Chapter 694: Revenge

Merlin and Kevin.

Their relationship could only be described as complicated.

They were master and apprentice, yet at the same time, bitter enemies.

This animosity stemmed from Merlin’s actions during his younger days, where he used not only Kevin but also Kevin’s parents, siblings, friends, and fellow villagers as test subjects.

This was all done to prove himself as the greatest magician by becoming an Archive.

In Kevin’s presence, Merlin vivisected the Red Ones, injected them with bacteria, removed organs, attached body parts, and introduced various foreign substances—all without a shred of human dignity. Kevin was forced to watch.

Merlin could do this because he didn’t see Kevin or any of the Red Ones as people.

They didn’t have the same skin color, wealth, education, or ability to use magic as Merlin did.

And so, Merlin could treat them like lab rats without a second thought.

Then one day, Merlin not only freed Kevin—the last remaining test subject—but against everyone’s objections, he made Kevin his apprentice.

Such actions were in stark contrast to his previous disregard for the Red Ones as even human.

Ironically, Merlin’s behavior change occurred after fulfilling his desire to become an Archive.

Merlin, brilliant yet foolish, had realized through the millennium of knowledge and experience stored in the Archive that the Red Ones were people just like him—a simple truth that was hard to accept.

Not only did he release Kevin, but he also took him under his wing, teaching him everything from magic to the wisdom needed to navigate life.

The reasoning behind this could easily be speculated.

It could be atonement, guilt, or perhaps even selfishness. Maybe it was both.

Similarly, one could guess Kevin’s thoughts as he became the apprentice of his enemy.

Revenge.

Oliver knew it before he learned anything specific about Merlin and Kevin’s relationship.

Each time Kevin looked at Merlin, there was a cold fury and a quiet thirst for revenge burning deep within him.

Kevin treated Merlin with the respect due to a master, but he never let go of his wrath and desire for revenge.

He merely kept it buried deep within his heart.

During the long years from being a mere test subject to a magician, then a Military Mage, and finally a professor at the Tower of Magic, Kevin never forgot his need for revenge.

It was this Kevin who spoke to Oliver about Merlin.

“If you don’t have any business, could you move aside?”

Oliver silently looked at Kevin. Or rather, he looked at the emotions that Kevin harbored.

Intense anger and hatred, along with a desire for revenge. But there was also a conflicting emotion just as strong.

“…”

Oliver quietly observed this contradiction and then turned his gaze to the fallen Merlin at his feet.

The old magician with a bald head, sunken muscles, and ravaged by time.

A man who bore wounds that could never be healed as a way of atoning for his sins.

Yet, despite everything, he could not forgive himself and was wracked with torment.

“Haa… Haa…”

Even in his half-conscious state caused by injuries, accumulated fatigue, and loss of blood, the old man desperately grasped Oliver’s pant leg with his skin-and-bones hands.

As Oliver looked down at Merlin, he asked Kevin.

“Will you take revenge?”

“Yes.”

Kevin answered shortly and resolutely. There was sincerity in his reply.

“…He’ll die anyway if you leave him like this.”

“I know, I know he can’t be saved. That’s why I’m taking my revenge now.”

Kevin, fully aware that Merlin hadn’t recovered at all after the battle with Oliver, replied.

Not even the Holy Power, said to be a gift from the gods, nor the unique magic of the Archive could heal Merlin’s wounds. They only grew worse over time.

The bandages that hadn’t been removed proved this.

Kevin, Merlin’s apprentice for decades, wasn’t unaware of this.

He just hadn’t spoken about it until now. But he was finally speaking up.

After hearing Kevin, Oliver spoke again.

“He’s already tormented by regret and guilt.”

“You still care about that?”

“…”

Oliver went silent at the sharp jab.

Kevin was right. Now was not the time for Oliver to worry about such things.

In fact, it was laughable that he even tried to ask.

Convinced by Kevin’s words, Oliver stood up and stepped aside to make room.

Although Merlin had gripped Oliver’s pant leg, the old man, who was little more than skin and bones, let go helplessly.

Thud.

His hand fell limply to the floor.

As Oliver moved to stand aside, Kevin stopped him.

“I have a question for you.”

“…”

“I’ve answered your questions twice, so I think I’m entitled to ask one of my own, don’t you agree?”

“…Speak.”

“Do you have any plans to become an Archive?”

***

The Archive.

A title that came with the labels of Grand Magician and Sage, and the only position of its kind in the world.

It was a position that had existed for a thousand years, an unattainable dream for magicians.

The honor of being recognized as the greatest magician of the era,

The prestige that even kings would bow to,

The knowledge, experience, and power collected over a millennium by previous Archives,

And the limitless wealth of an Archive, said to surpass an entire nation.

Being the Archive held everything a magician could desire.

No one knew who created the Archive or why the position existed,

Not even those who sought to become one.

In a sense, it was almost a farce. How could you desire something without knowing what it truly was?

Even Merlin was one of the stars of this farce.

However, once someone became an Archive, they would understand the reason. Whether they wished to or not.

The Archive was little more than a safeguard created a thousand years ago to prevent the world’s end, and the key requirement for this role wasn’t magical talent, but having committed sins.

