Genius Warlock

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“Oh my, no…! Why do you appear everywhere I go? Are you interested in me, by any chance? Even though you’re so old.”

In the capital of Galos, Ravel.

In Zone 11, far from the central Zone 1, Gretel spoke.

She, emitting a dark red aura, was outwardly smiling, but her awkward expression and the cold sweat on her forehead indicated she was not in the best of states.

It seemed to be more than just an interruption.

Whoosh…

Merlin, who was flying using magic, landed on a building a bit away from Gretel and replied.

“If I’ve rubbed you the wrong way, I’m sorry. But don’t get me wrong. I am not that interested in women.”

“Heh… Is that so?”

“Yeah, even in me younger days, I fancied magic more, mate.”

That was true. In his days when Merlin’s hair was still thick and his skin was firm, despite his youthful vigor, he preferred magic over romance, dedicating all his time to study, practice, and academic exchanges.

He had almost taken an interest in the opposite sex after reaching a certain level, but ironically, he was chosen by the dreamed-of Archiver, and thereafter…

“I find that hard to believe. Old people pretend not to care about money and life, pretend to be detached, pretend to be wise, but in reality, they are more greedy than anyone else, aren’t they?”

“No denying it, the notion that folks get wiser and less interested in stuff as they get on in years is just a load of codswallop. People just get uglier with age. I sussed that out when I got on in years. But my lack of interest in you is sincere, believe me.”

“Can you prove that?”

“Of course… I’m not interested in women older than me. And that’s by hundreds of years.”

Once Merlin responded, Gretel, who had been pretending to be composed, immediately contorted her expression and harnessed the surging demonic energy to cast a spell.

Gretel’s mana, tainted black by hellish energy, released a small amount into the air, swiftly coursing along the ground toward the building where Merlin stood.

As the mana reached the structure, the sorcerer’s will within it triggered, and a black lightning bolt surged upwards from beneath.

Boom──Kwararang!!

A colossal black burst ascended from the building’s lowest level into the sky.

The ground quaked, resembling an earthquake, and with a deafening roar reminiscent of a collapsing mountain, massive concrete chunks soared high into the heavens.

The remnants of the shattered building ascended before descending like rain, prompting Gretel to open her warlock’s eyes and pursue the vanished Merlin.

‘Disappeared? Escaped with space magic?’

Employing space magic without the opponent’s detection was exceptionally challenging but not unattainable, especially for an Archiver who had inherited knowledge spanning over a millennium.

Gretel was momentarily filled with regret.

If things had gone as planned, she could have sampled the Archiver, along with his thousand-year knowledge and legendary wealth.

A few days ago, she might have been uncertain, but now the situation had changed.

Although still somewhat unstable, she had acquired substantial power.

Trembling, Gretel observed her quivering hands. It was a result of the tremendous energy coursing through her veins. Despite the anxiety, this overwhelming power instilled her with courage and determination.

Firmly…

‘I can do it. I can do this.’

Gretel reassured herself, clenching her fist.

Then, with the eyes of the warlock, she scanned her surroundings, confirming Merlin’s absence, and resolved to reunite with her brother.

Following the original plan, after absorbing the power of hell, she would consume that individual, Dave.

“It’s a bummer being underestimated just ’cause I’m old.”

A voice emanated from an area where nothing had been sensed.

Startled, Gretel turned her head and spotted Merlin concealed behind a massive concrete fragment.

He had cast a spell, concealing his emotions, life force, and mana completely, clinging to the fragment’s rear.

Merlin hurled a torn piece of paper at Gretel, who employed her black magic mixed with the energy of hell to deploy multiple shields in an attempt to block it.

Contrary to its appearance, the paper was as heavy as an iron lump and as sharp as a blade, piercing through three of the five layers of Gretel’s shield in an instant.

However, that was all. Gretel rapidly adjusted, aligning her mana with the paper’s force, introducing rotation to the impact point, and altering the shape and angle of the shield, causing the formidable paper to slide off helplessly.

