【Blink】!
Leo’s figure vanished into thin air, instantly widening the gap by twenty meters and narrowly evading Leon’s massive fel-infused claws, which were powerful enough to shatter city walls.
The moment he landed, his entire aura shifted, as if a precision combat machine had begun operating at full capacity.
【Icy Veins】!
An extreme chill instantly froze his body. The frigid cold reinforced his fragile blood vessel walls, allowing them to withstand the turbulent, overloaded surge of violent mana. His casting speed and mental reaction time were forced up by 30%!
Leo’s left fingers flew with incredible speed, compressing complex magic circles to their limit—five casts per second!
A chaotic barrage of low-level spells swarmed Leon like mosquitoes, harrassing and distracting him.
Meanwhile, his right hand was eerily tucked behind his back. Almost invisible 【Mana Threads】 danced at his fingertips, connecting him to Gareth in the distance as he frantically analyzed the structure of that 【Fel Shackles】.
Multitasking! Dual-threading!
“Roar! Little bug! Is running all you can do?!”
Leon let out a furious roar. The demonic wings on his back flapped, stirring up a wind of blood as he charged forward like a cannonball.
“Rise.”
Leo slammed his left hand onto the ground.
Boom!
Three thick earthen walls rose from the earth, only to be smashed into dust the instant Leon made contact.
But that fraction of a second was enough.
【Mirror Image】!
Three identical copies of Leo instantly fanned out across the battlefield. All four figures began chanting simultaneously, and a torrential rain of 【Frostbolt】, 【Fireball】, and 【Arcane Missile】 bombarded Leon!
Clang, clang, clang—
However, as these spells struck Leon’s fel-burning, keratinous skin, they only produced a series of sparks, leaving behind nothing more than shallow white marks.
“Hahahaha!”
Leon forced his way through the barrage. He casually crushed one of the mirror images, letting out a contemptuous, mad laugh:
“Are you just scratching an itch? Is this all you’ve got?!”
“Tsk, I can’t even break his defense. I really am just giving him a massage.”
Leo’s original body used a smooth 【Lightness】 combined with a slide to evade an attack, his brow furrowed slightly.
The gap in power levels was too vast.
Even with his mechanics pushed to the limit, a low-tier crowned-level facing a peak palace-level was like trying to poke a tank with a toothpick—purely the work of a pedicure specialist.
Just as Leo’s brain was whirring at high speed to find a solution...
A strange ripple suddenly came from behind him.
“Small fry! Take this! This is a gift from this princess!”
Though Lucrezia still couldn't skillfully control her awakened power, the instinct in her blood drove her to raise her hands.
Behind her, a pitch-black silhouette of a giant dragon flashed momentarily, its wings seemingly blotting out the sky.
【Ebon Might】!
A deep black stream of light shot across the battlefield and merged into Leo’s body.
“Hmm?”
Leo felt his body grow light. His mana circuits, which had been running somewhat sluggishly, suddenly surged. His spell power increased significantly, visible to the naked eye!
“Is this... an attribute buff?!”
Leo casually threw out a 【Frostbolt】.
Pfft!
The ice bolt, which previously would have just made a clinking sound, actually pierced deep into Leon’s shoulder this time, causing a spray of blood to erupt!
“Agh!” Leon roared in pain.
“Holy crap? This buff ratio... is at least 50%?!”
Leo was shocked and couldn't help but look back at the pale-faced loli:
“So this is a dragon-blooded sorcerer? They just have to eat, sleep, and awaken to get stronger. Talk about low-skill, high-reward...”
He felt a pang of cursed jealousy!
However...
The cold light in Leo’s eyes intensified.
“Since I can break his defense now, things are much simpler!”
He clenched his left hand into a claw.
【Frost Nova】!
The shattered ice shards that had seemed like mere scratches but were actually embedded all over Leon’s body became a lethal setup at this moment.
“Freeze!”
【Deep Freeze】!
Crack, crack, crack—
Extreme cold erupted! Leon’s massive frame suddenly stiffened. The fel flames on his skin were instantly suppressed as his entire body was turned into a giant ice sculpture!
Dammit... can I only hold it for two seconds?
“Enough!”
The runes in Leo’s eyes spun wildly as all his mana was converted into violent fire elements at that instant.
【Pyroblast】!
【Pyroblast】!
【Pyroblast】!
A triple-cast of instant-fireballs!
This was the romance of a mage! Utilizing the guaranteed critical hit effect from 【Deep Freeze】, he poured out tons of damage in an instant!
“Boom! Boom! Boom—!!!!”
A violent explosion erupted on the ice sculpture. The physical reaction of extreme ice meeting extreme fire caused three horrific, bloody holes to be blasted into Leon’s chest, deep enough to see bone!
Dust and smoke filled the air.
“Did it work?!”
In the distance, Gareth and Lucrezia both widened their eyes.
“No... it can't be that simple.”
Leo didn't relax for a second; instead, a strong sense of danger rose within him.
“Roar—!!!!”
A dark shadow lunged out of the dust!
Though Leon’s chest was a mangled mess of flesh, his fel energy burned even more intensely. He was moving as fast as if he were teleporting!
“Die, you brat!!”
Bang!
【Arcane Barrier】!
Leo’s reaction was instantaneous as his shield snapped open.
At the same time, Lucrezia instinctively waved her small hand.
【Landslide】!
The ground rose sharply as several stone spikes crossed in front of Leon, slightly hindering his momentum.
But the absolute difference in strength remained!
Crack!
The Arcane Barrier lasted only 0.1 seconds before shattering. Leo was sent flying like he’d been hit by a truck, coughing up blood as he smashed into the ruins.