To be an Archive was not the grand honor of being a Grand Magician or Sage but rather part of a machine’s mechanism.

A mechanism that didn’t even know its own function or purpose.

Kevin asked Oliver if he intended to become such an Archive.

A question so absurd it seemed like a bad joke. But Kevin was genuine.

What could his intention be? Was this a shallow ploy to try and alter the destined end?

It wasn’t the case.

Kevin wasn’t foolish, and more importantly, there was no trace of such intentions in his emotions.

The only detectable desire was the want to know whether Oliver planned to become an Archive.

And he had reason to ask: the current Archive, maintained over a millennium, was dying, and here in the Holy Capital, only Oliver and Kevin were the magicians present.

Oliver answered.

“No, I don’t.”

“I see.”

Upon hearing Oliver’s reply, Kevin briefly responded and approached Merlin.

He then carefully lifted Merlin up.

He straightened the sagging Merlin and adjusted his dangling limbs to make his position a bit more comfortable.

Oliver silently watched the scene. The sight of a victim helping his enemy.

Even though Joanna and the Woman on the Camel were fighting right in front of him, Oliver couldn’t take his eyes off Kevin and Merlin.

He wanted to see how the story of these two people would end.

“Please come to your senses, Master.”

Kevin called out to Merlin, who was half-conscious and covered in blood.

Hearing Kevin’s voice, Merlin’s eyes focused, and his ragged breathing began to even out again.

“Haa… Haa… Haa…”

Now lucid, Merlin blankly stared at Kevin.

Once his test subject and then his apprentice.

He looked unsure if this was a dream or reality, but when he realized it was real, his face showed emotion.

Emotions that were exposed without the usual mask of a magician’s slyness or shamelessness.

It was regret for his failures, fear of the impending end that was worse than death, and most of all, guilt for sins that had not yet been forgiven.

“Ah…”

Merlin covered his face with his only remaining arm.

As if trying to hide his vulnerabilities.

Such vulnerabilities revealed that Merlin, even as an Archive, was human after all.

Frail and weak.

The frail and weak Merlin then asked.

“W-What happened? The Devil?”

“Joanna is holding it off. She consumed Holy Blood.”

“Holy Blood?”

“Yes, to create an angel’s son. She is using it to fight the Devil… barely. But what does that matter to you now? You’re dying.”

Kevin said, looking at Merlin’s deteriorating body.

Merlin’s skin was cracking like glass, showing the flesh beneath, which was slowly rotting and spreading through his organs.

He could die at any moment.

“When you die, the Archive will cease to exist.”

That was correct.

The Archive, the only one of its kind, was a prestigious but fragile title.

If the current Archive failed to select a successor and pass on his position, the Archive would cease to exist.

The fact that the Archive position had been maintained for a thousand years was nothing short of a miracle.

Yet, it wasn’t simply due to fate’s favor. The continued existence of the Archive was thanks to the efforts of magicians to ensure its succession.

Even when fighting the Pied Piper, the previous Archive passed on the position to his successor before attempting suicide as he could no longer bear the burden.

Realizing this, Merlin reflexively looked at Oliver.

Though only a few steps separated Oliver and Merlin, the distance felt as if it would never be closed.

Yet, despite that, Merlin reached out with his trembling left hand, as desperately as when he had grabbed Oliver’s pant leg.

Merlin was pleading, shamelessly and absurdly, not to let them be forsaken, to save the damned.

He conveyed not just his own wish, but the wish of an Archive that’s been building for a thousand years.

A wish carrying both the desire to protect humanity and the selfish hope that perhaps they too could be saved.

Perhaps that’s why Oliver did not respond to this plea.

The hope accumulated over a millennium, upheld by countless individuals, was still the wish of a sinner. The essence was a yearning to escape guilt and receive salvation.

And so, Oliver remained silent, merely watching.

No hand was extended, no words were given.

He just watched.

Under those cold, stony eyes, Merlin despaired once more. Yet, trembling, he continued to reach out until finally, exhausted, his hand began to fall weakly.

Smack.

Kevin caught that hand.

Merlin turned his gaze toward Kevin, who had caught his hand, and Kevin met his stare directly.

And then he spoke.

“You intended to give the Archive’s memories to Xenon, right?”

“…”

“You thought that if he received the Archive’s millennium of memories, he might change his mind. That’s why you intended to pass the position to Xenon, right?”

Kevin had seen through it. Merlin’s last, desperate attempt to prevent the end. A failed attempt.

This was an attempt to give Oliver the vast knowledge of the Archive, hoping to show him how much they had suffered and repented.

Hoping that, in turn, he might offer understanding, empathy, or sympathy.

Like a child throwing a tantrum.

Merlin stayed silent but acknowledged his shallow scheme.

“But that failed too, didn’t it? Xenon firmly refused.”

This statement served as a death sentence, not just for Merlin but for all of humanity. Merlin couldn’t even react.

He was so overwhelmed with despair that all emotions were numbed.

In that numb despair, Kevin gently but firmly held Merlin’s hand.

“So I will take the position of Archive, Master.”

“…”

“That’s my revenge against you.”