Dark Magus Returns

Chapter 1554: The Dark Facility (Part 2)

To produce the most effective results, the researchers had pushed their methods to extremes. Their goal was simple, to learn precisely how much magical damage a body could endure before death. For that, they had spent years refining the process. Each experiment hovered right on the edge of killing its subject.

Every patient was different, some had stronger bodies, some weaker. Their tolerance to mana exposure varied wildly, and even the strength of the Cerebus Guild healers was inconsistent. How much they could restore, how long they could sustain their light magic, all of it affected the outcome.

It was a gruesome balancing act.

After repeating the experiment enough times, every subject eventually died. Even if their outer wounds were healed, the inner toll always won. The body simply had a limit, a point where it could no longer bear the endless tearing and mending.

But none of that mattered to the people running the facility. There was always a fresh stream of new test subjects waiting above.

Beatrix’s entire body trembled. “What do you plan to do?” she asked, her voice low but shaking.

Her instincts screamed at her to intervene. The way she had been raised, the values of the Light Faction she once believed in, help those in pain if you have the power to do so, those lessons were carved into her soul. Even after discovering the Light Faction’s corruption, those beliefs had never left her.

Right now, every fiber of her being told her to act.

If she’d stepped in sooner, could she have saved the one who’d just died?

Alen could see her struggling. He shared her anger, but he forced himself to remain calm. “Originally,” he said, his jaw tight, “I planned to bring my men in. We’d raid the entire facility, take down the staff, and free everyone. But I didn’t know the Cerebus Guild themselves were here.”

He glanced back toward the glass wall. “You’re strong, Beatrix, stronger than anyone I’ve worked with, but my men? They wouldn’t stand a chance against these monsters. If we want to destroy this place, we’ll have to come back. Properly prepared.”

Beatrix’s fists clenched. She knew what those words cost him to say. Coming back later meant letting more people suffer. It meant more deaths before they could return.

Alen’s face hardened, but his thoughts were filled with guilt. If only I were as strong as Raze,

They needed a plan to escape. The two of them were deep underground, beneath multiple layers of the facility. There was no lower floor they could descend to.

Even if they tried climbing back up through the ceiling, the researchers from the previous room would have returned by now.

“We can’t go up,” Alen muttered. “We’ll have to find another path, somewhere they won’t expect.”

“Let me check below first,” Beatrix said. “If there’s even a small tunnel, maybe something connected to the Underside world, we could slip out through there.”

It was a long shot. Facilities like this were usually sealed from every direction. Still, she pressed her staff against the ground and infused it with Qi. The earth trembled slightly as a small section of the floor shifted away, revealing what lay beneath.

Nothing.

Just solid rock.

No tunnels. No escape.

Before she could seal the floor again, one of the researchers turned from the console. “I’ll go bring in another patient,” the man said aloud.

Beatrix froze.

Alen’s sharp hearing caught the words, and the sound of the man’s footsteps turning toward their direction. His heart clenched. They were about to be seen.

The researcher’s eyes widened as he spotted the two figures standing in the shadows behind the one-way glass.

Before he could speak, Alen swung his arm. A sharp crescent of wind burst from his hand, slicing across the man’s throat. The researcher collapsed, clutching his neck, blood spilling across the console.

The other two turned in panic, but Beatrix was faster. She stepped forward, sword flashing in a clean arc. Two strikes, swift, silent, and fatal.

All three men dropped.

Beatrix stood still, her chest rising and falling. She hated killing. Every time she drew her sword against humans, it left a mark on her heart. But these men, no, these creatures, had given up their humanity long ago.

Still, the weight of it pressed on her.

“What now?” she asked, her voice hushed. “They’ll know something’s wrong. The moment those guild members realize the door isn’t opening, ”

“They’ll come looking,” Alen finished grimly.

He scanned the room, mind racing. They could try signaling their allies outside, but even if help came, it would take time to reach them. Time they didn’t have.

His thoughts were interrupted by a cold, commanding voice.

“Hey,” one of the Cerebus Guild members called out.

Both Alen and Beatrix froze.

The voice came from inside the chamber, but it was directed at them.

“Why haven’t you opened the door to let us out?” the man said. His tone was calm, almost casual, but his eyes were fixed straight at the one-way glass, as if he could see through it.

For the first time since entering the facility, Beatrix felt genuine fear crawl up her spine.

“Alen…” she whispered. “Can he see us?”

It shouldn’t have been possible. The glass was reinforced with mana to block detection spells. But light mages, especially those with high affinity, had ways of perceiving more than sight. They could sense movement, heat, even life energy. Although not to the point of someone with God eyes.

Alen slowly stepped back. “We need to move,” he said quietly. “Now.”

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