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(Fate) Chapter 269: Melusine
🕑 Added 2025-01-25 21:10:23 +0000 UTCThe Dragon of Albion.
Just as Servants and Heroic Spirits have classifications and rankings—where the finest among them are titled Grand Servants, the Dragon of Albion is the "Grand" Dragon of this world!
In the original history, as the Age of Gods came to an end, the Dragon of Albion chose to remain on the surface of the world.
Ultimately, it perished from exhaustion, its body transforming into a massive labyrinth known as the Spirit Tomb Albion.
However, in this Lostbelt world, where the entire planet has become the "Sea of Nothingness," the Dragon of Albion continued to fly over the oceans until its eventual death from exhaustion and its remains fell upon the northern part of Britain, becoming the land on which the Rain Clan fairies now reside.
Yet this was merely background.
The critical point was that Promise, who was currently in the process of Heroic Spirit engraving and was unable to use a previous Heroic Spirit class card, must rewrite the fate of the Rain Clan fairies, who are destined for annihilation within three days.
And so, the Dragon of Albion was the best solution Promise could think of.
With the advantage of being a transmigrator and the wisdom ingrained in his soul from repeatedly overcoming impossible trials, Promise immediately thought of the one, born from the left claw of the dead Grand Dragon.
The one, with the power to easily destroy an entire fairy race.
The one, hailed as the most beautiful and strongest Fairy Knight in all of Lostbelt Britain.
Fairy Knight Lancelot.
True name: Melusine!
He thought of her.
At this moment, equipped with the foresight of a transmigrator and days of research in the library, Promise had arrived alone at the dark and murky marshes where she slumbered.
At the same time, Morgan, using her mirror magic to observe, spoke the name of the dragon and understood Promise's purpose.
Being from the future, 2,000 years ahead, she also knew this was where Melusine was sleeping.
And Morgan knew Melusine’s power better than anyone else.
After all, the strongest Fairy Knight, Lancelot, had been created by her.
As soon as Morgan realized what Promise intended to do, she immediately understood: if Melusine truly answered his call, the fate of the Rain Fairy Kingdom could indeed be altered.
However…
"She became a fairy because she admired the false beauty of Aurora and gained intellect from it. Even though I don't know how you know of her existence, how do you plan to grant her intellect again?"
Morgan, who was now fully aware of what he wanted to do, whispered these words as she gazed at Promise standing in the dim marsh through her mirror magic.
On her solitary throne, the proud queen silently watched the young man, who had intruded upon her past.
In fact, Morgan had hesitated multiple times, raising her hand to intervene.
Because she was not sure if awakening Melusine would alter the future she now lived in. If Promise really succeeded, would her current world change entirely?
But…
The deepest emotions locked away in her frozen heart stopped her every time.
Because deep down in her heart, she hoped.
She hoped that her fate could truly be rewritten.
She hoped that the homeland, the only place to give her beautiful memories over the long, lonely span of 2,000 years, could be saved.
At this moment, deep within the dark swamps of northern Fairy Britain, Promise’s journey had been anything but smooth.
This was the world of fairies, where humans were slaves and pets.
And Promise, with his exceptionally good looks, was a highly valuable commodity.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been captured by a friendly-looking fairy and auctioned off on his first day here before he could figure out what was going on, and was later bought by Vivian.
Furthermore, this land was imbued with the remnants of divine corpses, creating a dense atmosphere of mystery.
While it wasn’t quite on par with the Age of Gods, it wasn’t far behind.
Thus, outside the cities, the wilderness teemed with beasts and monsters, some of which were unique to this Lostbelt.
But at least in the more dangerous Ancient Greece of the Age of Gods, he had accumulated considerable travel experience, and when there was no Pegasus at the beginning, Promise traveled alone for a long time, so although the journey was a bit thrilling, he finally arrived safely.
As Promise drew closer to the dark swamp where the remains of the Grand Dragon lay, the number of living creatures diminished drastically.
By the time he reached the heart of the area, no living beings could be seen at all.
The reason was simple: the beasts and monsters, far more sensitive than ordinary people, instinctively understood the terrifying presence brewing here.
Although Promise couldn’t use his Heroic Spirit Class Card at the moment, his body’s projection, which even though was a mundane human without magical circuits and with limited physical abilities, it still retained sharp instincts and a keen intellect.
