Chapter 435: Chapter 436: Nidhogg
Was this Merlin a bit too weak? Although most wizards would be laid low by a lightning strike without knowing of Murphy's abilities, this was, after all, the legendary god of wizards. Murphy hadn't actually planned to defeat him with a single move; the lightning was just a test.
Is this guy really Merlin? Murphy thought, as he walked forward and cast a petrification curse on the fallen Merlin before stepping into the cave behind the door. This old man still had uses; as the master of magic in Camelot, he surely knew many secrets not accessible to ordinary people.
Behind the door was a massive hollow cave with a spiral staircase extending down along the cave's inner wall to areas beyond the reach of light. Many rock cavities dug around the cave were fenced off, resembling cells.
Murphy descended, finding most cells empty, with some even containing prisoners reduced to skeletons.
Suddenly, a loud roar echoed, as if a plane was taking off underground.
A hot, rotten stench wafted up from the depths, nauseating to smell.
Then, Murphy heard a voice.
"Great serpent..."
"Dragon of death..."
"I offer to you the flesh and blood of blasphemers, oathbreakers, and the faithless..."
"No, no, please..."
Following this, Murphy heard a distant scream. Suddenly, two fiery lights ignited in the darkness below, like red-hot iron or underground magma, briefly illuminating the depths.
In that light, Murphy saw a figure screaming in terror, flailing as they fell.
Then, the two fiery lights shook violently, and a massive rift opened in the abyss, stirring the thick darkness. The light from above finally penetrated the bottomless pit, revealing the creature within.
It was an immense dragon, trapped at the bottom of the cave-like pit, its body as black as night, with eyes like burning coal coldly observing everything above. It opened its mouth, as wide as a chasm, and swallowed the unfortunate figure whole.
Simultaneously, Murphy saw a figure in a black robe on a protruding stone platform below, directing soldiers to drive a group of ragged individuals to the edge of the platform.
The soldiers, armed with spears, forced the people towards the edge. The platform's edge was narrow, and soon, two more individuals screamed as they fell to be devoured by the dragon below.
After five or six more were pushed off the cliff, Murphy heard a furious shout, "Enough!"
On the opposite side of the platform, several soldiers were holding a woman with silver-white hair. Hearing her voice, Murphy's heart eased.
Sofia, no, this must be Myrddin.
"Salazar! You are a wizard, is slaughtering these magicless commoners fun for you?!" Myrddin shouted.
"Don't worry, Myrddin," the wizard on the platform turned, revealing a thin, elongated face, "Your turn will come soon. The flesh and blood of a seer will surely please it."
"Kneeling before gods, even offering the flesh and blood of your own kind to please them, you and your teacher are despicably vile!"
"How curious," the wizard known as Salazar sneered, "Merlin was also your teacher. Weren't you always the most obedient to him?"
"That's because I thought he was that person! I thought his actions were to help us defeat those gods. But he's just a clown, a servant! He's not that Merlin; he's just a jester usurping that great name!"
"Ah, another one pretending to care about the fate of Muggles, just like Godric, so foolish!" Salazar scoffed disdainfully.
"We are wizards, children of gods, not the same as those mortals!"
"What morals, what fate of humanity, all lies. Only enhancing one's own magical power, only seizing great power, is the true path!"
"What's wrong with kneeling before gods if they are much more powerful than us? Resistance is death! Pleasing them, on the other hand, can grant us power! Only fools would oppose them! What's wrong with sacrificing a few mortals' lives for some power, to live a little longer?!"
"It seems being a servant to others makes you happy," Myrddin mocked.
Salazar, seemingly angered, grasped Myrddin's throat, "Do you think you're noble? Believing in a savior, how are you different from those foolish mortals worshiping these gods?!"
"Hmph!" Salazar snorted, "What nonsense about a savior, the same as those Christian fools? In this world, power, only one's own power, is the only reliance! Once I become..."
He was interrupted by a sudden tremor in the cave.
"Veh... Crack... Boom!"
The dragon below let out a deafening, low roar.
It struggled, seemingly trying to stand, but then, two beams of golden light shone from the abyss, two cross-shaped long spears, pinning the dragon's wings to the bottom of the abyss, firmly anchoring it to the ground, allowing it only to lie prone.
Salazar knew the dragon was urging the continuation of the sacrifices. He released Myrddin and turned back, shouting, "What are you doing?! Why stop?!"
But the soldiers stood still, as if frozen. As he wondered, suddenly several crows landed on the shoulders of the commoners, and with a flash of lightning, both people and crows disappeared.
"Who?!" Salazar roared in shock and anger.
But behind him, lightning flashed again, and turning around, he saw that Myrddin too had vanished.
Startled, a young man in a black robe suddenly appeared in front of him.
"You are..." Before Salazar could finish, the man raised a hand, and with a "bang," a tremendous force threw him and the soldiers into the air, sending them plummeting towards the abyss below.
Salazar was horrified but reacted quickly, waving his wand to cast a slowing spell.
However, the dragon below opened its massive mouth, its molten lava-like eyes coldly watching him, ready to swallow him whole.
"Teacher, save me!" Salazar suddenly shouted.
Suddenly, a hand stretched dozens of yards, coiling around him like a rope, then yanked him out of the cave.
"Merlin" retracted his arm, looking scorched and pale, even his eyes rolling back, but he fixed his gaze on the young wizard in front of him.
Murphy had just taken Myrddin and was about to return for the unconscious Merlin for interrogation, but the latter suddenly "revived," his arm stretching like it had consumed the Gum-Gum Fruit, saving Salazar. His aura had also changed, making him unpredictable.
After a moment, Murphy transformed into lightning and vanished.
His initial goal was to meet Myrddin, so it was best to get the full story from her first.
After Murphy left, Salazar, still shaken, approached Merlin, "Teacher, who was that?"
Merlin ignored him, his body twitching. After a while, his rolling eyes returned to normal. He looked into the abyss below, frowning.
"The plan is advancing," he said, "Prepare the ritual, release Nidhogg."
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