"Hu hu hu…"

A creepy, bone-chilling weep began to sound. The blood-red vertical eye in Merlin's palm was swelling faintly like it was dripping blood.

At the same time, horrible illusions began to appear in Merlin's mind one after another. His mind collapsed instantly as his Fifth-level Mind Power was not enough to resist the backlash from Darkness Eye.

The backlash from Darkness Eye contained strong negative emotions which made Merlin lose almost all conscious thoughts in his mind. The power was so impressive that even Merlin's iron-clad willpower was unable to resist it.

It was at this very moment that Merlin remembered Wizard Leo's advice to him, which was not to open the seal unless it was necessary. Otherwise, he would suffer the backlash from Darkness Eye.

Now, Merlin was about to be consumed by the backlash from Darkness Eye.

Merlin let out a low growl and his entire body became cocooned in a dark aura. His gaze was twisted and his expression was distorted, which looked extremely scary.

However, the backlash from Darkness Eye was not something that could be resisted by mere willpower. Merlin's consciousness sank further, and even his spirit was about to be extinguished.

Once his spirit was completely extinguished, Merlin would become a walking corpse. His body would become mere feed for Darkness Eye and would eventually be consumed by the backlash.

Most of the Spell Casters who had cultivated Darkness Eye died due to the backlash from Darkness Eye.

"Flick."

Suddenly, inside Merlin's Awareness, the previously inert Flame Maxim flickered slightly. Its flame burned steadily, re-illuminating his entire Awareness with a bright light.

That was not all. The quiet, unassuming strength of the Flame Maxim also extended to Darkness Eye, causing all the negative emotions released by Darkness Eye to dissipate in an instant. It was as if the negative emotions were being burned away by the flames, releasing waves after waves of ear-piercing shrieks.

At this moment, horrible ghostly faces were appearing one after another in Merlin's mind. The ghostly faces looked and sounded like they were being tortured, with distorted expressions and ear-splitting shrieks.

Around Merlin, a burning hot aura rose like a layer of ferocious flames covering his body. The dark, cold aura of Darkness Eye disappeared instantly.

Merlin's consciousness was restored. When he saw the brightly burning Flame Maxim inside his Awareness, he immediately realized the implications.

"The Flame Maxim can suppress Darkness Eye?"

The backlash from Darkness Eye was truly formidable. Merlin's consciousness had almost sunk to the bottom and was close to turning him into a walking corpse until he was completely consumed by Darkness Eye.

However, with the appearance of the Flame Maxim, it appeared to be capable of suppressing Darkness Eye. In addition to saving Merlin, it also allowed him to easily control the third form of Darkness Eye.

"Oh? Darkness Eye, disintegrate!"

Merlin did not have time to think. The time that he had spent trying to defeat the backlash from Darkness Eye might have seemed like a long time, but in reality, it was only a short moment. This meant that Kleis' Spatial Blade was about to fluctuate into Merlin's body.

Thus, Merlin immediately wielded the third form of Darkness Eye.

In an instant, a crimson light shot out from Darkness Eye, covering the front of Merlin's body. Once again, the two mysterious forces of power collided.

"Boom!"

The disintegrating power of Darkness Eye was comparable to the slashing power of Spatial Blade. Both powers were the third forms of special Pandora Demon Abilities so neither was stronger than the other.

"Huh? You can actually wield the third form of Darkness Eye?"

Kleis' expression changed rapidly with a look of astonishment on his face.

Since Kleis had cultivated a special Pandora Demon Ability like Spatial Blade, he was naturally aware of how powerful it was. It was downright impossible for a Spell Caster to cultivate a special Pandora Demon Ability to its third form before becoming a Fourth-level Spell Caster.

If its third form was wielded forcefully, then the Spell Caster would face a terrifying backlash force. However, Merlin seemed to be even braver than before, and did not seem to suffer any effects.

"Is it because Darkness Eye was passed directly from Wizard Leo to Merlin?"

Kleis' heart hesitated for the first time. When Wizard Leo wielded the third form of Darkness Eye previously, it had already shaken him to the core. He was well-aware that Wizard Leo was also capable of wielding the fourth form of Darkness Eye.

Kleis was extremely averse to Wizard Leo as Wizard Leo was one of a small handful of Wizards who had been able to stand against his Spatial Blade.

The reality of Merlin's situation was hard-pressed even for an experienced Spell Caster to interpret as no one in his wildest dreams would have guessed that a mere Third-level Spell Caster possessed a Flame Maxim inside his Awareness.

The powers of maxims were only ever possessed by the great legendary Wizards!

Although Merlin was unable to directly utilize the power of the Flame Maxim, it was possible that the Flame Maxim was also sentient. Thus, when Merlin's consciousness was about to sink completely, it reacted to suppress Darkness Eye and stopped its backlash.

It was precisely this combination of coincidences and strange occurrences that allowed Merlin to wield the third form of Darkness Eye and to fend off Kleis' attacks.

Merlin raised his hand to examine Darkness Eye lodged in his palm. He could still faintly see the strange ghostly faces changing inside Darkness Eye. Among the ghostly faces, Merlin was astonished to spot Wizard Leo's face as well!

Merlin knew in his heart that these ghostly faces belonged to victims who were vanquished by Wizard Leo using Darkness Eye. Somehow, they were absorbed into Darkness Eye via a special method and became part of the negative emotions that were used to affect and control whichever Spell Caster who tried to cultivate Darkness Eye.

The more people who were killed, the stronger the negative energy of Darkness Eye, hence more forms of Darkness Eye could be wielded. However, the Spell Casters would have to resist a stronger attacking force, and could potentially be consumed by the backlash from Darkness Eye in a moment's notice.

