Max's eyes darted frantically from one friend to another, all bound by the blood chains he'd conjured. His gaze finally settled on Lucius, whose eyes still shimmered with a violent haze.
This was the perfect chance for Max to kill Lucius if he really wanted, as even if he was interrogated about it later he could blame Lucius's death on the illusion and say that he was trying to rip his throat off.
If he really wanted to, he could have killed Lucius a hundred times by now and had no need to lead him through the dungeon either, however, Max had bigger plans for Lucius.
Although since he was an Aurelius, he couldn't be trusted completely, as far as Max understood the boy, he was so blind in his desire to become the crown prince that he was willing to bend over backwards to achieve it.
He felt like Max was the individual who could ensure his rise to the throne and that Max would be the one to ultimately support him through thick and thin when the time came.
Not only was Max competent, but he always showed Lucius the proper respect too which was enough to win over his young and innocent heart.
If Max killed him here, he could strike a blow to Regus, however, if he kept him alive he could potentially manipulate him in the future to weaken the Aurelius clan from the inside.
Since his potential future use outweighed the benefits of killing him, Max spared his life and began wondering as to how he could break the illusion on his friends.
One thing that Max understood from the illusion was that his friends were not in full senses.
His blood chains were strong, but not strong enough to hold tier5 individuals down for so long.
If they were at full strength all of them could have easily broken free by now, however, just the fact that they were still shifting aimlessly while being bound, told Max that the nature of this illusion was more simple than it seemed.
Thinking quickly, Max recalled a lesson from his master Kremeth, where he told him that sudden shock to the brain can help jolt one out of an illusion.
Hence, with a swift hand movement, Max summoned several gusts of wind and knocked all of his friends hard on the back of their head.
Surprisingly, his tactic worked as once he knocked them hard, they seemed to come back to their senses.
"What just happened?" Sebastian muttered, sheathing his sword.
"You guys turned your weapons on one another, it was an illusion, beware, this stage is dangerous," Max explained, releasing the blood chains.
Lucius caught Max's eyes and nodded, acknowledging the wisdom in Max's decision. Yet, the nod was heavy, burdened with unspoken feelings.
Amongst the group, after being released, it was Lucius and DarkSorrow who looked towards the blood fountain again and once more, the moment they cast their gaze upon the waterfall they fell into the same illusion all over again as they began attacking Max and Sebastian respectively.
[ Blood Chains ]
Max repeated the process once again and smacked both of them hard on the head to once again break the illusion, as this time he warned them against looking at the waterfall as he identified it as the trigger for the illusion.
Lucius couldn't help but reflect his own shortcomings, the longer he stayed around Max.
He too was the leader of his group and the potential next ruler of all vampires, yet he was nowhere close to Max's level of leadership.
' Can I ever bridge the gap between us?' He wondered as it was a nagging question, one that ate at his pride and self-esteem. But for now, he shelved it, choosing to focus on the mission at hand.
" Give me some time, I'll figure something out " Max said, sensing the mood but choosing to let it simmer for now. "The dangers here are unlike any we've faced. We need to be on our highest alert."
Lucius forced a smile and joined the protective formation of Max's group as the point guard as he tried to be useful.
Yet, inside, he was a cauldron of boiling emotions: gratitude, resentment, admiration, and a simmering, almost shameful, sense of inadequacy.
On the other hand, Max was brimming with confidence, he looked at the waterfall as if he was it's master and willed it to part.
Initially the waterfall refused his command, however, Max knew that he was the rightful owner of the river Sanguis and it could not defy his will.
As he exerted more and more of his blood manipulation ability, he was able to create a small gap in the waterfall to reveal a passageway behind, but it was not enough.
" I command you to make way for me! " Max shouted, his tier6 aura flaring as he imposed his will upon the waterfall.
The blood water parted and revealed the passageway behind in its entirety, as at that moment Max allowed the group to look up and get a move on.
" Let's go, guys, I can't hold this for too long " Max said, as his command mobilised the group instantly.
Max was sure that this was not the correct way to pass this stage and there were other methods to break the illusion, but he did not care.
He would cheat his way through if needed with no qualms about it, and since he was a blood manipulator with the strength to part the waterfall, he decided to take the direct approach to solve the stage.
A few seconds later as everyone crossed the waterfall passage, the blood closed back around the entrance, basking the hidden cave behind in a red hue.
The rewards for clearing the stage were ahead, however, everyone could now feel the difficulty of the dungeon rising.
So far it had been a breeze because of Max, but for how long could they rely on him alone to solve all problems?
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/// A/N - Mass release chapter 7/7, that's it for the day.
Thankyou for all your GT support last month, you all are amazing! ///