Chapter 144

[Third Person's PoV] 

Ice started forming around Alexia, morphing into multiple weapons, while balls of fire began to swirl around Rose. Sherry swapped the fire mana stones from her guns for yellow thunder ones.

Once loaded, she spun her guns around her fingers and aimed sideways at Merlin, pressing the trigger to form a ball of yellow lightning.

'I didn't know Sherry was gangster like that,' Merlin inwardly mused.

"Are you done with your performance?" Merlin smirked as he spun his cane around. "Because if you are, I believe it's my turn now."

Merlin aimed his cane towards them, sending his floating cards their way. As their projectiles clashed, explosions erupted everywhere, but Alexia and the others didn't stay still. They used the explosions as a smokescreen and disappeared into the shadows, reappearing from Merlin's shadow with their weapons pointed at him, ready to strike.

Merlin smirked, turning his body into that of a snake, making him flexible enough to dodge all their strikes. He wrapped his body around Alexia, immobilizing her, while the others hesitated to strike for fear of harming her.

The snake licked Alexia's cheek, causing her to shiver in disgust. She let out a burst of magical power, unwrapping the snake from her body. Seizing the opportunity, Sherry shot a lightning bullet towards the snake's head, causing it to explode into a flurry of cards.

"You are so annoying!!" Alexia yelled in frustration, plunging her sword into the ground and covering the surrounding area in ice. Her friends jumped out of the way in time, but Merlin's legs were encased in ice.

He looked down in shock before glancing at Alexia. "Wait! Let's talk about this."

Alexia looked at him smugly. "It's too late to plead for your life. You should have done that before you decided to get in our way."

Sherry placed a hand on Alexia's chest, stopping her. "It's just another illusion. Don't fall for it."

"But how? He should have been captured by my attack."

Merlin's smile turned unnaturally wide, giving him an eerie look. His legs and arms then turned into springs as he flung his body towards them, despite his feet still being encased in ice.

He appeared in front of them, laughing creepily with his spring-like arms. "What a party pooper. How did you know?"

"He is so creepy. What the hell is wrong with him?" Alexia complained.

Merlin smirked, opening his mouth as his tongue and eyes popped out, and cockroaches covered his entire body.

"Ewww," they shivered, jumping back.

A chuckle behind them made them turn and swing their weapons, but Merlin merely blocked them with his cane. 

"Are you girls ready for the grand finale!?"

Sherry kept pressing the trigger, sending multiple shots while advancing towards him. Merlin jumped back and spoke into his cane like a microphone. "Come one, come all!" He then slammed the cane into the ground, causing the entire surroundings to change.

"Everyone, regroup," Sherry said. "We don't know what's going on, so stay close and watch each other's backs."

'And here she was thinking she wouldn't be a good leader,' Merlin thought with pride.

Everything transformed into a crazy carnival and circus, with pictures of clowns and statues of jesters everywhere. Suddenly, they were transported to different parts of the circus. Alexia found herself in a hall of mirrors, each reflecting different versions of her. The reflections started moving independently, grinning creepily as they stepped out of the mirrors.

Rose was surrounded by wild animals led by a woman in a domino mask and a latex outfit, wielding a whip like a typical dominatrix. Meanwhile, 

Sherry appeared in a circus ring with no performers, only a cheering crowd and decorations, like a giant ball, a cage, a red lamp, and a center part for the ring master.

A tiny colorful car appeared, and Sherry watched in confusion until the door slammed open. A large foot stepped out, followed by a giant clown. More and more clowns, each taller and more menacing, emerged, wielding weapons with murderous intent.

Merlin's voice echoed like an announcer. "WELCOME EVERYONE TO MERLIN'S MURDEROUS MANSION, WHERE THE ONLY WAY TO ESCAPE IS TO KILL, KILL, AND KILL!" His diabolical laughter filled the air. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

In reality, Merlin was only chuckling as he looked at all of them knocked out on the floor. He walked around, spinning his cane and musing to himself, "Now, who should I kill first?"

He put his cane to the side as the sound of metal clashing rang out. Merlin leaned his head and saw Beatrix, their weapons creating sparks as she pressed her sword down, looking at him with cold eyes.

"And here I was wondering when you were going to appear, Ms. Silent Protector."

Beatrix's body glowed with a white hue as she enhanced herself with magic. She had seen what Merlin was capable of and wasn't willing to stall for time. Immediately, she went on the offensive, her figure turning into a white streak, like a shooting star charging towards Merlin. She swung her sword wildly, intending to cause permanent injuries.

Merlin blocked her attacks using his cane as a bo staff. As their weapons clashed, Beatrix narrowed her eyes. "Just who are you?"

Merlin guided her sword down with his bo staff before swinging it towards her face. "Weren't you listening, darling? I believe I already introduced myself. I'm Merlin, The Grand Magician."

Beatrix leaned back to dodge the blow, using the momentum to kick at Merlin. He blocked her leg with his forearm, and they remained locked, trying to overpower each other.

"I meant, why is someone of your skill doing such a job?"

Merlin jumped back, giving her a thumbs up with a large smile. "Because the boss is a really beautiful woman! Why else?"

Beatrix lost the motivation for conversation and went on the offensive again, remembering her fight with Beru and Bellion and what she learned about Shadow Garden's martial arts. She kicked the ground ten times in rapid succession, appearing before Merlin and swinging her sword towards his neck.

Merlin's eyes widened in surprise but inwardly he praised her for mastering the technique so quickly. He leaned all the way back, holding his hat and chest in mock surprise. "By the Queen! You almost gave me a heart attack."

He winked as he slowly disappeared from her view. "Kidding."

Beatrix clicked her tongue, knowing he was going to be an annoying opponent. Merlin appeared behind her, putting his cane against her neck in a chokehold. She leaned back into him, kicking both legs into the air and using the momentum to flip Merlin over her. As he slammed into the ground, she stabbed her sword through his neck.

Merlin looked surprised as blood began to pour from the wound. He released the cane, clutching his neck. Panic and fear filled his eyes—the fear of death, the fear of what was to come.

"Help… me," he pleaded with tears in his eyes, his bloody hand reaching for her leg. "...Please," he said as a single tear rolled down his face. His hand slowly slid down her leg, staining it with his blood until it went completely limp. He closed his eyes for the final time.

"..."

Merlin opened one eye, peeking with a tiny smirk, only to see Beatrix looking down at him coldly. He quickly closed his eye and pretended to be dead again.

Beatrix's eye twitched before she slashed her sword down, causing Merlin's body to explode into cards.

"Boohoo! Boohoohoo!" She heard someone fake crying and looked up to see Merlin sitting on a lamppost, wiping his tears with a card.

"Poor Merlin! Boohoohoo! He was one of the good ones," he said, dropping the card, which landed by Beatrix's feet. It was the Joker card.

Merlin suddenly looked surprised, dodging a lightning bullet that flew past his head. He turned and saw Sherry waking up, aiming her gun at him. "You actually broke out of the illusion?"

"Next time, don't make the weak point so obvious. The red lamp was a dead giveaway," she said as she broke the others out of the illusion.

Merlin smiled, standing up on the lamppost. "Well, anyway, good work everyone. The cargo already got away. You can't get to it now, which means I did my job," he said, pretending to check his watch.

The others widened their eyes, having forgotten about their mission.

"As a magician, I hope you guys had as much fun as I have," Merlin said, taking off his hat and bowing. As they all lunged towards him, his figure turned into a flurry of sakura petals that flew away on the wind.

"Pip pip cheerio, mates. Until next time."