Chapter 29: Fields of Avalon

Everyone else was surprised, some had their jaws dropped as they could not believe that the very person before their eyes was actually Merlin.

"You're actually the real Merlin? It's truly an honor!" The Bookkeeper said, walking forward to him, shaking his hand.

"The pleasure is mine...I didn't know I had such a fanbase..." Merlin chuckled.

"I'm surprised that you helped us without knowing who we are..." Creo said, his eyes lit up.

"Oh I saved you because I know who you guys are...I know you guys have potential so I decided to save you..." Merlin sighed, stretching his arms.

"And as I've observed you guys are not yet ready to beat Victor Alchemus which is where I come in..." Merlin said, pointing at himself.

"I brought you here at my island...Avalon to train and strive to become better than that sorcerer, so what do you say...King of Elderith?" Merlin said, approaching Creo with a soft smile.

"I'll gladly take you up with that offer..." Creo said, shaking his hand.

"Amazing...well you guys should start resting for now...tomorrow is where we begin our training..." Merlin giggled, as he walked down the path.

Creo and the others got back up on their feet and decided to follow Merlin since he is their only guide in the island.

"Hahaha...ok I guess it's fair I treat you with hospitality...do you see a tower at this island?" Merlin said, placing his hand on Creo's shoulder.

"Indeed...I do see one up ahead..." Creo replied.

"Well that's where I live and you guys can spend the night there..." Merlin smiled.

In front of them was a giant pristine tower, it is filled with sparkling light, it slightly elevated from the ground, with the door opening before their eyes.

They notice a group of people approaching them and all of them looked exactly like Merlin which made them seem confused.

"Relax, these are just my clones and there's nothing to worry about, they're just here to accompany you, my guests of honor into my tower...so don't be shy..." Merlin chuckled as he went inside.

As they entered inside of the tower, the tower was illuminated by a crystal light, they saw lots of bookshelves decorated amongst the walls.

The Bookkeeper's eyes were sparkling and his jaw dropped, seeing how marvelous his book collection was. "I am truly captivated by how much you have knowledge you have stored inside this tower of yours..."

"As much as I appreciate your compliments, it is time we must focus on our main objective..." Merlin sighed, reaching the top of the tower.

"So since you guys are from a far away kingdom, with some of you have little to no experience to sorcery at all..." Merlin said, sitting down on a chair.

"Well...I'll give you this... I'll be training all of you for...maybe a month..." Merlin thought, he was uncertain about how much time he has to train them.

"That way you guys can have enough time to prepare yourselves in your eventual battle in order to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone..." Merlin continued.

"We're willing to keep up with the trials that you will give us..." Creo said affirmatively.

"Well...rest for now...my clones will escort you to your rooms..." Merlin said with a reassuring tone.

Every single one of them checked out their rooms, their eyes widened at how each of their rooms look luxurious and spotless it was.

"I feel like I'm in a dream right now...these rooms feel like something out of a fantasy..." Athena's eyes lit up, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"I really appreciate the hospitality and the fact you are so considerate towards us, Mr. Merlin..." Creo smiled softly.

"Please, I'm just doing what a host would do to their humble visitors...so relax now, you've come a long way..." Merlin said, walking away to give them space.

Creo headed to his room, he took off his coat and put aside his sword, and took off his gauntlets and placed them down on the table.

He lies down on the bed and tries to get some sleep.

As he was sleeping, he kept tossing and turning around the bed and he suddenly had a nightmare.

*In the dream*

The setting is at Victor Alchemus castle with Zion Kishima, Crimson Thorn, Zino and Athena Ardenvain lying down on the ground along with some other sorcerers where Creo Creatorius and Victor Alchemus are the only ones left standing.

"Why...why are you doing this..." Creo panted, he had received a fatal injury from Victor Alchemus.

"What is the whole point of doing this?!" Creo exclaimed in agony.

Victor laughed like a maniac, his laugh echoing throughout the castle.

"Why do you ask? Well it's simple..." Victor giggled.

"It's all about vengeance..." Victor's eyes lit up as he used the Philosopher Stone to charge up his power.

"And you...you're just another obstacle, blocking me away from achieving my goal!" Victor exclaimed.

