Chapter 427: Form (2)
A multitude of palms arrived above Gretel and the giant Hecatoncheires.
Layer upon layer, the palms tore through the air in a blinding white, descending towards Gretel and the giant’s head.
Even while her mind was overtaken, perhaps due to her instinct as a living being, the giant's eyes widened, and Gretel, her face turning pale, pulled her hands from where they had been embedded in the giant’s head and tried to flee.
However, it was not easy.
The enormous palms were too vast to evade, and the intense pressure they exuded as they descended restricted any movement.
Gretel, her actions constrained by the pressure, lifted her head again, and her gaze was filled solely with the sight of those palms.
Palms that could shatter anything in the world...
"Aaaargh━!"
Hoohoohoohooooom━━Kwakakakakaka-Boom!!!
As the giant’s palm fell downward, it swallowed up Gretel’s scream.
With the impact, a shockwave shredded the air into a stark white, covering the entire sky over Laville. At the same time, one of the giant's heads shattered, its neck twisted and broken, and still, the giant's palm continued downwards, colliding with the ground.
In Zone 11, where the original landscape had already disappeared due to large-scale magic, another massive physical explosion occurred. Starting from the point where the palm struck, a gigantic wave formed, and the earth itself twisted and warped.
The impact was so strong that the resulting dust clouds enveloped all of Laville.
It was a catastrophe befitting a god’s wrath… at least, that’s how it appeared to the ordinary eye.
Merlin, only slightly better than ordinary people... very slightly, gazed indifferently at the scene before him, using his magic to clear the dust before descending to the ground.
Nothing remained in Zone 11, which had returned to nothingness due to Gretel’s magic, Merlin’s counterattack, and the giant's palm. No artificial structures survived.
All that was left were the fragments of buildings, the warped earth, and the shattered head and severed arm of the giant Hecatoncheires.
An otherworldly being so powerful that it was worshipped as a god...
“Hmm…”
Merlin surveyed the devastated Laville and cast triple-layer security spells on the giant’s head and arm before speaking.
“Truly impressive. Quite impressive.”
Merlin directed his words at Gretel, who stood amidst the dust that surged like smoke between the giant's colossal body and the sky.
She had barely managed to evade the direct impact by using spatial magic just before the palm struck.
However, it hadn’t been a perfect escape. One of her limbs was completely crushed, and the flow of magic within her body was severely twisted.
It wasn’t surprising.
When struck by a certain level of force while using portal magic, the portal could collapse, and the resulting backlash would cause the magic within one's body to become irreparably tangled.
Still, Gretel was considered fortunate.
Ordinarily, one’s body would be utterly destroyed, or they would be swallowed by the magic explosion of the portal, leaving no trace behind.
The fact that she wasn’t indicated the high level of her spatial magic skills.
Reaching such a realm was not something attainable merely by devouring others to accumulate power. Merlin acknowledged this fact as he praised her efforts.
“Your knack for mockery is as exceptional as any mage of the Tower.”
Upon hearing Merlin’s praise, Gretel gritted her teeth in frustration. It wasn’t hard to understand why.
Their desperate gambit had been overturned so effortlessly, even as an inevitable and absolute end loomed over them...
‘Tick-tock. At the end of the world, a giant hole opens, the clock resumes its motion. A black sun rises from the earth, a monster awakens in the western sea, the key is taken from the false gatekeeper, and the wandering child becomes a boy.’
Merlin silently recited a verse from the Eschatology.
He had hoped and believed that this time would be different from his own era, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.
It was a truly sorrowful reality.
Merlin spoke again.
“It was no mockery. I was genuinely admiring your skill.”
“…That spatial magic… what exactly is it?”
Gretel, calming her agitation, asked the question. It seemed she was trying to buy time to heal her shattered limbs, but there was also a genuine curiosity.
It was natural. The known types of spatial magic were limited to ‘portal magic’ for movement and ‘summoning magic’ to call otherworldly beings, yet the magic Merlin had used was something entirely different.
Any mage would have been intrigued.
Merlin responded to Gretel’s question without hesitation.
“It is a magic passed down from the previous Archive.”
He replied with courtesy, yet Gretel only sneered.
“Ha... Do you take me for a fool? You call that mere magic?”
Mere magic...
Such words would never come from the lips of a mage for whom magic was akin to religion, but Merlin, too, shared that sentiment to some extent.
The spatial magic he had just used on Gretel was, in name, magic, but in truth, it was something beyond what could be called magic.
After all, even magic was bound by the rules set by the gods.
To distort space and exert absolute influence over everything within it was closer to an Authority than to magic.
Even the giant's arm was no different from pudding under its power. It was a force that even the mage Merlin found terrifying.
Merlin nodded, acknowledging part of what Gretel had said.
“I understand your reaction. But it is no lie. It is knowledge and power passed down from the previous Archive… specifically, the First Archive.”
“The First Archive?”
Gretel responded, as the First Archive was the only Archive differentiated from the others, which did not distinguish between generations.
