Genius Warlock

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Several hands loomed above Gretel and the Giant’s heads.

These hands, stacked upon one another, sliced through the air with a brilliant whiteness and descended onto the heads of Gretel and the Giant.

Even amidst mental domination, the Giant’s eyes widened, driven perhaps by the instinct of a living being. Meanwhile, Gretel, her face drained of color, attempted to escape after withdrawing her hands from the Giant’s head.

Yet, escape proved difficult.

The colossal palms, indescribably vast and impossible to dodge, constrained their movements with formidable pressure.

Constrained by this pressure, Gretel looked up once more, only to be met with a palm filling her vision.

A palm possessing enough power to obliterate anything in its path.

“Arrgh━!”

Boom, crash, bang━

The Giant’s palm descended, silencing Gretel’s scream.

The impact generated a shockwave that ripped through the air with blinding intensity, engulfing the entire sky above Ravel. One side of the Giant’s head shattered, and its neck broke under the force.

Despite the collision, the unstoppable palm crashed into the transformed Zone 11, already altered by massive magic. A massive physical explosion followed, creating a colossal wave from the point of impact, warping the earth entirely.

The resulting dust was so potent that it could blanket all of Ravel.

To ordinary eyes, it seemed like a disaster of the gods. However, Merlin, a bit more than ordinary, observed the scene with numb eyes. He cleared the dust with magic and descended to the ground.

Gretel’s magic, Merlin’s counterattack, and the Giant’s palm had turned Zone 11 into nothingness, erasing all artificial structures. All that remained were fragments of buildings, twisted earth, and the shattered head and severed arm of the Giant Hecatoncheires, a creature from another world revered as a god.

“Hmm······.”

Merlin surveyed the devastated Ravel, triple-securing the Giant’s head and arm with security magic, then spoke.

“Truly amazing. Truly.”

Between the mountain-like body of the Giant and the dust soaring into the sky like smoke, Merlin addressed Gretel.

She had narrowly escaped a direct hit from the Giant’s palm by casting a space spell at the last moment. However, she wasn’t completely unscathed, with one limb completely crushed and the mana in her body severely twisted.

It wasn’t surprising. A disrupted portal spell could lead to a collapse, twisting the mana within the body. Gretel’s survival indicated a high level of space magic proficiency.

“Typical of a tower wizard, excellent at taunting.”

Upon hearing Merlin’s compliment, Gretel clenched her teeth in anger. In the face of an inevitable apocalypse, their efforts seemed futilely overturned.

‘Tick-tock. At the end of the world, a great hole opens, and the clock starts moving. A black sun rises from the earth, a monster that swallows everything is born in the western sea, a key is taken from the false gatekeeper, and the wandering child becomes a boy.’

Merlin recited a passage from an apocalyptic text, reflecting on the unfolding events.

He hoped it wouldn’t be like his time, but it seemed not.

Merlin spoke again.

“Not taunting. I genuinely reckon it’s admirable.”

“…What exactly was that space magic?” Gretel asked, trying to calm her excitement, likely buying time to heal her crushed limb but genuinely curious.

It was a natural curiosity given the unique nature of Merlin’s space magic, distinct from the commonly known portal and summoning magic.

Merlin answered honestly.

“It’s a magic passed down from the previous Archivers.”

Merlin responded respectfully, but Gretel scoffed.

“Ha… Do I look like a fool? That’s just magic?”

Just magic.

A phrase no wizard, for whom magic is almost a religion, would ever say, but Merlin agreed.

The space magic Merlin employed on Gretel was labeled as magic, but it transcended the conventional understanding of magic itself. Magic, governed by the rules set by the gods, paled in comparison to the ability to distort space and exert absolute influence—a power closer to the divine than mere magic.

Even Merlin, a seasoned sorcerer, harbored a certain fear of such power, nodding in partial agreement with Gretel’s observation.

“I understand your reaction. But it’s no lie. It’s knowledge and power passed down from the previous Archivers, from the first Archiver.”

“The first Archiver?” Gretel reacted, recognizing the significance of the Archiver who surpassed generations, a figure distinguished among all Archivers. The origin and beginning of the Archivers remained enigmatic, closest to the truth of the world.

Despite sounding absurd, even Merlin, the current Archiver, and his predecessors didn’t know the first Archiver’s name or face. Only the vast knowledge, infinite mana, and the truth of the world spoke of his existence.

“How interesting. An Archiver unknown even to Archivers… But are you allowed to speak of such things?”

