Chapter 139
Chapter 139
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Value (4)
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"Heh heh...! This is beyond anything I expected..."
Merlin tore dozens of pages from his book, mounted them, and soared through the sky as he spoke.
He looked down at the ground.
The ice-covered land, blanketed in pure white snow, was now engulfed by a massive darkness, as if ink had been spilled across it.
'No, calling it a hole punched through might be more accurate.'
It was astonishing, yet disconcerting.
Having lived over a century, witnessing and learning countless things—even serving as a battlefield mage, traversing foreign lands and facing myriad foes—this was something entirely new.
Both his reason and instincts screamed that this was no ordinary phenomenon.
'One thing's certain. If I hadn't dodged back then, I wouldn't have stood a chance—I'd have been overwhelmed without any real resistance.'
The "back then" Merlin referred to was the moment his young friend lit a Filterette. After taking a drag, the young man's face twisted grotesquely as he extracted emotions to cast black magic.
A black spell called Hell Summon, one Merlin had never even heard of before.
Whether it truly summoned hell or was just named that way, Merlin couldn't say. But one thing he knew for sure.
If his reaction had been even a fraction slower, he too would have been devoured by that extreme darkness blanketing the ground.
Even he, an Archmage.
"At least it can't reach up here into the sky."
But that seemed to be a misconception.
The darkness, which had spread to the horizon, suddenly contracted and began to roil.
Like mud boiling in a pot, perhaps?
The churning darkness erupted with a pop-pop-pop, tendrils shooting toward the sky like tentacles.
Shwooooaaaa—!
Merlin was certain. If those grabbed him, it was over.
So he opened his book and summoned new ones.
Five books burst from the mana-formed tome, encircling him like the points of a star.
Merlin concentrated his mana into his hands, manipulating the books.
Flip-flip-flip-flip-flip!
Flip-flip-flip-flip-flip!
Flip-flip-flip-flip-flip!
Flip-flip-flip-flip-flip!
Flip-flip-flip-flip-flip!
The books splayed open in midair, pages flipping rapidly as several sheets tore free.
The ripped pages moved like machines to Merlin's designated spots, forming a magic circle.
"Hmmm..."
Merlin linked the spells inscribed on the torn pages, their stored mana, and his own, erecting a massive mana shield in the sky.
It was a defensive spell powerful enough to block even war-scale bombardment magic cast by multiple battlefield mages working together.
Boom————!!!
The ominous tendril lancing toward the sky collided with Merlin's grand barrier.
Fortunately, Merlin's defense held stronger.
The tendril was halted by the mana shield, unable to advance further.
'...Huh?'
Merlin doubted his eyes. But he wasn't seeing things.
The unidentified tendril was slowly eroding his magic—like ink, like poison—bypassing even the protective spells meant to prevent corrosion.
Watching his spell being devoured, Merlin realized this black tendril couldn't be stopped. He could only buy time, at best.
The only way out was to eliminate the source of the attack.
In that moment, Merlin felt like he'd been struck on the head with a hammer.
What had started as a skill test had escalated into a genuinely serious battle.
How many years had it been since he'd felt this?
He wondered if this was really okay, but seeing the tendril already half-devouring his barrier, he shelved the thought.
It had already surpassed the level of a casual spar.
Resolved, Merlin relaxed his stance and spread his arms wide.
With that, he scattered his mana into the sky, then clenched his power to seize control.
The dull gray clouds over the icy land churned.
Not just part of them—the entire visible expanse.
Rumble—! Rumb-rumble! Roooaaar...Boom!!
Vast blue lightning bolts danced amid the roiling clouds.
As if the heavens themselves were enraged.
And from their midst, Merlin spoke.
"Haa... Please don't die on me, young friend."
With those words, he swung his arm down.
In that instant, the lightning writhing in the clouds poured down all at once toward the blackened ground.
Rumble......Boom!! KABOOOM————!! Boom—! Kra-kaboom——!!!!
A deafening roar that could burst eardrums and crush spirits accompanied countless bolts of lightning, great and small.
The blinding brightness that could sear retinas and the ferocious thunderclaps battered not just the blackened land, but the surrounding area relentlessly.
Each strike peeled away the earth, ignited flames on the ice, upheaved the ground, and cracked it open.
A catastrophe, plain and simple.
But Merlin paid it no mind.
That was the nature of this spell, after all.
The pinnacle technique of the Mjolnir sub-school—specialists in lightning elementalism—[Heaven's Wrath]. It drew mana and the power of lightning from the atmosphere, artificially condensing and unleashing it in a bombardment.
Less a spell, more a natural disaster.
Its power was so immense it couldn't be precisely targeted beyond broad designations.
Friendly fire identification was impossible, making it officially banned even in wartime.
To unleash such a spell on a young man barely into his twenties...
Yet Merlin felt no regret or shame.
That unidentified black substance had frightened him that much.
Pahhahaha...
The lightning ceased striking the ground.
Exhausted of power, perhaps—the perpetually overcast sky cleared to blue.
Whether the young friend had survived like before was questionable.
Then, amid the blinding snow dust blanketing the land white, something stirred.
"No way..."
And it was exactly that.
A massive black something burst through the snow, revealing itself.
Waaah—! Waaah—! Waaah—! Waaah—! Waaah—!
Waaah—! Waaah—! Waaah—! Waaah—! Waaah—!
