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Chapter 59 - Master enchanter?

Merlin payed no heed to Will’s words and took the weapons back. Taking a carving knife out of his ring, Merlin sat down on the ground, and started carving a series of symbols on the weapons. Camille was surprised by his actions, but she didn’t say a word. She looked at him with interest, and was curious about what he was doing. 

Will got mad at being ignored, but he stopped talking after realizing nobody was paying any attention to him. He didn’t understand Merlin’s actions, and he wanted the weapons back, but the was afraid that if he overdid it, Merlin might rat on him to the Dolan Empire.

Merlin’s idea was good on paper, however, doing it proved to be more troublesome than he had originally thought. His idea of using the disguising spell on the weapons was a good one, but he had failed to notice one crucial fact, the spell required of the mana from a living being to work. That meant he couldn’t cast the spell on the witch weapons, at least not in the way he had intended to.

Under Lokiseth’s guidance, Merlin found a way to cast the spell on them, a way that would also allow Camille and Will to keep the weapons with them at all times, and even make the weapons stronger. The symbols Merlin was carving on the weapons were related to that. 

They were ancient symbols related to soul magic. That was the solution Marlin came to under Lokiseth’s guidance, to make the witch weapons into soul weapons. Not only would that allow endless growth to the weapons, making them virtually indestructible, it also made it impossible to lose them, as they would be soulbound to their owners.

It would also solve the mana source problem for the disguising spell, the witch weapons would be able to draw the mana from their owners through the bond in their souls. Of course, Merlin couldn’t give such an in-depth explanation to the siblings, so he planned on just telling them he had enchanted the weapons.

It took Merlin a whole hour to finish the carvings due to the special care he had to put on making them, it would have been disastrous had he made a mistake… It wouldn’t have been a joking matter if because of his mistake, instead of bonding with the owner’s soul, the weapons trapped the souls inside them.

Merlin: “Ok, it’s done!”

Will: “What is? Are you going to give us the weapons back?”

Camille: “Please, don’t mind him… What were you doing to the weapons? Those strange symbols don’t go well with the decorations on the weapons…”

Merlin: “Seriously? That’s the only thing you point out!? I just spent a whole hour carving those symbols, and the first thing you point out is that they aren’t pretty… You are incredible!”

Camille: “Hehe… Is that a compliment?”

Merlin: “Maybe… or maybe not. Anyway, that’s not the point. I have enchanted the weapons so that only you can use them, you won’t be able to lose them anymore, and they will grow stronger the stronger you two get!”

Will: “Bullshit! There is no way you can do that, even a master enchanter wouldn’t be able to do it!”

Merlin: “Whether you believe me or not is your choice.” *Seriously, what is it with that attitude? Besides, do you really think a regular master enchanter would have the direct guidance of a god to pull this out?!*

Camille: “Don’t worry, I believe you. So, how do we activate the enchantment?”

Merlin: “Thanks, Camille. To activate the enchantment, you just have to let a drop of your blood fall on the five-pointed star.”

To their surprise, as soon as they followed Merlin’s instructions, their wooden weapons transformed into seemingly ordinary ones, made of iron. However, what shocked the siblings the most, happened right after that, for as soon as the appearance of the weapons changed, they turned into balls of light and went into the bodies of the siblings.

Will: “What the heck was that?”

Camille: “Merlin… What did just happen?”

Merlin: “Oh, don’t worry the weapons just went inside your bodies… You don’t have anything to be worried about.”

Camille: “Nothing to be worried about?! Merlin, the weapons just went inside our bodies! Don’t you find anything wrong with that?”

Merlin: “Not really. Those were actually soul weapons, when you dropped your blood on them, not only did you activate my carvings of the disguising spell, you bounded the weapons to your souls. That was why I had said you wouldn’t be able to lose these weapons.”

Will: “Soul weapons? That’s stuff from legends, there is no way those could actually exist!”

Camille didn’t jump to conclusions and gave some thought to Merlin’s words, it was true that what he had said was difficult to believe, but everything that had happened so far pointed that his words held some truth. In the end, she chose to believe in him and trust his words.

Merlin didn’t particularly care whether they chose to believe his words or not, it was their decision, but he didn’t want to spend any more time on that matter. He turned around and went to sleep in his tent.

Will: “How are we supposed to take the weapons out? Not only did that bastard without deciding the turns to keep guard tonight, he didn’t even explain to us how to get the weapons out! So much for Mr. I-know-it-all…”

*SLAP*

The slap echoed in the silence of the night, while Will looked at Camille in disbelief. He had it coming with his attitude, but he didn’t realize that his bitchy attitude was getting on the nerves of the other two. He mad at Camille for slapping him, but when he looked at her, the look she gave him sent shivers down his spine.