A valid point. Gretel, the younger sister of the Finger of the Black Hand, had a dark past as a butcher of human flesh. Despite being subdued by Merlin, she remained a formidable warlock and sorceress, having absorbed a small amount of the essence of hell. Sharing stories of the Archiver seemed inappropriate.

Yet, Merlin answered, defying the expectation of discretion.

“I speak because I pity you all.”

Gretel’s expression, calm in her recovery, noticeably convulsed at the word ‘pity.’ The term struck a nerve, understandable given that those who attain great power, especially warlocks, often harbor profound deficiencies.

“Do not misunderstand. It’s not just you I pity.”

“······.”

“I pity all humans, including myself. We are all victims and perpetrators of a vast and cruel fate… That’s why it’s even sadder.”

Merlin spoke an enigmatic truth about all humans being both victims and perpetrators, emphasizing the shared burden of a vast and cruel destiny.

Shielded by his impenetrable magical barrier, Merlin’s emotions remained unreadable. However, Gretel, with centuries of experience, sensed the sincerity behind his words.

He genuinely pitied her, a mere centenarian wizard born without significant hardships. It stung as an insult, a terrible one.

“Do not insult me. Novice.”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Gretel staggered to her feet, refusing to admit defeat. She still held unrevealed power gained from the abyss of hell.

“I didn’t insult you.”

“No, your attitude is an insult. I’m a witch who has lived for centuries, I’ve consumed the sorcerer king of the desert lands, and over the centuries, many renowned wizards as well! And now I even hold the power of hell!! …Don’t lump me with ordinary humans!”

Gretel shouted passionately, determined to uphold her promise to her brother amidst the impending apocalypse. However, Merlin’s face, marked by time, reflected only pity—a gaze that possessed knowledge beyond that of others, a curse of knowledge.

“I’m sorry, Gretel… But a mere creature donning great power doesn’t become great. It’s like a cheap imitation stealing ancient authority and draping it over itself, futile and dangerous.”

“Then… I’ll show you the power this ‘mere creature’ holds!!”

Gretel summoned not her mana but the pure power of hell absorbed into her body. The energy she obtained by sacrificing the entirety of Ravel.

Chanting with an inhuman voice, Gretel unleashed [Hell Summon], causing unstable hellish power to explode from her recovering body. Black energy twisted space, creating a foreboding rupture sensed even by those ignorant of magic.

Merlin, having faced this power before, swiftly responded. Aligning with Gretel’s chanting, he formed a magic circle in the air, intertwining magical threads of indescribable colors to bind the gates of hell she sought to summon.

“How, how did you?!”

An astonished Gretel received no answer. Merlin, instead, tore out a page from a book he conjured and threw it toward her. Recognizing her as too dangerous to be left alive, he aimed to stop her.

As Merlin’s paper sailed through the air, the space around Gretel distorted, creating a perception of slowed time. Through this distortion, a massive portal cracked open, and an enormous reptilian arm, covered in iron-like scales, emerged with a deafening roar.

Kwaahhhhhhhhh!!!

Upon collision with Merlin’s paper, the reptilian arm echoed a sound of steel clashing, followed by a monstrous roar that shook and even crumbled city walls.

There was only one kind of beast capable of making such a noise.

“A dragon.”

Merlin calmly noted, observing the emergence of the dragon from the giant portal.

This colossal dragon, appearing to be twice the size of a giant, was adorned with various black magics.

While a dragon utilizing black magic was noteworthy, what truly captured attention was its condition.

Dragons were beings with magical, life energy, and formidable physical bodies. However, the dragon emerging from the portal was unmistakably in a dire state.

Deep puncture wounds covered its body, hosting various diseases and weakening-type black magics. Severe inflammation caused scales to peel off, malignant tumors bubbled up, and there were mushrooms draining life force and mana, along with malignant fungi eating into its flesh.

It presented a captivating anomaly.

Dragons boasted not only physical strength but also robust magic resistance and immunity. Yet, here was one afflicted with disease and weakening black magic—a feat achievable only through skill and the right materials.

Merlin discerned the identity of this dragon and who had subjected it to such a condition.

“Human-meat Chef?”

At Merlin’s call, the wounded dragon roared and emitted a dense wave of flame with a red glow under its scales on its chest and neck.

Fwooooooshhhhhhh!!!

A sea of flames surged toward Merlin. He swiftly wrapped himself in Dragon Skin, a spell providing absolute resistance to flames, countering the dragon’s breath incomparable to ordinary fire magic.

