南瓜影院

Henry guessed the figure that shot out was Maude Aleric himself and his mouth gapped as he moved his eyes slowly to Angus,

"You- You killed him."

Angus\' legs wobbled as he went on his knees coughing hard and spouting mouthfuls of blood onto the Manor compound\'s stone-cobbled ground.

"Maybe," Angus said as he wiped blood off the corner of his mouth and managed a weak whistle that called his horse over.

"Are you alright?" Henry asked, taking note of the tendrils that had held Nyx down starting to melt away.

"I\'m fine," Angus said with a few pained wheezes. He grabbed his horse\'s reins and with considerable effort, he heaved himself onto the saddle.

Angus\'s shirt fluttered and fell open so wide that Henry caught a glimpse of the Vinculum. Its glow was dull and the Magical energy it gave off was at an all-time low. There was also a long diagonal crack across it that spoke of extensive damage.

"We should get away. I either killed him or I pissed him off. Either way, the longer we remain here, the more likely we die.

I\'ll hate for that to happen after— after what I\'ve just sacrificed."

Angus\' mustache trembled atop his lip and his tone turned mournful as he uttered the last words. He was now a ~Hive King~ without a Hive. He could feel the magical knowledge and prowess he had for barely an hour, start to melt away with the self-destruction of the two Warlocks.

\'Maybe I should have kept one of them alive,\' he wondered and then let out a sigh,

\'No, I had to make sure…\'

Angus glanced over and the purple mushroom cloud was dissipating now, giving a slightly obscured view of the collapsed part of the Black Manor where Maude Aleric\'s probably burnt body was buried.

Probably burnt.

\'… Fuck! I hate that I\'m still not sure.\'

"Hyah!" Henry and Angus called out in unison as their horses kicked hard off the ground and galloped toward the gate they had blown up earlier that night.

They charged through it and a few meters away were Squads of City Guards who caught sight and decided to give chase.

"Head North," Angus said in a low voice, "The Northern City Entrance."

Henry understood why Angus had suggested that path. It was the closest to the Black Manor and their quickest route to getting out of the City grounds.

Shots were fired from behind and Henry pulled out his Repeater and shot five of the Guards off their horses.

[Kill-Reward: 6 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 6 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 6 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 6 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 6 Exp]

Angus gripped his gun as bullets flew past his ear and over his shoulder missing him by mere inches because he managed to duck in time. His hand shook as he made to pull the gun from his holster and quickly gave up.

Instead, he arched his neck around and called in the loudest tone he could manage,

"Go wild!"

His Spellbinding flowed from him and the Vinculum thrummed a dull purple and backed the magic as best as it could. It was enough to affect two horses whose eyes bugged with a visage of madness and they galloped about, knocking into others and creating a commotion that knocked most of the crashing guards down.

For the ones that managed to remain on their horses, Henry picked them off with his Repeater.

[Kill-Reward: 6 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 6 Exp]

[Kill-Reward: 6 Exp]

"A blockade," Angus said in a wheezing tone and Henry looked away from his most recent kills and saw the City Guards waiting to greet them with bullets up ahead.

He grabbed \'The Hydra\'s Sting\' just as he heard Angus say,

"Don\'t worry, I\'ll clear it."

To the City Guard blockade, he said,

"Move aside!"

Again, Spellbinding proved reliable despite the empowerment of the Vinculum appearing weakened. Confused about why they were obeying orders from the enemy they wanted to gun down or capture, the City Guards pulled their horses aside and made way.

Henry took advantage of that confusion and landed <Numbing Gas> shots in the heads of two of them.

By the time he and Angus got past the blockade, the green cloud had spread and muscles locked in place slowing down any chase that sought to come after them as they rode to safety.

-

-

•••

—At the Black Manor—

Minutes after the disastrous explosion that rocked the Manor and created a massive spectacle, a scratched hand bleeding out of little cuts all over, thrust out of the rubble of black stones, shaking ever so slightly.

With a heave of effort, Maude Aleric pulled himself out of the rubble. His body was bruised. His black robe was shredded all over and showed off a lean body lacking any muscles.

The affront to his dignity aside, Maude looked well. Much better than someone who just faced the full might of such a powerful explosion should have looked.

"Angus," Maude said through gritted teeth, and his fist clenched in boiling rage.

His eyes were focused on the large scorch mark in the Black Manor\'s compound. All that was left of his Protégées. The possibility of freeing them and lecturing them on their lack of talent all gone.

"Ugh," a voice groaned and Maude looked to the side to see his butler walking over while grabbing the side of his head in pain.

The Butler was the one who had gone into the recess to tell Maude of the attacks and out of a sense of duty, despite lacking enough magical acumen to be useful in combat, he decided to stick close. A mistake that rewarded him with a head trauma.

"My Lord," the Butler said wincing at his own pain, "Are you alright?"

"Far from it," Maude answered,

"My honor has been besmirched. Falling for a stupid trick and giving them the chance to get away. Pathetic."

"Those men have no honor," The Butler said with a deep frown,

"To use your Warlocks against you in such a horrific manner…"

Maude pursed his lips and looked down at his shaking hand. He tried to get to his feet and found that he could not. The explosion had done more than just blast him away. It had snuck the Vinculum\'s energy into his body and its reaction with his Mana was making it difficult for him to amass any physicality.

He needed time to recuperate.

\'Pathetic,\' Maude said again. This time in his head.

\'The Vinculum is a powerful item but what he did— That moron just damaged it.

The longer it remains on his godsforsaken chest, the worse off it will be!\'

Footsteps from up ahead caused Maude to look up. A few city Guards were making their way over.

"Help me up," Maude said to his Butler who quickly linked their arms together to offer support as Maude heaved himself to his feet with a lot of effort.

He was feeling a lot of shame already and would not allow himself to look weak before mere Mana-less City Guards.

"Lord Aleric," The Captain of the Guard said with a bow,

"We intercepted riders on their way out of the City during the… commotion."

Commotion was a massive understatement looking at the deaths and destruction all over the Black Manor\'s compound but the Captain had searched his head for a better word and found none.

The Guards behind the Captain stepped forward and dropped two heavily injured bodies on the ground with hardly any care.

One male and one female. Both were sporting Red hair and similar facial features that spoke of some relation.

The Male looked pale and knocked out. The female looked anxious like she wanted to make sure he wasn\'t dying.

"And you believe they were leaving from my Manor?" Maude asked.

"We found this on them, My Lord," said the Captain as he placed two large pouches on the ground and pulled their openings apart to reveal stolen Gold coins.