A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

The words were not meant for Henry but they hit his ears and sent chills all over his body.

Henry knew this man was on an entirely different level to the Vykers and Warlocks he had ever faced before and, he found himself taking a few cautious steps back as his grip on his gun tightened.

Alas, it appeared his action caught the eyes of Maude Aleric who looked at him and then glanced at 'The Hydra's Sting' before looking away and back to Angus.

'Shit, this is bad!' Henry thought with his teeth clenched.

The fact that Maude Aleric had shown up was not why Henry was worried. Angus had mentioned that this was a possibility when they all planned this job. They would have been foolish to not think, at some point, they'd so much get on the nerves of the Master of the house that he'd show up.

The thing was, they had a plan for that. Well, a contingency that can barely count as a plan but gives them a window of escape;

The Explosives.

Henry released Nyx's reins and took another step back to place his hand against her saddle bags and felt a couple of dynamites he still had stashed within.

'Angus should have more,' Henry thought and looked around searching for Angus' horse.

He saw the poor thing very close to the entrance of the Manor. It had hit the ground as hard as Nyx and, not being a magical beast and boasting her level of stamina, the fall had impacted it more. When it shook off the pain, it just stayed away from the fight. A smart decision.

What Angus should have done right then was call the horse over, grab his explosives, light them up, and start tossing them like crazy to give them at least a small window of escape.

Alas, Angus made no such moves. He just kept Maude Aleric's stare with a smile,

"Kill me?" He asked and then let out a cackle as his Mana poured out of him in a purple haze,

"I'd like to see you try."

The subjugated Warlocks moved away from the Vykers they were beating down and stood in front of Angus with their hands stretched as a shield, illuminated by the Vinculum's purple energy, shimmered into appearance in defense of their ~Hive King~.

Maude glanced at the Warlocks. His eyes went from their dull purple eyes to the Vinculum on Angus' chest and his pursed lips tightened before he eventually said,

"I underestimated you. I was sure you wouldn't be able to get into my Locked chest—"

"Because of a simple Magic lock?" Angus asked and threw back his head to let out a peal of laughter,

"Please! The codex was easy to crack."

Maude Aleric's grey eyes flared at Angus' interruption but he continued,

"I was wrong.

I thought you wouldn't be able to claim the item and make use of its powers but here you are assimilated with it enough to be creating Minions. I'm almost impressed.

You know, I had you investigated. After losing seven Vykers, I just had to know who was backing you. How could you have so many resources to prove to be such a thorn in my side? So far, I've learned of no backing but I have learned about your Creator…"

Angus' smile slipped a bit now and the gloating look in his eyes mellowed slightly but he said nothing.

Maude caught his reaction and nodded with his expression unchanged,

"Yes, yes. I know about her. The Witch Meryna. 'Died under strange circumstances' is what is said about her death. But you and I both know it was more than that.

We both know who killed her, don't we?"

Again, Angus said nothing.

Maude continued with his voice lowered,

"The sheer agony you must have gone through to even manage to go through with it. The fact that you knew it could have killed you and went through with it all the same?"

Angus' lips twitched and he managed a smile,

"Is there a point to all this?" He asked.

"Do you never feel guilty?" Maude asked.

"Guilty?" Angus asked and laughed, "Guilty for wanting to be free?"

"She gave you life. That's what we do," Maude said and his voice rose a bit,

"We take useless, worthless pieces of untalented trash and make you something more. We bring you into the fold and grant you the opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with your betters and you, ungrateful piece of shit that you are…"

"Oh spare me!" Angus said raising his voice as well,

"It has never been a favor. You don't create Vykers because you want to be generous. You do it to get slaves! To get minions that will die for your cause and you still never treat us like you treat the Naturally Awakened.

Hell, you are standing mere feet away from the bodies of one of your dead Vykers and you've not glanced at them once."

"Of course, I haven't," Maude said in a cold voice, "They're dead. What is dead no longer has any use."

"Oh come off it!" Angus said and pointed at the two Warlocks guiding him with their shields,

"You look at these two and I see care in your eyes. You can tell they are lost to you. As good as dead and yet you care. You came out here not because of your Vykers, dead or alive, but because of these two. Because you care. Because they are Naturally Awakened.

They're not the slaves you created to be tossed aside after use. They are precious 'Protégées'."

Maude's eyes flashed at that word. Angus noticed and grinned,

"Yes, I know what they are to you. The ~Hive Mind~ shares all, Lord Aleric. It shares memories and intents.

It's how I know what you're planning."

Maude's eyes widened and he slammed his palms together to activate a spell he had been preparing while he engaged Angus in a conversation. A single move to put an end to the thief and avoid dragging out this encounter. He believed a drawn-out battle against Angus was beneath him.

Magical flared at the feet of Angus and the two Subjugated Warlocks and formed into a magical circle whose magical energy built quickly to a crescendo, ready to explode.

A detonating spell circle requires ample preparation but is capable of bypassing magical defenses such as shields and is assured to cause damage if allowed to build.

If allowed.

The two Warlocks slammed their palms together and an identical circle, with the same Arcane symbols, just reversed, appeared around them and slammed down onto the circle cast by their previous Master.

The detonating spell circle was a powerful spell with a drawback of preparation time and very little room for maneuverability but can be countered with the very same spell if the target acts quickly enough.

The energy within the two circles reacted violently against each other and with a powerful *thrum* sound, they mellowed out and faded away.

"They know you quite well," Angus said as one of the two Warlocks summoned crackling Dark spears and started tossing them at Maude who revolved on a spot, releasing a powerful force of Magical energy that slammed the Spears away.

The moment Maude was stationary again, a barrier of wind came slamming down at him.

"Insulting," he said, "I taught you all you know!"

He raised his hand and conjured a wind barrier of his own to slam the Warlock's attack away. While he did that, he waved his other hand in a smooth motion and formed a complicated-looking seal before conjuring three rays, sizzling with fire that he fired at Angus and the Warlocks.

The Warlocks blocked the rays with their shields. A single contact was all the rays needed to shatter the shields but the Warlocks managed to fend all three off.

Maude smiled and waved his hand to conjure more rays when his body twitched as he sensed something amiss.

"Wait," He said and looked over at Angus who was bent low with his palms pressed flat against the ground,

"You—" Maude started to say as he realized what was happening.

"Too late!" Angus told him with a smile.

A detonating spell circle appeared at Maude's feet and blasted a powerful explosion that rose into column at least 5 Meters tall.

*BOOOOOMMMMM!!!*

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