“Cough, cough...” Leo felt like his internal organs had shifted. His health bar had plummeted to the bottom.
“Small fry!”
Lucrezia cried out in alarm.
She took a deep breath, her small chest expanding significantly as if a volcano were hidden within her tiny body.
【Deep Breath】!
Whoosh—!
A red-gold dragon breath erupted, instantly covering both Leo and the pursuing Leon.
When the flames touched Leon, they were a soul-searing agony, but when they fell on Leo, they turned into warm vitality, rapidly repairing his injuries!
“Damned little bug! I’ll kill you first!”
Leon, howling from the burns, suddenly realized that this little girl seemed to be the biggest problem.
He abruptly changed direction, his hideous claws lunging straight for Lucrezia’s head!
“Ah!”
Lucrezia had no movement skills. Looking at the approaching shadow of death, she closed her eyes in despair.
Am I going to die...
“Rise!”
At the critical moment, Leo’s raspy voice rang out.
Boom!
A stone pillar rose without warning from beneath Lucrezia’s feet, launching her into the air like an ejector seat!
Leon’s claws grazed the pillar, slicing through its base.
“Float.”
Leo pointed a finger, casting 【Feather Fall】 on the airborne Lucrezia.
Then, his gaze turned fierce as he looked at the crumbling rubble.
“Stone Prison!”
The debris instantly reorganized, forming a solid stone prison that briefly trapped Leon just as his old momentum faded and his new strength had yet to gather.
Leo didn't retreat; instead, he charged right in front of Leon.
His right hand—the one he had kept behind his back, never using it for casting until now—finally let go of all the 【Mana Threads】.
Tap.
Leo’s palm gently pressed against Leon’s fel-burning chest. In a voice only the two of them could hear, he whispered:
“Omae wa mou shindeiru.”
“Nani?!”
Leon’s pupils shrank violently. A surge of arcane energy that made his soul tremble erupted from that seemingly gentle palm!
【Touch of the Magi】!
Hum—
A purple arcane mark was burned deep into Leon’s body.
Mark effect: For the next 10 seconds, all damage taken by the target will be detonated all at once when the duration ends!
“Get lost!!”
Sensing a fatal threat, Leon unleashed all his power to shatter the stone prison. With a backhand swipe, he swatted the mana-exhausted Leo away once again!
Pfft!
Leo rolled over a dozen meters like a ragdoll. But as he lay on the ground looking at the sky, a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Cough, cough... Gareth! Now’s your chance!”
“Shatter!”
The moment Leo’s words fell.
A golden figure descended from the sky like a meteorite, landing right behind Leon!
It was Baron Hawthorne—Gareth—who had just been freed from the 【Fel Shackles】 by Leo’s single-handed effort!
At this moment, Gareth was covered in blood, his eyes crimson, and his greatsword was dancing wildly!
This was the ultimate secret technique that only palace-level warriors could master, capable of delivering a series of precise and powerful strikes in an instant.
【Crushing Strike】!
“For... the family!!”
Gareth roared with endless grief and indignation as he swung his sword down!
Splat—!!!
The greatsword carved through Leon’s hardened demonic hide without resistance, nearly splitting him in half!
At the same time...
The ten seconds were up.
The 【Touch of the Magi】 mark Leo had left behind absorbed the horrific damage of that single strike and instantly overloaded!
“Boom!”
Purple arcane radiance exploded inside Leon!
“Aaaaaagh—!!!!”
Leon let out a shrill, agonizing scream. Half of his body was vaporized in the explosion. His massive demonic form collapsed, his aura plummeting to rock bottom as he entered a near-death state.
“Huff... huff...”
Gareth gripped his greatsword, looking at the writhing mass of flesh at his feet. He raised his sword high, prepared to deliver the final blow.
“No... please...”
From that mass of flesh came a faint, tearful plea:
“Father... save me... it hurts so much...”
It was Leon’s voice.
It was the voice he used to have as a child when he fell down and asked for help.
Gareth’s sword froze in mid-air.
His hand was trembling.
Even a warrior with a heart of stone would soften for a fleeting moment when faced with his own flesh and blood begging for mercy.
However...
In that single moment of hesitation.
A glint of extreme malice and cunning flashed through the dim eyes of the near-dead Leon!
“Go to hell, old man!!”
His one remaining claw gathered the last of his fel energy and lunged toward Gareth’s defenseless throat!
Gareth’s pupils dilated.
It was over.
Regret instantly flooded his mind.
Just as the claw was a mere fraction of an inch from his throat...
Swish—!
Thwack!
A grey blur and an almost transparent ice spike struck simultaneously from both sides!
Vespa had somehow crawled out of the ruins, her poisoned dagger precisely piercing Leon’s heart from behind!
And the ice spike, reinforced by 【Ebon Might】, silently pierced through Leon’s temple, scrambling his brain!
It was Leo, lying on the ground, using his last bit of strength to cast an instant 【Glacial Spike】.
But from Gareth’s perspective, he only saw Vespa’s ruthless backstab.
There, Vespa had a look of satisfaction on her face, as if saying, “Daring to hit this kitty? Now you’re dead for sure.”
Leon’s movements froze instantly.
The malice in his eyes solidified before slowly fading away.
“I’ll... be waiting... in hell...”
He looked at his father, left a final curse, and collapsed heavily, completely breathless.
In the courtyard, only the sound of the wind remained.
The greatsword in Gareth’s hand hit the ground with a clang.
He fell to his knees beside his son’s corpse, buried his face in his hands, and let out a heart-wrenching wail:
“Leon... No—!!!!"
Rate on N.U.