The Philosopher's Stone lit up as he pulled Creo closer, grabbing his neck tightly.

"Now...I suppose it's time for you to meet your end..." Victor Alchemus said, strangling Creo, snapping his neck.

Creo eventually wakes up from the nightmare, he was sweating by how realistic the nightmare was as he held his neck.

"I should probably get some air..." Creo sighed, getting up from his bed and headed to the balcony.

As he was heading out of his room, he saw Athena at the balcony staring at the stars, eventually turning around to see him.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" Creo asked, leaning by the wall.

"Nothing much, I couldn't sleep so I decided to take a breather and found myself staring at these beautiful stars that fill up the dark night sky..." Athena said softly, her eyes shining bright.

"But I'm rather curious...what is my king doing up late at night?" Athena said, moving closer to him.

Creo was hesitant to reply, he didn't want to add some trouble.

Athena noticed the look on Creo's face and put her hand on his face.

"Hey, you look rather pale...is there something bothering you? You can tell me anything...I'm your close friend, aren't I?" Athena said with a warm smile.

"I guess we can talk about it..." Creo sighed.

"Then let's go..." Athena said, squeezing her hand on his hand and leading him to her room.

She proceeded to close the door and sits down on the bed, gesturing him to come over.

Creo sits next to her, unaware what to do next.

Athena decides to take the opportunity and pulls him down on her lap, catching Creo off guard.

"Uhm what are you doing?" Creo looked at her with a surprised reaction.

"Well...I figured you might feel comfortable a little..." Athena said embarrassingly, looking away from him.

"I mean...I wouldn't mind..." Creo said, turning to face her.

She gently brushed his hair as she waited to hear what he had to say.

"So basically I had a nightmare earlier..." Creo sighed.

Athena was surprised but didn't reply yet, she decided to let him continue before giving an answer.

"We were at the castle of Victor Alchemus...everyone else was defeated...it was only between me and Alchemus, I was gravely injured and I asked him why he was doing this..." Creo sighed.

"And then, what did he have to say?" Athena asked, leaning closer.

"He said...it was all about vengeance...and that we're obstacles in his path from reaching his true goal...he then grabbed my neck and then strangled me...which leads me to here with our conversation..." Creo said, closing his eyes.

"I see...well, just remember that you have your allies here to protect you, you have me and you're more powerful than you think you are..." Athena smiled.

"Thank you...you're such a good companion..." Creo said.

"I know I am...just rest, cause tomorrow, Mr. Merlin is going to train us..." Athena sighed, lying down on the bed.

"And if anything is bothering you, I'm right here next to you, willing to comfort you..." Athena said, gently brushing his hair.

"You're right, good night Athena..." Creo sighed and closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep.

"Good night Creo, I'll be right here when you wake up..." Athena sighed, closing her eyes, scooting closer to him.

*The next day*

The sun was up, shining bright, Athena had woken up, rubbing her eyes, she noticed that she was earlier than Creo.

"He's kinda cute and peaceful when he's sleeping like that..." Athena said, gently brushing his hair, admiring him from up close.

Creo turned around in his sleep which surprises Athena.

"He can be such a handful..." Athena chuckled.

Creo started to open his eyes a little, catching Athena's attention.

"Morning Creo..." Athena said, her voice was soft and comforting like an angel.

"Good morning, how did you sleep?" Creo said as he got up.

"I slept pretty fine...what about you?" Athena asked him.

"I slept pretty well myself, I didn't had any nightmares this time..." Creo chuckled, holding a bit of his hair.

"That's good to hear." Athena smiled, slowly getting up from the bed.

"Well what are we waiting for, let's get ready shall we?" Athena said teasingly.

Creo chuckled and got up from the bed and exited the room with Athena.

Outside of their room was the Bookkeeper who was reading one of his book of spells, surprised to see Athena and Creo exiting from the same room.

"Well good morning, Your Majesty and Miss Athena...it seems like both of you had a good night together..." The Bookkeeper said teasingly.

"You misunderstand it...me and His Majesty only spent a night together for-" Athena said, before getting interrupted by Creo.

"It's because I couldn't sleep well...I had a nightmare and I asked Athena to watch me over..." Creo sighed.

