Night had fallen. Samael stared again and again at the map of Britannia spread across the table, covered in his markings, circles, crosses, and highlighted points. The chaotic mess of notes made his head throb, and he paced back and forth through the bedroom.
Everything was a mess. Completely out of order.
Vortigern, the Usurper King, who should have exited the stage after the Battle of Mount Badon, had narrowly escaped disaster thanks to Mari's interference.
As a result, the centipede was dead but not stiff.
That incarnation of the Demon Dragon, the dark side buried within the island of Britannia, had unleashed the final calamity of a Mystery rampage.
Now, the King of Knights Artoria and the army under her command were being held in the North by the [Wild Hunt] and the [Dragon Plague].
Meanwhile, the hollowed-out Southern Realm had been struck by the [Beast Plague] and the [Insect Plague], with warfires rising everywhere.
The history in Samael's memory had gone completely off track. His plan to follow the path of destiny and smoothly bring Britannia's Age of Gods to its end was basically finished.
"Mari!"
The model worker responsible for cleaning up the mess felt his head swell with frustration. Unable to hold back, he grabbed the map and charged into the bedroom next door.
The moment the door was violently shoved open, a certain unscrupulous Incubus, having heard the commotion, was already sneaking toward the window, clearly intending to make a quick escape.
"Why are you running? Look at what you've done!"
Samael raised his hand and threw the chaotic situation map right into Mari's face, then advanced on the culprit with an air of righteous accusation.
"This?"
Mari pulled the evidence off her face and gave it a quick glance. Then she leisurely climbed down from the window and turned back with elegant composure. The guilty look from a moment ago had already been replaced by a bright smile as she argued back with complete confidence.
"Isn't it better if things are chaotic? Chaos is where profit comes from. In any case, the stellar mission we accepted is to bring Britannia's Age of Gods to an end in the end."
"You call this profiting from chaos? This is obviously you stirring things up on a whim because you wanted to watch the fun! Even if we were going to shake up the situation, we should have done it gradually, guiding events toward the direction we planned, not making such a complete mess that nothing can be sorted out anymore!"
Samael, who knew this wretched woman all too well, exposed Mari's real intentions without mercy. His low voice came out through clenched teeth as he scolded her coldly.
Yes, yes, you're right. You're amazing. Everything you say is correct.
Mari put on a humble, teachable expression and nodded with a smiling face utterly devoid of sincerity.
Sorry if I offended you. I'll do it again next time!
Samael talked until his mouth was dry, but Mari kept that perfunctory smile on her face the entire time. Her mind had clearly wandered off somewhere else, and his words had gone in one ear and out the other.
Faced with such a shameless fun-seeker, the Ancient Serpent admitted defeat. He could only give up on his long-winded attempt at personality correction and instead ask about another, more reliable ally.
"Where's Morgan?"
"She went out. I think she headed toward Tintagel Castle."
Mari blinked, her tone carrying a pointed implication.
At this hour? What would Morgan be doing meeting Ector?
Samael frowned slightly and fell into brief thought.
"Oh, right. She also left something with me to give to you."
"Something?"
"Over there, on the bed."
Mari casually raised a hand and pointed at the bulging blanket on the bed, looking rather uninterested.
Only then did Samael notice Barghest sleeping peacefully in the corner.
"She's not crying or fussing. She's sleeping pretty soundly. I didn't expect you to be so good at calming children."
The Ancient Serpent walked over slowly and looked at the little one curled up in the swaddling. He could not help reevaluating this wretched Mari in a much better light.
The "kind big sister" who had just been praised quietly backed away and edged toward the window again.
But as Samael drew closer and lifted the child out of the blankets, the familiar lingering scent drifting from Barghest's mouth made him freeze.
Strange. Why does she smell like alcohol?
Wait. Alcohol?!
The Ancient Serpent looked at Barghest's flushed, feverish cheeks and understood in an instant.
She hadn't been lulled to sleep. She had been made drunk!
"Mari!"
Samael turned and roared, but all he saw was the swaying window lattice and the pitch-black night outside. The culprit had already fled.
You absolute piece of shit!
At that moment, the Ancient Serpent's face went as dark as the bottom of a pot. He finally understood why this wretched woman had so smoothly darted to the window the moment he came in.
Just wait until you come back. I swear I won't beat you to death.
Samael's gaze turned sinister, his teeth grinding audibly as he silently added another entry to the mental ledger of Mari's many crimes.
Since Camelot's army had been blocked in the North, his plan to infiltrate the Knights of the Round Table had reached a dead end for the time being.
Left with no choice, the Ancient Serpent had to clean up Mari's mess first. Carrying the drunken Barghest in his arms, he went out to buy some sobering potion.
Perhaps because of the aftermath of the dog-demon attack, or perhaps because the residents had sensed the coming crisis, Cornwall under the night sky had become cold, empty, and deathly still.
Along the way, the houses on both sides had only a few scattered lights. As he walked down the repaired main street, he could almost hear his own footsteps and heartbeat clearly.
Not only that, the number of patrols had clearly increased, and a sentry post had been set up at the street corner ahead. The one on guard happened to be the guard captain who had led him to the manor during the day for the meeting.
"My Lord Knight, why are you out so late?"
Samael pointed at the infant in his arms. Seeing this, the guard captain's expression eased slightly.
"My Lord, because of the trouble caused by the dog-demon last time, the town has already begun enforcing a curfew at night. If you need medicine, I know a potion shop up ahead that's still open. I'll take you there."
After Samael briefly explained the situation, the middle-aged man, who had quite a favorable impression of him, gave a few instructions to his subordinates and took the initiative to lead the way.
"How are things outside right now?"
"To be honest, not good. Darlington is especially bad. Those living dead crawling out from underground have completely cut off communication. Cornwall is now under full martial law as well. Without Sir Ector's written order, no one is allowed to leave the city."
As they talked about the recent situation on the way, the guard captain's face turned solemn. After speaking, he glanced back at the castle behind them and lowered his voice in warning.
"My Lord, Sir Ector is gathering manpower right now. The Southern Realm is desperately short on troops, so every able-bodied young man who can be mobilized will likely be organized into the ranks. I'm afraid you may be conscripted too. Before that happens, it would be best to place the child with a family willing to foster her."
Samael nodded and thanked the guard captain for his kindness. After buying the medicine, he returned to the inn and soothed the little one in his arms back to sleep.
Once the flush had faded from Barghest's face, the Ancient Serpent gently placed her on the bed. Then he rose and came to the half-open window, looking into the distance at the tightly shut city gate beneath the night sky, his gaze deep.
A meeting in the morning, martial law by afternoon.
It seemed that Sir Ector, short on manpower, was not so inflexible after all. He had already set his sights on idle people like them.
Blending into the Southern Realm's forces to go and suppress the disasters would be rather inconvenient.
Samael frowned slightly. But when he glanced at the ancient castle under the night sky, his brow soon relaxed.
Still, someone should already be handling that problem.
***
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