Chapter 188: Saedus (Prime Flame Sprite)
[Saedus is the true name of the Prime Flame Sprite, a key figure in this chapter.]
"What do you mean, 'pretending really well'?" Darren hadn’t even spoken yet before Salomon, standing nearby, was the first to freeze in confusion.
The ninth-rank Archmage glanced at Darren, then at Leon, his face a portrait of confusion. 'Pretending really well'? Was Merlin hinting this Darren was a fake? That was nuts—even the Ashen Tower mages weren’t as familiar with Darren as Salomon was. Still, he couldn’t shake a creeping doubt.
Decades of rivalry, at least ten head-to-head battles—Salomon knew Darren better than anyone in the Ashen Tower. The man before him, from his movements to his gaze, even his magical aura, was pure Darren. Salomon would bet his staff he wasn’t wrong.
"Merlin…" Normally, Salomon would keep quiet to save the young Archmage’s pride, but right now, pride was a luxury. After a brief, awkward pause, he whispered, "You sure you’re not seeing things?"
"Just watch and you’ll see." Leon didn’t bother explaining—he just flashed a sly grin and pulled the Elemental Spirit Capture Manual from his pocket, treating the whole situation like a mildly amusing puzzle.
"Let’s see… how do you snag a Prime Flame Sprite?" Leon muttered, flipping pages, then called out to "Darren" with a smirk: "Why are you staring at me? Check behind you—your fan club’s already arrived!"
"You…" Darren’s face twisted in anger, but Leon’s warning made him whip around, just in time to see a dozen Frost Elementals break through the wall of fire, closing in fast…
A dozen Frost Elementals might not seem like much, but if they got close, it meant backup was on the way. Darren wasn’t about to slack off—he started chanting spells like his life depended on it, diving straight into the fight. No point dying for a moment’s distraction.
Snowflakes whirled and sparks flew—the battle was so intense it’d leave any mage slack-jawed. The Frost Elementals fought suicidally, dragging Darren down. He wiped them out fast, but more were already closing in, the air thick with a creeping chill and dread.
Meanwhile, Leon was having a completely different experience. The Frost Elementals surged forward, but it was as if they couldn’t even see him—not a single wind blade came his way. Honestly, Leon was so bored he conjured up an ice wall just for something to do, then settled in to flip through "Elemental Spirit Capture Manual" with all the patience of someone waiting for a bus.
"Hey, remind me—what’s your true name again?" Leon had skimmed three or four pages, getting nowhere, so he looked up and called out, sounding almost comically bored.
"My true name..." Darren froze, completely thrown off by Leon’s random question.
That brief moment of shock cost him—a flame barrier appeared a second too late, and three Frost Elementals pounced on the opening. With a shrill whistle, three ice spikes shot straight at Darren’s chest.
Darren barely managed to throw up a rune shield, blocking the ice spikes at the last possible moment. Furious and flustered, he exploded, "Damn it! What’s my true name got to do with you?!"
"Just curious…" Leon shrugged and buried his nose back in the book, not bothered at all.
...
"Ah, wait, was it Ianlis or Ilis? Whatever, I’ll give them both a shot…" Leon muttered, then started trying out incantations from the manual, swapping in every true name he could think of.
Naturally, none of this worked. Not that Leon was surprised.
Ianlis? Ilis? Neither of those was right, obviously…
The thing was, the incantations from the manual had real power to bind elementals. Sure, Leon didn’t have the right name, but the spell’s force didn’t care. And Leon, being the persistent pain he was, just kept swapping out names—over a dozen, chanting the spell again and again.
Honestly, even if the spell was completely useless…
…just hearing it chanted a dozen times in a row was enough to make Darren want to tear his hair out.
"Shut up!" Darren was already drowning in Frost Elementals, and Leon’s relentless spell-spamming was driving him up the wall. After a string of botched spells, the Frost Elementals finally swarmed him.
By now, the corridor was so packed with Frost Elementals it was a miracle there was any air left. Ghostly blue light filled the space, and the sheer force of ice magic nearly froze the air itself. Spells crashed down in a wild barrage, and even Darren, with the power of a ninth-rank Archmage, was reduced to hiding behind his rune shield, unable to fight back.
