The Master of Language - T.M.L Chapter 45 (Part 2):

Fabre left the secret room, leaving only Jangshir behind.

I commanded the skeletons to take their positions, then sent magical power to Jangshir to see everything happening in the mansion at once.

My consciousness floated up and soon left the secret room. Then it flew up high enough to see the entire view of the mansion at a glance.

A full, radiant moon hung in the sky.

Suddenly, a streak of flame shot up from the deep darkness.

And that flame, like a comet, created a long tail as it flew and fell in front of the mansion.

Bang-!

As a crater about three-meter-wide was formed, earthquakes occurred all around.

Rumble.

The mansion’s defensive magic worked noisily, protecting the mansion from the intense earthquake.

However, the surrounding landscape, except for the mansion, collapsed as it was swept away by the shock and strong winds.

Whoosh-!

Flames shot up from the center of the crater in an instant.

And an old man slowly walked up.

The old man’s appearance was ordinary. He looked like a kind-faced grandfather you could see in any city or village. His eyes were gentle and his slightly held smile was soft.

If there was anything unusual, it was that he was wearing clothes like feathers all over his body.

The old man raised both hands and extended his index fingers.

At that moment, the feathers surrounding the old man spewed out flames.

Whoosh-!

Two streams of powerful flames that seemed to burn the night flew towards the mansion.

But just before reaching the mansion, the flames disappeared in an instant as if they had never existed in the first place.

The old man’s smile distorted for a moment.

“You’ve prepared somewhat, I see. I wondered why you weren’t running away.”

The old man slowly moved his feet.

Wherever his feet touched the ground, it bubbled and boiled. His footprints formed a triangle, like those of a bird.

“I, Merlin, once again declare with my life on the line. You will die here, Ran. If I fail to kill you, I will die instead.”

No sooner had those words ended than a red bird figure emerged from the feathers Merlin was wearing. And that figure flew like an arrow towards the main gate of the mansion.

All sorts of noisy defensive magic activated, but the bird paid no heed and pierced through the mansion’s main gate.

Boom-!

With a thunderous sound, the main gate exploded entirely, revealing the interior of the mansion.

Merlin smirked.

“How ridiculous! Did you think you could stop me when you’ve barely left apprenticeship? Did you think you could stop me, who has been promoted by staking even my life, just by somehow raising your magical power?”

As the firebird that had blasted the main gate flew back to him, he slowly walked into the mansion like a victorious general who had breached a massive city gate.

Stopping briefly at the entrance, he raised his head and stared towards the secret room where I was.

“The master of this castle is already dead. You’re just using it for your purposes. Fine. At least it won’t be boring.”

He confidently stepped into the mansion.

But then the flames of his red-burning feathers rapidly diminished.

He looked at his body and smirked.

Merlin put his right hand behind his back and stroked his beard with his left, as if he were an old man out for a stroll. But flames flickered in his eyes.

“Let’s see. The core of this mansion is on the second floor. Normally, I would savor this, but I have no such intention now. I will burn you with all my might from the start, Ran.”

Merlin grinned and slowly moved towards the stairs to the second floor.

As he placed his foot on the stairs, everything suddenly darkened. Merlin frowned once, then slightly raised his right hand.

Whoosh!

As expected, flames shot up to the tips of his hair, brightly illuminating the surroundings.

But the surroundings were still dark.

“Something is moving?”

Merlin furrowed his brows and rubbed his ear.

Rustle.

Rustle.

At first, it was barely audible.

But the more he listened, the louder it became, until it turned into a strong noise that made him want to cover his eardrums.

It must be a sound that gradually gnaws at the nerves.

After all, senses tend to amplify their volume the moment they are recognized. The more alert he becomes, the louder the sound will seem.

Merlin’s brow furrowed and his eyes scanned the surroundings.

It must be quite noisy.

“I don’t know what it is, but I’ll turn everything to ashes.”

Lowering his hand from his ear, Merlin clenched both fists tightly.

Then, the feather flames that had dimmed when he entered the mansion regained their vitality and burned hot again.

Everything within a two-meter radius from where he stood began to turn to ashes.

His flames engulfed not only the darkness covering the floor and walls but also the darkness covering the ceiling.

Thud.

Thud.

Merlin caught a small piece of darkness falling on his head. Just before it turned to ashes, he recognized what it was.

“A beetle?”

That’s when it happened.

Flutter.

A swarm of beetles burst through the flames and flew toward Merlin’s face.

Of course, they were all burned to a crisp as soon as they touched the fire, but the last beetle in the swarm managed to reach Merlin’s face.

That beetle shot a sticky liquid towards Merlin.

Merlin immediately swung his right hand, unleashing a torrent of flames.

Boom-!

An intense explosion occurred right in front of Merlin’s nose.

It was like a small bomb had gone off.

But the smoke from the explosion disappeared instantly, revealing Merlin’s enraged face.

“How dare you!”

There wasn’t even a scorch mark on his face. But his hair was disheveled, and he had stepped back several paces.

I quickly said,

“As expected. He’s immune to fire and heat, but he can’t do anything about the momentum contained in the explosion.”

[Understood. I’ll keep trying.]

Soon, five swarms of beetles flew towards Merlin’s face.

Dangun

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