Chapter 446: Still Alive
At that moment, a ring on Leon's finger flickered with a faint, ghostly light.
Leon caught this subtle change clearly, and his heart leapt with joy. He tried calling out, "Lord Shaun, you're awake..."
Ever since fusing with the Eye of the Evil Dragon, Lord Shaun had been slumbering within the Soulwalker, only now finally awakening...
"Merlin, Lord Shaun just woke up—why are you so eager to drag him out already..." A puff of smoke appeared as Lord Shaun emerged from the Soulwalker, pursing his lips in mild annoyance. "Whatever it is, save it for later. Get Lord Shaun a few magic crystals first."
After months of slumber, Lord Shaun had changed a great deal. His form was growing more solid, no longer nearly transparent as before. Even more startling, a vertical eye had appeared on his forehead. With just one glance, Leon could sense a sinister aura from it. "Lord Shaun, how's the fusion with the Eye of the Evil Dragon going?"
"Merlin, let me tell you, Lord Shaun is ten times stronger than before now..." Under Leon's persistent gaze, Lord Shaun—still in his ghostly wolf form—looked smug and lazily sprawled on the ground.
"Really?"
"Of course it's true!" Lord Shaun glared at Leon, clearly annoyed by the doubt, then couldn't help showing off: "Lord Shaun is a genuine True Spirit Magic Tool, you know. Why would I lie to you? Oh... almost forgot—now Lord Shaun is a mid-tier True Spirit Magic Tool."
"So, what's with that vertical eye..." Leon's frown slowly relaxed as he pointed to the vertical eye on Lord Shaun's forehead. He had expected Lord Shaun to grow stronger after fusing with the Eye of the Evil Dragon and his own avatar, but the claim of tenfold power? That was still up for debate...
The Wraithwalker advancing to a mid-tier True Spirit Magic Tool was an unexpected boon. Having three True Spirit Magic Tools, Leon knew better than anyone how difficult it was for a magic tool to evolve. Take the Arcane Wheel, for example—just that drop of mutated black lizard blood was worth nearly as much as a top-tier Spirit Magic Tool. Only with Anderson's special methods did it barely reach mid-tier True Spirit status.
Normally, the path to evolving a magic tool is long and arduous, especially for something like the Wraithwalker. This time, its breakthrough was linked to Lord Shaun's fusion with the Eye of the Evil Dragon. Before its disappearance, the Eye was itself a True Spirit Magic Tool—practically priceless, its power nearly rivaling that of a Title Archmage.
Not to mention, the Eye of the Evil Dragon's origins were anything but ordinary...
That was why Leon suspected there was more to Lord Shaun's vertical eye than met the eye...
Lord Shaun cast a mysterious glance at Leon. Suddenly, that tightly shut vertical eye flashed with a ghostly light, releasing a terrifying aura. Even with Leon's current strength, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart. Noticing Leon's changed expression, Lord Shaun grinned with pride. "Merlin, this vertical eye isn't something to open lightly. It drains a massive amount of mana. If I really open it, even someone as strong as you will be seriously affected. I've named it the Evil Dragon's Gaze..."
"Oh?" Leon's eyes lit up. He could sense that aura clearly—Lord Shaun definitely wasn't lying. Besides, with the soul contract in place, Lord Shaun couldn't hide the truth from him.
Only now did Leon realize he'd underestimated the power of the Eye of the Evil Dragon. When that vertical eye's aura was released, he immediately activated his mana array to analyze it, and the results shocked him—a single Evil Dragon's Gaze could severely injure even a sixth-level Title Archmage.
Then Leon remembered the dragon breath Solan Monty had obtained in the illusion. Both the owner of that breath and the Eye of the Evil Dragon were beings beyond the Sky Rank, but the Evil Dragon's Gaze was far more powerful than that dragon breath.
"Merlin..." Lord Shaun, who'd been so smug just moments ago, suddenly became bashful and said awkwardly, "Lord Shaun can sense that there might be another Eye of the Evil Dragon out there..."
"Indeed..." Leon nodded, smiling knowingly. He was well aware of Lord Shaun's intentions. Not long ago at Mercury Tower, he'd already forced Herman to reveal a way to bypass the Eye of the Evil Dragon. Risky, yes, but for another Eye of the Evil Dragon, it was worth a try.
You had to understand—just fusing one Eye of the Evil Dragon had made Lord Shaun a mid-tier True Spirit Magic Tool, and the power of Evil Dragon's Gaze was no joke, practically a trump card. If he managed to fuse a second Eye, Leon was almost certain Lord Shaun could become a peak True Spirit Magic Tool!
