Discussion Merlin

[Notice me Escanor senpai]

I think it's time we made a thread about one of the most mysterious members of the Seven deadly sins.What makes her so mysterious is that we know almost nothing about her, we don't even know if she's human and we don't know her motives for betraying the sins and stealing whatever she stole from Mel. In fact we prolly know more about Escanor by now even though he hasn't been introduced in the main story yet.

So we know she's a witch but her bio from the official fanbook doesn't say if she's human or not. According to the Arthurian legends, Merlin is born from a incubi and a human woman, so that makes him a hybid of some sort.I expect that she's a hybrid in the manga too, but is she a demon hybrid? or maybe she's actually from the Goddess clan?
She has a strong interest in studying all kinds of beings, and demons in particular. I say that because she showed that she knows demon magic, there is also her reaction when Mel mentioned the ten commandments and the demon king. I'm starting to think that rather than being a demon hybrid she might actually be aa descendant of the Goddess clan.Her being interested in demons wouldn't be more weird than Hendrickson being a druid who worships the Goddess and yet sought the power od the demon clan.
She also stole something from Mel but we don't know what it is. It could be his memories or maybe a portion of his power, but there isn't strong evidence to support any of these theories. However I feel that it would be something useful to fighting off the demons.
She also has a habit of "collecting" rare things(according to Mel). There is Gowther who is a doll created by a powerful magician, and Escanor who has a curse.. There's also her sin, the sin of gluttony which imo has to do with her experimenting and being "hungry for knowledge/power". She is rather suspicious because of all these factors combined, and I feel she will play a much bigger role later on, when it is finally revealed what species she comes from. We pretty much have all the species represented now,with Escanor being human(rather than being a vampire) and we already have Mel who is a demon, so all that's left is the Goddess clan. I wouldn't be surprised if she's their agent, or she was cast out, or is simply a hybrid.

The point of this thread is to discuss all those theories on her based on the very small amount of info we have, so feel free to disagree with my theories about her

 

[Holt]

I think she should be related to the goddess or demon clan. If she isn't a hybrid of one of those, then perhaps she stumbled on some rare information or something relating to one or both of those clans that piqued her interest and gave her insight into a number or things. Alternatively, she could have been mentored or tutored by a member of one of those clans.

I doubt she betrayed the sins though. She is usually sly and difficult to read and her motives remain largely unknown but I don't think she betrayed the sins. With Fraudrin's reveal, it makes sense that the sins were not involved in zartaras murder as earlier suspected. As for what she took from Mel, it has to be his memory. Perhaps part of what was included in the memory she stole was his ability to control a part of his powers (probably his demon half). It does seem like she did him a favor though. Its possible he might have even asked to do so himself.

She doesn't seem unwilling to return it, she just appears to be cautious as it might not be something Mel wants (although he wouldn't know that now).

 

[Beatrice]

Goddess sound VERY plausible to me if you look at the Sins then.
Mel - Demon
Diane - Giant
King - Fairy
Ban - Human
Merlin - Goddess

Whatever Escanor is and Gowther being a Doll, of course don't add in, but I do think that's what Nakaba is going for.

 

[Holt]

Yeah especially considering that the clans united in the past to defeat the demon clan.

 

[Incognitop]

Well I wanted to add one thing. Whenever Merlin was walking in the first chapters she was in, there was a "tok tok" sound. Hawk also made a "tok tok" sound whenever he walked. Now i know that Mama Hawk and Hawk's potential connections to Merlin have already been pointed out, but it might be stronger than we thought.

 

[Holt]

Her tattoo is a carbon copy of hawk or rather hawk is a carbon copy of her tattoo. Remember when the king told Liz he would be saved by a crimson pig? That was very weird. Merlin saved them and she has pig tattoo but its black. Could this mean she's like...uh...a pig or something?

 

[Notice me Escanor senpai]

I was thinking about that too. The fanbook doesn't say which race she belongs to, even though we got Escanor's who is human btw. In a game called Muramasa the demon blade there is a boss who is actually a pig who wants to gain immortality and become a god. He even takes the form of a giant oni but when you deal enough damage he reverts to his original form of a pig/boar. So maybe she is a talking pig like Hawk who studied magic, or some sort of spirit of the forest like the kami. The other possibilities are connected to the demon or the goddess clan. But since Mel already fills the spot for the demons, and what Gowther said about the sins not being from the same species I really think she fits for the Goddess.

 

[Holt]

Goddess seems likely but the pig issue is queer. A goddess pig maybe ? How do talking pigs even happen? Is that some sort of magic or what?

 

[HeartGold12]

Goddess seems likely but the pig issue is queer. A goddess pig maybe ? How do talking pigs even happen? Is that some sort of magic or what?

