Albion

Damn, this Tree of Emptiness must have been huge, even compared to the others we've seen so far.

So this is the Tree that withered away two thousand years ago...

...and that Morgan then burned down to destroy the Tree of Emptiness in Olympus a few months ago...

Of course. It's one of the UK's biggest tourist attractions.

It's known for its glacial lakes that seem to stretch on forever, and for its steep rocky crags that have never been touched by civilization.

In stark contrast to highly developed cities like London, it still retains the natural beauty it's had for at least a hundred years.

Fancy clothes, gourmet meals, and thrilling entertainment are great and all, but there's definitely something to be said for the kind of leisure time where you can just lose yourself in your environment.

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(Hey, Fujimaru. Altria still hasn't cheered up. What's going on with her?)

Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. I was just thinking, "So, this is the famous Lake District."

It, uh, sure is as pretty as a picture, isn't it!? Also, just as quiet! Did I mention quiet!?

Damn, you have no poker face at all, do you?

Yeah... He's got a way of squashing your concerns before you've even had a chance to voice them.

It must be hard being him, too.

He's always so concerned with everyone else that he never stops to take care of himself...

That, uh, might be true, but we aren't talkin' about Oberon right now.

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You're obviously still thinking about what Barghest told us, right? Don't keep it to yourself.

"Is this Beryl Gut truly Morgan's Master?" huh. That IS the question.

Though of course, the real question might be: Is Morgan actually a Servant?

It's a hell of a conundrum, that's for sure.

Fujimaru and I have been going back and forth trying to square that circle ever since we got here.

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Same. I mean, she'd pretty much have to be, if she's been ruling here for two thousand-odd years.

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You mean when Beryl said he was Morgan's Master, and she didn't deny it?

So Morgan's not Beryl's Servant, but Beryl IS Morgan's Master...

That's a brain buster, ain't it. I don't even know where to begin. Any ideas as to how that could work, Da Vinci?

I'm afraid not. There's just too little information to work with.

If Holmes were here, he could string a number of theories together into a plausible hypothesis...but he's not.

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...I do have one idea, I think.

I remember what you said about Masters and Servants, and the kind of things Chaldea's done so far.

But...I'd rather not think about it any more than that. If I'm right, then Morgan would be

Impossible for you to beat? A faerie you'd rather not even fight at all if you don't have to?

Habetrot?

What's wrong with not wanting to fight her? Who says you have to try and beat her no matter what?

Chaldea's goal is to acquire Morgan's Rhongomyniad, and the Child of Prophecy's goal is to ring the six bells.

Trust me, I heard Ainsel's Child of Prophecy poem in Londinium enough to last a lifetime...

And there's not a single verse in there about killing the queen.

But... Morgan herself told me to defeat her.

Did she now?

Eh, she's just playing everyone's antagonist because she doesn't dare trust anyone anymore.

But I'm not saying more than that. All I care about's Mash and Fujimaru finally being reunited.

You can't go around trying to please everyone else all the time. Sometimes, you've just gotta tell them to piss off!

...

...No more chitchat. We've already got a few mors headed our way.

You remember Barghest's warning, Fujimaru? Good.

Then don't hold back. We're all counting on your firepower to get us through this!

Nope. That woman's gotta be nearby. What does she think this is, a vacation?

That's cause the faeries they used to be were really strong. Makes sense, since this used to be the northern faeries' holy ground.

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Looks like it's going to take us at least a full day to make it through the Lake District and get to the north coast.

I don't think we'll make it more than halfway today. We should look for a forest where we can make camp before nightfall.

Say, Habetrot, do you maybe know this area? You said you were originally from the north, right?

Well, yeah, I guess.

This place hasn't changed in forever, so I at least know it better than the south.

Why do you ask, Da Vinci? You want a history lecture from old Habbycat?

If you could, that'd be great. We never heard much about the Lake District down south.

Gotcha. Okay then, but just until sunset!

Long ago, Britain used to be way smaller. Back then, this area was all ocean.

At the time, Britain was the only landmass in the worldat least, the faeries thought so. So they worked to expand the isle.

Then, one day, when they'd expanded it up to where Manchester is now, they noticed there was a forest on the far shore.

That was this place: the British Lostbelt's Lake District. A forest in the middle of the ocean.

That's where the northern faeries come from. They'd been living off the fruits of that forest all that time.

