CHAPTER 139: CHAPTER 139: UNDERCURRENTS

The room was silent, broken only by the faint whisper of magical energy. William breathed with difficulty. His torso was bare, and sweat streamed down his back. In front of him, the target he had constructed crumbled into ashes.

"Abyss Spear!"

A new burst of power erupted from his hand. The black spear whistled through the air and pierced a reinforced column as if it were butter, leaving a corrupt trail that slowly spread like venom. His new spells came from the nightmare world; they were what Anubis used in his youth, but since he focused on the path of the sword, he had stopped using them. However, William didn’t want to be solely a knight; he wanted versatility, he wanted to be unpredictable, which was why he didn’t neglect any aspect.

The Abyss Spear was a projectile that encased part of the Void, and upon piercing its opponent, it sent that part of the enemy’s body into the Void, making it a terrifying attack against which there was no effective defense.

"Trajectory control: 87%. I still can’t precisely define where I want the spear to go, but as long as my enemy isn’t the size of a fly, I can wound them. Just a little more and I’ll be able to perfect it."

He raised both hands and activated the second spell.

"Void Wall."

The air vibrated. As if time thickened, the world seemed to slow around him. A stone thrown towards his face stopped in mid-air, crushed by invisible gravity. When he deactivated the spell, the stone fell to dust.

The Void Mantle was a curtain like any elemental wall, only it opened a breach of the Void that trapped anything. It couldn’t send it into the Void, but rather used gravitational properties to force the attack to stop, rendering it useless as it fell to the ground.

"Stable duration: 8 seconds... I still need to polish the duration, as it consumes more energy if I try to surround myself completely. I suppose when I become a mage, I’ll be able to create a ring around myself."

Finally, he took a defensive stance and cast his last spell.

"Shadow Echo Step."

A shadow of himself separated like smoke, mimicking his last step. In a blink, he swapped places with it and reappeared five meters behind.

"Perfect... I can use it to confuse even mana readers," he whispered, satisfied.

After hours of practice, William sat down, exhausted, with a triumphant smile. He was ready for whatever came next. "I’m going to engrave these spells into my mind, I’m ready to ascend! Those idiots think that just because I was delayed a bit, I lost my touch, but to me, they’re just a bunch of monkeys doing their antics. Tomorrow, I’ll make sure to teach them a lesson, especially that arrogant jerk Mark! I know he’s been behind the recent attacks on Lia; if I don’t kick his ass, I’m not a man...!"

In a dark, circular room, pillars carved with forbidden runes. Seven figures gathered around an obsidian table.

"Two years have passed and Aurus hasn’t appeared," a dry voice said.

A wrinkled hand rose and slammed the table forcefully. A tremor ran through the entire room.

"Damn Aurus... he’ll pay for this!" an old man in a red robe roared. "He hid quite well, pretended to be weak, and managed to escape me! The bastard is an Advanced Level 3 mage!"

"Has he contacted his student... William?"

"No," another figure replied. "And William hasn’t tried to find him even once either. But we’ve observed him these past years. He hasn’t mentioned anything; he resolves his fights on his own and is too good at it. Unless we force him into a life-or-death situation, I don’t think he’ll call him."

"So... any damn good news?"

"In part," another younger voice said. "The good news is that he has broken his bond with the Hallwick family. The elder explained that it was all a misunderstanding. They aren’t looking for conflict with us... and they ordered their granddaughter Nereida to stay away from them."

One of those present—dressed in gray with a balance-shaped brooch—turned to another member.

"Agis, you’ve done well. You stripped all authority from the old nobles without causing revolts. You’ll have your reward."

Agis bowed his head, satisfied.

"Thank you, my lord. But tomorrow I must announce the event... are you sure we’re doing that?"

The elder looked up. His face had wrinkles as deep as war scars. He was the former headmaster of Black Rock.

"We have no choice. It’s our last chance."

"Aurus is still within Alliance territory. If he had left, the Blood Mechanism that tracks him would have activated. He hasn’t escaped."

"We have the Kraken’s Heart, the artifacts, and the Tower. Only he is missing."

The air froze as he added, without hesitation:

"And if William must die to lure him out... so be it."

The sea mists rose as the ship docked. On the pier, five figures waited steadily, like black statues.

The Five Red Sheaths.

At their front, Jayce, with his dark hair tied back, his gaze icy.

From the ship, a hunched old man slowly descended, holding a bone staff and wearing a cloak that seemed sewn from the scales of sea creatures. Without a word, he walked towards the castle as if he owned the world.

The Red Sheaths retreated after bowing. Jayce, however, didn’t move.

A hooded figure approached him, showing a green medallion with a mermaid symbol.

Jayce paled for a moment, his eyes darkening.

"Follow me."

They crossed a side passage to a forgotten corridor, away from any ears.

"What the hell does this mean? Why did you use the Command Token on me now?"

The figure removed his hood. A young redhead, attractive and with a skull tattoo on his cheek, smiled.

"Because everything has changed. They replaced us. The noble families are about to fall, but not yet; there’s a final plan. We know their damned weakness."

Jayce narrowed his eyes.

"And what does that have to do with me?"

"We have an insect that crept into our world. We plan to use him... first as a deterrent, and then as an example for all those commoners who dream of being like us."

"An insect?"

The redhead leaned closer and whispered:

"William."

Jayce felt a violent throb in his chest. His blood froze for a second, but his face didn’t change. Not a muscle. Not a gesture.

"Speak. What do you know about him?"

"Only what he did in his evaluations; the kid is good, but that’s all, nothing special or notable."

Jayce didn’t respond immediately. But something in his eyes... there was something hidden, like a murderous intent.