Outside the hidden chamber, Daniel's forces fanned out, searching for hidden chambers where Lucian might be hiding. Meanwhile, within the concealed chamber, Magnus observed the scene of heavily-armored men searching alongside the paladins with caution.
Inwardly, Magnus prayed that none of them were master-ranked mages. The illusion magic array he had employed could only deceive mages below the master rank; those with greater knowledge or equal rank could see through the disguise.
One by one, the paladins and men in red hulking power armor passed by, seemingly oblivious to the illusion in front of them. Then, Daniel approached, his immense power evident from the cataclysmic spell that obliterated the hell dimension, as seen in the orb projection. He examined his surroundings, as if sensing a disturbance in the illusion.
"Oh no... Does he know I'm here? Of course he must! He could easily kill a Hightower Enforcer!" Magnus muttered, realizing he was at risk of being discovered.
Seizing the opportunity, Magnus decided to launch a surprise attack, hoping to eliminate Daniel swiftly.
From Daniel's perspective, an unknown black silhouette materialized in front of him. However, this attempt to catch him off guard had been anticipated; Daniel had warned his men to be wary of ambushes and had already deduced the general direction from which an attack might come, the same direction where Magnus lurked.
The reason for this was, As Daniel's mind sank into his mindscape, he made an intriguing discovery. One of his cards with the ability to destroy enchantments appeared before him, ready for use, as if it were indicating the presence of something hidden.
However, there was nothing physically obstructing his view. This peculiar combination of events could only mean that an illusion spell was at play, cleverly camouflaging or concealing a threat. With this realization, Daniel became acutely aware of the general direction from which the hidden danger might emerge, allowing him to preemptively warn his men before Magnus's impending attack.
A barrage of high-powered bullets tore through Magnus's body, seemingly splitting it in two. However, instead of flesh and blood, Magnus's body exploded into grains of sand before regathering itself, all the while maintaining its direction and aggressive intent.
The hail of bullets continued to pummel Magnus's form, yet this time, both Daniel and his men noticed that something was off. As the bullets struck, Magnus's body exploded into sand once more, but he didn't waver in his determined charge towards Daniel.
With incredible speed, Magnus closed the distance, his body transforming into sand within a range of 100 meters, only to reform and hurtle toward Daniel in a matter of seconds. But just as his form solidified, he was met with the barrel of a super shotgun wielded by the Atlantean Vanguard in red hulking power armor.
Boom!
The shotgun blast, fired at point-blank range, decimated Magnus's entire body, reducing him to smithereens. Although the moment the shotgun shells touched his skin, Magnus's body reverted to sand, the force of the blast propelled the particles in different directions, scattering his form far and wide.
The sound of gunfire caught the attention of Daniel's men, who quickly rushed toward him, along with some paladins who hadn't found any demonic beings to purge.
After a few tense seconds, the sand that comprised Magnus's body began to gather from different directions and reformed into a human shape. Paladin and Atlantean Vanguard alike surrounded Magnus, waiting for their superior's orders, now realizing that their weapons couldn't kill the man before them.
"This is... a little bit annoying," Daniel mused at the peculiar scene unfolding before him, as sand coalesced into a human form.
"By the law of the Hightower, you can't kill me, Magitek. You don't even have the right to go against me! I am Magnus Alchemont, the High Councilor," Magnus bellowed, asserting his position.
Hearing this, Daniel's face grew more complex as he hadn't anticipated this turn of events. He had no one within the Hightower's political sphere to brief him on who's who and what's what, aside from Greed. Thus, he was unaware of Magnus's status as a High Councilor, which was something quite natural to happen.
However, Daniel recalled the laws of the Hightower, which he had read about. It seemed that individuals in the same position had the right to kill each other in case of conflicts, but a Councilor couldn't kill a High Councilor.
"But I believe I still have the basic right to defend myself, don't I, Lord High Councilor?" Daniel inquired with a hint of sarcasm.
