Chapter 53: Why Didn't You Tell Me Earlier? Something Is Wrong With Charmcaster
"Hex wants to perform a ritual at the highest point in the city during the total solar eclipse. He plans to summon the Charms of Bezel," Charmcaster warned, her voice dripping with manufactured urgency. "If he succeeds, he will gain supreme magical power. We have to stop him. If he pulls this off, no one in the world will be able to defeat him."
Somewhere across town, a completely oblivious Hex would have likely spat blood if he heard her. Blame me? You are the one who set me up!
Charmcaster, however, was putting on a stellar performance. She looked every bit the desperate heroine, a tragic figure burdened with the heavy responsibility of saving the world and everyone in it.
Klein barely suppressed a scoff. Invincible? Please. Alien X could teach literally anyone in this universe a very painful lesson in humility. Still, he sifted through her dramatic monologue and extracted the actual useful intel: a total solar eclipse, and a high place.
He tilted his head back, his gaze locking onto a distant skyscraper. Even in this sprawling concrete and steel forest, the massive tower pierced the clouds, standing out like a lone crane among a flock of chickens.
...
Fast forward to the top of that very tower.
Klein lounged near the edge of the roof, enjoying the high-altitude breeze. He was staking the place out, betting on two things: Hex was far too power-hungry to pass up a ritual this massive, and Charmcaster definitely hadn't tipped her uncle off about the ambush.
He had already tricked Ben and Gwen into running off on a wild goose chase on the other side of town. This was his solo operation.
The sun climbed higher into the sky. The edges of the blinding sphere were already beginning to darken as the eclipse phenomenon started.
Klein tapped his foot against the concrete. "Hmm... did the old bone-head get scared? Where is he?"
His legendary laziness was warring with his impatience. Waiting was not his strong suit.
Ding.
The crisp chime of the rooftop access elevator echoed across the empty helipad. The metal doors slid apart, revealing a tall, imposing figure draped in heavy red and black robes.
Hex.
The master magician hadn't dared to fly up here on his staff, terrified of being spotted by a certain overpowered teenager in the sky. Hex had gambled everything on the assumption that Klein had no idea about this location.
A brilliant, deep blue light suddenly flared to life, illuminating the shadows of the rooftop.
Whatever grand, villainous mindset Hex had brought up the elevator with him instantly shattered. The metaphorical heart pounding in his chest flatlined.
"Hi!"
Sitting casually on the ledge was a humanoid figure composed entirely of dark purple and glowing blue energy. Tendrils of blue-white mana drifted from his head like ethereal hair, and his featureless face bore two piercing, glowing eyes. The Anodite raised a hand, waving cheerfully at the stunned sorcerer.
Hex recognized that energy signature immediately. He had seen this kid at the museum. This was the same monster who had turned into that giant flying turtle and completely wrecked his day.
Before Hex could even raise his staff, Klein blurred across the rooftop. The Anodite pinned the master magician to the ground in a fraction of a second, heavy mana constructs binding his limbs tight.
"Run!" Klein taunted, a dry amusement echoing in his synthesized voice. "Keep running! What's wrong, out of breath already?"
"Alas." Hex let out a long, defeated sigh. His usually fierce eyes went completely dull, looking like a man who had just accepted his grim fate.
Completely disheartened, the master sorcerer just lay there on the concrete, venting his frustrations to the glowing alien pinning him down. "I just wanted to perform a simple ritual," Hex grumbled, staring blankly at the sky. "I just wanted to reshape the other Charms of Bezel and gain a little bit of magic power. Not even 'take over the world' power! Just enough so I wouldn't get completely stomped by you! I was so careful! I didn't even fly! I took the damn elevator!"
"Wait." Klein paused, the glowing mana around his hands dimming slightly. He caught the key phrase. "Reshape the other Charms of Bezel?"
"Huh?" Hex blinked, not expecting this sudden shift in tone.
Realizing the overpowered anomaly sitting on his chest was actually interested in the Charms, Hex's survival instincts kicked into overdrive. The dull lifelessness vanished from his eyes, replaced by a desperate, sparkling eagerness. He immediately launched into a highly detailed, enthusiastic explanation of the ritual, practically begging Klein to spare his life in exchange for the magical artifacts.
