“Don’t misunderstand, Luther.”
Seeing that his warning had achieved the desired effect, Merlin smiled.
“Every one of us can be tempted by lies that seem beautiful on the surface.
That’s why we must remain vigilant at all times.”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you.
This concerns the survival of all Caliban, so I have to be cautious.”
“Brother Luther, I hope you can understand.”
Luther’s expression shifted several times as he considered Merlin’s words.
“Very well.”
“…If that’s what you’ve foreseen.”
Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with Merlin’s heavy-handed approach, Merlin’s prophecies had already proven accurate too many times for Luther to simply ignore them.
“If you’re still worried, I’ll go help count the casualties among the knightly orders.
I’ll leave the books to you.”
“Thank you.”
Watching Luther turn and leave, Merlin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
That hurdle had been cleared.
As long as Luther never came into contact with the Chaos-tainted books here, the chances of him eventually turning to Chaos should fall considerably.
In the original history, Lion El’Jonson had been a loyalist Primarch.
If the Dark Angels avoided their internal conflict this time and Caliban didn’t end up being destroyed, then surely the final evaluation from the Ring of Sagittarius would improve significantly.
Thinking about that, Merlin rubbed the golden ring on his hand with growing anticipation.
The Ring of Sagittarius had never revealed what rewards he would receive when the simulation ended.
Merlin wasn’t greedy.
A top-tier Gloriana-class battleship fleet or something along those lines would be more than enough.
“Nemiel, tell the knights handling the library to watch one another.
Search everyone before they leave.”
“If anyone tries to secretly keep a book and take it out of the fortress, punish them severely.”
“Not a single one is to survive.
For books contaminated by dark sorcery, burning them is the safest solution.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
…
The disposal of the books proceeded quickly.
After all, they were burning everything without exception.
There was no need to catalogue every volume first.
The Calibanite knights assigned to the task didn’t particularly care what happened to the books either.
They were warriors raised to hunt Great Beasts.
If even the great Wizard Merlin treated this sorcery with extreme caution, none of them were foolish enough to touch it willingly.
As knights of Caliban, destroying such blasphemous knowledge was simply their duty.
Before long, the ancient books from several sections of the Knights of Lupus’ library had been reduced to ash.
Only the volumes gathered from the scattered shelves remained, piled into a small hill in the fortress courtyard.
“Did you find everything?”
“Search every knight involved.
Not a single book is to leave this fortress.”
“All the library sections have been cleared, my Lord.”
“Only…”
Nemiel hesitated.
“Only what?”
“Lord Wizard, while we were gathering the books, we found this inside the clothing of one of our knights.”
“The knight swears he never took it from any shelf.
He says the book simply appeared on him somehow, and he has no idea how it got there.”
“Oh?”
Merlin accepted the book with a serious expression.
“I’ll deal with it myself.”
Hiss…
The instant he touched it, a strange impulse rose within him.
He wanted to open it.
To read it immediately.
To greedily absorb every piece of knowledge hidden inside.
“…”
Merlin suppressed the impulse without much difficulty.
He had never been particularly fond of studying in the first place.
[I can give you knowledge.
Knowledge capable of destroying everything.
Knowledge that can grant you power.]
[You will no longer be weak.
You can become a true wizard who commands sorcery and make everyone look upon you with admiration.]
The voice echoed inside his mind.
“You?”
Merlin laughed disdainfully.
“Even if you were the legendary grimoire known as the Codex Astartes, capable of ruining every loyalist Space Marine Legion, I’d still tear you apart and use the pages as toilet paper.”
“You really think these little tricks will work on me?”
[…]
The voice fell silent.
It was as though even nine heads and nine mouths couldn’t come up with a single answer.
Even Tzeentch would have been speechless.
Khorne might have shed a tear.
Ever since Guilliman wrote the Codex Astartes, Chaos had barely needed to do any work.
“That’s it?”
“Embarrassing, isn’t it?”
Even with nine heads working together, it still couldn’t match something Guilliman had casually written.
“Get lost.”
Merlin threw the book straight into the flames.
He was quite confident in his ability to resist corruption.
Not because his faith was exceptionally pure.
Nor because he possessed some flawless body and mind.
He simply knew too much to be easily fooled.
“All right.”
“Once this final pile is burned, we’ll return home in triumph.”
Merlin sat down on a nearby stone bench and quietly watched the flames rise from the burning books.
Then, through the firelight, he saw a familiar black figure sitting on the stone bench opposite him.
That shadow again?
Merlin frowned.
What exactly was this thing?
Why did it always appear without warning, only to disappear just as suddenly?
Enemy?
Friend?
While Merlin was still wondering, the shadow moved.
“Wh—”
In the next instant, Merlin saw nothing but darkness.
…
Saint Grula Fortress, southern mountains.
The surrounding slopes had been stained in countless colors by the blood and fluids of the Great Beasts.
Lion El’Jonson removed her helmet, her armor still splattered with the remains of the creatures she had hunted.
Only moments ago, the last Great Beast on Caliban had let out its final cry.
She had done it.
From this day onward, there would be no more tales of Great Beasts threatening humanity on Caliban.
Lion El’Jonson had exterminated them completely.
“Notify all Calibanite knights to regroup.”
“Prepare to return to New Spring City.”
With a serious expression, she secured her sword at her side.
Hmph, hmph~
It’s finally over!
Although her face remained cold and composed, Lion’s heart was practically overflowing with joy.
As the undisputed ruler of Caliban, she had to maintain the proper dignity and bearing of a leader.
Only when she was alone with Merlin could she relax that outward facade even slightly.
Merlin…
Just thinking his name made her feel a little embarrassed.
Caliban was finally united.
At last, she could return with the Wizard to that quiet lakeside where nobody would disturb them.
No plans for tomorrow’s battles.
No arguments between nobles.
Just the two of them.
What a wonderful thought.
And she had already made up her mind long ago.
Once Caliban was united and the Great Beasts were completely eradicated…
She would finally tell him those…
Those…
Those kinds of words!
The words that were so difficult to say!
She would tell Merlin.
Lion El’Jonson felt her heartbeat accelerate, her emotions tighten, and heat rise into her face.
That strange curse from years ago was acting up again.
Beep.
Beep.
Her communicator sounded.
“Lord Lion El’Jonson!”
Zahariel’s anxious voice came through.
He was one of the personal guards Lion had assigned to Merlin.
“Report.”
A bad feeling immediately rose within her.
“It’s the Wizard!”
“Lord Merlin…
a mysterious shadow has taken him away!”
It really helps the fic grow!