The six cloaked figures emerged one by one into the dim intersection of the underground corridors. Flickering red glyphs lined the walls, casting twisted shadows that danced like whispers across the stone.
Sebastian glanced around, his voice calm and composed.
"It seems we've all gathered. The paths we took have been cleared."
Doe nodded, sliding a hidden blade back into its sheath.
"No resistance left on my end."
Reaper's voice was smooth, almost bored.
"Same here. Just a few untrained cultists. Nothing worth mentioning."
Sebastian continued, "Has anyone found the chamber where the captives were held?"
Evelyn shook her head, brushing dust from her gloves.
"I haven't."
Moriarty added in a low tone, "Nor I. Only remnants of rituals and a lab... with a chimera."
Then, silently to himself:
Strange. I'm the only one getting these brief flashbacks. Memories of who I was, maybe? Triggered by that chimera, perhaps... But that's not important right now.
"Hm," Sebastian muttered. "Then it seems our lord has already found it."
Selene crossed her arms, pouting lightly beneath her shroud.
"I should have gone with our lord. Hmph."
Sebastian sighed. "Selene. We follow the plan. That means splitting up."
She shrugged with a teasing smile. "I know, I know."
He turned toward the corridor veiled in deeper shadow.
"Come. Let's find where our lord went. If he's already dealt with the source, our work here is nearly complete."
Elsewhere, in the deepest halls...
Velmuth stood silently before a battered cell, his gaze resting on the huddled captives within. Their eyes trembled with fear and uncertainty.
"Hmm... what should I do with these people?" he murmured, more to himself than anyone else. "I can't exactly leave them to starve here again. Might as well let them escape this place."
He turned away, but a sudden commotion echoed down a parallel corridor. Five cultists, bloodied and desperate, rounded the corner at a dead sprint. One of them, cloaked in finer robes, skidded to a stop when he spotted Velmuth.
"Tch... there's still one more?" the vice leader spat. His glare sharpened.
"Even if you're strong, you're alone now. I have elite mages with me."
Velmuth said nothing, expression unreadable.
So this was their escape path... No wonder I didn't encounter resistance on this side.
"Prepare to die!" the vice leader said. "Mages, attack! Hit him with everything you've got! Don't hold back!"
He muttered under his breath, panic bleeding into his voice.
"Damn it... Of all times, the branch leader had to be away. If I don't kill this one now, I won't make it out alive."
"Now! Before his allies arrive. Kill him!"
The four mages raised their staffs. Glyphs spun like wheels of death, crimson and violet magic coalescing. They unleashed a volley of spells, flaming lances, crackling arcs of lightning, and spears forged from shadow and venom.
The vice leader followed, unleashing a refined incantation of destruction magic. Its sole purpose was obliteration.
The corridor lit up with violent energy. Explosions tore through the stone. Smoke and dust clouded the air. The ground shook.
The vice leader narrowed his eyes.
"Heh... looks like he was the weakest after all. And here we were, actually nervous. What a joke."
But then—
The smoke parted.
Velmuth still stood. His torso had a gaping hole, yet no blood spilled. Dark mist coiled around the wound, reforming it like smoke drawn back into shape.
"Too bad," he said softly. "It seems you missed."
He raised a single finger. A small black sphere, no larger than a marble, materialized at its tip.
The cultists froze.
Velmuth pointed the sphere toward them.
A pulse of silence swept through the corridor. Then space itself twisted.
A black vortex opened, dense, compact, merciless. It sucked all five cultists into its core. They screamed, their forms stretched, twisted, and erased. In seconds, they were gone. Not even ash remained.
Behind him, the captives stared, paralyzed.
"W-what kind of power is that?" one of them whispered.
Velmuth turned to the iron gate. With a lazy gesture, the bars groaned and snapped. A thick, silken mist flowed into the chamber, glowing faintly. Wounds closed. Exhaustion faded. The child clinging to his mother stopped crying.
Velmuth said nothing.
His form dissipated, like smoke vanishing into shadow.
"...Whoever that person was," murmured a woman, holding her child close, "I'm just glad he helped us."
Shortly after...
Velmuth reappeared before his six servants, waiting in the upper corridor.
"So," he said plainly, "were all of them dealt with?"
"Yes, my lord," Doe answered with a respectful nod. "I searched thoroughly. It seems the leader of this hideout wasn't here from the beginning."
"It seems he had other business," Velmuth replied. "In any case, we're done. I'll leave the cleanup to you."
He turned, already drifting toward the exit.
"Whether you choose to stay in this place or not, that's up to you."
As Velmuth's form vanished into the mist, the six cloaked servants remained, the weight of his presence lingering.
"I didn't even sense him until he stood right in front of us," Doe muttered. "Despite setting up magical detection across the area, no footsteps, no aura. It's like he just appeared out of nowhere."
"That's because our lord is no mere being of magic," Evelyn replied, arms crossed. "He's something deeper, an existence that bends the rules of this world just by breathing."
Moriarty gave a rare smirk.
"And to think, he wears the skin of a teenager. That appearance hides a mind older than empires and power that could erase them with a whisper."
Selene leaned against the wall, her eyes distant beneath her shroud.
"It's strange, isn't it? I feel no fear in his presence. Only calm. As if the chaos of the world fades when he's near. Even if we're nothing beside him, I want to serve him."
"Want?" Reaper said with a soft laugh. "For me, it's more than that. I exist for him. Everything I am now, this power, this clarity, was his gift. I'd kill a thousand lives to protect even a moment of his will."
Sebastian nodded.
"Then let's use that gift well. From this point on, we expand. Quietly. Strategically. The world above knows nothing of us yet. That ignorance is our greatest strength."
Doe chuckled.
"A silent creed... I like that. We move in darkness, guided by a will strong enough to reshape the world if it so desires. The others worship false gods. They don't realize something greater walks among them."
"Let the nobles chase their titles," Selene added with a smile. "Let the kingdoms bicker and bleed. We'll shape the future from behind the dark until the day our lord chooses to act."
"We may not understand his full will, but I would gladly offer my life for it."
They exchanged glances. Loyalty gleamed in their eyes like twin moons reflected on still water.
"For him," Evelyn whispered.
"For him," the others echoed.
Without another word, they vanished one by one into the branching corridors, like shadows folding into the dark.