?????°???°?????

  The artifact exploded, shattering completely as it released a surge of dark energy.

  The distortions collapsed inward. Layers of false dimensions folded and tore apart in successive flashes of white and violet.

  From the very center of it all, Viola was expelled, wrapped in a barrier created by Merlin. Don and Logy caught her, quickly checking the condition of their unconscious companion.

  Logy immediately activated a healing skill, focusing on stabilizing at least the most severe wounds.

  The distortions imposed on reality began to fall apart. Some returned to their proper places, while others simply dissolved.

  Merlin floated in place, her attention never leaving Telos.

  Her lilac spherical body was dull now, faint cracks of light pulsing weakly across its surface. Maintaining her form was an effort she no longer had the strength to sustain.

  Telos descended from the sky, his figure shrinking violently. He was no longer the colossal, grotesque being he once was. Now he was little more than a skeleton wrapped in a torn purple mantle, with traces of his former face still visible. His power had diminished, his mana greatly reduced, but far from gone.

  His gaze locked onto Merlin.

  Merlin now carried the task of defeating Telos, or at the very least wearing him down as much as possible.

  Telos, on the other hand, could no longer maintain the barrier at full scale. To reduce his mana consumption, he shrank its area to encompass only the Third District. He knew the only way to get rid of Merlin was to disrupt her mana flow.

  He raised his bony hand, and space began to contract once more. Without the artifact, sustaining that distortion was far more difficult.

  The attack reached Merlin with a two-second delay. She felt it the instant it triggered.

  Her body began to tremble as the space around her compressed, invisible forces crushing her existence toward the ground.

  Sleep crept closer.

  If she lost consciousness there, her body would completely disperse.

  Her thoughts slowed, growing heavy. Images surfaced without her calling for them.

  Victor. She remembered the way he looked at her when he did not understand something, confused yet curious. The way he listened, even when he did not fully grasp what she was saying.

  After living alone for so long in a mansion, where all her knowledge came from outdated books, someone had finally called her into an adventure, even if that had never been the intention.

  She had been his guide, and later, his friend as well. Merlin knew the meaning of those words, but she did not fully understand the feelings behind them. Everything she knew had come from books, after all.

  He had said that he needed her. Now, Merlin wondered if that was still true.

  Victor had met other people. People who wanted him around. People who would fight beside him, care for him, and teach him more than she ever could.

  ‘You must be busy now, right? Fighting something somewhere else as well… you’ll be fine without me, won’t you?’

  That thought should have brought her peace, but it did not.

  The feeling was strange, alien to her, as if something were tightening around her soul.

  ‘No…’

  She did not want that. She wanted to stay. She wanted to grow as a person alongside him.

  She wanted more time. Time to understand him better, to watch him change, to discover what kind of person he would become. He had said he would search for her past together with her.

  ‘Together…’

  ? Warning: Evolution initiated. Medium Spirit Merlin has begun a forced evolution. ?

  The Voice echoed within Merlin.

  A forced evolution was a rare event. An evolution began when an individual underwent a profound change in their soul, regardless of the cause. Depending on that change and their psychological state, the individual could emerge completely transformed.

  Then, something changed.

  Merlin’s spherical body shattered completely. Fragments of lilac light broke away, not dispersing, but reorganizing and expanding.

  When Telos halted his attack, he saw it. Where the spirit once floated, something else now stood.

  A girl.

  She appeared to be around sixteen years old. Her long hair flowed freely, lilac with soft pink hues, moving even without wind. Her eyes, tinted with a pale lilac-pink, held no shine, like closed windows.

  Above her head, her crown of energy had grown.

  It was no longer a simple ring, but a formation of floating thorns, larger and more defined, glowing in shades of pink and deep red. Behind her, crystallized fragments of mana drifted like shards of glass, extending from her crown.

  Merlin breathed. For the first time, truly.

  ? Evolution complete. Medium Spirit has evolved into High Spirit, Class (A). ?

  ‘Now I can grow alongside you, Victor…’

  In other words, Merlin’s sincere desire to stay with her friend and understand him had shaped her evolution into that form.

  ? Passive skill [Scholar] acquired. Extra skill [Total Guard] acquired. Both are Class (A). ?

  °??──────??°

  Telos had just lost his artifact and a large portion of his power. But above all, he had just witnessed a creature surpass its limits and evolve right before his eyes.

