"But…" Sylas glanced toward the wall beside him. On the other side were Duke and the others. The scruffy, bearded man chuckled under his breath, "You're mages too, aren't you?"
"Hah."
Duke let out a scornful laugh. Sylas possessed the ability to directly perceive another's magical aptitude and, by touching it, absorb and replicate it. The shackles of petricite binding his arms were, in fact, his greatest weapon.
But as of now, Sylas had not yet discovered the secret of those shackles, nor did he know that he could absorb and copy others' magic.
All he could rely on at the moment were his eyes—those uncanny eyes that sensed the essence of another's magic.
In Sylas's gaze, the qualities and strength of magic were entirely distinct.
Take Lux, for example. In Sylas's eyes, she was like a radiant sun, overflowing with warm brilliance—dazzling, life-giving, like sunlight he had not seen in years.
Yet Duke, for his part, wondered with curiosity what Sylas saw when he looked at him.
Duke's gift was soul magic: the power to grant life to the inanimate and to corrupt and control the living.
So then, what form would his magic take in Sylas's vision?
The thought intrigued Duke. Meanwhile, Sylas continued staring intently at the wall. Even with the stone between them, the magical presence of the four beyond shone to him like torches in the dark of night, impossible to ignore.
One of them blazed like a newborn sun, radiant and warm, overflowing with light that drew all longing toward it.
Two others were nestled close together—one solid and heavy as earth and stone, the other brimming with the aura of life, like a seed just beginning to sprout.
But the last one…
Sylas narrowed his eyes, then suddenly opened them wide.
The sea.
What he beheld was a boundless ocean—an endless expanse of translucent mana surging with warmth, like the embrace of a mother he had longed for but never known. More wondrous still was the vitality that suffused that ocean of magic, a vitality unlike anything he had ever witnessed.
"This is…" Sylas's eyes glazed with awe. Compared to Duke's magic, the brilliance radiating from Lux had become utterly insignificant.
"This is nothing short of a miracle."
He muttered in a daze. At that moment, heavy footsteps echoed from the far end of the Black Cells' corridor.
Soon, a man appeared outside the cell door. He wore a half-bronze mask and a deep-blue coat—far more ornate and refined than those of ordinary mage-hunters.
The moment she saw him, Lux immediately rose to her feet and called out, "Uncle!"
"Lux…"
The man shook his head, yet still gestured for the guards to open the cell and release them.
"So this is your uncle… then that would mean…"
Duke raised a brow. This was Eldred, husband to Tiana Crownguard and commander of the Mage-Seeker Corps.
"You must be Duke Sanchez?"
Eldred's gaze settled on Duke. Duke crushed the end of his cigar, nodded calmly, and said, "That's right. I am."
"This isn't Piltover. You'd better learn the rules here."
Eldred's voice was cold, his glare sharp as steel. The cell door swung open, yet Duke remained seated, his eyes lingering briefly on the mother and child beside him. He made no move to leave.
"What about them?"
"They are a blight—a malignant scourge that must be eradicated."
Eldred's words were merciless. The mother's face drained of color. Trembling, she stammered, "We've never harmed anyone… never… kind sir, please, I beg you…"
"Silence!"
One of the mage-hunters behind Eldred barked, his voice like a whipcrack. "This is not a place for your pleading!"
"Enough. Duke, come out. And you, Lux—next time, don't indulge your teacher's recklessness. He's no Demacian. He doesn't know our laws. But you do, don't you?"
Eldred's eyes cut across Duke and Lux like blades. As for the mother and daughter, he ignored them entirely.
"So this is what passes for a noble lord?"
From the adjacent cell, Sylas let out a biting sneer. Eldred did not react, but at his command, mage-hunters entered Sylas's cell.
The air filled with the sound of merciless whips and muffled groans of pain.
Duke glanced toward the neighboring cell, shook his head faintly, and walked out with Lux at his side—never sparing a look at what was left behind.
"Lord Eldred."
Once outside, Duke's gaze swept the cold halls. "Don't you think this place is unusually frigid?"
"The Black Cells allow no warmth, no mercy."
Eldred's tone was like ice. He turned to leave, but Duke spoke leisurely behind him, "In places where sunlight never reaches, demons are drawn, Lord Eldred."
"If demons come, then I will see to it they never return."
Eldred halted for the briefest instant, then strode on without hesitation, his pace swift and uncompromising.
"Master Duke, this way."
Two mage-hunters stepped up behind Duke. As they unlocked his shackles, they bowed slightly in invitation.
Freed of his chains, Duke turned to the mother and daughter with a smile that carried an unspoken meaning. Then, without another word, he departed. Lux lingered a moment, torn, then hurried after him.
The cell was left with only the mother and child.
"Mother… we're not getting out of here, are we?"
"It's all right. As long as I'm here, you'll be safe."
But soon, the little girl noticed dampness seeping across the floor. She pointed at it in alarm. "Mother, look!"
"What is that?"
The woman's eyes widened. How could water appear here?
The puddle spread, twisting into rivulets, then whirling into a vortex.
The next moment—
A long tongue lashed out from the vortex, coiling around the mother and child, dragging them in.
"Ahh!!"
"Help us!!"
"No—!"
Their screams were cut short. By the time the mage-hunters arrived, the cell was empty. Only Duke's heater still hummed in the corner, radiating warmth—yet no warmth could dispel the cold that gripped their hearts.
The mother and daughter had vanished without a trace.
What had just happened?
In the adjacent cell, Sylas shut his eyes tight. He had seen it—seen the murky waters and the monstrous form within, glaring hungrily at all living things.
"Just what kind of man is that craftsman from Piltover?"
End of chapter....
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