The gentle breeze of wind hitting my naked body made me feel a bit cold; I could feel the hairs on my body stand on end. The sun's rays, though, had the opposite effect, comforting me and making wherever they touched more warm.
With a yawn, I opened my eyes and struggled to get up; my muscles were all sore, and that's when I noticed something strange.
Similar to what I did when I was in the cave, I decided to use the Sixth Sense to get a view of my body, and what I saw left me speechless. In the past, I wasn't a very handsome guy, but now it was different.
The body that the mysterious knight had given me was simply beautiful. My face slightly resembled his, but I didn't have a beard, and my hair was white. My eyebrows and eyes had extremely dark black strands that resembled makeup, and my eyes were deep blue, like the depths of the sea during a full moon.
Some would even say I was a bit feminine now, but the contrast with the extremely defined and muscular body was significant. Every part was excessively sensual and appealing even in the erogenous zones of the body. I suppose the world forced me to be charismatic due to my nature.
Still, I intended to bring the knight back to life. It just occurred to me that I hadn't even asked his name. But that didn't matter now because I had to fulfill my part of the deal.
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Choose an epic or minor skill to evolve:>>
I'll go with Poison for now. It could have been more useful in the previous fight, and now that I'm human, I have more mobility to use it.
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<<Assassin upgraded, new sub-skill Poison, deadly poison.>>
To be honest, I was kind of hoping it would become a different epic skill than the ones I have, but it'll do for now.
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Hey! You're not the one giving me the new skill, and what's with this time limit?
<<"This mission seems to have a time limit, sir. Apparently, if you don't kill the prince within 7 days, the contract will become invalid.">>
What? I didn't agree to that, Artemis! I could lose all my skills, you know!
<<"Stay calm, sir. The Voice of God recognizes that you already have what is necessary to kill the prince in question. Honestly, as a last resort, invading the castle with rituals wouldn't be difficult. Besides, you would still be the Antichrist even if you lost the skills.">>
It's not quite like that; my life would become significantly harder.
But anyway, there's not much to do now, right? Let's go, Sixth Sense, where should I go?
My question was somewhat stupid, as the Sixth Sense indicated that I should go the opposite way the knight walked, but there was just the small problem that I was completely naked.
Looking to where the knight had died, there was no body or armor anymore; the chainmail itself disappeared, but there was still a gambeson that looked more like a coat. I was used to wearing one when I was a cop, but it was much more technological than that.
After dressing, it looked like I was wearing a dress. The modern ones were much prettier than that. With my long hair, feminine appearance, and wearing that, I was afraid some lunatic would grab my butt.
I just remembered that we seemed to be in the Middle Ages judging by the clothes and technology of the knight. That was slightly scary. I wonder what it would be like to take the previous owner of this body to a rave in my world; I believe he would be frightened. However, more frightening than the cultural shock were the customs and the difference in how advanced the society here was. Hunger was extremely common from what I remember from history books.
Better get that out of my head and head towards the kingdom, even though my feet were bare and without calluses at the moment, almost a princess's feet.
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The journey was quite long, luckily due to the feast I had with the rats before and the amount of water I drank in the cave, I didn't need supplies at the moment. However, it would be only a matter of time before I got really hungry. Luckily, I could already see the kingdom in the distance.
Thinking properly, I hadn't even checked the so-called Snake Form. Poison should just be a stronger poison now that it's epic, but Snake Form was a legendary ability so it should do more than just revert me to my past form.
Looking at my hand, I tried to transform each of my fingers into a snake. Then, in an almost instant response, each one turned into a snake and lengthened; I could control each one, and their eyes allowed me to see as well.
Frightened, I tried to undo the transformation while still walking, which happened without much difficulty. Then I remembered some anime I had watched in my previous life, and I thought maybe I could launch snakes.
So, punching the air, I tried to transform my arm into a snake and detach it from my body, which followed without results. I mean, the arm turned into a snake and it seemed like it would continue to stretch for a mile if I let it, but I preferred to make it return since it wouldn't detach.
Looking on the bright side, at least that meant I had even more mobility than I thought.
