At the peak of a pure white tower in Avalon, sat a handsome man in his grand wizard's robe. His eyes, possessing absolute vision, now stared sharply out the window.
"This is making less and less sense... What exactly is happening?" he muttered in frustration. "How can there be an absolute blind spot in that world?! I can clearly see the people around him with great ease, but only that person's existence is completely invisible to me. Who is he really?"
The man—Merlin the Magus of Flowers—gripped his magic staff tightly.
"Then, what is the meaning of this? Why did that damn woman appear there?!" Merlin grumbled with a very annoyed expression. "Not only her, but that old troll also tagged along! What in the world is actually happening over there?!"
Merlin hung his head weakly for a moment, before finally throwing his head back and wailing at the ceiling.
"Even though I wanted to join in the fun there too!" he cried out miserably.
After venting his childish annoyance, he took a deep breath and began to calm himself down again. Suddenly, he caught a movement.
"Oh, it seems the 'devil' has returned," Merlin muttered while straightening his robe.
Accompanied by a pillar of light, Lady Avalon finally reappeared inside her tower.
"Phew... that exhausting meeting is finally over," she sighed in relief.
The half-Succubus woman took graceful steps toward her chair and dropped herself onto it.
"It seems my sweet Honey is developing very rapidly. He's becoming more adept at controlling his magic and his Fae instincts," Lady Avalon muttered, smiling to herself.
Just as she was about to lean her back to relax, her body suddenly stiffened. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Her magic radar picked up an existential anomaly that suddenly appeared near her tower.
"W-wait a minute, this is impossible!"
Lady Avalon hurriedly jumped from her chair and ran to the window, staring at the sacred expanse of Avalon below.
Her eyes narrowed sharply.
"You! How in the world did you sneak in here, you old geezer of a troll?!" she shouted furiously.
Far below, Zelretch's figure was just standing casually, waving his hand at her innocently.
On the other side, from his own tower, the male version of Merlin also noticed the extraordinary anomaly.
"What?!" Merlin shrieked in surprise, his hand reflexively gripping his magic staff tightly.
Through his Clairvoyance, he saw Lady Avalon shoot out of her tower like a comet and dive toward Zelretch.
Merlin's shock was slowly replaced by a smile full of interest.
"My, my... it looks like this will be a very entertaining show," Merlin chuckled, preparing himself to watch the drama.
Swoosh!
Lady Avalon landed roughly right in front of Zelretch. The residual wind from her landing blew so hard that it sent the old wizard's robe fluttering.
"You... how did you breach this place's defenses?!" Lady Avalon hissed coldly, pointing the tip of her magic staff right at Zelretch's face without hesitation.
From afar, Merlin, who was observing the scene, tilted his head in wonder.
"Eh? Why does that woman look so angry? Did the old man do something crossing the line?" he muttered curiously.
Given such a murderous glare, Zelretch didn't flinch at all.
"Take it easy, Lady Avalon. I don't have any funny business in mind here," he chuckled casually.
Suddenly, Zelretch turned his head and waved his hand at the empty space in the air—right at Merlin's invisible gaze.
"Hello over there, the male version of Merlin! How are you doing today? By the way, are you interested in cosplaying as a magical girl?" Zelretch offered with his mischievous grin.
Inside his tower, Merlin's forehead twitched in annoyance.
"Only in your wildest dreams, Old Man," he grumbled cynically.
"Hey, don't try to change the subject! Explain to me how you could appear here?!" Lady Avalon pressed sharply.
"Supposedly, it's almost impossible to use your Second Magic to breach this territory!"
"'Almost'," Zelretch repeated, emphasizing the word.
"That doesn't mean it's completely impossible, right? I just needed to try a little harder to pierce through the boundary of this world. Even though this place is not a parallel world domain under the supervision of you two, I can still come here."
"Well... though I must admit, the process consumed a massive amount of energy. It really was quite a pain," the old man explained, chuckling innocently.
From afar, Merlin's forehead twitched in annoyance.
"This old man is truly very annoying," he grumbled.
"Alright, consider that an answer to my first question," Lady Avalon sighed, lowering her staff slightly.
"Now, tell me what your main purpose for coming here is. Considering the energy you wasted, it's impossible that you came to meet me just for small talk, right?"
Zelretch's laughter faded instantly. His facial expression suddenly turned very serious and cold.
"Lady Avalon... what exactly are you trying to plan?" he asked.
"Hmm?" Inside his tower, Merlin's eyebrows knitted together. He was confused to see the drastic change in Zelretch's atmosphere which suddenly felt oppressive.
"What do you mean by saying that?" Lady Avalon replied, trying to maintain her flat expression.
"Don't play dumb in front of me. I know very well that you must be planning something involving Yuuto, right?" Zelretch accused bluntly.
"Yuuto...?" Merlin parroted. That completely unfamiliar name successfully piqued his utmost curiosity.
Hearing the accusation, Lady Avalon just shrugged with an innocent smile.
"My, you're accusing me of nonsense. I'm not planning anything at all involving my husband."
"Don't spout nonsense. That is absolutely impossible!" Zelretch cut in firmly. His eyes narrowed sharply.
"You must be planning something huge regarding that young man. There's no way you would go through the trouble of swearing a vow and marrying him in this land of Avalon purely on the basis of 'love', right? I know exactly what kind of monster existence you truly are!"
Inside his tower, Merlin, who had been busy enjoying the show, jolted violently.
"Hah?! What?! Someone dared to marry her?! Marry a Beast candidate?! And it happened in Avalon?! When?! Why couldn't I see it at all?!" Merlin shrieked, trembling from the shock of learning such top-secret information.
