"Where?" Will asked.
"There!" Lisa pointed ahead. "The one wearing the black cloak, with the Magic Addiction Stone ring on his hand."
"I see him. Damn it, the priests are still so far away from him," Will said.
"Should we have the priests move faster?" Eddie suggested.
"No!" Will and Lisa said in unison.
"Why?" Eddie asked, confused.
"Doing that would alert him. If we rush them, there's a high chance he might start indiscriminately killing innocent people, and that would create chaos," Will explained.
At that moment, the man in black slowly raised his hand and aimed the Magic Addiction Stone ring at the distant king.
"This is bad! He's about to assassinate the king!" Lisa cried out in alarm. She then leapt out of the window, running toward the king's location with haste.
"Heh, die," the man in black sneered softly. In an instant, a violet shockwave shot out from his ring, heading straight toward the king.
"Boom!" A massive explosion erupted from the king's seat, sending thick black smoke rising. People scattered in fear.
"Quick! Assassin! Priests, surround him!" Mr. Lyon shouted. In an instant, the priests surrounding the cathedral surged forward, encircling the man in black.
"Hahahaha, the Paralar Empire will eventually become the territory of our United Nations!" the man in black laughed maniacally.
"You're celebrating too soon!" Lisa shouted.
"What?" The man in black turned in surprise to look at the king's seat.
The smoke slowly dissipated, revealing the king, unharmed, sitting in his chair, though his expression was one of shock. Lisa stood in front of him, her right hand raised, creating a magical shield that absorbed the attack.
"Magic user?" the man in black shouted.
"King, it would be better if you step back," Lisa said, glancing over her shoulder at the king.
"Oh... Oh!" The king snapped back to his senses and quickly nodded.
Two priests rushed over, assisting the king as they escorted him into the cathedral.
"Think you can leave?" The man in black shouted. He aimed his ring at the king again, unleashing another violet shockwave.
"Hmph!" Lisa extended her left hand, conjuring another shield to block the attack.
"Priests! What are you waiting for?" Mr. Lyon shouted.
"Ah!" In an instant, the surrounding priests drew their weapons and charged toward the man in black.
"Don't interfere!" The man in black spread his arms wide. A blast of freezing air erupted around him, instantly freezing the surrounding priests.
"Ah!" The man in black roared, unleashing a massive burst of energy from his body that shattered the frozen priests into pieces.
"This guy's incredible," Will muttered, reaching for his dagger.
"Damn it! They confiscated my dagger!" Will cursed, frustrated.
"Will!" Eddie called out to him, tossing his dagger to Will.
"Thanks, Eddie," Will said, catching the dagger and quickly climbing out the window, running toward the man in black.
"Another nuisance," the man in black snarled. He immediately aimed his ring at Will and unleashed a shockwave.
"Can't you people try something else?" Will dodged the shockwave with a swift sidestep, then leapt into the air, brandishing his dagger for a decisive strike.
"Hmph," the man in black sneered, extending his left hand. A whirlwind of rapidly moving air materialized above his palm, forming a small tornado.
"Will, be careful!" Lisa cried from a distance, seeing the tornado form in the man's hand.
"What?" Will, still falling through the air, exclaimed, confused, unaware of what was happening.
"Too late!" The man in black aimed his hand at the falling Will. The small tornado sped toward him.
"Ah!" Will screamed as the tornado struck, sending him spiraling through the air and crashing hard onto the ground.
"Come on, little girl, let's continue," the man in black turned, his gaze fixated on Lisa, standing near the king's seat.
"Damn it, you're a magician, why are you using Magic Addiction Stone?" Lisa demanded loudly.
"Magic Addiction Stone? This is a gift from Mr. M. Not everyone is worthy of it," the man in black answered with a twisted grin, looking at the ring on his middle finger.
"Hmph, Mr. M? You mean Merlin," Lisa sneered.
"Shut up! How dare you speak his name!" The man in black suddenly seemed to go mad with fury. He aimed his ring at Lisa and fired another shockwave.
"This trick won't work on me, don't you know that?" Lisa quickly extended her hands, conjuring a shield to block the attack.
"Oh? Is that so? Then how about this?" The man in black extended his left hand again, releasing a fiery burst from his palm aimed directly at Lisa.
Under the combined force of the Magic Addiction Stone's shockwaves and the intense fire, Lisa began to struggle to maintain her shield, beads of sweat dripping down her forehead.
"Hahahaha, do you understand now, little girl?" The man in black laughed victoriously.
"Ahhhh!" Will, who had gotten back to his feet, charged at the man in black. He tackled him to the ground, breaking through the sustained shockwaves and fire that had been relentlessly attacking Lisa.
"Lisa, attack him!" Will shouted.
"You brat!" The man in black, now on the ground, aimed his ring at Will and released a powerful shockwave.
"Ah!" Will sensed the imminent danger and shouted, quickly letting go and flipping over, narrowly avoiding the attack.
"Ice Arrow!" Lisa shouted from a distance. She extended her hand, sending a sharp arrow made of ice flying toward the man in black.
"What?" The man in black stared in shock at the incoming ice arrow. He quickly sprang to his feet, preparing to run.
"You're not getting away!" From the ground, Will reached out and grabbed the man in black's legs, preventing him from escaping.
"Crack!" The sound of ice shattering echoed as the ice arrow struck the man in black, encasing him in a thick layer of ice.
"Got him!" Will, still lying on the ground, lifted his head to see the frozen man in black, his voice ringing with excitement.