"You think I'll let you touch him?"
"Hmm. My cute children are about to catch the maid anyway," Elena said dismissively. "You have no cards left, old man."
Merle reached into his pocket.
"I've got one card left."
Merle's voice was calm, contrasting with the chaotic screeching of the Shadow Stalkers.
There was only one way to help Alicia escape from the clutches of a monster like Elena. Summons typically stopped, or at least faltered, if their summoner was critically harmed.
Merle walked toward the girl with the ivory hair, ignoring the black spike of mana hovering inches from his heart.
He raised his trembling hand.
"A card inspired by the Lumeveil Dimension Research Institute's final experiment," Merle rasped, his eyes burning with a suicidal resolve. "Be honored, child. You are the first to witness the end of an era. Above all, it's not my work—it's my mentor's relic."
