What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

Leon had anticipated this from the beginning.

Before entering, Weiss had already sensed three heartbeats inside the room.

One belonged to Ophelia.

One belonged to her female attendant.

The third did not seem human.

Its characteristics resembled those of a Magical Beast.

Leon had also obtained information about Ophelia during his interrogation of Bishop Beckett.

Ophelia’s Witch Blessing was called “Chimera.”

Using her own blood as a biological adhesive, she could perform organ transplants and limb grafts.

She could even graft flesh and transplant organs between different species.

The survival time of the grafted tissues depended on the level of her Blessing.

The Blessing could also be assisted by rare Magical Potions to forcibly fuse two lifeforms together.

For example, a dog and a Demonic Wolf could be merged and stabilized through continuous administration of Magical Potions.

Ophelia actually kept a dog.

It usually slept beneath her desk and served as a footrest.

But whenever Ophelia activated her Blessing, the dog could instantly transform into a Magical Beast and attack.

Leon activated Time Acceleration.

The Demonic Wolf’s pouncing motion immediately slowed.

Aiming directly at its eye, Leon stepped in and fired.

The bullet coated with Cursed Blood pierced the Demonic Wolf’s skull.

He then sidestepped the creature’s attack trajectory and avoided the bite.

Taking advantage of the Demonic Wolf buying her time, Ophelia retreated toward the wall.

She heard a series of gunshots echoing through the wall.

In truth, the very first shot Leon fired should already have alerted her subordinates outside.

Yet reinforcements still had not arrived.

Because the moment the gunshots sounded, the mercenary force Leon had brought launched an assault from the perimeter.

The gunfire that had originally seemed distant now sounded noticeably closer.

That meant the battle line was steadily advancing toward this location.

Ophelia’s people were fighting while retreating.

Leon had exchanged a few words with her earlier without expecting to truly deceive her.

He was not in a hurry.

If he captured Ophelia immediately and went outside, he would still have to face a large number of guards.

If Ophelia could have been fooled, she might have been useful for stabilizing the future Underworld structure.

Since she could not be deceived, he would simply wait until his people finished clearing the area.

While the Demonic Wolf delayed him, Ophelia reached the wall.

She crushed a pill between her teeth while raising her gun toward Leon.

Leon increased his acceleration further.

The instant Ophelia slowly squeezed the trigger, he leapt toward the wall and dodged the bullet.

Like a four-legged beast, he planted both hands and feet against the wall.

His claws tore cracks into the surface.

Using friction to briefly cling there, he pushed off and launched himself toward Ophelia.

At that moment, Ophelia’s body underwent a dramatic transformation.

A pair of horns emerged from her head.

A tail covered in red scales extended from beneath her skirt.

Scales appeared across parts of her skin.

Both hands transformed into savage reptilian claws.

She resembled a dragon-like creature, though no wings grew from her back.

This was Ophelia’s second-rank Demonic Transformation.

Her transformation had been specially selected and adjusted by Arachne through Magical Potions as part of the deal between the Witches' Assembly and the Earl.

Originally, Ophelia had wanted to become a Dragonkin.

The strongest Demonic Form possessed by Alice, the “Queen of the Witches.”

But Arachne had laughed at the idea, declaring that Ophelia’s talent could never withstand such a form.

In the end, Arachne used a potion created from a Fire Lizard fused with a small amount of Dragon Blood to grant her this half-dragon lizardfolk form.

Leon was extremely fast, but dodging the gunshot had disrupted his offensive rhythm.

Halfway through her transformation, Ophelia suddenly opened her mouth.

Firelight flickered within.

In this Demonic Form, she could breathe fire.

Leon pushed Time Acceleration to its limit while twisting through the air.

His sudden change in speed caused Ophelia’s aim to slip.

The flames barely grazed past him.

Ophelia swept her fiery breath across the room.

Leon rolled across the floor and took cover behind the overturned desk.

Ophelia seized the opportunity and rushed toward the doorway.

In truth, she still could not completely control this Demonic Form.

She had obtained her second-rank power by executing and sacrificing first-rank Transcendents within the organization who had committed mistakes, combined with Magical Potions supplied by Arachne.

However, truly mastering it required long-term absorption of mana from a Labyrinth.

She lacked the patience for that.

Every use of her Demonic Transformation still required potion assistance.

She intended to break through and escape.

Outside were not only her guards but also Magical Beasts modified through her Blessing.

If she concentrated her forces at one point, she might still have a chance.

Then a new figure appeared in the doorway.

The moment Ophelia looked up, she saw Weiss.

“Weiss Rogers!”

Ophelia roared.

She was just about to unleash flames at Weiss when Weiss raised a hand.

A cloud of icy mist surged toward Ophelia.

Ophelia crashed directly into it.

The droplets suspended within the mist were not water.

They were liquefied air.

Weiss had created them through the Creator’s foundational Blessing that altered the states of matter, combined with her ice-controlling divine art.

The extreme cold caused the droplets to hiss violently against Ophelia’s face.

Thick white vapor erupted.

Agonizing frostbite pain spread instantly.

Clutching her face shrouded in white mist, Ophelia screamed.

Her eyes were frostbitten.

