Chapter 51 – The Virtuoso of Magic
The mountains were shaken by gusts of magic. The ground cracked under every strike, and shards of ice and energy erupted everywhere. Agnor and Merlin clashed with endless ferocity, attacking at insane speeds, their spells striking the air with unprecedented force, creating explosions of blue and green light as well as clouds of frozen dust. Every dodge by Merlin was precise, calculated, while Agnor relied on instinct, his ice magic striking everything in its path.
— You're starting to tire, my little Merlin….
— Tired? No, I've only been warming up since the beginning, dear Agnor.
They exchanged attacks and counterattacks relentlessly. Agnor's brute power mixed with Merlin's cunning, the flashes of magic lighting the battlefield like destructive blue and green fireworks. The fight seemed endless, every movement threatening to destabilize the terrain itself. Merlin dodged a blast of ice and countered with an ethereal fire spell, hitting Agnor squarely in the chest.
— Damn! This bastard has even more in reserve than I thought.
Meanwhile, in Atlantis, Edward sat on the throne, bearing Agnor's appearance. The hall was silent, lit by a bluish light filtering through translucent columns. He paced nervously, anxious because Agnor had not yet returned. His movements were jittery, his hands trembling slightly. He tried to stay still, to appear confident, but the aura of tension around him was palpable.
Suddenly, a presence made itself felt behind him. Edward felt the air harden, as if the room itself was holding its breath. A sharp, icy, and imposing voice echoed in his mind:
— He is not very pleased with your failure…
Edward flinched, sweat beading on his forehead:
— I… I understand… but I… he stammered, unable to hide his stress.
A chilling laugh sliced through the air. Loki's figure finally appeared, moving slowly and deliberately, his piercing eyes fixed on Edward. He stopped a few steps away, the black tentacles behind his back quivering but still restrained.
— You shouldn't disobey him if you want my opinion… he can be very dangerous.
Edward lowered his eyes, panic rising:
— I… I… I…
Loki clapped his hands, and a subtle but powerful illusion veil vanished with a single gesture, revealing Edward's true identity. The fake Agnor shivered, unable to hide his deception.
— So… why are you in Agnor's form? You didn't really think you could fool me with such a crude illusion, did you? murmured Loki, his violet eyes glinting with an unsettling light.
Edward tried to defend himself:
— I… I had to… I wanted to… I… I'm sorry.
— Shut your mouth! spat Loki, his tentacles suddenly shooting out from his back and seizing Edward, slamming him against the wall with a force that made the columns shake.
— You want to betray us? Us, the Illuminati? asked Loki, his piercing eyes locked on Edward.
— … No… it's not what you think, Loki… stammered Edward, trembling with fear.
— Where is the real Agnor? demanded Loki, his tone sharp as a blade.
Edward did not answer. Loki tilted his head slightly, the tentacles tightening a bit, a cruel smile on his lips. He chuckled, a sound that seemed to vibrate the entire room. His violet eyes glowed, and a powerful hypnosis spell struck Edward, immobilizing him and clouding his mind:
— Now… tell me everything…
The tension in the hall was palpable. Edward, trapped, felt every fiber of his body tremble as Loki, master of the situation, savored the moment. Edward had, on his own, without Agnor's permission, frozen part of his memory, revealing the deepest plans and information about Agnor that he had hidden with standard memories. He was ready to do anything for his king's plan to succeed.
Edward lowered his eyes, unable to react. Loki understood that Agnor had gone to face Merlin, though the spell had altered the reason for the conflict. Loki now knew exactly who he was dealing with.
In Britania, Arthur slept soundly in his quarters at Britania Castle, but his slumber was abruptly interrupted. He sat up with a jolt, gasping, his body drenched in sweat, his hands gripping the sheets. His eyes were wide open, pupils dilated as if invisible light pierced the night.
— Wh… what…? he murmured, his voice trembling.
A terrible premonition assailed him. Every fiber of his being told him something dreadful was happening to the north, where the sky and earth seemed to tear apart under unimaginable power. Short of breath, Arthur rose and placed his feet on the cold floor. A strange sensation ran through his body, as if invisible energy were trying to repel or warn him.
— I… I feel it… Merlin… something's wrong… he whispered.
Arthur got up, crossed the room, and touched the window. The night air was charged with electricity. The clouds seemed to dance with the light of magical flashes from the north. A shiver ran down his spine.
— What's happening? Who could possibly emanate such power?
He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. A strange sensation ran through his body: his energy seemed to resonate with Merlin and Agnor's. He understood that even at a distance, the flow of magic affected him. The air vibrated slightly, charged with magical waves, as if the battle sent ripples across all of Britania.
Arthur opened his eyes, determined.
— I can't just wait here… I need to know what's happening.
The wind whistled through the castle towers. Arthur, still gasping, understood that the world had just shifted. And now a true war was about to prepare against their enemies.
Back in the mountains, they had become a living chaos. The ground cracked under Agnor's ice assaults, and the air shimmered with pure energy. Agnor roared, launching frozen storms and concentrated ice projectiles with almost mechanical precision, over 20,000 attacks per second. Each strike seemed unstoppable… until Merlin began to reveal his plan.
