"Merlin, this is my decision. You have no say in this," Rosaline said firmly.
Merlin's face darkened. For a moment, he regretted calling her for help.
"What? Not satisfied?" Grey Orion sneered. He was pleased with the decision. In fact, he didn't care about him but since his life was tied to Orion, he would at least have to make sure that he wouldn't die here.
Meanwhile, Orion had no opinion on the decision. For once, he didn't care about the summit. However, since Kane's plan meant he wouldn't be on the Celestial Court's most wanted list, Orion considered it a good outcome.
Still, one thing bothered him. The more he interacted with Kane, the more he found him different from his dreams. But then again, he realized he was just a naive kid at that time when he idolized Sword Sage.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, another topic came to Orion's mind.
"What about the Rollins family from the Archons? What if they decide to attack my family or me?" he asked. Since the situation was almost resolved, he wanted to address the cursed families as well.
"That..." Rosaline's expression clouded with thought as she pondered the situation.
"How about making it personal?" Merlin suggested with a sly grin. "Each party can attack the other by whatever means, but they won't be held accountable for the other's actions."
"So, according to your logic, if I drop hundreds of bombs like the one I just took out and kill their entire family, they won't be held responsible for me? Is that it?" Grey Orion sneered.
Like Orion, he wanted to kill this old man and everyone from the Rollins family. If it would grant his family peace, he wouldn't hesitate.
"You do that, and I'll kill him," Merlin raged, pointing at Orion.
Orion mocked, "You can't even touch me, let alone kill me. Trash."
"Enough!" Rosaline shouted.
She turned to Merlin. "Tell me, how much time does the Rollins family have?"
"About a year," Merlin replied, his face twisted with frustration.
Rosaline nodded. "Then we'll include this topic in the summit. A thorough investigation will be conducted before then."
She then addressed Merlin. "I'm giving you half a year. Do what you can to solve the mystery behind the three cursed families. The summit will be held in six months, and you will report your findings then. Understood?"
"Why me?" Merlin frowned. The task bored him. He enjoyed research but only on topics that interested him; he despised everything else.
But at that moment, Merlin suddenly teleported behind him and drove his hand through Orion's heart.
It happened too fast. Orion didn't even have time to blink, let alone react, before pain exploded in his chest.
And then it was over.
"You! What did you do?!" Rosaline shouted in shock.
"I finished what I started. I killed him," Merlin said proudly.
"You shouldn't have done that," Kane said, shaking his head, his face deadly serious.
"What? Are you going to fight me over that kid?" Merlin asked, his expression mocking.
Kane shook his head and stared at both Orion and Grey Orion.
Blood flowed from Orion's mouth, a crimson stream that trickled down his chin as the taste of iron filled his senses.
'I can't breathe.'
With every ragged breath, he felt his life slipping away, inch by inch, as darkness threatened to consume him.
At the same time, Grey Orion looked at Orion and at Merlin's hand protruding from his chest, shock etched across his face.
"You bastard!"
He shouted, intending to attack Merlin, but before he could, he suddenly felt something wrong with his body.
"No!"
He screamed in panic as he watched his hands slowly disintegrate into black particles.
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Also, I was hoping you could leave some comments or reviews to let me know your thoughts!
*Some gifts would be appreciated as well, but up to you.... *