Chapter 96: Mr. Gray
The Hexsurge threads flashed along the wavering lines of void-tinged flames, pounding over them like beasts out looking for prey, the fleshy walls of Valens’s chest stinging in response. One by one, the ethereal threads tore apart the outside influence and cut short their desire to reach Valens’s chest cavity.
Since the battle was fought between forces of Void, the aftermath scarcely made a dent in Valens’s body save for the echoing remnants of pain. He came to himself with a wheezing breath as the Hexsurge threads vanished from his senses.
Void is too tricky. I need to get a better sense of this.
He was meaning to practice his new spell in the clinic as it would involve not only fixing the patients but also checking their souls to see if they were tainted by some outside force. He didn’t, however, think he would have to rely on this spell underneath a giant mansion to which he was invited as a guest.
“How was it?” Valens then muttered, looking around the cold walls. “Did you enjoy yourself watching me? Was that why you’ve gone through all that trouble with the clothes and the carriage?”
“Oh, it wasn’t trouble at all now that I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” that voice answered, echoing deep across the hall. The stone door to the side clicked gently open as the voice continued, “Do come inside. After all, we’re done with the formalities, aren’t we?”
Uh… You’re making it too easy. Now I don’t need another reason to hate your guts.
The earlier gash he got from one stubborn spear spoiled the fancy look he donned for the occasion, strips of silken cloth flapping against his bare chest as he turned toward the stone door. He held the Inferno at the ready as he stepped into the hall revealed beyond the door.
It looked like a library.
High shelves lined the walls, made from polished wood with a dark tinge to it, save for the wall facing the door, which was occupied by a grand, singular portrait of a man who was in the prime of his youth, its frame worn in what seemed like a long time.
The man in the portrait had shoulder-length hair, silken smooth, crisp gold without a single mark to it. His face… It was as though he was made out of ivory and rose leaves, painfully handsome, with finely curved scarlet lips and a pair of frank, blue eyes. Indeed, he was perhaps the most handsome man Valens had ever seen, but one who seemed selfish with the habit of indulging in every pleasure and virtually every sin.
And he looked every bit the same as the man who stood below it.