Merlin’s Staff

Chapter 55

Armies clash against armies.

Yet, death does not exist here.

Death is a consequence that exists because of life.

Therefore, death cannot occur in a battle between those who are already dead.

They merely crumble.

“…Haha! I can’t even call myself a necromancer anywhere, can I!”

Ragna Walter, the Oracle’s necromancer known as “Undertaker”, let out a hearty laugh, but it was clearly forced.

Immediately after the initial clash, nearly half of the undead army Ragna Walter had raised collapsed.

The quality and quantity of the undead were simply on a different level.

Ignoring the cold sweat that was soaking his back, Ragna shouted towards ‘the opponent’ on the other side.

“Unbelievably impressive performance for a fake! Don’t you think? Oblivion’s experiment!”

“……”

The adversary didn’t bother to reply.

Merely a flourish of the hand in the air.

For him, that sufficed.

No intermediary for summoning, no mana, no incantation needed.

His body, fused with Replica Lust, reacted, unleashing energy in all directions.

By the released energy, tens of thousands of undead arose anew.

“Damn it all! This is going too far!”

Realizing he was outmatched, Ragna gathered all the remaining undead, forming a wall, and retreated swiftly.

His orders were to defeat a member of Oblivion and secure a fake star, but it was impossible.

Lacking any card to reverse the current situation, Ragna turned tail and fled without regret.

“……..”

He made no move to pursue.

The undead’s speed made chasing impossible, and besides, his original aim was simply to demonstrate the disparity in power.

Thus, the battle concluded with him burying all the undead Ragna had summoned.

Yet, the undead did not vanish.

The first objective complete, it was now time to move toward the second.

“……..”

He summoned a skeletal horse, mounted it, and slowly rode forward.

Behind him, the army of undead followed.

Tens of thousands of undead began their march toward the Acherus Empire.

—

Grand General William Lucas frowned, raising his binoculars to gaze into the distance.

The black smoke rising far off was the result of the Empire’s new weapon, Merlin’s Staff.

The launch was successful. The power, beyond reproach.

But operating Merlin’s Staff as is presented a fatal problem.

“The strikes keep missing, don’t they.”

Lowering his binoculars, William rebuked, leaving his subordinates speechless.

Merlin’s Staff had undoubtedly been completed according to the original design.

As mentioned, the launch was smooth, the power reached expectations, and all ranges – close, medium, long – were effectively covered.

However, the ultra-long-range strikes, the very reason for Merlin’s Staff’s creation, were inexplicably going wide.

“What in blazes is going on? Is there not a soul among you who can explain what the problem is to me?”

Ultra-long-range strike was the very raison d’être of Merlin’s Scepter.

Excellence in other areas offers no consolation.

If it were for any other purpose, the existing magical weaponry would be far superior.

It was for this reason that William was incensed.

Bluntly put, if ultra-long-range strike was impossible, then Merlin’s Scepter was nothing more than a flawed product.

“If you all intend to maintain this blasted silence, you shall face the consequences.”

No one present could ignore the threats of the Imperial Grand General, and so the head researcher was finally compelled to speak.

“W-Well, there wasn’t a problem with the manufacturing itself. However…”

“However, what?”

“I can only say, it seems the actual operation differs from what was anticipated…”

The principle behind Merlin’s Scepter was, in and of itself, simple.

A magical weapon that ascended high into the heavens and dropped an extremely heavy metal upon a target location.

“As the Grand General is aware, although the principle is simple, striking an accurate location requires highly complex calculations. Direction, trajectory, air pressure, wind, the amount of mana – all manner of factors must be accounted for.”

From close to long range, this posed no major issue, but the calculations required to cover the ultra-long-range distance demanded by the Imperial Army were beyond even the researchers’ capabilities, he explained.

Naturally, William was furious.

“You said it could be done, that’s why it was built, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, that is so, but…”

“But now you’re telling me it can’t?”

“The calculations take too long…”

“Is it entirely impossible, then?”

Trying his best to compose himself, grasping at even the faintest glimmer of hope, William watched as the head researcher scratched his head before speaking.

“If all of our researchers are deployed to perform the calculations, we could potentially increase the accuracy to 75%.”

“75%, you say… and how long would that take to calculate?”

“Perhaps a day and a half…”

That William did not strike the head researcher then and there was a testament to remarkable self-control.

He looked up at the direction of Merlin’s Scepter, floating in the heavens, and let out a hollow laugh.