  He couldn’t help but let out a laugh. For someone who had been a failure throughout his entire life, that sight was ironically amusing.

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  But it didn’t change his fate. He would fight to the very end against these blessed ones. With a swing of his arm, Merlin was launched straight upward, cutting through parts of the distorted houses before crashing into the ground.

  Merlin flew into the skies, now dressed in a white tank top and loose black pants, mimicking Victor’s combat attire. She had created them while passing through the rubble.

  Immediately, she formed spheres of energy and fired them at Telos. Unable to keep his barrier active for long, he chose to use short teleports across the battlefield.

  Taking advantage of another opening, he attacked Merlin again. In the very next instant, she appeared behind him. A point-blank shot was fired, blocked by Telos’s barrier, leaving him with no choice but to activate it fully.

  He attempted to strike with a punch infused with his energy, but Merlin ignored it and countered with her elbow. The impact caused his skull to crack slightly.

  A shockwave struck Merlin in the stomach, sending her flying once more. This time, she stopped her trajectory by planting her feet firmly on the ground.

  Merlin’s mana had increased due to her evolution, but she was still in dangerous territory. On top of that, she wasn’t used to her new body. Telos noticed this.

  The fact that she had rushed into physical combat meant she was still being careful with her mana, since reinforcing her body that way did not consume it.

  A cold slash passed behind Telos. Sentil attacked him.

  In a moment of realization, Telos teleported and struck Sentil in the next instant. His blow was blocked by an ice construct, but the impact sent Sentil sliding several meters back.

  Then a young voice reached Telos.

  “Stop right now!” Merlin shouted for the first time.

  ‘My body won’t move! I can’t activate my skills!’

  In that moment of vulnerability, Sentil activated his skill, unleashing ice wolves that struck Telos head-on.

  The damage was real, and as he turned his attention back to Merlin, his expression darkened.

  ‘That was the spirit’s skill. It works like an order.’

  With that realization, he knew he needed to deal with Merlin first. But Prince Sentil had barely spent any mana throughout the fight. Among everyone present, he was the one in the best condition to keep fighting. Even so, Merlin’s skills were far more troublesome.

  ‘No. The ice one is easier to defeat with my current power. I’ll finish him first, then focus everything on the spirit.’

  Driven by ego and pride, Telos made his decision. He attacked Sentil immediately with his bone blades.

  Sentil blocked some of them, but others were deflected by Merlin, as if she knew something Sentil didn’t.

  Telos was aware of Sentil’s skill. His body moved automatically to defend against any attack, so he used his space manipulation on some of the projectiles. But Merlin thwarted his plan.

  With his own eyes, Telos saw Merlin’s skills.

  Her [Enlightened] granted her information about everything. Her [Scholar] greatly increased her learning speed. It was an absurd combination.

  But beyond that, as a spirit, physical attacks were automatically nullified. That was why Telos’s spatial attacks were effective. However, now, with [Total Guard], any type of attack against her had its effects reduced by 50%.

  Because it was a passive skill and not a barrier or a conventional defense, Telos’s [Space Manipulation] could not bypass it. From that moment on, no damage dealt to Merlin would ever exceed 50%.

  ‘Truly… that word suits you. Enlightened.’

  °??──────??°

  Turning his attention back to Sentil, Telos decided to use a larger amount of mana. Realizing this, Sentil threw his blade into the sky and was struck point-blank by a wave from Telos, knocking him out immediately.

  The blade in the sky froze, forming an ice dragon that fell down onto Telos.

  Suspecting this would happen, he teleported behind Merlin right after.

  Sentil would not be able to defend a point-blank attack, so it was the best bet to remove him from the fight. But Telos paid a high price for it, spending a large amount of mana.

  In his current state, his attacks had a two-second delay. It was the safest way to conserve mana.

  Now he had no choice but to engage Merlin in close combat, using space within his physical strikes.

  He struck Merlin’s face, and she turned toward the punch to further minimize the damage.

  With a burst of force, she jumped and spun her leg, kicking Telos. He caught the blow with his other hand.

  Extending her palm toward him, Merlin fired a blast of energy. Telos was hit directly and launched upward.

  Attacking with mana blasts was Merlin’s specialty. In her case, she would only use them when she was certain they would hit, like just now.