The northern faeries? So, they were Cnoc na Riabh's ancestors!?

Yup. The six clans and the northern faeries have totally separate lineages.

Anyway, back in Fae Era 6000Um, I guess that'd be eight-thousand years ago...

Britain had its very first war. In it, the northern and southern faeries fought each other.

Nowadays, it's only known as the War of Spring.

It happened when the northern faeries got jealous of all the land the southern faeries had, and crossed the sea to invade it.

But even though their leader was super strong, on average, the northern faeries were still weaker than the southern ones.

Back then, there were no humans on the northern faeries' side. Only the southern faeries kept humans.

So the war ended with the southern faeries' victory. Apparently, it was a total massacre.

Whenever the northern faeries' successors were born, the southern faeries would just kill them on the spot.

That's where they got all the bodies they needed to fill in the ocean up to the Lake District.

They killed so many northern faeries that eventually, new generations stopped being born altogether.

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Everyone thought they'd gone extinct... But nope! It turned out they were still alive.

The leader of the northern faeries was made of much sterner stuff than any faerie from the six clans.

Well, they weren't called the six clans back then, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, the northern queen escaped, left the Lake District, and went on to make the western island all by herself out in the middle of the empty sea.

The western island, Ireland, became a legendary island that no one could see, but existed all the same...

It became the final hope for faeries who were exiled from Britain. A sort of last bastion of castaways.

Later on, there'd be another war between the north and the south called the War of Summer...

But that has nothing to do with the Lake District, so I'll just skip that one.

Anyway, after the first war, the War of Spring...

...the southern faeries claimed the Lake District for themselves and began developing their civilization even further.

The faeries that would go on to become the Mirror clan, and the faeries from Britain's northmost area that would go on to become the Rain clan, each built thriving cities here.

Though of course, as you can see, they've long since been wiped out.

Not sure "thriving" is the word I'd use, then.

Then again, the idea of a single country enduring for more than a thousand years doesn't really fit for us non-Brits in the first place.

Morgan's Faerie Britain has lasted for more than two thousand years, remember? 'Course, you can't really call it thriving either, since it hasn't advanced any in all that time.

The Rain clan... I see. Britain's skies are always cast in twilight...

So it makes sense that there would've been faeries who controlled the rain and other weather.

But why'd the Rain clan go extinct? Did they disappear naturally, or

Nnn... I'll tell you that once we get to Orkney.

All you need to know for now is that the Rain clan, and their city, Orkney, were destroyed in Fae Era 4000.

Yup. They built their city around Fae Era 5000, so it was one of the few British metropolises to last over a thousand years.

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Now I see. So that's why Ireland's nowhere to be found.

The northern faeries must be of Irish descent.

And the only northern faerie to survive the War of Spring was their queen...

But then, what happened to the western island? Why is that gone, too?

Why do you think? 'Cause the northern faeries migrated to Britain, of course!

Mab made that island to keep her faeries safe. She took it all back into herself just before she invaded the British Isle!

That was the War of Summer, back in Fae Era 2000. Aesc the Savior and the first Tam Lin fought in it, too!

Man, you guys wouldn't believe how strong Queen Mab was!

After their failure in the War of Spring, the northern faeries coexisted with humans in Ireland for four thousand years.

The southern faeries only saw humans as tools for producing entertainment...

The northern faeries, though? They saw humans as partners, and together, they built a real civilization.

So even though the southern faeries had the numbers advantage, the northern faeries were still overwhelmingly stronger.

At first, Queen Mab wanted to wipe out the southern faeries as payback for what they did to the northern ones...

But eventually, Aesc managed to broker a peace between the two sides.

As part of the deal, the northern faeries were ceded the north part of Britain as their territory, and welcomed into the fold as the King Clan.

That's when the six clans we have now first came about. The rest, you guys already know.

Anyway, with that kind of bad blood between them, it's no wonder the faeries of the north and south still don't get along even in the Era of the High Queen right?

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Basically, all you have to remember is that there was a big battle between the clans in the last years of the Fae Era, right before the Era of the High Queen began.

What about the start of the Fae Era fourteen-thousand years ago? Do you know anything about that?

Nope. There's not a single record of Britain's genesis.

Aesc and the first Tam Lin tried their hardest to track one down, but all they learned was the story of the six faeries.

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So you already know about it. Yup, it was that mural.

