Chapter 38: Forcible Control

The man in black grunted. Before he could react, the Sword of Judgement pierced through his black magic circle from below.

The magic circle shattered and disappeared. The man in black suffered a backlash and spat out a mouthful of blood. He weakened, clutching his chest and stumbling back.

A wand pressed against his exposed neck. Luke said coldly, "Don't move."

Lux Judicium had a natural advantage against dark magic. The man in black, now struck, had no ability to resist.

Luke bound him tightly with restraining magic.

"Luke. It really is you." Chloe's eyes widened with delight. "That's great. You didn't run away."

Luke and the others dragged the man in black down from the platform and threw him in front of us.

The moment the black magic circle shattered, the mutant bat swarm also vanished.

Luke nodded at me, then his legs gave way and he leaned on Chloe, his voice somewhat weak. "Oh my god, that scared me to death."

Chloe supported him, looking completely confused. "Didn't you leave? And the others... how did you end up here?"

"It was my plan." I squeezed out a tired smile.

We need to go back to when we were attacked by the shockwave trap. I noticed the man in black knew too many details about our movements, so I secretly found Luke and had him—the person with the strongest advantage against dark magic—put on an act with me. As long as Luke left first, the man in black would definitely let his guard down. With us working from inside and outside, we could trap him.

"Vanessa, you're amazing." Chloe was so excited she had tears in her eyes. She ruffled Luke's hair vigorously. "I knew it—even though you're timid, you'd never abandon your friends."

Luke gave a shy chuckle.

As for the traitor Xavier, he was also tied up tightly and thrown next to the man in black.

"Useless. You didn't even notice such an obvious trap." The man in black snapped, then turned his gaze to Elara. "Elara, what are you waiting for? If you don't act now, are you planning to let the Thorne family go down with the Sullivan family?"

Everyone's eyes instantly focused on Elara.

I narrowed my eyes, studying her. After the brutal battle with the mutant bat swarm, everyone was exhausted and drained of magic. But Elara was different—she still had energy left.

Elara bit her lip hard, her expression conflicted.

I quietly gripped my wand behind my back. If Elara really was going to make a move, I might still be able to fight her.

Seeing Elara remain silent, the man in black's tone grew sharper. "Elara. What exactly are you hesitating about? If the Sullivan family falls, the Thorne family won't be far behind. Then you'll be the sinner of both families. All the ordinary people in the factory are under my control. They're on their way here now. Just wait to be torn to pieces. Elara, this is your last chance."

Elara's face turned deathly pale, her expression hesitant. She unconsciously clutched the pocket at her side, her eyes evasive. "I'm... I'm just a student. These things have nothing to do with me."

"Heh." The man in black sneered. "Are you saying the thing in your bag has nothing to do with you either?"

Elara's eyes reddened, looking like she was about to cry any second. She unconsciously glanced at Darius.

Alarm bells went off in my head. I tried to find a chance to get closer to her. But Elara was very alert now. She nervously looked around at all of us. "You... don't push me. I don't know. I don't know anything."

Rena's face was pale from magic depletion as she spoke weakly. "Elara, can you please calm down?"

"Shut up." Elara screamed, her eyes turning red.

Her grip on her bag tightened and tighter, her knuckles turning white. Her delicate face showed bulging veins, her expression carrying a frightening madness.

She was extremely unstable right now. We couldn't drag this out any longer.

I gently patted Chloe's shoulder and quietly stepped back. Chloe understood and moved forward to block for me.

I took a deep breath and barely managed to gather what little magic and mental energy I had left—just like when I controlled the mutant lizard before.

I silently chanted in my mind, trying to use Soul Reading to control Elara's movements. Even just for a moment would be enough for my companions to snatch whatever was in her bag.

Black and white striped images appeared in my mind. Blue light condensed into threads, weaving through them.

My mental energy sensed that Elara's spiritual body was ahead.

Violent and desperate emotions surged outward in all directions with her at the center, like huge waves.

Elara, please don't do anything stupid.

From overusing my mental energy, I tasted blood rising in my throat. I steeled myself, concentrated, and guided my mental energy toward Elara's spiritual body.

"No."

Before I could touch her spiritual body, Elara suddenly let out a scream. Her movements were shaky but quick—she grabbed something from her bag and shoved it into her mouth.