Chapter 98: Held Captive

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Gareth asked. He kept his eyes on Ethan outside, and he looked ready to rush out at any moment. "We can’t just stand here while that bastard strangles him!"

"Do you think I don’t know that?" Lydia snapped. She turned towards Victor, her face full of anger. "If you hadn’t shut that door, Ethan would be inside with us!"

Victor opened his mouth, but no words came out immediately.

"I... I panicked. I didn’t know what else to do."

"Well, he isn’t!" Lydia replied. "And now that man has him!"

"Arguing won’t bring him back inside," Adrian said. "We need to think about how to get him out of there."

He was still facing the entrance. His special perception allowed him to follow what was happening outside, and he wasn’t about to take his attention away from the masked man.

"Don’t go near the entrance. He’s watching us, and if he thinks we’re planning something, he might kill Ethan."

Gareth clenched his fists but didn’t move any further. He clearly wasn’t happy about standing there doing nothing, but he understood what Adrian meant.

Outside, the masked man still had one hand around Ethan’s neck. The six pursuers had stopped a short distance away, and their leader was discussing something with the others.

"Release the student," he said. "He’s not involved in this. Your problem is with us."

The masked man gave a short laugh.

"Do you think I’m stupid? The moment I release him, all six of you will attack me."

"We can make an agreement. Let him go, and we’ll give you a chance to surrender."

"Surrender?" The masked man tightened his grip slightly. Ethan felt his throat hurt even more. "You people really think I came all this way just to surrender?"

"Then what do you want?"

"Prepare a skyship for me. I’ll leave with the student, and none of you will follow us."

The leader frowned. He turned towards the other five men, and they gathered close enough to speak without the masked man hearing everything.

"Are we really going to let him leave?" one of them asked.

"What other choice do we have? If we attack now, he’ll kill the student."

"We can’t allow that man to escape. He’s already assassinated a member of the Imperial Royal Family!"

"And what do you suggest? We attack and risk killing an innocent student? Do you want to explain that to the academy?"

The group fell silent for a moment. None of them liked the idea, but they couldn’t ignore the hostage either.

Finally, their leader turned back towards the masked man.

"Fine. We’ll prepare a skyship for you, but you must release the student once it’s ready."

The masked man shook his head.

"Don’t try to bargain with me. I’ll release him after we’ve left this place. Until then, he’ll stay with me."

The leader’s expression darkened, but he didn’t argue further.

"Very well. We’ll prepare the skyship. Give us some time."

"You have five minutes. If I see anyone trying to play tricks, I’ll kill him."

The six men didn’t waste any more time. Their leader immediately contacted the station and ordered them to prepare a skyship. He also made it clear that the vessel had to be ready within the next few minutes.

While they waited, the masked man kept Ethan in his grip. He didn’t seem interested in talking anymore, and none of the pursuers dared to approach him.

It didn’t take long before a small skyship was brought to the platform. It wasn’t as large as the Academy Skyship, but it was enough for a few passengers.

"Your skyship is ready," their leader said.

The masked man looked towards it before tightening his grip around Ethan’s neck.

"Move."

Ethan had no choice but to follow. The man kept hold of him as they walked towards the skyship, making sure none of the pursuers could get close enough to attack.

When they reached the entrance, the masked man turned towards the six men.

"Remember what I said. Don’t follow us."

He then dragged Ethan inside and closed the door.

A few seconds later, the skyship began to rise. The six men watched as it moved away from the station.

"Are we really going to let him escape?" one of them asked. He clearly wasn’t happy with how things had turned out.

Their leader shook his head. "We don’t have a choice. If we had attacked, the student would have been the first to die."

"Still, letting someone who attempted to assassinate a member of the Imperial Royal Family escape isn’t something we can easily explain."

"Princess Valeria is already handling the matter. She has decided to come here personally, so we should leave the rest to her."

The man who had spoken earlier nodded. "With her taking charge, that student should be safe. I only hope that bastard doesn’t kill him before she catches up with them."

"Let’s hope so."

Their leader then looked towards the Academy Skyship.

"We still need to deal with the other students. Go and check on them. They must be worried about what happened."

The others agreed and followed him towards the Academy Skyship. They had been so focused on catching the assassin that they hadn’t had time to explain anything to the students.

Now that the masked man was gone, they could at least check whether everyone was safe.

The moment the skyship left Westwatch Station, the masked man grabbed Ethan by the collar and threw him aside.

Ethan hit the floor and rolled onto his side. Before he could get up, a dark red symbol appeared above his head.

The markings inside the symbol began to move. It slowly rotated, and Ethan felt something strange enter his body.

He immediately tried to use his mana.

Nothing happened.

He tried again, but his mana remained completely out of reach. It was still inside his body, yet he couldn’t draw on it at all.

A Sealing Curse.

Ethan had encountered similar curses in his previous life. They were used to seal a person’s mana and prevent them from using their skills.

He quickly checked his status. His attributes were unchanged, and he could still move normally. The curse seemed to be affecting his mana alone.

He then tried activating his Legion Formation.

It worked.

Ethan’s expression changed slightly. At least the curse hadn’t cut him off from everything. He didn’t summon any of his legion members, though. Doing so in front of the masked man would only reveal more of his abilities.

"Don’t even think about trying anything," the masked man warned. "I’ve sealed your mana. If you try to escape or cause me any trouble, I’ll kill you."

Ethan looked at him without answering.

The man was still holding his side. Blood had spread across his dark clothes, and his breathing was a little uneven.

Before Ethan could think further, the masked man suddenly turned and kicked the wall.

"Damn it!"

"The assassination failed, and I’ve ended up like this! Those bastards nearly caught me, and I had to waste so much mana just to get away!"

He pressed his hand against his wound and cursed again.

"Everything was supposed to go smoothly. I had already prepared everything, but those bastards still managed to find me!"

Ethan listened quietly. The man was clearly frustrated, and he didn’t seem to care that he was talking in front of a hostage.

After a while, Ethan finally spoke.

"You’re from the Underworld, aren’t you?"

The masked man turned towards him. "What makes you say that?"

"I saw the curses you used at the station. I’ve heard of your organization."

The man stared at him for a few seconds before giving a cold laugh.

"Then you should know better than to ask questions."

Ethan ignored the warning.

"Are you Bloodshade?"

The masked man’s expression changed slightly.

"Where did you hear that name?"

Ethan didn’t answer immediately. He had only taken a guess based on the man’s reputation and the curses he used.

"Just something I heard."

The man stared at him for another moment before turning away.

"Keep your guesses to yourself. My name isn’t something you need to know."

Ethan said nothing more.

The masked man was injured, his mana was running low, and he was still being pursued. However, he was a Seventh Order curse user. Ethan wasn’t going to underestimate him just because he was in a bad condition.

For now, he would keep quiet and see what the man did next.

Ethan watched the masked man move towards the other side of the cabin. He waited until the man had turned his back before lowering his head slightly.

The man seemed to believe that sealing his mana had left him with no way to fight back.

"That’s unfortunate," Ethan said.

The masked man stopped and looked back at him. "What?"

"Your curse worked. I can’t use my mana anymore."

Ethan raised his head.

"But there’s something you overlooked."

Before the masked man could respond, Ethan activated his Legion Formation.

A huge formation spread out from beneath the skyship. Its light covered the entire vessel before expanding into the surrounding sky.