I don't remember all that much about it either, but if you want, I'll tell you what I know as a bedtime story.

Not that there's all that much to it! At best, it only makes for a decent lullaby!

This spot looks perfect! Okay guys, that's enough walking for today! Let's go ahead and set up camp!

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I'll go gather brushwoodI mean, firewood.

I'll go write a report for the Border!

I'll go laze around for a while, since I'm just plain tired!

Then I'll put up a Bounded Field to ward off animals and insects!

Gosh, camping is so much fun no matter where you do it!

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Yup, I think now's a good time to call it a night. There don't seem to be any dangerous creatures here, so

Hold it! I still haven't told you guys about the six faeries, like I promised!

Oh, right! I'm sorry, Habbycat! Please, go right ahead!

Don't worry, I'm listening. It sounds pretty important, after all.

Okay, now which diary was it...? Aha, here it is. Habbycat's History, page 153.

"It became ocean at the end. There was ocean at the beginning."

"After the shooting star passed, the land all ran into rivers..."

...The end. So? Was that helpful, Altri

Wow... You're amazing, Habbycat... I can't believe...how much you know...

Is she...talking in her sleep...pretending to be awake?

What about the rest of you!? Muramasa!? Da Vinci!? Fujimaru!?

There's no such thing as dream school!

I knew it! You've gotta be patient if you're gonna make a good spouse one day!

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But seriously, that really was helpful.

It seems pretty clear now that the giant beast from the mural, Cernunnos, really did exist, along with the six clan ancestors.

Also, what do you think that "animal" riding on Cernunnos's shoulder was?

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I think so, too. Gods do like having mouthpieces. My guess is this human was Cernunnos's priest...

They were probably there to share their god's word with the world.

I see. So that'd mean when Britain was first created, there was a god, a priest, and faeries, huh.

But now, there's no god, no priest, and the only humans that exist were made by faeries...

There's gotta be something more to this story. Maybe that's what Morgan's hiding?

Seeing how any stories related to gods completely died out in the Era of the High Queen, you're probably right.

But that leaves us with yet another question.

If this story is true, it'd mean Cernunnos gave the southern faeries, the six clans' ancestors, this land...

...but then, who gave the northern faeries the land with woods on it in the Lake District?

Oh, I know that one.

This is a secret only the Mirror clan and those born before the Era of the High Queen began knew, but...

A certain being's corpse lay somewhere in the Lake District.

Even if the world had become totally blank, or an empty sea with no life...

...it remained all by itself without decomposing until it eventually transformed into a small forest:

Albion the Border, the last dragon.

The corpse it left behind when it failed to return to the paradise of Avalon became the northern faeries' homeland.

Thanks, Fujimaru... And I'm sorry again about falling asleep last night, Habbycat.

It's okay. I'm not mad anymore. Besides, I did say it'd make for a decent lullaby.

It sure did! I slept great! I haven't dreamt so peacefully in a long time!

So, just how amazing was this Albion thing, anyway?

In Proper Human History's archaeological circles, Albion is thought to be the name of Britain's prehistoric civilization.

In the magecraft world, it's also known as the dragon of the Age of Gods, and the last pure-blooded dragon.

So to put how amazing that is in more concrete terms... Hmm...

Well, while Servantsthat is, Heroic Spirits, could be said to be superbeings that are way beyond humanity both physically and spiritually, not all Servants are equal.

They're ranked based on the scale of their Spirit Origin.

The Heroic Spirits at the very top of the tierthe ones that even other Heroic Spirits would consider astonishingly powerfulare known as Grand Servants.

By that token, Albion would probably be considered a Grand dragon by other dragons.

I mean, if it was around when Earth was formed, that alone would mean it possessed 4.6 billion years worth of genetic information.

It's not a god that was modeled on human perception, or one discovered through faith. It's a primordial supernatural being.

That said, humanity's no slouch either.

In just a few hundred thousand years, we took the cumulation of all 4.6 billion years' worth of life on this earth and deciphered it, acquired it for ourselves, and are actively trying to develop it even further.

So while a single human might not compare to something as amazing as Albion, as a race, there's nothing out there that surpasses humanity.

We ARE the most advanced life-form on Earth, you know.

Well said! We might be enemies, but just now, I'm real glad we're on the same side.

Thanks. You might be our enemy, but I love how you give credit where it's due.

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And yet, they still think of themselves as enemies... Weird.

