Wizard With Daily Task Panel!-Chapter 66: Truth About Alfonso!

The demon’s voice dipped low, almost like a final whisper. "What do you know best?"

Leonard was about to take another cautious step back when he suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching. He turned, only to see Wizard Merlin walking into the room with his usual deliberate stride. But it wasn’t just the wizard who entered. Trailing behind Merlin was a towering six-armed snake demon, its scales glistening in the dim light. Perched on the demon’s broad shoulders was a man, wearing a wizard’s robe, exuding an aura of authority.

As they entered, Merlin’s eyes immediately flicked to the demon sacrificial array, still humming with residual energy. The dark aura in the room seemed to shift at his presence.

"Ah, my dear friend," the demon’s voice echoed from the array, a rich laugh following closely behind. "Is this assistant of yours going to be useful? Lorene here is the six-armed demon I trust most. Her strength won’t disappoint."

Leonard couldn’t help but notice the demon’s mocking tone, as though it found some amusement in the arrangement.

Merlin, unfazed by the words, nodded. "Not bad. We’ll continue our cooperation next time, but please, refrain from making my assistant a casual investment." His voice was calm but edged with a warning.

The demon on the other side let out a deep, throaty laugh, the sound echoing through the room. "Hahaha, I’m simply making a small investment," it chuckled. The atmosphere thickened with an unspoken understanding, as though both parties were playing an elaborate game.

"The mission is complete. You can return now," Merlin said, turning toward the six-armed demon.

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Lorene, the imposing demon, glanced briefly at Merlin before lowering the man on her shoulders to the ground with careful precision. With a swift twist of her enormous tail, she slithered into the demon sacrificial magic circle, disappearing in a flash of light.

As she vanished, the sacrificial array began to collapse. The blackened, charred corpse in the center started to solidify, its edges crumbling away as it was slowly drawn into a whirling vortex at the center of the magic circle. It disappeared without a trace, leaving the room eerily quiet.

"You did well," Merlin remarked, his voice almost approving. "But remember, you always be cautious when dealing with demons."

Leonard stood still, processing the scene unfolding before him. There was something chilling about the casual manner in which demons were manipulated, used as tools in the wizard’s world. But it was clear that Merlin had done this many times before.

"Those... ’investments,’" Merlin continued, his tone shifting, "were gifts from Simon for you. Whether you accept them is entirely up to you."

Leonard’s thoughts raced. Simon? Was that the demon he had communicated with earlier? The one who had tried to form a partnership? The revelation sent a ripple of unease through him.

"Everything is up to you, teacher," Leonard replied respectfully, though his mind was already whirring with questions.

Merlin gave a curt nod before pausing mid-sentence, his gaze hardening slightly. "Well, you can stay if you like." But then, his expression shifted, and he turned to face Leonard fully. His eyes, usually hidden behind the curtain of his demeanor, bore into Leonard with an unsettling intensity.

"When did you figure it out?" Merlin’s voice was cold, almost challenging.

Leonard felt a chill creep up his spine, but he met Merlin’s gaze with unwavering calm. "Your appearance may change," he said steadily, "but your habit of placing lab equipment always stays the same. Also, many of the questions on the parchment scroll align with knowledge found in your diary. You didn’t intend to hide your identity from me from the beginning, did you?"

Merlin or whoever he truly was—paused, and for a moment, his expression cracked, revealing something unexpected. A laugh, low and genuine, rumbled from him.

"Hahahaha!" Merlin’s shoulders shook slightly with laughter. "You really are sharp, aren’t you? Just like I hoped."

Leonard felt a wave of realization wash over him. This was no ordinary wizard. Merlin was hiding more than just a few tricks, he was a master of deception.

"You’ve really impressed me, Leonard," Merlin said, his tone now shifting to one of something like pride, or perhaps something more calculating. He turned toward Leonard, his eyes glinting with an unreadable emotion. "You satisfy me in ways I hadn’t anticipated."

A pause filled the room, but Merlin quickly continued, his voice adopting a more commanding tone. "But from now on, just call me Merlin when we’re in public. Understand?"

