Escape (2)

As soon as she had felt the dark aura, Kalliope had been trying to figure out from which direction it had originated from. She had sensed it out while she had listened to Dozahr. And once she had opened the prison cell, she was already certain that the dark aura had come from deep inside the underground prison.

Then again, it made sense. Where would you keep a Gozurak safe besides here where students never passed by?

Kalliope continued to walk down the hallway. Soon, she arrived at a crossroad with a space in the middle where a small three-tier-fountain with a silver chalice sitting on top of it stood at the centre. There was water flowing from beneath the chalice while the cup glowed every now and then.

Kalliope stood in silence by the archway. Her pupils shook a little as she stared at the anti-magic device. She might not react on the outside but deep down, her heart was beating harshly.

She was too familiar with it. The same artifacts were drawn on one of the duke's notebooks. It was called "The Fountain of Eternity" while sitting on top of it was "The Mundane Chalice".

The fountain's function was to preserve time and sorcerers usually utilized it to keep mana crystal in order to use the crystal while preserving the mana within. And for sure, Kalliope saw the glowing crystals under the water.

This was what powered the magic inside the underground prison where anti-magic field was installed, for example the lightning gate.

Kalliope brushed the edge of the fountain. There were magic runes etched on it. It was an incantation so that the mana crystal would only focus on powering specific things inside the prison without clashing with the anti-magic field device.

And that was the mundane chalice. A cup of human's blood was needed to activate the anti-magic field for 24 hours before the blood disappeared. However, if you linked it with the fountain of eternity, it would last forever.

"Father," the word subconsciously slipped from Kalliope's lips. She scoffed.

She never met her parents, never felt their love, yet here she was, wavering as she saw the duke's creations. The idea might have come from the councils but the artifacts came from the Moonlit Cloud Tower.

She sighed before turning away, leaving them behind. She chose the north pathway and soon she was met with a staircase. She quickly climbed it towards a wooden door which she failed to open.

"Tch!" Of course, it would be locked. Kalliope pulled her pin once again and worked her magic.

Click.

A small noise was heard as the lock was cleanly picked. Before she opened it, she waited for a few seconds to hear whether there was any reaction from the other side. Once she heard nothing, she slowly pulled the door open.

It was dark inside. A strong scent of chemicals immediately assaulted Kalliope's nose. She choked from the metallic bitterness lingering on her throat. She quickly covered her mouth and nose with her hand.

'What the fuck are they keeping in here?'

While Kalliope was busy relieving herself from the strong smell, an overwhelming wave of mana filled her core all of the sudden. Then, she felt her senses tingling before finally feeling the elements and mana particle in the air again.

Her brows arched as she raised her hands. A ball of fire burst out on her right palm while a water sphere floated on her left. A playful smirk flickered on her face. Her magic had returned!

Thus, she put her hand on the wall. Controlling the fire element, she conjured a lightning magic and the electric current spread out, rushing towards the ceiling. The room soon became bright as the lights absorbed her magic.

"That's better."

However, the smile on her face froze as soon as she saw the content of the room. It was indeed an experiment room. Medical tools and documents cluttered on the long table along with beakers and different kinds of flasks, while reagent bottles lined up inside the cabinets.

There was an unknown liquid boiling inside a Florence flask on one of the tables. A black fog kept oozing out of the bottle opening, giving out a particularly revolting stench that made even Kalliope who had strong resistance wanted to retch.

But even more disgusting was the sight of organs being preserved inside a jar filled with formalin. Some were monsters' body parts while others were a bit questionable since they looked like those of humans. They were organized behind the line of bottles within the cabinet as though doing so could hide their hideous deeds.

Kalliope clicked her tongue derisively. This disgusting smell of formalin and the boiling liquid like rotten meat were what assaulted her nose since then. And now with her magic having been returned, her senses became even more sensitive against it. So, she cast a barrier on herself.

"Damn it…" she cursed under her breath as she massaged her aching temple. It was so disgusting that it sent her dizzy.

"Now, where is it?"

After she got rid of the smell, she scanned the room for the dark aura. It was at this moment, she heard a voice that sounded as if it was whispering nearby.

'A new scent.'

Kalliope froze. She knitted her brows.

'Hmm… are you a new recruit?''

The second time Kalliope heard his voice, she detected exhaustion and possibly…pain. Yet, there was a hint of laughter still. It was of mockery and hidden seduction.

'What a futile effort, human.'

She smiled. How ironic. While the real humans separated us, sorcerers, from their kind and called us witches, wizards, mage, and other words but human, demons saw us all as nothing but humans.

They did not discriminate since for the demons, humans were all the same. A species below them. A weak and fragile being.

'Why bother researching when a contact with the dead mana itself will kill you?'

Kalliope turned towards the brewing black liquid. She guessed it was that concoction that contained dead mana.

'According to the demon, a mere contact can kill us. So, they must've tried to mix it with something to prevent that.'

Sigh. She shook her head helplessly. No matter what they had become now, they had all been human from the beginning. They were humans even when they had been blessed by the great elemental spirits.

So, it wasn't that surprising if the sorcerers tried to find a way to use dark magic without having to make a contract with a demon, since a contract would not always be an equal one.

We were greedy for more power but did not wish to bow to anyone nor be restricted. So, what were we if not mankind?

'Sigh. Truly weak. I guess this one can't do telepathy either.'

Kalliope ignored the demon, pretending as if she was a puny witch. Her barrier was strong enough to prevent anything from penetrating while she could still sense the outside. So, although the demon failed to gauge Kalliope's skill, Kalliope could still pick up his telepathic thoughts.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Kalliope walked while the demon kept talking. His voice made it easy for her to find him now. She went towards one of the corners and faced an empty wall. Then, with a snap of her fingers, the clean wall in front of her suddenly moved sideways, revealing a hidden room.

The corner of her lips lifted slightly as her rose-colored eyes met those violet ones in the dark. "So, this is where they keep the pet."