The dragon’s breath, displaying orange and red hues, attempted to engulf Merlin, who remained focused on Human-meat Chef charging from beyond the fire, cleverly using the powerful flames as cover to approach.

It was a shrewd tactic.

The true potency of a dragon resided not in its flames but in its physical form.

Whoom!!

Human-meat Chef, with his elongated and sleek neck, burst through the wave of flames, opening his massive maw filled with dozens of teeth, aiming directly for Merlin.

Seeking to deliver a fatal blow after cornering Merlin with flames, Chef, with impressive agility given his size, snapped his jaws shut to counter an attack. However, this proved to be a poor decision.

The power and spell woven into the paper Merlin threw exploded, unleashing a white and blue cold blast.

A venomous cold.

━━━━━!!

As anticipated, the attack proved effective. A dragon, typically breathing fire, found vulnerability in the face of cold. The cold blast not only quelled the Chef’s internal flames but also spread to his heart, inflicting a fatal wound.

Human-meat Chef hesitated, wracked by extreme pain as if an awl had pierced his heart. Yet, spurred by urgency, he gritted his teeth and swung his enormous wings like blades, launching an attack on Merlin.

Boom!!

The colossal wings, spanning the sky, cleaved the spreading flames, and Merlin effortlessly evaded them. However, the onslaught persisted.

Immediately after the wing assault, Human-meat Chef swiftly contorted his body like a wolf, lashing his long tail with the speed of a sonic boom. Crafted from scales, muscles, and bones tougher than steel, the dragon’s tail struck Merlin with a forceful impact, sending him flying.

Though Merlin managed to deploy a shield just in time to escape injury, Human-meat Chef considered the outcome satisfactory. His true intent wasn’t to engage Merlin in combat.

Huuuuuuup…!

Drawing a deep breath, Human-meat Chef’s chest and throat emitted a dark, blood-red glow beneath the scales.

Kwaraaararaararararang━━━━━!!!!

As Human-meat Chef opened his massive jaws, a torrent of flames poured forth once again, this time infused with black magic—a dark crimson fire. The flames carried various diseases, weakening black magic, obsession, and malice, clinging to the ground and spreading numerous afflictions.

A toxic flame.

Even the Archiver struggled against the dragon’s potent breath, diseases, and sticky residue, as his feet were bound. Satisfied, Human-meat Chef turned his injured body towards his sister, his only family.

“Brother…?”

Gretel questioned her brother, fully awakened in his dragon form. Though he had consumed a dragon and absorbed its power, he hadn’t transformed into a complete dragon. Something was amiss.

[It’s me… Are you okay?]

Responding through telepathy, Human-meat Chef conveyed to Gretel that he had indeed transformed into a complete dragon. Yet, he urged her to run, expressing urgency and fear.

‘…What?’

But something was off. Why was her fully awakened brother in such a battered state? Why did he seem anxious and terrified? She couldn’t understand.

Then her brother spoke.

[We need to run… Hurry! He’s more than we thought!! I’ll open a portal, you need to escape!! You, at least!!!]

“What do you mean…?”

Confused by her brother’s words, Gretel felt an ominous energy from above, similar to when facing Merlin. She and Human-meat Chef looked up and witnessed a celestial swirl over Ravel.

Realization struck as a black lightning flash emanated from the swirl, engulfing the world in darkness. In the blackout, a bolt of lightning struck directly above Gretel’s head.

━━━━━━━━!

Intense heat and shock descended, and Gretel momentarily lost consciousness. Upon regaining her senses, she found herself collapsed, with Dave standing over her, a foot on her, holding a quarterstaff and a checkered dagger. The quarterstaff pierced something.

Her heart.

“······!!??!”

The sudden realization struck Gretel like a thunderbolt. She looked at Dave in shock, who, with a nearly artificial expression, gazed at her brother, Hansel, not her, the one he had impaled.

In that chilling moment, Gretel understood something—she felt a pervasive sense of malice and terror.

(To be Continued)

CH 424-433 (Vs Human-meat Chef Part4) $3CH 434-443 (Dave Vs 100 Druids) $3CH 444-453 (Adventure in New Continent) $3CH 454-463 (Meeting with Joanna) $3454~ $1/chapter

OR

$5/month11 chap ahead + 5 chap/week$15/month17 chap ahead + 5 chap/week$30/month23 chap ahead + 5 chap/week$45/month60 chap ahead + 6 chap/week

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