"Hahaha! Finally, I've found you, Merlin Clay!"

Merlin was startled and turned toward the source of the voice.

Standing there was a pitiful, shabby boy with an annoyingly arrogant face.

"Who are you?" he asked hesitantly.

Lucius: "..."

Lucius gritted his teeth and pointed at Merlin in anger.

"I am Lucius, prince of the Arcadia Magic Kingdom! Damn it! Have you forgotten me? How arrogant!" he growled.

He always thought he was the most arrogant person in the world.

Who would have thought Merlin was even more arrogant than him?

"Ah! It's you, Your Highness. I'm sorry; I really didn't recognize you." Merlin smiled shyly.

Honestly, he truly hadn't known it was Lucius. The boy's appearance was completely different from what he remembered.

The Lucius in front of him was a mess. His robe was covered in dust and dirt, and his hair was as messy as a beggar's.

If not for the introduction, Merlin would never have recognized him.

Lucius gritted his teeth, his eyes red with hatred.

He understood why Merlin hadn't recognized him—his appearance was a complete mess.

Still, it wasn't entirely his fault. Earlier, a teleportation magic circle had suddenly appeared and brought him to a strange place.

After wandering aimlessly, he had come across a terrifying sea of magma.

He carefully followed a narrow path, and without realizing it, he ended up meeting Merlin here.

After adjusting his emotions, he put on his arrogant expression again and said, "You just went to that altar, didn't you?"

His gaze locked onto the three-meter-high altar behind Merlin, and he commanded, "I know you must have obtained something valuable. Hand it over to me now. Otherwise, you will face terrible consequences."

The threat in his voice was enough to terrify anyone who heard it.

After all, he was a prince. In the royal family, he was deeply loved by both his parents and siblings.

If it were anyone else, they would surely obey his command. But would Merlin do the same?

Of course not.

Merlin walked up casually and replied indifferently, "Sorry, I can't give it to you."

His rejection wiped the smile from Lucius's face. He stared at Merlin coldly and scolded, "Merlin Clay, you're really brave! Do you truly want to become my enemy?"

Merlin rolled his eyes. He never understood why villains in fantasy novels were often so brainless.

Did they really think they were the center of the universe?

On second thought, it wasn't impossible. Since childhood, Lucius had always been spoiled by his family.

No wonder he had developed a main-character syndrome, believing himself to be someone important in this world.

Unfortunately, what Lucius didn't know was that his fate in the novel was the same as his own—a villain and nothing more than a stepping stone for Abel.

Although Abel's position had been replaced by Merlin, Lucius's fate remained unchanged.

Still, he wouldn't kill him directly. He planned to torture him both mentally and physically until the world around him went dark, with no one left to help him.

A sudden chill ran down Lyserra's spine. When she saw Merlin's thin, terrifying smile, her eyes widened in horror.

'His smile is so terrifying!'

Even she, who always claimed to be the strongest dragon in the world, felt uneasy under that smile.

Merlin quickly restrained his emotions and put on a fearful expression.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I don't want to be enemies with you. Please don't do that," he said frantically.

The sudden change in attitude surprised Lucius. Just moments ago, Merlin had seemed arrogant, but now he looked like a coward.

'Could it be that he finally realized how great I am and is afraid of my status?'

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, his face lit up with delight.

He folded his arms across his chest and snorted arrogantly.

"Good. You understand. Now hand over what you obtained."

However, Merlin remained standing in place, as if unwilling to move.

Lucius's dissatisfaction resurfaced, and his anger flared.

"Why are you silent? Are you really not afraid of me?" his voice rose.

"N-No, it's not like that!" Merlin shook his head fearfully. "It's just that I gave what I obtained to my guardian spirit. If you want it, you can take it from her."

At the same time, he gently stroked Lyserra's face. In an instant, the small dragon transformed into an adorable red cat.

Lucius didn't notice the change. From the beginning, his attention had been focused solely on Merlin.

When he turned to Lyserra, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"In that case, hand over your guardian spirit to me. I'll take it myself."

Guardian spirits were contract spirits bound to their owners through a soul bond.

Because of that, it was impossible to truly harm them, so he understood Merlin's choice.

Lyserra glanced at Merlin with dissatisfaction, but the boy pretended not to notice.

"O-Okay. But please don't hurt me, okay?" Merlin pleaded weakly.

His attitude only pushed Lucius's arrogance to its peak.

"Don't worry. If you obey my orders, not only will you avoid severe punishment, but you will also receive many rewards."

Hearing this, Merlin nodded repeatedly, as if he believed every word.

He walked closer, stopped in front of Lucius, and handed Lyserra to him.

Lucius took the cat and examined it from head to toe.

"What a strange guardian spirit. While others summon powerful guardians, you only summon a cat? Merlin Clay, you are truly disgusting," he sneered, looking at Merlin with contempt.

Merlin smiled awkwardly, though the frustration on his face was hard to hide.

Lucius noticed it but didn't care. He raised his right hand, and a blue fireball suddenly appeared above his palm.

"Say goodbye to your guardian spirit!"

Just as he was about to strike Lyserra's face with the blue fireball and kill her, something unexpected happened.

The Lyserra in his hand suddenly erupted with an incredibly bright red light.

Lucius was struck by a powerful force and sent flying dozens of meters away.

Fortunately, he stopped right at the edge of the cliff, directly facing the sea of magma. Otherwise, he would have fallen and died instantly.

"Damn it! What happened?!" Lucius yelled in rage.

When he looked up, he saw that Lyserra had transformed into a five-meter-tall dragon.

His eyes widened as he exclaimed, "A… a dragon?!"

His heart pounded wildly as cold sweat soaked his clothes.

He remembered clearly that it had been a cat just moments ago. How had it turned into a dragon?

In that instant, he realized he had been deceived by Merlin.

"Merlin Clay!" he shouted furiously. "You've deceived me!"

Merlin blinked innocently and tilted his head to the side.

"Deceived you? Since when?"

Lucius: "…"

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