Gunmage-Chapter 49: We’ll meet again

Once Lugh's sight adjusted, his eyes widened in horror. The spell wasn't an attack, nor was it directed at him. It merely illuminated the space, an innocent trick of light that revealed a vision of hell.

Bodies. Human bodies. Hundreds of them.

Civilians.

Some were splayed across rusted tables, their torsos split open like butchered cattle.

Half-dissected, their limbs twitched, as if their nerves still clung desperately to life. Others floated in massive glass tanks, suspended in viscous, pale-green liquid, their eyes locked in an unending scream.

At the room's edge, a mountain of corpses loomed. Some fresh, their blood still glistening, others decayed, reduced to bone and rot. The stench, a vile mixture of death and alchemical reagents, clung to the air.

In the diner, miles away from the nightmare, Lugh's main body which had been quietly eating suddenly froze, his fork slipped from his fingers, clattering onto the plate.

His head snapped southward, the temperature in the room plummeted.

"Again?"

"Lugh, what happened?"

Lovainne's voice was filled with concern.

Lugh remained silent, but not for long. He spoke, his tone devoid of emotion.

"Corpses."

The room stilled. All movement ceased.

"Human corpses. Hundreds of them. All citizens of Ophris."

He lifted his gaze.

"They're conducting human experiments."

Bang!

The table trembled as Lovainne slammed his fist against the wood. His jaw clenched, his teeth grinding. His hands, normally steady, were shaking.

"What else?"

He demanded, his voice strained through gritted teeth.

"Do you know who they are? Their names? Their faces?"

His eyes were bloodshot.

"I've only seen three so far—a beastkin, an elf, and a woman with white hair."

"A sylph"

Vaelith muttered. Then, as if a sudden realization struck her, her voice spiked in alarm.

"An elf? Did you say there was an elf there?!"

"Yes."

Lugh's answer was sharp, cutting through any doubt.

"Are you sure—"

"I know what I saw."

Back in the heart of Drakensmar, Lugh's gaze locked onto a raised platform at the center of the room. Women and children were bound to it, their expressions vacant, their bodies defiled with an array of tubes.

The thin, transparent pipes slithered beneath their skin, puncturing arms, stomachs, even faces. Their veins bulged, unnatural colors pulsing beneath fragile flesh.

Their faces were marred with dried tear marks

His fists curled.

"Who are you people?! Why are you doing this?!"

His voice cracked, his anger was palpable.

For the first time since his arrival, he had reacted.

"Oh? Angry, are we?"

The voice was mocking, detached and amused. The elf spoke.

"I thought we were incapable of making you feel anything."

Lugh's gaze drifted past them, to a decaying corpse in the corner. The body was swollen with rot, its flesh riddled with maggots. A hand twitched. It wasn't a corpse.

Lugh's face contorted, an unrecognizable mix of fury and hatred warping his features.

"It's too soon for you to be angry,"

The elf continued, his smirk widening.

"The show is just beginning."

A metallic screech rang out as a rusted cage door was wrenched open. A small figure was dragged forward, her trembling form barely able to stand. Lugh's blood ran cold.

It was the girl he had attempted to save, the one named Gloria.

"You bastards!!"

The words erupted from his throat.

Back in the north, in the diner, glassware shattered violently. Plates cracked. The lamps flickered before being pulverized into dust. The chaos was deafening.

"Lugh! Control yourself!"

Xhi's voice rang with urgency as she moved.

The candlelight faltered before being snuffed out entirely. Only a single source of illumination remained, the burning crimson glow of his right eye.

The Mawglass.

"Everyone, get out of here now!"

The priestess' command cut through the noise.

In the lab, Gloria struggled against the restraints binding her to the table. Her screams, filled with desperation, clawed at Lugh's very soul.

"No! Don't do this!"

Lugh knew he shouldn't react, he shouldn't give them the satisfaction they craved. But, his self-control was slipping.

Emrys, the elf, smirked as he picked up a narrow tube.

"Let's begin."

The needle plunged into Gloria's abdomen. Blood sprayed across the table as she let out an agonized scream.

Then, the liquid inside the tube began to flow into her. Thick and red. Her cries grew frantic, her veins illuminating in an unnatural glow, writhing like living things beneath her skin.

"Stop it! STOP!!!"

Up north, houses trembled as if gripped by an unseen force. Windows shattered, moonlight dimmed as shadows thickened. The very air howled in protest.

A storm unlike any before was brewing, a phenomenon beyond nature's grasp.

Xhi was already chanting, her voice twisting into something ancient.

In Drakensmar, Lugh tore at his restraints, his muscles swelling with unrestrained force. The iron shackles, which had dug into his skin, cracked. Blood poured freely, the scent thick in the air. His shoulder dislocated, his bones fractured under the pressure, but the chains snapped.

He was free.

Ignoring his mangled arms, he reached into his coat, drawing a pistol. The cold steel barrel aimed directly at Emrys' head. His finger curled around the trigger.

Then—

A spear tore through his shoulder, the force sent him flying meters into the air before slamming him against the wall.

His body jolted from the sudden impact, a flower of blood blossoming from where his skull met the wall. His vision began to fade.

Through the haze, he heard footsteps. Slow and Measured.

Emrys loomed over him, that insufferable smirk still plastered across his face.

Lugh stared him dead in the eye.

"We'll meet again."

He muttered ominously.

"No, we won't."

The elf's hand thrust forward, fingers piercing straight into Lugh's chest. His heart was crushed in a single stroke.

Lugh's world faded to black.

But not before he heard distant voices.

Follow current novels on ƒreewebηoveℓ.com.

"She's still not dead?"

"Hm. This one might just be the—"

...

Lugh came back to his senses, panting heavily. He doubled over and coughed. His body trembled, thick clots of blood escaped his throat.

"You're finally back, you idiot."

The priestess' voice was laced with exasperation.

Lugh forced himself upright. Xhi looked terrible, her uniform was soaked and her hair a tangled wreck. Blood flowed freely from her mouth.

Around them, the diner was a ruin. The tables had been reduced to splinters, the walls cracked, the gas lamps shattered.

Moonlight poured in from above.

Lugh glanced up,

The roof was gone.