"Oh...I see..." The Bookkeeper said, looking away, feeling a little embarrassed.

"It's just a simple misunderstanding...we understand..." Creo sighed.

"Let's go, everyone is waiting for you two so Merlin can begin the practice training." The Bookkeeper sighed.

"Very well..." Creo and Athena said excitingly, following the Bookkeeper.

The three of them went down the stairs and exited the tower and headed outside.

They proceeded to walk towards a pink-flowered field, with the flowers blooming, trees with pink leaves and containing mystical fruits and everything around it made it feel peaceful to visit.

"These flowers look beautiful..." Athena said, picking up one of the flowers.

"Well...you were always the type to get some flowers during an adventure..." Creo chuckled.

"S-shut up!" Athena said, playfully nudging him.

They continued walking around the field and they eventually found Merlin along with the others.

"Hey there! We've been getting worried you guys wouldn't show up..." Zion said.

"Don't think we wouldn't back down on a training session..." Athena sighed, falling in line with the others.

"Damn right..." Creo said, following on suite.

"Well now that everyone is here...who wants to volunteer to face my magic?" Merlin chuckled.

Creo raised his hand, his eyes lit up with excitement, feeling that he will learn a lot from Merlin's training.

"You're really excited for this, aren't you King of Elderith?" Merlin chuckled, seeing the excitement in Creo's eyes.

"Well I'm not backing out on a challenge..." Creo said enthusiastically.

"Very well, let's get things started, shall we?" Merlin said, raising his staff.

With a wave from his staff, Merlin brought forth a magical, bright white sphere and out came forth, a giant cloud of smoke, with a mysterious presence hiding behind the thick air, making its way out, in front stood a tall, shiny armored knight, equipped with its sharp blade.

"Well then, test your might against this summon I've brought before you..." Merlin said, sitting down on a rock.

The knight marched forward, gripping its blade tightly, charging towards Creo and swung its blade.

Creo dodged the attack with quick succession and drew his blade to block the strike.

"Not bad...King of Elderith..." Merlin chuckled, a slight delight in his face.

"But the fight is far from over..." Merlin said sarcastically.

The knight, feeling frustrated, attempted to disarm Creo's blade, using all of its might.

Creo was pulled back a little, he was surprised but admiring the Knight's unwavering perseverance.

"This is one strong knight you've summoned..." Creo chuckled, sheathing his blade.

"But I guess I'll have to defeat it..." Creo said, as he activated his gauntlets.

Using the power and enhanced by his gauntlets, he created chains and bind the knight, restraining it from moving.

"He hasn't lost his fighting spirit..." Athena smirked, enjoying the sight.

The knight breaks free from the shackles, much to Creo's surprise.

"Truly a strong opponent has appeared before me..." Creo sighed, feeling a little troubled.

Creo uses his gauntlets and creates arrows, aiming it at the armored knight, but the armored knight used their blade to dodge the attacks much to Creo's annoyance.

"This knight is truly a hard opponent to defeat, I can see why Merlin is training us to beat Victor Alchemus..." Creo sighed.

Creo took a deep breath as his eyes began to glow much to Merlin's shock.

"He's using his signature attack..." Athena sighed, she knew that he would resort to something like that.

Creo proceeded to create a barrage of swords targeting the knight.

The knight proceeded to deflect the swords but it was all a ruse just for Creo to sneak up on him and look him at the knight in the eyes.

"Now...I have appeared before you...I command you to end your life..." Creo said, his eyes illuminating.

The knight's arm began to move uncontrollably as they picked up their sword and stabbed themself.

"This king is good...but...he needs to have to work a little harder..." Merlin chuckled to himself as he approached him.

"Well since you've defeated the knight, I have acknowledged you are strong so let's fight..." Merlin said seriously.

"I'm glad you have decided to take this seriously..." Creo smiled, he raised his sword and prepared for an incoming attack.

"Oh...well I wanna make things a little challenging..." Merlin said, a smirk on his face.

"What is it?" Creo's eyes widen, feeling a little confused.

"I want all of you to fight against me..." Merlin chuckled.

"Are you sure about that?" Creo asked.