I know, right? Since ancient times, boys have and always will be boys, huh.

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Okay, that's enough of that! You're the faerie who's been following us since yesterday, aren't you?

That's me! Hi there! I'm Mirror the Nightcall!

I've been watching you guys since I picked up your lovely auras!

By the way, unlike the original, my gender isn't exactly a secret, okay?

A Nightcall? So you're a spirit who didn't disappear after dying!? But that's weird. I don't sense any hostility or malice or anything from you!

Nope. I don't have any regrets or grudges. I'm just too strong to disappear, that's all.

I've been stuck like this for years on end now. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure what to do about it, either.

G-gotcha. Sounds like a real problem. Would it help if we left some food on your grave or something?

You want to leave food on my grave? Even though there's nothing there? That's so funny!

But thanks! You guys are really nice faeries!

Man, you sure are a cheerful Nightcall, aren't you? Guess you didn't die 'cause you lost your purpose then.

How'd you bite it? Was it sudden? Did you have an unlucky accident or something?

It was more of an incident than an accident.

We were all massacred by the fire and wind six years ago, just like Ainsel predicted.

Ainsel died then, too. Now there's no one from the Mirror clan left.

At least, I'm pretty sure there isn't... Or was there? Hm, that's odd... Oh well, everyone forgets things sometimes!

Hm?

Anyway, you guys look like you're a lot of fun, so I have a little request I'm hoping you can help me with.

See, a few days ago, a weird faerie showed up and started living in a really important place we used to protect.

Do you think you might be able to chase her off for me?

Well, while we're usually willing to help faeriesI mean, Nightcalls in need...

We kind of have somewhere we need to be ourselves.

But, ah, just out of curiosity, what does this weird faerie look like?

Well, she's wearing a fancy upper-class faerie dress, and she even wears fancy glasses...

...and she has a whole bunch of subordinates, and a pink tail.

Hang on. That sounds like

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Koyanskaya's that Servant we saw with Murian, right?

Oberon seemed to think she was dangerous, but does that mean she's a problem Chaldea has to deal with too?

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There's no doubt that she's fundamentally incompatible with humanity as a whole, but we've also never faced her directly just yet.

She did try to kill us during the attack on Chaldea Base, but that was probably just her following the Foreign God's orders.

She's also made a habit of toying with the local populace in each Lostbelt, but I think that's just her way of enacting retribution.

She basically took the existing systems of exploitation in a given world, like the relationship between the ruling class and the lower class, and exaggerated them.

She may hate humanity, but she's never tried to obliterate it.

That said...

She's been making a point of collecting creatures from each Lostbelt which never existed in Proper Human history.

Also, that she is the immature form of a Beastan evil bent on destroying humanitywould put her pretty firmly in the evil camp.

If Koyanskaya were just acting as Murian's bodyguard, that's between them. We'd have no business interfering.

But, if she's adding to her "collection" here too, then we can't just sit back and do nothing.

It's really only a matter of time until she turns those creatures against us! Stopping her now is just a kind of self-defense, so we don't have to fight them off later!

I-I see. I think I understand why she's so dangerous now.

In which case, she must be after...

Mirror, are we headed to the bog where the dragon's remains are now?

We sure are! That weird faerie came trundling up to that pitch-black pool one day with an umbrella in tow, even though no one besides us should know about it!

Then she kicked out the mors, and the last I saw, she was doing something nasty to the dragon's corpse!

The dragon's corpse... She's after Albion! Dammit, has she no shame at all!?

That thing's gotta be like a national treasure! No tourist like her has a right to take it!

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Mooors! Mooors! There's a whole bunch of mors here!

Run for it, everyone! Forget about the dragon's corpse! Don't throw your lives away!

Don't worry, we'll be fine! Luckily, there aren't many pure faeries here, so we can handle a bunch of mors!

Oh, but make sure you stand back, Habetrot! We don't want to risk a worst-case scenario!

Don't be daft, you idiot! This is no time to be worrying about me! Their poison is super deadly!

Make sure your healers are ready to go, Fujimaru! If I have to, I'll go fight these things myself!

Something's not right here! Mors wouldn't gather on their own like this!

It's gotta be a trap Koyanskaya set! She must really not want anyone getting past here!

You mean she's already got mors under her thumb!? This Koyanskaya lady must be even more trouble than I thought!