Swoosh!

The paper skimmed along the shield’s inclined surface, flying far away until it collided with a building on the ground.

It produced a thunderous noise, as if it were bombarded, causing the building to collapse. Despite being a simple attack devoid of special spells, its power was beyond imagination.

‘This is the pinnacle of wizards. The Archiver bearing the secrets of the world…!’

Recognizing the Archiver’s power once more, Gretel was both astonished and inflamed with a competitive spirit.

She yearned to test the newfound power she had acquired—the power she and even her brother had poured their efforts into.

Determined, Gretel promptly amassed and compressed a substantial amount of black magic into the form of an arrow, infusing it with various disease-based black magic spells capable of infecting even stone. She aimed and launched the arrow towards Merlin, who was hiding behind the concrete fragment.

“Aren’t you ashamed to be an Archiver hiding like a rat?” she taunted as the arrow pierced Merlin, creating a significant gap between his upper and lower body.

She had assumed he would deploy a shield to block it, but to her surprise, Merlin, now split into upper and lower halves, underwent a transformation.

Like dissipating mist, Merlin’s form became hazy, revealing rock formations beneath him, shaped like human figures—an Elemental Magic disguise.

As soon as Gretel realized this, she heard his voice once more, this time from above.

“If I can completely pull the wool over an opponent like you, there’s no shame in it.”

Merlin stood atop the descending concrete fragments, gazing down at Gretel, a position that clearly irked her.

Gretel attempted to manipulate the arrow she had previously launched to target Merlin, but this time, Merlin was one step ahead.

[Stone Shower]

Merlin influenced dozens, even hundreds of large and small concrete fragments suspended in the air, all infused with his mana, and sent them hurtling toward Gretel from all directions.

Unperturbed, Gretel focused her inner mana, her emotions erupting, and unleashed massive magical blades in all directions.

Consequently, the concrete fragments, enhanced in strength and weight by Archiver’s magic, disintegrated into dust.

“Go.”

The black magic blades, having obliterated the threatening rocks, altered their trajectory as if swimming through the air, homing in on Merlin.

Naturally, Merlin would defend himself, requiring a powerful spell to block such an attack.

‘And when he casts a big spell, there will be an opening.’

As she waited for Merlin’s response, preparing her counterattack, Merlin finally incanted a spell—a spell she had not foreseen at all.

[Volt]

The spell Merlin employed belonged to the basic sub-school of lightning magic, Mjolnir. It was a fundamental spell that converted mana into electrical energy.

At most, it was suitable for delivering a mild electric shock, but Merlin cast it with one hand wide open.

Mana gathered at his fingertips emitted a crackling light, each strand branching out like tree branches, striking each of Gretel’s magical blades.

‘Destroy them?’

Gretel was incredulous. Even for a grand wizard, an Archiver, there were ranks in magic. It made no sense for such a low-grade spell to block her magic.

The amount of mana invested, the formula, the intent—it was all too irrational.

Fortunately, the world wasn’t that irrational. Merlin’s lightning didn’t merely slow down Gretel’s magical blades; it failed to halt them.

Just as they were about to slice Merlin, the blades abruptly changed course, colliding with one another and dispersing into the air.

“…You imbued the blades with electric properties to make them collide?” Gretel belatedly realized and inquired, to which Merlin replied.

“That’s correct. Basic magic might lack oomph, but you can use it with a bit of creativity. That’s the beauty of magic. Power ain’t everything. It’s a fact that seems obvious but is often forgotten by many.”

“Ha!”

Gretel, almost involuntarily impressed, laughed in denial.

Regardless of the Archiver’s thousand years of history, she couldn’t accept being pushed to this extent for someone who had gained the power of hell.

What about the life she had clawed her way up from the depths, and all her brother’s efforts?!

It was unacceptable. Unjustifiable.