"Oh I'm very sure...come on now...no holding back with your powers...so without further adieu...let's get this thing started..." Merlin said, pointing his staff at them.

Athena, Crimson Thorn, Bookkeeper, Zion Kishima and Zino moved forward, with each of them drawing out their weapons, as their mana started to load up.

"All of you...give me your best shot..." Merlin chuckled.

Creo took the lead as he proceeded to use his gauntlets to make multiple clones of himself to give the numeric advantage, as all of his clones went to attack Merlin simultaneously.

"Not bad, but your strategy is a little pitiful..." Merlin chuckled as he evaded all of the attacks.

He swiftly proceeded to defeat all of Creo's clones using his staff, much to Creo's dismay.

"Your clones cannot fool me, King of Elderith..." Merlin sighed.

Athena heads to attack Merlin with a plan in her mind which intrigued Merlin.

"Show me what you've got, Miss Athena..." Merlin said.

Athena proceeded to create ice golems to attack Merlin which caught Merlin a little off-guard.

"You're quite the strategist, I'll give you that..." Merlin smirked as he dodged the attack of the ice golems.

Merlin proceeded to use his staff again to erase the ice golems just like what he did with Creo's clones.

Athena proceeds to sneak upon him from behind to which Merlin caught her and used his staff, knocking her down on the ground.

To Merlin's surprise, it was actually an ice clone created by Athena as a diversion, giving the rest of the group to concentrate their attacks on Merlin.

"Now's the time for you guys to take the upper hand..." Athena said.

Crimson Thorn used his blood manipulation to pull Merlin whilst the Bookkeeper and Zino used chains to restrain Merlin, giving enough time for Creo to finish the job as he unleashes a powerful attack that sends Merlin flying.

"Tch, you're actually quite impressive..." Merlin sighed as he got up, fixing himself.

"But I'm not done yet...is that all you have got to show me..." Merlin crossed his arms.

The Bookkeeper proceeded to cast a spell, opening a portal which sends Merlin falling inside the portal.

Instead of panicking, Merlin remained calm and excited to see what they have in plan next.

Creo, Athena, Zion Kishima and Crimson Thorn entered inside the portal, Zion led the charge as he swung his blade at Merlin which he used to block with his staff.

Crimson Thorn sweeped in from behind and aimed behind Merlin but Merlin quickly planned this ahead and created a clone to attack Crimson Thorn.

All of them eventually landed on the ground of the dimension, none of them seeming to back down, proving that their resilience in battle is unwavering.

"Well then...it seems like I'm going to have to make this interesting..." Merlin said as he created sixteen clones of himself.

"And don't think I'm acting cowardly...you are the ones who are on this quest after all, so it's only fair that I must raise the stakes..." Merlin continued, ordering his clones to attack them.

Zion Kishima was having a hard time handling the clones considering amongst the group, he was the only one without powers.

"I think I might be needing of a little assistance..." Zion kishima said, feeling exhausted from running.

"Don't worry..." Creo said as he launched projectiles using his Create ability to distract the clones.

"You forgot to check your back..." Merlin said as he attacked Creo from behind.

Creo attempted to get up and he saw before him Merlin who shapeshifted into Creo to make things challenging.

Creo proceeded to create arrows and launched them towards Merlin but he dodges them with ease, which annoyed the latter.

"Your ability is powerful but quite annoying..." Creo said frustratingly as he created a battle axe.

"Since you are curious, I will be kind enough to tell you its name..." Merlin said as he reverted back to his true form.

"The true name of my ability is Clairvoyant Avalon...it allows me to see through the future which is why I'm confident with every step I make..." Merlin said.

"I see...I understand..." Creo said, as he makes his axe fade.

Crimson Thorn used his blood manipulation and pulls Merlin towards him.

Athena went to the two and made Crimson Thorn stop before hurting Merlin.

"Stop it...remember this is only training..." Athena said, putting her hand on Crimson Thorn's shoulder.

Crimson Thorn pulls away from her, The Bookkeeper transported them back to Avalon.

"I must say...that training was quite exhausting..." Merlin sighed, stretching his back.

"Well tomorrow, I'll still continue to train you..." Merlin said as he walked towards them.

