Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The sea stretched endlessly, seemingly without borders. It was the first time in this world that Merlin had witnessed such a vast stretch of sea. It looked much more spectacular than any grassland, mountain, or jungle that he had seen throughout his journey.
Merlin gradually approached the beach. The scorching heat of the sun had him feeling stifling hot. The breeze blew on him, gently flapping his black Wizard robe in the air.
However from his view on the beach, aside from the endless stretch of sea, Merlin did not see any islands, much less the Kurdmansla Islands, which was a huge cluster of islands consisting up to thousands of smaller islands with varying sizes. It was so large that one should be able to spot them at one glance.
“Could it be that I’ve come to the wrong place? The Kurdmansla Islands isn’t here?”
Merlin frowned and proceeded to check his surroundings. He did not find any footsteps on the beach, which indicated that people seldom come to this beach.
Clearly, Merlin had successfully located the sea, but he failed to find the Kurdmansla Islands.
As such, Merlin chose a direction and continued walking along the beach.
“Ooh-ooh-ooh…”
A gust of sea breeze blew from afar. From it, Merlin could vaguely make out sounds of wailing, as if an infant was crying.
“Infant cries? Is there somebody up front?”
A cold shiver trickled down his spine. Being at an unfamiliar place, Merlin dared not let his guard down. The infant cries came out of nowhere, which made it very peculiar. He was instantly vigilant.
Nonetheless, as he needed to investigate the infant cries, Merlin quietly made his way towards the source of the sound.
*****
Behind a huge rock on the beach hid two Spell Casters, a male, and a female. They looked panic-stricken. Fear was written all over their faces.
“Why’s there a Two-headed Infant?”
“Rumor has it that this place is one of the most dangerous zones around Kurdmansla Islands. That proved to be very much true now since we’ve already stumbled upon a Two-headed Infant though we’ve only just entered the peripheries of this region. I’m just afraid that this is just the beginning of our doomed fates!”
Though both of them looked like Second-level Spell Casters, they seemed to be terrified by this “Two-headed Infant”, as if they were not confident of defending themselves against it.
Right now, they could only hope for a miracle.
“Ooh-ooh-ooh…”
The intermittent infant cries gradually turned louder and clearer. The two Spell Casters were stricken with fear upon hearing the wails. Once targeted by the Two-headed Infant, one’s death would be imminent, and it would be a dreadful one.
“Just wait, if someone else walks by this place, maybe the Two-headed Infant will shift its attention to the passerby, then we’d be safe.”
The male Spell Caster uttered helplessly.
“You really think we’d be this lucky? This place has always been flagged as extremely dangerous. Spell Casters won’t normally venture here. What makes you think someone will just pop by here and drag the Two-headed Infant’s attention away?”
Even the female Spell Caster’s voice trembled a little. The Two-headed Infant was a Darkness-type sea beast, which excelled in Mind Power attacks. On top of that, with its immense Mind Power, it could lure and control other sea beasts or Spell Casters.
For this reason, many Spell Casters would not want to encounter a Two-headed Infant, because it was too much of a nuisance. Without enough Mind Power, even a Third or Fourth-level Spell Caster would be controlled by a Two-headed Infant. They would then lose their conscience slowly, eventually dying a gruesome death. That in itself would be a horrid scene to behold.
These two Spell Casters had previously witnessed a fellow Spell Caster who was controlled by a Two-headed Infant, who then unwittingly sliced off his own body, piece by piece, and fed his own flesh to those brutal sea beasts.
The mere recall of such a scene made them shudder in fear. They would not want to be at the receiving end of the Two-headed Infant’s mind-controlling abilities and proceed to do unimaginable things.
“Eh? Someone’s really coming this way!”
Suddenly, the male Spell Caster glanced delightedly at a spot on the beach, some distance away. He saw a figure approaching them with great speed.
“Let’s hope this will catch the Two-headed Infant’s attention. As soon as it notices that Spell Caster coming our way, we’ll leave this place at once, and run as far away as we can. It’ll be best if we can return to the Kurdmansla Islands!”
Excitement appeared on the male Spell Caster’s face as he watched the figure approach.
*****
“Ooh-ooh-ooh…”
Merlin raced wildly along the beach, intense Wind Element fluctuations beaming from his body. He had finally found the “person” who was emitting those infant cries.
Perhaps, it should not be called a “person”, because the infant cries came from a small, two-headed creature, with two infant-like faces.
Those two faces were ugly and haunting. One face had different-colored eyes, red and blue respectively, which seemed to be bleeding as fresh blood was slowly dripping onto the ground. The other face had tiny pits all over, giving it a sieve-like appearance, which looked ghastly and atrocious.
The sight of this monster was indefinitely more terrifying than Wizard Leo, even for the likes of Merlin. After finding out what this creature looks like, he too exhaled sharply and immediately took a few steps backward.
“What kind of monster is this? Could it be a sea beast?”
