"Are you ordering me around?" William Merlin's voice turned cold, his gaze toward Leon filled with undisguised disdain. "Matthew Merlin, do you even know who you're talking to? Just because those old geezers in the family told me to look after you, don't think you can actually..."
"I said put it back!" Leon's voice suddenly rose, a violent surge of magical energy rippling out. The air was torn with a ripping sound, and before William Merlin could finish his sentence, a sharp pain exploded in his chest—then his whole body was sent flying...
At the same time, the crystal vial slipped from his hand...
"If you want to get yourself killed, that's your business. Just don't drag anyone else down with you." Leon reached out and caught the falling crystal vial, carefully inspecting it before gently returning it to his pocket.
That vial contained the essence of Obsidian Bloom. Even a slight leak would mean not a single soul in the Gilded Rose would survive.
"Matthew Merlin, you actually dared to attack me?" William Merlin struggled to crawl up from the corner, his chest—struck by the force of a magical gale—burned as if branded by hot iron, the pain still searing.
But compared to the pain in his body, William Merlin was far more concerned with Leon's insolence.
As one of the Merlin family's brightest young talents, William Merlin's sense of superiority was practically innate. In his eyes, Leon was just an outcast from a minor branch—there were countless such outcasts in the vast Merlin family...
His arrival should have been worshipped as that of a savior, shouldn't it? He could free Leon from debt, and if he felt generous, might even make him a mage. He could give Leon a life ten, a hundred times better than before.
In William Merlin's view, this cousin ought to be grateful—kneeling in worship before him.
He never expected Leon to be so ungrateful!
Who do you think you are? Just an outcast from a minor branch of the family—you haven't even been acknowledged by the family. If we were in Auckland, you wouldn't even be qualified to use the 'Merlin' name!
For a creature as insignificant as an ant to dare strike at him—utterly reckless!
"Freeze!"
William Merlin pressed his hand to his chest, eyes blazing with fury. He spat out a sharp incantation, and a sheet of ice appeared at Leon's feet—Death's Chill, a fourth-level spell mastered only by Grand Mages. The ice spread rapidly up Leon's legs, and in the blink of an eye, Leon was frozen into a statue.
Then William Merlin's incantation shifted abruptly. Following Death's Chill came the Serpent of the Gale.
Yet another fourth-level spell!
A torrent of incantations poured from William Merlin's lips. The alchemy lab was swept by a wild gale, and a massive azure serpent coiled and roared in the wind. Even Farrow and Angmar, standing at a distance, could smell the serpent's foul breath.
William Merlin's incantations never ceased, his face twisted in glee. This time, he'd made up his mind—Leon had to suffer. These reckless outcasts would only learn respect for direct heirs after losing a limb or two.
He had to make Leon understand: even among Merlin blood, there was a hierarchy.
William Merlin's incantations grew louder, drowning out even the roar of the Serpent of the Gale...
At the final word, the azure serpent, reeking of rot, lunged at Leon. Its body, a meter thick, coiled tightly around the frozen statue. Even Angmar, the Grand Alchemist, couldn't bear to watch the bone-crushing carnage and shut his eyes.
"Matthew Merlin, this is what happens when you cross me." William Merlin finished coldly, then fell silent, waiting for the agony and desperate pleas that must follow.
But he waited. And waited...
After a long while with no movement, William Merlin grew curious. He glanced at the Serpent of the Gale, wondering if, in his fury, he'd poured in too much mana and killed Matthew Merlin outright. That would be troublesome—he'd have to waste breath explaining things to the old geezers back home...
Just as William Merlin was secretly worrying, the frozen statue suddenly erupted in flames...
No, not just the statue.
Even the Serpent of the Gale coiled around it seemed to ignite in an instant. It shrieked, but before it could even struggle, it was reduced to ashes in the fire. At the same moment, the ice statue shattered with a thunderous crash.
Then William Merlin saw a figure wreathed in flames step out from the flying shards of ice.
"El-El-El... Elemental Avatar!"
At that moment, William Merlin's jaw could have fit a whole egg.
And it never closed again...
Because the flaming figure crossed dozens of meters in an instant, appearing before William Merlin. A burning right hand seized William's throat, lifting him off the ground.
In his terror, William Merlin saw that figure's left hand rise...
Then—smack, smack—two crisp slaps rang out...
William Merlin felt a sharp pain on his face, humiliation surging in his chest. One of the Merlin family's most outstanding young heirs, slapped twice in a backwater town by a minor branch with no family legacy at all.
But at that instant, what rose in William Merlin's heart wasn't anger—it was fear!
He could feel the burning hand around his throat tightening, and the eyes behind the flames growing colder...
For the first time, this Merlin prodigy felt death so close. A flood of thoughts raced through his mind—curses, threats, pleas, cries for help—but in the end, he found he couldn't make a sound.
His breathing grew labored, hallucinations began to flicker before his eyes, his mind turning blank—his life force was slipping away, bit by bit...
"Knock knock knock, knock knock knock!"
At that moment, William Merlin was saved by a frantic pounding on the door. Remy, face flushed with anxiety, burst in and nearly jumped at the sight of Leon wreathed in flames. He waited until Leon dispelled the Elemental Avatar before daring to speak: "Boss Merlin, La-La-La... Lance, the Guild President, is here!"
"Alright, I'll be right there." Once Remy had left, Leon slowly loosened his grip on William Merlin's throat, watching the prodigy gasp desperately for fresh air in the corner, retching and panting. Leon crouched down, flashing a smile that made William's heart skip a beat: "Next time you touch anything in my alchemy lab, there might not be anyone left to knock on the door."
With that, Leon turned and left the alchemy lab.
Angmar was utterly stunned. Even William Merlin, a fifth-rank Grand Mage, was considered a prodigy in Auckland, but here in Seaview City, he was manhandled by a twenty-something like a chicken. This... this... surely his eyes were playing tricks on him?
Farrow, on the other hand, was long used to such things. Before leaving the lab, he even patted William Merlin's shoulder with a grin: "You really are lucky. After provoking Archmage Merlin, you still managed to survive. Oh, and don't forget to thank President Lance when you get out—he saved your life, you know..."
"La... Lance, the Guild President?"
"Lance, President of the Seaview City Alchemist Guild. Or you can call him Grandmaster Lance."