Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Everything had happened in an instant.

The cheers—and the boos—of the crowd came to an abrupt halt as they gazed at the outcome of the battle with wide eyes.

Utter silence. Not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

Standing atop the floating platform, Almansour and Mario couldn’t believe their eyes.

When the match began, they saw Elarion disappearing from his position. A moment later, they saw him appear before Merlin. Then… they saw the madman disappear and then reappear several meters behind the elf.

And as Elarion fell to the ground, his eyes rolling backward, Merlin threw his head back and laughed, breaking the still silence that permeated the arena.

”Fafafa!”

Then, he turned to the commentators and grinned. ”What’re you waiting for, you guys? Go ahead, announce the champion of this duel. Or do you want me to do your job for you?”

Almansour snapped out of his shock, staring at Merlin as if he were looking at… a monster.

In a heartbeat, he swept away the astonished look on his face and spoke with great professionalism:

”Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this match… Merlin Mathias!”

”Fafafa! Now, that’s more like it!” The madman grinned.

It was only then that the crowd of spectators was brought back to their senses. They gazed at Merlin, then at the unconscious Elarion, then finally back at Merlin.

And then, they burst into…

”Boo! You damned cheater!”

”You have no honor!”

”Cheater! Liar! Go to hell!”

”Boo-hoo! Damned clown!”

”Go back to the circus, loser!”

”Loser! Loser!”

”Loser! Loser!”

In an instant, the arena erupted in a cacophony of boos and insults all hurled towards one man and one man only.

The man in question, Merlin, took everything in with a wide smile on his face. He then bowed in an exaggerated manner in all four directions before turning around and strutting toward the western gates, all the while whistling a merry tune.

It would appear that the insults of the crowd didn’t leave so much as a scratch on his monolith of self-confidence.

Long after Merlin had disappeared, the boos and insults of the crowd still persisted. It seemed they were highly dissatisfied with the start of the Final Trial. More than that, they had greatly come to despise the jester.

Not only had he appeared late, insulting the rules and regulations put in place for the tournament, he was also extremely arrogant and did not take anyone seriously.

Lawless. Egomaniac. Madman.

That’s what they called him. And from the way he grinned at the world like it was all one big joke… they weren’t wrong.

As the sound of the crowd gradually disappeared behind him, Merlin came across a group of young Magi seemingly waiting for him at the turn of the expansive underground corridor.

”Did you really have to… you know, do all that?” Eleiney had an exasperated look on her face.

”Do all what?” Merlin asked with an innocent look.

Eleiney opened her mouth, then closed it. She opened it again, then shook her head. ”Forget it.”

The smile on Merlin’s painted face widened.

”You see,” he said, his eyes twinkling with mischief, ”the battle of the mind is as important as the battle of the body. After all, why trade blows when you can simply let your opponent punch himself into madness?”

Eleiney, Arthur, Aiden, Kahn, and Charlie... they looked at him with a dumbfounded gaze.

”Anyways, good luck with your duels. Don’t lose. Unless you’re matched up against me, of course. Then, you may lose. Fafafa!”

With that said, he walked away.

Suddenly, Kahn called out to him, ”Merlin, wait!”

”Hmm?” Merlin stopped in his tracks, then turned towards him with an inquisitive gaze.

Kahn thought of the right words to say, then began, ”You weren’t there with us the day before when we met the Dark King, so you probably don’t know this…”

”Oh? The Dark King!” The madman’s eyes shone brilliantly. ”You all got the chance to meet him? Why didn’t you tell me? Damn it! Ah, envious, envious, I’m so envious!”

Kahn was at a loss for words. Luckily, Charlie stepped forth and said awkwardly, ”You see, Merlin, we tried to look for you, but we couldn’t find you. I had absolutely zero idea where your living quarters were.”

”Ah, no worries, no worries,” said the madman with a sad look on his face. ”Anyways, what did the Dark King say? Anything philosophical? I have a feeling that guy drinks and knows things.”

”…Huh?” Arthur was flabbergasted. ”Drinks and knows things?”

He exchanged glances with Eleiney and Aiden, and all three of them had the same exact thought:

That’s exactly what he does!

Kahn said in a solemn voice, ”The Dark King told us to conserve our mana reserves. Because once the finals are over… there’s going to be another event, one no one knows about. A surprise. He said we need to be ready when the moment comes.”

”Ohhh… truly philosophical!” Merlin rolled his eyes. ”I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, I suppose.”

With that said, he turned around and headed deep into the darkness of the corridor, his expression gradually turning ruthless and solemn.

The day had finally arrived.

***

Back in the arena, the crowd had momentarily gotten over thier distaste for Merlin, and were now eagerly looking forward to the next match.

After all, one of the Magi participating in it was none other than the one considered to be the greatest talent to have come out of the Tower of Daybreak.

”Edward! Edward!”

”Edward! Edward!”

The blue-eyed youth flexed his shoulders, an indifferent expression on his face. On the surface, he looked calm and collected, but inside…

My goodness! There are so many people here, he thought, flustered.

I’ve never seen so many people gathered in one place. What the hell? And what is wrong with this arena? I could have sworn it looked smaller from the outside…

The commentator’s loud and excited words drew him out of his thoughts.

”Fighting out of the eastern gates… we have the proud warrior of Greenfield Ridge!” Almansour spoke with outstretched hands, a wide grin on his face.

”Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you… Magus Matimba!”

The crowd erupted into cheers once again as they recognized the talented young Magus from one of the Four Pillars.

”Matimba! Matimba!”

”Matimba! Matimba!”

Almansour patiently waited for a few moments, allowing the excitement and tension to build up. Then, he roared to the skies, announcing the start of the match:

”Let’s get ready to rumble!!”

Edward’s pupils constricted, and then…

THUNDER!