In fact, now that I think about it...

I can't believe you knew what she was like and still greeted her in Gloucester like it was no big deal, Fujimaru!

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What else could he've done back then? Murian was there too, y'know! Now quit griping and get back to fighting!

If we can't end this, I'm gonna end up using my Noble Phantasm until I'm drained dry! Keep those enchantments coming, Altria!

I'll pull off three Tsumukari in a row if that's what it takes, even if I have to burn my own Spirit Origin for fuel!

Huh!? Does that mean Servants' Spirit Origins are flammable!?

Can't speak for everyone's, but mine is!

Look, don't worry about it! Like I said, just keep 'em coming! When you've been standing at the forge as long as I have, losing an eye or a leg stops seeming like such a big deal!

...

Tam Lin Lancelot!? What are you doing here!?

Never mind that! I am going to clear out these mors! Stand back, Child of Prophecy! You're only getting in my way!

(No way! That's the Child of Prophecy!? Now that I'm a Nightcall, I couldn't tell it was her...)

(But now that I'm getting a better look at her, I can sense it, too! Yay! She finally made it back to the entrance to paradise!)

(This is great. What a relief. Now all of our purposes have finally been fulfilled.)

(Hello, Britain's Bell of Ending. So you're the one with the highest of callings... The second Avalon le Fae!)

...I see none of you were hurt or killed. Not that it is any of my concern.

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...You didn't come here to save us, did you?

...No. I suppose I could have just left you to your own devices...

But this place is special to me, so I didn't want mors ruining it. That's all.

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Yes, I will. But not now. We all know there is going to be a war eventually.

When there is, we Tam Lin will lead the charge against the Child of Prophecy and the foreign mage.

There's no need to rush things.

When the time comes, I will make your deaths so excruciating that your souls will flee your bodies from the pain alone.

...So cruel and sadistic. You're pretty ugly on the inside for a faerie said to be the most beautiful in Britain, aren't you?

Me? The most beautiful?

That's very kind of you to say, but no, I'm not the most beautiful faerie in Britain.

Well, maybe if you value function over form. But true beauty has nothing to do with combat ability.

Why am I bothering to talk about this. Ugh, I really need to learn what is and isn't appropriate for faeries one of these days...

Anyway, I take it you're all here to ring the Bell of Pilgrimage?

If you are, then I'd just turn around and leave if I were you. There's nothing like that here anymore.

Anything that used to be here has long since been burned to Aaaaaaaaah!

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Yikes, you scared me. Did you see a ghost or something?

Yes! I'm looking at one!!! Have you guys really not noticed it until just now!?

That's a Nightcall!

And, if it's here...it must be from the Mirror clan...

...I see. So that's what was calling to me...

Huh? No, no, you've got it all wrong. We don't begrudge anyone anything!

We already did everything we had to do. We have nothing left to tell you.

More importantly, are you sure you don't want to hurry to the bog?

Otherwise, you might be too late to stop that outsider from taking your homeland for herself.

!

Come on! Lancelot or no Lancelot, we can't let Koyanskaya get away with this, right!?

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What are these hideous bindings doing here!?

How dare you wade into our lake with your dirty feet!?

Dirty feet? Of all the nerve!

I'll have you know I'm very fond of this dress Lady Murian gave me...

So I've been toiling away at this excavation from the air, as you can see.

Unfortunately, these mors I just acquired have been unable to either transport or destroy it...

So I was nearly on the verge of writing the whole thing off as a loss.

But luckily, even though these bones are worthless junk to me now, it seems mistreating them a little was the right choice.

Now, I'll get my hands on the Tam Lin I've been waiting and hoping for.

This aura... You must be an immature Beast!

Chaldea!? What are you all doing here!?

Of course I do. Why do YOU know about them? ...Oh. I see. Proper Human History must be having a tougher time than I thought.

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(Those bones must be what's left of Albion's corpse! Whatever Koyanskaya wants with them, we can't let her get it!)

Come on, Fujimaru! We need to help Lancelot!

I don't know what Koyanskaya's after, but whatever it is, it can't be good!

This time, we're gonna cut off her tail and send her packing!

What was that? How dreadfully crude. Not all of us world-class beauties ruin nations, you know.

Why, if anything, I'm doing humanity a favor. I'd say what I'm doing here is philanthropy!

