Steel and Mana

Chapter 264 – Magical Showdown (2)

The world around Otto blurred and faded as Merlin's counter-spell activated. Their minds were no longer present in reality, but they were facing each other in a place beyond the physical plane. In an instant, time itself became an abstraction, and their souls became free, untethered from reality. The siege of Lothlia, the blood-soaked battlefield, or the crumbling walls were no longer within their perception. Instead, both of them stood in a vast expanse of pure magic—an endless, swirling purple nebula where reality bent and shifted randomly, where time, distance, and form had no actual meaning. They only existed to give a familiar sensation to the minds entering this place. It was the land where no space existed, yet the faint image of a Cosmic tapestry sometimes peeked through the swirling gases, only for a moment.

Otto's form shimmered in this weird, astral plane between their world and the Cosmos, his figure constantly shifting between his physical self and something more elemental, charged with the same lightning he wielded in the physical realm. Thunder crackled around him as he surveyed his suddenly manifesting enemy, his eyes narrowing at the intruding consciousness. He could still feel the formation, the complex web of magical circuits he had control over, but he could no longer will it to strike down on the city below them. Whoever it was... he began interfering with his will the moment he made contact. It was his creation, born from his power, and he wouldn't let anyone seize it...

But Merlin was already here.

He stood before Otto, seemingly materializing from the very threads of magic that formed this place. He was calm, almost serene as if this environment—this battlefield of the incorporeal—was as natural to him as breathing. Watching Merlin's body, Otto couldn't help but shiver, noticing that his young face was overlayed atop another visage. One that had a matching form, just older. Something else within the boy made it feel like he was armed with profound knowledge. Behind his eyes, there was an existence whose soul gleamed with a frightening insight of magic itself. Merlin's presence was a strong contrast to Otto's raw, tempestuous power. Where Otto was a storm, Merlin was now a vast, deep ocean—still on the surface but with immeasurable depths beneath his young appearance.

"You've tangled yourself in quite the knot, haven't you? Your methods are... crude. They lack the refinement and finesse that your level should indicate... I wonder how you were raised to be an Expert Mage. Taking shortcuts is not something I approve of." Merlin's voice echoed, not as sound but as a presence within Otto's mind. He spoke without moving his lips, his thoughts resonating in the magical ether.

"You won't break my formation, no matter who you are! This is my power—my battleground. I am the master here. The only thing you accomplished is to open your soul up to me to obliterate it!" Otto's eyes flared with defiance, angered by the sheer words of this lowly intruder.

With a thought, Otto discharged a wave of energy, a blinding arc of lightning that surged toward Merlin, planning on obliterating him in this ethereal space before he could do anything. Watching it happen, Merlin barely flinched, only snapping his fingers in response. The blue lightning fractured and diffused just before reaching him, the attack dissipating into harmless sparks, deviating from their course and disappearing in the distance. As a result, in the material plane, the clouds rumbled with thunder, but no lightning came down this time around, only running through the thick clouds in dozens of blinding flashes.

"Raw power will only take you so far, wizard." Merlin chortled, his voice tinged with a playful provocation. "You built this formation, yes, but you don't fully understand what you have been taught. You didn't really create it... This is older than I am. Did you know that this spell once brought down a city belonging to a powerful bloodline...? That it killed hundreds of thousands in one night? Your control over it would make your ancestors ashamed. You have been given a bow that you can't pull to a full draw..."

Otto growled in frustration, his hands—now glowing arcs of pure energy—summoning more out of his formation. The magical plane around them responded to his anger, and the clouds around the two began darkening, filled with violently churning waves as lightning flashed towards Merlin in a jagged line, zig-zagging. Yet Merlin stood untouched, not because he lacked the power to defend himself, but because he wielded something far more dangerous—knowledge.

Seeing Otto's will manifesting, Merlin simply raised his hand, and threads of magic, finer than spider silk, began to weave through the air. They moved with such elegance and precision that it took Otto a moment to realize what was happening. Merlin wasn't attacking him or defending himself; he was unraveling the very fabric of Otto's formation, delicately, strand by strand, interfering with it and turning it against him. His attack, once again, simply turned away at the last moment, disappearing into nothing.

Panic flickered in Otto's chest for the very first time. He couldn't allow this. With a roar, he drew more magic forth, this time aiming not at Merlin but at the formation itself. He was trying to reinforce it, tightening the knots, drawing on the power of the Lawbringer and the life force of his subordinates. He was doing his best, strengthening his hold on the spell with everything he got. But every time he added more energy, Merlin would unweave it with an ease that infuriated him.