A peak True Spirit Magic Tool would be almost on par with someone like Star Sage Joey...
Someday, Leon would have to visit the Sungold Plane—the temptation of that Eye of the Evil Dragon was simply too great to resist. But at his current fifth-level Archmage rank, he was nowhere near strong enough. He'd need to reach ninth-level Archmage, or even Title Archmage, before he could confidently claim that Eye.
Of course, that was still a long way off. Ninth-level Archmage was a distant goal for him, let alone Title Archmage...
Leon glanced at Solan Monty, who was resting nearby, and smiled lightly. "Lord Solan, could you come over for a moment...?"
"Ah..."
Meditating beside a bookshelf, Solan Monty nearly jumped out of his skin at Leon's voice. He scrambled to his feet and rushed to Leon's side, trembling all over. "Archmage Merlin, y-you... do you need something from me?"
Nowadays, in his eyes, Leon was a thousand times scarier than any Abyssal Demon—he even thought Leon was the true devil.
"Yeah, I do need something..."
Leon touched his nose, gave Solan Monty a blank look, then lightly waved his staff. Suddenly, fiery chains radiating intense heat wrapped around Solan Monty.
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"Ah..."
Solan Monty let out a sudden cry, already pale as a ghost. Technically, a spell like Flame Chains was only second tier, and with his strength as a fifth-level Title Archmage, he could easily break free. But he didn't dare. If he resisted Leon with magic, his mana core would instantly go haywire—forget casting spells, the moment that chaos hit, he'd be coughing up blood. Best case, he'd need weeks to recover; worst case, his mana core would rupture and he'd die.
"Do me a favor, and the reward is three Mana Crystals above level twenty-five. Deal?" Leon pointed at Solan Monty, pulling three Mana Crystals from his pocket, then turned to Lord Shaun.
"Deal..."
Sensing the magical energy radiating from the Mana Crystals, Lord Shaun agreed without hesitation. He sprang to his feet and approached Solan Monty, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
In a flash, Lord Shaun vanished without a trace.
"Ah!"
At the same time, a scream echoed as Solan Monty convulsed violently on the ground. At that moment, he truly wished he were dead—the pain was indescribable. And the source wasn't his body, but his soul, as if some unseen hand were savagely tearing it apart...
Soon, Solan Monty lost the ability to think—his mind felt like it was about to explode.
After a few minutes of turmoil, Lord Shaun's faintly shimmering form reappeared before Leon, his expression suspicious. "Merlin, who is this guy? Why does he have a Bloodline Curse inside him?"
"You noticed?" Leon glanced at Lord Shaun in surprise. Ten days ago, he'd spent hours examining Solan Monty's body before finally detecting the Bloodline Curse.
But Lord Shaun had figured it out in just a few minutes. If he'd awakened ten days earlier, Leon could have saved a lot of trouble...
Then Leon remembered that Lord Shaun had once followed Prince Barov, a member of the Third Dynasty royal family. Even if he wasn't an expert, he had to be familiar with Bloodline Curses.
"Obviously..." Lord Shaun rolled his eyes, looking a bit annoyed.
"Lord Shaun, help me analyze the Bloodline Curse inside him..." Leon frowned, turning his gaze to Solan Monty, who was still trembling slightly on the ground.
"Alright..." Lord Shaun didn't waste words. With his mastery of soul magic, analyzing a Bloodline Curse was child's play. He walked over to Solan Monty.
Under Solan Monty's fearful gaze, Lord Shaun's figure vanished again...
Immediately, Solan Monty felt that familiar agony return—heart-wrenching pain that made him bite his lip until it bled, muffled groans escaping as his body rolled uncontrollably on the ground. Just as he was getting used to it, an even more intense pain struck, nearly breaking his mind.
In an instant, his mind went blank—his screams grew faint.
"I just cut off a sliver of his soul. Merlin, hand me a test tube—I need some time to examine the Bloodline Curse..." A short while later, Lord Shaun emerged.
...Leon couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Solan Monty. He fished a test tube out of his pocket and handed it to Lord Shaun.
After a while, Lord Shaun managed to extract a deep crimson power from that sliver of Solan Monty's soul. The energy radiated a strange aura, making Leon frown. For the next while, Lord Shaun busied himself with research, requesting several common reagents from Leon and focusing intently on the crimson energy.
Half an hour later, Lord Shaun finally got up and looked at Leon. "Merlin, judging by the activity of the Bloodline Curse, that person seems to still be alive..."