Merlin inhaled slowly, taking in the strangely clean air of the Temporal Realm. Above him, an enormous black hole dominated the sky, its accretion disk casting a constant pale radiance across the realm.
Whatever strange properties governed this place, one thing had become obvious during his exploration: there was no night. At least, not one that Merlin had encountered.
He glanced toward the distant horizon and muttered, "No wonder they call it a Temporal Realm. Even the concept of time feels strange here."
After a moment, he closed his tome.
"I've explored enough. Time to move on to the nex—"
The dark-golden Grimoire suddenly trembled in his hand. Merlin paused as two pages opened by themselves, golden runes illuminating the air around him. His expression changed slightly when he recognized the spell.
"Voice from Afar."
The spell activated, and a mental connection immediately formed.
"Lazarus, my—"
"MERLIN!"
The furious voice nearly shook the connection apart. Merlin blinked, then gave a small sigh.
"...Well. That's certainly not the tone I expected."
"You fucking piece of shit!"
Merlin scratched his ear. "Good morning to you too."
"Even a thousand points wouldn't have been enough for this! Who the hell is this Dante you sent me after?!"
Merlin's eyebrows rose. He already knew the answer wasn't going to be pleasant.
"Ehhh... I'm going to assume things didn't go well?"
"My brother died!"
Merlin's expression finally changed.
"Your brother? Tell me what you think happened!"
"Lazarus, I—"
"IT WAS YOUR DERANGED WOMAN!"
Merlin fell silent as Lazarus continued, his voice filled with barely restrained fury.
"She tore him apart! She crushed his skull! She ripped his limbs off like they were fucking twigs! She killed him in the most brutal way imaginable!"
Merlin sighed. "Relax. Just tell me where you are."
"Relax?!"
"Just. Tell. Me. Where. You. Are."
Silence followed. Eventually, Lazarus gave him the location, and Merlin closed his Grimoire.
"Portal."
Space warped as a dark-golden portal opened before him. Merlin stepped through, and the world changed around him.
He emerged beside an enormous structure rising from the surrounding terrain: a tower. Unlike the other Watch Towers he had encountered, this one remained completely intact.
Merlin looked upward.
"...Is this the Revival Sanctuary?"
His eyes narrowed as he studied the structure. "How powerful must this academy be... to possess something capable of bringing the dead back?"
A moment later, two figures emerged from the entrance.
Lazarus.
And Xeres.
Merlin smiled. "My dear family. I heard you've had some troubles."
"Thank you so much for the information," Lazarus replied, his irritation plain. "Shut up, Merlin. That wasn't what we discussed."
Beside him, Xeres merely shook his head.
"My Lord... I don't believe the terms of this transaction were entirely fair. Family or not, this wasn't what we agreed upon."
Merlin's smile faded slightly.
"Fine. Let's find somewhere private. We'll discuss it."
...
Several minutes later, Merlin had found an abandoned pavilion. With a few gestures, he restored enough of it to resemble its original structure, then stared at the spell for a moment.
"Restore."
He clicked his tongue. "I suppose even magic has limits."
After sitting down, he snapped his fingers, and a figure appeared beside him: a beautiful Dark Elf dressed in practical assassin's attire.
Shade immediately frowned.
"I'd appreciate it if you stopped summoning me like a maid."
Merlin chuckled. "My apologies."
Outwardly, he remained relaxed. Internally, however, his thoughts were considerably less casual.
I didn't even know where she was. She simply appeared. How?
He glanced at her.
If she wanted to kill me... I might not even realize she'd attacked until afterward.
His smile remained perfectly casual as he asked, "So... what is Qwarian doing?"
Shade shrugged. "Scheming. As usual."
She lowered the scarf covering her mouth, her expression turning a little more serious.
"But you'll want to hear this quickly. There's only about an hour left before this day ends. Qwarian said something interesting may happen."
Merlin paused, then leaned back.
"Oh? Don't give me ten useful pieces of information at once. Let's hear Lazarus's report first, then you can explain what Qwarian meant."
Shade nodded and turned her eyes toward Lazarus.
"Go ahead."
Lazarus exhaled before beginning his report. He spoke almost exclusively about Dante. As far as he was concerned, Vexion had simply been an obstacle; one bolt from his Grimoire should have been enough to kill her.
Dante, however, was the problem.
"He appeared without warning. He punched me."
Merlin's eyebrow rose.
"He punched you?"
"Yes."
"And?"
"He sent me flying."
"How far?"
Lazarus's expression darkened. "Farther than you could."
Silence settled over the pavilion. Merlin stopped smiling, while Lazarus continued.
"He was faster than me."
"Faster than your Lightning?"
"Yes."
Merlin's fingers tapped slowly against his knee. Interesting. Very interesting.
"He used space. He avoided my lightning by disappearing into it."
Merlin's eyes narrowed. "Spatial movement?"
