Night was approaching.
At the Mageseekers' headquarters in the capital.
The dusk light inside the room had been completely swallowed by the arrival of night. Only a thin trace of light remained, along with Eldred, who sat behind his desk without expression.
On the desk before him lay a list.
Every name on it belonged to a Mageseeker who had been reassigned to another corps today, more than twelve hundred people in total.
In just one afternoon, the vast Mageseekers' headquarters had lost half its personnel.
Eldred naturally understood the king's intention as clearly as a mirror. This decision was probably only the beginning. Next, the king would surely reclaim the Mageseekers' authority more and more frequently.
Until, in the end, the Mageseekers became a page of history.
Thinking of this, a focused gleam flashed through Eldred's eyes. Of course, he did not want to see such a situation happen.
Since that was the case, he had to do something.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
A voice came from behind it. "Commander, Lord Tourt requests an audience. He says there are some things he would like to discuss with you."
Hearing this, Eldred calmly said, "Let him in."
Before long, the door was gently pushed open, and Tourt stood behind it.
He frowned slightly. "Why is this room so dark?"
Eldred stood up, walked to the wall, and reached out to pull a cord. With a click, the room instantly lit up.
"I didn't expect the commander of the Mageseekers to keep up with trends too. You're even using electric lights now."
Seeing this, Tourt could not help laughing.
Eldred raised his eyes and looked at the electric light hanging from the ceiling, releasing enough light to illuminate the entire room. "Technology truly is a marvelous thing. With only a few objects put together, it can reach a level comparable to magic."
Tourt laughed again. "You're barely able to protect yourself, and you still have time to sigh about this?"
Eldred's expression did not change. "This is a decision His Majesty the King had planned for a long time. What can I do? I can only obey. How am I barely able to protect myself?"
"It's fine to put on that act for others, but there's no need to say such grand, empty words to me."
Tourt waved his hand, then said, "Those shady dealings you've done in private, if any one of them were brought into the open, wouldn't it be enough for you to die ten times over?"
Hearing this, Eldred frowned slightly. "So you came here just to say this?"
"Of course not. It's just that what comes next is very private."
Tourt shut the door behind him, walked forward a few steps, looked at Eldred, and said, "We stand on the same side. So I know that, after finally sitting in your current position, you naturally don't want to lose everything just like this. And regarding His Majesty's decision, you probably already expected it long before this, didn't you?"
Eldred sat in his seat without speaking.
Tourt continued, "Last time, you rejected my proposal. Now that you can see yourself walking into a dead end, are you still going to remain unmoved?"
Eldred's gaze flickered. After a while, he said in a low voice, "Then what are you planning to do?"
Tourt looked at him and smiled faintly. "We have already prepared many places. Now we only need your cooperation. Also, there are quite a few people standing on our side. You can rest assured on that point."
Night.
The Chambers estate.
Tourt walked into the living room and looked at Russell, who was sitting quietly there with his eyes closed to rest. "Uncle, everything is ready."
Hearing this, Russell opened his eyes. "In other words, the king still made a move against the Mageseekers?"
"Yes. This morning, the king ordered half of the Mageseekers' personnel scattered and assigned to various places."
Tourt nodded and said, "Without a doubt, the Mageseekers are now heading downhill."
Russell rose from his seat and moved his half-aged body, then looked at the scenery outside the window. "Kings always have some fanciful ideas, but the trouble they cause in the end always needs others to resolve it."
At this moment, Tourt asked in some confusion, "Uncle, why do you oppose lifting the ban on magic?"
"These things should indeed be told to you."
Russell turned to look at him and slowly said, "The ban on magic is like a weight on a scale. It presses downward and maintains balance with the other side. Once this balance is broken, everything will fall out of balance. And our family succeeded in rising to power precisely because of the great anti-magic era back then. That is how we have stood firm for hundreds of years without falling. Although today, our authority no longer needs to rely on the ban on magic to be maintained, it has always been able to bring us enormous benefits."
