Luke continued with his demand, his voice carrying the confident tone of someone who knew he held all the leverage.

"We both have to sign an official, binding contract. You and your friend cannot harm me in any way, shape, or form—not physically, not through proxies, not through hired help. Nothing. And you cannot share information about this transaction with anyone. Not your guild, not your clan, not anyone."

After delivering his terms, he reached into his own storage bag strapped to his chest and pulled out a contract—a magical contract that glowed with intricate runic patterns along its edges. Whirr… hum… The parchment pulsed faintly with life. This was the same foundational technique used in slave contracts, employing ancient binding magic that was nearly impossible to break without catastrophic consequences.

He passed it across the table to Sylphia with a satisfied smirk.

She took it with trembling hands and began reading without saying anything. Her golden eyes scanned every line, every clause, searching desperately for loopholes or escape clauses.

The faint runes along the paper shimmered with an eerie pulse, bzzt… bzzt, casting ghostly reflections in her golden eyes. The parchment felt oddly warm, like skin under fever.

Minutes passed in tense silence. Tick… tick… tick.

When she finished, her heart sank. There were no loopholes. She couldn't think of any way around this ironclad agreement.

After this transaction—this massive defeat—this bastard would practically walk free with an invaluable technique. And I'd be powerless to stop him.

The thought of breaking such a contract didn't even seriously enter her mind. Violation would result in her mana core being destroyed automatically by the binding magic. She would lose all her strength, everything she'd worked her entire life to build.

Sure, after becoming powerless, she could use her connections to have him killed through official channels. But that wasn't a price she was willing to pay. Sacrificing her entire future for revenge was madness.

Biting her tongue hard enough to taste blood, tch, she faced the impossible choice. She had to accept this deal, or Bunbun would be trapped forever as a slave.

She was losing an invaluable treasure, which was heartbreaking in itself. But more than that, this entire encounter had hurt her pride in ways she'd never experienced before. To be outmaneuvered, trapped, forced into submission by a scum like this—it was almost unbearable.

Thump.

But I'm not giving up.

In her mind, a new plan was already forming. She would find some way to undo this contract eventually. There had to be loopholes she hadn't seen yet, powerful artifacts that could break bindings, ancient magic that could circumvent these restrictions.

And when she finally freed herself from this magical chain...

I'll enjoy slowly killing this bastard. I'll make it last for days. Weeks if possible.

"I accept," she said through gritted teeth, her voice barely above a whisper.

She had no choice.

In that same moment, Leon stood up from his seat at the roulette table. The area around him was suddenly empty—Seraphine and Loriel were no longer beside him. They'd moved according to the plan he'd telepathically shared moments ago.

The dealer noticed his movement and asked with false concern, "Sir, are you leaving now?" His smile never wavered. "Why don't you play some more? You were very lucky at the start—you might start winning again!"

Leon just looked at him directly, staring straight into his eyes with his mystical gaze. His pupils consisted of ever-shifting colors like broken glass catching light, with gold being one of the dominant hues. His eyes were cold, staring into the dealer's eyes as if looking directly into his soul.

The man panicked slightly, his professional demeanor cracking. He stuttered while trying to continue his pitch. "Have a go—"

But he was stopped mid-sentence as a single word left Leon's mouth.

"Quiet."

Pop!

The man's head exploded into pieces, skull fragments and brain matter flying everywhere in a grotesque spray. Splaaat! Blood splattered across the roulette table, the walls, and the floor.

The sickening pop was followed by the wet splatter of gore across the walls. Drip… drip… drip. The air filled with the sharp, coppery stink of freshly spilled blood.

None of it touched Leon. Wind protected him under his guidance, creating an invisible barrier that deflected every droplet. Whoosh.

But Leon was a bit shocked internally. Oh shit. I didn't expect that.

He was almost joking about the situation in his own mind—it had been completely unexpected.

He'd tried leximancy, one of the unique traits of his new race, just out of curiosity to see what would happen. And this was the result.

The rest of the people inside the establishment were freaking out.

Aaaaah!

Complete chaos erupted—screaming, people scrambling away from the corpse, chairs overturning as patrons tried to flee. Crash! Clatter!

