“What do you think I’m going to do?” Sein countered as he stepped forward.

At the sight of him approaching, Mikaeli struggled even harder.

But the more she fought against the restraints, the tighter the magic chains bound her to the experiment table.

Provoking Sein had been her greatest mistake.

Having once been a black magic initiate himself, Sein was far more extreme and ruthless than ordinary divine tower mages.

As he moved closer, Sein said, “If you leave Leena’s body of your own accord, I can sign a mutual non-aggression contract with you on equal terms. My grandmaster, a peak Rank Six mage, can even serve as a witness.”

Mikaeli merely sneered at his repeated attempts to persuade her. “Witnessed by your grandmaster? You’re all on the same side. When the time comes, you’ll just say whatever suits you.”

“Besides, once I leave Leena’s body, my soul will inevitably enter a weakened state. What then? Will you find me a new vessel?” she shot back.

Sein stopped in front of her and lifted her chin with one finger. “I can find you a new vessel. There are plenty of black mages in Blackhaven...”

“I want the body of a Rank Four mage! And it had better be a female, or I’m not negotiating!” Mikaeli snapped, jerking her head away.

As a Rank Five black mage, she had never been treated like this before.

Whether it was the earlier body-tempering experiments or Sein’s humiliating gesture now, these were things Mikaeli had not experienced in tens of thousands of years.

Compared to before, her tone had softened slightly.

Perhaps Sein’s repeated pressure had finally begun to wear down this Rank Five black mage’s resistance.

So she did have something to fear after all.

At that moment, their bodies were only inches apart.

The primal desire stirred by Leena’s alluring form had faded. Sein was currently thinking about where he could find a living Rank Four female body for Mikaeli.

Judging from Mikaeli’s demands, what she wanted was a living vessel.

Seeing Sein fall silent in thought, Mikaeli secretly let out a breath of relief.

This woman really was stubborn to the core.

Even though Sein’s earlier intimidation had clearly shaken her, Mikaeli still could not resist taking another jab at him.

“Isn’t your mentor a Rank Four? Why not have her make a little sacrifice for you? Even if it’s the body of a Rank Four dendromancer, I suppose I could make do—”

In her refusal to show even the slightest weakness before Sein, Mikaeli had barely escaped one danger only to brush against another of his reverse scales.[1]

“What did you just say?” Sein asked, his gaze turning frosty as it locked onto Mikaeli.

Mikaeli immediately fell silent. From Sein, she felt a chill unlike anything before.

Her pride as a Rank Five black mage made her want to repeat what she had just said, but the words caught in her throat.

Beneath Sein’s icy, oppressive, deathly still gaze, Mikaeli found herself unable to utter even a single sound.

“It seems I’ve been too kind to you. What was I even thinking, trying to negotiate with a black mage? Grandmaster Feylis may have a fiery temper, but at the end of the day, she is still a divine tower mage. She probably doesn’t understand black mages like you as well as I do,” Sein said, almost as if speaking to himself.

His eyes refocused on Mikaeli. “If you refuse to come out, then stay where you are. I know Leena already has control over most of her body and will be safe for now. I’ll just have to find a way to strengthen the seal on you.”

“For now...” Sein stared at Mikaeli before suddenly lurching forward.

Mikaeli’s stiff expression froze completely.

Her eyes widened before she slowly lowered her gaze.

Sein no longer had any interest in negotiating with Mikaeli. All he wanted now was to make her suffer in every way he could.

Partway through the deed, Mikaeli’s consciousness gradually faded, and Leena resurfaced.

Now clinging to him with her face pressed against his shoulder, Leena murmured, “Actually... that really was her first time.”

“Oh?”

Naturally, Sein did not treat Leena as roughly as he had treated Mikaeli.

In his arms, Sein handled Leena with the utmost care and tenderness. And that only made a certain pitiful creature hiding deep within Leena’s soul feel even more bitter and resentful.

“I inherited some of her memories, so I know certain things,” Leena continued. “Do you remember we ran into Master Dark Flame right after leaving Atlan Interstellar Prison?”

Sein suddenly stopped. “Mikaeli has ties with him?”

“To some extent,” Leena replied with a sigh. “She and Master Dark Flame were once fellow apprentices under the same mentor. Back when they were still initiates, they studied at the same black magic academy.”[2]

“But during one of the Ylli Knight Alliance’s purges of black mages, that black magic academy was destroyed. Master Dark Flame was rescued and later became a regular divine tower mage who could walk in the light, while my mentor was taken away by the few black mages who escaped to Blackhaven. From that point on, she grew up there.”

“After reaching Rank One, neither of them ever took another mentor. Everything they achieved afterward was through their own efforts. As for the Cinderbone Flame and Dark Flame they wield, those were both inherited from their mentor—that Rank Two black mage who was killed back then,” Leena explained.

Sein chuckled awkwardly. “I doubt that Rank Two black mage ever imagined he had raised two apprentices who would one day reach Rank Five.”

“A mage’s experiences during the initiate stage often shape their future path,” Leena commented. “Master Mikaeli and Master Dark Flame did not actually have much contact over the years, but after learning of each other’s existence, they developed a rather special bond. My mentor hated him. It seemed she resented him for walking into the light while she remained trapped in the darkness.”

Mikaeli and Dark Flame’s story was somewhat similar to what Sein and Leena had once gone through.

Fortunately, Sein and Leena had not ended up like them.

“What about Master Dark Flame? How does he feel toward Mikaeli?” Sein could not help asking.

“I don’t know. Perhaps guilt? In all these tens of thousands of years, the few times they communicated always ended badly,” Leena replied. “That black lumenstone my mentor entrusted to you was actually meant for Master Dark Flame.”

Sein fell silent after hearing that.

Translator’s Note:

1. Sein, you said every dragon has a reverse scale, and that Leena is your reverse scale back in chapters 1108 and 1785. Uh... How many reverse scales do you have? ☜

2. Ahhh, I remember that Dark Flame has a junior sister he misses, but I forgot the part about him remembering her because of the Cinderbone Flame Sein revealed. That was back in Chapter 1200. ☜