"And I wanna see the King of Elderith...versus...the Light of Elderith..." Merlin chuckled, looking at both Creo and Athena.

"For now, I will dismiss you all and rest for I'm sure you were having a hard time to keep up..." Merlin said as he went back to his tower.

*Later that day*

Athena was at the flower field, picking up one of the flowers, as she noticed some fairies approaching towards her, catching her attention.

While she wasn't noticing, Creo was approaching, silent but gently, he didn't want to disturb her peace.

Athena turns around and sees him and tilts her head.

"Oh, are you here for a breather or you just wanted to see me..." Athena smirked as she approached him.

"And if I were to say both?" Creo said, approaching closer, picking up one of the flowers.

"Well I wouldn't mind your accompaniment...." Athena said as she gestured him to sit next to her.

Creo sat next to her, looking at the sky whilst Athena leaned in closer, putting her head on his shoulder

"So...are you ready for our bout tomorrow?" Athena asked him.

"Without a doubt...and I'm going to beat you..." Creo smirked.

"Oh I'm sure you will..." Athena replied sarcastically as she got up.

"But unfortunately, I won't make it easy for you to win, my king..." Athena said.

"Well I accept your challenge..." Creo replied.

*In the tower*

Crimson Thorn observed them from afar, shortly after, Merlin walked to Crimson Thorn and the two have a chat.

"I see you've been observing King of Elderith and Miss Athena..." Merlin said as he approached him.

"Indeed but why did you ask me this question?" Crimson Thorn replied, crossing his arms.

"Well...King of Elderith, rather...Creo Creatorius has indeed mentioned that the reason that you are here is for the Philosopher's Stone..." Merlin said.

"And...what is the point that you are trying to make?" Crimson Thorn continued, he couldn't make any sense from Merlin's words.

"Well, the thing I wanted to say is...I know your secret..." Merlin said, approaching Crimson Thorn with a threatening look.

"You wouldn't dare..." Crimson Thorn said as he pointed his double edged blade.

"Watch your tone, young man...I could have easily killed you as much as I wanted to..." Merlin said, unfazed by Crimson Thorn's sudden move.

"It didn't seem like it when I used my blood manipulation on you..." Crimson Thorn scoffed, putting away his sword.

"I was playing along and besides...I am as old as this realm, existing before any of you did..." Merlin continued.

"If you are so powerful, then why are you helping now?" Crimson Thorn questioned him, waiting for his response.

"Well, a wizard like me is waiting for someone, to be honest with you, I helped out you humans before my time had come...besides the King of Elderith is someone that I at least respect and acknowledge him as a mortal..." Merlin sighed.

"Who...just who are you really?" Crimson Thorn said.

"I am Merlin...there is nothing else to know about..." Merlin said as he walked away from him.

*Meanwhile back at Listmyca*

"I can't believe we let them get away that easily..." Victor said, punching the table.

"Not to mention, who in this realm would have that amount of power to be able to transport them?" Bruno replied.

"Well, I know the answer to your question..." Morgan said.

All of them turned around and listened to what Morgan had to say.

"I recognize that magic...it was none other than the magic of the wizard, Merlin..." Morgan said.

"Merlin? Pffffffffffffffffffft, you've just got to be joking..." Nightshade said, rolling his eyes.

"That mage is nothing short but a legend that parents tell their kids about in bedtime stories..." Bruno chuckled.

"Oh but he is real, I fought him before myself..." Morgan said.

They paused and we're eager to listen to what Morgan had to say.

"When I first became a mage, I was one of his apprentices, unfortunately after rebelling against him, we went face to face and I barely got to escape..." Morgan sighed as she stood up.

She showed a mark on her back, which was a seal that Merlin had put on her back.

"I still remember that event as if it were yesterday..." Morgan continued.

"Well, this is going to be trouble for us...if they're learning from 'THE' Merlin himself, they might be able to defeat us easily..." Nightshade sighed.

"Don't worry, even if they were able to train from Merlin himself, we aren't going to make this easy for them, am I right?" Victor said, looking at them.

"Yeah!!!" They exclaimed.

"Well then, when we face them once more, we'll show them hell..." Victor chuckled.