But those who had been physically close to Leon when he'd spoken were in even worse condition. Other than the dealer whose head had literally exploded, several others were bleeding from their ears and mouths, clutching their heads as if suffering severe concussions. A few had passed out entirely and collapsed on the floor unconscious.

It was not looking good for them.

It was much more powerful than I imagined, Leon thought with dark amusement.

But then a flicker of genuine worry crossed his mind. He looked toward the adjacent table—his priority was making sure he hadn't accidentally killed the bunny girl and the wolf girl. They were innocent in all this, and harming them would defeat the entire purpose.

The chaos that ensued around him didn't receive his focus. There was someone else who would take care of containing the situation and making sure no one escaped this place—Seraphine and Loriel were already in position by the exits.

A low ringing sound echoed in the background, bzzzzzz, like broken bells inside their skulls. Their eyes darted wildly, struggling to focus through the haze.

The bunny girl's ears were bleeding slightly, and a small trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth. She was conscious but confused, her red eyes unfocused and dazed.

The wolf girl was conscious, too, but looked shocked. There was slight blood on the corner of her mouth as well, though less than the bunny girl.

Luke was in the worst condition of the three, with the same symptoms as the bunny girl but more severe—both ears bleeding heavily, blood pouring from his nose and mouth.

Leon arrived at their table in a single smooth motion. Fwoosh. He healed both girls in seconds with his life element, green light washing over them and sealing their injuries instantly. At the same time, his hand moved too fast for any of them to comprehend.

The technique scroll sitting on the table vanished, swish, now securely in his possession.

He showed a slight smile to the wolf girl and said casually, "I'll be taking this."

Luke's voice cut through the chaos—confused, angry, disbelieving. He stood up shakily, one hand braced against the table for support.

"Who are you?!" His voice cracked slightly. "That is mine! You can't just take it!"

He looked desperately at Sylphia and shouted loudly, "Say something! Tell him it's part of our deal!"

But he got no response from her. She just stared at Leon with a mixture of shock and something else—maybe relief? Maybe horror at this new complication?

Luke gritted his teeth, grrhh, fighting through the dizziness from the weird attack that had just happened. Despite everything, he wasn't going to give up on the Epic ranked technique.

He may not be very strong personally—only possessing the strength of a three-star adventurer—but he had power in numbers. Trained guards, loyal enforcers, people who owed him favors or feared his connections.

"Attack him!" Luke shouted to his men throughout the establishment. "All of you, now!"

Immediately, twenty people who were still capable of fighting drew their weapons and started rushing at Leon from various directions. Clang! Shing! Steel flashed in the lamplight as they converged.

But Leon didn't even glance at the approaching threat.

A flash of purple lightning suddenly moved through the crowd, crackling, followed by a green blur. Seraphine and Loriel had engaged, and the clash began in earnest.

Men started dropping one after another—some unconscious from Seraphine's electrified strikes, others immobilized by Loriel's precise attacks augmented with her Aura. Thud! Thud!

One particularly sneaky attack came to Leon from below, a poisoned dagger aimed directly at his heart. The blade was mere inches from penetrating when Leon's hand moved.

He caught the dagger between just two fingers, stopping it completely without even turning around.

Then he smiled, his eyes chilling as he looked directly in Luke's terrified eyes.

"Aren't you a sneaky one?"

With just those two fingers still gripping the blade, Leon took the dagger and threw it with supernatural speed. Whizz! The weapon became a blur, landing directly on Luke's foot with devastating force.

Thunk!

The impact created a gaping hole straight through flesh and bone. Luke's foot was lodged into the wooden floor beneath, pinned there by his own weapon. Blood began pooling immediately around the wound.

His scream echoed through the establishment, Aaaaaaagh!—raw and agonized.

Leon didn't stop there. His right hand shot forward and gripped Luke's neck, fingers wrapping around his throat with crushing pressure.

Luke struggled desperately, writhing in Leon's iron grip. Ghk—ghk. His hands clawed uselessly at the arm holding him, his face turning purple as oxygen was cut off.

Suddenly, a feminine voice rang out clearly through the chaos.

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