A Wizard’s Secret

“Pandora Demon Ability, Fiery Collapse!”

Sensing the chill surrounding his body, a sharp light flashed in Merlin’s eyes as he cast Fiery Collapse without the least bit of hesitation.

Instantly, a raging fire flared up, soaring into the sky to form a sea of fire. The white flames burned and twisted in mid-air. The Pandora Demon Ability of ice threads which had easily sliced Wizard Ubik into innumerable pieces was now faced with Fiery Collapse where the ice threads melted one by one.

The ice threads that Bluebird had wielded were in fact, a petrifying type of Pandora Demon Ability. As a result, Wizard Ubik, who had not taken any precaution against it had naturally been slain with no difficulty.

“Wind of Freedom!”

Merlin cast Fiery Collapse but did not stop there. Instead, he cast Wind of Freedom, and immediately, a violent gust of Wind Elemental fluctuations surged around him. In the blink of an eye, his figure turned into a streaking blur that dashed toward Bluebird.

Recognising that Bluebird was a formidable for, Merlin decided he would go full-on against Bluebird. Hence, he had used his strongest spell on the get go.

“Earth Shield!”

Bluebird’s expression was still blank. A layer of dirt-yellow light appeared over her body, and it began to rapidly form a shield which enclosed her.

This was a Third-level Earth-type Defensive spell. In addition, it was a well-known spell among the Third-level Defensive spells. Bluebird had already cast her Defensive spell, and upon seeing that Merlin was still dashing forward, she frowned for the first time. Following that, she put both of her hands together, and her fair fingers stabbed the air repeatedly.

“Swish! Swish! Swish!”

Innumerable ice threads appeared three times in a row, forming a large web in the air. In one move, the icy chill that it emitted froze the white flames which covered the entire sky.

“Crack! Crack!”

The ice crystals fell to the ground and shattered but the surroundings were already in a complete mess. The collision of Merlin’s Fiery Collapse and Bluebird’s Ice-type Pandora Demon Ability was far more frightening than the spells of the Fourth-level Wizards from before. Even the robes and Defensive spells would not be of any use upon one contact.

“Pandora Demon Ability, Glacial Finger!”

Merlin’s body flickered with violent Wind Elemental fluctuations. At the same time, as he neared Bluebird, he cast Glacial Finger.

“Whoosh!”

The frost of Glacial Finger shot straight toward Bluebird. The surface of the ground was completely frozen, and even the dirt-yellow layer of Earth Guard over Bluebird’s body was encrusted in a thick layer of ice crystals.

Merlin’s Glacial Finger was able to easily demolish Third-level spells. Earth Guard was considered a Third-level spell even though it was a relatively difficult spell to cultivate among Third-level spells.

“Bang!”

The ice crystals shattered abruptly, and Merlin saw a flying spear made of condensed Wind Elements. It broke the ice crystals in an instant and then flew toward Merlin at an inconceivable speed

“A second Pandora Demon Ability!”

Merlin felt a slight shock in his heart but he reacted soon enough. He was able to possess Fiery Collapse, Glacial Finger, and Darkness Heart – three types of Pandora Demon Abilities. So, having two Pandora Demon Abilities was not surprising for Bluebird, a prodigy from Ozmu who had made countless Spell Casters tremble by the mere mention of her name.

Ozmu’s system ran even deeper than many large spell casters’ organizations, so it was not surprising that they possessed many Pandora Demon Abilities. However, even if one had the cultivation method for a Pandora Demon Ability, one would still require many precious items, Ozmu would not just freely provide these treasures.

Therefore, these items needed to be acquired by the Spell Casters themselves. Some of the cultivation requirements for Pandora Demon Ability were even rather demanding. Bluebird was very competent to be able to cultivate two Pandora Demon Abilities. So, it came as no surprise that she gained such an infamous reputation even in Ozmu, with its concentration of prodigies.

“Buzz.”

Merlin’s Mind Power quickly activated the robe he was wearing. In an instant, dense lines of runes emerged on the robe. This was Merlin’s first time activating the full defensive powers of the robe.

Merlin had spent a large number of contribution points to exchange for this robe in the Resource Tower of the Dark Magic Region. Moreover, the robe was able to withstand Third-level spells attacks.

Although the flying spear of Bluebird’s Pandora Demon Ability surely had not much force left after breaking through Glacial Finger, it was still far stronger than a Third-level spell.

Therefore, the main issue was whether the robe Merlin was wearing would be able to stop the attack since the flying spear Bluebird had conjured using her Pandora Demon Ability was obviously a strength-type one, possessing a tremendous amount of force.

“Thump!”

The flying spear crashed heavily into Merlin, and the surface of the robe began to flutter rapidly. Countless runes firmly grasped the flying spear, just like a giant hand, stubbornly holding it back.

However, the moment the flying spear came in contact with Merlin, he understood the extent of its force. If he was an average Spell Caster, it was likely that such a terrifying, jarring shock would cause heavy injury.

“Humph!”

