Old Merlin was clearly a man with a story.
Ye Chui and Jiji finished off the last few enemies. Jiji reverted to her little girl form, wobbling as she flew to Daibi’s side. Her big eyes curiously studied Old Merlin. Despite her five thousand years of experience, she had never seen a spatial magic instructor wield a violent brick-throwing style. Well, she didn’t have much experience to begin with.
Old Merlin’s appearance thoroughly shocked Ye Chui, Daibi, Leisha, and Green. The old man had been besieged for a day, his frustration clearly boiling over. When he saw Green in danger, he acted, but his combat style was utterly eye-opening.
“Can a spatial magic instructor fight like that?” Green said, his worldview shattered.
“As long as you can defeat the enemy, the method doesn’t matter. The advantage of a spatial magic instructor is storage and teleportation, instantly closing the distance to the enemy. Back when I roamed the continent, my magic book held dozens of tons of iron ingots and stones. In battle, I’d teleport them above enemies’ heads. A good smash could kill them,” Merlin said, patting Green’s shoulder. “Young man, a magic instructor must be adaptable.”
Green felt as if he’d opened the door to a new world.
“It’s you! Thank goodness you made it back!” a woman exclaimed. Ye Chui turned to see Luos emerging from Mayor Kas’s mansion, accompanied by her teammates Matt, Gayton, and Harley, along with a few town guards.
Ye Chui and Daibi happily greeted Luos.
Luos continued, “This morning, when the dark magic instructors attacked, we had just returned from a mission and rushed to Mayor Kas’s side. Unfortunately, our strength was too weak to be of much help.”
“You’ve already helped immensely by supporting us this long. Once this is over, I’ll ensure you receive battle merits,” Merlin said to Luos and her team. His expression grew grave as he looked towards the church. “But the danger isn’t over. Luoxia has completely lost her mind. I’ve known her for five years, yet I never imagined she was like this. She’s preparing to summon an Apostle!”
“An Apostle!?” Leisha gasped. As a nun, she knew what that meant. “The evil monsters recorded in the Dark Bible! Luoxia can summon such things?”
“Are Apostles powerful?” Daibi asked, unfamiliar with the term.
“Apostles are similar to the magical creatures you summon, little sister, both born from fantasy. But while ordinary magical creatures come from one person’s imagination, Apostles are terrifying entities born from the negative emotions of countless people. They were created three thousand years ago by an evil cult as world-destroying monsters, later sealed in the Dark Bible by seven holy popes at the cost of their lives,” Leisha explained, her face paling. “Luoxia knows the Dark Bible’s secrets, but I never thought she could summon an Apostle!”
Ye Chui frowned. “Leisha, you said ‘Apostles’ plural. Are there many?”
“Indeed, there are multiple Apostles,” Merlin answered for her.
“Are there eighteen in total?” Ye Chui asked excitedly, wondering if he should try summoning an EVA.
“Eighteen?” Leisha looked at him oddly. “There are only thirteen Apostles, little brother. Why would you say eighteen?”
“Oh, never mind,” Ye Chui said, shaking his head in disappointment.
Merlin’s expression was also peculiar, but he continued, “Luoxia came here earlier, trying to recruit me. She told me she plans to summon the weakest of the thirteen Apostles, the First Apostle Adamte. Even if she can only summon a tenth of Adamte’s power, it will still be a catastrophe!”
“That’s impossible!” Leisha said, still in disbelief, glancing towards the church. “Summoning an Apostle requires immense magic power, something Luoxia couldn’t possibly have!”
“That’s why I say she’s mad!” Merlin said angrily. “She’s captured countless people with magical power, magic instructors, swordsmen, and ordinary civilians, forcibly sacrificing them to extract their magic. This is the most evil act of darkness.” Merlin’s face was filled with righteous fury. “We must stop her!”
Ye Chui recognised the gravity of the situation, though he lacked the urgency of Merlin and Leisha. He glanced at the time on his magic book: 11:30 p.m., half an hour until midnight.
“Luoxia’s madness stems from us killing her son. No matter what, we have to resolve this,” Ye Chui said solemnly.
“This is tricky. We must head out now,” a weak voice said from outside the group.
Ye Chui looked over to see Kas, supported by two frightened servants, approaching.
“You’re awake?” Ye Chui said, pleased.
“I woke up this morning,” Kas replied, his face pale and bloodless, though his eyes burned with determination. He dragged his greatsword. “As the mayor of Stan Town, I cannot allow such a terrifying thing to be summoned. We leave now!”
“Uh, Mayor Kas, you should stay here,” Daibi said tactfully. Kas’s legs were trembling as he spoke, barely standing with the servants’ support. They’d been talking for a while, and Kas had only just reached them because the distance from his sickbed was a few hundred metres, nearly killing him to walk.
“Kas, don’t push yourself. Leave this to them,” Merlin said, shaking his head, then turned to Ye Chui. “I’m officially assigning this five-star mission to your guild. Can you complete it?”
“The Random Name Magic Guild will complete the mission,” Ye Chui said solemnly, though the guild’s casual name undermined the gravity. To Kas, he said, “Mayor, rest well. We’ll handle this.” Before Kas could protest, he turned to Luos. “Miss Luos, please protect Mayor Kas.”
Luos nodded. “I wish I could go with you to the church, but honestly, our strength wouldn’t help much. Our team will protect Mayor Kas with our lives!”
“I trust you,” Ye Chui said with a smile.
Footsteps approached from the distance. On Lando Street, a group of dark magic instructors was rapidly advancing.
Becoming a magic instructor typically required a magic book’s approval, a difficult feat. Dark magic instructors, however, only needed magical power to wield one. Over the years, Luoxia had secretly amassed a considerable force.
Seeing so many magic instructors charging, Luos, Merlin, and the others paled. They’d faced wave after wave of dark magic instructors today and knew how ferocious they were. It seemed all the dark magic instructors had mobilised upon learning of Ye Chui’s arrival.
Luos gripped her longsword tightly, ready for a desperate fight.
Harley the fire magic instructor, Matt the crossbowman, and other swordsmen supported Kas, preparing to escort him back to the mansion.
“Wade!” the lead dark magic instructor shouted. “You’re here. You’re the one Luoxia wants. Come with us quietly!”
“You?” Ye Chui said, slightly surprised, recognising the speaker as the graveyard’s caretaker. “So you’re with Luoxia.”
“Luoxia gave me, a pitiful caretaker, power, restoring my former glory,” the caretaker said coldly, a stark contrast to the timid man who hid in the graveyard. This was likely the dark magic book’s influence. His words suggested he, like Xilesi, was a magic instructor whose book had been destroyed.
He glared at Ye Chui. “You dare return to Stan Town? What can you do now? You face two hundred dark magic instructors, and how many are you?”
“Just these few, but…” Ye Chui smiled, swiping his finger across his iPad screen. A terrifying dragon roar pierced the night sky. “I have a dragon.”
“Roar—”
A fearsome black-gold flame dragon appeared behind Ye Chui, wings spreading as it landed beside him. Its ferocious head bared dagger-like teeth, letting out a soul-shaking roar at the mass of dark magic instructors.
