Chapter 84: The Spoils (Part 1)

Merilon moved, and a powerful surge of wind elements emanated from his body.

"Swish."

In an instant, Merilon vanished.

Merlin's heart raced. He had been observing from afar, admiring Merilon's speed spell, a type of wind magic he had longed for, capable of incredible swiftness.

But observing from a distance and facing it as an opponent were two entirely different things. Merilon's speed was overwhelming, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared from sight. Merlin tensed, spreading his mental energy to closely monitor every movement around him.

Though Merilon vanished from Merlin's line of sight, he could still track him with mental energy, but hitting Merilon at such speed was another matter.

"Boom."

A burst of flames suddenly erupted behind Merlin, the searing heat signaling danger.

"Freeze!"

Without hesitation, Merlin activated his ice spell model, sending a blast of cold energy backward to block the wave of flames.

But Merilon didn't linger after his attack; he was gone in an instant, leaving Merlin unable to pinpoint his exact location.

"Let's see just how fast you really are."

A sharp glint appeared in Merlin's eyes. Initially, he had wanted to conserve his magic, but that was now clearly pointless. One or two spells alone wouldn't threaten Merilon.

"Fireball!"

With his ample magical reserves, Merlin cast nearly ten small fireballs, launching them in all directions without specifically targeting Merilon.

Not stopping at fireball, he tapped into his reserves for ice spells, releasing several freezing spells alongside the fireballs.

Bright fireballs tore through the night sky, flying in all directions, while the ground below began to chill, forming a layer of frost and ice crystals.

Between the fire and ice, every angle was covered, leaving Merilon nowhere to escape.

Sure enough, Merilon's figure abruptly halted, and he summoned an intense surge of earth elements.

"Boom, boom, boom."

Walls of earth rose in front of Merilon, but Merlin's fireballs, guided by his mental energy, collided and exploded against them.

Merlin's fireball spell was naturally more powerful than the black-robed elder's, and with each explosion, Merilon's face grew paler.

In addition to the impact of the fireball spell, Merlin's freezing spells took effect as well, surrounding Merilon's walls of earth with frost, quickly encasing them in thick ice.

"A perfect opportunity!"

Merlin's eyes lit up. He prepared to rush forward to unleash his large fireball spell when a surge of flames erupted around Merilon, transforming the area into a sea of fire, instantly melting the surrounding ice.

With his magic reserves for freezing spells nearly depleted, Merlin couldn't afford to let Merilon break free. Given Merilon's incredible speed, he would become untouchable again. Moreover, as a master of four elements—wind, fire, earth, and dark magic—Merilon had yet to reveal his dark spells, which Merlin had no countermeasure for.

Merlin knew he had to act swiftly, capitalizing on the moment while Merilon was restrained.

"Greater Freeze!"

Merlin activated his remaining magic reserves and cast a powerful freezing spell.

"Crack."

An even larger surge of cold enveloped Merilon, and despite the surrounding flames, the cold solidified into a thick layer of ice.

This ice was far stronger than that produced by ordinary freezing spells. Even as Merilon frantically unleashed fire magic to break free, he would need more time to shatter this layer of ice.

Watching Merilon struggle, Merlin allowed himself a smile. So what if he was a four-element spellcaster? So what if he'd killed a first-level spellcaster?

Now that he was restrained, Merilon was in the same position as Jason the mage had once been.

"Only one shot left…"

Merlin gently touched the pendant on his chest. This was his trump card, a move he wouldn't use lightly. But once he did, the battle had to end.

During his previous duel with Jason, Merlin had unleashed ten large fireball spells stored within the pendant, creating a devastating effect that even Jason's defensive scroll couldn't withstand.

Though only eight large fireballs remained in the pendant, they were more than enough to deal with Merilon.

"Go, it's over!"

Merlin channeled his mental energy into the pendant, triggering the eight remaining large fireballs. Immediately, the pendant emitted a dazzling light as waves of intense fire energy surged.

"A spellcasting tool?"

The black-robed elder, struggling to stabilize his spell models, noticed the pendant's light and paled. When the powerful elemental energy waves followed, shock filled his eyes.

In an instant, he recognized Merlin's pendant as a spellcasting tool, one capable of storing spells—a rare treasure even among high-level spellcasters.

The black-robed elder wasn't the only one to notice Merlin's use of the spellcasting tool. Merilon, still trapped in the ice, quickly realized his peril.

Panic flashed across his face as his fire element surged, sending flames skyward in a desperate attempt to break free, heedless of the magic it cost him.

In addition to the fire element, dark energy pulsed from Merilon. The dark spell "Dark Mist," which Merlin feared most, was finally unleashed.

Suddenly, Merlin lost all sense of direction. Sounds vanished, and he was engulfed in utter darkness, as if he'd been transported to a void.

This was the effect of "Dark Mist"—a stifling silence, a complete loss of direction, even rendering mental energy useless. It was a bizarre spell capable of creating a hallucination-like state!

Both Merlin and Merilon vanished from view, leaving the onlookers bewildered. Only the massive fireballs continued streaking through the night, aiming forward unerringly.