Greatest Legacy of the Magus Universe

Although the Mana Vortex-level vampire had never uncovered the true secret of the underground lair, his actions inevitably drew the attention of the city's residents.

In order to revive himself from deep slumber, the vampire had created several spawns whose sole purpose was to harvest blood and restore him to his former strength.

But in doing so, the vampire spawns had alerted the city officials. When dozens of residents went missing in Hannes City, Count Hannes was forced to seek aid from the Clover Academy.

For Helene Godfrey, this development posed a dangerous risk, threatening to expose the secret of the portal to the public. Yet instead of panicking, she eventually devised a plan to turn this problem into an opportunity.

Her plan was ruthless. It was to dispatch groups of students to Hannes City to investigate the matter, knowing full well that she would be sending these children to their deaths. With enough student casualties, the staff of Clover Academy would eventually be compelled to intervene directly.

And when the time came, she would personally step in to take care of the vampire Magus without anyone else knowing about it. Then, she would go on to have the entire place secured by the Clover Academy, further preventing anyone else from discovering the portal underneath the city.

However, things deviated from her script when, against all odds, Adam and his group managed to slay the vampire and his spawn. Of course, Helene had no way of knowing that the true killing blow had come from Blackie, whom Adam had summoned at the last moment.

With the vampire taken care of, Helene seized the moment and quickly made way to Hannes City, timely locking down the underground lair, ensuring that no one was made aware of the portal underneath the lair.

She had succeeded, at least in keeping the truth from the public.

But not from Adam.

Though he had not known it at the time, but the series of events in his life that would follow would one day eventually lead him to connect the dots between Hannes City and the Cult of Bones.

And when the vampire fell, another unforeseen consequence followed…

The Cult Leader's gaze turned towards Adam, whom Helene mistakenly believed to be the one who had slain the night creature!

"…Years later, Adam journeyed to the Acadian Empire and enrolled in Saratoga Castle. And I'm certain you all know what transpired after," Berger finally concluded the entire story.

A heavy and suffocating silence descended inside the chamber. All the Magi had grim looks on their faces as they came to terms with this newfound information.

At last, Balthazar broke the silence. "The Cult Leader has been keeping tabs on Adam ever since the incident in Hannes City? But why…"

Berger cast a brief glance at him, then ignored him entirely.

"Adam once confided in my father and Marcus," Lucian began. "He revealed to them that the Duksfall Incident, the Blackshore Incident, and I suppose, most recently even the Battle of Ravenfell... all carried a hidden purpose. That the Cult's true aim, or at least of its aims, was to capture Adam."

"…But why?" Balthazar couldn't help but frown deeply.

"No one knows." Old Ani shook her head ever so slightly, a quiet, helpless sigh escaping her lips.

"Well, at least now we're all certain that Adam isn't the traitor," Berger casually remarked as he reached out for the smoking pipe.

Old Ani offered a faint nod, whereas Lucian's face remained unreadable. Yet it was clear he did not see Adam as the villain the Cult painted him to be.

The one most conflicted, however, was Balthazar. If Adam truly wasn't a traitor… then had he taken the life of an innocent?

Berger astutely noticed this, and he couldn't help but sneer. With a flick of his hand, a bronze lantern appeared on the table. He cast a scornful glance at Balthazar and muttered with disdain:

"Don't flatter yourself. Those pitiful flames of yours could never kill my disciple!"

When the Magi recognized the lantern for what it truly was and what it represented, they were startled. None of them had ever confirmed Adam's death, yet deep down, they had convinced themselves that no one could have survived Balthazar's blackfire, much less the fall from such a great height.

The wanted posters bearing Adam's face, plastered across the Empire, had served their purpose well. They soothed the outrage of the masses and gave the upper echelon of powerful Magi a convenient explanation.

Even with Old Ani's divination regarding the youth, which had always resulted in… nothing, both she and Lucian deep down believed that Adam was truly dead. The chances of his survival were close to nil.

Yet the Soulmark Lantern before them confirmed, without a shadow of doubt, that Adam still lived!

In the next heartbeat, Berger put away the lantern.

"Is that… He's still alive?!" Balthazar's voice was filled with disbelief. "Where is he now?!"

Berger coldly chuckled. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Balthazar's eyes narrowed, and he muttered in a dark voice, "Beger, what're you implying?"

The gnome shrugged nonchalantly as he enjoyed the soothing flavor of tobacco. "Nothing at all…"

"Do you believe he's still continuing Operation Constantine?" Lucian turned to look at the gnome and asked solemnly.

"Well, it's his plan, after all." Berger nodded. "If he's managed to stay alive, best believe he's working towards our plan."

"This… this is good," Old Ani murmured.

She then turned to the Emperor and said in a grim voice, "Your Majesty, this plan must remain between those of us in this room, and Adam, of course. After what transpired with your father's secret organization… we can no longer afford to place blind trust in anyone else."

Berger's expression instantly darkened at the mention of the Twilight Brotherhood. To think that the very organization that he and his mentor, Gerald Acadia, had poured their lives into would harbor Cult spies within the Council of Dawn… it was simply intolerable!

A surge of rage welled up inside him, his heart burning with hatred for those traitorous snakes. No one present in the room loathed the Cult and its despicable leader more than Berger, and no one would be happier to see them all die a wretched and miserable death.

The gnome took in a few more puffs from the pipe to calm down his raging mind. He then turned to Lucian and said evenly:

"For now, Helene remains under my control. I'll allow her to continue her work as usual. Any sudden changes would only alert the Cult. In the meantime, I'll make my way to Nahua and track down the portal. With Adam's calculations, finding it shouldn't be that hard."

He paused for a moment, his lips curling into a faint, amused smirk. "Hah… who would have thought I'd ever be grateful for that boy's overcautious nature?"

With that said, he rose from his seat and turned to leave.

"Berger," Lucian called out to him.

The gnome turned to him with an arched eyebrow.

"…May fortune be with you," Lucian said with a solemn nod.

Berger's lips curled into a faint smile. He gave a playful wink before gradually dissipating into smoke, fading from sight.

Several minutes later, in a dilapidated house in the outskirts of Acryon, Berger's figure suddenly emerged in a swirl of smoke.

However, he wasn't the only person inside the building…

Across the room, a hooded figure sat atop a wooden crate, waiting. Berger's lips curled into a smirk, and he said:

"Alright, boy. I hope you're ready for what comes next."

The hooded figure slowly lifted his head, revealing a pair of striking ocean blue eyes. In the next moment, his eyes flickered with lightning!

Edward's lips parted, and he solemnly said:

"Let's do this."