Dark Lord in Chains 125 (Patreon)

I waited even as the gate opened and the girl rushed inside, calling the other two to rush forward, carefully watching the old mage, who was gathering his mana. However, the moment I recognized the spell that he was forming, I rushed forward…

“What—“ was all the young man was able to shout as a huge bolt of black ice slammed into his chest, penetrating his armor and killing him immediately. 

As I rushed forward, I cast an illusion spell, glad that the girl was looking at the other side. I didn’t want her panicking, so I showed her a view of sudden reinforcements arriving, one that wore the same type of armor as the young man who had just been killed, creating an intense show of battle … one that I contributed. 

Of course, the old man had recognized the spell. He was too good not to — a fact that I knew from direct experience. Unfortunately, he couldn’t do anything about it, not when he felt a blade pressing against his throat. 

“Hello, Mrin, long time no see,” I whispered into his ear even as I draw a rune to disrupt his magic, one that would temporarily leave him helpless. And, as an advantage, the magic over him dispersed, leaving a much more familiar face. One of my earlier rivals during my climb.

One that had disappeared three years ago, supposedly assassinated by one of his rivals. What an interesting encounter.  

One that I hadn’t slain mostly because he was smart enough to adapt to the new reality, too concerned with his personal safety. Of course, that only increased the value 

“B-Byron,” he stammered in shock, quick to recognize my voice. “You were supposed to be…” 

“Dead after the betrayal of your friends, while you thought you were successful in your attempted assassination,” I said with a chuckle. “It seems that the news of my demise had been greatly exaggerated.” 

As I mocked him, I used the opportunity to cast a ward to keep the mana shadows away from us, giving me time for an impromptu interrogation. I had no idea why he was here, but if it was about his fake suicide, it meant he was working on it for at least three years, maybe even more. 

Highlighting just how valuable the ruins were. 

“But how, the Empire caught you—“ he started, but fell silent as I pressed my blade against his throat tighter. 

“I know, what a horrible end for an uppity dark lord, right?” I said, then chuckled. “Too bad it happened just before a bunch of phoenixes came and took control of the dark lands, making the position completely useless!”

“You knew!” he gasped as he tried to look at me, his expression completely twisted. Of course, I had no idea, but there was no harm in selling my omnipotence, especially during the impromptu interview. 

“Of course I knew,” I said as I pushed him against a wall, letting him take a glimpse of my weapon. 

“I-is this blade of Shadows?”  he stammered. “That was supposed to be in the vaults of the empire.” 

“Yes, and you were supposed to be dead. Life works in mysterious ways,” I answered. “Now, tell me, what exactly is below that makes you work that much. “

“The truth of our world,” he answered, letting out a hysteric laugh. “And the reason why those damned creatures of fire are back, trying to take what is mine, forcing me to act faster than I wanted!” 

“And caught by me. Too bad you lost,” I commented. 

He let out a dark chuckle. “I don’t think so,” he chuckled. “That girl here is the only one that can open the gates and take down the security measures. What do you think she’ll do once she watches you kill her trusty butler, the one that protected her after her parents’ unfortunate demise.” 

“I see you are still the same,” I chuckled. “Pity she won’t see anything,” I added. 

“What do you--" he started, but then, he looked at her way more carefully, and noticed she was looking at an empty spot, lost in the moment. “Illusion spell. How?” he gasped, shocked. “Even you couldn’t maintain three spells at the same time while moving around—“ he tried to add. Then, I moved my arm, and he noticed the Tether of the Underworld around. 

“Impossible! The Tether as well! Were you working for the Empire all along?” he gasped, somehow scandalized. 

“Come on, Mrin, you know me better than that. Do you really think that I would work for anyone? I just made a small deal, and they were happy to pay greatly.” 

“I see,” he murmured, but even as he said that, I felt his magic flicker. A horrible idea with the magic dispersing rune, but he clearly didn’t mind. He was trying to blow us up, maybe disrupting the illusion of the girl.

No, I realized a moment later. He had pulled some kind of shaped stone from his pocket, one that was glowing with a dangerous amount of magic. Not something I could make, and certainly not something I expected him to have. 

“You better—“ he started, ready to deliver his threat.  

“You changed, Mrin, you used to be smarter,” I said, but only after I stabbed three times, the combination enough to mortally wound him. He still managed to trigger the magical device, but I managed to block it with the Shield of Aether. 

“T-the S-shield as well,” he stammered, breathing his last words. I didn’t try to save him. He had some precious knowledge, but that knowledge also came with some dangerous tricks, tricks that I wasn’t willing to pull. 

Anything he discovered, I could as well. Still, I went through his body and took everything I could. Then, I adjusted the illusion that the girl watching. A huge mana shadow appeared, one that ‘grabbed’ me and threw me toward the door before it rushed forward, and forced the rest, including the old man, to retreat the other way. “Close the door,” the old man in the illusion shouted. 

Meanwhile, I rolled next to her. “You should be quick, we’re dead if that shadow comes here,” I shouted, revealing a bleeding wound. It was just a scratch I did myself, of course, but it looked worse enough to trigger her sense of mercy. 

She looked undecided, but she focused on the other side of the door, triggering several parts. 

“Y-you’re wounded, we need to bandage it,” she said, pulling several bandages from her bag to show she was prepared. 

“Sorry for being a bother,” I said as I let her bandage it. “We just didn’t expect such a big army of creatures…” 

“Speaking of your arrival, I didn’t know that we hired more mercenaries,” she said, her tone light, but I didn’t miss the subtle seriousness in her tone. 

I shrugged, which I interrupted with a pained hiss. “I don’t know,” I answered her. “I’m a minion, following orders. I don’t even know where we are,” I said, looking around to take note of the drawings and the long text underneath. The text, I failed to recognize, but the drawings of phoenixes and elves were easy to recognize. Dragons and other beings, I recognized as well…

Interestingly, elves and phoenixes were depicted as defending several castles against some kind of monstrous wave. Even more interestingly, their position was much lower than I expected, showing them as disposable soldiers and weaker aspects, while the commanders had been depicted as human — at least, a variant of it. 

An interesting mystery to solve. I just needed to decide on the priority…