Well, Nakaba put an easter egg where the demon side of the Grat War (the picture from anime intro) is accompanied by a green pig, like Mama Hawk. It made me think that the pigs may be connected to the demons somehow xD (that would explain the size)

I also think the goddess at the top of the picture may have her right eye covered like Eli, though it may just be the angle and the way the entire thing is rendered. Going by 'Merlin being a goddess' theory, we could say she's the striperrific goddes casting magic in the middle xD

Edit: Here it is.

Spoiler

 

[Yoichi Hiruma]

I was thinking about that too. The fanbook doesn't say which race she belongs to, even though we got Escanor's who is human btw. In a game called Muramasa the demon blade there is a boss who is actually a pig who wants to gain immortality and become a god. He even takes the form of a giant oni but when you deal enough damage he reverts to his original form of a pig/boar. So maybe she is a talking pig like Hawk who studied magic, or some sort of spirit of the forest like the kami. The other possibilities are connected to the demon or the goddess clan. But since Mel already fills the spot for the demons, and what Gowther said about the sins not being from the same species I really think she fits for the Goddess.

Merlin is a ''goddess'' witch, like Bayonetta

 

[Notice me Escanor senpai]

Merlin is a ''goddess'' witch, like Bayonetta

Except for the pole dancing part
I never noticed mama hawk in the opening sequence. Given how the STs were confirmed in their final form in the anime as well this might be an easter egg. And as far as I can tell talking pigs aren't explained, Hawk and his mama just coveniently happened to be next to where Mel was (Camelot) so my guess is that Merlin put them there.
I wouldn't dismiss the pig theory just yet. That would make Escanor doubly cursed

 

[Beatrice]

Yeah especially considering that the clans united in the past to defeat the demon clan.

That as well.
Gonna paste my post from NF:

Meliodas - Demon
Diane - Giant
King - Fairy
Ban - Human

That's 4/5 races who took part in the Ancient Holy War.
So someone came up with:

Merlin = Goddess to complete the set.

A - Nakaba makes a secret of her age and race.
As a Goddess she might be ancient like Mel.
Had Nakaba put 3000+ I'm sure people would have suspected what she is.
And the Goddess Clan is a highly anticipated mystery and right isn't the time to reveal them yet.
Thus he made both secret.

B - Mel and Merlin do not want each other as enemies.
Of course, this doesn't mean much considering Guila had Zeal as entry there.
But I do believe this entry in the fanbook makes all the more sense if we don't think as simple as power, personality or just Mel and Merlin, but as Demon and Goddess.

C - Ancient War would be retold in a new version.
It was the Goddesses,Fairies,Humans and Giants vs Demons.
The 4 Clans would be individualised by the Sins taking on the Demons.
However, Mel is excluded cause we know there is some yet to be explained story about him.


Of course, there are some things that don't really fit, like it's only 5 of the Sins.
Gowther is a Doll, and who knows what Escanor is.
HOWEVER, if Escanor turns out to be a Vampire (no matter how weird a version), then I guess it'd be 6 considering Vampires seemed to have had some business 3000 years ago with Demons.

 

[Demonspeed]

I think Merlin is from the Goddess Clan as well, maybe an hybrid like Meliodas. Her Sin could be related to hevay researches on the Demon clan magic, which would be considered taboo for them.

 

[Notice me Escanor senpai]

I think her ST might give us a hint that supports this theory. It is called Morning star Aldan. Aldan is apparently the name of Merlin's mother in the legends so that's not the clue we're looking for. However Morning star is another name of Lucifer back when he was an angel (weirdly he was known for his pride). Merlin could have been cast out from the Goddess clan similar to how Lucifer was a fallen angel, and I too believe she did some experiments that were considered taboo or she simply was interested in demons. That is if she's not a hybrid and it is one of her parents who was banished. Also this wouldn't be the first time an ST reflects the species of its user, Mel's is called demon sword Lostvayne.

 

[Sajuukkhar]

Goddess sound VERY plausible to me if you look at the Sins then.
Mel - Demon
Diane - Giant
King - Fairy
Ban - Human
Merlin - Goddess

Whatever Escanor is and Gowther being a Doll, of course don't add in, but I do think that's what Nakaba is going for.

The official fanbook lists Escanor as a human, and lists Ban as (formally) Human.

Ban is not human anymore, he is an immortal, which makes him something inhuman, and unique.

 

[Hamy]

I've already posted my thoughts on Merlin before once her Sacred Treasure had been revealed, which is essentially that I also feel she may be related to the Goddess Clan (likely a fallen one). One more thing I would like to add to the discussion though is the fact that Merlin doesn't appear very interested in learning the magic of the Goddess clan as she just casually dismisses it as being only the realm of druids. Which I think is odd when considering prior she needed magic to heal the king, so it is not as if it would've have served her for practical purposes. Moreover, seeing as Goddess magic directly combats demon magic I'd find it hard to believe that she would only focus one side of her magical research to the demons when there is the equally powerful Goddess clan.

