“You’re Lucas Gallagher. Are you an idiot for showing your face to us?”
“You must be Jared Murphy. It seems my foolish son caused you some trouble.”
“Leonard isn’t here.”
“I am aware. He came to me weeping, clutching the body of his granddaughter. I found it so pitiful that I killed him.”
Jared’s ears couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It wasn’t just him; Olivier and Jidock, who had also heard Lucas’s words, widened their eyes in disbelief.
“What did you just say?”
“Oh? I thought I clearly stated that I killed my son?”
“But he’s your son!”
“Precisely because he is my son. I pitied his foolishness for wailing over losing his daughter. So, I sent him to his reunion in the afterlife as my final gesture of kindness.”
“What a piece of trash. I don’t like Leonard, and what he did was wrong. Still, he devoted himself to you. How could you kill him?”
Jared had been on bad terms with his father for a long time. There had even been times he wanted to kill him. But he hadn’t. He couldn’t. Though their relationship had slightly improved, they were still far from a normal father-son dynamic.
Because of this, he couldn’t understand, nor did he feel the need to, Leonard’s feelings in dedicating himself to his father. Nevertheless, he didn’t believe that someone who had devoted himself should be killed by his father.
“Could it be that you’re angry over a son who opposed you? How kind of you, or perhaps it’s the余裕 of a true power, a Cap?”
The old man offered a thin smile, his lips curling upwards. His attitude wasn’t dismissive, but rather, one of finding something amusing.
“However, wasn’t it you who took Avril from Leonard? It’s quite ironic for you to sympathize with your son.”
“Shut up.”
“She had every right to resent what he did to her. Ah, I see, even if she resented him, she’s still troubled by taking Avril’s life in a way she didn’t desire?”
“Shut up!”
“There’s no need to worry. I’m not worried either. Avril was a rare daughter in this era, possessing the talent of a Jutsushi, but she lacked other abilities. While she had some use, she was too pleasure-seeking and emotional, making her difficult to employ. She was a bit too much to be used as a mere chess piece.”
“I said shut up!”
He was sick of hearing the man’s voice.
“What are you angry about? I am grateful. You disposed of my incompetent granddaughter. It saved me the trouble.”
“Just shut your mouth already!”
He generated a stone spear and hurled it towards Lucas’s mouth. A direct hit would be fatal, but he felt no regret. He was an enemy that had to be defeated anyway. He didn’t feel the need to fight an honorable, head-on battle.
“A good attack. My foolish son wouldn’t have won anyway.”
But the stone spear was effortlessly caught by Lucas’s right hand and shattered.
“Wh-!”
Jared was speechless.
Jared, now able to use all of his dormant Magic Power, launched an attack. Even though it was merely a stone spear, its strength and sharpness were more than double than usual.
Lucas had blocked a spear that could pierce a flying dragon with his bare hand, despite it being enhanced. Normally, his arm would have been torn off, and it would have pierced his jaw.
“You can interfere with Spirits as well, how unusual. Though you seem to be struggling to control it a bit, you’re using your Magic Power skillfully, and your completion as a Magician is high. I believe you’re sixteen, truly remarkable.”
“I am honored by your praise.”
He hoped his agitation wouldn’t show.
This was the man whom Leonard hadn’t resisted. He had expected him to be more powerful as a Magician than Leonard. However, to have an attack intended to kill blocked without the use of magic was beyond his imagination.
Lucas flicked away the fragments of the stone spear and walked a few steps towards Jared, extending his right hand.
“I value you. Come with me.”
“–W-what?”
“I truly have no companions, no comrades. They were all just pawns whom I used. But you are different, Jared Murphy. You are worthy of being my comrade. With your talent, already on the verge of reaching the pinnacle as a Magician at such a young age, you can walk the path I tread.”
“Don’t mess with me!”
It wasn’t Jared who yelled at Lucas. It was Olivier.
“I wasn’t speaking to a Non-magician. This is between him and me. Please remain silent, Olivier.”
“No, I will not remain silent. Jared is my Fiancé! To try and lure my future husband into your wicked schemes right before my eyes, you have quite the nerve.”
Lucas glared at Olivier with sharp eyes, possibly annoyed by the interruption, but Olivier didn’t back down an inch.
Instead, she stepped forward and raised her voice.
“You have no comrades, you say? That’s none of my business. Frankly, who would follow someone who kills their own son? Many people followed you, but they undoubtedly followed Leonard Gallagher, not you.”
“Oh? And pray tell, why is that?”
“Because, even from my perspective, you don’t seem like someone who could command the loyalty of others, do you?”
