Moreover, judging from what he had just observed, Morgan lacked even basic knowledge of caring for infants. She had probably never breastfed before.
That meant this enchantress definitely would not have personally gone through pregnancy, carried a child for ten months, endured childbirth, and given birth herself.
Otherwise, with five children in total, she would have spent every day laid up with pregnancy and postpartum recovery all year round. How would she have had the time to travel around and leave behind so many legends?
Those so-called five children were most likely made using a technique she had learned from her father, King Uther, combining genetic material from specific bloodlines with the Mystery of this island and granting them blessings to create special artificial life.
That was exactly why the Knights of the Round Table were each more absurdly powerful than the last.
And because those children only had this mother in name, a mother who had not truly cared for them much despite leaving a deep impression, their feelings toward her were not especially strong. Later, almost all of them became loyal supporters of King Arthur and devoted themselves to opposing their own mother.
What else could be said? Every cause brought its own effect, almost as if ordained by fate.
As a bystander, Samael sorted through his thoughts and sighed inwardly.
"They're coming again! Watch out!"
Just as the Ancient Serpent's thoughts wandered off into gossip about Morgan behind him, a cold, stern warning suddenly rang out.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
With a light tap of the blue-black wand, Holy Lances woven from Ether shot out from behind Samael, accurately piercing and destroying three black monsters that had burst from the shadows.
But in the next instant, the rustle of grass and the violent shaking of branches sounded again.
One smoke-wreathed thing after another surged out from all directions, each radiating death and ominous malice. Red-black magical markings lit up across their bodies, and spell bullets gathered in their palms before being hurled forward.
"Holy pure lake, land of the end, grant starlight to darkness, and moisture to life!"
At that moment, the rare Witch behind him chanted in fairy language, calling upon the mysterious power of this island in a cold, graceful voice like a hymn. Her wand traced several arcane paths through the air.
In an instant, guided by the stars and moon, the pitch-black night sky gathered into Magecraft arrays packed with runes. Holy Lances condensed from Mana descended from above, striking one dense cluster of black monsters after another and shattering the enemy formation.
For a time, the dense rain of red-black spell bullets detonated one after another, their number dropping sharply.
The remaining scattered attacks struck the light barrier that resembled a blue lake, only sending faint ripples across it, unable to shake the two figures inside in the slightest.
"Roar..."
Frenzied roars rose one after another. One black monster after another, instinctively realizing they could not allow this woman to keep casting spells, surged out of the shadows and charged toward the powerful sorceress.
Perfect timing.
As the battle resumed, Samael's expression turned solemn, and he fully activated [Arrow-Deflecting Protection].
In an instant, his long-dormant muscles and Mana resonated together. The Ether gathered by the Holy Sword swirled and surged around him, becoming an invisible barrier that deflected the rain of spell bullets as the sword wielder moved at high speed.
The occasional stray shot that slipped through was also shredded by Samael's freely turning blade.
Then the man charged into the enemy ranks. His sword light blazed like falling stars, and his figure moved with agile speed, swift as wind, fierce as fire, and unknowable as shadow.
His sword strikes moved with thunderous force, blazing like flames that burned the sky when fast and pressing down like Mount Tai when slow. Though they were sword techniques, they were mixed with all kinds of skills, spears, bows, arm shields, grappling, and more, leaving his enemies unable to guard against them.
Under the night sky, sword beams shot everywhere, like the shimmer of waves gathered from rivers and seas, frost spreading and falling, or mercury spilling outward. Beauty and danger existed side by side.
Wherever he passed, grass and trees were cut down, while soil, stone, and the black monsters that rushed at him were all reduced to dust. Nothing could cross the ground behind him.
And without needing a word, Morgan, as a Witch blessed with extraordinary talent, cast spell after spell from behind him, renewing buffs and shields for her ally while filling the pauses in Samael's sword momentum with mid- and long-range attacks.
The swordsman and the sorceress became each other's sword and shield. Their instinctive cooperation was shockingly seamless, complementing one another perfectly.
"Hiss!"
Dozens of breaths later, a dark-gold blade stabbed into the chest of a black monster beneath his foot. Samael gripped the hilt with one hand and mercilessly twisted, completely crushing the thing's heart core.
Puff!
As the blade was drawn out, the final foreign creature roared, broke apart, and collapsed, scattering into a pile of black ash.
Finished. Time to wrap up.
Having finally stretched his muscles and tested some skills that had grown rusty, Samael sheathed his sword in satisfaction and turned to look behind him.
The female sorceress, crowned and veiled in black, stood within ghostly blue light patterns with her wand in hand, like a goddess walking through the forest or a fairy stepping across a lake.
A Lake Fairy...
The beautiful scene before him stirred Samael's thoughts and reminded him of another legend about Morgan.
Apparently, this enchantress was also a Lake Fairy, one to whom legend had assigned the [darkness] and [evil] that brought trouble to King Arthur.
That was right, "also."
Because the Lake Fairy was not one person, but a group.
In fact, according to legend, there were as many as nine Lake Fairies who guarded the Isle of Avalon.
After the bloody battle at the Hill of Camlann came to an end, the Lake Fairies carried the gravely wounded King Arthur into Avalon, bringing Britannia's Mystery to an end.
Morgan, Morgause, and Elaine, the so-called three sisters, were all among those names.
That alone was enough to show how murky and tangled the Lake Fairies were as a group, as well as their ambiguous attitude toward King Arthur.
Vivian, who gave Arthur the Holy Sword, likely represented the [radiant] and [good] side of the Lake Fairy.
But just like the other two among Morgan's three sisters, it was probably a codename, one that Mari, who came from Paradise, could use.
In another situation, Morgan could also use that name and call herself "Vivian."
As for the remaining names among the nine Lake Fairies, they were probably all aliases used by the same fixed group of people.
Samael had done this sort of thing plenty of times himself, so he was very familiar with it.
Tsk, tsk. The Lake Fairies.
"Merlin," who guided the king. "Morgan," who overthrew the king. Playing the good role and the bad role alike.
So it was a gang operation, all of them working together to put on a show for King Arthur.
If there was nothing shady going on behind this, Samael would never believe it.
Clearly, no matter which Lake Fairy it was, all of them were deeply entangled with the convergence of Britannia's Age of Gods.
Or to put it more bluntly, they were all threads Gaia used to stitch up the wound known as Britannia.
Often, the more brilliant and exceptional someone was, the more they believed they could control fate, only to ultimately walk the road that had been destined for them.
At that moment, after dealing with the obstacles before them, the two continued onward, one ahead and one behind. Samael gathered his thoughts and faithfully played the role of obstacle clearer.
But soon, new noises rose from all around them, and the waves of malice emerging from the darkness grew even stronger.
"Damn it, these things just keep coming!"
Blocked once again, Morgan frowned and gave a cold snort.
"A bad thing can be a good thing from another angle. Personally, I think we should be happy."
Samael's reply made the sorceress behind him pause slightly.
"The more of these things there are, the more it proves we chose the right path."
The calm man turned his head and answered with a faint smile. Before facing the enemy, he even thoughtfully added two layers of protection to the little one in his arms.
"They're... protecting the nest!"
Morgan's eyes lit up as realization struck. When she looked at this temporary companion again, approval appeared in her gaze. The gloom in her heart was swept away, and a trace of admiration quietly surfaced in her eyes.
This man was actually, for once, reliable...
***
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