Chapter 7– The Trap in the Courtyard
The courtyard was quiet under the pale glow of the moon.
Mist curled around the marble statues, and the air carried the faint, metallic scent of rain from earlier that evening.
Luke stood alone near the center fountain, leaning against the stone edge with a book in hand. To anyone watching, he looked distracted — a perfect target.
But beneath his sleeve, the Agust ring was active, linked to a set of thin, rune-etched wires hidden along the courtyard's perimeter. He had spent all of Chapter 7's missing hours placing them — not just as alarms, but as snares.
From the shadows near the hedges, a faint crunch of gravel reached his ears.
Right on time.
He didn't look up. Instead, he turned a page in his book, pretending not to notice the figure gliding closer, keeping to the shadows.
When the intruder was within ten paces, Luke whispered, "Activate: Gravemesh."
The runes on the wires blazed to life in a circle around the courtyard. Threads of blue light snapped upward, weaving into a glowing net that fell over the intruder before they could react.
They hit the ground hard, the net humming with a pulse that pinned their limbs.
Luke finally closed his book and walked over, his expression calm but his eyes sharp.
The intruder was masked, dressed in dark leather. Judging by the way they tested the net's strength, they were trained — but the Agust system's gravitational lock held firm.
"You've been following me," Luke said quietly. "Why?"
The masked figure stayed silent.
Luke knelt beside them, tapping the Agust ring. "This device runs on a custom energy algorithm. If I reverse the polarity, the net will start compressing. I wonder how long you'd last before your ribs snap?"
The figure froze.
Finally, a muffled voice spoke through the mask. "I was sent… to retrieve your device."
"By who?" Luke asked.
The intruder hesitated — too long. Luke increased the net's pulse. They gasped.
"The… the man in the green cloak!"
Luke's mind sharpened. So the cloaked messenger didn't waste time.
He deactivated the net, letting the intruder slump to the ground. "Go back to your employer," he said coldly. "Tell him if he wants Agust… he'll have to face it himself."
The intruder scrambled away into the night.
Eliot stepped out from the shadows where he'd been watching, eyes wide. "Sir… you're making enemies fast."
Luke smirked faintly. "Good. That means they're paying attention."