“H-how is this possible?”
The shock and confusion on Libra’s and Taurus’s faces were unmistakable. They lowered their gazes to the body on the floor, then lifted their eyes to meet Phecda’s, utterly at a loss for words.
“This… it doesn’t make any sense.”
They glanced over to see the shattered pieces of the necklaces that had been specifically entrusted to them to counteract Phecda’s emotive magic.
It was supposed to work, and yet…
Yet…
“More.”
Julien’s soft voice broke through their shock, his gaze lingering on them as his eyes reddened, the intensity of his stare making their hearts tremble.
Seeing his current state, realization soon dawned on them.
“He… isn’t sane.”
From the way his eyes were unfocused to the strange mumbles escaping his lips, the Julien before them felt like a stark contrast to the person they once knew.
At that moment, he seemed entirely different-like a demon had taken control of his body, giving birth to this psychotic and unpredictable version of him.
While this was how things seemed, Julien was actually still sane.
His main persona had taken a backseat, allowing Alexander to take control of his body. Yet, despite the shift, Julien felt fully in command of himself. He could suppress Alexander’s influence at his own will.
At least… for now.
His last attack had actually drained his mind quite considerably.
He had anticipated they would have some means of countering Emotive Magic, especially after Owl-Mighty’s earlier warning, but he hadn’t expected the relics they wore to be so strong.
It took everything for him to break the necklace, leaving his mind momentarily vulnerable.
For now, everything seemed fine, but if things continued as they were, the situation could quickly become dangerous-his identities could eventually seize control of his mind if he wasn’t careful enough.
Keeping his breathing in check, Julien didn’t recall Alexander back.
For now, he was still in control.
The world before him was still gray, and he could see faint traces of red around.
He still held the advantage.
All he had to do was not use his Emotive Magic for now, and that was fine. They were currently unaware that his mind was exhausted.
In fact, this was a good chance to trick them once more.
With a sudden grin, Julien stepped back, the fog around them suddenly growing thicker as he faded from everyone’s view.
His sudden actions were what woke everyone up as Libra quickly turned her head to look at Taurus.
“Find him.”
“…I know.”
The two of them had somewhat settled down after Sagittarius’s sudden fall. This wasn’t the first time they had experienced a situation like this.
No, it was more like this wasn’t the first time they had been in extremely dangerous situations.
This was, however, the first time they had met someone so… psychopathic.
“He’s behind!”
Sensing something, Taurus’s head flicked back to see a shadow dash in their direction. It was incredibly quick, but so was Libra who raised her hand, summoning a tall pillar of fire in the exact same spot where the shadow was.
No, it was more like she had summoned the wall exactly where she predicted the shadow would appear, nailing her prediction perfectly as a sea of flames swiftly consumed the shadow.
Unlike last time, however, she wasn’t pleased.
Her eyes remained focused while Taurus’s deep black eyes fixed themselves on the fire before his head flicked to the right and he raised his hand.
“There-!”
The space before Taurus fluctuated, and a figure materialized soon after. Without hesitation, Taurus launched another attack, his other hand raised as a magic circle formed and ice shards materialized.
His attack was quick and precise, leaving no room for breath.
And yet…
Swoosh!
All Taurus felt was a faint brush against his cheek as Julien’s figure vanished. Annoyance flared in his mind as his eyes quickly tracked Julien’s movements, predicting his next move. Once again, he performed the same set of actions, and once again, Julien dodged.
He was like a shadow, intangible and uncatchable.
Taurus felt a wave of helplessness wash over him. Every time he tried to attack, Julien would simply vanish. As time passed, he noticed Julien’s figure becoming more and more blurred, and his eyes began to struggle to keep up with his movements.
‘No, it’s even creepier than that…’
Taurus gradually began to realize he was struggling to identify which figure was Julien’s real body, as the illusions grew increasingly lifelike-so convincing that even his all-seeing eyes were starting to be deceived.
‘He’s evolving.’
The realization weighed heavily in his mind, forcing his jaw to clench tightly.
If there was one silver lining in the situation, it was that Julien had yet to break through his defenses. He kept on trying, but he failed each time.
That was when something quickly dawned on Taurus as he shouted.
“Libra! He can’t use his Emotive Magic wantonly! He must be exhausted from before!”
Libra’s brow rose in surprise until her lips eventually twisted into a sly smile.
Thinking it over, Phecda didn’t seem as bold as before. If he had been able to easily break the necklace, he would have had several chances to attack Taurus, but he hadn’t. Clearly, he was
being cautious.
Not only that, Libra was also sure that his mana reserves were running thin.
They had been chasing him for quite a while. After killing the Melanchonies, and getting rid
of several Hounds, he was surely tired.
‘Chance!’
Libra’s eyes blazed with flames as a dome began to materialize around her, slowly expanding to encompass the surroundings and enclose the three of them. Taurus was the same, gigantic eyes suddenly forming above them.
