"Hah, seriously?...This is really all you can do, isn''t it? And here I thought killing a sage might actually be kind of fun."


    Even without any feedback, Antote''s taunts didn''t cease as she yfully ran her des through the gathering bridges of mana that built the weaving spell, slowly approaching the barrier before kicking off into another dash of steel.


    With a single strike this time, the fresh barrier was put into worse condition than the brittle first, much to the joy of the Argonaut as sheughed jovially.


    "After I bring your head to the king, I''ll be treated like royalty myself. I''ll probably have my ownnd, a castle...a healthy supply of war prisoners and peasants to cut up. Doesn''t it sound fantastic? I can''t wait!"


    The immensely effective strike to the protective spell cast by the sage seemed to further solidify the murderous Argonaut''s confidence as she boasted, tapping her cleanly-furbished dress shoe against the barrier with a wide smile.


    "You truly are a fiend."


    "Aren''t I?"


    Antoteughed out in response as she twirled the handle of one of her des between her fingers before pointing the sharp, glistening tip of the steel toward the sage tucked away inside the see-through barrier.


    Still, she is a troublesome one. It seems either by nature of her innate ability or those des that with each strike, the next bes more effective. Does she simply be stronger with each consecutive attack? Or is it something else?...Troublesome, indeed, Beatrice thought, I''d like to avoid casting spells if I can help it; each cast further chips away at our already brittle time.


    Witnessing the curly-haired maiden of bloodlust swoop in for another strike, this time leaping into the air as swiftly and quietly as a cat, Beatrice this time realized the nature of the peculiar strikes as another one shed against her barrier.


    As the caster of her own spell, she could feel the distinct feeling of the potency of the mana embroidered into the barrier be dulled; as if the burning mes igniting it began to dampen under rainfall.


    "I see...I think I understand now."


    "Oh? Do you now?"


    Devilish as always, Antote possesses little doubt in her own victory as the barrier looked as brittle as an eggshell by this point.


    "Those des of yours--they weaken the constitution of magic. That''s not quite right, though, is it? Normally, such an ability would only affect the spell it hits, but what you''re doing is different."


    As the tinum-haired sage of a nebulous beauty exined her findings, Antote seemed pleased as she listened with her twisted grin.


    "Just by attacking a source of a caster''s mana, you''re able to weaken the potency of their magic."


    "Bingo!"


    The Argonaut eximed joyfully as she pointed one of her des at the sage, her curly locks bouncing as she jumped just slightly.


    With that confirmed, Beatrice finally seemed to acknowledge the girl as she turned to face her in full, snapping her fingers while the attention of Antote was grabbed fully by this gesture. Following the sage''s snap of her fingers, an orb appeared directly in front of her.


    "...nning something? I should have you know--by now, your magic has beenpletely trampled, anything you cast now will be novice-level at best!"


    "I know; that''s why I must act ordingly--because, truly, you''re a threat that must be extinguished. Both to the people of Mastorn and my dream, you, Antote us, are an enemy I must not underestimate further."


    The serious, steel-wrought words from the sage were chilling even to the woman who indulged in the deepest of sin. It was the first time since she arrived that the curly-haired Argonaut who loved to taunt her victims finally fell at a loss for words as her lips only slightly moved, trying to find something from the void in her throat.


    Those eyes...The eyes that have seen thousands, tens of thousands, if not more of this world''s history--civilizations falling, genocide, gods--someone like that...is getting serious against me?! Antote thought.


    "Mer, are you ready?"


    "Always, but the question is: are you ready, Bea?"


    The voice that came from the orb hovering just in front of the sage''s own face shocked Antote further, who remained still in this moment. In this moment of harrowing realization, something further was realized by the murderous woman.


    Since Beatrice''s promation, a cold, ungodly aura of magical energy refined by thousands of years of mastery had emanated from her position. However, upon further nce, deepened focus--Antote realized something daunting.<novelnext></novelnext>


    The bountiful, suffocating air of mana formed not from the sage, but the talking orb.


    "It''s quite an ufortable experience, but I will put up with it. Just see to it that you take care of that girl; she''s quite the troublesome one."


    "I noticed. Well then, let''s get this thing started--!"


    As the orb shouted out joyfully, it slowly began to levitate towards the sage''s chest, gravitating closer to the exposed section of her pale chest uncovered by her dress''s sable fabric.


    "I, Beatrice of the Great Sages, offer this vessel to you, Merlin."


    "I ept."


    Hearing this exchange between the sage and the orb, Antote thought she had heard it all until hearing of that name that once more made her limbs rigid and her skin cold.


    "...Merlin…?"


    This is a joke, right? A bluff, a fake, a lie…! There''s no way she means that Merlin--the "Emperor of Mages" himself! He was killed by the Founders of Magic, there''s no way! Antote thought.


    Even if she tried to convince herself of the impossibility of it all, the magical energy she felt splendidly exploring across the attic evaporated her doubt as the air shifted from a still cold to an exhausting, suffocating heat.


    Slowly, the orb began to enter the sage''s bosom as the tinum-haired woman kept her eyes closed as she epted the magically-inclined sphere into her body. As it merged with her body, an intense, blinding light filled the room, originating from the sage''s body.


    "...Ugh…!"


    Antote shielded herself from the intrusive radiance as she raised her arms in front of her face, still feeling something persuade her to watch the direction of the phantasmic scene.


    Before the building pressure of the bubbling mana, the barrier shatteredpletely, dissolving into nothing more than droplets of absolved magical energy. Destroying a barrier from within wasn''t a feat worth putting much stock into, but that isn''t what held Antote''s fear in ce.


    It was trying to understand the rising, mixing, and release of mana before her--between the primordial energy of the sage herself and the divinely refined mana of the proimed Emperor of Mages himself, it was simply something humans weren''t ready to perceive.


    Sweat trickled down Antote''s body as her knees quivered; not out of absolute fear, but the battle between her mind and body--every cell of her body, her sharpened instincts, instructed her to run, but she refused with her pride of a killer on the line.


    Slowly, the array of magical energy flowing and coalescing, shining vibrantly like a rainbow amidst a rainy day, finally began to settle down. Standing in ce of the sage wasn''t the tinum-haired, celestial-eyed woman, but the clear figure of a man.


    "...It''s been a long time since I actually breathed in the air of this world…"


    Taking in a deep inhale, the man let out a satisfied breath as the radiance faded outpletely--revealing inpletion the figure before the Argonaut.


    Tattered, discarded pieces of sable fabric sat by his feet; something Antote immediately deduced to be Beatrice''s dress, having been discarded by the appearance of the enigmatic male.


    His hair was long and flowing like a waterfall cascading down his shoulders and reaching as far as his lower back, possessing a peculiar shade of white that inhabited a looseplexion of sapphire if looked at from a certain angle.


    Though his face was feminine, like a noble prince who had done nothing but indulge in books and the luxuries of life, his body was unmistakably a man''s own,yered in the perfect amount of functional muscle as if that too was a schrly concept.


    His bare feet stood not on the ground, but air; hovering just slightly, but enough to invoke a sense of supremacy as his hair flowed gently amidst his own magical presence.


    Even if it might be a fake...this man is no doubt powerful. I can''t afford to y with my food anymore, Antote thought.


    "Ah, let me cover that thing up!"


    With a chuckle, the man snapped his fingers as a piece of cloth was manifest solely to protect his groin from the eye''s of the Argonaut--who had no intention of looking near that region, instead reading the man with her cold intensity.


    "So, "Antote", right? I''m sure you heard already, but I''m Merlin, at your service!"