Tourt looked into his uncle's deep eyes. He felt as if he understood these words, and yet as if he did not.
He always felt that his uncle still had some things he had not told him. But he respected his uncle like a father, so naturally, he would not ask further.
He believed that his uncle's decisions were definitely correct.
"As for what comes next, you will still arrange it. You must be careful. Then be even more careful."
Russell spoke lightly. "With the Mageseekers' help, we are only one step away from success."
"Yes. There are still several noble houses I need to visit next. I will make absolutely sure everything is secure."
Tourt's expression was serious. He knew very clearly in his heart that what they were going to do next could not tolerate even the slightest mistake.
Fortunately, over these years, relying on his uncle's guidance, he had won over quite a few important figures.
Soon, Tourt withdrew.
Only Russell remained in the living room.
He stood before the window, quietly gazing at the moonlit scenery outside.
Night.
Luke's estate.
He lay on the rocking chair in the courtyard, looking at the bright moon in the sky, and yawned.
Yawning did not necessarily mean someone was sleepy. It could also be contagious.
For example, right now.
Luke turned his head and looked at Lux, who opened her mouth and yawned again on the other side. "If you're really sleepy, can you go home and sleep? You're interfering with my moon viewing."
"I won't!"
Lux firmly rejected him. "It's not time for me to go home yet."
"You go home right on the dot every day. No wonder your mother hits you."
Luke chuckled and could not be bothered with this girl anymore, so he continued raising his head to look at the moon.
His eyes were looking at the moon, but his thoughts were not on the moon.
He could not help thinking again of the meeting his father had convened today.
Although it had not been stated clearly, this had already fully expressed his position.
There had been quite a few ministers who opposed the proposal to pardon mages and lift the ban on magic back then.
Now that Jarvan III had first taken action against the Mageseekers, would some of those people be unable to sit still?
Luke knew that the ban on magic was one of Demacia's major events, with a far-reaching and enormous impact.
He glanced to the side at Lux, who was starting to doze off. This girl's eyelids were already fighting each other, and within a minute, she would definitely fall asleep.
When that happened, Yurna would once again have to work hard and send her home.
This one was one of the main characters in the major event. But right now, never mind participating, she had not even seen a single stone at the prison entrance.
The butterfly had already flapped its wings, so even Luke did not know how matters would develop from here.
However, what should come would always come.
In his heart, he was already prepared to face it.
Time flashed by, and five days passed.
March 1.
Clear weather.
In the mage camp on the outskirts of the Demacian capital.
Lux and Sona came here every day or two.
Now, the mage camp had gained two more mages, and the construction here had already begun to take shape.
At this moment, Frey was teaching the mages across from her some magical techniques.
On the other side, inside a completed wooden house, only the young mage Emmaline and Luke were sitting.
Emmaline was only sixteen years old. She had long brown hair, a few adorable freckles on her face, and eyes as bright as all the girls Luke had ever seen.
She should have been at a naive and carefree age. Yet on that immature face, Luke saw maturity.
She had discovered that she had awakened magic when she was fifteen, and from then on, she had stepped onto the road of flight.
The Mageseekers' sense of smell was extremely sharp. Once, they had nearly discovered her and her family, but they had luckily escaped.
Just like that, she had spent day after day living in fear and anxiety, and she had no choice but to learn to grow up.
It was not until Quinn found them that she and her parents finally settled into stable lives in the mage camp.
So Emmaline knew that Quinn and this prince before her were benefactors to her entire family.
Because of this, when His Highness asked her to help with something, she agreed without hesitation or second thoughts.
"What I'm about to show you next, don't be afraid. Trust me."
Luke spoke calmly to the girl before him. His handsome face naturally won a wave of goodwill all on its own.
Emmaline nodded seriously. "I'm ready."
So Luke first raised his right hand and moved his will slightly.
