... After all, in the whole of Camelot, there is probably no one who knows more about the supernatural. power."

...It was because Gaius didn't know, that's why I came to the library to try my luck in despair.

Listlessly straddling the scattered thatch on the ground, West recalled the fruitless conversation with the old man just now, and pursed his lips in frustration.Sure enough, in this era where magic is prevalent, even if there are mutants, they will probably be classified as wizards, and they will either be killed or live in incognito.With him alone, it is probably just wishful thinking to find such a similar person like him in Camelot or even the five major countries in a short period of time.

Unconsciously touching his own eyes that could only see darkness, the boy sighed again.In order to restore his vision, Adelaide must be rooted in the consciousness to remove the hint, and this can only be done by a superpower who has mastered the ability of the mind—this is why he suddenly wants to find a companion so eagerly. s reason.After all, the gods' final judgment on Arthur was imminent. If he could not return to his former strength before this time, then his promise to Merlin to protect his destiny for the mage was nothing but empty talk.

He, too, had thought of turning to magic.But after trying several times, I don't know whether it's Wester's own ability to reject the power that acts on the spiritual level, or Merlin still can't make up his mind to imprint the spell into his consciousness. Their efforts all ended in failure.Although Gaius once promised to help him pay attention to this information, and find a way to break the spiritual suggestion in his spare time, but in the case of fate not knowing when it will come true, even if there are long and boundless years , West also felt the urgency of time for the first time.

...So, what should we do next?

He kept thinking about all the methods worth trying, and even disregarded Merlin's objection to try the effect of the ancient religion's black magic.Walking like this, when he was about to leave this secluded path, West suddenly stopped in his footsteps, and a trace of vigilance flashed in his heart.

Someone is watching him.

"Who?" Turned around, facing the empty street behind him.There was no human breath in the wind, not even the sound of breathing, but he was indeed able to catch a strange brain wave hidden in the darkness, like a lurking beast, watching its chosen prey along the way.

"You know, it's no good for a blind man to just hide from my eyes."

I stood there and waited for a while, but no one responded.West turned his head slightly, 'looking straight ahead' at a wall hidden in shadows in front of him on the right, and said so casually.At the same time, he swung an air blade mercilessly, with a killing intent that was completely opposite to his expression, leaving a deep scratch on the blue-gray brick wall in the blink of an eye.

'Peng——'

The sound of gravel splashing was deafening in mid-air, but strangely, no one noticed it. Even the knights who passed by the end of the path did not turn their heads to look back.Seeing this situation, West, who had learned some magic with Merlin, probably understood that he might have met a high-level wizard who is good at concealing spells.

"Camelot does not allow magic, I thought it should be common sense among you." Coldly 'watching' a black figure gradually emerged beside the notch, the boy curled his fingers by his side Danger moved.

"Not allowed, does not mean that there is no magic."

An old and hoarse voice came from under the cloak.Although it was indeed almost wiped on the neck by someone just now, the man didn't seem to express any panic: "... hiding in Camelot but never being discovered by King Arthur, aren't you and Emorys the same? ? If Mordred hadn't told us so, lady Morgana would still be confused by this."

...that fellow Mordred...

His eyebrows twitched, as early as when the knight defected, he was not expected to keep a secret for Merlin, West pressed his forehead tiredly.Suddenly, I felt a little regretful that I used my ability so easily in front of Mordred, so that now I seem to have confirmed my identity as a "magician"——so now, apart from Merlin, does Morgana also have to deal with it? He did it?

"So, are you sure you want to use magic here, under King Camelot's nose?" Sensing keenly that there was a very special force around the wizard ready to move, West twitched his mouth unconsciously.Even if he didn't take Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table seriously, what about Emerys?Didn't he think that the fluctuation of magic power would soon attract Merlin?

"Amoris and Arthur went hunting early in the morning... Do you think we will know nothing about Camelot's movements?"

The laughter was harsh and hoarse, as if a blunt saw had been cut through rotten wood.The sorcerer stretched out his hand, chanted an ancient spell full of magic power aloud, and almost in the blink of an eye, knocked the young man who seemed to be about to say something out of thin air.

...It will be a disadvantage if you don't listen to others.

