Chapter 912: The Mastermind
The remnants of the magic circle still pulsed faintly, like the final breaths of a dying star.
The ruins of the Capital stood in stark contrast to the eerie stillness that had fallen over the once-chaotic battlefield. Adrien stood at the circle's center, his dark coat swaying slightly in the lifeless breeze.
His sharp eyes glinted as they focused on the substance before him a mass of writhing, black slime, pulsating and shuddering as though alive.
It was alive.
"Heh..." Adrien's lips curled into a sly smirk as he stepped closer to the slime, which recoiled slightly before pressing forward again, as if testing the limits of its new confinement.
Adrien tilted his head and snapped his fingers, a sharp, decisive sound that echoed unnaturally in the silence. The air shimmered around the slime, and in an instant, a translucent cube of glowing energy materialized around it.
~FWUP!~
The black mass slammed against the cube's interior, its strikes dull and soundless, yet full of a raw, primal desperation.
"Emil," Adrien said softly, almost tenderly, his voice dripping with mockery. "We meet again."
The slime thrashed violently, its form twisting and contorting in futile attempts to escape. Adrien's smirk widened as he crouched down to meet it at eye level, his fingers tracing idle patterns in the air just beyond the cube's surface.
"You can stop that now," Adrien said, his tone light but with an edge that betrayed his amusement. "You can't break free. Not this time."
The slime stilled momentarily, then threw itself against the cube with renewed vigor, the entire structure trembling under its assault.
Adrien watched with mild interest, leaning forward slightly.
"Ah, still so feisty. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. After all, you've always been a slippery little thing, haven't you? Slipping away from me, hiding with Rey, feeding off him like the parasite you are."
The name 'Rey' seemed to ignite a reaction in the slime.
It surged forward again, slamming against the cube's walls with a ferocity that made Adrien chuckle.
"Ah, worried about him, are you?" Adrien straightened, brushing nonexistent dust from his coat. "I wouldn't be. At least not yet. I imagine he's still alive... though for how long, I can't say. Wherever he is now, well, let's just say I wouldn't trade places with him. Not that I'd ever want to."
The slime shuddered, its form collapsing briefly into a quivering puddle before reforming, as if gathering its strength.
Adrien watched it intently, his expression shifting to something colder.
"You know," he began, his voice soft but cutting, "you fooled me once. Do you remember that, Emil? How you left me behind after I trusted you? After I gave you everything?"
Adrien's eyes narrowed, his hand pressing against the cube's surface.
"You made a fool out of me. All so you could run off to Rey and play the loyal companion. Stealing Skills from me to give to him."
The slime's movements slowed, almost as if it could feel the weight of Adrien's words. Adrien smiled thinly.
"Oh, don't try to deny it. I know what you did. You thought you could manipulate me, use me, and then discard me. And for what? To serve him?"
It was precisely why he excluded the Slime from the Magic's effect.
All for this moment.
~ZZZZTTZZZ!~
The cube glowed brighter, the energy crackling as Adrien infused more power into the barrier. The slime recoiled slightly, its form shrinking inward.
"Look where that's gotten you, though" Adrien continued, his voice sharp with satisfaction.
"Here you are, ripped away from your precious master. And Rey?" He laughed softly, the sound devoid of warmth. "Rey's stranded. Lost. Wherever I sent him, he's alone now. Completely, utterly alone."
The slime surged forward again, its strikes weaker now but no less desperate. Adrien crouched once more, his face inches from the cube's surface.
"Do you really think he'll survive without you? I wonder how long he'll last before he finally breaks."
For a moment, silence fell between them, broken only by the faint hum of the magic cube. Adrien studied the slime, his expression unreadable.
"I didn't want it to come to this," he said finally, his tone almost conversational. "But Rey left me no choice. He was always in the way, always trying to play the hero. And heroes?"
He shook his head, a bitter smile tugging at his lips. "Heroes are a nuisance."
Adrien's voice dropped, his next words almost a whisper.
"You think I wanted to betray him? To set him up to fail? To watch him lose everything?" He paused, then laughed softly, the sound tinged with bitterness. "Well, maybe a part of me did. Call it petty, if you will. I never forgot that first time I tried to speak to him, and he ignored me completely. Oh, I'm sure he didn't hear me-it's not like I'm delusional—but still. It was irritating. He's been irritating ever since."
The slime quivered, its form trembling as if in response to Adrien's words.
Adrien leaned back, his arms resting casually on his knees. "And now, Emil, you're mine. Rey's gone, and you're all that's left. I'd suggest you get comfortable with this arrangement because, like it or not, I'm your master now."
~WHAM!~
The slime's form shifted violently, slamming into the cube with one final, desperate strike. Adrien's smirk returned, his hand pressing lightly against the cube's surface.
"Oh, don't look at me like that," he said, his tone mockingly gentle. "I know you don't like it, but it's for the best. You'll see that soon enough."
He stood, brushing his coat off once more as the cube floated upward, suspended by his magic. The slime continued to struggle, but its movements were slower now, weaker, as if even it realized the futility of its efforts.
"You're lucky, you know," he said quietly. "Lucky that I still have a use for you. If you know what's good for you, you'll accept this new reality. Fight me all you want, Emil, but in the end?" He smiled coldly, his eyes gleaming with cruel satisfaction. "You'll obey me."
With a flick of his wrist, Adrien turned away, the cube following obediently behind him.
The ruins of the Capital stretched out before him, a desolate reminder of the chaos that had unfolded. Adrien's footsteps echoed faintly as he walked, the silence pressing in around him
like a living thing.
He didn't look back.