"Well, why didn't you say so earlier?" Klein scoffed, instantly releasing his magical bindings and stepping back. "Hurry up and perform the ritual for me!"
He wasn't worried about Hex trying to pull a fast one or make a run for it. With his current speed and power, the sorcerer couldn't escape even if he grew wings.
'You didn't exactly give me a chance to speak,' Hex grumbled viciously in his head, rubbing his sore wrists. Naturally, he didn't dare voice a single syllable of that complaint out loud.
A short period of time passed—though under the Anodite's piercing, glowing stare, it felt like several grueling years to Hex.
"It is time!" Hex announced, raising his hands toward the darkening sky.
The sorcerer treated this ritual with absolute, terrifying reverence. Frankly speaking, he hadn't even taken his own father's funeral this seriously.
"Ohm... Kaza... Bal-Kash...!" Hex chanted, his voice echoing with ancient, guttural syllables.
Klein just crossed his arms. To him, it sounded like a bunch of scrambled, unpronounceable gibberish.
As the chanting grew louder and more frantic, the single Charm of Bezel in Hex's possession floated out of his robes, ascending slowly into the air. The atmosphere shifted. The sky above the city bled into a deep, ominous crimson, and the stone surface of the Charm began to emit a blinding, golden light.
Klein leaned against the elevator housing, watching the spectacular light show with genuine interest.
From Hex's perspective, the glowing Charm of Bezel aligned perfectly with the darkened sun of the total eclipse. As the celestial bodies overlapped, the magic peaked. Surrounding the original artifact, five distinct, illusory silhouettes of the other destroyed Charms began to materialize in the red-tinted air.
'It is going to work!' Hex's heart hammered against his ribs.
Excitement surged through his veins, but his pronunciation of the ancient incantation remained flawless and steady. He refused to relax his focus for even a microsecond until the ritual was complete. He valued his own miserable life far too much to risk angering the glowing monster standing behind him.
As Hex roared the final, echoing syllable of the spell, the light radiating from the central Charm of Bezel reached an absolute, blinding crescendo.
Bang!
A massive explosion rocked the rooftop. A shockwave of raw magic shattered the air.
The illusory shapes of the newly forming Charms flickered wildly before dissolving into useless sparks of mana. The ritual had completely failed to reshape them. Worse, the concussive force of the blast sent the original, authentic Charm of Bezel rocketing off into the distance, vanishing over the edge of the skyscraper.
The glowing blue light of Klein's Anodite form flared dangerously. His featureless face somehow conveyed an expression of deep, murderous grimness.
Hex froze in sheer terror. Icy sweat poured down his forehead, soaking his collar. Panic seizing his chest, he frantically yanked the ancient grimoire from his robes, his trembling fingers tearing at the parchment pages.
"That is not right... that is not right... this is completely wrong!" Hex babbled, flipping wildly through the heavy tome. His panicked eyes darted back and forth between the complex diagrams on the page and the terrifying, silent Anodite glaring holes into his soul.
Finally, his frantic searching brought him to the very last page of the chapter. There, crammed at the absolute bottom margin in painfully tiny script, was an addendum:
Note: This ritual is entirely theoretical, deduced by the author based on the inherent properties of the Charms of Bezel. It has never been practically tested due to the rarity of a total solar eclipse. The author assumes zero liability for any explosive accidents or loss of life.
What the hell?! You absolute fraud!
Hex stared at the tiny text, his vision swimming with rage and despair. His knuckles turned white as his grip tightened, violently crumpling the ancient, priceless pages.
"Where is my stuff?"
Klein's voice was quiet. Too quiet. To Hex's ears, that faint, synthesized tone sounded exactly like the icy whisper of the Grim Reaper himself.
"This... that... wait! Please, just wait a little longer!" Hex stammered, taking a terrified step back. "It will be done soon! I just need to adjust the mana flow! I will be able to forge those Charms very soon!"
Hex completely abandoned his internal cursing of the dead author. His only priority now was raw survival. He had to stall for time before this glowing teenager decided to turn him into a permanent scorch mark on the concrete.
The heavy silence stretched on, suffocating and tense. In reality, only a few minutes ticked by, but for the sweating sorcerer, it felt like an eternity.
