Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

”What… what the hell is that thing?”

Standing at the edge of the third layer, Charlie’s expression paled. His voice was shaky and filled with grim resignation.

”How are we supposed to fight that monstrosity?!”

Standing at the forefront of the group, Eleiney had a dark look on her face. Her grip around the weapon tightened involuntarily, and a drop of sweat trickled down the side of her forehead.

”…We can do it,” she murmured.

The abomination loomed like a small hill, a writhing, grotesque mountain of pulsating flesh.

Countless bloodshot eyes blinked independently across its fleshy surface, some weeping blood, others darting around unnaturally to track every movement in its vicinity.

Gaping maws filled with jagged teeth were scattered across its humongous body at regular intervals. They released guttural, inhuman sounds that shook the forest floor.

An aura of dread permeated the air. It was so terrifying, so overbearing, that the young Magi from the four parties found it difficult to even breathe.

From the abomination’s heaving mass, grotesque tendrils extended. They were long, sinewy limbs of flesh and muscle that twisted through the air like bloody whips.

Although they were resting now, the Magi could well imagine how these tendrils would move with terrifying precision, capable of skewering prey, tearing trees from the roots, or shaping themselves into nightmarish forms.

The young Magi instantly knew the moment they laid eyes on this titanic abomination.

This was the source…

The grotesque womb that birthed the blood beasts stalking the Sanguine Forest, the Crimson Grasslands, and the Bloody Marshes.

And the moment they laid eyes on it, it turned its gaze upon them as well. The abomination had already been aware of their presence long before they had deactivated their concealment spell.

The fleshy surface of the anomalous entity trembled for a moment, the countless maws on its surface gradually opening wide.

And then…

It let out a blood-curdling screech, so loud, so horrifying, that the young Magi couldn’t help but clutch their ears, collapsing to their ground as a wave of nausea assaulted their minds.

A visible shockwave erupted from the abomination, rippling through the entirety of the secret plane!

It tore past the young Magi, slamming into them with invisible force. Then, it surged into the cursed woods of the Sanguine Forest, shaking the twisted black trees.

Then, it rolled across the Crimson Grasslands, causing the tall crimson blades to sway like fields in a storm.

And finally, it reached the Bloody Marshes, where the stagnant waters began to bubble and churn with violent fury.

And then it happened…

Rumble!

The young Magi held their breaths, their attention divided between the towering abomination before them and the unsettling changes taking place behind.

The ground began to tremble. Slow at first, then with growing violence.

From every corner of the secret plane, the blood beasts had begun to move. Drawn by their mother’s cry, they surged forward in a brutal frenzy, a tsunami of flesh and fury converging on a single point.

Within minutes, the four parties would be trapped. They would undoubtedly be caught between the monstrous progenitor and its ravenous spawns.

But this outcome…

It was exactly what they had planned for!

”Merlin, now!!”

Eleiney, without turning back, barked out instructions.

The madman, who was standing at the rear of the group, grinned wildly.

”Ah, what a beautiful, beautiful day… for a bloody massacre!”

With that said, he quickly drew back, weaving hand seals at a terrifying speed. But before leaving, he didn’t forget to speak words of encouragement to his fellow party members.

”Try not to die, my dear friends. Although if you do die, I will be claiming all your belongings. Fafafa!”

As the last of his words echoed inside the young Magi’s ears, Merlin had already vanished into the darkness of the cursed woods behind.

”Damn that madman!” Kahn roared. But there was a wide grin on his face.

After spending the entirety of the sixth day studying the strengths and weaknesses of the towering abomination, the Mother of Flesh, Merlin had come to a staggering conclusion.

Despite the creature’s powerful mana fluctuations and strength that seemingly surpassed the peak of the Mana Liquefaction Rank, she was surprisingly easy to defeat.

And the reactions of the countless blood beasts scattered across the secret plane further confirmed that unsettling speculation.

On her own, the Mother of Flesh wasn’t capable of eliminating the young Magi. No, for that it needed the aid of her brood.

Her towering, fleshy body was far too resilient for ordinary Rank 2 Spells to inflict any lasting harm, but there were other ways to bring her down.

And therein lay the key…

Flesh.

Endless vulnerable flesh.

Thus, the group of young Magi devised an ingenious plan. And the first step of the plan was to separate the mother from her children—who, at this point, had gone completely feral.

In the last two days, Merlin had used Adam’s Spirit Parasite several times. He had used some of the blood beasts to mark the trees to guide the four parties towards the heart of the secret plane.

He had used other beasts to study the Mother of Flesh as well as the countless blood beasts that inhabited the third layer.

Finally, after the blood beasts had served their purpose, Merlin commanded them to collapse along the edges of the third layer, forming a sparse, rough line of corpses occupying the area between the outer forest and the vast clearing at the center occupied by the towering abomination.

After weaving the final hand seal and before the first wave of the blood beasts assaulted the young Magi, Merlin slammed his palms to the ground, a vicious grin on his face.

Rank 2 Spell: Great Crimson Barrier!

This was the result of fusing rune magic with the magic from the School of Warding.

The corpses of the blood beasts, the ones that were infested with Adam’s Spirit Parasite, suddenly began to shudder. A glowing crimson light pulsed from within, rising into the air like blinding flares ignited by the dead.

One… two… three… then dozens!

Blinding crimson lights erupted from the corpses, each shooting skyward before forming a massive circle around the clearing at the heart of the cursed woods.

Then, as if responding to a silent command, the beams of crimson lights extended sideways, stretching toward one another, slowly but surely, until they converged…

Fusing into a towering, beautiful, and terrifying barrier of blood!

Just in time, before the waves of blood beasts could even crash against it, the barrier sealed shut, rendering them utterly helpless to aid their Mother.

Meanwhile, deep in the shadows, Merlin stood surrounded by hundreds of these grotesque creatures.

He drew in a deep breath and then slowly exhaled, his lips forming a savage grin.

While the young Magi took care of the Mother of Flesh inside the barrier, it was time for Merlin the Mad…

Time to begin a bloody massacre.