I Became The Novel's Biggest Antagonist

Merlin's mana surged with growing intensity, sending ripples through the sky that extended far beyond, reaching even Ivan and Kamila.

"Ivan." Kamila turned to him, her hands still raised as she maintained her barrier.

There was concern in her tone. She had already deemed Merlin a serious threat, and she wasn't wrong.

Merlin was stronger than her. Strong enough to defeat Kamila, Dimitri, even Ludmila. Perhaps she could even seriously wound Mikhail. And Ivan—he understood just how dangerous she was better than anyone.

In the novel, she had killed his elder brother and several executive of Gevurah. She was destined to become one of Mordred's key allies in the battles to come.

And that was exactly why Ivan wouldn't let her escape today.

Nor would he allow her to face Kamila or the others. He had no intention of killing her—not yet. No, Merlin was far too valuable for that. If he could bring her to his side, she would be an irreplaceable asset. Her mastery over mana was unparalleled; none among them could wield it with such precision.

But convincing her? That would be a challenge.

Her gaze locked onto him.

The barrier she had so desperately erected had been shattered, and his Legion had already stormed Dreonah. Everything was playing out wrongly for her. Ivan was terrifying as expected. She couldn't afford to underestimate him. If she did, she would die.

She had no choice. She had to go all out from the very beginning.

Even Arthur had fallen to him.

Arthur, Bedivere, and the other knights… All of them were gone.

Arthur still lived, but the rest had been slaughtered. The people she had fought beside, laughed with, shared meals and dreams with—all of them, cut down by Ivan and his Legion's insatiable thirst for power.

She could still see Arthur's smile as he looked at her, that quiet confidence in his eyes as he urged her to leave.

"You're too important, Merlin. You need to survive. Prepare for the day we take back our Empire."

Arthur had seen their defeat coming the moment Ivan's forces breached the city walls with such unnatural ease. He had known, and yet he stayed behind to face it.

And now, Merlin had only one path left.

She would not forgive. She would not falter.

She would fight.

Ivan locked eyes with Merlin for a brief moment before stepping forward.

"Ivan?" Kamila called out.

"Stay here," he said and then—he vanished.

Merlin's instincts screamed at her, and she reacted instantly. A blazing wall of fire erupted in front of her, burning brightly meant to keep him at bay.

But it didn't.

A fist tore through the flames as if they were nothing.

Merlin barely had time to raise her staff in defense before—

-BAM!

"Ugh!"

The impact rattled through her body, a numbing force surging from her hands up to her arms. Her grip on her staff nearly faltered, and before she could fully process it, she was already airborne—sent hurtling through the sky.

With sheer will, she forced herself to stop midair, mana surging as a fierce gust of wind swirled around her, forming a protective vortex.

But Ivan wasn't going to let her take distance.

She barely had time to blink before he was already closing the distance, flying straight toward her.

Merlin clenched her teeth and poured an enormous amount of mana into her staff. She raised it high, the dark sky above them shifting, rumbling, bending to her will.

Thunder cracked violently.

Electricity danced across the heavens, growing stronger, unstable—until finally, she brought her staff down.

-BOOOOM!

A massive bolt of lightning tore through the sky, striking Ivan with blinding force. The sheer impact illuminated the battlefield, its deafening roar silencing everything for a split second.

Even Merlin had to shield her eyes from the intensity.

And then, as the brightness faded, she looked.

A thick cloud of smoke covered the air where Ivan had been.

The smoke cleared.

"..."

Ivan stood there, completely unscathed.

Her eyes widened in shock, but before she could react, he was already in front of her.

She barely registered his movement before—

-BAM!

"Agh!"

His kick slammed into her stomach with brutal force, knocking the air from her lungs. The pain exploded through her body as she was launched downward, crashing through several buildings in Dreonah.

The impact sent debris flying in every direction, dust and rubble surrounding her as she groaned in pain.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself up, her entire body screaming in protest. She wasn't a fighter—never had been. But she had still reinforced her body with mana. And yet, she felt this much pain?

His kick had shattered through her barriers.

Lifting her gaze, she spotted him floating above her, completely unfazed.

Then—his hand rose.

A massive sphere of fire took shape, growing larger by the second.

