Chapter 673: The Darkest Moment

[What do you see me as?]

Merlin advanced, trying to exploit an opening. Oliver stood in his way and asked the first question.

Just moments ago, Merlin had been attacking fiercely, but as soon as he heard that question, he froze.

It felt like an unknown force was tightening around his body and mind.

Even though he had used the first Archive’s power, which was meant to prepare for the end.

The difference in innate skill was overwhelming.

Then, Oliver asked again.

[I asked, what do you see me as?]

Lowering his posture as he approached, Merlin released his stance and looked straight at Oliver.

With hair drained completely white, eyes deep black, a child’s face still holding traces of youth, and a stoic expression etched on that face.

From that stoic expression, Merlin could read an unusual clarity and arrogance that hadn’t been there before.

“I see you as my temporary disciple.”

[Liar.]

Pow—!

Oliver made his assessment freely, swinging his hand from left to right.

A careless gesture, as if brushing away dust.

The air broke apart in Merlin’s hand, scattering fragments all around.

It wasn’t just targeting Merlin but shattering the space Merlin stood in. The fragments spread out, but Merlin was no longer there.

“You’re right.”

Merlin had appeared behind Oliver, skipping through space.

A new book opened at his side, releasing a passionate magic that infused into Merlin’s body, now shrouded in pure white light.

Using the power from the previous Archive, Merlin drew all that magic out, forming a sharp sword of energy that slashed at Oliver.

Chhhr—.

But the sword of magic shattered into dust before it even touched Oliver.

Just like the last attack.

Not only was it nullified by sheer force, but it was as if the world itself refused to allow the attack.

Yet, Merlin didn’t give up. He opened several books, unleashing a series of attacks.

He caused cracks in the space where Oliver stood, forged a rain of thousands of swords from ocean water in the sky, and swung papers infused with the will and power of the Archive to sever the energy within Oliver’s body.

Each attack was lethal, capable of taking life.

But none of the attacks inflicted any damage on Oliver.

At best, they only served to slightly restrain him.

Merlin’s performance was remarkable.

Because he knew it wouldn’t work anyway.

The true purpose of those attacks was to buy time… buy time for what he needed to say.

“You’re right. I lied.”

Merlin contradicted his earlier statement. The one where he had said that Oliver seemed like a temporary disciple. He was being sincere now.

Seeing through his sincerity, Oliver asked again.

[Then what do you see me as?]

“I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m seeing.”

[Liar.]

“It’s not a lie.”

Merlin answered with uncertainty, unable to be sure even himself.

His mind had already drawn a conclusion, but his heart refused to accept it.

Merlin questioned himself whether this was just a delusion, hope, or stubbornness. No answer came.

“But, I know how your first friend would see it.”

In that moment, Oliver paused for a second. Merlin exploited that opening and invoked power in space, attempting to push Oliver to the opposite end of the world.

He needed to move a few steps.

Swish—!

Just as Merlin had anticipated, Oliver only stepped back a few paces.

Fortunately, Oliver didn’t move right away after being pushed back, and Merlin took advantage of that gap to catch his breath and continue the conversation.

“Haa… Your friend would still see you as a friend.”

[······.]

“He might seem foolish but is smarter than anyone. He might look fragile but is stronger than anyone, might appear indifferent but is kinder than anyone, and always tries to go in the right direction… that’s the kind of friend you’d be.”

Merlin spoke with a tone mixed with respect, recalling a conversation he had with Kent.

Because he genuinely admired him.

Even though Merlin had shared the truths and speculations he had learned as the Archive with Kent, Kent still maintained his faith in Oliver.

Unlike Merlin, who continued to waver.

Whether Merlins sincerity reached him, Oliver remained silent, standing in place.

Just when Merlin was about to hope that this might break the current situation, Oliver spoke.

[Right now, I see a sinner in front of me.]

Oliver’s eyes stared directly at Merlin.

Looking into those eyes, Merlin could see his own sins reflected back at him.

The foolish and arrogant mistakes he had made, the terrible sins that could never be washed away.