Merlin mumbled softly. Throughout his time in the Dark Magic Region, he had only heard of the presence of numerous powerful sea beasts at Kurdmansla Islands and that they came in various grotesque forms. Besides, they were immensely powerful and had a distinct difference from Elemental Monsters or Elemental Beings, in that they were special creatures exclusively spawned from vast seas.
“Ooh-ooh-ooh…”
Right when Merlin was still observing this two-faced monster, its cries suddenly became loud and sonorous. At that instant, Merlin felt his concentration shifting out of focus. Ominous streaks of Dark Elements were followed by an immense wave of Mind Power and it started to shape images of a lucid illusion around him.
“A Darkness-type monster?”
When Merlin sensed the illusion, he felt relaxed. If this monster was a stronger kind of beast, he might have to keep vigilant. However, since it was a Darkness-type monster, he was not afraid.
Merlin had perfected the Darkness Heart and that granted him invulnerability against most Darkness-type spells. Why would he worry about this monster’s illusions? Plus, back at Abyss Fort, he had already experienced countless illusions in the Darkness Void. Why would he fear this monster with two giant heads and scary faces?
“Interesting. It’s my first time here and I’ve already met such a unique sea beast, but sorry to say, you’ve taken on the wrong opponent. Illusions are useless against me, break!”
A smile etched across Merlin’s face. With that, the force of darkness surrounding his body shuddered slightly. His Darkness Heart had taken effect and the illusion around him vanished immediately.
Upon breaking the two-headed monster’s illusion, Merlin moved slightly. An intense Wind Element emerged from his body, which surged abruptly, reaching the two-headed beast in almost an instant.
Merlin spread his palm and muttered, “Demon Ability, Glacial Finger!”
“Swoosh”
A streak of chill immediately gushed towards the two-headed beast. It realized the approaching danger too as its two heads started producing extremely high-pitched sounds.
These high-pitched sounds penetrated the clouds, and even Merlin flinched when the sounds reached his ears.
“So-ush.”
The high-pitched sounds seemed to be doing the trick. A frog-like monster suddenly jumped out from the shore and its body expanded rapidly, just like a balloon. With one pump it grew about three or four times in size.
The frog monster puffed out two big eyes, its humongous body shielding the two-headed monster, clearly protecting it. However, Merlin did not hesitate and the chills from his Glacial Finger enveloped the frog monster’s body.
“Ka-cha!”
It seemed that the frog monster was not really powerful either, because after being subjected to the cold snap of Glacial Finger, its gigantic body immediately disintegrated into countless little fragments and scattered onto the beach.
This time, it truly scared the two-headed beast as nervous expressions began to show on its faces. It scrambled back to the sea for safety.
“Trying to escape? Too late!”
It was Merlin’s first encounter with a sea beast and the strange creature piqued his interest, so he wanted to catch this two-headed monster alive to carefully study it.
Hence, he prepared to withdraw his spell to first trap the two-headed beast. Even a First-level spell would also work effectively on the two-headed beast. Besides its great Mind Power and the ability to create illusions, the beast did not have any other spells, which was why Merlin was quite confident of catching it alive.
Suddenly, as the two-headed beast was escaping towards the shoreline, both its heads let out a loud shrill simultaneously, the loud sound numbed any bystanders’ senses.
“Bom-Bom”
Along with the loud shrill, Merlin felt like the entire beach was shaking. A huge water column had risen into the sky from beneath the sea and a gargantuan creature emerged, swiftly making its way towards the beach.
Simultaneously, some giant seagull-like creatures appeared in the sky above, and they too let out a long squeal, after which they dived downwards.
That was the sea and the sky reacting, and now the beach too. Rat-like creatures with shiny black coats of fur burrowed out from the thick sand, letting out sounds of “chi-chi-chi”. Their tiny eyes gleamed with a bloody illumination.
“These are all summoned by the two-headed monster?”
Merlin could not help but to inhale sharply, seemingly taken aback. That two-headed monster that he thought to be harmless had surprised him by recruiting so many menacing monsters.
*****
“Damn it, damn it, what kind of idiot is this Spell Caster? How can he enrage the Two-headed Infant? Does he intend to have our graves dug here?”
The two Spell Casters hiding behind the big rock could not help but stare in awe as they witnessed the scene not far away, the male Spell Caster reacted furiously shortly after.
That was what a Two-headed Infant was truly capable of, commanding the presence of many sea beasts. Even most Fourth-level Spell Casters would flee as far as they could after seeing a Two-headed Infant.
However, someone dared to attempt the live capture of a Two-headed Infant, even going so far as to enraging the monster. Right now, the Two-headed Infant was truly incensed as it summoned the control of so many of sea beasts.
At the heart of such a huge commotion, it became impossible for them to creep away from the beach.
“So, what shall we do now?”
When the female Spell Caster saw the swarm of sea beasts on the beach, the color drained from her face. She was clearly at her wits’ end.
