Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

And then… all hell broke loose!

The monster came fast. These ones were different. They were twisted, four-legged beasts with bloody skin and bone protrusions like jagged armor.

They moved in packs, swarming from all directions, teeth bared and eyes glowing blood red. Their sheer number threatened to overwhelm the group.

The young Magi were attacked from all sides. These blood beasts inhabiting the Sanguine Forest were far more deadly than the ones in the previous two layers.

Needless to say, the number of Mana Liquefaction-level beasts had significantly increased. Mana Foundation-level beasts were even greater in numbers, serving as cannon fodder.

Wrestling with desperation, the two parties united, forming a single cohesive unit, and fought the grotesque creatures with everything they had.

Edward and Kahn stood at the forefront, serving as the party's main attacking force. Lisa, Biden, and Chris took up the left flank, while Eleiney, Arthur, and Aiden took the right.

Mikar and Charlie provided crucial support from the rear, where Michael stood, unmoving, like an indomitable fortress.

Each of them fell into position without hesitation, their formation tight and battle-hardened.

Edward and Kahn clashed head-on, weapons meeting claws in a symphony of sparks and blood. On the flanks, spells zoomed through the air as Lisa and the others held the line, barely keeping the creatures at bay.

And in all this chaos… the crazy bastard had somehow gone missing.

From the shadows, hidden among the trees, Merlin watched everything unfold.

He didn't charge in. He didn't need to.

With practiced flicks of his wrists, he launched his ivory cards one after another, each one slicing through monsters that slipped past the party's attacks.

Every throw was precise, every kill timely.

He was the party's unseen dagger, striking from a distance, keeping the tide from crashing in all at once.

They never saw him coming. But they fell one after another.

As seconds turned to minutes, everyone felt their mana reserves reduce to dangerously low levels.

By now, a wall of corpses had already formed around the party, slowing the charge of the remainder of the blood beasts.

Standing at an elevated vantage point, Merlin narrowed his eyes. Something very strange had caught his attention.

He noticed that the blood beasts were avoiding the bodies of their fallen.

Even earlier, he had observed how these blood beasts refused to devour one another in order to grow stronger—a behavior unlike most magical beasts.

He had suspected it before, but now he was certain: whoever had created these beasts had programmed them, in some form, not to harm or desecrate their own kind.

How very strange, he mused, his lips curling into a grin.

He flicked his wrist, hurling another ivory card that pierced the head of the blood beast that was about to sneak up on Michael from the back.

Merlin noticed how everyone's face was pale, utterly exhausted from the grueling situation at hand. The horde of beasts continued to attack them. There was simply no end to them.

If this went on for long, everyone would eventually fall to these hungry, bloodthirsty abominations.

Alright then, at least this will bring them some respite, Merlin thought to himself, then disappeared from the branch of the black tree.

The next moment, he suddenly appeared in front of Edward and Kahn.

When the two young Magi saw his broad and lonesome back, they felt a strange feeling bubbling inside their hearts.

It told them that everything was going to be fine now.

With dozens of ivory cards nestled between his fingers, he stretched his arms wide, as if he were hugging the horde of bloody creatures before them.

The cards tore through the air, spinning with razor-sharp precision as they sliced the blood beasts into pieces.

A brilliant tornado of death erupted with Merlin standing calmly in the eye of the carnage.

Blood and flesh fell like raindrops over the group, each one of them utterly stunned by the madman's vicious and powerful attack.

For a moment, the battlefield descended into silence.

Merlin slowly turned around, glancing at his team members with the same comical smile.

Except now… his smile felt disturbingly exaggerated.

As blood rained down on him, droplets splattered across his face, tracing the curve of his grin, forming a grotesque, crimson smile that stretched unnaturally across his cheeks.

No one spoke. For a moment, time seemed to come to a standstill.

There stood Merlin the Mad, in the storm of death he had created.

His lips parted, and he calmly asked, "The blood beasts are avoiding the corpses of their brethren like the plague. So… do you know what you must do now?"

In that moment, something clicked inside their minds. No words needed to be said. They knew exactly what they had to do.

With a grim expression on her face, Lisa weaved a series of hand seals and then pressed her palms to the ground. In an instant, thick vines burst up from the soil, coiling and writhing like serpents.

Nearby, Eleiney retrieved several crystal vials filled with swirling purple smoke and hurled them toward the approaching horde.

Aiden and Arthur reacted in sync, quickly casting wind-magic spells that swept the purple smoke across the battlefield, enveloping the blood beasts.

As the haze passed over them, the creatures staggered, snarling in confusion, their charge faltering.

That was the cue.

Lisa's vines surged forward, slithering across the blood-soaked ground. They wrapped around the corpses of the fallen beasts, pulling them closer in a deliberate motion.

One by one, the bodies were gathered, dragged across the battlefield like broken dolls.

Then, with eerie precision, the wines stacked and twisted the corpses into a dome, layering them tightly together. The blood, bone, and flesh formed a grotesque barrier around the young Magi.

A dome of the dead!

It was silent. It was still. But it was strangely effective.

Outside the dome, the remaining blood beasts circled and snarled, yet refused to cross the line of their fallen.

Inside the dome, darkness swallowed everything.

Only the sound of ragged breathing and stunned gasps filled the air, punctuated by the soft, rhythmic drip of blood falling from the ceiling to the ground below.

And then suddenly… there was light.

A small plume of flame flickered to life at Merlin's fingertips, casting a faint glow across his face, which was still twisted in the comically exaggerated, blood-smeared smile.

His lips parted, revealing pearly white teeth, and he softly murmured, his tone laced with a theatrical flair:

"Well then… now begins the interlude."