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Approaching the kingdom, I saw that it was entirely surrounded by real walls and that it was not small at all; quite the contrary, it must have had about 20 miles in diameter looking from the horizon. Although I was bad at math, that would still be a huge kingdom; just getting to the castle in its center would cost me a lot of effort considering if I didn't have rituals.
Its entrance was easy to locate, gates of enormous stature made for the passage of carriages and goods, I imagine. It should be one of many entrances since occasionally I found knights patrolling, even though I had Stealth on to not be noticed.
After all, my appearance was distant enough from the guy who was undoubtedly being sought, yet an experienced observer might analyze that the body I inhabit is the same one that killed the old king.
Finally, I arrived at the gate; strangely, there were no queues to enter the city, and no one else, apart from the watchtowers that I couldn't see because they were too high, not even with the Sixth Sense. There were about 20 guards on the ground, armed with halberds and lightly armored; one with full armor approached me before I got too close.
"Halt! What business do you have in the kingdom?"
Silver Tongue was kind of a passive skill, so I didn't have much to do about using it, but I hoped he wouldn't realize I was indirectly manipulating him.
"Good morning, my dear friend. It's been weeks since I've known what it's like to lie down in a bed, and I would love it if I could take a good bath in an inn as well. Doesn't your kingdom receive merchants?"
He seemed to sympathize with my situation and automatically became calm, just a little startled upon hearing my voice and realizing I was a man.
"Oh, you know... the king was murdered by a group of damned ones, and we haven't found their leader yet. The city has been closed since then. Due to various users of witchcraft, we don't need contact with the outside world to keep the city running indefinitely, so in the meantime, no one leaves, and only guests enter. I can't do much for you, friend."
It was really easy to imagine a kingdom functioning through magic and unlimited resources. However, a commercial hub of this size closing its doors would potentially break the economy of any nearby village or association that depends on the city's operation. James must be pretty pissed off to take such a measure.
"Gosh, man, I'm really tired, even though it doesn't seem like it since the only dirty and battered thing on my body is my clothes. Isn't there anything I can do?"
The soldier took off his helmet a little and held it with his elbow, scratching his head a bit, pondering if he could help me.
"Are you a mage? A priest or something? I ask because despite your clothes, you're in perfect condition. If you can manipulate energies and prove it to me, the orders are for me to give you a bracelet to nullify them, and then you should report to some magical authority within the city to see how you can be useful."
The only thing I knew how to do so far was summon plagues, and the last time I did that, it wasn't pretty. But since I had a legendary ability, I had to try. Maybe if I summoned something harmless just to demonstrate to them.
I reached my hand to the skies behind me and commanded them to give me something that could fly, and then the best thing possible happened. Pigeons are considered pests, and several white pigeons emerged from my body, increasing in number every passing second, beginning to turn into a veritable storm of birds over time. I decided to stop the manifestation before I lost control.
At least they weren't as scary as the flies from before.
"Does this serve?"
I asked casually.
"By Merlin! They all disappeared! I've seen many magic users act, but none did something like this! I suppose that justifies your entry; here, take this."
He handed me a steel bracelet with three stones, a sapphire, a pearl, and a ruby. Each seemed to contain a different type of energy, and Artemis warned me that they were trying to restrict my miracles, rituals, and magic. However, they were epic-level enchantments, far from being able to do anything to me.
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Well, I imagined that rituals wouldn't be able to dispel miracles, but apparently I was wrong. The answer, however, is obvious.
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"Friend, I'm sorry to inform you that these bracelets don't work."
I thought to warn him to gain his trust.
"Haha! Nice joke! Go ahead, lad!"
He said, slapping my back and opening the gate for me to pass.
The first reaction upon entering the city was certainly one of surprise. Just past the main gate, you'd arrive at the main street of the city, from which you could see the castle and were surrounded by merchants in their tents.
The flow of people was insane, seeming as large as those in the cities of my world, a densely populated place. Now I could see why the guard didn't want to direct me to a magical authority himself; he seemed to not want the headache of passing through here.
There was one place where the crowd was larger than the others, a true mass of people was there, standing as if cheering for the most important soccer game of their lives.