This was the foremost difficulty in cultivating Darkness Eye. With just a momentary lapse in concentration, the Spell Caster risked being consumed by the backlash. Therefore, no one dared to regard it lightly. Back then, Wizard Leo was able to wield the third form freely, but once the fourth form appeared, he did not even dare use it. At last, he had only managed to use it twice before he was killed by its backlash.

Regardless, at this point, Merlin was already at the brink of insanity. His entire body glowed with Wind Element fluctuations, and he glared steadfastly at Kleis.

"Kleis, it's your turn to die!"

He said in an icy tone. Following that, Merlin raised his palm, and from Darkness Eye appeared a huge ghostly face that hung in the air. It was heart-stopping to watch.

Merlin truly was on the brink of insanity. Leveraging on the opportunity while the Flame Maxim was suppressing Darkness Eye, he intended to break open the seal placed by Wizard Leo on the fourth form.

The fourth form of Darkness Eye was exceedingly strong. Even Merlin could not be sure that he would be able to walk away unscathed. With his current abilities, without the suppression of the Flame Maxim, he would be consumed by the backlash from Darkness Eye in an instant.

Even with the suppression from the Flame Maxim, the fourth form was a completely different beast, so Merlin was not entirely sure whether the Flame Maxim would be able to suppress it.

His desire to kill Kleis was too strong that Merlin threw away all rational thoughts and decided to risk one more time!

"The fourth form? You're crazy!"

Finally, on Kleis' calm face, a trace of horror appeared. He had always liked to be in control of the situation, so he had full confidence in every battle no matter the opponent.

Even the Miracle Child was not a noteworthy opponent!

This time, facing against a crazed Merlin who was wielding the fourth form of Darkness Eye without any regard for his own safety, Kleis began to consider retreating from the battle. He remembered that Wizard Leo's powers were far stronger than him even without wielding the fourth form of Darkness Eye.

Kleis was extremely familiar with the fourth forms of special Pandora Demon Abilities. Even though he was already a Fourth-level Spell Caster and possessed above average abilities, still he did not dare wield the fourth form of Spatial Blade.

Therefore, this time, Kleis retreated!

"Whoosh."

Kleis retreated quickly due to his proficiency in Spatial spells. Among all types of spells, Spatial spells were considered the most secretive and the most special of all. Even during the Spell Casters' most glorious era, Spatial Wizards were rarely found.

Therefore, following Kleis' use of a strange Spatial spell, both he and Silver Sword Heulier slowly faded away like a thin veil of smoke. Soon, both their figures had disappeared completely.

All that was left was a disembodied voice from the forest. "Darkness Eye is a cursed power, Merlin. You've lost the chance to become a Seventh-level Spell Caster, much less a Great Wizard. You're no longer worthy to be my opponent!"

The voice reverberated continuously in the dense forest but was still inexplicably clear to their ears.

"Tsss."

Merlin's movement also came to a screeching halt. A look of pain flashed on his face, and he took in deep breaths. Now that Kleis was no longer a threat to him, he also stopped trying to remove Wizard Leo's seal on the fourth form of Darkness Eye.

That was the power that even Wizard Leo could not control. He only managed to wield the fourth form twice before he died. Forcefully using Darkness Eye without grasping its power properly would only lead to horrible after effects.

Fortunately, Merlin's Magic Power was slightly weaker than the seal placed by Wizard Leo on the fourth form. Otherwise, if the seal was broken and the fourth form of Darkness Eye was released, Merlin would have to rely fully on the Flame Maxim to suppress its backlash.

If the Flame Maxim was not enough to suppress Darkness Eye, then once the Flame Maxim was exhausted, Merlin would be consumed by the backlash from Darkness Eye!

Merlin checked the seal on the fourth form of Darkness Eye. It was not broken yet but there was a slight crack, and Merlin could already sense the horrifying power awaiting inside the fourth form of Darkness Eye which was slipping through the cracks.

Just this small trace of leaked power was enough to shake Merlin to the core. It was not surprising that even Wizard Leo had failed to withstand the backlash from the fourth form of Darkness Eye.

The fourth forms of special Pandora Demon Abilities could only be wielded safely by Spell Casters who were the Seventh-level and above without being affected by the backlash. On the other hand, if the fourth form was wielded forcefully, the Spell Caster would end up with a similar fate as Wizard Leo.

Merlin had hoped that with the suppression from the Flame Maxim, he could try to break the seal on the fourth form of Darkness Eye. However, after removing the seal on the third form, the Flame Maxim was still continuously suppressing Darkness Eye. Merlin was shocked to discover that the Flame Maxim was diminishing little by little.

Even though the process was extremely slow, it was definitely diminishing. It was the price to pay for using the Flame Maxim to suppress the third form of Darkness Eye. Judging by the condition of the Flame Maxim, Merlin feared that it would only be able to sustain for another few years.

If the Flame Maxim was completely diminished in a few years' time, and Merlin had not yet become a Fourth-level Spell Caster, then Merlin would be facing mortal danger.

"Wizard Merlin, are you alright?"

Seeing that Kleis had left, Wizard Envia and the others hurriedly came to check on Merlin's condition. They had seen Merlin used the power of Darkness Eye.

The power of Darkness Eye was so powerful that even Kleis had been scared into retreating. Therefore, Wizard Envia and the others held a trace of envy on their faces. Although they knew that Darkness Eye was a cursed power, they also desired for a stronger power!

Perhaps that was why in every generation, there were Spell Casters who were still eager to cultivate Darkness Eye. With control over Darkness Eye, the Spell Caster would possess formidable power!