Around him, magical circles appeared, floating and spinning in a complex ballet. But these were not mere circles: they were intelligent, reactive, capable of predicting Agnor's movements before he even thought of attacking. Each rune glowed with a different color, corresponding to a particular magical flow. The wind carried the scent of ether powder and ozone, while blue flashes of light streaked through the air like living circuits.
— What… what is this spell? murmured Agnor, anger evident in his gaze.
Merlin dodged effortlessly, and his circles lit up in response, adjusting their positions and shapes. Some intercepted spells, others anticipated the trajectory of the ice, sending it back to Agnor in a refracted form that disoriented his senses. The circles were interconnected like a living neural network, analyzing Agnor's thoughts and movements in real time.
— Wh… wha…? gasped Agnor, stunned, as part of his magic turned against him, distorting into arcs of light that slipped away.
Merlin smiled faintly, almost imperceptibly. Every move he made had been calculated dozens of steps in advance. He activated his invisible clone, hidden behind a block of ice since the start of the fight, positioned to combine the effects of the circles and anti-magic flows that Agnor could not even perceive.
Merlin's anti-magic spell partially neutralized Agnor's magic, but progressively and predictively, making each attack less effective than the previous one. His magical circles adapted in real time the resistance and redirection of Agnor's spells, creating a dynamic labyrinth in which every gesture of the ice dragon was calculated and trapped. The clone of Merlin launched micro-temporal spheres around areas where Agnor tried to escape, slowing his speed and reflexes without him understanding why. Finally, tactical illusions were projected by the circles themselves: moving duplicates of Agnor and Merlin made it seem like the spells were everywhere, completely disorienting him.
— This… this is insane… he had predicted everything?! murmured Agnor, eyes wide, striking the air as his magic was blocked, redirected, and countered simultaneously.
Every move of Merlin was anticipated, every counterattack automatically adjusted by the network of circles. His movements looked like art, but behind the fluidity lay ruthless logic: he controlled everything, every magical flow, every microsecond, every strategy of his opponent.
— My goal was to neutralize you without killing you. I couldn't afford to go all out.
Agnor stepped back, stunned. He tried to channel his magic to counter the system, but every spell he cast seemed already anticipated, every move already trapped. His eyes reflected disbelief and panic; he had just realized he was not simply powerless… he was outmatched by a superior mind, a genius who had thought faster and deeper than him.
— … It's not possible… he gasped, unable to comprehend.
Merlin smiled again. The circles shone, changing color, reacting to attacks again and again, adapting in real time. This was no longer a physical or magical fight… it was an intellectual duel in which Agnor was simply out of reach.
Merlin's clone activated the core of the plan: Chrono Suspend. A bubble of light and runes appeared around Agnor, undulating and vibrating like a living mechanism. Once he entered it, everything changed. Every movement, every strike, every thought of Agnor was now slowed to an inhuman speed: each action would take ten years to manifest.
— ... murmured Agnor, his eyes widening in fear as he was immobilized.
Every strike he attempted, every breath, every motion, was stretched in time. His mind struggled to understand, his body incapable of reacting. Even breathing seemed impossible inside this sphere.
Merlin, calm and impass…sible, observed silently. His circles vibrated around him, analyzing, adjusting, and securing the temporal sphere. Merlin's genius did not merely neutralize Agnor; he had outthought him at every instant, anticipated every reaction, and orchestrated a flawless trap.
— I have captured you… without killing you, murmured Merlin, his face impassive, eyes gleaming with superior intellect.
Agnor, trapped in the temporal sphere, was now a powerless shell, unable to react or comprehend what had just happened. Even his thoughts took ten years to materialize… he was utterly destroyed.
The wind swept across Britania, carrying the echoes of a battle concluded. Merlin, the ultimate strategic genius, had achieved total and irreversible victory. He stood alone, calmly, his expression unreadable, as magic and time had been entirely mastered.
The mountains, once a chaotic battlefield, began to settle, the shards of ice and bursts of energy gradually dissipating. Yet, even in this moment of calm, the aura of Merlin's intellect lingered like an invisible storm, a silent reminder that nothing in this world could challenge his mastery—at least, not for now.
In the distance, the kingdom of Atlantis continued its own machinations. Edward, still reeling from Loki's interrogation and hypnotic spell, tried to regain control of his thoughts, but the memories he had frozen were now slipping from him, revealing secrets that would have dire consequences if fully unveiled. Loki, watching from the shadows, smirked, knowing that this revelation would reshape every plan in motion.
And far away, in Britania, Arthur's unease continued to grow. Though the battle was over, the ripples of magic vibrated through the land. He felt it in his bones, a premonition that the world was shifting, that the next stage of war was already dawning.
Merlin's genius had not only defeated Agnor but had rewritten the rules of magic itself in the battlefield. The question remained: who would rise next to challenge this unparalleled intellect?
To be continued.....