"No way—he's my target this time!"
The Soul Butchering Sect's second-rank wizard refused flatly. Wasn't the whole reason he'd come out here to capture this wizard?
"You've got it wrong. I'm not here to negotiate with you—I'm giving you an order. Since you're courting death, I'll oblige!"
But Avek couldn't be bothered to explain. He simply chose to act.
A torrent of violent power, brimming with arrogant dominance, coalesced into an illusory sacred-light domain and crashed down without mercy.
Boom!
A third-rank wizard's pseudo-domain was virtually an unsolvable threat to any wizard below the third rank. The Soul Butchering Sect disciples melted within the sacred light, their flesh and blood dissolving continuously as they let out piercing screams.
"Lord Gegewu won't let you get away with this!"
The second-rank wizard's silver spiritual power flared brilliantly around him as he transformed into a wisp of black mist, attempting to flee into the distance.
"Buzzing fly! Tell Gegewu to come find me himself!" Avek furrowed his brow, and his right hand seized directly toward the black mist.
Rumble! Boundless sacred light converged and formed into a massive claw wreathed in platinum-white flames. It scooped the black mist into its palm, the platinum-white flames flashing violently as screams issued from within—the same second-rank wizard from before.
As the flames continued to burn, dark wisps of energy seeped through the gaps between the claw's fingers. The silver glow of spiritual power gradually dimmed, then faded into silence.
In mere seconds, the Soul Butchering Sect disciple who had been so arrogant moments ago, who had driven Darenlai into a corner with no escape—was reduced to ash.
The sacred light receded, forming into an academic cloak with golden trim that materialized behind Avek.
On the ground, Darenlai stood as though rooted in shock. Only after a long while did she finally let out a shriek: "It's Avek! Lord Avek! A third-rank wizard powerhouse!"
For the White Wizards, Avek was synonymous with light and justice.
His overwhelming strength and terrifying authority were the goals these White Wizards spent their entire lives striving toward.
"You're the descendant of the Farell family?"
Avek completely ignored Darenlai as he descended slowly, gazing down at the wizard on the ground as though looking at a dead man. His voice carried the chill of ten-thousand-year-old ice, making one's blood run cold.
"Heh heh… another one!"
That wizard didn't even bother moving. Perhaps he knew that before a third-rank wizard, there was no hope of escape no matter what he did.
"You're very unlucky!" Two points of flame seemed to flicker in Avek's eyes.
"If the Soul Butchering Sect had caught you, they would only torture your soul for a hundred years at most. But I will torment your soul until it dies, extract every drop of your blood to create a bloodline-sensing magical item, and sever the Farell bloodline completely…"
Avek spoke as though he were describing the most ordinary of matters, but the killing intent and cruelty carried in his words made even Darenlai shudder.
"What's going on? Wasn't that young wizard being hunted by the Soul Butchering Sect? Why has he also offended Lord Avek?"
Darenlai's mind was still reeling.
"Wait—the Farell family? I think I've read about this… Before the Third World War, in the Battle of the Thorn Iron Gate, Avek's only son Jonathan was killed at the hands of Leilin Farell. And because of the modifications Avek had undergone previously, he'd lost the ability to produce offspring, so the two became mortal enemies…"
Darenlai's excellent academic performance meant she knew this piece of history intimately, and the words tumbled out before she could stop herself.
But the consequence of speaking without thinking was that Avek turned his gaze on her as well. The frost in those eyes forced her straight to her knees: "S-Sorry! Lord Avek… I didn't mean to—"
"Ha… haha!" The wizard on the ground burst into wild laughter. "Avek, you'll die without ever having children! Your bloodline deserves to be cut off!"
"Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! You'll all die!"
The scar being torn open twisted every muscle on Avek's face, and flickers of flame began to materialize around his body.
"All of you—die!"
A surge of radiant light erupted from his body. The milky-white death-light could dissolve flesh directly, killing wizards in the most agonizing way possible.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Amid the light, the sound of slow applause rang out, cutting directly through Avek's attack and forcing him to turn his gaze to the other side.
Only then did he notice the figure that had been standing there the whole time. The person wore a luxurious black academic robe and a mask, with absolutely no aura fluctuation whatsoever—so much so that Avek had overlooked them entirely until now.
This realization made Avek's pupils contract. A sudden, bad feeling stirred in his heart. A wizard who could conceal their aura so thoroughly was clearly no simple character.
"Who are you?" Avek stared coldly at Leilin. The longer he looked, the more familiar the other seemed—the half of the face visible below the mask was extraordinarily familiar to him, yet it seemed shrouded in a layer of fog, and he simply could not recall that name.