"Cough-cough-"

Feeling a strong attack, it penetrated the transparent barrier he built, hit him in the chest, and threw him heavily against the outer wall of the castle.West endured the severe pain of internal organs, coughed up the blood in his mouth, tremblingly supported the wall and got up from the grass:

"Looks like we're going to have to do our best today, don't we?"

"Since you know it, why talk nonsense!"

He recited the prayers of the ancient religion again, but this time the young man quickly dodged it.The wizard watched with some regret as the spell hit the wall, blasting a piece of blue bricks and rubble. The hand under the cloak did not know what to do, and a mass of burning flames appeared in front of West out of thin air, forming a circle, He was wrapped in heat that was hot enough to vaporize a person.

"...*."

Because standing on the flammable thatch pile, he soon felt the tongue of fire winding towards him, and he was about to lick his exposed skin in almost a second, West couldn't help but cursed secretly.He has never fought a wizard before, and he is not sure whether superpowers can stop those mysterious magic.Coupled with the loss of mental power, loss of vision, and a great decrease in his own strength... how to fight this wizard is obviously a very confusing problem.

——Can I just stand here like a fool and wait for Merlin to save me?

how is this possible.

The corners of his mouth trembled, he couldn't imagine what a terrible scene it would be.West stretched out a finger to touch his temple, gritted his teeth, and began to try to assimilate the wizard's perception, but only felt a needle-like pain in his mind.The loss of mental power made him unable to use the 'Assimilation of Consciousness' at will like before, and mind control was even more delusional.But if he didn't want to die here in such embarrassment, he could only give it a go.

Try to ignore the tighter and tighter ring of fire around you, and focus all your attention on assimilating the wizard's brainwaves.When he felt a kind of force with scorching temperature beating in the palm of his hand, he knew that he finally succeeded.

"Oh?" Raising his eyebrows, he watched in surprise as the flames around the boy suddenly receded like a tide, but they didn't go out. Instead, they split into several strands like snakes and coiled around him.The voice of the black-robed wizard finally became dignified: "It seems that as a magician, you are not much inferior to Emerys."

"As a druid who protects nature and remains neutral, you actually stand by Morgana's side and help the tiger. This courage also surprises me."

He sneered coldly, since he had successfully carried out a 'consciousness assimilation', some things deeply buried in the opponent's consciousness could be clearly seen.West also pointed to quickly swipe in mid-air, manipulated the airflow to lift the wizard's hood that covered his face, revealing the wrinkled face that was so old:

"Why, it's not enough to tell Merlin that I'm a variable in his fate and let him be on guard against me. Are you going to get rid of me yourself now?"

"Before Mordred returned, I didn't belong to Morgana's camp. As for telling Emorys about your prophecy at that time, it was indeed just a kind reminder."

Not caring that his identity was exposed like this, the druid priest smiled slightly, but his eyes began to turn gloomy: "However, Emerys betrayed his mission and forgot that the most important meaning of his existence is Let the magic return. He chose King Arthur, and he gave up those wizards who believed in him. He is not worthy to be the son of the ancient religion!"

"That's because you're forcing him to give up his most important person."

With a slight movement of his fingers, the four fire snakes whizzed away and wrapped tightly around the wizard. Wester's expression turned cold in an instant: "You are forcing him to become the Emerys you thought... But for us, He'll always be just Merlin."

"maybe."

He casually glanced at the burning flames on his body, but within a moment, they disappeared in the golden light shining in his eyes.The wizard raised his eyebrows mockingly, and the magic power around him began to brew a new round of shock, "I never thought that you would say that in front of me, the divinely inspired 'hermit'... After all, Mordred is a Sir's nemesis, and you are Emerys's. I think you are actually more suitable to stand in our camp."

"I'm not you. If you betray your own beliefs, you betray."

Retorted without mercy, West stretched out his hand, split countless sharp fragments from the sunlight in front of him, pointed at the druid priest, ready to go, "What's more, you can't give me anything enough to let me leave Under the conditions, why do you think I might join forces with you."

"Because fate is like this." He also stretched out his hand, and the powerful magic power in his body seemed to break through the shackles, forming tiny vortices in the air, and the wizard replied: "What's more, how do you know the conditions I offered? Doesn't appeal to you?"

