Chapter 260: Plea
"Two... two Hell's Hearts?" Fran's pale face was still blank with confusion, while Sylas West beside him had already reacted...
Two Hell's Hearts!
Behind each Hellgate, there can only be one Hell's Heart—this is common knowledge for any alchemist. No matter how powerful the alchemist or advanced the alchemy, this cannot be changed.
No alchemist can make two Hell's Hearts coexist; this is the most basic structure of the Hellgate. Changing this structure would cause the Hellgate to collapse, unleashing hordes of infernal creatures into the Northend World—a catastrophic disaster.
But now, in Matthew Merlin's hands, there were clearly two Hell's Hearts...
What was going on here...?
Could it be that the Hell's Heart Fran failed to find was actually in Matthew Merlin's hands?
This thought instantly sent a chill through Sylas West's limbs.
If this was true, it would be truly terrifying...
Both Hell's Hearts were in Matthew Merlin's hands—what did that mean? It meant that, without anyone noticing, Matthew Merlin had already passed through two Hellgates and, silently, had seized two Hell's Hearts...
Just thinking about the difficulty of this made Sylas West feel afraid.
Sylas West had never seen the infernal creatures behind the Hellgate himself, but records described them as so terrifying that even a Title Archmage might not escape unscathed. Fran, a Title Archmage, entered the Hellgate and was injured before even finding the Hell's Heart.
But look at Matthew Merlin—he had crossed two Hellgates in a short time and seized two Hell's Hearts...
Such power was truly unfathomable...
"Fran, I've already told you twice—you've gone too far..." Leon stood before Fran, putting the two Hell's Hearts back into his pocket. At the tip of the Soulbound Staff, the massive Elemental Amber was gathering a frightening magical power...
"Merlin!" Sylas West was instantly alarmed. With his keen magical senses, he couldn't fail to notice that the magic gathering on that staff was locked onto Fran!
Damn...
Fran was barely clinging to life and couldn't even cast a proper defensive spell. If that gathering magic erupted, Fran would almost certainly die.
What? Leon gripped the Soulbound Staff, the magic gathering in the Elemental Amber not yet unleashed. He glanced at Sylas West, a faint smile in his eyes: "Sylas, do you intend to stop me?"
"Merlin..." Sylas West, in his urgency, was about to say something to persuade him, but suddenly realized that the way he addressed the other seemed off...
In the past, even when both sides were wagering an arm, this young Archmage would always add a respectful "sir" when speaking to him.
But now, that "sir" was gone...
Sylas West hadn't noticed it before, but thinking it over, he suddenly understood—this signaled a change in attitude.
Sylas West knew that the young Archmage was now somewhat dissatisfied with him...
And it was true—when Fran and the United Exploration Team had been arguing over the limited rights to select magical materials, Sylas hadn't explicitly taken sides, but his words and actions had clearly supported Fran.
Not to mention that, when that burst of flame struck, he had used an Ice Barrier to shield Fran.
That was no joke—directly intervening in a duel between two mages, and showing obvious favoritism, could already be seen as a provocation to the other mage.
Realizing this, Sylas West broke out in a cold sweat.
The words he was about to say were forcibly swallowed back down. After a brief hesitation, Sylas West managed to force a stiff smile: "Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand, Merlin, I truly had no intention of stopping you..."
"Oh?" Leon looked at Sylas West, half-smiling. "Then I'm curious—if you weren't trying to stop me, what was that Ice Barrier supposed to mean?"
"Well..." Sylas West's heart skipped a beat. So it was because of that Ice Barrier. Thinking of this, Sylas couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
It was true—Fran's character was truly terrible, especially today. In order to fight for priority in choosing magical materials, he'd stooped to any means, even losing all sense of shame. If it were anyone else, Sylas wouldn't have spared them a glance, much less cast an Ice Barrier to save them.
The problem was...
Fran wasn't just anyone. Fran, like himself, was from Mercury Tower. How could he just stand by and watch Fran get killed by that burst of flames?
He couldn't not intervene...
But Sylas West also knew that, no matter how good his reasons, they wouldn't fly with the young Archmage. Leon wasn't from Mercury Tower—why should he care about Sylas's relationship with Fran?
On a normal day, Sylas could have relied on his power as a Title Archmage to force his way out with Fran. Even if they couldn't take the magical materials, Sylas was confident he could get Fran out alive...
But after that battle, and seeing the two Hell's Hearts produced afterward, Sylas didn't even dare to entertain that thought.
At this point, Sylas West was one hundred percent certain—the young Archmage's strength was at least at the Title Archmage level. And with that strange, unfathomable flame, even if Sylas intervened personally, his fate would likely be no better than Fran's...
