The Virtues' Magecraft

Page 83: Those Who Hunger For Justice

Adam Lane twirled a thin, black dagger in his hands before he clenched it into his fist and knocked on the wooden door before him. Blood continued to drip down the blade, creating a thin red trail onto the wooden floor of the corridor. He began to wait.

It was far from his preferred weapon, being a mere blade he found in one of Archibald's many offices throughout the world. He took it without a second thought and went along his way, now finding himself only a door from the High Council of the Magecraft Association.

However, he had long decided he would simply kick the door down if they decided not to open it.

He began counting down the seconds. Fortunately for the High Council, an old man named Louis Oxford pulled the door open for Adam Lane. Councilman Oxford forced a smile onto his lips as soon as their eyes met. "Mister Lane. To what do we owe your arrival?" he asked in his attempt to be courteous.

"Go sit," Adam ordered.

They locked eyes once again, and after peering into the stale darkness of Adam's grim eyes, the councilman decided following the Demon-Born's directions would be for the best.

All of the councilmen had been gathered into a single room, and while that may have not been anything out of the ordinary, witnessing Adam Lane, a man clad in black leather and even blacker energy, enter the room holding a thin knife was enough to instill a confused fear and worry into each of their hearts.

"It is my understanding you hired the Old Man of the Mountain. To kill my son. Is this correct?"

The group of men fell silent, each of them facing Adam, some having to turn their chairs, others turning away from their drinks to give the man their full attention. And yet, even as they were all focused, none of them could bring themselves to answer him.

One of them resolved himself and pressed his cigar against the ashtray before him. Dermot Douglass cleared his throat. Adam faced him, their eyes meeting as the councilman began to speak.

"Is it safe to assume you killed the assassin?" Douglass asked.

Adam looked down to his still-bleeding blade. "I did not kill him. However, I did make sure that he will never be able to kill another again."

At that moment, it hadn't even been ten minutes since his battle with Hassan. Adam made sure to slowly remove three fingers from each of Hassan's hands.

Adam simply wished to kill the man who took his son's life, but Charles Archibald suggested the idea of a punishment to last his whole life, instead of one to end it. As he looked up and once more met the eyes of the councilmen, he gripped his blade even tighter.

It was then that Charles Archibald appeared beside his friend. With the most advanced magic a human could behold, Archibald could teleport across the globe with minimal amounts of energy to sense or feel or trace. He stood in silent poise, as if ready to attack with a smile on his face. He didn't hold a cane, but a thin shortsword of silver steel with a crimson gem on its pommel.

He turned to Adam and the two exchanged a few mutters.

To the High Councilmen, the scene of two High-Grades standing before them was all it took to instil fear into each of their hearts. Even the strongest of them knew they could perish in an instant.

Against two of the strongest living humans, there was nothing to be done. No one to call. They could only resign themselves to their fates of whatever would come next.

Douglass' hands were steady, despite his fear. Even as the others began panicking, he stared at the two men, staring past them and at their surrounding layers of dense magic. Thick clouds of energy.