The weight of those sins that had pressed down on Merlin’s shoulders all his life was made real by Oliver’s will. That weight pressed down on Merlin and, beneath him, Leviathan and the Flesh Cook.

━━━━━━━━!!!!

The monstrous beings that had been battling and altering the landscape around them could not withstand the weight of one man’s sins and fell to the earth.

A deafening roar, beyond human comprehension, echoed across the lands, causing a massive earthquake that seemed to shake the entire Central Continent.

The ground twisted and contorted. From the epicenter, a wave of earth surged in every direction, and the world was blanketed in a haze of dust.

But that wasn’t the end.

The impact that shattered the ground also affected the ocean in the sky.

Whoooosh——!

And as proof, salty rain began to fall over the entire continent.

Thanks to that rain, the dust that had filled the surroundings was washed away, revealing the earth hidden beneath.

The forest, unable to withstand the fight and eventual fall of the monsters, had turned into a wasteland. And on that wasteland, the two monsters lay entangled with each other like an Ouroboros, unmoving.

Between the torn muscles of the monsters, their blood flowed like rivers, staining the ground red, and on that blood-soaked earth, Merlin knelt with one knee, exhausted.

He struggled to catch his breath with a pale face, clearly shaken by the sudden fall.

[I can see your sins. Not just yours, but the sins of others, too.]

Oliver approached Merlin, who was kneeling on one knee, and spoke.

Merlin, struggling, lifted his head to look up at Oliver.

Even though the earth had collapsed, rain poured down, and blood drenched everything around, not a single drop, not a speck of dirt, nor any blood touched Oliver’s body.

Not a speck of dust, not a drop of water, not a single stain of blood.

It was as if he was there but also not there.

Oliver, in that unbelievable state, looked down at Merlin and spoke.

[Archive Merlin… A wizard with extraordinary talent. And a criminal who committed the sin of arrogance because of that talent.]

Merlin lowered his head while still kneeling on one knee.

[Do you remember your sins?]

Still with his head lowered and eyes closed, Merlin slowly nodded.

Around Merlin, the blood that had soaked the earth began to gather drop by drop.

[Do you know how many lives you killed because of your talent?]

Merlin opened his eyes, slowly accepting the truth.

The blood droplets that gathered around Merlin formed a pool of blood.

[Do you remember how many men and women, children, the elderly, and disabled you killed?]

Merlin looked around at the pool of blood surrounding him.

Out of that pool of blood, the sins Merlin had committed began to rise one by one.

[In the name of understanding God’s creation, in the name of human progress, you dissected them alive.]

Those sins took the form of people with their eyes gouged out, skin flayed, bellies slit open, revealing bones and organs.

The people formed from blood held onto Merlin’s clothes, begging and whining despite their torment.

[Ugh…! Ugh…!!]

[Aah…! Help me! Mommy!]

[Uhh…! Uh…!]

Merlin remained silent.

[You injected them with poison and pathogens, recording their slow deaths. You pulled out their organs just to see what would happen.]

More people shot up from the pool of blood.

Those infected with various diseases and poisons such as plague, cholera, seawater, and arsenic crawled on all fours, grabbing onto Merlin’s legs.

[It hurts…It hurts so much…]

[Please, please just give us the medicine…]

Merlin stayed silent once more.

[You tore open pregnant women’s bellies to witness the birth of life, dissected children and stored them in formaldehyde, stitched and reattached body parts, and did it all in front of their families.]

Out of the bloody pool rose pregnant women with slit bellies and dissected babies.

The pregnant women whose bellies were as large as hills and tiny babies barely larger than a hand approached Merlin, intestines spilling out, grabbing him.

[Not my child! No, not my child…!!]

[Please! Please, just spare my child…!]

[Aaaah!!!! Aaaahhhhh!!]

[Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!]

Merlin remained silent yet again.

Countless people were holding onto Merlin now. There was no longer any place left to grab.

