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Viggo’s head tilted as he stared at it, his mouth dry.

It was a towering construct of glass, brass, and copper not dissimilar in appearance to the device they’d found under Whitley’s laboratory.The main difference, bar its gargantuan size, was the dark crystal floating inside it.It was the size of a man’s fist and pulsed with a malevolent force that looked to be powering the machinery, making it hum and throb like a living organ.

Viggo clenched his jaw.If he had to guess, he was looking at a core ofMidnight Obsidian.It was the heart of the facility—an ode to magical perversion.

From the way Whitley and Chevalier twitched and winced sporadically inside their glass cages, the crystal was drawing magical essence from them.

A convulsion suddenly shook Simmons.

Viggo’s eyes rounded in horror as silver lines began tracing patterns beneath his skin.

“They’re injecting him with magic!”he growled.

Leon stayed his motion with a hand as he prepared to surge forward.

Five robed figures stood around the main machine on an elevated platform, their arms outstretched as they poured their corrupt magic into the device.Professor Musgrave orchestrated the proceedings at their centre, his face illuminated starkly by the glow of dark energy swirling around his hands.

They hadn’t noticed them yet.

“I’m going to try and eliminate their magic,” the Frenchman said in a strained voice.“Use these ice spears and hurl them at that machine.”He manifested the weapons and gave them to Viggo.“I’ve made them strong enough to smash that glass.Aim for the crystal.”

The cold burned Viggo’s palms as he met the Frenchman’s determined stare.He gripped the spears tightly and nodded.

Magic washed across his skin as Leon drew on his powers, the Frenchman’s pupils flaring white.

One of the dark mages finally spotted them.

“We have intruders!”he yelled.

Startled shouts erupted from his companions as they whirled around and looked down upon them, their sinister ritual temporarily abandoned.The shadow creatures hidden in the murky gloom of the ceiling appeared as they called the monsters to them.

Musgrave turned, his expression shifting from shock to fury when he registered their presence.His gaze locked with Viggo’s.A twisted smile spread across his features.

“Ah.The Duke’s pet thrall.”

“Now!” Leon barked.

Viggo drew his arms back and cast the spears with an explosive grunt.They flew straight and true one after the other, like deadly arrows.

Confusion clouded Musgrave’s face when the shadow creatures and the corrupt power he and his companions wielded fizzled out under the tremendous wave ofNullification MagicLeon unleashed.Horror widened his eyes as he finally grasped their intent.His head snapped up, his frozen gaze following the ice spears’ passage.

“No!”he roared.He reached out with his hand and guided a fading shadow creature into the path of the projectiles.

The first ice spear pierced the monster and smashed into the device, cracking the glass.The second ice spear struck the base of the first one like a hammer and drove it straight through the glass and into the dark crystal.

Musgrave cursed as the humming and throbbing stuttered.The liquid inside the machine began leaking around the edges of the fracture.

“Damn,” Leon muttered, his tone full of admiration as he glanced at Viggo.“I couldn’t have done that better if I’d tried!”

A high-pitched whine made them stiffen.

The dark crystal began pulsing with a crimson light that grew brighter and brighter until it practically seared their vision.

Viggo saw Musgrave dive to the ground through the dark spots swarming his eyes.He gasped when the device imploded with a mightywhoophthat made his ears pop.

The negative pressure wave sucked him forward.

A cry of horror left Leon as it lifted him off his feet and pulled him inexorably towards the railing of the platform they stood on, his wind magic overwhelmed by the violent current.