The origin and beginning of the Archive, a mysterious being closest to the truth of the world...
It may have sounded absurd, but not even Merlin, the current Archive, nor the previous Archives knew the name or face of the First Archive.
All that remained was the vast knowledge, boundless magic, and the truth of the world that he left behind.
“Amusing. An Archive that even the Archives don’t know… But is it really alright to share this with me?”
She wasn’t wrong.
Gretel was the younger sister of the Black Hand’s Flesh Chef. Although she had been subdued by Merlin, she was still a formidable black mage and sorceress, and had even absorbed a trace of the infernal energy.
Sharing such information about the Archive with her was clearly inappropriate.
Nonetheless, Merlin answered.
“I share it because I pity you.”
Twitch. Gretel’s expression visibly trembled as she listened to Merlin while steadily healing her body.
The word “pity” struck a nerve.
It wasn’t difficult to understand. Both mages and black mages who had reached great heights often carried deep-seated voids.
In particular, black mages were likely to have even greater voids than regular mages.
“Don’t misunderstand. It is not only you that I pity.”
“…”
“I pity myself and all of humanity. We are all victims and perpetrators of a grand and cruel fate… and that is why it is all the more sorrowful.”
Merlin spoke in incomprehensible terms, claiming that all humans were both victims and perpetrators.
Due to the Archive’s dense magical barrier, his emotions could not be read, but Gretel, who had lived for centuries, knew that his words were sincere.
He was genuinely pitying himself. A mere child who hadn’t even lived a hundred years... a mage who had never faced any true hardship...
It was an insult. A terrible insult!
"...Do not mock me, you brat."
Enraged, Gretel shed all formality as she staggered to her feet. Though she had suffered greatly, she had not yet been defeated.
She still hadn’t used all the power she had obtained from the depths of Hell.
"I did not mock you."
"No, it's your very attitude that insults me. I am a witch who has lived for centuries, someone who consumed the Mage-King of the Desert Lands, and countless other renowned mages over the centuries! Moreover, I now possess the power of Hell itself... Do not lump me in with mere humans!"
Gretel shouted with genuine fervor. As the end of the world approached, she was determined to keep her promise to her brother.
However, the sorrow on Merlin’s face deepened. It was the kind of expression one could only make when they knew just a bit more than others.
The curse of knowledge.
"I'm sorry, Gretel… but no matter how great the power a mere creature picks up and drapes over itself, it does not make one truly great. It's like an imitation attempting to wear ancient authority—meaningless and dangerous."
"If that’s how you see it... then I’ll show you what kind of power this mere creature has!"
With that, Gretel drew upon the raw infernal energy she had absorbed into her body.
The power she gained by offering all of Laville as a sacrifice.
Gretel began chanting in a voice that no longer belonged to a human.
[Hell Summon]
The unstable infernal energy exploded from Gretel's recovering body.
Dark energy surged from various parts of her body, distorting the space around her and eventually causing cracks to form.
Even those without knowledge of magic could sense it instinctively—a foreboding, ominous presence.
Naturally, Merlin sensed it too, and he had faced it once before.
Phooroorooroong... Snap!!
As Gretel chanted, Merlin swiftly formed a magic circle in midair, binding the Hell Gate she was attempting to summon with magical threads of indescribable colors.
He hadn't expected to use it here… but it wasn’t a bad opportunity.
"How... how did you do that?!"
Gretel was stunned. Instead of answering her, Merlin pulled on the magical threads, dismantling her spell. Then, he produced a book from thin air, tearing a page from it.
He flung the page at the now-vulnerable Gretel. In her current state, it was too dangerous to let her live.
As the paper sliced through the air, aiming for Gretel’s neck, the space between them distorted, causing time to seem to slow down.
In truth, time hadn't actually slowed; it was merely a perceptual illusion.
A giant portal broke open like a shattered mirror between Gretel and the approaching paper. From it emerged a massive reptilian arm, covered in iron-like scales, accompanied by the roar of a beast.
Kwaaang━━!!!
Merlin’s paper collided with the reptilian arm, resulting in a clash that produced a metallic crash followed by a deafening beastly wail.
The roar was powerful enough to shake and even crumble walls.
Only one kind of creature could produce a sound like that.
"A dragon, I see," Merlin remarked calmly, observing the dragon that emerged from the massive portal.
The dragon, twice the size of the giant, was cloaked in various forms of black magic.
It was impressive for a dragon to wield black magic, but what stood out even more was its condition.
Despite being a creature with immense vitality and magical resistance, the dragon’s body was clearly in poor shape.
Deep wounds marred its body, surrounded by disease- and weakening-type black magic.
Severe inflammation caused its scales to peel away, malignant tumors grew profusely, and parasitic fungi and saprophytic organisms burrowed into its flesh.
It was indeed a curious case.
Dragons were not only formidable in terms of raw power, but they also possessed strong magical resistance and immunity. For black magic of this kind to affect a dragon so severely, it would require not just skill, but exceptional materials.
