"Huh"

The sharp blade pressed against Merlin's neck.

It was no ordinary blade, and on the surface of the blade, a light like water waves flowed, which made the knife sharper and sharper.

Merlin could feel that as soon as the undersea man in front of him moved his wrist, his neck would be completely sliced. And judging from the light dancing in the other hand of this undersea man, even if he turns into a black mist, this undersea man has a way to kill him here.

But the more this happened, the more certain Merlin's inner speculation about Queen Atlanta's fate became.

Arthur's mother, Tom's lover, has literally died in the depths of the sea...

All they are waiting for is a hope that will never come.

"You! How do you know! ”

The black-haired seaman's green eyes shone with undisguised killing intent, and he looked at Merlin and asked sharply:

"Who told you?"

Merlin should be terrified.

After all, the little life is in the hands of someone else.

But he didn't.

I don't know if it's the result of the transformation of dark magic, or the fact that he completely recognized the demon contract, which inspired Merlin's stubbornness. In short, at this moment, he was very calm, as if he was ignoring the torrent blade around his neck.

He looked at the undersea man in front of him and whispered:

"You told me."

He pointed to his eyes.

"These eyes, able to see the subtleties, are probably the best things this cursed contract has ever given me. You are indeed very strong, I can't see your souls, but you are still alive, you still have emotions... Just now, when you mentioned Queen Atlanta, the sadness in your eyes could not be deceived. ”

"No one else can see it, but they can't hide it from me. I'm actually guessing, but your excesses have confirmed my guess. ”

Merlin took a deep breath, he raised his hands, looked at the undersea man, and said:

"I don't want to cause trouble, and I don't want Arthur to lose his last hope. I know you can kill me with your hands, I'm weak, that's right. But the demon said that my soul is peculiar, and he said that my life is destined to be a legend... Instead of killing me here, give me a chance. ”

"It's hard to keep secrets alone, friends at the bottom of the sea, maybe, you should find yourself a helper."

The hand holding the knife in front of him loosened, but there was still only a trace of contempt in his eyes.

He looked at Merlin, and he said:

"Is it up to you? Atlantis can easily kill you by sending a warrior. You said you'd be a legend, but sorry, I can't see it right now. ”

"Let's talk about this from a different perspective."

Merlin tilted his head, keeping his neck a little away from the cold blade, and the thoughts in his mind were running wildly, and another breakthrough took shape in his mind, and he looked at the undersea man, and said:

"Let me guess, you've been emphasizing how noble Arthur's status is, the prince of Atlantis. But with my shallow knowledge of history, I don't know what civilization would let its princes grow up far away from the country and under the nurture of ordinary people, so I can't think... It's not that you don't want Arthur to go back, but you can't let Arthur go back? ”

"What is the reason preventing you from returning to Atlantis with your prince, because he will be in danger if he returns?"

"If Atlantis is really as powerful as you say, then what danger would endanger a noble prince?"

Merlin narrowed his eyes, a smile appeared on his face, he stretched out his finger, carefully pressed it against the flowing water blade, pushed the blade outward, and said:

"Your king has every reason not to like him, because he is not his own son..."

"But a country cannot be without a heritage, especially a feudal kingdom like yours. Your king doesn't seem to be worried about having no heir, that is, the king, at least one other son. And that, known to everyone in your country, is supposed to be Arthur's younger brother and the king of Atlantis' destiny, right? ”

"Huh"

The knife in the seaman's hand withdrew from its scabbard, and he stared at Merlin, and after a moment, he spat out a name:

"Aum, the true prince. You're right, landers, what a wonderful reasoning... Your wisdom may be worth your life. But wisdom alone is not enough, you also need reason. ”

"That's right, after giving birth to Orm, Atalana was thrown into the hell of the Trench Clan by the tyrant of Orvax. She's my best friend! I watched her go to hell, and before she died, she asked me to protect Arthur... So here I am. ”

The pain in the eyes of the undersea man is undisguised.

And Merlin guessed that this person's feelings for Queen Atlanta should not be just simple friendship.

Perhaps, there is still a trace of affection, but he sane did not reveal this secret.

"You can live with this secret."