This allowed him to sense something subtle but undeniable:
And that was, ever since he entered this place, a pair of eyes had been watching him.
Promise knew who it was—the strongest fairy, Melusine.
Because in this place, only she lived.
"This is it, no doubt about it," Promise murmured, putting down the map in his hand and glancing at the bright afternoon sun.
“Three days have passed. I wonder how Vivian is doing now... Although Morgan serves as insurance, she won’t act in the past unless it’s the final moment. And I understand."
“If she does act, it’ll be the moment I die.”
Promise thought so and muttered.
The logic was actually quite simple.
Morgan stepping in meant that an irreparable error had occurred in the past, and as the central figure of that error, Promise would be erased.
"I’ve given Vivian the spell for summoning Servants. If history hasn’t diverged, the ‘sage’, the disguised king of the gods—should have arrived. fact, if he really took action, it wouldn't be a big problem, but that is obviously impossible."
Promise shook his head slightly at the thought, his gaze sweeping the area once more as he felt the faint, watchful eyes still fixed on him.
Now, how to grant Melusine sentience and pull her out of this swamp?
As a transmigrator, Promise was well aware of the connection between Melusine and Aurora.
Aurora, the leader of the Wind Clan.
She was the epitome of a perfect fairy, embodying the chaotic neutrality, or perhaps evil neutrality—that defined their kind.
She was celebrated as the most beautiful, gentle, and kind fairy leader, but it was all a façade.
Her perfection was a deliberate act, crafted to fulfill her ambition of becoming the “most beloved fairy.”
Melusine, however, fell in love with the beauty Aurora had fabricated.
For Aurora, she slaughtered an entire fairy clan.
In the end, to "protect" Aurora, Melusine even killed her with her own hands.
"Finding her isn’t the hard part," Promise muttered, his voice soft as though speaking to himself—or perhaps to someone listening.
He was well aware that Morgan was observing him.
After all, the situation was too critical to ignore.
"I believe her fascination with beauty stems from her nature… As a fairy born from the Dragon of Albion, she was destined from birth to be the strongest being in the world.
Thus, she was bound to be drawn to such beauty."
Promise spoke calmly.
The task he had set for himself was very simple: to bestow upon Melusine, who had yet to gain sentience, the same beauty that Aurora once gave her—the kind that she could admire and long for.
Through her mirror magic, Morgan quietly listened to Promise's words.
She knew that Promise was speaking to her.
She didn't care that he discovered her.
She also didn’t hold much hope that Promise could truly awaken Melusine in this era.
The long years had frozen too many of her emotions, rendering her a mere observer.
Her silent approval of Promise’s actions was not born of curiosity or faith in his success. It was for the sake of the land that had once given her warmth—the only warmth she had ever known.
Promise, for his part, did not care whether Morgan would respond or not.
After explaining his intentions for coming here, he moved on to how he planned to present the beauty that could inspire Melusine.
Under Morgan’s watchful gaze through her mirror magic, Promise reached into his backpack and pulled out a set of tools: a paintbrush and canvas, both prepared well in advance.
As the god of painting in ancient Greece, the answer was simple.
He would use art to portray his vision of ultimate beauty, reflecting it in Melusine’s visage.
Even though Promise didn’t have the divine white feather paintbrush, he was confident that with just an ordinary brush and canvas, he could still depict the profound beauty in his heart for Melusine to see.
In this, there was no need for doubt.
After all, who else but Promise could use a simple brush and canvas to capture the essence of the flawless goddess of wisdom herself at first glance?
With such confidence, he began to prepare. But then...
"No,"
After about an hour, Promise suddenly frowned, reaching out to tear apart the half-completed painting on the canvas.
This action stunned not only Melusine, who had been secretly watching him the entire time, but also Morgan.
Because the painting was already halfway done.
And even in its incomplete form, it had managed to captivate the Winter Queen, Morgan.
Despite its simplicity, the painting gave Morgan a profound sense of being drawn into it.
Within that painting, she saw a night sky gradually being illuminated.
It was a depiction of a night sky so breathtaking that it could astonish the entire world.
