Supreme Magus novel Chapter 203

"Stay back! We have a Ballot!" The leader screamed with a high pitched voice that was hard to believe it could come out of someone that big. They never intended to pick on Lith, no matter what their orders were, it was just too dangerous.

After being discovered, they had no choice left though. Lith wouldn’t believe a word they said. It was better taking a punch in the face than a knife in the back. They were three against one and well prepared for the encounter.

They could only hope to scare him away.

- "Do they?"

"So far it’s a bluff. They only have some magic rings and alchemic tools. No Ballot." Solus replied. –

They had studied it for months. She could recognize a Ballot’s pseudo core from a mile away.

"Really?" Lith sneered. "Did you incriminate yourselves by recording since you started following us? Or are you going to activate it now?" Lith’s voice was stone cold, a huge smile had appeared on his face, yet it contained no joy.

It was the smile of a predator closing in on a cornered prey.

A twitch in the left arm alarmed Solus.

- "I stand corrected. The one in the middle now holds a Ballot in the left hand."–

Thanks to her timely warning, Lith extended his right arm ripping the Ballot off his enemy’s fingers with spirit magic before he could even activate it.

"I said no recording devices!" Lith engulfed the Ballot in a shroud of darkness, actually sending it in his pocket dimension. He had no idea what kind of safety measures it could have and wasn’t willing to take unnecessary risks.

Lith let the shroud disappear, revealing his now empty hand.

"You have just destroyed an academy’s property. You are insane!" Not only had they just lost their only ace in the hole, but seeing an artifact crumble like that brought the three to the verge of panic.

The leader of the group was Raynart Poltus. His mother Duchess Poltus, a leading figure in the old noble faction and had a bone to pick with Jirni Ernas, Phloria’s mother.

Ever since the end of the plague, the Poltus family was under the scrutiny of the Crown because of their deep ties with Coirn Hatorne, the fugitive alchemist believed to be responsible for creating the parasites and known for being a middleman for the major black market dealers.

During her inquiries, Lady Ernas had discovered that the Duchess’ brother was part of a slave trade. Even if most of his victims were dead or missing, he had been found in possession of a new kind of slave collars that could be disguised as a necklace, a ring, or a bracelet.

It was by itself a capital crime, so no matter how powerful and influent the Poltus family was, he had been tortured until he had revealed all the names of his accomplices and then executed.

The event had been a disaster for the family. Its members were now looked down on even by commoners and cut out from all the major social events. The identity of the royal constable in charge of investigations was supposed to be a secret, but Duchess Poltus still had many informant and friends.

She wanted to give Lady Ernas a taste of her own medicine. Her only daughter r*ped and branded as a sl*t was punishment enough in the Duchess’ eyes. Without a Ballot, her son could have always claimed it was consensual s*x.

It would also help the noble faction’s cause, forcing Linjos to take a side between the two families and putting himself in a lose-lose situation. Siding with the Poltus meant making an enemy of the Crown, while siding with the Ernas was like admitting his own incompetence, adding the scandal to his long list of faults as Headmaster.

The lights’ flickering intensified, while a black fog seeped out of the shadows making the scene looked more and more like a nightmare by the second. Raynart and his cousins wanted to run away, but for some reason their feet refused to move.

The previous warmth Lith had demonstrated earlier had disappeared, only the hunger remained. The abyss inside him kept pouring out its hate, infecting the outer world. Lith’s killing intent reached a new peak, forcing the three on their knees with just a gentle push from spirit magic.

"Kneel!"

Albeit brief, the touch from those invisible hands made the three squeal in terror.

That was the side of Lith Solus was more scared of. No matter how much love and affection he received, turning back into the same man that had abducted and tortured a young boy was as easy as flipping a switch for him.

What made things worse was that the more people he cared for, the more ruthless he would become. Each light that entered his life would only make the darkness inside of him deeper.

"Usually I don’t give speeches, but for you I’ll make an exception. I need to send a message and you’ll be the one delivering it."

Lith’s hand squeezed Raynart’s throat so hard that for a moment he thought his eyes were going to pop out of his skull. Then the pressure lessened enough to let him breathe, but not enough to make it easy.

At the same time, spirit magic and wind magic pinned the other two on the ground, making them incapable of breathing as well.

The scene in front of Raynart’s eyes almost made him faint. Through their contact, he could see something that even Lith and Solus were unaware of. A legion of hands made of shadows was gushing out of Lith’s body.

Only a few were suppressing the three students, countless others stood still like snakes, ready to strike at any moment. Spirit magic was invisible, yet for some reason Raynart was able to see its true form. _{ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm}

Countless eyes of all sizes and colors had materialized wherever light was absent, staring full of curiosity at the unfolding events. The world was watching over its new toy, lured by the unbridled hate that had been offered to it.

"It’s already the second time today that someone tries to take away what’s mine. You can’t imagine how angry I am right now." Lith used darkness magic to appear more terrifying and water magic to freeze the surrounding environment to scare them out of their wits.

He smirked noticing that the other two had already lost control of their bladders, drenching themselves in their own p*ss.

- "These nobles, how can someone be so cowardly?"– Lith thought.

Only Raynart knew the truth. Fueled by the world’s will, the tendrils of darkness seeped into his cousins’ bodies from the nostrils, eyes, ears, and mouths, robbing them of their vitality. The feeling they were experiencing was akin to being buried alive.

Lith lifted Raynart from the neck until their eyes were at the same height, sending him into panic. Half of Lith’s face was now covered by Raynart’s shadow, assuming ghastly features.

Lith’s eclipsed eye had become bright yellow with a vertical pupil, the mouth was lipless and full of fangs highlighted by an inner fire that seemed to be burning in his throat.