Sure enough, the dog-demon Rampage wasn't an isolated case!
Samael thought for a moment, then raised his hand. With the old knight's permission, he asked seriously.
"Since such a major disturbance has broken out in the Southern Frontier, why not leave it to the Enforcement Knights? When it comes to dealing with these calamities, the members of the Knights of the Round Table should be far better suited to the task than we are."
The assembled people nodded one after another, looking just as puzzled.
Among them were no shortage of renowned mages, mercenaries with superb swordsmanship, and gifted Druids, but compared to the Enforcement Knights and those monsters of the Knights of the Round Table, blessed by the Divine Spirit, there was still a considerable gap.
Basically, one charge from the other side would be enough to wipe out most of them.
"Because the Northlands are in trouble as well…"
When asked about this, Sir Ector gave a faint sigh. At last, with a grave expression, he spoke in a heavy voice.
"Camelot just received word that large numbers of Wyverns have appeared in the Dark Marshes of the Northlands and are constantly attacking the towns.
And out in the wilderness, for reasons unknown, an army of the Wild Hunt has also been born. They ride with storm and thunder, burning the earth and reducing forests to scorched ground as they spread chaos everywhere. Our King and the knights are unable to free themselves for now.
Until then, we can only rely on ourselves to deal with the calamities in the Southern Realm…"
Hearing this, everyone looked shaken, and an uproar swept through the room.
...
After the meeting, the atmosphere in the inn was heavy and tense.
"So that means the South has the [Beast Plague] and the [Insect Plague], while the North has the [Dragon Plague] and the [Wild Hunt]. Four different disasters have appeared in Britannia at the same time?"
"If Sir Ector isn't hiding anything, then that should be the case."
Inside the room, Samael told Morgan everything from the meeting without holding anything back. The witch's delicate brows furrowed again and again, and beneath her veil, her eyes were filled with deep worry.
The Beast Plague, as the name suggested, was a beastly calamity caused by the Rampage of the dog demons.
At present, after several days of investigation and raids, she and Samael had worked together to cut off the dog demons' sacrifices, purge the Black Dogs from that fairy ruin, and take away the new king created by those demonized fairies, the [Atavistic A-Ray] Barghest.
In theory, the Beast Plague had already been brought under initial control.
By comparison, the Insect Plague, which devoured land, hollowed out life, and infected living creatures, along with the dead corpses awakened from underground by those insects and now attacking Darlington, was clearly far more troublesome.
"Insect of the Abyss…"
After thinking for a long while, Morgan seemed to recall something. Her expression turned solemn as she slowly spoke.
"Insect of the Abyss?"
Samael was startled into awareness and could not help looking up at Morgan.
The female sorceress's azure eyes were deep and unreadable as she calmly revealed the secrets she knew.
"Legend says that the secrets of creation and destruction are buried beneath Britannia. Two forces alternate with each other to form a balance, and once that stability is broken, it will bring about a severe disaster across Britannia.
As far as I know, the secret texts left behind by the Horned God Cernunnos once mentioned that the Insect of the Abyss is one of the terminal devices meant to bring destruction and death to this island!"
The first three days for destruction, the next three days for creation, and the seventh day for rest.
The secrets of creation and destruction…
Samael unconsciously raised a hand and touched the bridge of his nose. His gaze drifted, and he turned his head guiltily toward the window.
As the core of the War of the Covenant, even he could not say for certain how many corpses were buried beneath Britannia.
At the same time, this was also the starting point of the world's rebirth, preserving the purest Mystery, the last fantasy on the surface of the earth.
The alternation of life and death had shaped this island's unique nature.
If his guess was right, the remnants of destruction had taken form as the demon dragon Vortigern in the corpse-covered Northlands, while the starlight of creation, in the south surrounding the Isle of Avalon, had nurtured King Uther, blessed by Mystery, as well as his successor, Morgan.
Once the powers of creation and destruction fell out of balance, Britannia, as the central node, would inevitably face a severe upheaval.
Moreover, at the Battle of Mount Badon, the King of Knights who should have consolidated Mystery and unified the entire realm had left behind a serious hidden danger.
Clearly, Morgan, who had planted eyes within the Knights of the Round Table, had realized this as well.
"I suspect someone deliberately awakened them!"
"You mean?"
Beside him, Mari paused slightly with her wine glass in hand and blinked in question.
"Vortigern!"
Although Morgan did not particularly care for this newly joined white-haired companion, she still answered patiently for Samael's sake, her tone carrying a measure of certainty.
Then the witch frowned and added, "In addition, the dragon disaster in the Dark Marshes and the army of the Wild Hunt spreading through the Northlands are probably connected to Vortigern as well!"
Vortigern already possessed the authority to control Dragonkind, so this Dragon Plague was most likely his doing.
As for the Wild Hunt, it originated from Norse mythology.
According to legend, the spirits of warriors who died in battle, driven by powerful obsessions, would linger on the battlefield. Under certain conditions, they would revive, pursuing and slaughtering the living who trespassed into forbidden territory, continuing their war until they completely dissipated.
"Why am I the only one talking? Why aren't either of you saying anything?"
After another long explanation that left her mouth dry, Morgan, who was not fond of speaking at length to begin with, found the oppressive atmosphere rather uncomfortable. The whole room had turned into her one-woman show, which made her feel somewhat awkward.
At those words, Samael and Mari's breathing hitched. The instant their eyes met, they quickly looked away.
"Well, about this sort of thing, we're not exactly familiar with it…"
"Right, it has nothing to do with us… mmph…"
Before the wretched woman beside him could finish exposing herself, the quick-eyed and quick-handed Ancient Serpent immediately covered Mari's mouth and dragged her aside.
"What Mari means is that we haven't experienced anything like this, have no connection to it, and certainly can't claim any expertise. It would be better for us to hear more of your thoughts."
A faint, reserved smile appeared on Samael's face as he sincerely expressed the admiration of an outsider toward Morgan, an expert in dealing with calamities.
Fortunately, Morgan had only mentioned it in passing because of her taciturn nature. She had never expected the two newcomers to offer any constructive opinions in the first place. After pausing for a moment and calming herself, she fell into thought again and led the conversation to a new topic.
"By the way, someone at the front line sent over an image of that King of the Wild Hunt."
As she spoke, Morgan dipped a finger in the tea in her cup and traced lines of fairy script across the table.
As azure ripples spread and blurred outward, the tabletop reflected like a mirror, revealing a terrifying figure standing atop a barren hill.
This King of the Wild Hunt, born in the Northlands, wore a suit of pitch-black, menacing armor. Mounted on a red-eyed warhorse and holding a thorn-like spear, she was surrounded by bloodthirsty spirits of the Wild Hunt, radiating a fierce and dreadful presence.
"Her face can't be seen clearly, but she is extremely powerful and possesses an aura close to that of the King of Knights. Even Britannia's Enforcement Knights and the Knights of the Round Table have been dragged into a bitter fight. Also, because she seems to have the power to command storms and summon rainclouds and thunder, the Round Table privately calls her the [King of the Gale], or the [King of Storms]."
As Morgan frowned in thought, Samael's gaze touched upon that nightmarish black knight. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and he cursed inwardly.
How is this similar to Artoria? This is exactly the same!
Damn it. Don't tell me that after being defeated, that bastard Vortigern finally figured things out and learned from Uther, using Artoria as a template and the corpses of the Northlands to create this Lord of the Wild Hunt, the equivalent of the King of Knights' reverse side?
Shit, is this what they call "using Magic to defeat Magic"?