Chapter 104: Merlin’s Wrath

Yuna’s heart throbbed with anxiety, her eyes darting across the battlefield as she desperately searched for Merlin. In the previous clash, Stacie’s shadow magic had struck like a razor-sharp blade, instantly sending Merlin flying. That familiar figure had vanished into the darkness, leaving no trace behind.

The Stacie who had assumed the form of the Moon’s Dark Whisperer seemed to harbor a disturbingly obsessive fixation on Yuna. It did not wish for anyone to interrupt the brutal duel between them. So, the instant Merlin and Yuna had charged forward, it unleashed its terrifying shadow magic, sending Merlin—the inconvenient interloper—hurtling away.

Flames and frost erupted across the ground. Yuna’s cloak fluttered behind her, deflecting the blackened blades that skittered along the battlefield. With each passing moment, the shadows gathering beneath her feet shrank the safe space where she could stand, and a flicker of unease ignited in her chest. She knew she had to find an opportunity to counterattack—but Stacie’s shadow magic was like invisible shackles, binding her mercilessly at the heart of the fight.

“Where do you think you can run, little mouse?” Stacie’s voice was low and sinister, dripping with malice. Shadowy tendrils, like venomous snakes, lashed toward Yuna, aiming to ensnare her.

Gritting her teeth, Yuna conjured a small, silver dagger in her hand. Her gaze locked onto Stacie’s form. With a swift flick, she sent the silver blade flying, immediately straightening her stance and channeling her magic toward the dagger’s trajectory.

Frost snaked along the flying blade, and a surge of terrifying magic erupted. In an instant, a massive shard of ice crystallized, freezing the shadows that Stacie had summoned—and even encasing Stacie herself.

But Stacie merely laughed coldly from within the ice. Her shadow magic had already converged into a protective barrier around her, effortlessly deflecting Yuna’s attack.

Yuna’s jaw tightened at the sight. She withdrew a ruby necklace from her spatial ring. With a sharp crack, the ruby shattered, and horrifying flames coalesced into the shape of an arrow, hurtling toward Stacie.

The flaming arrow instantly melted the ice and slammed against Stacie’s shadow barrier with a deafening crash—but it did not even make her flinch.

“Pathetic struggle!” Stacie’s voice brimmed with disdain. The shadow tendrils struck again, wrapping around Yuna’s wrists and attempting to drag her into the darkness.

“Let go of me!” Yuna struggled with all her might, her heart swelling with defiance. If she faltered now, she would be dragged into the shadow realm.

Stacie’s shadows coiled tightly around Yuna, stifling her magic. A crushing weakness overtook her body, nausea and dizziness gnawing at her senses. Beneath her feet, the shadows churned like a consuming swamp, inching closer to swallow her whole.

Yuna knew that if the shadows devoured her, she would be cast into the legendary Shadow Realm—a place devoid of light, sound, or even the concept of space. Unprepared to enter it, she would face eternal exile, gradually fading away to death in a world unsuitable for human existence.

“Iceblade… become a sword!” Yuna bit her tongue to clear her mind. She knew what she had to do, despite the danger. The shadows bound her like unbreakable chains, freezing her magic and dragging her closer to the dreaded Shadow Realm.

Her consciousness teetered between clarity and oblivion, the waves of nausea threatening to drown her. Summoning the last reserves of her magic, she transformed her right hand into a razor-sharp blade of frost. She lifted her arm high, prepared to sever her left arm, now entangled in the shadows, to free herself.

Just as she steeled herself to make this grim sacrifice, a blade of wind shot across from afar, slicing through the shadows wrapped around her arm in an instant.

The shadow chains shattered, and the wave of weakness, nausea, and dizziness evaporated immediately. Yuna leapt out from the dark swamp like a rabbit evading a predator, covering distance in mere seconds and putting space between herself and Stacie.

“Merlin!” Yuna cried in exhilaration.

Stacie turned toward the origin of the wind blade and saw Merlin. He had already loaded his crossbow. With a crisp click of the trigger, the bolt shot forth like a meteor, tearing through Stacie’s shadow-formed body with a thunderous roar, utterly shattering it.

Merlin leaned against a tree, gasping heavily, his hands gripping a military-style alchemical crossbow. It was a complex mechanical device, inlaid with magical crystals that pulsed with elemental energy.

“Ah!”

Stacie screamed in pain. The bolt had pierced her defenses, carrying the force of a fourth-tier spell, scattering the shadowy elemental body she had painstakingly formed. The impact sent her staggering backward, her shadow powers destabilized, as if balance itself had been ripped from her grasp.

At the start of the battle, when Merlin had been struck and sent flying, time had seemed to freeze in his mind. The blow had tossed him through the air until he landed hard on the ground. Luckily, his protective alchemical gear absorbed the worst of the impact. The heart-shield had shattered, leaving him visibly battered, but it had prevented a mortal injury.

The sheer force, however, had been punishing. If not for his recent training strengthening his body, he might never have risen again after Stacie’s strike.

Though the Moon’s Shadow, a legendary fae, was now in a semi-contractual state with Stacie, its true form remained in the Shadow Realm. Its appearance in reality relied entirely on Stacie’s magic. The current threat, therefore, represented the full potential of Stacie’s power in this form. Should the Moon’s Shadow itself manifest fully, only a being of seventh tier or higher could hope to restrain it.

Merlin loaded his crossbow with grim determination, his expression icy. Fury blazed within him. Through gritted teeth, he muttered, “The heart-shield you destroyed cost 5,500 gold coins. Each bolt of the elemental crossbow is a one-time alchemical construct, a thousand coins each… and that’s not even the worst part.”

He raised the crossbow, jaw tight. “The worst part is that you’ve been leeching Stacie’s magic this entire time. If Stacie can’t attend tomorrow’s Arcane Academy ‘Honey Time’ brand showcase, do you know how much gold I’ll lose? My schedule for tomorrow depends entirely on Stacie. You delay me earning gold—do you even realize the responsibility you’ve taken on?!!!”