With a whoosh, it was as if flames had begun burning. In an instant, a surge of purple demonic aura rose violently and boiled over his right arm.
It was a claw like that of a demon, hideous and terrifying to look at. What boiled above it was clearly power that came from a demon.
The very first glance startled Emmaline.
However, she still quickly calmed down, knowing that the prince before her had no intention of harming her.
She could not help asking, "This is…"
"The power of a demon." Luke thought for a moment, then briefly explained, "When I was dealing with a demon, I used a special weapon to absorb the opponent's power into my arm. Then it became what you see now. I already showed you the pattern just now too."
"Yes."
Emmaline nodded and said, "I can sense that it really is a kind of mark. So, did that weapon directly grant you a mark?"
Luke nodded. "More or less. I have another one on my left hand."
Then he raised his left hand and released Nocturne's power from within it.
The instant the black aura emerged, Emmaline felt fear drilling out from the bottom of her heart, and her entire body could not help going cold and trembling.
When two demonic powers appeared before her at the same time, Emmaline felt that even breathing had begun to grow difficult.
Outside the door, the little black dog lying there also instantly raised his head and could not help barking twice.
That's my damn power!
Mine!
Seeing that wretched prince use his power so casually, the little black dog was so furious his teeth nearly shattered from clenching them.
But what shocked him even more was that this prince could use his power so easily.
Thinking about it carefully, it had been the same back in Fossbarrow.
That prince had used the demon Evelynn's power to deal with her.
The instinct in Nocturne's heart told him that this human was very strange.
Inside the house.
Seeing Emmaline's unusual state, Luke immediately withdrew the two demonic powers and looked at Emmaline, whose face had turned pale. "That's basically it."
Only then did Emmaline feel her breathing return to normal. She could not help touching her chest. "I never thought Your Highness would actually be able to control two demonic powers."
"I don't know whether this counts as control either."
Luke was actually quite confused about it too. He said, "In any case, they followed the weapon and entered my body on their own."
Of course, the most special thing was still Snowglance.
Without Snowglance, he probably would not have been able to absorb these two powers.
And Snowglance had been found in an underground treasure vault. Stored inside that vault had been treasures from ancient times.
Some had turned to dust with the passage of history.
Only Snowglance remained so sharp even after so many years.
This was enough to show how special this weapon was. Luke just had not expected it to be this special.
Now, he had absorbed two demonic powers and stored them inside his body. He did not know whether there would be any negative effects.
"So, Your Highness, you want to know whether these two powers are harmful to you?"
Emmaline asked at this moment.
"Yes." Luke nodded honestly.
Emmaline said, "All right. I'll help Your Highness take a look. Please raise your hands."
Luke did as she said and raised both hands.
Then Emmaline slowly placed her hands over the two demonic marks on Luke's wrists, and her small hands began releasing a blue glow.
Luke felt his wrists immediately begin to heat up.
At this moment, Emmaline had closed her eyes, as if she were sensing something. Only a few seconds passed before cold sweat began seeping from her forehead.
Her complexion also turned as pale as before.
Luke knew that she was probably directly dealing with the two demonic powers.
Her special magical ability was creating marks, and her talent was not weak. So even though her research into marks was not very deep, she was still the person Luke could currently come into contact with who understood marks the most.
Finally, after another few seconds, Emmaline could no longer bear it. She let go, opened her eyes, and gasped for breath in great mouthfuls.
The power of demons was far too terrifying.
Just a few seconds of contact made her feel as though she had fallen into a bottomless abyss.
Without a doubt, this was absolutely genuine demonic power.
Luke took out a pill and handed it over. "A Calming Pill. You'll feel much better after eating it."
Emmaline accepted it and obediently put it into her mouth. The medicine was a little bitter, but after swallowing it, she really did feel much better.
After the pill entered her stomach and a while passed, she finally recovered.
Only then did Luke ask, "Did you get an answer?"
Emmaline nodded softly.
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