Merlin

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Merlin Andre (梅林) 157
Alias(es)	God of Magic; Faceless Person; Pure White Eyes; Archmage; Head of Radiance 157 162
Species/Race	Faceless Person; his body is condensed from pure white radiance rather than flesh and blood 415
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Radiant Holy See; Magic Guild 162 241
Occupation/Role	Archmage; Heaven's Gate guardian/Heaven's Steward; Vice President of the Magic Guild 154 241
Status	Active 415
First Appearance	Chapter 154 154

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Demigod / Divine-tier magic user	155	Demonstrates the Divine-tier Demigod Magic [Judgment Light] against an invading cavalry force.
Advanced Divine-tier mastery	217	Breaks through a long-standing bottleneck and achieves chantless casting of Divine-tier [Judgment Light], activating its second branch.

Background / History

Merlin's life had been largely free of rivals or major setbacks until his teacher retired and passed responsibility for guarding Heaven's Gate to him. His original rotation was meant to be Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but his speed in eliminating invading Apostles allowed other Holy Sees to abandon their shifts; Merlin consequently worked for an entire year without a day off. During that period, he purified millions of souls and maintained full attendance. 157 161

While serving as Heaven's Gate guardian, Merlin encountered Ansu Morningstar. He initially tried to drive Ansu away by presenting the overwhelmingly complex circuits of [Judgment Light], expecting him to surrender like previous visitors. Instead, Ansu persisted for three days, forcing Merlin to protect his soul as he repeatedly pushed himself beyond his limits. Merlin ultimately recognized Ansu's “grafting” approach as a legitimate form of magic creation and acknowledged that Ansu's understanding of Holy Light surpassed his own. 156 157

Ansu's newly created Judgment Light caused Merlin to lose his long hair permanently. Returning to the Hall of Seven Gods after his year-long assignment, Merlin discovered that the admiring attention he received was directed at his bald head, which became publicly known as the Head of Radiance. 160 162

Appearance

Merlin is a faceless being formed from pure white radiance, distinguished chiefly by his luminous Pure White Eyes. He commonly presents himself in crimson or ceremonial bishop's robes, carrying an imposing and beautiful aura despite the absence of ordinary facial features. 162 415

• His Pure White Eyes emit intense Holy Light and can make the world appear transparent to him. 248 297
• He was formerly known for his flowing dark hair and was exceptionally popular with middle-aged and elderly women. 160
• Ansu's Judgment Light left him bald; the condition resisted natural regrowth. 162 193
• His bald appearance became the publicly promoted Head of Radiance hairstyle. 162 163
• He sometimes uses a helmet or a long wig when attempting to conceal his baldness. 215

Personality

Merlin maintains a serene, lofty public image befitting the God of Magic, and he is accustomed to admiration for both his strength and appearance. Beneath this composure, he is deeply vain about his hair and extremely resentful of the endless overtime imposed on him at Heaven's Gate. 157 162

He is pragmatic, mischievous, and fond of using authority to silence troublesome subordinates or shift blame onto others. He openly values magical knowledge above almost anything else, including romance; unfamiliar magic circuits immediately attract his attention because they can be copied, analyzed, and improved. 193 209 297

Despite his impatience and manipulative tendencies, Merlin recognizes genuine talent. His irritation with Ansu gradually develops into mentorship, respect, and serious consideration of Ansu as a possible successor who could one day take over Heaven's Gate. 157 241

Abilities & Skills

Pure White Eyes

Merlin's Saint Eye allows him to perceive the underlying circuits of magic, skills, and even worlds.

• Sees through the root circuits of magic, skills, and worlds. 297
• Perceives minute environmental details, the color of souls, and deception. 248
• Can control magic itself and the mana sustaining it. 325
• Can expose disguises and transformations, including Bishop Rada's altered form. 216
• Witnessing the true form of a higher-dimensional being through the eyes can severely damage his sanity. 217

Judgment Light

[Judgment Light] is Merlin's signature Divine-tier Holy Light magic, formed from three enormous branches containing thousands of smaller circuits. 156 157

• First Effect — Head-chopping Magic: Merlin's Guardian Angel judges targets by soul rank; beings below Merlin's rank are decapitated. 157 217
• Second Effect: The Guardian Angel judges a target's “soul length”; targets whose soul length is shorter than Merlin's have their “root of troubles” severed. 217
• Merlin reached chantless casting for the spell during his confrontation with Bishop Rada, a feat stated to have not appeared for a thousand years. 217
• Merlin can use the spell immediately and with lethal intent when provoked, including against Ansu after the examination scandal. 247

Transformation Technique

Merlin's transformation magic alters how others perceive a person by extracting a soul and using it as the basis for a fixed identity.