But, I suppose trying to get you all to see reason is a fool's errand, since you can't even see what a blight this thing actually is.

Ugh. All that hard work I put in to acquire this fine specimen of a weapon, and you've all ruined it.

You know, I think this may be a fine occasion to finally get rid of you all☆

Stand back, everyone! Something huge is coming out of the bog!

Is that...a dragon!? Could it be Albion itsel

No! What are you? Blind? It's just another mors!

You're all brawn and no brains, aren't you!? You'll never be a match for Morgan like that!

Hey, you can't blame Altria for being confused. These magical energy levels are insane!

They're as high as the calamity in Norwich, if not higher!

You're right! I didn't want to believe it, but this water is all made up of the same stuff as mors!

It's literally dripping with animosity towards faeries! We're basically surrounded by mors now! There's no escape!

That's right. This is where Albion's dead flesh rotted away, becoming the most foul substance in all of Britain.

And that's not all. This is also where the northern faeries were massacred in the War of Spring!

For eight thousand years, their hatred has festered away in this natural cauldron.

Albion itself may be no more than a pile of bones now...

...but it's no trouble to collect all the magical elements that were left here and make them into what they used to be.

What are you saying!? Are you planning to steal Albion's corpse since it perished all alone in the sea of nothingness!?

Of course not. My clients wouldn't be interested in acquiring a zombie.

No, this is strictly a onetime deal. I'll return it to its old, decayed flesh once all of Chaldea's dead.

Besides, you're the thing I'm really after. Haven't I already mentioned that?

You see, Lord Beryl gave me a juicy, super secret bit of info...

You're a living Albion, so I'm going to take you away from here and keep you aaall to myself.

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Now, as much as I hate to cut short a chat about my fabulous products, I'm afraid I must.

Good day, Chaldeans. Thank you so much for your patronage these last several months.

Now, allow me to escort you down to the depths of hell, where you can wait for Britain's destruction.

(This is way worse than it was in Norwich!)

(It's suicide to fight a mors of this scale without Mash's protection!)

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The hell it is! Don't be fooled! This thing's all bark and no bite!

Sure, this bog's curse is powerful, but it's not a real calamity!

That weird lady up there's just giving it temporary form! You guys can take this thing easily!

Now come on and kick its butt, Fujimaru! This is no time to be hanging out here!

Mash is waiting for you to come get her in Orkney!

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...! (Damn, just when I thought I'd broken their spirits! If only that odd little faerie hadn't stuck her nose in!)

...Fine. I'll help you all here.

Just this once, I'm going to disable the name and Gift Her Majesty bestowed on me.

Because if that really is Albion's animated flesh, then I'm the only one who can burn it away.

Hear me! I am not the knight known as Lancelot!

My True Name is Mélusine! Mélusine of the dark bog!

I am the descendent of Albion, given my name by the most beautiful being alive!

Beast!

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Yup, that's Lancelot's Arondight. She just destroyed Koyanskaya's Spirit Core, no question.

...

She's gone! What happened, LanI mean, Mélusine!? I thought you'd killed her!

...Lancelot. In this form, I am Tam Lin Lancelot.

I will tell you nothing unless you call me by that name...not that there is anything I want to tell you in any case.

Okay, Lancelot. We won't mention that other name again.

But it looks like you're just as strong even without your Gifted name.

In fact, you might even be weaker as Lancelot. So if you want to go by that name, you won't hear us complain.

Exactly. Thank you for being so understanding.

U-uh, no problem. I'm flattered you think so.

But anyway, what happened with Koyanskaya? Should we assume she got away?

...Well... ...Maybe.

I should have gone for her head, not her heart.

That Beast was still weak since she wasn't fully grown, but she had vitality to spare.

If I had to guess...I'd say she has several lives, though she should at least be incapacitated for a few days.

You said it. She's probably writhing in pain trying to patch up the hole in her torso right about now. Serves her right.

Oh, good. I knew that, of course, but I'm glad to see you do too.

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This is great! Now old Lord Skelly will stick around for a long time yet!

Without Lord Skelly, the lake would've filled back in with regular ocean.

Then the border between the surface and the spirit cavern would fall apart, and Lady Ainsel would be sad.

Lord Skelly...? Is that really what the Mirror clan called Albion?

Yup! It's easy to tell who you mean that way, right?

Anyway, why don't we go back? The longer you stay here, the worse you're gonna feel.