"NO!" Otto barked, sweat beading on his astral form, a representation of his life energies slipping away as he concentrated harder, reaching deep into his reserves. "I won't let you take it from me! FUCK OFF!"

Merlin didn't respond; he just smirked, licking his lips before closing his eyes. The magical plane around them began to shift. What was once a chaotic, storm-ridden landscape began to calm down. It was as if an anxious, angry animal realized that its faithful caretaker had arrived. The violent arcs of energy Otto had summoned began to slow as if time itself were being bent by Merlin's will. The magic that Otto had infused into the formation, including his disciple's life, began to feel like it was slipping from his grasp, not through brute force, but by Merlin's precise manipulations. Then... there was a soft snap. He didn't feel it anymore... His mages were dead. He knew it because suddenly, his soul began hurting from the backlash of their minds perishing.

It was then that Otto finally realized that the one who stood before him was not just a young mage. He was not above him in strength or raw power but in understanding. He had built the formation with sheer force, pulling from his immense magical reserves of the Lawbringer, following the plans he had learned. He knew how runes came one after the other but didn't know the genuine reasons behind the formation's structure. Yet his opponent... Merlin knew how to take it apart and rebuild it with a finesse that made Otto feel like an apprentice fumbling with spells for the first time.

"I think you realized you are done for." Merlin said quietly, almost kindly. "You attacked the wrong people, wizard. This place is my Sovereign's territory. I am his wizard; I am his Prime Minister... I am his friend. Remember my name!" His fingers moved in the air, and with a gesture, several of the formation's key nodes unraveled like loose threads. "I am Merlin. Merlin Ishillia, Emperor of Magic, follower of the one and only Sovereign of our world. Bow before him when you meet him in your next life, and then I will forgive you! Otherwise... I will obliterate your soul, even if you don't remember why."

"What?" He gawked, unable to even understand what he was saying.

Otto's mind surged with power, a last effort to retake control of the formation. The magical landscape around the two rippled under the strain he was putting on it, sacrificing his life in the process. Lightning bolts as wide as rivers struck from the sky, crashing toward Merlin with a force that could have annihilated any city. However, Merlin remained still, his fingers weaving intricate patterns in the air, like conducting an orchestra. With a single motion, he redirected the lightning into the Cosmos, where it dispersed harmlessly.

"This isn't a contest of strength, wizard..." Merlin murmured, and his words rang through the magical plane, echoing with a wisdom that seemed to come from the distant past. "Magic is not just power. It's understanding. And in that, you are leagues behind me."

Otto's confidence began to crack, hearing a voice that left no doubt about its validity. He had thrown everything he had at Merlin, but nothing worked. That bastard had countered every attack with effortless precision, not overpowering Otto but redirecting his strikes, unraveling his spells before they could even fully manifest, canceling them out before he even thought of the first rune!

For the first time in his life, Otto felt powerless.

How could this be possible? How could a random kid and his knowledge of magic be immeasurably vast? Every spell Otto cast, it was as if Merlin had seen before. It felt as if Merlin had mastered every strategy Otto employed centuries ago. It was like trying to outmaneuver someone who had lived a thousand lifetimes and learned every secret magic had to offer.

Finally, Merlin's previous words marinated long enough in Otto's panicking mind to make him comprehend what he refused to do so a moment before. He was facing someone who was rumored to be the strongest wizard that ever lived. Not just in Ishillian history... but in all history. He... he wasn't dead?!

"You… can't… be..." Otto whined, desperation creeping into his voice, watching Merlin while he looked back at him with something almost like pity.

"It's over, wizard. You've done well to come this far, but there's no shame in losing to someone who has walked this path far longer than you can imagine."

With a final gesture, Merlin unraveled the last of the formation. Otto's web of magic, the spell that had been his greatest weapon, disintegrated into nothingness. The magical plane flickered in reaction to its cancellation and began to dissolve at once, the two wizards' minds returning to the physical world.

Otto's mind reeled like a stone launched from a trebuchet. He had been bested—not by strength but by Merlin's sheer depth of knowledge. As the real world came back into focus, he realized he was lying on the Lawbringer's deck, bleeding from all orifices, twitching, and in agonizing pain that blocked him from moving. He wanted to speak the words, 'Emperor of Magic,' yet he was unable to say anything as his lungs were filled with mucus and blood. He knew... he was going to die.

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