Just as Hex was about to collapse from pure despair, a familiar voice broke the tension.
"Hi!"
Charmcaster floated gracefully over the edge of the roof, riding a disk of pink mana.
For the absolute first time in his long, miserable life, Hex thought his bratty niece's voice sounded like a choir of angels.
"Were you looking for this?" Charmcaster asked with a smirk, casually tossing a heavy stone object through the air.
Klein raised a glowing hand and snatched it out of the air. He turned the artifact over, his glowing eyes scanning the complex, ancient carvings etched into the stone. It was the real deal. The original Charm of Bezel that had been blown away in the explosion.
Klein lowered the stone and stared silently at Charmcaster. He genuinely hadn't expected the treacherous witch to find the artifact and actually bring it straight back to him instead of hoarding it for herself.
The prolonged, glowing stare started to make Charmcaster shift her weight, a faint blush of embarrassment creeping up her neck.
Breaking the tense silence, Klein finally spoke, his tone flat and unimpressed. "This was mine to begin with."
Charmcaster didn't argue. In fact, she was in a surprisingly good mood. Despite his dry tone, she could clearly sense a subtle shift in Klein's attitude toward her. He was slightly less hostile. It was a massive improvement.
There is a chance!
Hex, watching this bizarre exchange, suddenly realized he had a lifeline. He immediately shot a desperate, pleading look at his niece.
Charmcaster blinked. It was the first time she had ever seen her arrogant, domineering uncle look so utterly pathetic. It was like she was discovering a whole new side to Hex today—a groveling, terrified side she found highly amusing.
However, the 'filial' niece had absolutely zero intention of sticking her neck out for him. What if she begged for his life and ended up pissing Klein off? She had just managed to scrape together a tiny sliver of goodwill with this overpowered monster. If she threw it all away for her deadbeat uncle, she would be the one crying later.
Besides, the total solar eclipse was already fading. The sky was returning to normal. She didn't need Hex's magical expertise anymore.
I knew this brat had no family loyalty, Hex thought bitterly. Realizing that appealing to her nonexistent sense of familial love was a waste of time, the sorcerer resorted to his backup plan.
He began making rapid, subtle hand gestures behind his back, trying to catch her eye. He was attempting to bribe her with actual, tangible magical benefits.
Charmcaster watched his frantic finger-spelling, her lips pursing in thought. "Hmm... no, I don't want that. I've already read that grimoire." She shook her head dismissively.
Hex's jaw practically hit the floor. You've been secretly raiding my private collection?!
Swallowing his outrage, the helpless sorcerer quickly changed his hand signs, offering a steeper bribe.
"Hmm... still not enough," Charmcaster hummed, shaking her head again.
Greedy little witch! Hex gritted his teeth so hard they nearly cracked. His fingers flew through a final, desperate series of gestures, offering up his most prized magical secrets.
"Hmm... alright. Deal." Charmcaster finally nodded, a triumphant smirk playing on her lips.
Klein stood a few paces away, watching the uncle and niece play their silent, high-stakes game of charades. He had no idea what they were negotiating, but watching Hex cycle through fifty shades of rage, panic, and defeat without repeating a single facial expression was highly entertaining.
"Uh, so... about my uncle..." Charmcaster turned back to Klein, pausing when she realized his glowing, featureless face was already focused entirely on her.
A strange flutter of satisfaction warmed her chest, but she quickly pushed it down. Business first.
Klein didn't say a word. He just let out a quiet scoff and waved his hand dismissively, signaling that he didn't care what they did anymore. He had his prize.
...
Later that night, inside a dilapidated, abandoned church on the outskirts of the city.
"Charmcaster! How dare you take advantage of the situation like that!" Hex roared, his voice echoing off the crumbling stone pillars. He was absolutely livid at his niece's blatant extortion.
"What is it, Uncle?" Charmcaster shot back, casually inspecting her fingernails. "Are you going to make a move against me? Because you should know, Klein and I are actually quite good friends now."
She wasn't afraid of Hex's temper anymore. She had the ultimate trump card. Before parting ways on that rooftop, she and the terrifying anomaly had officially re-introduced themselves.
Hex choked on his rage, his face turning an unhealthy shade of purple. He pointed a trembling finger at her. "You... you truly are my good niece."
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