Mauro wasn't just a traitor to the Order of Sages, now serving Master Baron Bones; he was also a spy within the Order, planted many years ago by the Garden of Beasts. It was thanks to his presence in the Shadowlands expedition that he confirmed Rafael's disappearance, and he shared this information, which eventually spread throughout Asshai.
When Master Baron Bones appeared, offering many benefits to those who would leave the Order and join him, it was the Master of the Garden of Beasts who advised him to accept the offer and betray the Order. Thus, beginning a new mission of spying on a new Master who had recently appeared to be gaining considerable power over all of Asshai.
Today, Mauro was working alongside another apprentice who was his "friend" and who also betrayed the Order of the Sages. They were on a resource-gathering mission in one of the many dungeons controlled by the powerful Master Baron Bones…
The mission seemed easy, and the dungeon was a conquered location that no longer posed much danger.
"Hey Mauro, I heard the Red Sage has reappeared…"
Mauro killed a creature that resembled a four-legged fish and used a syringe to collect a black, oil-like liquid from its corpse.
"Are you sure? How do you know that?"
"I heard from one of the apprentices who is still my friend…"
"Hmm, I wonder if he'll reopen the Sage Store?"
"I don't know, do you think he'll still seek revenge on us?"
"I don't think so. There was never a contract prohibiting us from changing organizations after the initial 10-year term ended... As for the Sage Store's production secrets, we never signed anything regarding that..."
"Still, what are we—"
"Footsteps"
Footsteps were heard inside the dungeon, catching Mauro's attention and interrupting the other apprentice's speech. But when the two saw who was approaching, they let their guard down. It was the other two disciples they'd known since they were together in the Order of the Sages.
"Hey Mauro, hey Stefan, have you finished your missions?"
"Almost finished, and you guys? What are you doing here?"
"They sent out an extra request to collect more black oil, and we both accepted."
"Well, let's collect just one more, and we'll be done here. Good luck to you who have just arrived." Stefan said sympathetically, turning around, ready to leave, when the dark energy of a cruel spell enveloped him and Mauro.
Unfortunately, Stefan was too slow, and one of the apprentices advanced on him and pierced his neck with a poisoned dagger. The other failed to do the same due to Mauro's agility in dodging the assassin.
The "apprentice" who missed didn't hesitate, engaging in close-range combat with Mauro, who had temporarily lost control of all his artifacts due to the dark aura of the infamous spell.
But Mauro was a veteran apprentice with many spells up his sleeve, and he quickly struck the attacker's face with a blade of wind. Instead of seeing blood from the wound, all he saw was a patch of skin fall away, revealing a second face behind the apprentice he knew…
The frightening and infamous nickname "Faceless Man" flashed through his mind, momentarily taking his focus away from the battle. The second assassin, who had been waiting for an opening since Stefan's death, finally made his move, wounding Mauro with the same poisonous dagger. After that, in less than 10 seconds, Mauro fell dead to the ground.
The two assassins branded their faces with the symbol of the Order and quickly left the dungeon, disappearing into the dark alleys of Asshai as they changed their clothes and faces again…
During the murder of Mauro and Stefan, six other apprentices of Master Baron Bones' organization died in similar ways, half of them eating something poisoned and dying in their quarters… All, without exception, had their faces marked with a crest of an eye within a double inverted triangle… The symbol of the Order of Sages…
***
Less than an hour after Mauro's death, his shadow moved, revealing something quite unusual. A Lich made entirely of crystallized shadows…
The Lich, with a cadaverous face the color of obsidian, spoke mysterious words and brought Mauro back to life.
"Hmmm, arf, hmmm"
Mauro breathed heavily as he examined the wound that had killed him. But mysteriously, he no longer felt any pain, and when he went to ask the Dark Lich who he was, the expressionless skeletal face changed, gaining an intelligence unlike before.
"The Order's revenge came late, but it came... Your race has been altered to a type of Undead now... Get used to your new body and continue your mission! Report all of Master Baron Bones' movements to me..."
Mauro stood and bowed.
"As you wish, Master of Beasts!"
***
"Rafael should have arrived at the surface by now, right?" Josiah thought, as he prepared for another of his experiments...
In the dimly lit cave, there was a Demon he had captured, strapped to a worn-out operating table. The Demon had been put to sleep to prevent it from causing trouble during the experiment.
After Josiah activated the many magical symbols and personally controlled some of the primordial magic, he watched as yellow smoke billowed from the Demon's nose, before a red liquid floated out and entered its mouth.
The demon's burned skin receded from its arms and legs, almost allowing it to return to its human appearance, before finally regressing and covering its limbs again.
Josiah sighed and began recording the results on a magical item that resembled a crystal ball…
"Creak"
Josiah turned in alarm; the noise he heard came from the entrance to the cave where it lived. But the place was well hidden, and beasts with low intelligence would never find the entrance. As for intelligent visitors, that never crossed his mind… In his thousands of years living here, no one from the surface had ever reached this deep into these caves…
When Josiah reached the entrance, he saw a man dressed in a white robe calmly rummaging through his books… He had long black hair, his skin was extremely pale, and his face and appearance had many feminine features, which for a moment almost made Josiah doubt whether he was a man at all…
When Josiah entered the room, the man finally stopped rummaging through the books and turned to look at him. A third eye on his forehead opened, and Josiah found himself completely restrained. The only thing he could do was breathe and speak.
"Who are you? Why are you invading my home?" Josiah asked, using his powerful physical strength to try to free himself and activating his primordial magic. But both failed…
"You better not waste your energy, my third eye is a lethal weapon against your impure race… You know… It's been 10 years since I wandered these tunnels trying to find a sentient first-generation Demon…"
"Are you a servant of the false gods? Is that why you were looking for me?"
"Are you talking about the Gods of Asshai? No, no... It was my master who wanted to find you..."
"What does he want with me?"
"I'm not sure, but he said you were a supremely high-quality ingredient for creating a new beast..."
Josiah wasn't frightened by the effeminate man's evil intentions and decided to wait for an opportunity to escape...
Soon, he saw the man communicating with someone, and a living shadow spread from his feet, covering almost the entire cave. Josiah felt darkness cover his eyes and felt a little dizzy. When the darkness passed, he was in an entire room made of black stone, which he quickly recognized as his former home, a tower in Asshai, or probably Stygai.
Before Josiah, a man with black hair, white skin, and serpentine eyes, looked at him with a despicable smile.
"Good work, Genesis. According to my ancient scrolls, this is indeed one of the demon leaders..."
"It's my honor, Master. With your permission, I'm going to rest a bit. Spending 10 years in those tunnels was truly tiring..." Genesis said, bowing to the leader of the Garden of Beasts as he walked toward the laboratory door.
"Here! Don't forget the reward I promised you!" The Master of Beasts tossed a shadow pouch toward him, and with a satisfied smile, Genesis left the room.
"What is your name, Demon?"
Josiah remained silent, even though the man who had restrained him had left the room. He was now under even tighter restraints from the Master of this Tower…
"Okay, you don't need to talk now… When I'm done transforming you into one of my beasts, you'll tell me everything I want to know…"
Several black threads emerged from the Master of Beasts' body and penetrated Josiah's entire body like needles and thread. Soon Josiah's look of resistance and defiance changed to one of subservience…
****
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Magic Apprentice: Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Takatchi, mandeep singh, Austin, Kobe Robertson, Paul Gaslac, Niteo akuma, and 704Corleon!
Senior Magic Apprentice: Cole Bromley and Avacus!