At that moment, Merlin realized who this dragon was and who had made it this way.
"The Flesh Chef?"
Upon hearing Merlin, the wounded dragon roared once more, its chest and neck glowing red beneath the scales as it prepared to unleash a torrent of highly concentrated flames.
Fwaaaaah━━━━!!!
With a roar that seemed to swallow the air itself, a sea of flames surged towards Merlin.
To withstand the dragon’s breath—far beyond ordinary fire magic—Merlin clad himself in Dragon Skin, granting him absolute resistance to flame.
The fiery wave, a blend of red and orange, rushed forward, attempting to consume him. Yet Merlin, undistracted by the blaze, focused on the Flesh Chef, who was charging towards him.
He used the flames not just as an attack but as a cover to approach Merlin.
It was a clever strategy.
A dragon’s true power lay not in its flames but in its physical prowess.
Fwaang!!
The Flesh Chef, wielding a long, flexible neck, broke through the blazing waves and lunged at Merlin with a gaping maw filled with rows of teeth.
The flames dominated the space, leaving nowhere to evade, aiming for a swift, fatal blow. Reading his intentions, Merlin didn’t dodge but tore another page from his book and threw it directly at the dragon’s open jaws.
The Flesh Chef quickly clamped its mouth shut to intercept the attack, but this turned out to be a poor choice.
The magic embedded in the paper exploded, releasing a white and blue burst of freezing energy.
A poison-like cold...
━━━━━!!
As expected, the attack worked. The fire-breathing dragon was vulnerable to extreme cold.
The icy blast that erupted inside its mouth didn’t just extinguish the internal flames but also spread to the heart, dealing a critical wound.
The Flesh Chef momentarily faltered, wracked by the excruciating pain of having its heart pierced, but then gritted its teeth and swung its enormous wings like blades to attack Merlin.
Booom!!
The massive wings, which could blot out the sky, split the blazing flames in two as they swung forward. Merlin dodged them with ease.
But it wasn’t over yet.
The Flesh Chef, without pause, spun its agile body like a wolf and lashed out with its long tail like a whip.
The dragon's tail, composed of scales, muscles, and bones tougher than steel, moved faster than the speed of sound, causing a sonic boom before striking Merlin.
With a thunderous impact, Merlin was sent flying.
Though he had cast a shield just before the blow, ensuring he wasn’t injured, the Flesh Chef took satisfaction in the outcome.
After all, he hadn’t come here to fight Merlin.
Fuuuup...
The Flesh Chef inhaled deeply, the scales on its chest and neck glowing again—this time with a dark crimson light.
Kwaaaaaararang━━━━━!!!!
The dragon opened its jaws wide, unleashing another wave of fire that cascaded like a tidal wave. This time, the flames were tainted with black magic, their color a dark crimson.
The fire didn’t merely burn; it stuck to the ground, spreading diseases in real time and clinging like a toxic substance.
It was a poisonous flame.
Even the Archive himself was momentarily trapped by the sticky, cursed fire. Taking advantage of the delay, the Flesh Chef turned its wounded body to face its sister—his only remaining family.
"Brother...?"
Gretel, seeing her brother fully transformed into a dragon, asked in disbelief.
Although she had devoured a dragon and absorbed its power to the best of her ability, she had never fully transformed into one... What had happened?
[It’s me... Are you okay?]
The Flesh Chef answered his sister’s question using magic rather than his voice. Hearing his words, Gretel realized that her brother had indeed awakened as a complete dragon.
If that was the case, then they might have a chance—against even the Archive.
‘...Huh?’
But something felt off. Why, despite becoming a fully awakened dragon, was her brother's body in such a miserable state? Why did he appear so frantic and terrified?
Then, her brother spoke.
[We need to escape... quickly! That man... he’s beyond what we imagined!! I’ll open a portal, so get out of here! At least you must survive!]
"What are you talking about...?"
Her brother spoke urgently, yet Gretel didn’t understand. At that moment, an ominous presence began to manifest above them.
It was a chilling sensation, akin to what she felt while facing Merlin.
Gretel and the Flesh Chef instinctively looked up at the sky, where they saw a colossal celestial body swirling like a vortex above Laville.
Just as they recognized what it was, a black flash burst from the center of the vortex, from the eye of the heavens, blanketing the world in darkness.
As everyone’s vision turned black, a single bolt of lightning fell mercilessly towards Gretel’s head.
━━━━━━━━!
Without a sound, the bolt struck the ground with intense heat and force, causing Gretel to lose consciousness for a moment.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself collapsed on the ground, and standing over her, pinning her down with one foot, was Dave—Landa’s fixer and a member of the Tower.
In one hand, he held a quarterstaff, while in the other, he gripped a checkered dagger, the quarterstaff piercing directly into her heart.
"...!!?"
It was like a bolt from the blue.
Shocked, Gretel looked at Dave again.
He wore an unnaturally blank expression as he gazed not at her but at her brother, Hansel.
At that moment, Gretel grasped something and felt a chilling malice and fear course through her.