• Extracts a soul to create a form corresponding to its original owner. 193
• A person holding the extracted soul is perceived as its original owner. 193
• Higher-ranked souls are more difficult to extract and reproduce. 193
• Merlin used the technique to let Ansu, Arthur, and Liszt impersonate captured cult agents. 184
• He rewarded Ansu with the technique after the Crow Alley mission. 193

Heavenly Authority

As Heaven's Gate guardian and Heaven's Steward, Merlin can regulate permissions and impose magical restrictions.

• Sealed Ansu's authority within Heaven's Gate and instantly silenced him when Ansu's Guardian Angel threatened Merlin's hair. 160
• Uses Silence Spells against subordinates and takes visible satisfaction in exercising that authority. 193
• Created a temporary Demigod body for Ansu so that Ansu could serve as Heaven's Steward for a day. 209

Magic Design and Copying

Merlin treats magic circuits as material to be studied, copied, and refined.

• Can reproduce and improve magic by analyzing its circuits rather than relying on the original spell's quality. 209
• Distributed copied techniques through his own “Merlin System,” including a soul-based Deformation Technique and a Holy Light assassination skill. 193
• Designed the Artificial Naraku World examination and its stitched lifeforms, deliberately incorporating flaws and possibilities to observe how candidates would respond. 270 276 284

Relationships

• Ansu Morningstar — Disciple and frequent source of Merlin's frustration. Merlin first attempted to discourage Ansu from studying Judgment Light, then came to respect his talent and consider him as a potential successor. 156 157 241
• Cersei Milton — Also designated as Merlin's disciple; her prospective discipleship creates a rivalry with Ansu. 160
• Arthur Sunny — Ansu's companion and recipient of Merlin's copied Assassination Technique. Arthur's matchmaking efforts unintentionally led Merlin into the Bishop Rada incident. 193 209 223
• Liszt Moon — Ansu's companion and participant in the cult-infiltration operation; helped arrange Merlin's disastrous date with Bishop Rada. 184 215 217
• Bishop Rada / “Mijue” — A hostile Demigod who attempted to lure and capture Merlin through a disguised date. Merlin exposed Rada and used the second effect of Judgment Light against him. 215 217
• Bishop Randall — Holy See official whom Merlin confronted upon returning from his year of forced attendance, demanding compensation for his lost leave. 162
• Former teacher — The previous Heaven's Gate authority who taught Merlin part of Judgment Light before retiring and leaving Merlin with the gatekeeping duty. 155 157

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Heaven's Gate mentorship — Meets Ansu at Heaven's Gate, reluctantly oversees his attempt to copy Judgment Light, and eventually recognizes Ansu's unusual talent for grafting magic circuits. 154 156 157
• Head of Radiance incident — Returns from a year of gatekeeping to discover that Ansu's magic has made him permanently bald, inadvertently creating a new public hairstyle trend. 162 163
• Star Cult investigation — Accepts Ansu's proposal to expose cult infiltrators, supplies transformation magic for the operation, and rewards Ansu's group afterward. 184 193
• Bishop Rada confrontation — Accepts what he believes is a blind date, discovers the trap, and achieves chantless Divine-tier casting while striking Rada with Judgment Light's second branch. 209 215 217
• Holy See examination crisis — Becomes the nominal author of Ansu's absurd examination questions, then personally designs an Artificial Naraku World challenge for Ansu and Cersei. 241 270
• Approaching Age of Chaos — Reveals that he has foreseen the next Red Moon Incident and argues that the coming era must be given time to unfold. 297
• Later conflicts — Continues observing Ansu's increasingly extreme actions with a mixture of exasperation and fascination, admitting that witnessing a battle between powerful figures can make even overtime worthwhile. 325 336

Notable Quotes

“I just wanted to see more possibilities.” 297

“It was an Overtime Demon.” 345

Trivia

• Merlin's hair was once a major source of personal pride; he had reportedly ranked first on Farol's list of most beloved bishops among middle-aged and elderly women for ten consecutive years. 160
• Ansu publicly claimed that the Head of Radiance improves spellcasting by helping the brain dissipate heat faster, convincing mages and citizens to imitate Merlin's bald hairstyle. 163
• Merlin considers copying magic a natural academic principle: anyone who copies magic should expect to be copied in turn. 184