 

[Holt]

Well the demons clearly proved to be the most superior clan. It took 4 other powerful clans to unite and defeat them. In the end, they managed to seal them. I'd say the demon powers eclipses those of any other clan. They heal perfectly and can rejoin amputated limbs or completely regenerate them. Fraudrin gave hendricksen some of his blood and it completely revived the latter. If Merlin (as a goddess) is already familiar with the powers of her clan it makes sense she'll be more interested in demon's power.

 

[Hamy]

Well the demons clearly proved to be the most superior clan. It took 4 other powerful clans to unite and defeat them. In the end, they managed to seal them. I'd say the demon powers eclipses those of any other clan. They heal perfectly and can rejoin amputated limbs or completely regenerate them. Fraudrin gave hendricksen some of his blood and it completely revived the latter. If Merlin (as a goddess) is already familiar with the powers of her clan it makes sense she'll be more interested in demon's power.

Except... from what we've seen Elizabeth as being capable of as a Druid was more or less able to hold back Hendricksen who had become more or less a full fledged demon. Considering that Elizabeth has likely only touched the tip of the ice berg as to what the Goddess clan is capable of, she isn't even a goddess but more a "medium" of sort, I wouldn't dismiss the powers of the Goddess clan. They are without a doubt a direct threat or counter to demonic magic, again we haven't seen the full extent of what they do (since all we've seen is healing from Elizabeth, and based on their offer to Ban they are capable of revival - and the Druid clan was able to do so with Fairies).

As for why they were unable to single-handedly deal with the demon clan is still a mystery as we know nothing about them but if i were to hazard a guess... A clan that is likely revered tends to be rather lacking in numbers so... I would think they simply lacked the numbers to adequately seal them or there may be more to it, like why they have Druid's as their sort of vessel or medium (maybe they don't even have a physical body that can manifest in the world).

Moreover, we don't even know WHAT is Merlin's full interest in demon magic all we assume is that the magic fascinates her, but given her nature with collecting tools I think it would be safe to say that she has an interest with magic in general and all other related things. I would think a magic capable of a miraculous feat such as revival would be of interest.

 

[Notice me Escanor senpai]

I've already posted my thoughts on Merlin before once her Sacred Treasure had been revealed, which is essentially that I also feel she may be related to the Goddess Clan (likely a fallen one). One more thing I would like to add to the discussion though is the fact that Merlin doesn't appear very interested in learning the magic of the Goddess clan as she just casually dismisses it as being only the realm of druids. Which I think is odd when considering prior she needed magic to heal the king, so it is not as if it would've have served her for practical purposes. Moreover, seeing as Goddess magic directly combats demon magic I'd find it hard to believe that she would only focus one side of her magical research to the demons when there is the equally powerful Goddess clan.

I'm thinking that the Goddess aren't that powerful. Maybe their healing abilities are top notch but the rest I see them as inferior to the demons. After all they needed the help of the humans, the giants and the fairies I think to just seal the demons. Merlin's sin could be that she researched demon magic because it is more powerful, but this is just all speculation at this point.

---------- Post added at 01:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:26 PM ----------

Also the demons can regenerate so the Goddess not being able to kill them decided to seal them, just like Zeldris might have sealed the vampires because they also could regenerate imo.

Merlin could have studied all kind of magic, not just the demons, but theirs must be unique and frankly it is quite frightening, from the little that was shown of it. Demon magic is destrucive by nature and could be the opposite of the Goddesses magic who is more about healing and restoring(black magic vs white magic)

 

[Hamy]

I'm thinking that the Goddess aren't that powerful. Maybe their healing abilities are top notch but the rest I see them as inferior to the demons. After all they needed the help of the humans, the giants and the fairies I think to just seal the demons. Merlin's sin could be that she researched demon magic because it is more powerful, but this is just all speculation at this point.

What isn't speculative though as we've seen with Elizabeth is at the very least their magic is harmful to demons and at least is capable of negating their strength. Again we don't actually know much about their magic aside from what Elizabeth has given us a glimpse of, and the fact that they seem to need a medium to act on their behalf, but we have seen at least that their magic is effective against demons.

Edit: At least from what I can tell it seems the Goddess clan magic is specifically harmful to demons while completely harmless and even beneficial to everything else based on Elizabeth's short stint against Hendricksen.
http://manga.redhawkscans.com/reader/read/the_seven_deadly_sins/en/0/97/page/8
http://manga.redhawkscans.com/reader/read/the_seven_deadly_sins/en/0/97/page/9