"Damn it, just how many interesting things have I missed—"
Merlin's babbling suddenly stopped.
The air around him suddenly felt heavy and suffocating.
"What's happening?" he muttered in confusion.
Through his Clairvoyance eyes, he saw Lady Avalon wearing an expression she very rarely showed.
The woman's smile was still etched on her face, but the aura she emitted was completely different.
"This can't be possible, right... Is she genuinely angry?"
Right at the epicenter of that pressure, Zelretch, who stood in front of her, felt the magical warmth usually emitted by Lady Avalon suddenly vanish without a trace.
The illusory flowers around them instantly withered and turned into ash.
The air around him turned so heavy that it compressed his lungs.
"Are you... angry?" Zelretch muttered, as if still finding it hard to believe what he was seeing.
Slowly, Lady Avalon's lips parted, releasing an incredibly cold voice devoid of even a speck of emotion.
"You talk too much, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. Do not forget whose territory you are stepping on right now."
"You might be the strongest existence in the outside world, but in this land of Avalon... I am the host," she hissed while striking the tip of her magic staff against the ground.
For a moment, the entire dimension of Avalon seemed to tremble in response to her anger.
"I might not be able to kill an entity like you here, but believe me, I am still more than capable of inflicting wounds on you that will never heal."
Zelretch could feel the dense, lethal rage behind the half-Succubus woman's words.
The old man cursed inwardly; he knew full well that even if he exerted all his remaining energy, it would be absolutely impossible to subjugate Lady Avalon in her own territory without the intent to kill each other.
With the full support of the Avalon utopia, the woman was absolutely invincible.
Moreover, Zelretch himself was currently in a state of exhaustion from forcing his way into this dimension.
Realizing the calculation of his defeat, Zelretch slowly raised both his hands into the air.
"Hahaha... alright, alright. I surrender. I promise I won't question your personal plans anymore," Zelretch said, trying to lighten the mood.
Right after those words of surrender were spoken, the suffocating air instantly became light again, and the illusory flowers bloomed beautifully once more as if nothing had ever happened.
"See, isn't that much better," Lady Avalon hummed, instantly returning to her relaxed nature.
"So, what other business do you have? If you're done, you better leave here quickly. I don't want to be too close to you," she shooed him away, waving her hand with a dismissive gesture toward the old wizard.
In the distant tower, Merlin shook his head in amazement.
"Wow... this is truly very hard to believe. An existence as wild as hers that is impossible to tame can actually fall in love?" he muttered in amusement.
On the grounds of Avalon, Zelretch's expression remained serious.
"There is still one more crucial thing I need to discuss with you."
"What is it?" asked Lady Avalon, raising one of her eyebrows.
"What is actually happening to the Root? Why did that existence manage to possess 'that'?" Zelretch said in a low tone.
Merlin, who had been resting his chin on one hand, instantly jolted.
His eyebrows knit together. He reflexively leaned his face forward and sharpened his Eyes.
"Root?"
"Oh? So you noticed it too? Just as expected, exactly what one would anticipate from the user of the Second Magic," Lady Avalon praised with a mysterious smile.
"It would feel incredibly foolish if I didn't notice an anomaly of that magnitude," Zelretch snorted.
"Even though that existence has been trying very hard to hide it, I started to be able to feel it recently. And that absolute resonance felt increasingly stronger and more real... exactly when I met that young man named Yuuto."
Inside his tower, Merlin gripped the edge of his window tightly while leaning his body forward.
His thirst for knowledge churned violently.
"That name Yuuto is mentioned again... Who exactly is that young man?" he muttered, staring intently at their conversation.
"Hehe~ about that..."
Lady Avalon seemed to weigh her thoughts for a moment before a mysterious smile bloomed on her lips.
"Alright. Since you are now officially a part of the group, I will explain everything to you. But, before that..."
Lady Avalon looked up, staring into the empty air, then waved her hand cheerfully.
"Hello, Big Brother! We'll end the free show right here, okay! Please subscribe to the premium service if you still want to watch the continuation of this more interesting program!"
Tap!
Lady Avalon struck the tip of her magic staff against the ground.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, a giant magical energy dome formed and enclosed the two of them, cutting off all forms of surveillance access from the outside world.
Inside his tower, Merlin stood frozen.
His omniscient vision suddenly went pitch black.
"Hey, hold on a minute! What is this?! How could she block my Clairvoyance vision?!" Merlin shrieked hysterically.
"Where did that kid get an authority-level ability like this?! This is truly impossible! Wahhh! Hey, at least don't leave me alone with a mountain of mysteries! What exactly happened to the Root, and who on earth is that young man named Yuuto?!"
Merlin whined in despair.
"My sweet little sister, I know you must still be able to hear me from there, right? Do you really have the heart to let your beloved older brother suffer from dying of curiosity like this?" Merlin coaxed, trying to call out to Lady Avalon through the barrier dome.
Flash!
Suddenly, a magical piece of paper floated slowly and appeared right in front of his face.
Merlin immediately snatched it and read the writing on the paper.
At the very top it was written: 'For my dearest Big Brother, from your sweetest Little Sister in the entire universe.'
Then, right beneath that sentence, there was an illustration showing Lady Avalon smiling mockingly while raising her middle finger toward the reader.
And at the very bottom of the paper, there was a highly provoking closing sentence:
'Go suffer over there.'
Reading the message, Merlin's jaw clenched.
His fingers gripping the magic staff instantly tightened until his knuckles turned white, while his eyebrows furrowed, holding back the annoyance that had peaked in his head.
"MERLIN!!!" he screamed as loudly as possible, yelling out his true name and his younger sister's name in utter frustration until his voice echoed to every corner of Avalon.