Approaching a middle-aged merchant covered in rings, necklaces, turbans, and luxury items, who was selling jewelry in her tent, I asked the following: "Do you happen to know what the hell is going on in the middle of the city street?"
She looked at me with some disdain and promptly replied:
"Are you an outsider? Everyday a bunch of unemployed idiots try to pull the sword from the stone. But now that the king is dead and the council hasn't decided if Prince James deserves the throne, everyone is trying to pull the damn sword like madmen. Why don't you try too?"
Sword in the stone? Like the Excalibur myth? I needed to ask more to try to understand.
"And what happens to whoever pulls it? Do they become king?"
I spoke sarcastically, almost mocking the situation, which made her laugh.
"You've got good intuition, that's exactly what happens."
<<"Why don't you try, sir?">>
Artemis suggested as I thanked her for the information and walked away. But it seemed childish to me; I wasn't even here for that, and I would have to wait in line anyway. But I couldn't deny that being an audience member was entertaining.
From the top of a truly enormous boulder in the middle of the street, several people strained and made every effort they could to try to lift the damn sword.
Some came all pompous, of all ages, old or young, it didn't matter. The result was always the same; they tried everything, pulled the handle, and ended up cutting themselves like idiots in the end.
There were some guys betting; they were good talkers, and knew how to sell their heroes. Some bet not exactly on whether they could lift the sword since that would be an easy win, but rather if the next one could even move it.
Well, if it worked like in the tale, it would need to be the rightful heir to the entire kingdom, something prophesied by Merlin before. Which made me consider the possibility of Merlin actually existing in this world since the guard was calling for his name, yet another demon spawn, huh? I didn't seem to be the only one with the ability to use energies so well.
Getting to the castle now that the king had just been killed seemed impossible, so I would wait to try to kill this James guy during the dead of night when everyone is sleeping and only a few guards remain.
It was at this moment that I started to wonder, what kept Excalibur stuck in the stone? Was it a miracle? A ritual? A spell? It kind of sparked my curiosity to try to find out if I could dispel the enchantment that held it and be the new Arthur.
So I decided to get in line, which left some of the passersby somewhat revolted.
"What do you think you'll achieve there, princess? You should be in Lilith's brothel, that's what!"
To that question, I simply responded with as much rudeness and anger as possible.
"I am a man, you fucking misogynist piece of shit!"
I wasn't a huge feminist in my world, but I think I've never heard such a thing outside a movie back then. Actually different times man...
My deep voice left more people somewhat surprised to say the least. And this served to make some of the brutes in line laugh as they themselves didn't believe that with their monumental bodies they could pull the sword, imagine me with my slimmer structure.
One by one failed in the mission, until it was my turn. In the majority of the crowd, I saw many girls rooting for me, saying things like:
"Go! Show these idiots what we're made of."
At that moment, I simply lowered my head and gave up arguing; I needed to change clothes urgently or let my beard grow, if I were to have a beard.
Finally, I grabbed the sword's hilt with just one hand, and Artemis promptly responded.
<<"It's a legendary-level miracle, sir.">>
Well, if I released the legendary restriction on top of it, it would dissipate, right? Let's try using the Miracle Restriction I just received.
A shockwave hit everyone nearby, nothing too strong, just enough to feel that something special had happened. And then, as if it weighed as light as a feather, I pulled the sword out of the stone.
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I think I screwed up.
An abyssal silence took over the entire city district, as the sword I was lifting above my head began to glow, and everyone in the streets could see someone with Excalibur in hand.
Then, an elderly gentleman pointed at me, gaping, and shouted stuttering severely:
"H-h-he di-di-did it! THE ONE WHO WILL SAVE OUR COUNTRY HAS ARRIVED!"
Everyone in the streets started celebrating as if it were a goal from their football team. Apparently, I was the hero of the prophecy.
But as quickly as my shock lasted, a ball of purple cloth manifested next to me, and from this ball emerged an old man, he seemed to be 400 years old from how wrinkled he was, long white beard almost reaching his feet, he grabbed me by the shoulders and teleported me away from there. Into a royal chamber while I was wielding the sword.
