I Got Reincarnated As The Ntr Protagonist In An Online Game-Chapter 54: Dark Mana

Zyrith gasped as they were flung through the void between spaces. The sensation was disorienting, as though they were being pulled apart and reassembled simultaneously. She clung to Merlin, her nails digging into his arm, her breath ragged and shallow.

Merlin gritted his teeth, his focus unwavering as he guided the spell. "We’re almost there," he said, though the strain in his voice betrayed how much effort it took.

With a loud *crack*, the spell completed. They landed abruptly in Eira’s location, the golden light fading as reality snapped back into place.

The first thing they noticed was the suffocating aura of dark mana filling the room, thick and malevolent. Zyrith stumbled, clutching her chest as the oppressive energy threatened to overwhelm her.

Merlin’s gaze snapped to Eira. She was kneeling beside Junior’s still form.

"Eira!" Merlin shouted, his voice sharp.

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[In Eira Perspective Before Merlin had Teleported to her postion ]

Eira’s chest heaved as she knelt beside Junior’s body, her hands trembling as she gently cradled him in her arms. Blood trickled from her lips, and her eyes burned with unshed tears, but she forced a smile. "It’s done, young master," she whispered, her voice cracked and low. "I’ve kept my promise. Serah won’t harm you anymore."

Standing with effort, she adjusted Junior’s weight in her arms and turned toward the door, her mind solely focused on finding safety for him. Each step was heavy, and the silence in the room pressed down on her.

But then, it hit her.

A chilling wave of malevolent energy surged through the air, freezing her in place. Her legs refused to move, her breathing hitched, and an overwhelming dread consumed her. Her body betrayed her, trembling uncontrollably as a dark mana unlike anything she’d ever felt seeped into the room.

"W-what... is this?" she muttered, her voice shaking.

Slowly, she forced herself to turn her head toward the source. Her eyes locked onto Serah’s lifeless body. Dark tendrils of mana poured out of the corpse, twisting and writhing like living shadows. The oppressive energy pulsed, growing denser with each passing second.

Eira’s heart pounded in her chest, fear clawing at her mind. *This isn’t normal. This isn’t possible.*

Just as the shadows began to coalesce into something more terrifying, the room was filled with a golden flash of light.

"EIRA!" Merlin’s voice boomed, breaking through the suffocating silence.

Eira blinked, her body still frozen as she saw Merlin and Zyrith materialize before her. Merlin’s staff glowed brightly, his expression grim and determined. Zyrith, now untied, stood unsteadily beside him, her eyes darting between Eira and the source of the mana. Helen floated beside them, encased in Merlin’s levitation spell, her unconscious form limp.

"Merlin..." Eira breathed, her voice barely audible.

Merlin’s sharp gaze scanned the room. His frown deepened as he saw the tendrils of dark mana converging around Serah’s corpse. "This is worse than I thought," he muttered.

"Merlin, what’s happening?" Eira managed to say, though her voice wavered.

"No time to explain!" Merlin barked. He planted his staff firmly on the ground, and the runes etched into it flared to life. "Hold still!"

In an instant, a spell circle formed beneath everyone, its intricate lines glowing with a blinding light. The sensation of being yanked through space hit Eira like a punch to the gut as they were all teleported outside the orphanage.

The cool night air greeted them, but it was far from a reprieve. Eira stumbled, still clutching Junior tightly, her mind racing as she tried to process what had just happened. Merlin stood at the center of the group, sweat pouring down his face as he chanted another spell.

"Why are we outside?" Eira asked, her voice filled with urgency.

Merlin didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his eyes darted toward Emma and the children, who were huddled nearby. Emma’s face was pale, her body trembling as she tried to stand. The other children had collapsed, unconscious from the sheer weight of the mana emanating from the orphanage.

"I told you to run!" Merlin snapped at Emma, his voice filled with frustration.

Emma opened her mouth, but no words came out. Her lips quivered, and tears streamed down her face.

"They... they couldn’t..." she finally stammered. "It was too much... the mana..."

Merlin clicked his tongue in annoyance and hissed under his breath. Without another word, he raised his staff again. In one swift motion, he teleported everyone—Emma, the children, Eira, Zyrith, and even Yor, who had been cowering in a corner—several kilometers away.

The group reappeared on a grassy hill far from the orphanage, the night sky stretching above them. Merlin fell to his knees, his breaths coming in ragged gasps. The toll of using such high-level magic three times in rapid succession was evident on his face. His normally vibrant eyes were dull, and his hands shook as he leaned on his staff for support.

Eira stepped forward, concern momentarily overriding her fear. "Merlin... are you—"

Before she could finish, a deafening explosion erupted from the direction of the orphanage. The ground beneath them shook violently, and a massive shockwave tore through the air, racing toward them with terrifying speed.

"Get down!" Merlin shouted hoarsely.

In a desperate effort, he conjured a protective force field around the group. The shimmering barrier held firm as the shockwave slammed into it, but the strain was immense. Merlin coughed violently, blood splattering onto the ground as the backlash from the spell overwhelmed him.

Eira shielded Junior with her body, her eyes wide as she watched the orphanage in the distance. A massive plume of dark energy spiraled into the sky, blotting out the stars and casting an eerie shadow over the land.

Merlin collapsed to one knee, gasping for air as the force field flickered but held. "That... wasn’t just an explosion," he rasped. "Something... something has awakened."

Eira’s grip tightened on Junior as she turned her gaze to Merlin. "What do we do now?"

Merlin wiped the blood from his mouth, his expression grim. "We survive."