The undersea man looked at Merlin, he thought for a moment, and shook his head:

"But about the invitation you made, I'm sorry... You're too weak, I can't pin Arthur's safety on you, wait until you're strong enough. As for the bad luck on you, I can help you, but I'm not sure either. ”

The undersea man calmly said to Merlin:

"The Atlanteans are good at water magic, and we live in an environment that has long since allowed us to abandon the use of other magic, and everything that has to do with demons has to do with the disgusting dark arts. I can only help you purify the dark magic that has escaped from your body, and you will have to find another way to eliminate or assimilate it completely. ”

"Your human magic inheritance has not been broken, go find the wizards of the humans, they may have some way."

"That's enough!"

A hint of surprise flashed in Merlin's eyes.

He didn't expect things to go so smoothly. He has never been greedy to solve all problems at once, and the coercion of the Three Palaces Demon still affects Merlin to this day, and the kind of violent power that can destroy everything is definitely not something that can be eliminated by any person.

The Phantom Stranger also made it clear that the three palaces were the most powerful of all the demons, and that Merlin might need to spend a lifetime trying to find a way to deal with the power it left behind.

But as long as this troublesome fate can be relieved, Merlin can truly embark on the road to find hope, which is only the beginning, but the most important part.

"What should I do?"

Merlin looked at the sun and sand around him, and his skin even showed signs of burns because of the sun's rays, and he looked at the people under the sea, and he asked:

"Do I need anything to prepare?"

"No, you don't! You just stand here, don't move! I'm going to see if your soul is still whole. ”

The ten fingers of the man at the bottom of the sea moved, and streams of water visible to the naked eye beat in the palm of his hand.

He said to Merlin solemnly:

"You better pray that your soul is still whole. This is an important prerequisite, once the demonic power begins to seep into your soul, it will be impossible for even the most powerful mages in Nirvana to purify you. ”

"What does that mean? And if the soul is broken? ”

Merlin asked.

The Seaman put his finger on Merlin's forehead, and he replied softly:

That means that you will transform from a human being to a demon, and when the demonic power completely assimilates you, the human you will disappear. A half-demon will be born because of this, and that is the saddest thing... Wait a minute! Your soul... Why is it so weird? ”

The seaman, who had always been very calm, looked surprised at this moment, he lowered his finger, and looked at Merlin as if he were looking at a monster, and after a few minutes he said:

"Did you know that your soul is two-tiered?"

"What?"

Rao is Merlin has experienced so many things, and after hearing the words of the undersea man, he was also confused.

Double Soul, what's going on?

"It's like a dragon fruit."

Using an example of something he was familiar with, but Merlin had never heard of, the Undersea Man explained:

"One layer is the shell, and the other layer is the kernel. The two layers are not connected to each other, but both souls are you, sharing memories and emotions, and the demonic contract does tear your soul apart, but it is only the outer layer that is torn apart. ”

"It is precisely because the soul shell is torn apart that the soul inside can truly awaken... No wonder the magic on your body reacts so strangely. ”

The Seaman said to Merlin:

"That demonic contract manifests both true and unsuccessful results in you, causing you to be in an indescribable state."

"The power of the devil stays in your soul, but it is limited to the contract, but it cannot harm you, and it will even actively protect you... Because the contract has actually been established, it protects you, that is, it protects your host. ”

"And what's my bad luck?"

Merlin's head was big at hearing these magical terms spoken by the undersea man, and he looked at the undersea man, and he asked straight to the point:

"If that power is going to protect me, why is that black smoke still escaping from me? Also, I haven't asked the important question, which is, what's your name? I can't always call you an undersea man, can I? Don't always call me a lander, it sounds weird, my name is Merlin! Merlin. Riley. ”

"Well, my name is Vico. The chief attendant of the royal family of Atlantis, and the personal advisor to Queen Atlanta, as well as her best friend. ”

The Seaman put his hand on his chest and made a strange gesture, explaining to Merlin:

"The black smoke you're talking about is not a manifestation of bad luck."

"Merlin, your knowledge of magic is too shallow, the power of doom cannot be observed, there have been too many magicians throughout the ages who have tried to master the power of doom and luck, but none of them have succeeded, it is not a power that we should covet."