Will: “What the heck did you do that for?”

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Camille: “Do you even have to ask? Do you even realize the risk Merlin is taking when helping us and keeping us by his side? If our enemies learned about this, not only would he die, even his loved ones would be in danger, yet here he is, doing his best keeping us alive and protecting us from danger!”

Will: “Hmph! We didn’t ask for his help!”

*SLAP*

Camille: “I did ask for his help, although I must admit that he has gone well beyond what I had expected from him. However, that’s not the point. You are returning kindness with ill will! What would mother think of us if she learned about your attitude? Is that how she raised us?”

Will: “Mother is dead! She won’t give a damn about what I do or don’t do!”

*SLAP*

Will: “Fuck, girl! I swear, if you slap me again I’ll break your wrist!”

Camille: “Fine, next time, instead of slapping you, I’ll kick your balls and make you an eunuch!”

Will gulped and looked down, he realized Camille was serious and quickly covered his manhood with both of his hands. After hearing Camille’s words, he pondered his actions up till that moment, and realized he really was in the wrong and owed Merlin an apology. Nevertheless, his pride knew no bounds and he didn’t intend to apologize and admit his wrongdoings.

Camille: “Hmph! One day, that pride of yours is going to get you killed! You are wrong about something, though, mother isn’t dead!”

Will: “You can’t know that!”

Camille: “I can’t explain it, how I know it, but I just know that she is still alive!”

Will: “Oh, yes? Then, where is she? How come she didn’t return home?”

Camille: “I’m sure she was kidnapped. I don’t know where she is, nor how to help her, but I do know one thing, if we really want her back and want to help he, we must get stronger! We are much too weak as we are now!”

*Smart girl!* thought Merlin. In spite of having gone to sleep, he was unable to fall asleep, so he pretended to be sleeping and listened to the conversation of the siblings. He didn’t care much about will’s opinion on him, but he was grateful to Camille, nonetheless. She stood out for him, and he appreciated that. 

In addition, her assessment on their situation made Merlin see her in a different light, she had read his mood correctly, and realized Merlin’s patience with Will’s behavior was reaching the limit. Instead of waiting for Merlin to explode, she had chosen to intervene, and that had gained her several points with Merlin.

Having finished their discussion, Camille went to sleep before giving Will any chance of refusing to keep on guard duty. His sister had never acted that way with him before, at the beginning, he had thought that the change in his sister’s behavior was due to Merlin’s influence, and jealousy had filled his heart because he had always been very close to her and he feared that Merlin might have replaced him in her heart.

However, after Camille’s slapping and taking a calm look at the situation, he realized his fears were unfounded. It didn’t matter if she had stopped calling him brother and started addressing Merlin that way, they were siblings and their blood ties wouldn’t break just because she didn’t call him brother anymore.

Understanding that fact was already a great leap forward, but he wouldn’t mature just with that. After all, he was a 12-year-old kid who had been pampered a lot by his mother. That was the first time he had such a huge setback and had to fight with his life on the line, the first time when his own survival had to be obtained by his own fits and wits.

Looking at the stars, Will made an oath: To never again be a burden to his sister and his companions, to change into a man his mother would take pride in calling her son, and to grow stronger, strong enough that anyone who heard his name would abandon any thoughts of harming him or anything he held dear. 

He didn’t see, though, that the very second he made that oath, one of the stars in the firmament started to sparkle with a stronger light.

***************************************************

In a mountain several miles away from Merlin’s group’s location…

???: “Young mi-master! Please, reconsider your decision!”

Y. Master: “Sorry, Virca, but I don’t have any other choice. I must find father and let him know about my uncle’s machinations! He even dared to arrange my marriage with that person!”

Virca: “Young mi-master! I know that you are upset about that arranged marriage, but you are being too rush! You escaped from home to find master, but you don’t even know where he is! We lost contact with him 2 years ago, how do you plan on finding him when even the best trackers among our guards had to give up?”

Y. Master: “I’m sure my uncle bribed them into being unable to find father! I think I know where to find him, and even if he is not at that place, I’m sure he will have left some clues there which will lead me to him!”

Virca: “Young mi-master… Maybe, it isn’t that your father can’t be found, maybe it is that he doesn’t want to be found…”

Y. Master: “Oh, that’s right. I have heard that tale too, how my father sent a letter in which he said that he was abandoning me and left the family in the hands of my uncle, how he had found a new woman and left the kingdom with her… Sorry, but I don’t buy it! I know father better than anyone else, and if he really had abandoned the clan in such a way, he would have taken me with him, or at least, told me about it before disappearing!”

Virca: “…” *You really are too naïve. Things are never as simple as that, but if I were to explain that to you, I doubt you would be able to take it…*

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