It seemed they had finally reached an agreement on how to proceed, but right before they continued, Ethan suddenly raised his index finger.

"Hold on."

He extended his other hand to the side, and a purple summoning circle bloomed into existence beside him as King Arthur appeared from it.

The King of Knights had a gentle smile on his face, and the instant Merlin laid eyes on him, his own eyes widened.

"...My King." The Trickster Mage dropped onto one knee.

It was, perhaps, the first time Ethan had ever seen Merlin display genuine reverence toward anyone.

Arthur chuckled. "Oh, enough of that."

He walked over, reached down, pulled Merlin back to his feet, and hugged him in a warm embrace.

Merlin laughed as he returned it. "It’s been too long."

Arthur stepped back with a smile. "It truly has."

He looked Merlin over before adding, "I haven’t seen anyone from the Round Table in ages."

The two old companions spoke for a bit and laughed together as Ethan watched the reunion with an amused expression.

For nearly a minute, neither of them seemed remotely interested in the impending catastrophe waiting outside. Merlin had already begun talking about different things, and Arthur seemed genuinely interested in every ounce of the conversation.

Ethan finally lost his patience, holding the bridge of his nose.

"Gentlemen... the fate of an entire country is hanging in the balance here. So... can we perhaps continue the nostalgia after we stop a mass demonic possession?"

Arthur looked as though he had just caught himself and coughed lightly. "Ah... right, my apologies."

Merlin laughed a bit before shaking his head.

Then he extended a hand as a light-blue magic circle unfolded across the laboratory floor, intricate layers of runes rotating within one another.

It continued expanding until it stopped directly beneath Ethan.

Merlin then gestured toward it.

"The circle will act as the conduit for your mana and amplification to flow directly into my spell. All you have to do is use the trait."

Ethan gave a nod and adjusted fully onto the circle.

Merlin then lifted his hand forward, and the Beelstone floated into the air.

Within seconds, several spell circles appeared around the floating crystal, each rotating at different speeds while streams of runes flowed endlessly across their surfaces.

Merlin smiled and adjusted his monocle as the spell began.

The illusion was cast, immediately deceiving the world’s recognition of the Beelstones themselves.

Every Beelstone carrying the same magical signature was recognized by reality as the exact same magical object.

In other words, reality now believed they were all a single existence.

Merlin maintained the spell with visible concentration before speaking to Arthur. "Now... destroy it."

Arthur nodded and stretched his hand out as a brilliant golden light gathered above his palm before condensing into the hilt of a sword.

Excalibur radiated a gentle brilliance that filled the laboratory, and in one clean motion, Arthur delivered a perfect slash through the floating Beelstone, splitting the crystal apart.

At the same instant, the demon’s soul imprisoned within burst apart as well, dissolving into countless tiny wisps of light before vanishing completely.

Just as Ethan had anticipated, Excalibur worked to eradicate the soul of a demon, which it considered nothing more than another form of evil.

The moment the original Beelstone was destroyed, reality responded exactly as Merlin had forced it to, and the destruction of one became the destruction of all.

Across the country, every identical crystal sharing that same magical signature simply ceased to exist simultaneously.

The illusion collapsed, and the countless magic circles slowly faded as Merlin finally exhaled and lowered his hand.

"It is done."

Ethan turned to him and gave a satisfied nod.

Arthur, however, remained quietly staring at the last fading specks of golden light.

There was sadness in his eyes as he spoke. "Even in this age, humanity still finds itself battling demons and the forces of darkness."

He slowly shook his head. "It is truly unfortunate."

After a brief silence, Arthur turned toward Merlin and extended a hand as they both clasped hands firmly.

"Thank you, old friend," Arthur said with a returning smile.

Merlin smiled back and gave a nod. "Always a pleasure, my King."

***

————

It had been a little over an hour since Ethan had left the mansion. They had known the moment he departed, as his magic had suddenly vanished.

Since then, all they had done was wait, and now only two hours remained before noon.

Then, suddenly, one of the summons stationed outside disappeared as Ethan replaced it.

A second later, he calmly walked through the front entrance and into the living room, with everyone immediately turning toward him.

Ethan spoke as he looked around the room with an elated expression. "The Beelstones are no longer a problem."

King Carson narrowed his eyes. "You’re certain?"

Ethan nodded.

That, however, didn’t seem convincing enough as the King followed up with another question.

"How?"

Ethan sighed and went on to explain that he possessed a summon who wielded a weapon specifically capable of destroying demonic souls.

He also explained that he had sought the assistance of a Caster who was able to link the crystals together without needing all of them gathered in one place, although he refused to reveal the Caster’s identity, stating it was the Caster’s wish that it remain that way.

"So... we’re simply supposed to trust that this spell worked?" King Carson asked, staring at him.

It was then that Isabella answered in Ethan’s stead. "Father, this is my husband we’re talking about. If he says it worked, then it worked."

Rayleigh spoke up immediately afterward. "And besides, Father... if your objective was only to lure the Demon Lord there, I’m sure the Imperial Guard has Casters capable of creating a convincing fake of Ishtar."

The prince gestured toward the soldiers outside. "Petra, under Captain Annette’s division, can do this."

"The Demon Lord wouldn’t know the difference until he arrived. And once he does, you can still carry out the ambush exactly as you planned."

King Carson slowly exhaled. "He may detect it’s a fake before getting close."

Rayleigh added, "Or he may not even show at all, having detected his leverage advantage has been taken."

"This is the only way, Father."

King Carson slowly looked from Rayleigh to Isabella before finally settling his gaze on Ethan, holding it a little longer.

It was as though he had communicated the words, "This had better work", with nothing more than a stare.