Magus Supremacy

Chapter 913: Massacre (3)

Chapter 913

Within a mansion situated upon elevated terrain, a grand hall spanned the interior, designed with enough space to accommodate two hundred people comfortably.

Two thrones dominated the far end of the chamber—one significantly taller than its companion.

Upon the higher throne, a bulky man stood with a calm, yet twisted and sinister expression.

His face was a ruin of scorched flesh, appearing as though he had plunged his visage directly into a raging inferno.

This disfigurement forced him to wear a mask, shielding the gruesome sight from view.

Beside him, a woman sat with a triumphant grin.

She possessed slick, beautiful black hair and piercing green eyes, her robust figure accentuated by a notably large bust.

Her cheeks were slightly puffed, adding to an appearance that was, by all accounts, incredibly beautiful.

A few dozen men occupied the room, while many more stood guard outside the perimeter.

At the base of the platform where the thrones rested, about a dozen chairs were arranged, every single one occupied by an ally.

"Really, Bale? This is incredible. You actually managed to take down Cedric?" one of the men in the chairs asked, smiling incredulously as he hoisted a silver goblet.

A second man followed suit, lifting his own drink in a toast.

"Cheers to you, for real. That was no easy task to accomplish, considering the fact that Kiten had a powerful mage stationed there."

Bale smiled behind his mask before glancing toward the woman seated on the smaller throne.

"It was all because of my beautiful partner, Janet. Without her information and help—which she had been meaning to send my way for months now—I wouldn’t have known that that damned mage was already dead." Bale gripped the armrest of his throne, a dark shadow crossing his features.

"I wanted to kill him by myself, but well, I’m glad someone managed to do it for me."

"Still, I can’t believe that that mage is truly dead. According to my knowledge and the information Cedric shared at the party, the kid was a multi-elementalist."

Bale nodded in affirmation.

"Indeed, he was. But who actually cares? He is dead, and so is Cedric. As his rightful wife, Janet will be able to snatch the town of Kiten from the hands of his damned kids before they even finish grieving. Hahahaha."

"Cheers to that!" Janet motioned, lifting her own goblet high into the air.

"Cheers!" the group shouted in unison, their voices joined by dark, predatory chuckles.

Janet turned to Bale and whispered softly,

"Thanks for rescuing me from the dungeon Cedric threw me in. I have been trapped there for months with no way of escape. Thank you." She leaned in and pecked him on the visible skin of his cheek not hidden by the mask.

Bale blushed for a fleeting moment. He lifted the edge of his mask away from his mouth and sipped his drink.

Suddenly, a muffled shout echoed from beyond the entrance.

—Hey! Who are you? What do you seek here?!

"Huh?" Bale lifted his head, staring toward the massive double doors where dozens of guards were stationed.

Before he could utter a command, a loud bang erupted from outside, startling everyone in the hall.

—What the hell?! Who are you?

Another bang followed, and the voice that had been raised died down immediately.

It was followed by another explosive sound, and then another.

—Get him!

Those in the room swiftly sprang to their feet in a panic.

The hundred guards poised inside the hall quickly shifted their formation to face the double doors, various elements flaring into existence instantly.

These guards had been brought in for protection by the dozen men who had been seated only a moment ago.

Half were high-ranking mages from this town, while the rest served the neighboring smaller settlements in partnership with Bale.

Beside each of the six outsiders, a personal mage stood in a protective stance.

These bodyguards appeared significantly more formidable than the hundred other mages filling the hall.

The atmosphere turned electric with tension as the concussions continued, one after another, followed by agonized shrieks from the corridor.

Dull thudding sounds echoed into the room, signaling bodies dropping like flies in rapid succession.

This went on for five grueling minutes, leaving the officials in the chamber drenched in nervous sweat as they anticipated the inevitable breach.

Then,

Silence!

No sound filtered in from the outside for several seconds.

No peep. No bang. Nothing.

They all glanced at each other with mounting dread.

One of the six outsiders turned to his personal guard with a sharp gesture.

"Go check it out."

The guard nodded, wind swords already manifesting around his frame as he rushed toward the entrance.

But he hadn’t taken more than five steps before he suddenly froze in place.

His employer frowned, his voice tensed.

"What happened?"

The guard turned around slowly, causing the room to gasp in collective horror.

A deep, clean gash had been opened in the guard’s neck, spurting blood like a macabre fountain.

The man slid to his knees before collapsing face-flat on the ground, his life pooling in a cold, crimson circle.

The most terrifying part was that no one had seen what caused the strike.

Everyone immediately shifted into a defensive posture, eyes darting frantically.

"Aaaaaargh!" One of the high-ranking officials screamed in sudden agony.

The others looked his way to see him clutching his arm—or where his arm used to be.

From the wrist downward, there was nothing left but a jagged, bleeding stump spraying blood profusely.

"What’s going on? Who’s there?!" Bale shouted, his voice tinged with panic.

"Show yourself, coward!"

A heavy silence followed, a weight that seemed to suffocate every person in the hall.

Until, like a ghost, a figure materialized in the center of the room as if he had always been standing there.

His crimson robe was now a shade deeper, and even his wooden mask was tainted with fresh blood that slid down the surface.

In his hand, he held a goblet.

The same goblet that had been in the hand of the maimed official moments ago was now gripped firmly in the intruder’s fingers.

"Who are you? Reveal yourself now!"

"..."

"Sigh... I really want to know why people ask such idiotic questions before they die," the figure murmured, shaking his head.

He lifted a hand to the mask.

Tugging at it slightly, it slipped off to reveal a calm, indifferent face.

It took only a single second for the realization to click in Bale’s and Janet’s minds as the intruder’s crimson hair suddenly floated out, freed from the confines of the mask.

Brown eyes scanned the room with a terrifying stillness.

He lifted the goblet toward his mouth and took a slow drink.

"G—G—GREY?!" Bale screamed in recognition, his voice cracking with disbelief.