That's about right," Azazel confirmed "Of course, the only reason he was able to pull it off was because all three factions came together to help dig the damned pit. So much high quality mead, wasted…" He sighed remorsefully before coughing into his fist "In any case, with the Dragons gone, it didn't take long for the Three Factions to go back to killing one another, it was also around that time that Father began experimenting with Sacred Gears and Holy Swords."
"But wait, if the dragons were buried at the start of the war, then how did they get into the Sacred Gears?" Shirou wondered, even Vali frowning at the apparent discrepancy "Don't tell me someone actually dug them up?"
"Okay I won't tell you." Azazel chuckled, only to pout at the scowls leveled his way by the three teens "I'm kidding! Sheesh, so serious. Our story picks up again around the tail-end of the Great War, coincidentally around the time of Uther Pendragon's death."
Shirou stiffened at the mention of Saber's father. While Saber hadn't really talked about the man much, no doubt due to having been raised by Sir Ector, he was still a key figure in her legend, if only in passing.
"See, when Uther died without leaving a male heir behind, every single one of his allied feudal-lords suddenly decided they were best suited to wear the pointy hat. Wanting an edge over the competition, Uther's brother Vortigern" both Shirou and Vali shivered at the name "decided to build a brand spanking new castle to stake his claim, and guess where the dumb son of a bitch decided to build it?"
Shirou couldn't help but facepalm at the imagery. After all, how unlucky, or bloody stupid, did you have to be to build a castle on top of not one, but two sleeping dragons? Even if time had reduced them to mere legends and folklore, as was regrettably the case when it came to human memory, you'd think the leaders of the Three Factions would've at least set someone to watch over the site.
"Needless to say, Vortigern soon got tired of his castle walls being knocked over, not only did it hurt his image, it didn't do his coffers any favours either but instead of moving like a sensible person, he ended up seeking out the Greatest Wizard of the age…" Shirou's eyes widened in anticipation "who just so happened to be Lucifer's bastard."
"Wait, WHAT?!" Shirou gaped, staring at the Governor General as if he'd sprouted another head. And he wasn't the only one, Xenovia going so far as to cross herself and even Vali stiffening in surprise, the silver-haired teen suddenly paying rapt attention.
"Yeah, not many people were aware of Merlin's true parentage." Azazel chuckled "Not that Lucifer ever truly cared for the kid mind you, so far as the Morning Star was concerned his progeny was simply supposed to assume the role of the Anti-Christ." He scoffed "Fortunately for all involved, Merlin's mother went behind Lucy's back" Vali snorted at the nickname "and had the kid baptized at birth. Sensing the kid's potential, and no doubt hoping to make amends for casting out Lucifer, Father took Merlin under his protection so as to set the stage for the coming of Arthur."
"Unfortunately," Azazel continued with a grimace "whether it was due to Father's doting or Lucifer's blood, Merlin grew up to be something of a trickster, so when Vortigern showed up demanding consul, the cheeky brat instructed the would-be King to excavate the hill, freeing the dragons, who were none-too-happy let me tell you."
"I can imagine." Shirou grimaced, shuddering at phantom memory of staring down the embodiment of Saber's Magic Core. That time had only been the lingering essence, a hollow shade made to represent her possessing the blood of Dragons, he could only imagine the sheer fury that Vortigern had unleashed that day "It must have been a massacre."
"And then some." Azazel confirmed grimly, reaching for his glass with a trembling hand "Remember, even when the Dragons' Fury was solely directed towards one another, the Factions still suffered heavy casualties. Now that their fury was locked directly on them, it looked like the Great War would end in the unanimous destruction of all three factions."
He downed his drink before pouring himself another with an admittedly weak grin, a stark contrast to his normally lazy confidence.
"I still have nightmares about it, to be honest." he admitted solemnly, waving a hand at their looks of concern "But in the end, the Leaders of the three Factions had no choice but to put aside their differences and join forces to cut the Dragons down, and to ensure they didn't reincarnate, God sealed their souls into the Divine Dividing, which was bestowed upon Vortigern, allowing him to unite the Country as King, and the Boosted Gear, which was sealed within the infant Arthur Pendragon."
"Huh, so that's how things went down." Vali mused, the Silver-haired devil looking highly intrigued by this new revelation while Azazel poured himself another drink from the bottle "I can see why Albion doesn't like talking about it…"
It also explained why he got along so well with the Pendragon siblings. After all, how ironic was it that this generation's Arthur Pendragon would have a Half-Devil descendant of Lucifer as a companion? Were it not for the fact that Arthur lacked a Sacred Gear and Vali possessed Divine Dividing, you'd almost be forgiven for thinking History was repeating itself.
"To think that the great Merlin Ambrosius was the Anti-Christ all this time." Xenovia whispered, shivering in apprehension as she subconsciously crossed herself "That explains so much, and at the same time raises so many other questions."
"That was Merlin in a nutshell." Azazel admitted with a long-suffering sigh, though despite that he seemed almost amused by the Wizard's antics "Kid had a good heart, and honestly meant well, but just couldn't help causing mischief whenever things got too boring."
_________________________________________
Want to read more?
The next 60+ chapters are already available on my Patreon!
By joining, you'll get:
📖 Early access to future chapters
🗳️ Polls to shape the story
🎁 Exclusive content for Patrons
🔥 Bonus adult-themed pictures & scenes you won't find anywhere else(adult only 😉)
Don't fall behind—others are already ahead! 👀
👉Patreon.com/c/Playerfanfic( please search this link on Google Chrome)