Before leaving, I could hear people pointing and shouting,
"Merlin! Merlin is already here!"
He was holding my shoulders and shaking me vigorously for a man of his age; he was stronger than he seemed, so that was the strength of the one who moved Stonehenge. He was amazed and said.
"Your name, lad! Tell me your name! Tell me your name immediately!"
Without much reaction from being in the presence of a legendary hero, I said equally amazed.
"It's Asclepius, sir! They call me Ascle."
And without stopping shaking me, he started yelling.
"What have you done! What have you done!"
Then he let go of me and went to a shelf full of books and began to telepathically open and flip through them, taking a better look at the room; it was clearly a mage's tower, with a crystal ball and everything. He muttered to himself as I watched the sword shining.
"It should be impossible, it should be impossible! What did he do, why isn't it Arthur?"
He then pointed at me saying with.
"How did you do it?"
"How did I do what exactly, sir?"
"How did you pull the damn sword from the stone? It should only be possible for a very specific man; we had miracles preventing the sword from being removed. Do you realize what you've done? It wasn't the time yet!"
He was anxious, even breathless. I was afraid he would have a heart attack right in front of me, so I decided to respond.
"I dispelled the miracle, Sir Merlin."
He stared at me with his mouth open for about 5 seconds, and then asked me slightly fast.
"You did what?"
"I dispelled the miracle, sir."
I repeated, trying to maintain my composure under his intense scrutiny.
"You did what?"
He asked again, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"I dispelled the miracle that was holding the sword in place."
I clarified, hoping he would understand.
Merlin's expression shifted from disbelief to a mixture of shock and concern.
"You mean to tell me that you undid the enchantment? That's not something that should be possible, especially not for someone like you."
I could feel the weight of his suspicion pressing down on me.
"I... I was given a bracelet that had the power to dissipate energies. I learned the ritual that could dispel miracles, and I applied it to the sword."
Merlin's eyes bore into mine, searching for any hint of deception.
"You do realize the level of magic involved in the enchantment on that sword, don't you?"
I nodded, feeling a growing sense of unease.
"It was a legendary-level miracle. I unleashed a corresponding ritual to counter it."
I realized I might have said too much, and Merlin's reaction confirmed my fears. His eyes began to glow blue. My Danger Sensor screamed at me to flee, but with Merlin's ability to teleport, escape seemed futile.
"Who are you?"
Merlin demanded, his voice tinged with suspicion.
"An archdemon? Satan himself? A malevolent deity? What do you mean by 'using a legendary ritual'?"
His gaze intensified, and I could sense that he was on the verge of discovering something I desperately wanted to keep hidden.
"Please, Merlin, I assure you I have no ill intentions."
I pleaded, my heart pounding in my chest.
"I swear I'm not a demon, despite being a creature of chaos. I've only been alive for a few days."
Merlin's aura of suspicion eased slightly, but he still looked at me with narrowed eyes.
"Are you telling me that if I were to analyze you, I wouldn't find anything amiss?"
I should warn him about the demon's soul that I had with me, however, there's also a human soul, the problem is he would see everything at once and it's difficult to explain the man's soul in my possession, especially if he recognizes who it is.
<<"Sir, I need to leave since he will analyze us to avoid causing you trouble, however, I recommend using the knight's soul in Excalibur for now, it's better than nothing.">>
Huh, leave? Artemis! Artemis, come back here! Why on earth would you need to leave! Oh well, I'll do what Artemis says while I explain to him.
"Well... you'll find the soul of various demons called Legion, I seized his soul in a fight and I don't know what to do with their souls. Other than that, there's nothing special."
As I transferred the soul into the sword, however, with Merlin extremely suspicious of me, the sword started to speak.
"Ah... such a headache, didn't even know spirits could have headaches. So you really saved my life, huh, but I'm kind of not getting whose body you've given me."
And it was at that moment I realized I fucked up, Merlin was incredulous and using his analyzing thing, he confirmed that Legion really inhabited my body, and looking at the sword he said.
"Lancelot?"