"……What's the meaning?"

West was taken aback.The old priest smiled mysteriously:

"What if I said, I know how to fix your eyes?—"

'Peng——! ! ! '

The collision of magic and superpowers creates a whirlwind that can overturn a person completely. Sharp light fragments and transparent wind blades pass by each other, and at the same time roar towards the established target.In the dust covering the sky that obscured his vision, he heard only two muffled grunts of pain one after another, and then bursts of blood spread along the airflow, gradually expanding under the cloudless summer sky.

Barely avoiding the vital points, but still unable to avoid being bruised all over by the wind blade.West held the most serious wound on his shoulder, and glared at the wizard: "I'm so old, you actually sneak attack?!"

"Aren't you the same!!" The bright red blood kept dripping from between the fingers, and the whole body was covered with materialized light fragments. The druid priest was not much injured than him.

They just stared at each other out of breath for a while, although now is an excellent opportunity to be able to kill with one blow, but obviously neither of them has the strength.Shaking his dizzy head, resisting the needle-like pain and manipulating the airflow to gather at his side, the young man grabbed the broken clothes under his palm in an attempt to slow down the flow of blood, but it only caused another burst of heart-piercing pain. of severe pain.

"What do you mean by that? You know what happened to my eyes?"

The voice was unavoidably weak, and West slowly adjusted his breath, convinced that he had indeed heard what the old priest said just now.

"Yes, your eyes, ordinary healing magic can't be effective, only the power of gods can restore them to light."

Wheezing worse than West.Perhaps it was because of his age, although the wounds on his body were far less hideous than those of the young man, they looked much more fragile.The old wizard looked up and stared at him fiercely, the smile on the corner of his mouth was still there, but the pain was tinged with an indescribable viciousness:

"This is a secret passed down from generation to generation by druid priests, boy... Originally, if you agreed to join us, I could tell you where to go for help——

"But now, I think it's better for you to stay blind."

Before the words fell, a burst of terrifying power suddenly emanated from the wizard.Standing up straight, not caring about the bleeding wound, the old priest looked coldly at the vulnerable young man in his eyes, as if looking at an ant that could be crushed to death at any time:

"I have to admit, Hermit, your strength is stronger than I imagined. However, that's it."

"I don't think I'll be the one to stop here."

Wipe off the blood that overflowed from the corner of his mouth.Although he knew that the wizard still had strength to spare, and that he was at the end of his strength, the expression on the young man's face was still calm.In the past and future countless life-and-death fights, he could be killed, he could be defeated, but he would never be defeated.Wester Xavier has gone through so many mortal dangers, of course he will continue to go on, instead of letting this long life end here.

The time flowing around seemed to stand still for a second.Even though West's remaining power is far from enough to support him to perform miracles like going back in time, it is still possible to assimilate another person's consciousness again if he wants to give it a go.He completely gave up resisting the huge magical power that came with the wizard, and instead stood there like that, trying his best to break through the shackles of that layer of memory, and search for the information he wanted in countless fragments of the past.

It's a five-fifty gamble.He bet his life and everything he had left, but the bargaining chip was just a tacit understanding he had cultivated at some time, and the trust that had never left room from the very beginning.

——and the reality obviously did not disappoint him.

"I just said that it would be a disadvantage if you didn't listen to people's words at the beginning...Because Gao Wen accidentally let go of all the horses in the stable, today's hunting trip between King Arthur and Emerys has been temporarily cancelled."

When a familiar sound of footsteps sounded at the end of the path, the deadly spell had also whistled in front of him with a strong wind.But it was soon blocked by a stronger and gentler force, which could no longer hurt him.

"Serena --!!"

The sound of the human body hitting the stone wall came from the ear.Immediately, Merlin shouted from far to near.A little regretful that he couldn't see the wonderful expression on the wizard's face at this moment, West took a step back, and fell into a thin but warm arm without any accident before his mental power was exhausted and he fell into the darkness.

"Help me remember the place name... Avalon, the Floating World Forest."

He murmured like this, even though the voice was so soft that it was almost a whisper, but he believed that Merlin must have heard it.

Like, he believed that no matter where he was, this young mage would be able to find him.