The walk back to the campus was nice and quiet as even Mars was too tired to really talk.
Rolling his shoulder as he walks, Arthur tries to feel out his sore muscles.
'God why was that bastard Elias so damn heavy.' Arthur can't help but complain as he also felt his pool of mana slowly recharge from being near empty.
'And to top it all off Damien actually tried to do something during an exam. What a fool he should settle things with his own hands. At least then he might have had a chance.' Arthur scoffs.
"What are you thinking about Arthur?" Amy who was no longer holding up Angela walks beside him seeing him scoff out of the blue.
"Oh just thinking about how Damien was an idiot for trying to pull something on us. He should have known it wouldn't have worked, especially with such a lackluster group he hired."
"Yeah but you know they did break Mars arm and Angela had to use her big attack to kill the panther if she didn't then we might have…" Amy looks slightly away, not really sure how she feels about the whole endeavor.
"Trust me, we were never in true danger. And besides, if Angela hadn't attacked when she did, I would have stepped in and dealt with it myself." He glanced at her. "But you're not wrong. It was dangerous and it could have gone worse. Just don't let that cloud your mind from the fact that we walked out of a terrible situation and made the best of it. Not even some of the Seraphim squads got a B+. So be proud of what we did." Arthur patted her shoulder.
CRASH!
"You idiots! I gave you one simple job and you couldn't even do it! How hard is it to make some lowly first-years fail a simple exam? Huh?! Is it so hard that I have to baby you while you do it?!" Damien's voice filled the room like a whip crack, each word sharper than the last. "Answer me, Elias! You promised me there'd be no way they could beat you and yet you come crawling back to me like a stupid dog!"
The remains of a porcelain vase lay scattered across the floor where it had shattered against the wall inches from Elias's head. He hadn't flinched. Not because he wasn't afraid but because flinching made it worse.
Harold and Tommy stood behind him, shoulder to shoulder, doing their best impression of men who weren't there. Harold's eyes were fixed on the floor. Tommy hadn't blinked in thirty seconds.
Elias kept his head bowed.
"He laid a trap on us. There was no way we could have ever prepared for what he did. Disguising space-locking runes as runic bombs was something I never accounted for. He—"
"He outsmarted you. That's what he did." Damien walked up to Elias, grabbing him by the neck.
"He's just a lowly Baron's son and you couldn't even handle him. You, the supposed Finger in training, were nothing in front of a failure. So what does that make you, Elias?"
"ANSWER ME!" Damien smacked Elias across the face.
"A mistake." Elias answered slowly.
"LOUDER!" He smacked Elias again.
"A MISTAKE!" Elias yelled out, his voice shaking as he did.
"And that's all you'll ever be if you don't get your act together. Because don't think this is over. It's just the start and until I have that filthy rat begging at my feet it will never truly be over." Damien stepped back, dropping Elias to the floor.
Elias hit the stone on his hands and knees. Blood dripped from the corner of his lip where Damien's ring had split the skin. His breath hitched in his lungs as if he was too scared to breathe.
Watching as Elias was given a beatdown both Harold and Tommy could feel the cold sweat that seemed to pour down their spines highlighting their fear.
"And you too don't think I forgot about you. While you are new to this whole debacle I expected better from such hired guns but it seems I was mistaken. Leave, get out of my sight if I need your services again I'll let you know."
Not letting the chance escape both Harold and Tommy jump at the opportunity to leave before things get worse.
"Next time, Elias, I won't be so reserved in my punishment. But since I have a date later, I can't go too overboard. Can't have blood on my hands when I'm holding hers." Damien smoothed the front of his shirt, checking for creases as if he was preparing for the date then and there.
Elias said nothing. He stayed on the floor, blood dripping from his lip onto the stone. He knew that if he got up and left before given permission Damien would have his head.
"Now leave, get out of my sight. I have nothing to do with such failures." And with a wave of his hand Elias stood up and left without so much as a word.
The door clicked shut.
Alone again, Damien straightened his collar one final time and checked himself in the mirror. Not a hair out of place. The blood on his knuckles he wiped clean with a handkerchief from his breast pocket, folding it neatly and setting it on the desk.
A knock came at the door. Soft. Three taps.
"Come in, Soren."
The door opened and Soren Fell slipped inside, thin and sharp-eyed, his ever-present smile already in place. He glanced at the blood on the floor, the shattered vase against the wall, and the empty room.
"I take it that the performance review didn't go well for our friends."
"They're not our friends. They're tools and broken tools get replaced." Damien didn't look away from the mirror. "Tell me you have something worth hearing. I'm not in the mood for bad news twice in one evening."
"Then you'll be pleased." Soren reached into his jacket and produced a small velvet pouch, setting it on the desk with the careful precision of a man presenting a chess piece. "The other mission was a success."
Damien's hand paused on his collar.
He turned.
"She finished it?"
"Just a bit again, right on schedule." Soren untied the pouch and let the contents slide onto the desk.
A small disc of pale stone sat on the wood, no larger than a coin. Its surface was etched with inscription lines so fine they were almost invisible to the naked eye, layered in a pattern that spiraled inward toward a single focal point at the center. The craftsmanship was immaculate. Every line precise, every curve deliberate. The kind of work that only someone with an innate understanding of runic architecture could produce.
The kind of work only Helena Lysander could produce.
"She used her bloodline to compress a full barrier into this thing." Soren said, tapping the edge of the disc lightly. "According to her, it can hold a barrier at Peak Silver output for roughly thirty seconds before the structure collapses. Reusable once the mana recharges."
Damien picked up the disc and held it between two fingers, turning it in the lamplight. The inscription lines caught the glow in thin bright threads.
"Peak Silver output, from a coin-sized disc." The corner of his mouth pulled up. It was the first genuine expression he'd worn all evening. "My Helena does such beautiful work when she's properly motivated."
Soren said nothing to that. Even he knew better than to comment on what "properly motivated" meant in Damien's vocabulary.
"Tell her to continue her best work." Damien slid the disc into his breast pocket, patting it once. "I want to see great results once it's done. She's capable of more than this and we both know it. This is just the prototype."
"I'll pass it along." Soren gave a small bow that carried more mockery than respect. "Enjoy your date. Give Helena my regards."
"Get out."
Soren left with a quiet laugh, the door clicking shut behind him.
Alone again, Damien reached for the cologne on his dresser. Two precise sprays. One at the neck. One at the wrist. He checked the mirror one final time, adjusting a strand of blonde hair that had fallen during his outburst with Elias.
Then he pulled a small velvet box from his top drawer and opened it. Inside sat a silver bracelet, delicate, tasteful, the kind of gift that looked like affection but functioned as a leash. He'd had it written on the inside.
Property of House Blackwell.
No one else would ever see the writing my Helena would know. A constant reminder of her fate that she is nothing more than a tool for Damien's use. Whether that's for her looks or talents it was all up to him.
He pocketed the box and headed for the door.
'The Greenveil was a setback. Nothing more.'
His hand found the doorknob.
'So just you wait Webb, I'll be coming.'
Author Note: I think I'm sick again not sure but will see how this effects my workflow so far not super much but will see. Anyway you know the drill 20 advance chapters on Patreon.com make sure to search up TabooQuill or Patreon.com/Lord_Cuckles it's your choice prices as low as 3 dollars.