Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Except for the sound of ragged breathing and blood falling from the ceiling of the dome, there was nothing but silence.

The blood beasts outside had strangely quietened down. Once the dome was formed, they didn't bother to attack it anymore.

They seemingly even forgot about the humans they had been fighting just now. It was as if the bloody battle never took place.

The blood beasts cast one final glance at the dome of the corpses before turning away and heading deeper into the Sanguine Forest.

Merlin scanned everyone's faces and said with a bright smile, "Alright, you may relax now. The beasts have gone."

Those words were music to their ears. As soon as they heard them, they collapsed to the ground, as if every ounce of strength had drained from their body.

The madman turned to Lisa, who was kneeling on the ground and breathing heavily, and gave a thumbs-up. "You did well."

Lisa turned to look at him. Her lips quivered. She wanted to say a lot of things, but in the end, she simply gave a nod and a succinct response.

"...You too."

On the other side, Eleiney collapsed to her knees and then emptied the contents of her stomach. Aiden and Arthur, who had moved to support her, froze mid-step, then grimaced. Moments later, they, too, turned away and vomited.

The stench inside the dome was utterly unbearable.

Dozens of blood-beast corpses had been gathered and fused together to form the barrier. What else could anyone expect?

The air was thick with the reek of blood, rot, and burning nerves. It clung to their throats, their clothes… their very souls.

Even the most hardened among them—except Merlin, of course—struggled to breathe without gagging.

Chris had pulled a cloak over his nose, while Mikar cast a minor spell to filter the air around him. But it helped little.

And yet, in the middle of it all, Merlin looked completely unfazed, still holding that strange flame and that stranger smile.

Edward and Kahn approached him from the sides, dark scowls etched across their faces.

"That was a close one," Kahn muttered solemnly, glancing at the dome of corpses.

The enemies they had to face in the forest were vastly different from the ones they had faced before. In the first two layers, the blood beasts were simply wriggling masses of flesh with countless eyes and maws.

But here, in the third layer, they seemed to have somehow evolved. The crimson masses of flesh had taken on a quadrupedal form. Though all thier other grotesque features remained the same.

Edward glanced at the ceiling made up of fresh corpses, his face turning solemn. "Why would the blood beasts not attack their fallen?"

He then turned to Merlin with an inquisitive gaze.

The madman looked at him and arched an eyebrow. "What're you looking at me for?"

"Well…" Edward's lips twitched. "Do you have, uh, you know… a hypothesis?"

"A hypothesis?" Merlin scoffed. "I am a man of chaos and madness, not logic and numbers."

Edward was at a complete loss for words. In the end, he couldn't help but shake his head and heave a helpless sigh.

A moment later, Biden approached Merlin with an awkward look on his face.

"Hey, Merlin," he called out.

"Hmm?" The madman had just sat down on the ground. "What do you want?"

"…I apologize for my behavior earlier," he said while lowering his head in shame.

Merlin waved his hand nonchalantly. "Forgiven, forgiven. Now, go brainstorm how we can get to the center of the secret plane."

"You…" Biden was taken aback. "You still wish to go to the heart of this place?"

Merlin glanced at him like he was an idiot. "What else did you think? Don't tell me you were planning to live the remainder days inside this bloody dome."

Biden remained silent. The others, too, remained silent.

Perhaps only a fraction of the people here were calm, while conflicting thoughts stormed through the minds of the rest.

They faced a serious dilemma: stay here, safe and sound… or venture deeper into the unknown.

Noticing the shadow of hesitance on their faces, Merlin couldn't help but sneer.

"One minor setback, and you've already lost all hope? So what if a horde of beasts stopped you? So what if the forest twists your senses? Do you think all is lost? Fools! Until death… every defeat is psychological."

Those words rang like thunder in everyone's ears, shaking loose their hesitation and kindling a quiet flame of courage deep inside their hearts.

They all thought of Merlin as a madman, an agent of chaos who derived pleasure from others' misery.

He joked and joked and joked… never taking anything seriously.

But now, for the first time, they were beginning to wonder:

Was there truth hidden in his folly?

Was there wisdom reflected in his absurdity?

Seeing their eyes gradually gleam with the radiant light of conviction, Merlin's lips curled into a brilliant smile.

"Ah, isn't that wonderful? Hope… is such a beautiful thing," he said with a wide grin.

Then, his eyes narrowed, and his smile appeared cruel and evil.

"However," he began. "If you're weak, then hope… will become your shackles."

They ruminated over his words for a long, long time.

Edward and Eleiney finally stepped forward, looked at one another, then shifted their gaze to Merlin.

"We'll recuperate for now. When the fifth day begins, we will venture into the heart of this damned place," Edward spoke solemnly.

"Until then, we'll make enough preparations," Eleiney added.

She hesitated for a moment, then requested, "Merlin, would you… mind scouting the road ahead?"

Merlin, still sitting on the bloody ground in a relaxed manner, gave her a comical salute. "As you wish, young lady."

Following his words, he weaved a series of extremely complicated hand seals. This was a spell that used his spiritual energy as the fuel.

Moments later, a radiant magic circle formed on his palm, and from it, a tiny white maggot materialized.

The maggot slowly slithered down Merlin's hand, inching its way across the blood-soaked earth. Then, under the stunned, silent gazes of everyone around him, it reached a nearby corpse of a blood beast and burrowed inside.

For several long seconds, nothing happened.

And then…

The corpse twitched.