Epic Of The Demonic Sage

Hearing Lucius's words, Kiana felt a bit enlightened.

"So, who do you think it could be?" Kiana asked.

"There are many options but the most obvious ones would be none other than other nobles that have been coveting our territory. It could be anyone from an Earl all the way to a Duke. After all, the headquarter of the other two churches are located in the territories of the King or another duke." Lucius replied.

"Though… there is a chance there might be outside interference in it as well." Lucius added.

"Outside interference? You mean some other kingdoms?" Kiana asked.

"Yes.. They stand to benefit the most if we consider the current situation. Whether it be the war or the breakdown of order, both of these would benefit the kingdom of Gisir. And if by any chance they manage to take over the Land of Etara, they would be having the headquarter of a church within their kingdom as well.

This is enough to raise their profits by a lot. And you know the churches won't interfere in the war unless their interest or people are harmed as well." Lucius answered.

"Hmm… that does make sense. But if they really are doing something this daring, then they must be ready to deal with the consequences too." Kiana said with a fierce light in her eyes.

"Of course. We will ensure that whoever dared to do this will pay a price several times over." Lucius said with a smile that bordered on dangerous.

Soon the two of them reached the re-education center and got down from the carriage. Lucius looked around and saw the area to be empty of people other than the couple of guards that were doing their duties.

"Welcome, Young lord Asher." The guard standing at the gate greeted.

"Mm," Lucius simply nodded his head in response and headed inside.

Yet this little gesture of his was enough to make the guard feel better and do his work diligently. Getting slight approval from one's superiors was something a lot of people desired. It didn't matter what kind of superiors they were.

It could be one's employer, parent, teacher, priest, king, or even god. The equation was always the same. Humans sought validation in many ways and unless they got it, they were not satisfied.

Paying little attention to the guard, Lucius walked through the corridors of the bailing before appearing before the inner gate. This looked like a metal grill door, like someone would see in a prison. 

It served to separate the outer area of the building where the staff lived and the area where the criminal were kept. It was one of the extra safety devices placed there later on. So far, it has not been in use other than working as a normal gate. 

But today that was going to change. A few seconds after Lucius entered, he could hear some noise coming from one of the doors of the corridor. 

~BANG~

In the next moment, the door blew off with a bang.

~thud~

Lucius was still a couple of steps away from it thus was able to dodge it in time. He and Kiana became alert and entered a defensive stance in the next second.

~slick~

A layer of metal appeared on Kiana's palms as several metal needles rose up from it before turning into thicker spikes. Lucius on the other hand, drew his wind scar sword and held it in both hands while keeping his gaze locked on the room.

~step~step~step~

"AHH AH! FINALLY! I CAN LEAVE THIS HELL!" The loud voice of a man could be heard coming from the inside.

Then, from the smoke, the man's appearance could be seen as he walked forward. He was shirtless and there were several bloody scars on his body. A couple of his nails seemed to be missing as well.

"STOP HIM!" Another voice could be heard coming from the inside.

~shing~

Without even blinking, Lucius swung the wind scar sword sending out a blade of wind.

~shua~

In addition to that, Kiana shot out two of the metal spikes that headed towards the man who had just escaped.

"AAARRRRGH!!!" The man cried out in pain.

~thud~thud~thud~

In the next instant, his legs fell to the side as his torso was pierced in two points. Two of the spikes that Kiana had shot embedded themselves into his shoulders and pinned him to the wall.

The wind blade that Lucius had used had cut off the man's legs and now he was profusely bleeding while crying out. Lucius had a cold yet emotionless expression on his face as he stared at the man.

A couple of seconds later, two other men appeared from the room. They were wearing the uniform of the staff and looked to be injured as well. But when they finally stepped out and saw the state of the escaped man, they were shocked.

And when they saw who was standing there, they were even more shocked.

"YOUNG LORD ASHER! ARE YOU FINE!" The men cried out in concern.

"I'm fine. How about you two?" Lucius questioned.

"We are fine, but this pupil managed to escape his restraints. We were just about to reach the next 'lesson' when he used his gift and caused an explosion." One of the men answered.

"We were caught off guard and didn't know how the man managed to do this," the second one added.

~shing~

Lucius sheathed the wind scar sword and approached the legless man, who was now pinned to the wall. The man was still crying, but his voice seemed to get weaker with each passing second.

It was obvious with the amount of blood he was losing that he wouldn't last long. Kiana kept an eye on the man and was ready with more spikes. If he did anything she wouldn't hesitate to put another one between his eyes.

"Hmm… interesting… how did you do this? You are named Jacob, right? I don't think your gift description mentioned this…"