The terrifying force clashed against the sky's defenses, activating all the forest's barriers. Yet the shockwave swept through, tearing apart over three hundred meters of protection. Every tree within three hundred meters vanished, Leon's house was shredded, and only scorched earth remained—no trace of a home left behind.
Even Anderfa and Theo's elemental storms and torrents of flame were swept away by this terrifying power, unable to break through.
In the dust of destruction, pitch-black dark magic appeared like nightfall. Hundreds of meters away, Lafayette lay on the ground, one arm and one leg twisted grotesquely, blood splattered everywhere. His robe was pierced, exposing pale bones.
Lafayette's head turned pitch-black, his features twisted and evil. His skin darkened, and the darkness spread from his head across his body.
When the black evil force reached Lafayette's wounded arm and leg, black smoke billowed as if invisible hands were repairing his injuries.
Rising to his feet again, Lafayette's aura swelled by half, his height shooting up from about 1.8 meters to nearly 2.7 meters—a small giant.
His fair skin turned pure black, an evil single-eyed mark appeared on his forehead, and half his cheek lost flesh, exposing black bone—just like that skull artifact.
"Damn you! You must die. No one can save you today. You forced me to fuse with the artifact."
A third of my life force demands your life and soul as payment. No—all the Merlins must die! Die! Die!"
Lafayette's twisted face raged like a berserk orc. His aura reached the Sky Rank Level 2 limit, spreading terror and darkness. The forest's defenses dissolved within seconds.
No matter how powerful he was, at his core, his life force was still that of a titled archmage—a mortal. Even with most of the curse's power diminished, the lingering force was not something he could withstand indefinitely...
The ones with the strongest resistance to dark curses were the Light mages, especially the Light Priests—natural nemeses of dark curse magicians. Unfortunately, Leon was neither...
“Leon Merlin, you don't need to struggle anymore. The devil's whispers are beyond your ability to resist. This voice is laced with the power of Law Sigils; without transcendent strength, it's nearly impossible to block. I'm already amazed you've held out this long.
But it doesn't matter. The longer you linger, the better—let you savor every step as you inch toward death..."
Lafayette laughed maniacally. Suddenly, Leon's lips curled into a faint smile.
Lafayette's words had reminded him. Leon reached into his dimensional ring and withdrew a slab of Eternium, etched with a Spellmark.
He rapidly chanted a string of Law Sigils, weaving them into the metal slab. Instantly, intricate alchemical patterns spread around the Spellmark, countless Law Sigils fusing into the slab's core.
In less than three seconds, a simple Alchemical Device was complete. At the same moment, the devil's whispers vanished from Leon's ears. The Spellmark on the slab glowed, swallowing every sound.
Within ten meters of Leon, the rush of wind, the clash of magic, even his own heartbeat and breath—all vanished, silenced by the Spellmark's power...
Anderfa emerged from the Arcane Wheel once more, staring in astonishment at the Eternium slab in Leon's hand.