Leonard nodded, though his mind was spinning with confusion. Merlin, or Alfonso? Was this the same person? Had Alfonso, the wizard with the purple curly hair, replaced the original Merlin? It was a lot to process, and Leonard couldn’t help but wonder if this was all part of a much larger, more intricate plan.

It seemed unlikely for a wizard to maintain two identities at once, but then again, Merlin’s true nature was anything but typical.

As if reading Leonard’s confusion, Merlin’s lips curled into a faint smile. He flicked his wrist, and suddenly, the ring on his finger glowed, sending a faint shimmer through the air.

Leonard’s gaze snapped to the ring, sensing that something important was about to unfold.

The air in the room shifted as a sudden presence materialized before Leonard, and in the next instant, a figure draped in a black robe stood before him. His cheeks were unnervingly gaunt, almost hollow, his face so thin it looked as though it were stretched over bones. His eye sockets were sunken deeply, casting a shadow of darkness around his gaze. The aura he radiated was one of utter gloom and despondency, as if life itself had drained from him long ago.

Leonard’s heart skipped a beat when he recognized the figure, his pupils contracting sharply. Every doubt he had harbored over the past weeks suddenly shattered into clarity. Alfonso, the wizard he had come to know and interact with, was not the man he seemed. The truth flooded him in a rush, so sudden and undeniable that it left him breathless.

Alfonso was nothing more than a puppet. No living human could be stored in a space ring, he’d known that, and yet he’d never questioned why Alfonso had never rested, never eaten, and always sat in the same position every time Leonard had checked on him in Bangor Port. And now, it all made sense.

Merlin, the mysterious wizard the Bahof elf had mentioned, who stayed locked away in his room on the ship… it was all connected. Merlin had been using two puppets at once, Alfonso as one, and possibly someone else as another. The thought of being manipulated in this way stirred something cold inside Leonard, something deeper than mere frustration.

His emotions were a tangled mess; anger, betrayal, confusion. But it didn’t change the fact that Alfonso, or whoever had been pretending to be him, had never truly seen him as a student. Alfonso had used him just as he used everything else, manipulating Leonard with careful precision.

Leonard swallowed hard and met the gaze of the puppet before him.

"Just do your own thing, Leonard," Alfonso’s voice was soft, almost empty, but there was a sharpness to it as he spoke. "I told you before that this is just a fair deal. Remember what you promised me."

The figure in black slowly lifted his head, his cold, empty eyes sweeping the room, pausing momentarily on Merlin. The briefest of glances passed between them, an unspoken understanding.

Leonard, still reeling from the revelation, nodded slowly, trying to steady his thoughts. "I understand," he muttered, his voice barely a whisper.

Alfonso’s hand moved with unnerving calmness to the ground beside him. He reached down and picked up the blood and broken horn of the horned demon, handing them to Leonard with an eerie gentleness. The air felt thick around them, as if time itself was holding its breath.

"Take this," Alfonso’s voice was calm, but there was a strange weight to it. "But remember, don’t use the demon’s blood carelessly. The lava octopus blood I gave you earlier, use that for your experiments, not on yourself. Becoming a blood wizard may give you some quick power, but it won’t be of much benefit to you in the long run. Especially not for your Hellfire path."

Leonard absorbed the words with the solemnity they deserved, though a part of him still bristled from the growing understanding that his mentor, if one could even call him that, had been playing him all along. But still, he respected Alfonso’s knowledge.

"I understand, teacher," Leonard replied, his voice steady despite the storm swirling inside him.

Alfonso then turned his attention to the wizard lying on the ground; a figure Leonard had nearly forgotten about in the wake of the revelations. With practiced precision, Alfonso stripped away the wizard’s clothing and accessories. His hands moved with disturbing swiftness, and a quiet murmur escaped his lips.

"Any item, no matter how small or inconspicuous, may be a magical artifact," Alfonso muttered to himself, his voice cold and calculating. "Never underestimate a wizard, even if they seem to have lost their ability to resist, you never know what they’re capable of."