"Don’t rush me—there’s still dozens of Prime Flame Sprite true names I remember. I’ll try them all, maybe I’ll get lucky…" Leon said, unfazed, ready to keep up his relentless guessing game.
"Enough already!" Darren finally snapped, his patience gone.
"Wow, someone’s cranky. Fine, let’s try another spell…" Leon wasn’t the least bit intimidated. He flipped to the next page of the manual, ready to keep experimenting.
"You…" Darren choked on his words. After a long, tense pause, he finally managed to ask, voice strained, "What do you actually want?"
"Me? I should be asking what you want. Why would a Prime Flame Sprite bother turning into Darren—trying to spook us?" Leon shot back, his tone light but cutting.
"I'm not trying to scare you. I just..."
"Just what? Looking for a couple of guides, I bet…" Leon’s grin was pure mischief. "You triggered the alchemy array, brought the Frost Elementals down on us, then disguised yourself as Darren hoping we’d panic and run back to Northend World. That way, you could slip out using the planar path we left behind. Honestly, not a bad scheme…"
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"I... I have no idea what you’re talking about!"
"Heh, don’t bother denying it yet. Once I’m done, I’ve got plenty of ways to make you confess…" Leon laughed coldly, continuing, "If I’m right, you’ve seen Darren yourself. That’s why you can copy his looks, his magic aura. You even know Darren’s biggest grudge is with Salomon, so you made it clear you wanted to kill Salomon right away. Too bad you didn’t realize, today, Darren wouldn’t dare kill Salomon."
With every word Leon spoke, Darren grew more flustered. In just a few sentences, he bungled seven or eight spells—unthinkable for a ninth-rank Archmage. Thank goodness his rune shield was tough, especially against these low-level Frost Elementals, whose attacks just bounced off.
Now, nearly two hundred Frost Elementals were piling onto "Darren," and with all his weird spell failures, the only thing keeping him alive was that rune shield.
Still, even with that, "Darren" was starting to crack under the pressure…
Right then, Leon piped up again: "If you really want to prove me wrong, it’s easy—just cast something that isn’t fire magic."
"I…" Darren immediately fumbled another spell, panic written all over his face.
"You’re not Darren, but you keep pretending and only use fire spells. What, do you think Salomon and I are idiots?"
...Salomon’s face went crimson. Tch, I’m nowhere near as cunning as you—how was I supposed to guess this Darren was some damned Prime Flame Sprite in disguise?
Still, while cursing inwardly, Salomon had to keep up a front of cool confidence…
No way was he going to admit he’d been fooled in front of everyone.
"So… what do you want? What’ll it take for you to let me go?" The Prime Flame Sprite, still disguised as Darren, finally stopped trying to argue.
It had run out of excuses, and it knew it.
Nearly two hundred Frost Elementals were attacking, and a human Archmage was flipping through "Elemental Spirit Capture Manual," searching for its true name. Every incantation Leon chanted brought a brief binding effect. Normally, that wouldn’t matter, but right now, it was pure agony—caught between two fires, even the proud Prime Flame Sprite had to swallow its pride.
"Submit to me."
"Impossible!" The Prime Flame Sprite snorted. "A king among elementals, submit to a human Archmage? Try again, human. I’ll admit you’re clever, but you’re not worthy yet—when you have Rudolph’s power, then maybe I’ll serve you."
"Wrong again…" Leon shook his head, completely unfazed. His voice was calm, almost gentle: "Worthiness isn’t just about power. So what if Rudolph reached Heaven-Tier? He still fell, and you escaped after burning his corpse to ashes. That’s not the kind of service I want—I want total submission."
"You’re insane…"
"Heh, you really think I don’t know your true name?" Leon’s voice dripped with sardonic amusement.
"Ridiculous. Not even Rudolph knew my true name. And you, a mere Archmage, think you can figure it out? Here’s some advice—stop wasting your energy. Make a real offer, or you’ll end up with nothing."
"Is that so? Saedus—remember, you said it yourself…" Leon flipped to the last page of the manual. There, only one incantation remained—a blood ritual to bind an elemental spirit. It was the most direct, and the most dangerous, method in the book.
If it worked, the caster would forge a soul contract with the elemental spirit.
If it failed, the caster would bleed out every last drop and die a miserable death.
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