It had been three days since instructor Leonardo, the elders from the magician academy, and the various magicians from various families sat next to the barrier to wait for Elliot to come out. Jennifer Love was waiting for Lucy. John's mother was also anxiously waiting for him to come out. No one was here for Theo, though.
As they were waiting, a crack opened above their heads, and they all stood up in alert. Out of the swirling blue spot above their head, unfamiliar faces came out.
The first one to come out was a man in his twenties. He had silver hair and pointy hair. His skin was golden brown, something he had gained from training under the scorching sun for many years. A blindfold covered his eyes, but from his figure alone, one could determine that he was one of the most handsome men alive. He was wearing a silver robe with an intricate design in the back, shaped like the mark of a resistor.
The second one to come out was dressed entirely in black. His black clock had the same mark. His face was pale but not sickly. His eyes shifted between red and black as he gazed at faces too familiar to him; amusement and haughtiness tainted his curved lips.
In the next moment, a girl with long, golden hair came out. Her bright eyes matched her white dress that revealed her smooth shoulder and long, slender legs. She was like the sun, too bright for the mortals to look at her directly. Some lowered their heads subconsciously. She was holding a cute little monster with two heads in her hands. A monster that looked like ginseng was standing up straight on her shoulder, acting as he was a celebrity who was walking out of the airport.
"Instructor Leonardo, I'm back!"
After she stepped out of the portal, a black shadow dashed out of the portal and reached beside Leonardo in the blink of an eye. He was so fast that none of the elders noticed how he suddenly appeared before their leader. If he were here to kill them, they would've already lost their heads! They all sweated feverishly, feeling terrified.
"You, who are you guys?"
Most people weren't able to recognize them or Elliot. Compared to three years ago, he looked significantly different. The white as snow skin he had gained from evolving his superpower was still the same, but his demeanor had changed entirely. If previously, he was a wine the brewer had set to ferment, then now he was a profoundly fermented wine that had reached a state where others could drink it. His height had increased too. And he was wearing a magnificent golden black clock over a luxurious tuxedo and thick black boots, and the sword of life seemed strapped to his back. A black fingerless glove covered his right hand, and a reddish silver gauntlet was on his left. Nine rings decorated his fingers. All of them were artifacts.
At a look, he seemed like an overpowered and wealthy person who could drown others by using his money and gaze only.
The sound of step echoed clearly in the silence as Lucy walked towards her sister. After reaching her, she settled Grace on the ground, straightened her back, and hugged her.
"Sister, I missed you."
Jennifer was familiar with the warmth embracing her. She was familiar with the scent clouding her eyes. Jennifer was familiar with the clinginess of the girl hugging her. She immediately realized that it was her little sister Lucy! Although she had grown up a lot since the last time she saw her, she was sure she wasn't wrong.
She hugged her back and whispered, "Welcome back, Little Pumpkin."
At the same time, a ray of black flashed, and a pale man appeared in front of a mature man. Looking at the person who looked awfully similar to her husband, Lady Crimson was first shocked and then baffled when she heard what the person called her.
"Mom, did you come for me?" John asked. Honestly, he didn't like nor hate his mother. She ignored him but also cared for him from behind the scene. From his tuition fees to his careless expenditures, she was the one covering all of them. But at the same time, she wasn't like other mothers and didn't know how to express motherly warmth. He had tried for the first fortress years of his life to garner her attention and did his best in everything to make her proud, but the only thing he got in return was a distant gaze or a mere nod, not a single word of praise. Later on, he accepted his fate as a loser and gave up trying to win her favor.
To sum up their relationship in a single word, she was his financial provider. Other than that, they were complete strangers to each other. So, it came as a surprise to John that she was in this wilderness, surrounded by insects and trees, the thing she hated the most, because of him.
"It's good that you're fine. Let's go home." Lady Crimson nodded, grabbed his hand, and dragged him towards the vast flying artifact at a distance.
John could easily break free from her grasp, but he let her lead her.
Meanwhile, Instructor Leonardo blinked his eyes. The figures of the unfamiliar persons overlapped with two mighty people in his memories. One was a half-elven boy who killed an emperor-ranked beast with a single attack when he was merely a kid and was praised highly by the elven faction leader of the resistance organization. The second was the teenager who had face slapped the serpentine devil, a ranked demonic god!
"Elliot, Theo?" Instructor Leonardo blurted out, seemingly looking a bit bewildered.
Theo gave a slight nod and turned silent.
As he had no intention of saying a word, it was up to Elliot to do the explaining.