I'm getting that, yeah. This poison is strong enough to affect Spirit Origins. I don't even want to think about the genetic effects it could have on living creatures.

Besides, while I'd love to investigate Albion's corpse further, we have something else that needs doing right now.

You need to ask? I've helped you already, so it's only right that I stick around a little longer.

So you want to keep an eye on us to be sure we don't mess with Albion's bones.

I guess that is a more direct way of putting it. Thanks for clearing that up.

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...

...

...

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What? What is it? Stare all you want; you're not going to find a weakness.

It's not that. I was just wondering what you being a "living Albion" means.

Also, I have to say, Mélusine is a lovely name.

(I can't believe she just blurted that out! Even Habetrot knew better than to bring it up!)

...That has nothing to do with you. And it's not worth talking abou

Lancelot is Albion's left claw.

When the planet turned into the sea of nothingness, Albion, who didn't make it back to paradise, exhausted their strength and died when they fell from the sky.

But even though their coretheir hearthad stopped, their flesh lived on. Right before their body completely fell apart, they cut off their left claw.

That left claw was Mélusine's before this new life.

It was here in this lake for a looong time, not even sure if it was alive or dead.

...

Bwa? I didn't see anything like that the last time I was here.

...I'm sure you didn't. Before I looked like this, I was just a filthy clump of flesh.

I had no muscles. No bones. No cilia. No hair. No joy. No fun. No sadness. No suffering.

I didn't even know I was a dragon, or what I would have liked to be.

I may have been alive, but I wasn't truly living. I was just a...thing wriggling in the darkness of the bog.

But then, one day...

Please, stop this, Lady Aurora! You're going to dirty yourself!

Any creature living in a bog like this must be even filthier than the mors!

Why would you say something like that? Just look at how much it's struggling to reach the light.

It's okay. This lake is quite shallow. I'm sure even I can help it.

Eeek! What IS that thing!? It looks like rotten fruit!

Please, get away from it, Lady Aurora! You'll ruin your dress!

Oh my... You poor thing. You must be so cold. You're not a water faerie, are you?

Hehe. Hello there, darling one. Or, good morning, I think. Yes, that's better.

My name is Aurora. What's yours?

Now that we're friends, could I offer you some tea? Oh, only if you like tea, of course.

...I met someone who had no reservations about cradling a creature like me in her arms.

It was the first time I'd seen something beautiful. That was when I gained this form.

I was no more than a bunch of cells, but once I saw her, I knew I wanted to be just like her. That was the first thing I ever wanted.

And now, I have this body, along with the name she gave me: Mélusine.

So you didn't have muscles, or bones, or even cilia to transport cells... You must have been something like an amoeba then.

But then, once you saw a model for a new way to be, you transformed into a faerie?

Yes, that's right. Amazing, isn't it? It truly was a miracle.

Nobody else would ever have thought to go into that dark, muddy bog, let alone cradle me like that.

That's why my life belongs to her. My whole reason for being is making her wishes come true.

But, she had duties she couldn't neglect, so we couldn't be together forever.

A hundred years ago, the Earth, Wind, King, and Fang clans were so afraid of the calamity that they began fighting amongst themselves again.

So at High Queen Morgan's suggestion, I became Tam Lin Lancelot to bring the fighting to an end.

So that's why you're the only Tam Lin who doesn't have her own army or domain.

TristanBaobhan Sith hates faeries. GawainBarghest loves faeries. Humans, too.

What about you, Lancelot? How do you feel about them?

Did you just start caring for Percival on a whim?

...No, I didn't. I love Percival deeply.

Love!?

...I watched over him for ten years, ever since he was a little boy.

Every time he grew bigger or stronger, my heart felt like it would burst with joy, uncertainty, loneliness, and gratitude.

...I wasn't the best mentor, sister, or even friend...

I've dreamed of a future where Percival could live happily, like the humans in Proper Human History, so many times, though.

But not only did he decline High Queen Morgan's invitation, he went and formed that silly Round Table Army...

I don't know how he turned out to be such a delinquent. I certainly didn't raise him that way.

？！

...I can't do that.

I have to be a Tam Lin. That's why I obey High Queen Morgan.

Whether the Child of Prophecy's cause is just or not doesn't matter. I made a deal with Her Majesty. I had my reasons, and I'm going to honor the deal.