This was someone who had effortlessly crossed two Hellgates and seized two Hell's Hearts in utter silence...
And don't forget, this was the United Exploration Team of Seaview City. There were two top-tier ninth-level archmages, plus the battle-hardened Sars and Badlack. The balance of power had quietly shifted; now, if Sylas wanted to protect Fran, his only option was to persuade the young Archmage...
With that in mind, Sylas West once again lowered himself.
"Merlin, could you—could you, for the sake of... for Teacher Nolan, give Fran a chance?" Originally, Sylas meant to say "for my sake," but he suddenly remembered that, in front of the young Archmage, his own reputation meant little. So he hastily changed his words and invoked Nolan instead.
"Heh..."
Leon’s cold laugh made Sylas West's mouth go dry. Given the young Archmage's temperament, saying nothing and simply laughing coldly was already a firm stance. Even if Fran survived, he'd be lucky to escape with his skin.
But at this point, Sylas had no other choice. He could only try to plead for Fran: "Merlin..."
"Enough, Sir Sylas, you don't need to say any more." Leon shook his head helplessly, and once again added "Sir" to Sylas's title. Still, the magic gathering in the Elemental Amber showed no sign of dissipating. "I understand you're standing up for a fellow student, and I can respect that. But Fran shouldn't have attacked President Lays. President Lays has helped me greatly, and I've always respected him."
I can apologize to President Lays for Fran.
President Lays doesn't need an apology.
Then... then I'll have Fran compensate President Lays for his losses!
"Oh?" This time, Leon didn't outright refuse, but he didn't agree either. He simply looked at Sylas West with a smile, waiting for him to name the compensation.
"President Lays, I know you've always wanted a set of the Mercury Tower's creators' notes. I can arrange for the Tower to lend them to you. Also, every year, the Seaview City Alchemists' Guild gets three slots to study at Mercury Tower. In addition, I can declare, on behalf of Mercury Tower, that all proceeds from this United Exploration Team will be freely given to the Seaview City Alchemists' Guild and the Gilded Rose. With such sincerity, I wonder if President Lays is satisfied?"
Sylas West's generous offer—each item was something President Lays had dreamed of. On any other day, even if Fran had nearly killed him, Lays would have agreed without hesitation.
But now, Lays understood one thing: these generous terms had been won for him by the young Archmage. Whether he accepted or not wasn't up to him—the young Archmage alone had the real power to decide. So, after hearing all this, Lays didn't rush to nod, but instead looked to Leon for guidance: "Merlin, what do you think...?"
"President Lays, all this is Mercury Tower's compensation for you. If you think it's acceptable, go ahead and agree."
"Alright, alright..." At this, President Lays hurriedly nodded. "It's a deal."
"Thank you, President Lays." Hearing that Lays was willing to settle, Sylas West finally let go of his anxiety. "Merlin, do you have any other conditions?"
"Not so fast, Sir Sylas. I still need one thing from Fran the Archmage..." As Leon spoke, the magic gathered in the Elemental Amber finally dispersed, but at the same time, that flicker of flame that made Sylas's heart race appeared once more in Leon's palm...
"What is it!" Seeing that spark, Sylas West's heart sank. In his panic, he cried out—but it was already too late...
The spark in Leon's hand flickered in the air, splitting into two fiery rays that crossed paths with lightning speed...
Then came Fran's agonized scream. When everyone looked again, both of Fran's ring fingers had been severed by the fiery rays...
"No... no... you can't take them, Leon Merlin, you can't take them!" Fran, who had been silent up to now, went mad after his ring fingers were cut off, lunging at Leon. But Fran was already badly wounded and couldn't cast even a proper spell.
What's more, losing both ring fingers to the fiery rays meant Fran had lost the power of the Crystal Balance. Now, he was just a fifth-level archmage who had mastered the Hand of Time...
Even as a Title Archmage, he hadn't been Leon's match. Now, stripped of the Crystal Balance and reduced to a fifth-level archmage, Leon didn't even spare him a glance—he simply waved the Soulbound Staff, raising an ice wall between himself and Fran. No matter how Fran shouted from the other side, Leon ignored him, focused only on the two rings and the staff Fran had thrown to the ground.
"The Crystal Balance really is powerful..." The moment he acquired the set, Leon felt a surge of overwhelming power. No exaggeration—if Leon could truly master this power, he'd immediately be able to wield Title Archmage-level strength, just like Fran.
Unfortunately, such power wasn't so easily mastered.
Besides, for Leon, the real purpose of the Crystal Balance wasn't to increase his own strength.
In this era, only Leon knew—the true significance of the Crystal Balance was as a key...