Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Chapter 730: Grand Design

Ember Heights, Blackshore.

In one of the two-story lavish mansions in this luxurious part of the city, the four Rank 3 Magi of the Cult of Bones had gathered in the main hall, discussing their mission.

Malcolm Morgan, the one leading this group of cultists, sat at the head of the long mahogany table with a solemn look on his face.

He had his elbows resting on the table, his fingers interlocked. ”Still no sign of him?”

All three Cultists shook their heads. One of them spoke up, ”We thought that having the Umbra Thieves kill the innocent residents of the city would force him to appear before us, but I suppose we were mistaken…”

”Adam Constantine… is a ruthless man,” said Malcolm.

If a person did not care about how many lives were sacrificed in his pursuit of accomplishing a goal, then that made him highly dangerous.

Malcolm gazed at the man who had just spoken and asked, ”Have our scouts relayed back any information?”

”No.” The man shook his head. ”Weʼve spread out over a dozen people in the surrounding lands, constantly on watch for Ravenfellʼs armed forces. But till now, there has been no development.”

Malcolm turned to another Cultist. ”What about our scouts at sea?”

”Nothing.” The man shook his head.

The pale-skinned and emerald-eyed Malcolm rose to his feet, a solemn expression appearing on his face.

He walked towards the window and gazed at the distant clouds, his eyes narrowing. ”Looks like the Councilors of Ravenfell have started to realize that there is a mole amongst their upper echelon.”

The man turned back around, gazing at his comrades, ”Still, that doesnʼt change our mission. The moment Adam Constantine appears, we subdue him and take him to Europa with us.”

All three people nodded. One of them suddenly asked, ”Magus Morgan, I donʼt understand… where did the Cult Leaderʼs sudden interest in this boy come from?”

Malcolm looked at the man with narrowed eyes, coldly stating, ”It is not our place to question his will.”

Another man spoke up, ”We are not questioning his orders. We will carry them out no matter what it takes. But donʼt you find it curious? That the Cult Leader would dispatch four Mana Vortex Magi just to take care of a mere Mana Liquefaction Magus?”

Then, the third man chimed in, ”Could it be that the Cult Leader wishes to recruit Adam Constantine?”

Malcolm looked at all his comrades, before finally choosing to concede a little. ”I dare not try to understand our great masterʼs plans for the future. All I know is that he has taken great interest in the boy. As for what he wishes to do with him, I do not know.”

Everyone had solemn expressions on their faces. Each one of them had been part of the Cult for hundreds of years. As such they were quite surprised by the Cult Leaderʼs sudden interest in Adam.

They had never known the master of the Cult of Bones to place so much importance on an outsider—so much so that he would send out so many Rank 3 experts to capture him.

”What about the Umbra Thieves then?” Asked one of the cultists.

Malcolm sneered in disdain. ”Those thieves have served their purpose. Whether they live or die is of no consequence. Although, I highly doubt that they are going to make it out of this alive. Regardless, we will have nothing to do with them.”

He paused for a moment, his lips curling into a cunning smirk, ”Iʼve received word that Ravenfell has dispatched three Rank 3 Magi this time. There are sure to be casualties on both sides.

”It would be nice if these three old fools from the Umbra Thieves managed to take out some of the Mana Vortex Magi from Ravenfell. That would make our work easier in the future.”

”Ah, right.” One of the cultists interjected. ”Malcolm, you have been following the situation here in Ulier for a while, yes? Correct me if Iʼm wrong but, the organizations that our Cult had invested in Ravenfell… arenʼt they all out of commission now?”

”And Umbra Thieves will soon be out of the picture,” said another one.

Malcolm walked back to the table, taking his seat. His lips formed a condescending smirk as he answered, ”You all underestimate the great masterʼs plan. He has set eyes on Ulier for a long time now. His plan had been set in motion hundreds of years ago.”

He paused for a moment, looking at everyone in the eye, before continuing with a wide grin, ”Our plan for Ravenfell during the Grand Magus Tournament is merely a small piece of a much larger puzzle.

”The Cult Leaderʼs grand design extends far beyond Ulier or Europa. It encompasses the entire world!”

The Rank 3 cultists gazed at each other, their eyes sparkling with brilliance. In a world ruled by the Cult of Bones, they would be the ones to wield true power.

Malcolmʼs expression turned grave and he added, ”But for the Cult Leaderʼs grand plan to come to fruition, each of us must carry out our roles successfully—starting with the capture of Adam Constantine!”

Inwardly, however, he couldnʼt help but feel greatly envious of his target. He had been serving the Cult Leader for hundreds of years, surmounting bloody obstacles to finally get a hint of acknowledgment from him.

Yet, this youth named Adam Constantine appeared out of nowehere and instantly caught the Cult Leaderʼs attention.

It happened after the death of Olin Barrett, he thought.

Could the Cult Leader have seen something in Adam? Could it be… that he wants Adam to join the Cult?

No, that is very unlikely. Adam Constantine is an agent of the Brotherhood, and the Cult Leader is known to have great enmity with this organization.

I have even heard rumors that it was the Cult Leader who killed the founder of the Twilight Brotherhood!

Alas, he wasnʼt able to completely eradicate the Brotherhood because of this organizationʼs extremely secretive nature as well as the several arrangements that itʼs mysterious founder had left in place…

So then why is the Cult Leader so interested in Adam?

This was something that he couldnʼt figure out. Nor would he have any opportunity to figure out that answer in the future.

Because, the person he had dismissed as merely a Mana Liquefaction Magus—someone he he believed would be easy to capture and take to Europa—was now on the verge of becoming a Mana Vortex Magus.

The four Rank 3 cultists and even their army of undead would fail to capture him.

In the fateful battle that would come to be known as the Blackshore Incident, an army would perish, and a legend would be born!