“What else? Wait. We can’t make a move now, cause if the Two-headed Infant and those sea beasts see us, we’re toast! Blame it on that idiot, he’s the one who enraged the Two-headed Infant…”
The male Spell Caster was still fuming as he glanced at the beach a distance away, looking at that figure with the black Wizard robe.
******
Back on the beach, Merlin stared at the many sea beasts surrounding him, a serious expression on his face. These sea beasts had gathered around him from all directions, effectively surrounding him. Meanwhile, the Two-headed Infant sat high up on the back of another sea beast, positioning itself like a war general as it commanded the rest of the sea beasts.
Merlin finally understood clearly that these sea beasts were all summoned by the two-headed monster.
Merlin’s sights were set on the humongous sea beast that was just washed ashore. Its whole body was like a hill, and its huge size alone was enough a factor to deter anyone.
Any normal Spell Caster would feel helpless at the sight of it.
As for Merlin, he merely raised his guard a little. These sea beasts may have come in numbers, but he was not afraid at all. Based on the energy radiating from these sea beasts’ bodies, he inferred that their powers were only equivalent to that of a Fourth-level Spell Caster.
Only that gigantic sea beast managed to deter Merlin a little. The other sea beasts may have come in great numbers, but to Merlin, they were all easy to defeat.
“Darkness Tide!”
Merin did not hesitate for one bit as he went on the offensive, his first move in the form of a recently constructed Second-level Darkness-type spell, Darkness Tide.
At that moment, the originally sunny beach was plunged into darkness. Light rays were distorted, and rich Darkness elements rapidly condensed. A huge shroud of darkness engulfed the numerous sea beasts around him in almost an instant.
Darkness Tide is a Second-level Darkness-type spell. With the complementing enhancement from Darkness Heart, even if Merlin had not unleashed the enhanced version of Darkness Tide, he would still be capable of casting an illusion over a Fourth-level Spell Caster.
As for the numerous sea beasts, they were all monsters with weak Mind Powers. The only exception was that two-headed monster as it was a Darkness-type monster. Hence, it would probably be unaffected by Darkness Tide. As for those sea beasts that it had summoned, they stood no chance against the illusions from Darkness Tide.
At the moment darkness befell, all the monsters went silent, as they were all propelled into the realm of illusion.
“Kill!”
At the time, these sea beasts could only await their slaughter, as Merlin walked freely in the darkness like a fish that was granted water 1 . He casually cast his spells. Even though there was a large number of them, it did nothing to help them as they were absolutely defenseless and were annihilated one by one.
Darkness Tide paired with Darkness Heart, it was the very first time that its mighty powers were exhibited. The scary fact was that this was only a Second-level Darkness-type spell.
If it was a Third-level or Fourth-level spell, Darkness Heart could assimilate into the Fourth-level Darkness-type spell, which by then, the power of Darkness-type spells would be truly tremendous. It would reveal the true powers of the notorious Demon Ability, Darkness Heart.
“Ka-cha”.
Merlin was casting Ice-type spells, killing a huge number of the evil monsters, which he followed up by using flames. After that, Merlin harnessed his Magic Powers and charged towards the sea beasts with his strong physique, thus obliterating them.
It was quite the pity because the moment Merlin unleashed Darkness Tide, it seemed to have invoked fear in the two-headed beast. It was indeed unaffected by the Darkness Tide spell as it immediately found its way out of the area that was immersed in darkness, leaping into the endless stretch of sea.
“Shame, I still can’t catch that two-headed monster.”
Merlin was panting. He had just used his strong physique to kill god-knows-how-many monsters, and now fatigue was catching up to him.
Until Merlin dispersed the Darkness Tide, darkness slowly receded, sunlight regaining its shine on the beach. Suddenly, a dreadful scene came into sight.
On the vast beach laid an immeasurable amount of torn carcasses belonging to those killed sea beasts. It was a scene of macabre.
*****
“This… How’s it possible? Who in the world is this Spell Caster?”
Looking at the dense masses of numerous sea beast carcasses on the beach, the two Spell Casters who were hiding behind the rock looked astonished. Their emotions were tumultuous and they were unable to settle down even after a while.
Even the Two-headed Infant had resorted to fleeing. It was a known fact that a Spell Caster as high as the Fourth-level would act cautiously upon seeing a Two-headed Infant. It was to the extent that they would not hesitate when presented with any slightest chance of escaping.
In fact, they had never heard of someone who could force a Two-headed Infant to flee. Perhaps, only those Fifth-level or stronger Wizards could pull off such a feat.
Could it be that this Spell Caster, who looked so young, actually be a Fifth or Sixth-level Spell Caster?
“Shu-ack”
Right when these two Spell Casters were still accustoming to their pounding hearts, that black-Wizard-robed figure on the beach some distance away seemed to have noticed something, abruptly turning his sights towards their hiding spot.
These two Spell Casters felt their hearts sink, as they crouched behind the rock. They dare not move in the slightest.
