Passerby Villain In A Wizard World

"Let's get this over with!"

While Ian and Carl were both looking at the mirror intently, Arvhael, on the other hand, finally controlled his excitement and prepared to capture the Breath of the First Flame.

Just like he expected, right now, the spiritual fire was dormant, only engulfing those fiery intents from its surroundings. It was preparing for its next burst of attack.

However, suddenly, its peaceful collection was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a lantern.

'A lantern? What is he trying to do?'

Ian, who was looking at everything intently, was stunned by the thing Arvhael took out from his mana ring.

However, before he could fully express his surprise, the simple lantern in Arvhael's hand suddenly glowed on its own.

First, it just lit up with a flicker of fire, but slowly it began to grow larger and larger until it directly took the shape of the fiery spiritual fire in front.

Even when he was far, Ian could clearly see and feel that the fire inside the lantern was exactly the same, or simply a replica of the spiritual fire that was concentrating peacefully with its eyes closed.

"Replace!"

Then, suddenly, Ian heard Arvhael's shout when the fire inside the lantern flickered and disappeared suddenly.

'What is he trying to do?'

Things were getting so weird that Ian was totally confused.

He didn't understand what Arvhael was trying to do until, suddenly, he saw something that made his eyes go wide.

'What the... how is this possible?'

He almost shouted aloud as he suddenly saw the replica inside the lantern disappear, and in its place appeared the spiritual fire—Breath of the First Flame.

Moreover, the spiritual fire was totally unaware as it was still in its dormant state, as if trying to absorb those fiery intents.

And the replica that replaced it in the original position slowly disappeared, as it wasn't the real one.

"Hahaha... that was quite easy."

Arvhael saw that his method worked.

So, he suddenly laughed out loud and quickly placed the lantern inside his special mana ring in excitement.

The situation went far better than he expected. He thought there might be some mishaps, or he might need to fight a little.

'But, it is better this way. Saves my time and effort.'

Arvhael was quite satisfied with the artifact he used—Ashbone Lantern, also a rare type of artifact.

Unlike others, it was a rare replica of a rule-based artifact that his family had made for him.

'Now that this is over, it is time to return.'

He thought, finally paying attention to the exit, trying to leave.

However, before he could do so, he suddenly noticed that even after the disappearance of the spiritual fire, the fiery intent didn't disappear.

Moreover, to his surprise, those intents suddenly coalesced into one and turned into the fiery spiritual fire he had just captured.

The process was so spontaneous and weird that even Ian, on the outside, was stunned.

That was because he could feel that this spiritual fire was more real than the replica, like the one created by that lantern.

"You bastard! Are you trying to default on your promise?"

Sure enough, as soon as Arvhael saw the weirdness, he immediately noticed that the entrance he came from was now closed.

So, he shouted aloud, extremely enraged, not caring about the spiritual fire that was beginning to stir restlessly.

However, it seemed Carl was bent on becoming a spectator; he heard no reply from above.

"Swish!"

Before Arvhael could express his rage further, the closed eyes of the spiritual fire suddenly snapped open as the entire cage began to boil, as if some abomination had awakened.

Then suddenly, its fiery eyes locked on the figure in front, which was covered in a tempest filled with extreme hatred.

"Boom!"

As soon as its gaze landed on Arvhael, the entire fiery intent left behind from the earlier explosion became restless and suddenly turned towards him.

Suddenly, the temperature of the entire area increased further, while the lava beneath began to boil, turning into tides attacking Arvhael relentlessly.

Even though there were tiny lotuses just like before, sprouting as if trying to explode.

"Damn! Bastard, once I'm out of this place, you peasants should count your days."

"Stormlash!"

Arvhael saw that he was attacked, so he just cursed Carl, then directly used his spell with the wand in his hand.

Although he was trapped inside, weirdly, he showed no panic, nor was he afraid of the spiritual fire in front.

"Swish!"

