"Ah!" Jin swiftly moved in front of Merlin, delivering a sidekick aimed at the magical addiction stone in Merlin's hand. However, due to the invisible shield surrounding Merlin, Jin was still unable to make contact with Merlin's body.
"Don't give up yet? Wasn't flying high enough just now?" Merlin sneered, watching Jin, who showed no signs of retreating.
"Give up? That word doesn't exist in my dictionary!" Jin retorted, and with a sudden motion, he threw a powerful punch towards Merlin's face, though it had no effect.
"It's useless. I've already told you, your power is far from enough. Heh heh," Merlin said smugly.
"Oh? What about this then?" Jin suddenly stopped his attack on Merlin. He immediately raised his fist and, with all his might, struck the thick ice prison enclosing Lisa.
"What are you doing? No!" Merlin's voice was filled with fury as he watched Jin's actions. Merlin had been drawing magic power from Lisa. If she regained consciousness, Merlin would have to interrupt his magic. With each blow Jin landed, the thick ice tomb began to show faint cracks.
"Very good! Very good!" Jin grinned with satisfaction. His strikes grew increasingly rapid, and in a blur of speed, he attacked every corner of the ice tomb without leaving any unscathed. Jin was gambling with time. If Merlin drained all of Lisa's magic before Jin could break the ice tomb, Jin himself would likely perish. But if Jin broke the tomb in time and freed Lisa, they both might have a chance to survive.
At this moment, Merlin desperately wanted to stop Jin. However, using magic while absorbing power would risk a magical conflict, potentially causing an explosion. Cautious as ever, Merlin quickly abandoned the thought, realizing there was nothing he could do but watch as Jin relentlessly destroyed the ice tomb, praying that his magic absorption would accelerate.
In fact, from the very beginning, Jin had never intended to engage in direct conflict with Merlin. He knew that, with his current abilities, defeating Merlin was impossible. His main goal was to stall Merlin and free the unconscious Lisa. The two attacks he had made earlier were simply tests. Jin had a suspicion: when Merlin had not attacked him and Will while they were standing close by, it might have been because Merlin was unable to use magic while absorbing power. With this in mind, Jin attempted to strike Merlin twice, and Merlin, true to Jin's guess, did not retaliate. This confirmed Jin's suspicion, giving him the confidence to ignore the risk and strike at the ice tomb containing Lisa.
"You crafty bastard!" Merlin cursed impatiently. It seemed he had finally realized Jin's plan, but at this point, there was nothing he could do.
"Heh, you fool. Finally figured it out, huh?" Jin chuckled, hearing Merlin's curse, which, to him, sounded almost like praise.
"Crack... Boom!" With a final, forceful punch, the ice tomb, now riddled with cracks, shattered completely. Lisa, still unconscious, collapsed onto the ground, her body covered in layers of white frost. Seeing this, Jin rushed over, scooped her up, and, without a second thought, began to run towards Will.
"No!" Merlin roared with fury. He had failed. He ceased draining Lisa's magic, extending his hand toward Jin in anger. "Gravitational Pull!" Merlin shouted, unleashing a purple beam of light from his hand, which immediately attached itself to Lisa's body.
"It's so heavy!" Jin tried to lift Lisa, but the weight was beyond his ability.
"Hmph, didn't you have great strength? You might be able to lift a person's weight, but what about the weight of a hundred people? Heh heh heh," Merlin sneered, watching Jin struggle.
"Tch, damn it!" Jin scowled, frustrated by Merlin's interference. His seemingly flawless plan had been thrown into disarray by this minor setback.
"Now it's your turn," Merlin said slowly as he advanced on Jin. Jin, having stopped attempting to lift Lisa, stood his ground, facing Merlin directly.
"Seeing me and still not running? You've got some guts," Merlin said, his eyes narrowing with malice.
"If you have the guts, come at me," Jin retorted dismissively.
