Chapter 31: Mystery Merlin

Suddenly, a red sword that filled Nylva's head with pain and agony formed as his Radiance stood above Nylva's frozen body.

She could only watch as the Sword of Emanation struck down.

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"Meet Merlin! The Great Wizard who once taught the Lord of the Fiery Abyss how to throw fiery tantrums. The last time they met, the beautiful Merlin left him crying for his daddy in defeat. Now, the Fiery Lord is just a fiery footnote in Merlin's magical memoirs!"

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BEYOND THE VEIL:

THE GREAT SHIFT

CHAPTER 31:

MYSTERY MERLIN

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Nylva watched from the ground as his Fiery Radiance's sword, the Sword of Emanation, was effortlessly stopped by a yellow hand.

Looking slightly up, Nylva saw someone. He was illusory and completely yellow. An astral projection…? So not a summon like Captain Lucius' other cards! Musing to herself, she looked at Merlin closely.

He was exactly how his tarot card depicted him. Black shoulder-length hair, soft facial features, and icy blue eyes. He wore a mix of magician's clothes with the trendy clothes of today, a vest and tight suit trousers.

Of course, all of this was barely noticeable as he was completely illusory and transparent while having this yellow glow to him as if he was an astral projection, not the real body.

Nylva watched as the Lord of the Fiery Abyss made his first move, it was simple. He simply narrowed his eyes.

And yet, Nylva felt that there was more to this.

Suddenly, an explosion came from the body of his Fiery Radiance. It completely consumed her and Captain Lucius, incinerating their bodies to ash.

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Nylva watched as the Lord of the Fiery Abyss made his first move, it was simple. He simply narrowed his eyes.

What… Nylva thought the same sequence of events happened before her supposed death.

This also seemed to catch his Fiery Radiance's attention. A soft chortle came from behind him.

"Are all of your reincarnations so desperate to escape? I've only killed you once. While you were at your best. Since then, I've only grown to be exponentially stronger."

His casual tone brought a chill through even Nylva's spin, let alone his Fiery Radiance's nerves.

Standing up fully, Merlin stepped away from his Fiery Radiance. He isn't even scared? Of course, why should he?! I trust Captain Lucius' plan.

Before Nylva could be in thought more, a figure seemed to fly over her and landed right in front of his Radiance.

Atlas landed on both feet and swung his black boardsword. Surprisingly enough, the blade connected as blood splattered on the ground and Atlas' face.

A clean cut on Auden's body.

Turning around, his Fiery Radiance looked different. He looked older with gray hairs with rougher skin. It was Auden!

Auden smiled softly as the Sword of Emanation was embedded deeply into his skull and blood leaked.

When did that happen?! Was it when he had his back to my face, but even then - I couldn't see any body language indicating that! Is our speed difference that vast?

Auden, without any corruption from his Fiery Radiance, smiled. As his life quickly shortened, he muttered weakly.

"In the Sunny Archipelago, I have a cabin there with all my secrets. My daughter-in-law knows the place, so please… take care, my dear Zephyr."

With his final words, Auden fell to the ground. Dead.

Atlas stood still, he was frozen. Auden's final words replayed through his head again and again. The way he'd said it… almost like my mother used to say it. Such as who exactly is Auden Sato?

Before Atlas could ponder the question, the yellow astral projection of Merlin walked forward and knelt to Auden's corpse.

While Atlas couldn't comprehend Auden's last words, he'd tried to comprehend Mister Merlin's actions.

"No residual Cursed Energy left." Sighing, Merlin stood up and looked around. Captain Lucius had succumbed to his injuries, falling unconscious. The others were packing their thoughts and actions together to leave this cursed battlefield as the 10km by 10km barrier dissipated completely.

However, two things caught his attention. The first and most obvious was Lucius Smith. Glad to see the Smith family continue to prosper after the events of Klein!

Moving his gaze aside, Merlin saw Elena Crescent. In terms of appearances, she was regular.

However, what was inside was what caught Merlin's interest. A direct descendant from the Moon and Serpent. Her body and DNA seem to have a decent amount of their blood. Quite the rarity.

Before Merlin's Astral Projection could peek around more at Elena's ancestry, an intense and familiar power emerged from all directions.

Heh… guess 'He' is here too. Not too surprising, someone like 'Him' loves to chase shadows. Suddenly, Atlas saw Merlin's yellow form disappear as if he were erased from an eraser.

"What just happened?"

"Dealing with old friends, Mister Atlas." A chilling voice came from behind him, quickly turning around, Atlas saw a man he'd never seen before.

Tall and skinny, he had blonde hair and golden-yellow eyes with regular clergymen white robes adorning his figure. His body radiated this Holy light and warmth that brought Atlas his warmth.

"We've never met before, Mister Atlas. I am associated with Matthew Mitchell and Daemon Eggers." While speaking, he motioned towards the sky where Daemon still floated.

Nodding softly, Atlas turned around and muttered: "A tad too late, Sir."

"Arthur is just fine. And I couldn't deal with 'Him' just yet," Atlas' curiosity was piqued by the words this mysterious Arthur said.

"I know you have questions, you all do. Just know for now that I'm on your side and will do anything to help you all."

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Ten or so minutes had passed since Auden's death, Merlin's disappearance, and Arthur's arrival.

During this section of time, Arthur had helped a majority of them. With Arthur's power, Daemon managed to control Heidi's Ring enough.

Captain Lucius had regained consciousness and was mostly healed by Arthur. Along with all his fellow Night Riders, all were healed.

"Thank you, Sir Arthur." Bowing slightly, Arthur gazed at all the Night Riders with a small smile. He simply shook his hand and muttered enough so they could hear: "No need. This all is my fault. My weakness couldn't save millions of lives and nearly billions of families. Please, blame it all on me and my lack of power."

Captain Lucius didn't respond to the self-deprecating comments about Arthur and simply just nodded. Meanwhile, Felix Ashbourne looked down and gulped down his shamefulness and pride.

With nothing else to say, Captain Lucius along with the Night Riders bid farewell to them all and left for the City of Nightmares.

With that, Daemon stood up. Most of his black robe was covered in blood, mostly his and others. Gazing around, he saw only Yves, Atlas, and Níels.

Sighing softly, he said to Yves and Atlas: "Shall we leave already? By the time the Sun rises, we should've reached Egon's mountain." Atlas instinctively looked at Yves who looked at Daemon.

After a while, Yves sighed and nodded.

"Let's leave this hellhole."