Nonetheless, Merlin’s physical attributes had recently undergone a huge upgrade. Such a force was nothing to him at all. So, he snorted lightly, and a white blaze flickered over his body once again.

“Pandora Demon Ability, Fiery Collapse!”

White flames instantly rose up. This time, with no regard to what it cost him, Merlin mobilized all the Magic Power in the Spell Models of Fireball and Furious Flame within his Awareness, and cast Fiery Collapse.

Thus, the flames of Fiery Collapse immediately flared up. Its power was much stronger, instantly burning the flying spear until it turned into ash. Furthermore, the flames quickly extended toward Bluebird, burning all the way.

“Dark Light Realm!”

Without any hesitation, Merlin quickly unleashed Darkness Heart as he cast Dark Light Realm.

In a flash, half of the sky turned pitch-dark. The light rays were constantly distorted, and not even Mind Power was able to examine the surroundings. The power of Dark Light Realm which was enhanced through Darkness Heart, had been greatly increased. The average Third-level Mind Power would be pulled into the illusion.

If one had Fourth-level Mind Power, then one would be able to break free from the clutches of Dark Light Realm, and not be caught in the illusion. This was a point that Merlin lamented. He had originally thought that through the enhancement of the third type of Darkness Heart, the power of Dark Light Realm would greatly increase, causing even Fourth-level Spell Casters to be trapped in the illusion.

However, the actual reality was unlike that at all. Any Third-level Mind Power wouldn’t be able to resist Dark Light Realm after the enhancement of Darkness Heart, but it was unable to cause Spell Casters with Fourth-level Mind Power to fall into the illusion.

It might be those Spell Casters whose Mind Power had just reached Fourth-level would slightly feel the influence of Dark Light Realm but it would only be a minor influence. Hence, they would not be trapped in the illusion at all.

In the past, it was due to Weiss’ Mind Power which had reached Fourth-level that he was not trapped in Merlin’s Dark Light Realm. Although Bluebird, who was currently enveloped by Dark Light Realm, was not a Fourth-level Spell Caster, Merlin had no guarantee that he was able to trap her in the illusion at all.

“Boom!”

As expected, a powerful burst of Mind Power soared into the sky, instantly piercing the darkness. Merlin’s Dark Light Realm was dispersed by Bluebird, for her Mind Power had indeed reached the Fourth-level. It seemed that every Ozmu prodigy had very strong Mind Power.

Nevertheless, Merlin had long been ready. He had never stopped and had always been rushing toward Bluebird. Even though the two of them used Pandora Demon Ability, spells, and such, causing a huge commotion and astounding onlookers, in reality, the time that had passed was just a short while.

“Whoosh!”

Merlin was already in front of Bluebird. He could see a different expression on Bluebird’s detached face for the first time.

“Die!”

With a cold smile on his face, Merlin brandished his arm and striked down with his fist.

A Spell Caster using his fist? This was something preposterous to all Spell Casters present. They even found it hard to believe, but none of them laughed.

Merlin was a First-level Spell Caster, and many Spell Casters already knew his identity. In the huge battle between the Doret and the Shadison clans earlier, a First-level Spell Caster would be no more than a cannon fodder, unable to significantly influence the outcome.

However, a First-level Spell Caster like Merlin now was able to engage in battle with Bluebird on an equal level. Moreover, from the series of moves in the battle, Merlin had the upper hand, constantly suppressing Bluebird.

This was something witnessed fully in public by the crowd of Spell Casters. They saw clearly that Merlin was completely able to suppress the infamous Bluebird of Ozmu.

“Bang!”

Under the single strike of Merlin’s fist, Bluebird was unable to laugh anymore. As soon as the fist landed, she felt a suffocating sensation as if the air was compressed from all directions.

Even the intermediate Elemental Swordsmen who had excellent physical attributes, great close combat skills, and the ability to threaten Spell Casters, could not compare to this.

“Now is the time, open up!”

Merlin sensed that there was a moment of weakness when Bluebird was casting Earth Guard. When she was casting Earth Guard for the second time, she was disturbed momentarily by Merlin’s Dark Light Realm, so she did not manage to cast it in time.

Although the time taken to cast a spell was extremely short and could almost be disregarded, Merlin was looking for precisely an opportunity like this. So, how could he let it slip?

Therefore, he struck directly. His arm seemed to have grown by a full size, pummeling until the air was hissing with the impact.

“Crack!”

The dirt-yellow light held up somewhat for only a moment, then, under Merlin’s enormous strength, it flickered a few times and shattered instantly like an eggshell.

In the instant that Earth Guard was broken, an expression of disbelief crept over Bluebird’s face. She had two types of Pandora Demon Abilities. Not even Fourth-level Spell Casters were a match for her, and in her eyes, Weiss was merely an egotistical and arrogant moron.

However, she was now about to end up like Weiss.

“No! I mustn’t die. Kleis still needs me…”

Bluebird cried out hoarsely but Merlin did not hesitate in the slightest. The moment that Earth Guard had shattered, white flames appeared in his hand, swallowing Bluebird’s figure in an instant…