"Something similar. He also resisted Dimensional Lock."
That earned a genuine reaction. Merlin sat forward.
"Dimensional Lock?"
Lazarus nodded. "The same technique you obtained."
Merlin's expression became serious. "And he resisted it?"
"Completely."
Shade's eyes narrowed. She had remained silent until now, but she spoke up.
"Continue."
Lazarus clenched his teeth. "He punched me."
Merlin sighed. "You've mentioned that several times."
"Because the punch was ridiculous! Three times stronger than yours."
Merlin's fingers stopped tapping. The pavilion fell silent, and even Shade's expression shifted.
Merlin slowly placed his tea aside.
"Three times?"
"That's what you said."
Lazarus nodded. Merlin stared at the ground for several seconds, and nobody spoke. Finally, Shade broke the silence.
"He isn't Level One."
Merlin looked at her.
"No. He can't be."
Lazarus frowned. "Then Level Two?"
Merlin shook his head. "Possibly. But..."
He looked toward Shade.
"Level Three?"
Silence followed. None of them wanted to say it, because the implication was absurd.
Merlin slowly leaned back.
"His mana... did it feel like someone who had received Divine Essence?"
Lazarus shook his head. "No."
Merlin frowned. That was the problem. A Mythical Being who had advanced through the ordinary process should possess a distinctly different quality of mana, yet Dante apparently didn't.
Merlin rubbed his chin.
"Then either our assumptions are wrong... or we're looking at something extremely unusual."
Shade answered calmly, "He could possess the combat ability of a Level Three without possessing the corresponding mana."
Merlin's eyes narrowed. "That's possible. Unlikely, but possible."
He exhaled, his tone becoming quieter.
"I know what it's like to fight someone two levels above myself. Unlike the Legendary Realm, Mythical levels aren't something you casually ignore. One level above you? That's already dangerous. Two? You've found a monster."
Merlin's expression turned grim.
"Three? Then you're no longer dealing with someone who is merely talented. You're dealing with someone whose abilities have begun violating common sense."
Shade finished his thought.
"Four levels... would require something extraordinary."
Merlin nodded. "An ancient bloodline."
The words lingered in the air. Xeres finally spoke, though he immediately seemed to regret interrupting.
"Ancient bloodline?"
The three Mythical Beings turned toward him. Shade answered calmly.
"Someone born from one of the Ancient Families. The Sandrian Family. The Septimus Family. Those are two obvious examples. Or someone personally cultivated by one of the Five Great Academies, or one of the Great Sects. A so-called Divine Child."
Xeres's expression became increasingly complicated. He was Legendary-tier, and compared to the people speaking around him, he suddenly felt very small.
Merlin chuckled.
"Don't worry. You'll learn this at the academy soon enough."
He leaned back, then added, "But I disagree."
Lazarus raised an eyebrow. "With what?"
"I don't think Dante belongs to either Ancient Family."
Lazarus snorted. "Agreed. Those people have standards. Dignity. High expectations. They carry themselves like they're aware of their bloodline."
He paused, his expression darkening.
"That bastard was standing in the middle of a battlefield groping his woman's ass."
Merlin's expression twitched.
"...He was?"
Lazarus stared at him.
"Merlin. Now isn't the time."
Merlin cleared his throat. "Right. Apologies."
Shade silently looked away while Merlin rubbed the back of his neck.
"...I was merely surprised."
Lazarus sighed. "Focus."
Merlin nodded. "Yes. Focus."
He glanced toward Shade.
"So... you're telling me Dante possesses the combat ability of someone several levels above his apparent realm, uses spatial abilities, can resist Dimensional Lock, moves faster than Lazarus, and possesses enough physical strength to overpower someone at his level with a single punch."
He smiled faintly.
"Wonderful."
Lazarus frowned. "Why do you look pleased?"
Merlin's smile widened.
"Because... that makes him interesting."
Shade's crimson eyes narrowed. "Or dangerous."
Merlin looked toward her.
"Those aren't mutually exclusive."
The three fell silent. Somewhere beyond the pavilion, the academy continued operating as though nothing unusual had happened.
Students continued completing their objectives, Watch Towers continued recording points, and somewhere within that enormous academy, Dante was still walking around completely unaware that three Mythical Beings had just spent several minutes trying to determine what, exactly, he was.
Merlin finally stood.
"Either way, we don't know enough. And I dislike making decisions based on incomplete information."
Shade nodded. "Neither does Qwarian."
Merlin smiled. "Of course he doesn't. That man probably has a contingency plan for the contingency plan."
Shade's lips curved faintly.
"Probably."
Merlin looked toward Lazarus.
"Next time... don't fight him alone."
Lazarus's expression darkened. "I wasn't expecting a monster."
Merlin chuckled.
"Nobody ever does."
He looked toward the distant academy, his smile lingering.
"And that's precisely why they're monsters."