‘So, to use Merlin’s Scepter, one needs the perspective of Merlin himself… A joke that can’t even be laughed at.’

William was about to order a withdrawal, when he let out a long sigh.

His adjutant ran over, face ashen.

“G-General!”

“What is it?”

“G-G-G-General…”

“General?”

“His Excellency, the Grand Duke, has arrived!”

“…What?”

William tilted his head, bewildered by his adjutant’s words.

He had deliberately come to a place far removed from the capital to test Merlin’s staff.

It wasn’t a distance one would travel casually, unless there was pressing business.

‘What could His Excellency want?’

Even before William could move to greet him, sensing an ominous feeling, Erwin appeared, leading his personal guard.

“Your Excellency? What brings you here…?”

Erwin dismounted, gazing up at the sky, and answered William’s question with:

“I’ll be borrowing that for a bit.”

“…Pardon?”

Then, about five minutes later.

News arrived that an unidentified undead army had crossed the Imperial border.

—

Leto.

That man’s name was Leto.

Whether it was his true name or merely one adopted for convenience, even he himself did not know.

From the start, his sense of self was faint.

Not because he had survived the passage of eras and emerged from ruin.

Leto was such a being from the beginning.

He was the sole successful result of Oblivion’s fusion experiment, combining a false star with a human.

The exact details of the experiment weren’t clear in his memory, but it was certain that no humanitarian considerations had been taken.

Thanks to that, Leto had almost lost his self.

But, fused with Replica Rust, Leto gained the ability to manipulate the undead at will.

There was a limit to the number of undead he could control at once, but even so, he could command tens of thousands with a mere gesture.

Truly, an individual and a legion combined.

That was Reto.

Or rather, that’s what he *had* been.

“Cough.”

Spitting blood, Reto managed to lever himself upright, turning his head to assess his situation.

There had been some kind of tremendous impact, and he’d been thrown from the undead he rode, tumbling across the ground.

He understood that much, but that was all.

The spectacle unfolding before him lay far beyond the realm of comprehension.

Deafening roars echoed in rapid succession.

The undead horde was exploding, annihilated by something descending from the sky.

Reto was forced to roll across the ground once more from the aftershock.

“………”

The undead host, numbering in the tens of thousands, had been obliterated in an instant.

No, in truth, the host itself had been completely annihilated by the initial strike.

What had just happened was merely…clearing away the remnants.

It was like stomping on an ant, then grinding it into paste with your foot.

Lost in a daze as he stared at the scene, Reto heard another earth-shattering boom.

No doubt, it had been unleashed to utterly obliterate what had already been stomped and ground.

Overwhelming destruction rained down from the heavens.

If this wasn’t divine judgment, what was?

Reto raised his hands, welcoming the destruction.

The last remnants of his self quivered with joy.

And then, before he could even register pain, Reto embraced a death that was truly sweet.

—

Having severed the forced synchronization with Merlin’s Staff, I stood there for a moment, stock-still.

I was sure I would collapse if I tried to move even a little.

I was prepared, but the strain is still enormous.

Normally, when using Sky’s Eye, I tried to simplify my thoughts and emotions as much as possible to reduce the burden on my mind, but I couldn’t do that when using Merlin’s Staff.

To synchronize, I had to think and feel while using Sky’s Eye.

If I had mana of my own, I might have been able to use Merlin’s Staff as a medium to purely sense and feel, simplifying my thoughts and emotions…but there’s no point in dwelling on what I don’t have.

“Scouts have been dispatched, but the preliminary observation results suggest that the enemy has been completely annihilated! This is an extraordinary achievement, Your Excellency!”

William, his fists clenched tight, was saying something to me, but I couldn’t quite make it out.

I knew I should answer, but the words wouldn’t come.

Ah.

I’m going to fall.

“……?”

Just as I thought I was going to collapse and braced for the impact with the ground, someone caught me.

A woman wearing an owl mask.

It was Christina.

Did she realize I was about to fall? Sharp-eyed, that one. I owe her one.

“Then, General. I shall take my leave.”

William seemed like he wanted to say something more, but I didn’t listen and turned away.

I had ridden here in haste, but I had wisely brought a carriage as well, just in case.

Supported by Christina, I barely managed to climb into the carriage, leaned back in the seat, and took a deep breath.

“Minister. Drink this.”

“Mm.”

I cooled my parched throat with cold spring water and then closed my eyes.

Sleepy.

“I’ll wake you when we return to the capital, so rest a while.”

Perhaps I will.

Accepting the consideration, I soon drifted off to sleep.