The flames in her mouth died instantly.

Leon, still under acceleration, seized the opportunity and caught up.

He tackled Ophelia from behind.

His claws sank deeply into her shoulders as he injected the curse into her body.

Ophelia’s body quickly became numb.

The accelerated curse spread rapidly, causing her entire body to stiffen.

After confirming Ophelia was under control, Leon perked up his ears.

The sounds of battle outside were also beginning to fade.

Following the last few gunshots, Rena, who had been guarding the farmhouse above, nervously called down the passage:

“Leon, the outside has already been cleared. Have you finished?”

“It’s done,” Leon replied.

Carrying the petrified Ophelia over his shoulder, he walked out of the underground chamber and glanced outside the farmhouse.

“Mr. Fenrir.”

His subordinate Simon led the others in removing their hats and saluting.

“The area has been fully secured.”

Using the two Demonic Wolves brought from the Labyrinth as shock troops, along with bullets coated in poison prepared by Weiss, their combat effectiveness had increased dramatically.

More importantly, the intelligence provided by Bishop Beckett had given them a complete understanding of the location.

The operation had been completed with ease.

“Everyone, return immediately. We’re heading back to Arend Island!”

Leon strode forward carrying Ophelia.

What came next would be the battle that determined life or death.

……

Two days later.

Arend Island.

Bishop Beckett awoke in the fortress prison and began gasping for breath.

The prolonged petrification had left his body extremely weak.

Before his muddled mind could fully clear, Leon shoved the unconscious, blindfolded Ophelia in front of him.

Seeing the Earl’s daughter collapse at his feet, Bishop Beckett’s eyes widened instantly.

He stared back up at Leon in shock.

“That expression is a rare sight,” Leon commented.

Beckett quickly recovered his composure.

His voice turned cold.

“It seems I underestimated your madness and overestimated your intelligence. After doing something like this, you have completely eliminated any chance of survival. You don’t seriously think having her means Earl Foyle will be afraid to act, do you?”

“I’m not that naïve,” Leon replied. “But he won’t completely disregard her life.”

The Earl undoubtedly cared about his daughter.

Whether out of affection or pride, he could not tolerate someone like Leon causing him the pain of losing a child.

“Perhaps you can make that man suffer. But afterward, you’ll die a hundred times more painfully than he will! The moment something happens to Miss Ophelia, he’ll immediately know it was you,” Beckett warned.

“It would be troublesome if he didn’t know,” Leon answered calmly. “You can contact him now.”

“What?” Beckett frowned.

“Contact him. Let him speak to me.”

Leon looked down at Beckett from above.

“……”

After a moment of silence, Beckett activated his Blessing.

The instant the sigil appeared and Beckett was about to speak, Leon grabbed his throat.

His voice was cut off.

Cursed Blood numbed his vocal cords.

Beckett could maintain consciousness and sustain the Blessing, but he could no longer speak or reveal information.

“...Beckett?”

A moment later, the Earl’s deep voice emerged from the other side.

“Hello, Earl,” Leon replied.

“Fenrir.”

The Earl’s voice revealed no obvious emotion.

“Ophelia is in your hands?”

Ophelia’s hideout had been attacked.

With Bishop Beckett, the intermediary messenger, gone, information around the Earl had been delayed.

But two days was more than enough time for him to realize Ophelia had been captured.

“Would you like to hear her voice?”

Leon grabbed the unconscious Ophelia and removed her petrified state.

“Gah!”

Ophelia cried out in shock.

“Ophelia!”

For the first time, a trace of emotion entered the Earl’s voice.

“Father!”

Hearing the Earl’s voice, Ophelia immediately responded.

But with her eyes covered, she had no idea where she was.

Leon instantly grabbed her throat.

Just as he had done with Beckett, he numbed her vocal cords and tongue, preventing her from continuing.

“Earl, I’m on Arend Island,” Leon said slowly. “I’m giving you one day. Is that enough?”

“I’m already on the way. When I arrive, those two had better still be unharmed.”

The Earl’s voice was icy.

“Excellent. Whether that happens depends on whether you arrive on time tomorrow. If you aren’t here by five in the afternoon, I’ll execute Ophelia.”

Leon had no intention of giving the Earl additional time to gather troops.

“Before you die, would you like to watch the people you care about be violated, tortured, and killed right in front of you?”

The Earl’s threat followed almost immediately.

“If negotiations fail, we won’t give you the opportunity to kill us. Feel free to vent your helpless rage at our corpses.”

Leon’s reply remained calm.

This time, it was not the Earl delivering an ultimatum to him.

It was Leon delivering the final ultimatum to the Earl.

“And you still think you’re qualified to negotiate?”

The Earl’s cold voice carried a trace of disdain.

“If you don’t want to see your daughter’s corpse, then come face me. There’s nothing more to discuss.”

The moment he finished speaking, Leon tightened his grip around Beckett’s throat.

Beckett’s vision darkened.

The Blessing was interrupted.

Only then did Leon loosen his hand slightly and watch Beckett cough violently.

“You’re finished,” Beckett said after finally catching his breath.

“Pray that the next person you see is the Earl rather than me.”

With those words, Leon petrified both of them once again.