"As for the black smoke you see, it's just a trail caused by the loss of dark magic in your body... Even what you think is bad luck is not bad luck itself. ”

Vico said to Merlin in a simple description:

"If you fall unexpectedly, it could be that the dark magic that is constantly escaping from your body distorts your vision, or that the corrosive magic simply destroys the ground. It's the same thing when you get knocked down by a falling stone, magic is mysterious, especially the uncontrolled flow of energy, which often manifests itself in a misunderstood form. ”

"You're not doomed. Of course, your own luck will never be too good. Those who encounter demons are far from lucky. ”

"You are a source of dark magic power, and the bad luck you said destroys everything around you, but it is actually the erosion of dark magic on the things that exist around you."

"Is that so?"

Merlin nodded knowingly, but another question came to his mind, and he said to Vico:

"What about the boundaries between 2 hours and 6 hours? Why is the time so accurate? ”

"Because your inner soul is merging with the torn soul fragments outside!"

Vico narrowed his eyes and said to Merlin:

"Imagine a weak, nascent soul feeding on soul fragments mixed with dark magic, this process does not happen all the time, it is tied to your physical activity, and the rate of soul devouring only increases when you are in the most relaxed posture."

"And with every fragment of the soul being devoured, the dark magic in it will erupt outward, forming what you call the Great Tribulation... And this time is exactly 2-6 hours. ”

"Do you understand what I mean? As long as you keep moving, the soul will not devour, but as soon as you stop, the soul will start to grow itself spontaneously. It will take out most of the dark magic from your torn soul, but it will also make your newborn soul irrepressibly melt into the darkness..."

Vico frowned, it was also the first time he had encountered Merlin's special situation, and he could only make a guess as well as possible.

"It's hard to say whether the process is good or bad, but it has to be done... Otherwise, your soul will not be truly whole. ”

"So what should I do?"

Merlin asked:

"You mean, as long as the two layers of souls are fused, this doom-ridden catastrophe will be completely eliminated, right?"

"Not only that."

Vico nodded, and he said to Merlin in a complicated tone:

"Once the fusion is completed, your soul will reach twice the strength of ordinary landers, in terms of soul capacity alone, it can even be directly comparable to some powerful magicians of the ascetic sect, and this is just the beginning, by the standards of landers, you are still very young, and as you get older, your soul will grow further..."

"The growth of the soul means a steady increase in spiritual power, which means that the magic power that can be contained in your body will increase exponentially. And the sheer capacity of the soul means that you can perform many delicate operations that a mage can't, and I don't know how such a soul form was formed, but there is no doubt that the demon helped you. ”

The seaman made a tapping motion, and he said:

"It shatters the shell, puts your soul on the path to growth in advance, and leaves pure dark magic in your body, like a gift, if you find the right way, you can unlock this treasure of magic."

"Are you sure this is something you stumbled upon by accident?"

Vico asked in a puzzled tone:

"No matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like a coincidence... It's like it's been arranged in advance. ”

Vico's doubts made the intermittent line in Merlin's heart completely filled in at this moment.

The Three Palaces, the Phantom Stranger, even the bell that suddenly appeared in Chicago, or even the Vico in front of him, all this... So suddenly, and so coincidentally.

Merlin subconsciously raised his head and looked at the sky above his head, there was nothing, but at this moment, Merlin felt a kind of creepy, it seemed... It seemed that there were eyes watching him, and there were hands, pushing him.

It's all connected... But in the worst possible way

That's...

Fate?

—————————————

Meanwhile, in another place, the bigwigs who are watching all this are whispering.

"Yo, lo and behold, he's sensing a hint of fur, and he's trying to see us. What an unlikable guy. ”

"But he can't see the whole picture yet, and he can't change the path in front of him. The power of the dice of fate is superimposing, so many factors, so many powers, he can only fall into it in the end, and he can no longer detach. ”

"But speaking of which, the 'demon' thrown by the overlord has come here, and it has been almost cracked by the 'luck' cast by the god of death, and the first round of confrontation is coming to an end, and I still want to see the result... What kind of path will he take? ”

"Don't worry, this is just the beginning. You see the record of Oneiroi, not even one-twentieth, so look at it quietly. ”

"Hehe, all roads will eventually lead to darkness... I've seen through the results, I've been..."

"Shut your mouth and watch the show in peace! Restless Barbatos, you play tricks again, be careful that we join forces to beat you up again! ”

Well, the daily life of the bigwigs is really colorful.