"That's right, and your men just exercised that right for you," Magnus responded, brushing off the sarcasm with the nonchalance that came from his years of navigating politics. He was no stranger to jeers and sarcasm, as he had encountered them countless times throughout his long political career.
"And as a High Councilor, I command you," Magnus continued, his voice resonating with authority.
"The Hightower associate, Grand Artificer Daniel Emberweave, alias Magitek, is to turn back. You are meddling in the affairs of the Hightower. If you turn back now and bring your men with you, I swear upon my magical power that we will not pursue this matter and even reward you handsomely," Magnus declared, utilizing the weight of his position as a High Councilor.
"Tch!" Daniel clicked his tongue, well aware of the hierarchy within the Hightower. Those with higher authority, such as Councilors and High Councilors, held the right to command anyone with lower authority, as long as their orders didn't contradict the Hightower's laws or the rules of the Curtained World.
[Wait... the Rule of the Curtained World!?] Daniel realized a crucial fact that he might use to his advantage. Gathering his thoughts, he responded,
"Lord Alchemont, according to the Rule of the Curtained World, I suspect that you are the one who summoned the demons through the hell gate and have the intention of exposing the existence of the Curtained World! The demons we face in the later stage of our purging didn't respond to any command or display any restrictions. Your actions may eventually expose the existence of the Curtained World if not stopped. According to this rule, I have the right to prevent any attempt at exposing it, including killing you without any consequence!" Daniel asserted, citing his right and the rule of the Curtained World to Magnus.
Magnus was taken aback by Daniel's accusation. At first, he wanted to laugh it off, but soon anger replaced his amusement. The accusation was no joke, and deep down, he knew that Daniel's claim was irrefutable.
Even though he held the esteemed position of a High Councilor and hadn't created the portal himself, this revelation could cost him his life if it reached the ears of the Grand Councilor of the Golden Scale faction.
No, he couldn't let that happen! To protect this secret, he needed to bury all the witnesses here. Determination fueled his intent to fight and kill all those present, but before he could act, a blade sliced through his side with deadly accuracy, piercing between his ribs and damaging his lung!
The surprise attack startled him, especially since his body, fortified by a relic, should have turned into sand upon impact, nullifying any harm. Blood slowly oozed from his wounds, a phenomenon he hadn't anticipated. His body shouldn't have suffered like this. Magnus swiftly turned towards the direction from which the attack came.
"The rules this, the rules that. That's why I don't like mages fighting each other. It's evident that this man is a heretic who needs to be purged! Why waste your breath instead of killing him?" A familiar voice echoed through the hall, belonging to Christopher Ward, the Grand Paladin of the Secret Exterminator Unit of the Vatican.
"Ward!! Shit!!" Magnus cursed at the sight of the Grand Paladin. Countless rumors, warnings, and stories circulated within the Hightower about this fanatic, a thunderous reminder to avoid any confrontation with him. Christopher was known to be unyielding, refusing any explanations and only responding with violence.
Daniel smirked. "I waste my breath because I needed time to dispel the enhancement from that guy's robe, which would turn his body into sand the moment he faced an attack capable of injuring him," he explained to Christopher.
"What! You dispelled the relic's power from the shawl of Tutankamun!?" Magnus blurted out in disbelief, touching his tattered white robe, which looked like it was made out of rags or bandages.
"Ohhhh, clever. So what now, huh? Magitek?" Christopher asked, unsure if Daniel would stand and defend the heretic, considering Magnus held higher authority than Daniel, making it Daniel's duty to protect him.
Daniel glanced at Magnus, struggling to pull the sacred blade from his rib, and then looked back at Christopher.
"Since he is the High Councilor, I don't have the right to kill him. So I will walk away to that door," Daniel said, pointing towards the hidden door that appeared after the illusion spell had lost its effect due to the absence of the hell gate that powered it, revealing Magnus, its maintainer.
Christopher's fanatical smile grew wider. "That's fine with me," he said, staring at Magnus like a predator eyeing its prey. "Then, good luck with whatever you choose to do." Christopher advanced towards Magnus, who was now severely injured from the surprise attack.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l