As soon as his chant was completed, the unremarkable wand in his hand suddenly crackled loudly as it directly siphoned a large amount of mana from the surroundings.

Then, suddenly, a crackling whip of lightning arced forth, snarling through the air as it viciously intercepted every attack hurled by the spiritual fire.

"Boom!"

The lightning whip tore through the fiery intent, shattered the explosive flares, and ripped apart the incoming fireball without pause.

Unrelenting, it surged onward and struck the spiritual fire dead-on, splitting it cleanly down the middle, dealing with it in one brutal, decisive blow.

Truly, when it came to raw destructive power, lightning reigned supreme as the fiery attacks didn't even stand a chance as they collapsed on contact.

And with that final, merciless strike, the spiritual fire itself was cleaved in two and vanished without a trace.

"Heh! Do you think you can stop me with this low-level copy?"

Arvhael said in disdain while capturing the lightning whip with his bare hand. Even now, the whip didn't disappear but honestly lay in his hand as if docile.

"Swish!"

However, unfortunately for him, the battle was far from over.

Suddenly, the mirror, which had remained eerily silent throughout the clash, began to glow with a strange, pulsing light.

Then One. Two. Three. Multiple spiritual fires, identical to the one just defeated, burst forth all around Arvhael.

They emerged like cursed blooms, densely surrounding him from every angle.

Each one burned with unrestrained fury, red eyes, while their intent remained clear—that was to obliterate the being standing in their midst.

"What? How is this possible?"

And of course, Arvhael was completely caught off guard as he looked at the multiple copies of spiritual fire around.

Although they were copies with limited power, that was the case when it was alone.

If such a large number of spiritual fires attacked him inside this cage, even he didn't know how long he would last.

'No... he isn't the one controlling the mirror.'

Once Arvhael discovered the weirdness, he immediately noticed that it wasn't Carl who was operating this mirror.

Otherwise, there was no way he could summon this many copies of spiritual fire like this. Even summoning one was hard.

You know, this ability to copy wasn't of this fragment but of its parent artifact, a legendary one.

This artifact could never be used for this feature at all since the artifact wasn't capable of that itself unless—

'Unless it is sentient!'

Arvhael came to a conclusion that sent a chill down his spine.

A rare artifact that was sentient—it was completely unheard of. It didn't even come into his mind before.

It wasn't without reason that Arvhael hadn't taken Carl seriously before.

If it were merely a rare artifact, he had countless ways to deal with it. No matter how powerful, he had methods.

But if it was sentient and, worse, beginning to evolve into a legendary artifact, then the problem became something else entirely.

"I was careless!"

Poor soul, he only now understood.

"That bastard didn't have control over this artifact at all. He was clearly playing around with me."

But did knowing everything now mean he could change anything?

Well, he had to ask those enraged spiritual fires that were beginning to attack him relentlessly.

Now, the battle had become a battle of attrition.

The moment he lost his focus, he would surely be suppressed and absorbed by this mirror.

After all, what it wanted most was the soul of a Wizard—especially one with a strong bloodline.

Otherwise, why would it make such a deal with Carl in the first place?

...

"Brilliant! So, this was your plan?"

Ian saw everything from beginning to end and marveled at Carl's treachery.

Although he also lamented that it was due to luck this plan was successful, he had to give credit when it was due.

After all, this guy was too full of himself and overly confident.

'Typical villain character.'

Ian mused, watching the intense battle that was beginning to take place inside the mirror.

However, unlike before, this time he saw the mirror itself rotating automatically.

Then, it slowly absorbed the mana from the surroundings while gradually decreasing in size, slowly caging Arvhael tighter and tighter, like a rat trapped in a shrinking cage, ready to be slaughtered at any moment.

'However, this guy is quite useful. Besides others, his lightning-type bloodline is extremely precious, not to mention his supposed status.'

Ian thought with a faint smile, letting the battle in front unfold.

But his gaze quietly shifted from spectator to opportunistic merchant, who was now analyzing the goods in front of him with interest in his eyes.