It was the first time she had seen him use mana. Unlike hers, his control wasn't as refined—but it was destructive. And when he activated his Stigma, the flames darkened, tinged with an ominous shade of orange-black.

The air itself trembled.

Merlin's grip on her staff tightened.

Merlin wasted no time, rapidly gathering an immense surge of mana. In an instant, water erupted from the ground, swelling into a colossal whirlpool that spiraled violently. The sheer force of it tore through the abandoned houses nearby, reducing them to rubble. Fortunately, the area was deserted.

Meanwhile, Ivan's blazing fire raged with such intensity that the frigid night air warmed by several degrees in mere moments.

Determined to overwhelm Ivan, Merlin continued to channel mana at an astonishing pace, expanding the whirlpool until it grew to twice the size of Ivan's enormous fireball. The ease with which she controlled such a massive spell would leave any observer in awe, a visible sight showing why she was hailed as the strongest and most gifted mage of the Holy Continent—perhaps even the entire world.

Yet, Ivan remained calm. Without hesitation, he lowered his hand, sending the searing fireball hurtling toward Merlin.

With a swift motion, she raised her staff. The whirlpool responded instantly, spinning even faster as it surged upward, swallowing the fireball whole. Water gushed in torrents, spiraling around the burning sphere, battling its scorching heat. For a moment, the two forces clashed in a fierce struggle—until the fireball finally gave in.

-BOOOOM!!

A deafening explosion rocked the battlefield. Mana burst outward in a violent shockwave as fire and water detonated together, sending waves of searing heat across the area. A thick haze of steam and smoke blanketed everything within a hundred-meter radius, distorting the air.

Merlin's senses sharpened. She enhanced her vision, scanning through the dense mist, searching for any sign of Ivan. Then, she spotted him—still floating above, his presence more menacing than ever.

That was when she felt it.

His Stigma.

A shiver ran down her spine. It was unlike any other she had encountered—far more potent, far more terrifying. Compared to the fearsome Stigmas of others, Ivan's was on an entirely different level.

Tightening her grip on her staff, Merlin braced herself.

Ivan's Stigma twisted and coiled around him like a living entity before solidifying into the shape of a sword in his right hand. The moment his fingers closed around the hilt—

He vanished.

-BOOM!

Merlin barely reacted in time. A sudden, devastating slash cut through the air behind her, missing her by mere inches. She spun around, wasting no time, and swung her staff, releasing a crackling wave of lightning toward Ivan.

But with a swift flick of his sword, he sliced through the spell itself nullifying it.

Ivan advanced toward her—slowly. Each step radiated an overwhelming sense of dread toward her.

Merlin reacted instantly, swinging her staff downward. The ground trembled before jagged spikes of earth erupted in front of her, forming a towering barrier. Without wasting a second, she leapt backward, trying to widen the gap between them.

She couldn't fight him up close. That much was obvious. But now, as she looked at him him, a chilling realization crept over her—distance wouldn't make a difference either.

She had entered this battle intending to conserve mana, thinking she could hold her own with careful, strategic attacks. That idea was laughable now. Ivan was coming at her seriously, and yet, she could feel it—he still wasn't using his full strength.

And that was the truly terrifying part.

She had to endure.

For some reason, Ivan seemed to consider her a genuine threat, but fortunately, he had no idea she possessed an artifact capable of countering him. He was wary of her, but not for that reason. No—his caution stemmed from what she would do in the future.

She would go on to kill several members of Gevurah.

And he knew exactly what she was capable of.
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Which meant she had to keep up the act—make sure he believed she had no backup plans, no hidden trump card. She had to force him into thinking her only option was large-scale attacks that drained massive amounts of mana.

Her grip tightened around her staff as she gathered another enormous surge of mana, preparing to unleash a spell even greater than before. But just as she was about to cast it—

Ivan stopped.

His rush forward halted abruptly, his gaze shifting away from her, turning toward a different battlefield.

Mikhail.

He was locked in combat with Kenneth. But that wasn't what caught Ivan's attention.

Something had just been activated.

A relic.

Not just any relic—a Relic of Seraphiel.

And it definitely wasn't Mikhail who had used it.

Without hesitation, Ivan launched himself into the sky, abandoning the fight entirely as he flew straight toward the disturbance.