The door swung open.
Inside the interrogation room, Damon — the real Damon — lay unconscious with his back slumped against the stone wall.
His head slouched on one side, his chest rose and fell faintly, and dried blood soaked his cloak and the front of his robes.
But that wasn't what made Vaelor's blood run cold…
The room was full of snakes!
They covered the floor, they climbed the walls, they hung from the ceiling beams, and curled around the table and two chairs that occupied the room.
Thick, scaled serpents were wrapped around Damon's arms, his legs, his chest, his neck, pinning him in place like living restraints.
Most of them radiated the aura of the Mana Vortex Rank. Their bodies were small and large, and they were muscular. Their scales were dull and dark, but also bright and colorful. Forked tongues flicked in and out as they hissed softly, thier gaze fixed on nothing and everything at once.
But one snake stood out.
A massive Mana Core-level serpent was coiled tightly around Damon's torso. Its body was thicker than a man's thigh. Its coils crushed into his ribs and abdon, holding him completely immobile.
Its long neck rose up and hung directly above Damon's face, as if it was guarding him or… waiting to strike.
The mont the door opened, the Mana Core-level serpent moved. Its head slowly turned. It's cold, vertical pupils locked onto Vaelor, causing him to freeze in place. It then shifted his gaze to the person standing next to him.
The serpent blinked. It didn't recognize either of them, but strangely enough… it could feel a mystical connection to the person standing beside the elf.
"Consssstantine?" It hissed.
"It's ," said Adam.
Except that he did not speak in his voice.
He did not speak in Damon's voice either.
Vaelor finally seed to have snapped out of his shock when he heard Adam.
This voice… he thought in utter shock.
He quickly turned his head, only to see Uther Bowman standing next to him!
Vaelor didn't know what was happening, but in that split second, he instantly realized that he was in mortal danger. In front of him lay a room full of powerful serpents, and beside him was a mysterious shapeshifter whose true identity was unknown to him.
In that mont, the elf realized that this person was the root cause of the chaos ensuing between the Councilors of the Twilight Brotherhood!
His green eyes flashed with a cold light, and he struck the shapeshifter with his daggers. He had already gripped the hilts before even descending the stairs, so he was prepared for battle.
"Oh?" Adam's murky eyes glead with surprise at witnessing the Councilor's decisiveness.
The twin daggers closed in on his neck. Vaelor was planning to ruthlessly decapitate him. At the last possible mont, Adam's figure turned into a blur, and he disappeared from his spot. This wasn't teleportation. Just pure speed.
He appeared behind the elf, striking with his own daggers. Although his weapons were of inferior quality, they could still do the job for him once he coated them with his tyrannical mana.
Adam aid at the vital points in the elf's torso. But Vaelor quickly turned around, his speed and agility as graceful as the wind.
Clang!
The elf blocked Adam's attacks. Despite managing to buy himself a few more seconds, he couldn't help but feel dread grip his heart. Just blocking those attacks made his hands go numb.
Just… who is this man?! He scread inwardly.
"You're good. I'll give you that," Adam spoke in Bowman's voice.
His eyes then gradually widened, and a beautiful white lotus pattern erged in his pupils. When Vaelor looked at the holy patterns, he felt his thoughts montarily slow down, and his mind felt sluggish.
That brief mont was all Adam needed to disarm Vaelor. He then pressed several pressure points on the elf's chest and shoulders, making his arms go limp. Finally, he delivered a hand chop to the back of the elf's neck, instantly knocking him out.
"That took longer than I thought," he murmured as he gazed at the elf's unconscious body. "One can never underestimate a Mana Core Magus."
He then weaved a simple hand seal, cancelling the summons of all the serpents except the strongest of them, who was coiled around Nyle Damon.
"Kill him," Adam spat coldly.
HISSS!!
The serpent bared its fangs, ready to devour its prey.
But at the last mont, Adam blurted out, "No, wait! You can't eat him. Just… inject poison directly inside his mouth. No bite marks on his flesh."
The snake glared at Adam, hissing angrily.
"I know, I know." Adam sighed helplessly. "But you can't eat these two. I need their bodies. I, uh… I'll get you soone else to eat."
HIIISSSSSS!!!
"I know it's part of the deal, alright." Adam felt a headache coming on. "Look, I don't have enough ti. Just do this favor, and I'll repay you with twice the sacrifices. How about that?"
The serpent's eyes narrowed. In the end, it relented.
Under Adam's guidance, the snake injected poison directly into Damon's mouth. Within a minute, the Councilor was dead. A glowing orb erged from the corpse and plunged into the serpent.
The snake blinked.
"It's nothing." Adam laughed awkwardly. "Consider it a dal of honor."
Then, the snake killed Vaelor in the sa manner. Once again, a tiny orb erged from the elf's corpse and dove right into the snake.
"Good snake!" Adam tried to pat the reptilian, but it angrily dodged his advances. It then glared at him and hurled so insults in snaketoungue.
"Okay, I got it." Adam resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "You can return to the Coil now. I'll summon you soon and feed you those sacrifices."
The serpent left, but not before insulting Adam a few more tis.
Left alone with two corpses in the room, Adam — still wearing Bowman's face — stroked his chin and thought:
Now, to fabricate the cri scene.
He inhaled deeply, then slowly released his aura.
More precisely, he released Bowman's aura.
Adam had morized the man's mana signature, along with Hastings's and Yaegar's, during the ergency council eting, when he had caused a ruckus and the three were forced to restrain him.
Now, he was carefully replicating Uther Bowman's mana signature and letting it bleed into the room, deliberately contaminating the scene.
As he did so, he calmly thought to himself:
I hope they arrive soon…
***
Nearly twenty minutes later, two figures closed in on the abandoned outpost.
They were none other than…
Agron Yaegar and Kenton Hastings!
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