  Both had no choice but to engage in close combat, which in some ways was disadvantageous to both of them.

  Merlin had her energy attacks, which deeply injured Telos, but her lack of experience in combat and movement with her new body held her back.

  On the other hand, Telos could injure Merlin with his [Space Manipulation], using it to reinforce his strikes the same way Merlin used mana. This way, neither of them spent mana projecting it outside their bodies. However, Telos’ combat experience cornered Merlin.

  The fight continued with blows exchanged back and forth. Merlin could use her [Psychic Order] again, but it would not be worth it now. It would be a waste.

  With a straight upward strike, Merlin’s fist hit Telos’ chin, making his head snap back with an explosive impact.

  They were evenly matched. But Telos was beginning to feel his body give in.

  ‘This short one… her punches are incredibly heavy. Every time she hits me, it feels like being struck by a cannonball.’

  Merlin’s mana proficiency surpassed Telos’. As a result, her strikes were insanely heavy and painful.

  [Enlightened] supported Merlin in the physical confrontation during the fight. By enhancing her own senses, she was able to respond to Telos’ attacks in her own way.

  Both of them, exhausted, stepped back without attacking. In silence, they stared at each other. Telos decided to break it.

  “Hey. Tell me, what are you fighting me for?”

  Merlin blinked. She did not lower her guard, but she answered honestly.

  “I want to stop you. Because you’re hurting people who are important to someone who is very important to me. And you? What are you fighting me for?”

  The last remaining half of a human face on Telos formed a smile. It wasn’t forced, nor too wide. It was simply there as he heard the spirit’s answer.

  “I’m going to die soon, so right now I want to see how strong I am against a very strong opponent. I already got my revenge on those two idiots, the orange one and the icy one, so I’m satisfied.”

  Pride was all Telos had, and Merlin noticed that as she saw him raise his hand toward her while dark energy began to form. The barrier disappeared, as if he were putting everything he had into that final attack.

  Imitating Merlin, he intended only to release his mana as an attack.

  Instinctively, Merlin did the same, pointing her index finger at him. Purple energy formed into a sphere, this time tinged with red.

  Without the barrier, she felt free.

  “So do this failure a favor. Show me everything you’ve got. Let’s see who’s stronger. What do you say, oh enlightened one?”

  In her former form, Merlin did not understand emotions very well. She followed what she believed was right, but she had never developed a moral view of good and evil. Because of that, killing was normal to her.

  She entered this fight seeking to save people, because that was what was right to her. Her solution was to kill Telos to achieve that.

  But now, her opponent was near death, with a determined look, wanting to keep fighting and test his strength against someone stronger. She did not fully understand it, but she was feeling it now, the heat of battle.

  She spoke while smiling gently at Telos.

  “Alright… just this once, okay?”

  At that moment, out of respect for Telos, she would use her mana without any restraint, unlike before. Telos even dismissed his barrier so she could unleash herself.

  A single thought formed in her mind: ‘I want to see how strong I am too.’

  With a sharp discharge, the two energies collided, devastating the ground below as a powerful gust of wind sent debris flying upward.

  But then, Merlin’s attack was swallowed. The dark energy struck her directly, sending her flying into a wall.

  After losing the clash of power, Merlin charged toward Telos. He prepared another point-blank attack aimed at her face.

  The shot hit the ground. Merlin vanished at that exact moment. Falling from the sky, she attacked.

  Telos dodged by leaping across the battlefield. Merlin landed and raised her fingers. Sensing something strange, Telos had no time to evade.

  The very energy he had launched at Merlin moments earlier rose from the ground and struck him directly.

  Telos realized it instantly. Merlin had dodged his attack, but placed a barrier around it, guiding its path underground without letting it explode. After that, she made it emerge at the exact location just a few centimeters from where the attack previously landed.

  Burned, Telos laughed. His body began to break apart into particles.

  “Thank you… that was incredible.”

  His body shattered, collapsing to the ground before turning into particles of mana that dispersed into the sky.

  Merlin staggered, supporting herself on her knees.

  “I still lost the clash of power… you really were very strong… thank you, I learned a lot from you.”

  She said that before fainting. Her energy was completely exhausted. Now she would have to sleep for a while.

  With that, the battle in the Third District finally came to an end. However, in a distant place, another battle was about to begin.

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