Chapter 186 A Test

It became more difficult to walk forward as his body started to feel heavier and heavier as he continued to take a step forward. It felt as though there was something stopping him from reaching his destination. Isaiah looked behind him and was scared because of what he saw.

Behind him was a clump of something black that had multiple hands that were holding on to his clothes. The thing has neither a mouth nor an eye. There were only hands that were constantly grabbing at him.

He tried to shake them off but it was proven to be difficult because when he was able to remove the hands that were stopping him the other limbs would take that chance to get a hold of him. Without any other choice, he used his magic.

Lightning danced around the seemingly empty space and burned out the arms that were trying to pull him back. He then let the lightning spread as far as he could and he intensified their power. While he let his lightning run rampant, he heard something break and then the darkness that surrounded him disappeared.

He blinked for a couple of times before he could finally focus on the corridor where they were trapped. Ezio was looking at him before he gestured for Isaiah to follow him. After that trap, no more traps were activated until they reached a steel door.

They forcefully opened the door and as if they stepped inside it was as if they were transported into another world. The place was enormous. There was a large space in the center of the dungeon where a magic circle was drawn. There were wires running down towards the circle and there were apparatuses connected to those wires.

They looked around until they realized that it was not a dungeon but more like a laboratory where experiments were being conducted. Isaiah noticed a dent on one side of the wall and when he pressed it, a door opened on the side. Ezio came from behind and with a tacit understanding, they entered the door only to be surprised and at the same time be disgusted by what they saw.

That room was filled with cells and behind those prison bars were people. Ezio saw lamps so he used his mana to light them up and everything became clear. The people in that place were disfigured much like those who attacked the capital.

There was only one difference between them and those who attacked was that, these people right now looked weak and on the verge of dying. Isaiah tried to talk to one of them but he received no response. They were all out of it.

They were still confused as to what was happening when they heard a scream. It was not of fear but of utter pain. They looked around but saw nothing in that room so they both exited the room. The scream was a bit muffled but the both of them could still hear it.

They followed the direction where the sound came from and came face to face with a wall. Ezio tapped the surface of the wall and in a stroke of luck he managed to find that one of the pieces that was used to build the wall doesn't look right. It was a bit worn out and there were a bit of scratches on it while the other materials were not showing any signs of wear and tear.

He pressed it and just like the other one, a door slid open. The scream became clear so they hastily entered the room only to see something that would remain in their memory for a very long time. There in the middle of the room was a woman tied on a table and around her were three mages that were injecting something into her.

They saw how black veins popped on her skin. Those veins were pulsating and every time a vein was formed, the woman would scream. Isaiah's lightning hit the three mages and pinned them on the wall. Ezio walked up to the table and freed the bound woman.

They tried talking to the woman but she was so out of it that her eyes were unfocused and she kept on mumbling words that they couldn't understand. While they were busy looking after the woman, an alarm rang loud and clear in the entire dungeon.  One of the pinned mages managed to press a button that sounded the alarm.

Several doors slid open and mages came pouring out towards the room where Ezio and Isaiah were. They raised their hands with spells already aimed at them. Isaiah was late to react but Ezio was faster as he opened a gate where he pulled Isaiah.

They exited behind the group of mages and Isaiah did not waste time as he summoned a magic circle above the mages followed by lightning falling down from the magic circle that was activated. The mages were hit hard as Isaiah did not hold back with that attack. After the first wave, another group of lightning fell down.

The mages that were hit twice with that lightning all fell to the ground, twitching. "What should we do with them?" Isaiah was panting as he sat on the ground after using too much mana.

"Tie them up and present them to the people. This must be the evidence that the master needs." Ezio calmly walked towards the unconscious mages. "I just can't believe that all of them would go down with that attack."

After Isaiah caught his breath, he stood up and walked to where the mages were. Ezio was busy tying him up using the wires they were using for their experiments. He inspected them and shook his head followed by a sigh.

"They are only ordinary mages. Most of them are novices. They must have been forced to work here in exchange for money." Isaiah commented after he took a look at them. He helped Ezio tie them up.

Before he could ask how they should carry all of those people out, Ezio already summoned a gate that directly led outside of the tower. Isaiah stepped inside and he couldn't help himself from being amazed. They then helped each other to transfer all of those mages using the gate.

"What's your relationship with Rigel?" Isaiah did not forget to ask while they were moving the men one by one.

"His name is not Rigel. You already heard that he was not a Ginehart," Ezio frowned at the other. "They all call him master but he has a name."

Isaiah stopped moving and looked at Ezio. He already noticed that Ezio has this kind of reverence towards the man in question. He did not understand why Ezio was showing some kind of attachment to that person that he would become defensive. But he can't just judge him based on that because he didn't know anything about them.

"Yes, I get it. I already heard his name. I was just wondering why you are being defensive right now? I was just asking about your relationship to him because you seemed to know each other." Isaiah explained to ease the tension that was building up because of the topic.

"That's none of your business." Ezio did not want to answer him and talk to him any longer.

"Cyg-" he stopped after the first syllable as he felt blood coming out from his mouth. He could also feel his vision getting a little bit blurry.

Isaiah kneeled on the ground and coughed up blood. He was in that position for a full minute before he wiped his mouth and looked up at Ezio who only looked at him. Isaiah saw him shaking his head before he turned around to haul the last man.

"What just happened?" Isaiah asked despite the difficulty he felt in speaking. He looked behind him at Ezio who just threw the man on the gate.

"It means that you can't say my name because if you do, you'll die." Cygnus's voice sounded behind Isaiah's ear. "But for you to be still fully conscious after uttering that one syllable means that you are quite talented."