"You're asking for it! Destructive Beam!" Merlin suddenly shouted, extending his palm toward Jin. A massive black beam shot out from his hand, aimed directly at Jin. Without the help of the magical addiction stone, Merlin could only use his finger to release this attack. But now, with the stone, Merlin could unleash an even more powerful destructive beam.
Jin, facing the terrifying beam, dodged with speed that surpassed the limit, narrowly avoiding the attack. The beam swept past him, scorching the ground and leaving a blackened trail.
"Your speed is impressive. Heh heh," Merlin grinned maliciously.
"That was close," Jin muttered, having narrowly evaded Merlin's attack, now standing behind him.
"Your speed is troublesome for me," Merlin sneered, turning his head to look at Jin.
"Hmph!" Jin scoffed in response.
"I wonder if your friend's speed is as fast as yours? Heh heh heh," Merlin said, before turning his palm toward Lisa, still motionless on the ground.
"What?" Jin's expression shifted to one of panic.
"Watch your friend die!" Merlin laughed maniacally, releasing another powerful black beam from his palm, heading straight for Lisa.
"No!" Jin cried out in pain.
"Counter Shield!" Lisa, suddenly opening her eyes, shouted. A red protective shield materialized before her, blocking the black beam and reflecting it directly back toward Merlin.
"What?" Merlin exclaimed, his face filled with horror as the black beam hurtled back toward him. He quickly tilted his body backward, trying to dodge the powerful beam.
Jin, watching from behind, saw everything clearly. This sight made him begin to question everything.
'Why is he so afraid of this beam? Could magic actually hurt him? No, if that were the case, he wouldn't have agreed to a one-on-one with Lisa. He once said I couldn't hurt him because my power wasn't enough. Could it be that in order to break his invisible shield, an enormous amount of power is required? And that black beam he just shot is precisely such a force.'
In that instant, Jin's mind raced with possibilities.
"Little girl, so you're awake!" Merlin said, turning to face Lisa, who was slowly standing up.
"Of course," Lisa replied, having used magic to free herself from Merlin's gravitational pull. She stepped back two paces, then extended her hands, ready to cast another spell.
"Ah, seems like I've been surrounded by the two of you. Heh heh heh." Merlin glanced back at Jin behind him.
Jin, however, seemed distracted, his mind preoccupied with the invisible shield surrounding Merlin. He was deep in thought, trying to figure out how to counter Merlin. Merlin noticed Jin's distraction and seized the opportunity.
"Freeze!" Merlin shouted, his hand extended toward Jin. A rush of cold air emanated from beneath Jin's feet, freezing his legs solid in thick layers of ice.
"What's going on?" Only when his legs were frozen did Jin snap back to reality.
"Damn it!" Lisa shouted, her hands quickly forming a fireball. "Fireball!" she hurled it directly at Merlin.
"Counter Shield!" Merlin cast a similar spell, summoning a red light to block and reflect Lisa's fireball. The fireball zoomed back toward Lisa.
"What?" Lisa exclaimed, barely managing to dodge the incoming fireball in time.
At that moment, Merlin used the power from the magical addiction stone to levitate into the air.
"Hahaha, it seems you two are still no match for me," Merlin said, grinning wickedly from above.
"Damn it!" Jin lifted his gaze, anger flashing in his eyes. With a burst of strength, he shattered the ice binding his legs.
"I'll find something big to keep you entertained," Merlin said from the air, raising the magical addiction stone in his hand. He released another purple circle of light from the stone, much larger than the previous one. Seconds later, a massive ball of flame, towering over ten meters high, erupted from the circle.
"What is that?" Jin asked, joining Lisa's side, his voice filled with confusion.
As the flames slowly dissipated, a giant creature, at least ten meters tall, appeared before them. Its body was engulfed in flames, and it had two long horns protruding from its head. Its eyes glowed a fiery red, similar to the flames. Though its features were hard to make out, it was clear the creature was glaring at Lisa and Jin, its fury palpable.
"Haha, play with my Abyssal Beast. Go, Abyssal Beast, destroy them!" Merlin ordered, pointing toward Jin and Lisa.