NOVEL NEXT Chapter 152: A Figure Beyond the World
'Merlin? What happened to him? And what is this aura? How can he become this powerful?' Lyserra muttered fearfully.
The aura coming from Merlin was so terrifying that it gave her goosebumps.
It was no exaggeration to say that his aura was as powerful as her former master's.
But how could that be?
No matter how much Lyserra thought or guessed, she couldn't find the answer.
The golden aura lasted for several minutes before finally fading. Smoke and dust surrounded Merlin, making his figure completely invisible.
Boom!
A black cloud appeared in the sky, followed by the roar of a terrifying red thunderclap.
The air turned tense, and the temperature dropped drastically.
Soon, the smoke and dust cleared, revealing Merlin's figure at last.
"This…" Lyserra's eyes widened in disbelief.
The Merlin she knew had disappeared, replaced by an extraordinarily handsome adult man.
He had a tall, perfectly toned body. His white hair was slightly long, fluttering in the wind.
His jaw was firm, his nose sharp, and his purple eyes radiated calmness with a hint of indifference.
He wore a black robe that looked similar to a Japanese kimono.
The robe was slightly open, revealing a black shirt that emphasized his defined muscles.
In his hand was a long black staff with a purple crystal floating above it.
"Is he… Ishtar?" Lyserra's heart pounded rapidly.
Ishtar was the name of her former master, who had died long ago protecting this world.
His appearance was extremely similar, and the black staff he held was the same magic staff Ishtar once possessed.
'No... It's impossible for him to be Ishtar,' Lyserra denied, shaking her head. 'He's dead, and it's completely impossible for him to appear in this world.'
Her expression, usually indifferent and cold, turned pale and fearful.
This was the first time she had shown such an expression since she awakened from her long sleep.
While Lyserra was lost in confusion and panic, the figure stepped forward and calmly observed his surroundings.
"Where is this? Is this the past?" he muttered.
"[Master? I-Is that… you? Why did you change like that?]"
The system's panicked and trembling voice echoed in his mind. Frankly, the system was very frightened now.
It didn't understand why its master had suddenly changed into a different person. Moreover, the power he possessed was terrifying.
It far exceeded what any creature in this world should have.
"Oh? It's been a long time since I heard that voice. Is that you, system? Did you call me to this era?" the man asked playfully.
Three question marks floated above the system's head. It had no idea what he meant.
Called him to this era? What was he talking about?
Realizing the system's confusion, the man simply smiled and said nothing more.
"Alright, it's fine. Since I was called to this era, then I'll resolve the problems that befell me in this one," he whispered.
He then glanced at Lyserra, who happened to be staring at him.
"Come here, Lyserra."
Lyserra was deeply confused, but she didn't have the courage to refuse.
The aura possessed by the man surpassed even her power at its peak—Ishtar in the past had never reached this level.
Once Lyserra stood before him, the man lifted her gently and stroked her head.
"I'm going to borrow your power for a moment."
Right after he said that, the man's eyes shone. Lyserra's body released an intense light.
Moments later, her figure dispersed into particles of light.
"Alright, let's begin the battle!" The man grinned widely, then vanished from his position.
***
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the situation finally returned to normal.
However, powerful figures such as Nereus, Ignis, Corin, Runard, the Seven Celestial Generals, and Gabriel could not relax at all.
They sensed an unimaginably terrifying presence rushing toward them.
Suddenly, an overwhelming pressure engulfed the entire battlefield. The giant ball of light in Gabriel's hand exploded instantly.
Before he could react, a purple light appeared before him and struck his body.
Bang!
Gabriel was sent flying thousands of meters away.
The shocking scene left everyone frozen in disbelief.
"What happened? Who… who attacked the king?" One of the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom of Aldoria muttered in terror.
No one answered. Everyone shared the same confusion—who could do that?
The purple light slowly faded, revealing a handsome man with white hair.
"An enemy?" Nereus, Ignis, and Corin exclaimed in unison.
They immediately took fighting stances. But the man merely glanced at them, and instantly—
Boom!
Their bodies exploded into sprays of blood.
The nearby soldiers and Runard froze where they stood.
"Dead? They died from just one glance?" Runard screamed shrilly.
Ignis, Nereus, and Corin were three incredibly powerful elemental generals.
They possessed power at the second core spirit stage. Yet just now, they were killed with a single glance.
How… terrifying.
"Damn it! Just how powerful is that guy?" one of the Celestial Generals exclaimed in disbelief.
With only a glance, the three elemental generals were wiped out instantly.
It was a sight none of them had ever imagined.
"That man shouldn't exist in this world. His power is something this world cannot withstand…"
The leader's trembling voice shattered their silence. When they turned toward him, they saw his entire body shaking.
"Leader, what do you mean? He shouldn't exist in this world? Then… who is he?"
The others stared at the leader, confused and anxious.
But the leader only shook his head slowly and said nothing more.
What he couldn't tell them was that he could actually see a person's aura.
He had this ability because he was the most special puppet among them. That was why he had been chosen as their leader by their creator—the founder of the Kingdom of Avernia.
The moment he first saw Gabriel, he realized they had no chance of winning.
But to maintain the morale of his comrades and the kingdom's army, he insisted on fighting.
The aura he saw around Gabriel was an incredibly bright golden light, like the sun at midday.
Meanwhile, he saw nothing around the mysterious man. The area surrounding him was empty, as if he were an inanimate object without a soul.
Such a thing should have been impossible. Even ordinary humans had their own unique auras.
Therefore, he concluded that the man's power must have surpassed the limits of this world.
As the tension reached its peak, a twenty-meter-long slash of light shot from the direction where Gabriel had been thrown, aiming straight at the mysterious man.
But the man remained calm. He lifted two fingers.
In an instant, the space within a one-kilometer radius rippled. The slash of light froze in midair, then shattered into particles of light.
The man smiled and remarked, "What a weak attack…"