[Rain of Disaster]

[Earth Teeth]

With anger and determination surging within her, Gretel unleashed her vast, accumulated mana, honed over centuries through cannibalism, forming a translucent barrier that enveloped the land and sky, dominating the space.

Then, Gretel activated her magic.

Upon invoking her magic, thousands of high-density magic arrows, coated with disease-weakening black magic, descended from the sky like a torrential downpour.

The ground surged like a tidal wave, toppling surface buildings, and square-shaped, teeth-like formations thrust skyward.

A colossal maw, adorned with countless teeth, aimed to converge upon Merlin from both above and below, leaving no escape route.

The entirety of Zone 11 resembled a colossal maw.

The sole means of evading this immense assault was through spatial magic. However, instead of choosing this escape, Merlin remained in place and opened a book.

[Void Manipulation]

As Merlin softly intoned these words, boundless mana from the book spread out, reversing the control of the space previously commanded by Gretel.

But it didn’t stop there.

Merlin didn’t merely command space; he twisted it. Despite the vast and intricate formulas at play, there were inherent laws and constraints within the world. Merlin, however, transcended these limitations, wielding an unimaginable authority over space, twisting and compacting it to his command.

The power to dominate space itself.

In that instant, Gretel recognized the profound gap that separated her from the Archiver, a chill creeping down her neck.

[Summon-Hecatoncheires]

Crackle…

As Gretel chanted, the immense life force within her vaporized, and simultaneously, the air split unnaturally, revealing the emergence of a colossal human head, akin to that of a titan, surpassing ordinary giants in scale.

“Ugh…! I didn’t want to summon this thing!”

With massive eyes, a recessed nose, rock-like skin, and exposed teeth behind torn lips, the colossal giant’s head provided a grim backdrop as Gretel coughed up blood.

This was the price she had paid for augmenting the efficacy of her spell through a combination of human sacrifice and space magic, but she harbored no regrets—especially after witnessing the magic Merlin unleashed next.

Merlin transcended conventional magic, wielding something akin to divine authority through spatial manipulation. He seized Gretel’s magic and space in one fell swoop, reconstructing and hurling it back at her.

Thousands of poisoned arrows, earth’s teeth, and the space housing that magic—all merged into a siege engine hurtling relentlessly toward Gretel.

“Block it━!!”

Gretel’s cry resounded.

In response, the colossal giant, having crossed dimensions and the sky, roared with city-shaking force, extending eight immense arms to shield Gretel from Merlin’s onslaught.

The fearsome siege engine collided with the colossal arms, emitting a grotesque, wet tearing sound as it severed the limbs and infected them with disease, causing them to rot while still alive.

The colossal giant, now with only its head and arms protruding, screamed in agony, tearing through the fabric of space. Yet, Gretel, considering even this a waste, ascended and climbed onto the giant’s head without hesitation.

Thud━!

Her aim was to directly manipulate its brain.

The giant, its mind under the summoner’s control, let out a horrendous scream but soon moved in accordance with the summoner’s will, tearing through the surrounding space to generate new limbs.

Monstrous arms capable of creating typhoons through their sheer motion.

These colossal arms, casting shadows over the land as they covered the sky, soared toward Merlin with the intent to crush him.

Merlin, without evading, employed spatial magic once more, simultaneously twisting the space around him and the giant’s arms.

Remarkably, the arms of the colossal giant, even larger than the giant itself, contorted like taffy under Merlin’s influence.

Such immense size and mass should have been impervious to magic.

‘Really… a divine power?’

Even Gretel, who had absorbed the energy of hell, marveled at the surreal spectacle before her. Meanwhile, the space manipulated by Merlin twisted and turned like a child’s scribble, descending upon Gretel and the colossal giant’s head.

At that precise moment, the palm of the colossal giant, summoned to squash Merlin like a mosquito, descended with all its might upon Gretel and the giant’s head.

(To be Continued)

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