Waaah—! Waaah—! Waaah—! Waaah—! Waaah—!
An ear-shattering cry accompanied it...
It was a baby. A muddy, blackish-red, slimy infant molded from clay.
Mountain-sized... Immensely huge... Its overwhelming scale, revulsion, and terror gave Merlin a chilling sensation he hadn't felt in decades.
This massive, grotesque, newborn-like abomination reached out toward Merlin.
There was no cuteness to be found. It felt like some repulsive human mimicry.
Merlin tore dozens of pages from his book and hurled them.
They embedded into the giant baby's arm with a pop-pop-pop, followed moments later by a massive explosion.
Bang—! Bwoom-bwoom-bwoooom——!!
The arm blew off. The baby wailed as if tearing the sky, literally. Yet it didn't fall—it reached out again.
Astonishingly, the arm was regenerating.
Countless tiny babies, ant-like, clumping together.
Chilling...
Merlin's composure vanished as he summoned countless books, tearing pages to unleash spells.
Dozens of magic circles unfolded around the giant baby, mana-forged chains binding it.
Clank-rattle...Crack! Shatter—!
Clank-rattle-rattle......Ping—! Boom!!
Clank...Thud! Clang—!
Clank-clank. Boom——!!
Clung—! Rattle! Clank-rattle-rattle!! Clung!!
A massive shockwave radiated outward.
The binding spell, capable of restraining even secondary-dimensional beings from the Spatial school, failed to fully contain the baby—it thrashed wildly.
The infant flailed, its cries splitting the heavens.
The chains, forged from vast mana and intricate spells, strained desperately to hold.
They were holding for now, but would shatter soon enough.
Merlin acted immediately.
'Concentrate [Heaven's Wrath] and obliterate it in one go... This feels familiar, like something from the past. When was it?'
Recalling a faint memory, Merlin scattered mana into the sky, seizing control once more and gathering power.
The prior use had weakened the heavens' aid, but it was fine.
He could supplement with his own mana.
Merlin drew mana from his mana heart.
In moments, a spell of equal—or greater—might was ready.
With one hand maintaining control, he gathered more mana, layering targeting spells from the giant baby's head to toes.
Not a single gap left unmarked.
"Heaven's—"
-Ping! ...Thud!!
As he moved to unleash, something streaked past his head.
The books acted as shields, deflecting it—he'd have lost his head otherwise.
Merlin looked toward the attack's origin.
The giant, pudgy baby's mouth. Something was there.
A humanoid figure clad in black armor, so pitch-black it seemed otherworldly.
Pop-pop-bang——!!
The black humanoid pointed fingers at Merlin, firing hate bullets.
Merlin raised a book shield to block.
No complacency this time—he focused intently.
Yet he felt the attack gnawing at his barrier.
Devouring books infused with mana from past Archmages with mere ordinary strikes.
'Counter quickly...'
As he prepared to retaliate, the black humanoid shattered the book shield with its quarterstaff, closing in.
From an impossible distance.
"You, young friend?!"
The black humanoid didn't answer Merlin's question. Instead, it clung close, seized his hands, disrupted his mana flow, and neutralized the pages under his feet.
"Hoo, this'll be fun."
With those words, Merlin plummeted, still gripped by the black humanoid.
The presumed Oliver seemed to grin, despite lacking eyes, nose, or mouth.
Merlin felt biological dread and tried to shake free, but couldn't budge.
It wasn't his lack of strength. This was beyond common sense.
It could snap his neck in an instant yet refrained.
Soon, he understood why.
"You truly know how to surprise me."
Merlin spoke as Oliver usurped control of his spell.
The sky rumble-rumbled—!, blue lightning writhing like serpents, striking toward the falling Merlin and black humanoid.
With those words, a brilliant flash like sunlight erupted across the desolate icy end of the world.
A horrific sound beyond human ears rang out, hurling the two apart to crash separately onto the ground.
His ears rang with nothing but a piercing reeeeen.
Somehow, amid the disaster, Merlin staggered to his feet, dripping blood.
The Lightning God's Blessing had shielded him from all lightning magic, saving his life—but his astonishment didn't fade.
Surveying the clear sky and upheaved icy terrain, Merlin let out an awed "Ah..."
He recalled where he'd felt this sensation before.
They said age dulled memory, but to forget this?
Merlin marveled at his own folly.
'No more playing around. Time to get serious...'
Then.
Turning toward the approaching presence, he saw the black humanoid emerge.
Body charred like severe burns, shoulder dislocated, arm dangling, both legs broken. A miracle it stood.
Yet nonchalantly, with a flutter, it regenerated automatically and advanced on Merlin.
Merlin shed his leisure, assuming a stance as if facing an equal—or superior—foe.
Drip.
The black humanoid halted upon full recovery.
Unsure why, Merlin watched silently.
Moments later, it tore away the black covering its face, revealing Oliver.
He looked utterly exhausted.
"Elder..."
"...Speak."
"I'm really at my limit now. Sorry, but can we call it here? I just want to rest. I surrender."
Merlin gazed at Oliver in shock.
After a long pause, he replied, entranced.
"Very well."
With that, the black substance enveloping Oliver vanished, leaving his battered form to collapse face-down.
As if asleep. Merlin watched, then sank wearily to the ground himself.
"Haa... Looks like my twilight years are gonna be interesting."