What Witch? This Alchemist is Breaking Bad!

Leon watched as Johnny led five subordinates into the mine, following from a distance.

One of the five carried a large shield and stayed by Johnny’s side.

The remaining four split into two teams, each pair responsible for operating a ballista.

The men Leon had brought hesitated as they neared the mine and did not dare approach further.

Leon did not force them and let them remain outside.

After all, against a Drake, they would be of little use.

After entering the Labyrinth, Leon noticed that Johnny and his men had not brought any lighting tools.

Just as he was about to ask, one of Johnny’s subordinates raised a hand, and a fireball suddenly ignited above his palm.

With a push of his hand, the fireball floated forward like a balloon, steadily illuminating the path ahead.

Seeing this, Leon realized that among Johnny’s subordinates there were also those who had received a Blessing—perhaps even all of them.

That was why they dared to challenge a Fourth-Level Magical Beast with only six people.

After the previous purge, the Labyrinth had become exceptionally clean.

The low-level Magical Beasts were either dead or taken out of the Labyrinth, and even the vegetation blocking the path had been nearly cleared away.

During the purge, some Magical Beast corpses had been left in the tunnels, but now they were nowhere to be seen.

Most likely, they had been devoured by the awakened Drake.

Before long, they reached the deepest chamber of the Labyrinth.

The subordinate began summoning more fireballs, sending them drifting in all directions to hover in midair and illuminate the entire space.

From here, they could clearly see the Hall built against the rock wall at the deepest part.

The entrance had been smashed into a massive breach by the Drake, and the interior lay shrouded in darkness.

Johnny’s men began setting up the ballistae.

They loaded the Whaling-Harpoon–Type Crossbow Bolts, and two men worked the winch together to draw back the heavy bowstring.

The tail of each bolt was connected to a thick Iron Chain.

At the other end of the chain was a rivet as thick as a spike.

One man lifted a massive wooden hammer and drove the rivet into the solid rock wall.

Then he raised his hand and cast a divine art, causing the surrounding rock to press inward around the chain and rivet, securing them tightly in place.

The subordinate beside Johnny stepped forward and planted the giant shield before him.

Johnny himself calmly removed the crossbow from his back and began loading it.

“If you’re going to watch the show, you’d better stand inside the tunnel. It’s already awake. The Lord of the Labyrinth can sense any intruder entering its domain,” Johnny reminded Leon without turning around.

As if to confirm his words, molten-gold light flared up from deep within the massive breach in the Hall’s wall.

Dragon’s Might surged from the depths of the Labyrinth like a tidal wave.

Yet what burst out from the darkness was not the Drake, but five gray-blue giant lizards the size of goats.

Horns like the Drake’s grew from their heads.

Their scales were as thick and heavy as stone, their backs covered in spines, and they had six legs.

They skimmed low across the ground, charging straight toward Johnny’s formation.

“Petrifying Lizards?” Leon was startled.

They were Third-Level Magical Beasts, like Demonic Wolves.

Their strength and speed were not exceptional, but they could exhale toxic gas that caused petrification.

It was said that once fully grown, even their gaze carried a petrifying curse.

A single glance could make one’s body stiffen—the closer the distance and the longer the stare, the stronger the curse.

“The Lord of the Labyrinth can create Magical Beasts. These are familiars created by that Drake!” Johnny calmly raised his loaded crossbow and took aim.

“Don’t look at their eyes!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled the trigger.

The bolt shot out, crackling with lightning.

Empowered by his divine art, the crossbow bolt transformed into a streak of lightning, striking the foremost Petrifying Lizard squarely.

It shattered its stone-like scales and pierced into its body.

The electric shock made the creature convulse violently before it collapsed to the ground.

Johnny reloaded with practiced efficiency and fired again, taking down three more Petrifying Lizards in succession.

However, the last lizard closed the distance during his final reload.

It leaped toward him, spewing toxic gas from its jaws.

At that moment, the shield-bearer beside Johnny rushed forward, smashing the giant shield against the leaping lizard.

A vortex of air gathered on the shield’s surface and burst upon impact with a thunderous sound like a balloon exploding.

The blast of wind pressure hurled the Petrifying Lizard backward and dispersed the toxic gas along with it.

At this range, Johnny no longer needed the crossbow.

He snapped his fingers, and a bolt of lightning sprang from his fingertips, striking the lizard.

It convulsed briefly before going rigid.

Leon silently observed from behind.

Johnny and his subordinate had received the Creator’s Blessing.

Among the Four Gods of Origin, the Creator governed the authority of matter and was often depicted in Church art as a craftsman.

He was the benevolent Heavenly Father who created all things, yet also the tyrant who controlled storms, thunder, floods, and earthquakes.

He was the patron deity of sailors, craftsmen, and artisans.

The Creator’s Blessing was said to allow one to command natural forces—to summon wind and rain, wield thunder and fire.

Johnny could summon lightning; his subordinate could conjure fireballs.

All of it was power granted by the Creator.

Leon recalled how Aaron Dias had effortlessly slain an assassin—summoning flames, manipulating gravity.

Clearly, Aaron Dias had also received the Creator’s Blessing.

Just as the Petrifying Lizards were eliminated, the Drake within the Hall let out a roar filled with Dragon’s Might and charged out violently.

“The appetizers are over, boys! The main course is here!” Johnny shouted as he raised his crossbow and fired a Thunderbolt Bolt.

But the Drake had already gauged the intruders’ methods through the Petrifying Lizards.

When Johnny raised his crossbow, it was prepared.

As the Thunderbolt Bolt flew, the Drake suddenly lowered its head and spread its umbrella-like, horned crest, blocking with its hardest horns.

