Chapter 684: Empty Husk [Ko-fi Donation Bonus Chapter]
Sylas met Lucius' gaze.
Both men had quite a calm air to them. It didn't seem like the last time they had met one of them had been out for the death of another.
Maybe it made sense for Lucius to be so calm, but seeing the measured gaze of Sylas, Lucius himself couldn't help but be inwardly surprised.
No matter how level-headed the man, was it so easy to ignore the fact that an attempt had been made on your life?
Although Lucius had never acted directly, he knew that Sylas was more than smart enough to figure out what happened... especially since...
Lucius' gaze flickered up, but to his surprise once again... the beacon that should have been above Sylas' head was no longer there. His heart couldn't help but skip a beat and his gaze became even more somber, a dark cloud hanging over his eyes.
Somehow, Sylas had undone the curse that Bloom had put on him. No wonder they hadn't sensed him approaching the compound.
"Sylas, I'm sure you understand that this matter can't be taken as a simple visit, correct?"
Sylas didn't reply immediately, his gaze sweeping past Lucius to scan those that he had brought with him. He took note of the fact that none of these individuals were the ones that Lucius had drafted that day.
'I understand. Those that the heir candidates drafted were all valuable assets of the family. Now that Lucius has returned and given up his right to fight for the Bronze Stele, the family would obviously take the talents back.'
This one scene told Sylas a lot about the situation.
Ultimately, the heir candidates were exactly that. Candidates.
That meant that there was someone else in the family that had the authority to appoint a candidate to an heirship role to begin with.
After a long silence, Sylas finally looked at Lucius once more.
"Bring out someone who can actually make decisions."
The half-smile on Lucius' face froze.
A deep-seeded unwillingness and rage bubbled up deep within him, and though it didn't show on his face, it took quite a great deal for him to remain so calm on the surface.
"I don't think you understand your situation well enough, S-."
Lucius stopped talking as a blade of glass appeared from thin air around him, the edge pressing against his throat.
No, it wasn't just him. Lucius didn't dare to crane his neck, but judging by the fact no one else had spoken a single word, he realized that he wasn't the only one.
In a single brief instant, the situation seemed to have reversed. Every one of the figures within
a hundred meters of Sylas found a thin line of blood trickling down their necks.
The uncomfortable stickiness that glided into their armors froze them all in place. A cold sweat matted their backs, their hearts trembling.
"If I had come here to kill, you would be dead. My visit has nothing to do with you. I have not thought of you in a long while."
Lucius' breathing hitched, a shuddering hiccup coming from deep within his chest.
These words were probably the worst thing Sylas could have said to him.
As he was trying to figure out what to say, though, he realized that Sylas was no longer looking at him. Instead, his gaze had focused on a man behind him.
This man stuck out to Sylas like a sore thumb. He looked like he was in just as much fear and panic as everyone else, but Sylas saw right through him.
He was calm. Deathly calm. As though everything was still under his control, like his life wasn't in Sylas' hands at all.
After the man realized Sylas was staring right at him, he dropped the act, and Sylas felt a cold shiver down his spine when he saw the man's real eyes.
Cold. Emotionless. Like a husk rather than a real man.
If someone had told Sylas that this middle-aged man was a puppet, Sylas would believe them without the slightest bit of hesitation.
What Sylas saw wasn't a strong Will... but the absence of one. Or maybe it was that the Will of this man had been replaced.
At that moment, Sylas felt that he had made a mistake coming here. He knew that the waters ran deep, but this was much deeper than anything that he had anticipated.
The cold, emotionless eyes of the man seemed to gain some color to them at that moment, but it only made Sylas feel colder on the inside.
"You wanted to speak with someone with authority? Then you may come with me."
The man turned and walked away, completely ignoring the blade even though the process cut a deeper wound into his neck.
Sylas' actions didn't seem to show any of his hesitation. He tossed the young sniper to the ground and followed after. His shoulders brushed by Lucius', the two being what seemed like mere centimeters away from one another at their closest.
But from start to finish, Sylas didn't look at him again, and it was only after he was 50 meters away that he released the blades, allowing them to shatter to pieces in a sprinkle of glassy sand.
Lucius took in a haggard breath, touching his neck and looking at the line of blood that formed on his fingers.
He didn't know how Sylas had done it. It was so subtle, so calm, so undetectable. In an instant, he had placed them all in a vice grip.
Lucius clenched his jaw as he looked out in the distance.
It seemed that this was his life now.
**
Sylas was brought to the compound and wasn't given the chance to see his family. He was sure that they knew he was here, and that would probably only make them more anxious.
Certainly, it was a decent psychological tactic, one that wouldn't change whether Sylas saw through it or not.
After a long walk, Sylas was brought into an office where a middle-aged man sat behind a desk, looking at him calmly.
A great amount of pressure washed over Sylas.
Mortimer Grimblade.