All right, this should be far enough. Besides, it's time I returned to Camelot.

I'll see you later. On the battlefield. As enemies.

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...He chose this path for himself. I have to respect that.

But don't tell him you talked to me. It'll only be painful for him.

Byyye! Good luck in the battle at Camelooot!

...

Welp, there she goes. She left as quickly as she came, just like the last time.

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It's okay! It's all in the past now. I'm not upset!

Everyone in the Mirror clan can see the future. We all know when we're going to die, and it's hard to tell present from future.

We feel like we're dead from the moment we're born.

So we have no regrets, no desire for revenge, or anything like that. Dying just hurt, that's all.

I do feel bad for Ainsel, though.

She was our leaderour princessso she was always worried about the whole clan's future.

She put so much pressure on herself...always worried about how to find a way for us all to survive. She put all that on herself.

She kept apologizing to the whole clan, right up to the moment we all died.

...The truth is, she's the one who was supposed to become a Nightcall.

But I didn't want her to keep having to apologize to us even after we all died, so I volunteered to be the messenger instead☆

Messenger? So, you have a message for the Child of Prophecy?

Yup!

There's no Bell of Pilgrimage in this city. Only the clan heads have those.

And since Ainsel's was destroyed along with her, I'm afraid you'll have to find a replacement somewhere else.

Also, um, this is kind of hard to say, but...

It's okay, Fujimaru. Let's just hear what she has to say.

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The last thing Ainsel had to say was:

"The Child of Prophecy will come here twice."

"The first time will be to live. The second time will be to die."

...I see. Thank you, Mirror. I'll remember that. I promise.

Take care of yourself, okay?

Hehe. I'm glad you turned out to be such a kind Child of Prophecy!

Make sure you don't hold anything back or second-guess yourself! Just go out there and save Britain! Save the rest of us faeries!

Yeow! Ow ow ow ow!

I can't believe this! How could she have crushed my heart THROUGH the sixth tail clone I sent out!?

Ugh, what a disaster. All that work I did to raise one of my tails, gone just like that...

The plan was to send one of my nine Lost Tails to each Lostbelt so they could all learn and gain unique experiences...

...and once all nine tails had matured, I was going to become a Beast that would have easily surpassed that smarmy fox maiden...

But now the whole thing's ruined.

Oh well! Guess I'll just have to give up then!

Really, now that I think about it, I couldn't have actually grown all nine tails anyway, since there are only seven Lostbelts☆

Fou, fooou!

All right, let's try to look at the bright side of this. Do I cut my losses and move on, or do I stay put?

Albion's body was just a pile of bones, and since it doesn't have any fur, there's no way for me control it.

And Lady Mélusine is no longer a Beast, but a faerie akin to a Heroic Spirit. It's too late for me to acquire her, either.

It'd be a pretty big loss if I pulled out of Britain now, but I don't see much reason to stay at this point.

Well, at least I found some good reference material for the private casino resort and private primate zoo I plan to build one day.

I do feel bad about leaving Lady Murian in the lurch, but

Leaving so soon? So you are every bit as heartless as you seem.

Oh my, look what the moth dragged in.

Well, if it isn't the so-called Faerie King who asked me to wipe out Woodwose's reinforcements without Lord Fujimaru finding out...

...in exchange for telling me where I could find Albion.

Of course, you didn't say at the time that the information you were peddling was worthless.

You knew Albion was no good to me when you made that deal, didn't you?

Of course I did. Why would I go out of my way to help one of Chaldea's enemies?

Besides, I only told you where you could find Albion's grave. You getting what you want from it was never part of the deal.

Now would you cut the sickening slander before I get forcibly reacquainted with my breakfast?

...Oh, very well. It may have been no more than a rotted corpse, but it was still the last pure-blooded dragon.

Even if I couldn't make it my kin, I was still able to extract some valuable information from its bone structure.

It should at least provide a good base structure for the Grand Tamamo Shrine, the AAA (Advanced Avenging Armament) currently under construction at NFF Services' headquarters.

Now then, if you'll excuse me, Prince Devious, I must be going. I do hope you enjoy playing guide to Chalde

You're looking for a weapon that can destroy the world, right?

...I really didn't want to tell you this, but right now, we need all the help we can get, even from a Beast.

I have an idea of where you can find an even stronger product that's right up your alley.

So if I were you, I wouldn't cut my losses in Britain just yet.