The people gripping Merlin each expressed various terrible emotions—pleading, pain, hatred, resentment, anger, and curses—trying to drag Merlin down beneath the bloody pool.

[You showed their parents, children, and friends the experiments to see how intense fear, anger, and hatred would affect the human body and soul… How could you do such a thing?]

Merlin once again remained quietly silent—

“—Because I didn’t see them as people.”

In the middle of the bloody pool, Merlin, who had been silent, finally spoke.

Not just that, he raised his knee and stood up, stepping out of the pool of blood.

[Aaaah!!! Aaah!!!]

[Die!! Just die!!!]

[Help! Mommy! Mommy!!!]

[My child!! My child—!!]

[Waaah! Waaah!]

Naturally, the people who had risen from the bloody pool grabbed and pulled at Merlin with even greater force.

Merlin did not shake them off but didn’t allow himself to be dragged down either. He simply endured their touch, standing his ground.

Oliver watched Merlin.

His face was pale, cold sweat dripped from his forehead, and his moist eyes were filled with various emotions.

Negative feelings like regret, guilt, and self-loathing. However, within those emotions, there was also faith, responsibility, and resolve.

[Why didn’t you see them as people?]

“Because they had different skin colors than me, because they couldn’t use magic like me, because they were uneducated unlike me, because they were poor unlike me, because they were untalented unlike me…So no, I didn’t see them as people.”

[And now you do?]

“Yes, now I do. Eventually, I came to understand that they were people as well. People who feel pain like I do, who feel sadness and joy… They were people, and I realized that too late.”

One by one, the people who had risen from the bloody pool lost their strength and returned to the pool.

Even so, they grasped at Merlin, cursing him as they went.

Why must I suffer this pain, why do you remain alive, they asked.

With those curses as the backdrop, Oliver asked a question again.

[Even so, you shamelessly remain alive. Despite being a sinner with a terrible crime.]

“Because I still have something to do.”

[And that something is, to stand in my way?]

Merlin stayed silent in thought for a moment. After a brief silence, he opened his mouth.

“No, my task isn’t to stand in your way, but to prevent you from making mistakes. Even for now, I am still your teacher.”

[Ridiculous. Coming from a sinner.]

Oliver spoke with contempt. Listening to him, Merlin promised with a sad smile.

“You’re right. I am a sinner. I deserve to fall to the very bottom of Hell and suffer eternally. But, even a sinner can do something right once in a while. If a sinner wasn’t allowed to do what’s right, the world would be left with only sin. So I’ll stop you before you make another mistake.”

For the first time, it was Oliver who spoke.

“I won’t make any more mistakes.”

And not with telepathy, but with spoken words. His voice—

Splash—!

—caused blood to flow from Merlin’s eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

Even seeing that, Oliver continued to speak.

“Now, I know. How much this world is soaked in sin.

Now, I know. How deeply this world is stained in darkness.

Now, I know. How insignificant and weak beings like you are.

Now, I know. I was just trapped in a spider’s web.”

Oliver’s voice carried emotion.

As if he was angry and disillusioned after realizing he had been deceived all this time.

Hearing the emotions contained in Oliver’s voice, Merlin began to cry tears of blood, and Oliver, looking down at him, asked.

“But that’s no longer the case. The spiderweb that held me is gone now. So tell me, what else can you do besides stalling for time? How will you stop me? Or is there something else you believe in?”

Merlin staggered, bleeding from the seven orifices of his face.

It looked like a fragile figure that could be shattered with a single blow.

Yet, Oliver did not strike.

That’s because Merlin’s words were spoken with sincerity. He sincerely believed he could stop Oliver.

Oliver waited for Merlin’s answer, and Merlin wiped the blood from his eyes as he replied.

“I do have something to believe in.”

“And what is that?”

“It’s you.”

At that moment, far away in the darkness, small lights began to appear.

Faint, but steadfast in their resolve.

“Oliver!”

It was Joanna, Kevin, and Yarilly, holding their quarterstaffs.

Seeing their arrival, Merlin spoke.

“Those are the bonds you’ve formed.”