With a clang, the lightning bolt struck sparks against its head crest.

The Drake charged forward, extending its neck and unleashing Acid Mist from its jaws.

“Move!” Johnny ordered.

The shield-bearer rushed forward, raising his shield.

The shield looked pitifully small before the Drake—barely half the size of its maw—and seemed about to be swallowed by the surging Acid Mist.

But the instant the shield rose, a gale gathered before it, forming a Wind Wall.

The roaring Acid Mist struck the barrier and was forced back.

“Ready—” Johnny drew his sword and pointed it at the Drake.

“Fire!”

The two ballistae positioned to either side launched simultaneously.

The Whaling-Harpoon–Type Crossbow Bolts slammed heavily into the Drake’s body.

No blood splattered; the bolts lacked the strength to pierce Dragon Scales.

Yet the barbed heads caught firmly between the gaps of its scales, hooking onto its body.

The Drake paid no heed to such trivial attacks.

Its focus remained on the shield-bearer.

Seeing its breath attack fail, it continued charging, intent on crushing him in its jaws.

Johnny drove his sword into the ground and raised both hands.

The subordinates operating the ballistae immediately retreated.

Johnny spread his arms and snapped his fingers.

Two bolts of lightning shot from his fingertips and struck the chains attached to the bolts.

The electricity coursed along the Iron Chains, surging through the embedded bolts and into the gaps of the Drake’s scales.

The Drake, brimming with momentum, suddenly convulsed under the intense electric shock and collapsed to the ground.

The shield-bearer seized the moment to retreat to Johnny’s side.

The Drake struggled to rise, its entire body twitching.

Johnny had already raised his crossbow, loaded and aimed at its eye, and fired a Thunderbolt Bolt.

The Drake, not yet recovered, could not evade in time.

The lightning-infused bolt struck its left eye.

For the first time, the Drake emitted a shrill, agonized howl and thrashed violently.

The chains tightened with its movements, restraining it.

The rivets embedded in the rock wall were pulled halfway out, cracks spreading through the stone.

If not for the earlier reinforcement by divine art, the wall would have shattered completely.

Johnny handed his crossbow to a subordinate to reload and took a deep breath, steadying himself.

Consecutive lightning summons had taken their toll, but now was the critical moment.

He snapped his fingers again.

Another surge of lightning traveled along the chains into the Drake’s scales.

The Drake curled inward, convulsing.

Johnny accepted the reloaded crossbow, aimed at its right eye, and fired another Thunderbolt Bolt.

A deafening scream echoed as both of the Drake’s eyes were destroyed.

Johnny had blinded it.

But in its final violent struggle, the rivets anchoring the chains were finally torn free from the rock wall, releasing it from its restraints.

Johnny discarded the crossbow, pulled his sword from the ground, and moved lightly toward the Drake’s flank, signaling his subordinate.

The shield-bearer understood and quickly moved to another position.

The Drake, just rising from the ground, was still lost in panic from losing its sight.

Hearing footsteps, it turned toward the shield-bearer.

The shield-bearer cast a divine art, summoning a gust that carried his scent toward the Drake while blowing away Johnny’s.

By then, Johnny had silently approached from the side and reached the Drake’s flank.

Johnny nodded to his subordinate.

Lightning began to coil around his sword until the entire blade glowed with a dazzling blue radiance.

“Come on!” the shield-bearer roared, smashing his shield against the ground with a thunderous crash.

Enraged, the Drake charged toward the sound.

In that split second, Johnny lunged forward, seized one of the horns on its crest, and climbed onto the Drake’s head.

It was an immensely dangerous move.

A slight misstep or delay would have meant being caught in its guillotine-like jaws.

But before the Drake could react and shake him off, Johnny drove his lightning-charged sword deep into the already-blinded eye, burying it to the hilt.

The lightning stored within the blade erupted inside the Drake’s skull, piercing its brain and traveling along its spinal nerves throughout its body.

The Drake’s body went rigid and crashed to the ground.

White smoke rose from its mouth, carrying the stench of scorched flesh.

“It’s dead—” Leon inhaled sharply, finally regaining his senses.

Johnny’s strength was undeniable, and his subordinates were equally well-trained.

Their coordination was flawless, like a precisely operating machine executing a plan tailored specifically to the Drake.

This was the combat standard of the Church’s Fully Appointed Knight Order.

To engage in trades forbidden by the Church and stand against its armed forces, one would need at least this level of strength.

“Stay alert. If there are other Fourth-Level Magical Beasts here, a second Lord of the Labyrinth may emerge,” Johnny ordered.

“A second Lord of the Labyrinth?” Leon asked casually.

“This Drake was undoubtedly the Lord of the Labyrinth. When a Lord dies, if there is another Magical Beast with sufficient mana level, a Lord Succession Phenomenon may occur.” Johnny glanced toward the Hall.

“But judging from the situation, that’s unlikely.”

Leon turned to study the Drake’s corpse carefully.

Its left eye was nearly destroyed, and its right eye remained half-open, the molten glow within gradually dimming.

Without warning, Leon was struck by intense dizziness.

The mana within his body began to churn violently.

Amid a ringing whisper, lightning-like images flooded his mind.

His vision expanded abruptly.

He saw the entire layout of the Labyrinth, and within the deepest Hall, its dilapidated interior—empty except for a massive Moilai Altar.

At its center lay a bottomless vertical shaft, from which invisible mana surged upward.

The images flickered away.

Leon shuddered violently, gasping for breath as cold sweat poured down his body.

A thought branded itself into his mind:

A new—Lord of the Labyrinth!