Elliot beamed, clapped, and said, "Your memories are as sharp as ever."
Then he looked at the mistress of the Charlotte Family, Richard Regis, and the representative of the various families who had participated in the bet!
"You guys should also sharpen your memories because whether you like it or not, remember it or not; I will be taking my winnings."
He finished his speech by opening a black hole in the air that shot out hundreds of things. So many shiny artifacts piled up on the ground that a small mountain of items got created!
Everyone's eyes widened like saucers! They had never seen so many things in a single place! Not to mention it belonged to a single person. Even the capital of many famous magician families paled somewhat compared to Elliot's wealth!
"Thud!" "Thud!" "Thud!"
The clanking sounds of thousands of items clashing on the ground pierced the hearts of the many people who had bet on Oliver and made them snap out of their daze. They clearly understood what Elliot was saying after presenting what he had gotten from the ancient settlement. He was here to collect his debt! They were going to lose a hell of a lot of money and reputation!
"Fucking hell!"
"He is my evil star!"
The expression of Richard Regis and the Charlotte family mistress instantly dimmed. Elliot was here to collect his winning! What did that mean for them? It meant they would be losing hundreds of artifacts! They could afford such a loss, but the damage their position would receive after the news spread out that they lost a significant part of their wealth to a youngster was going to be substantial!
"What are you guys gawking at, huh?" Elliot said as his eyes narrowed.
"Are you planning to go back on your words?"
When he said that, a dangerous glint flashed in his eyes. Those who were looking at him stepped back, worried that he might blast them to smithereens.
"I am not carrying hundreds of artifacts on me. You'll have to wait." Richard Regis said.
"The same goes for me. If you want it, then come to the Charlotte family." The mistress of the Charlotte family said.
Who was Elliot? A sly fox! She was willing to give him artifacts. So was Richard. But to get them, he would need to go to their home where resided the strongest humans, magic Emperors! After they give him artifacts to free themselves of the rules of the magic contract, who was to say that they won't attack him to get back their treasures?
At that time, Whether Elliot could come and go as he pleases in their home was another matter that entirely depended on his strength.
"Me too. I will give you the three artifacts I owe you after you visit the Barnes household."
"I second that."
The dozens of representatives of various magician families also had the same thing to say. All of them made some kind of excuse to avoid giving up their artifacts to Elliot.
"Che," Instructor Leonardo clicked his tongue and cursed them as shameless, not giving a damn who he was offending with his words.
"Who are you calling shameless?! Do you want to start a fight?!" One of the magicians opposite Elliot, Leonardo, and Theo said with a frown. He thought of himself as a noble person as he was a Magic Lord, and getting insulted by a mere instructor got on his nerves!
"It looks like you guys are still ignorant of the position you are in."
Before anyone could make a move, Elliot's stare turned stern, and his eyebrows gathered.
"Next time, before raising your voice in my presence, know full well that you'll end up dead like this man."
Along with his calm voice that held no regard for life, a gentle wind blew across the area as a mighty pressure descended on everyone. The one who was thinking of himself as someone strong fell to the ground. His knees bend, his back cracked, and his legs gave up. He was bleeding from different places and writhing in pain, but no one uttered a word. His neck cracked, and he died.
[You've killed a sergeant-ranked member of the serpentine devil!]
[You've decided to extract all the life out of him.
[You've gained 15000 units of the essence of life!]
The body of the so-called magic lord, who was actually a terrorist in disguise, withered in front of everyone's eyes.
They were speechless!
Above all, they were too scared and terrified!
Why?!
The corpse before them mysterious turned to mere bones and organs!
The trees around them mysteriously turned to dust!
The ground beneath their feet softened and started evaporating.
A land of a few miles evaporated.
The hill and a few mountains in the background also vanished!
It was as if a fucking black hole had opened up and devoured everything!
They also felt the reaper's scythe pressed on their neck.
They were all Magic Lords and Magic Kings, but they felt so vulnerable before Elliot's single move that they didn't dare make a move.
"It's good that none of you hurled an attack towards me. Otherwise, I would've already claimed your lives. Hahaha! Good judgment! You're all worthy of getting praised!" Elliot laughed and clapped his hands at them.
His laugh was extremely jeering to their ears.
Fucking maniac! Goddamn, tyrant!
They couldn't help but curse him in their heart!
They could only curse him as they were sure he could vaporize them if he ever wanted!
They knew that they wouldn't even be able to release their ability kingdom before he would kill them.
They gulped and waited for him to tell them what he wanted.
The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr𝒆e(w)𝒆bnovel