All of a sudden, Julien’s position became clear for the two of them as he suddenly stopped.
“Uh?”
Julien looked around in surprise. Just glancing at the eye above him, he realized there was nowhere left to hide. It felt as though the eye could see through any disguise, its gaze cutting
through everything.
But that wasn’t all.
His breathing grew increasingly labored, sweat dripping down the side of his face as the
pressure mounted. As a stinging sensation accompanied the sudden changes, Julien saw several figures, covered in fire heading in his direction.
Before he even had the chance to react, the figures suddenly inflated before exploding.
Bang, Bang-
A powerful force engulfed his body, sending him recoiling back and crashing onto the
ground.
He barely had time to react before he felt several fluctuations behind him, and more figures materialized, their bodies rapidly inflating. Julien’s expression turned solemn, but he wasn’t
at all panicked.
Lifting his head to stare at the eye that was staring intently at him, Julien suddenly smiled.
It was a smile that seemed to be filled with mockery. As though it was saying; ‘You see
through all my disguises, but can’t see through the most important part.’
Taurus suddenly felt his heart tighten, but by then, it was too late. Julien clenched his hand,
and threads materialized, weaving throughout the entire area.
“Careful!” Libra, noticing the sudden shift, turned to look at Taurus, who extended both hands forward
in a desperate attempt to stop the threads. But Julien’s actions were too swift.
More importantly, his threads were no ordinary threads.
A thin purple film coated each thread, and although Taurus managed to stop most of them,
one thread grazed his body.
A sudden wave of weakness hit him, causing his right knee to buckle.
An opening appeared, and Julien didn’t hesitate. His figure blurred, reappearing right behind Taurus as he extended his deep purple hand, reaching for Taurus’s head.
“No, you don’t-!”
Libra moved instantly, leaving a trail of scorched flames behind her as she appeared before
Taurus in a flash. Right as she arrived, she saw Taurus weakly raise his head and look at her.
As their gazes locked, Libra saw his lips slowly part. Time seemed to slow, and just barely, she made out his words. But by then, it was too late.
‘It’s a trap…’
“Uh?”
A hand grasped the back of her head.
“Fool.”
A wave of weakness quickly washed over her, forcing both of her knees to buckle.
Her eyes shook, but by then it was too late as a hand reached down and grasped her neck, pulling the necklace away. Her lips parted open as she tried to say something, but Julien
wanted none of it as he squeezed her head and mumbled, ‘Sadness’.
Thump-!
As her body fell, Julien raised his head to look in Taurus’s direction. His deep black eyes stared straight in Julien’s direction, clashing with his hazel eyes. An
eternity seemed to pass, but merely a fraction of a second had passed before Julien’s figure faded and appeared right behind Taurus who turned his head to match Julien’s movements. His eyes burned with indignation but surrounded by threads, he was powerless to act. Extending two fingers, a small magic circle formed at the tips of Julien’s fingers. He pressed it
gently against Taurus’s temple.
‘Immersia.’
Taurus was the next to fall.
Thump!
In just a few minutes, Julien had managed to neutralize the three most powerful members of
the group. As the tension settled, dozens of figures emerged from behind the domain, their
gazes all fixed on Julien.
The entire time, they had been unable to do a thing. Julien’s movements were too fast and they had a hard time keeping up with his figure.
It was only now that they were able to fully see him as he stood above the bodies of the three
Low Seats.
The scene…
The sight was enough to freeze the hearts of everyone present. They stood petrified,
struggling to comprehend the situation and find a way to react.
“Haa…”
Julien’s heart tightened at the sight of them, but he didn’t show it.
Even when his lungs were burning and his heart was palpitating with exhaustion, he kept his
face straight.
His mana was dry and he was completely exhausted.
Even so, he couldn’t show it. He had to remain dignified and calm. Closing his eyes and
switching back to his regular persona, his deep hazel eyes scanned the surroundings before
his lips moved.
“I haven’t killed them yet.”
His voice was deep, with a faint hoarseness that was noticeable to those paying close
attention.
“… But I will kill them if you step any closer.”
Julien understood the importance of the three people before him.
They were valuable assets, and he used that as leverage.
“For now, I want you all to back off. The only reason I spared the lot of you is not out of the
kindness of my heart, but it’s mainly because I don’t quite want to burn bridges between our two organizations. For now, I want you to get in contact with your leaders.”
Julien lowered his head and showed three fingers, the same he had previously shown before when he first started his attack.
“I expect good compensation for the three of them.”
He crouched down, gripping the back of each of their heads and dragging their bodies along
with him. The hounds quickly parted to make way, their eyes fixed on him, but their bodies frozen, unable to move.
Moving past them, Julien never once looked back.
His solitary figure, carrying three bodies in his hands, was captured by all the hounds present,
and before Julien knew it, a seat position was quickly assigned to him;
Julien Dacre Evenus, the Low-Seat of Madness.