At the same time, Morgan could clearly feel Melusine's magical energy fluctuating more intensely, indicating that she was genuinely being drawn in by Promise's painting.
If Promise had completed the painting, it was highly likely that Melusine would have been drawn out and appeared before him.
So at this moment, even Morgan couldn't help but feel a little confused.
She couldn’t understand why Promise suddenly destroyed the painting that was so close to completion.
And that was the Queen, whose emotions had been locked away.
Compared to Morgan’s confusion, Melusine, after a brief moment of shock, quickly reacted with something else entirely—anger.
As the source of this provocation, Promise could naturally sense the anger radiating from the creature in the swamp toward him.
Despite this, he did not get flustered.
Instead, he chuckled softly and explained, "The reason I destroyed it is that I’m not satisfied with it. I felt it failed to truly capture the painting I have cherished in my heart all this time.”
As Promise spoke, he seemed to feel a bit tired and sat down casually on the ground.
After all, painting itself was an exhausting endeavor, one that consumed a significant amount of energy and concentration.
Back when Promise had access to the Golden Apple, he could maintain such high-intensity painting sessions.
But now ...
Forget it.
Sitting down, his clear emerald eyes carried a trace of reminiscence as he spoke, "I’ve had a very long journey, and during that journey, I’ve seen many beautiful things and experienced countless wonderful memories.
I once believed that, with my ability, I could perfectly present them to you. But I realized I can’t… Hmm? You say it’s already beautiful?"
"Oh? Could it be that you’ve already understood what beauty is?”
Promise conversed with the creature who still remained hidden within the swamp.
“You’re asking me, what is beauty? … Beauty,” He smiled warmly and answered gently, "is precisely the feeling you’re holding in your heart right now.
That intense desire to witness, to admire, and to follow something.”
At this moment, if Promise wanted, he could have taken Melusine away with just the incomplete painting from earlier.
But he didn’t plan to do so.
Because he had already decided to present her with the image he truly wished to show her—a picture that would serve as the price for seeking her help.
"You know, during my journey, I truly witnessed many breathtaking sights. I even hesitated, wondering which scene I should show you… Should it be the beauty of pure intellect and flawlessness, or the innocence of youthful charm, or perhaps the majesty of noble jealousy?
I’m confident in all of them."
Promise spoke with a tone of pride and a hint of boastfulness.
Through her mirror magic, Morgan saw everything.
She saw the faint phantom of the fairy born from the Dragon of Albion’s remains slowly drawing closer to Promise.
Melusine was already captivated by the images Promise described.
After all, she was the strongest fairy born from the Grand Dragon, destined for greatness from the moment she came into existence.
So, even though Promise’s words were merely verbal descriptions, Melusine seemed to glimpse fragments of a deeper truth through his words.
Though they usually despise such glimpses of deeper truths, they allowed it because it came from Promise.
"But as I revisited those memories again and again,
I found that none of these things were as suitable as that scene… It wasn’t until now that I realised that it wasn't her, who asked me for a painting back then.
It was that I’ve always wanted to paint one for her."
Without the ability to see through spiritual sight, Promise could not see the faint phantom of Melusine that had already appeared beside him.
She tilted her head slightly, her eyes brimming with curiosity as if seeking the truth behind his words.
"That’s why I tore it apart,"
Promise said, tilting his head as though addressing her. "I realized that simply painting like that wouldn’t capture the full picture I wanted to show you."
Although he couldn’t see her, he instinctively sensed her presence beside him.
"So… would you be willing to wait for me a little longer? I’d like to wait for the night to fall."
"Only under the night sky and its stars can I truly show you that beauty."
Melusine didn’t respond, because she did not have sentience at the moment, she didn’t know how to.
She was merely following her instincts, pursuing what she found captivating.
Promise didn’t mind her silence.
After all, he was too exhausted, so, he simply lay down, closed his eyes, and promptly fell asleep.
Seeing him drift off so casually, even Morgan felt a ripple of emotion in her frozen heart.
Especially when she noticed Melusine’s phantom mimicking Promise’s actions, lying down beside him as if to accompany him, Morgan, who was watching this scene through her mirror, couldn’t help but have an amusing thought in her mind.
That was ..to call the current Melusine think and let her witness this scene?
Her expression would surely be unforgettable.
.
.
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