Chapter 1165: Cursed Guard [Part 7]

Chapter 1165 – Cursed Guard [Part 7]

Lux stared at the enormous formation surrounding Princess Eve. Thousands of symbols glowed beneath the white stone, crimson lines pulsing in perfect rhythm with her heartbeat.

One pulse.

The formation brightened.

Another.

The crystals surrounding her drew another thread of pale energy from her body.

Eve flinched.

Lux’s fingers tightened around his twin daggers.

He needed to do something.

The problem was what?

Destroying the formation outright could kill her. Severing the wrong line might collapse whatever delicate relationship existed between Eve’s life force and the extraction system. Even Teleportation was questionable. Spatial anchors surrounded her body precisely to prevent someone from simply grabbing her and leaving.

Kaelmor had built the magical equivalent of a hostage situation.

Touch the wrong thing?

Princess dies.

Lux hated competent assholes.

Suddenly, a massive hand grabbed his shoulder.

Lux nearly stabbed Vaelor by reflex.

"Switch her with me!"

Lux turned.

Vaelor’s expression was desperate. "Put me there!"

His claws tightened against Lux’s armor.

"I can survive it. Whatever the formation needs, give it me instead. Switch us!"

"No..."

The voice was barely audible.

Vaelor froze.

Eve had lifted her head. Her pale-blue eyes struggled to focus on him. "Don’t..."

"Princess—"

"No, Vael." Her voice broke. "You’ve... suffered enough."

Vaelor looked devastated.

Lux remained silent.

His gaze returned to the formation.

Switching them might work.

It might also kill both of them.

And Lux didn’t particularly enjoy solutions with a two-person casualty bonus. "System."

Lux crouched.

His eyes tracked the overlapping symbols.

"This formation."

A thought had been scratching at the back of his mind.

The language.

The structure.

Authority clauses.

Life-force obligations.

Conditions.

Penalties.

"Is it a contract?"

Silence.

Then several system windows appeared simultaneously.

[Reanalyzing.]

[Formation architecture compared against Infernal Contract Framework.]

[Authority obligations detected.]

[Conditional enforcement detected.]

[Life-force collateral detected.]

[Consent verification...]

The final line flickered.

[Invalid.]

Lux’s eyes narrowed.

Then...

[Conclusion: The formation is a partially forced contract.]

Runa looked over. "A what?"

Lux’s smile slowly returned.

His twin daggers disappeared.

Vaelor stared. "Why did you put your weapons away?"

"Because apparently we’ve been trying to solve a legal problem with knives."

Lux stepped toward the formation.

Runa’s ears twitched. "You say that like you don’t solve most legal problems with knives."

"Diversified portfolio."

He crossed the outer boundary.

The barrier reacted immediately.

Crimson energy exploded toward him.

Lux didn’t stop. "Barrier."

Black-gold energy wrapped around his body.

-BOOM!

The impact pushed him backward half a step.

He stepped forward again.

The formation struck harder.

Lux gritted his teeth and forced himself closer until he reached the outer contract ring.

Then he dropped to one knee.

Both palms slammed against the glowing symbols.

"Rewrite Contract."

His Greed answered.

Black-gold sigils erupted beneath his hands.

The entire chamber shook.

[Greed Authority Activated.]

[Contract Rewrite initiated.]

[WARNING: Opposing Sovereign Authority detected.]

"Yeah." Lux’s teeth clenched. "I noticed."

The crimson formation surged.

His Greed sigils surged back.

For one absurd second, Lux had the impression of two teams of elite accountants and lawyers entering a conference room, politely setting down their documents...

Then immediately trying to murder each other with clauses.

Kaelmor’s formation asserted ownership. Lux rejected it.

The formation asserted binding authority. Lux challenged legitimacy.

It produced life-force collateral. Lux attacked the consent clause.

It defended using royal authority. Lux’s Greed essentially responded with ’your paperwork is fraudulent and your mother should be ashamed’.

The floor cracked beneath him.

Pain shot through both arms.

The contract was fighting back physically.

Black veins appeared beneath Lux’s skin as the competing authorities collided inside his palms.

[Rewrite Resistance: Extreme.]

[Forced Contract defending existing terms.]

[Unauthorized amendment rejected.]

"Rejected?" Lux pushed harder. "I’m Greed." His sigils spread. "You don’t reject my fucking contract revision."

Another pulse hit him.

His shoulders jerked.

Blood ran from his nose.

"Lux!" Runa moved forward.

The barrier threw her back.

She landed on her feet.

Her eyes darted across the formation. "We need to help him."

Vaelor looked at her. "How?"

Runa stared.

Lux’s Greed was spreading through the contractual portions, but several pieces weren’t responding.

Components that supported the contract without technically belonging to it.

Her eyes widened. "The formation."

Vaelor looked around. "What about it?"

"We destroy what Lux can’t rewrite."

"How?"

Vaelor gestured toward the barrier. "We can’t even get near it!"

"Follow me."

Runa moved.

Fast.

Her eyes tracked the magic rather than Eve.

Once, she had been a sorceress.

A real one.

Not this altered body.

She could still remember formations.

Principles.

How magic breathed.

How one rune fed another.

It was a shame she couldn’t use her original magical power properly anymore.

This body wasn’t truly hers.

Not completely.

But knowledge?

Kaelmor hadn’t managed to take that.

Runa circled the formation.

Her eyes narrowed. "There."

Vaelor followed. "What?"

"That inscription."

A cluster of symbols sat beneath one of the pillars.

Unlike the glowing contract language, those symbols were carved directly into stone.

Physical anchor.

Runa smiled. "Lux can’t rewrite that."

Vaelor understood. "So we break it."

"Exactly."

He stepped forward.

The barrier flashed.

Runa grabbed him. "No."

"What?"

"You’ll get thrown before you reach it."

"Then how—"

"I make an opening."

Runa pointed. "The moment you see a gap, break that part."

Vaelor nodded.

Runa cracked her knuckles.

Lux heard it from across the chamber. He glanced sideways while continuing his magical argument with Kaelmor’s centuries-old legal nightmare. "Please tell me you have a plan."

Runa lowered herself into an attack stance. "Yes." She drew back her fist.

She struck.

Her fist hit the barrier.

White-red energy erupted.

Runa’s boots slid backward.

But she didn’t let herself be thrown.

Her arm shook.

The barrier pushed.

Runa pushed back.

"Come on..."

Her claws dug into the floor.

The energy around her fist intensified.

Her sleeve tore.

The barrier screamed.

Vaelor waited.

Then...

A tiny fracture appeared.

"There!"

The barrier retaliated.

Runa launched backward.

She flew across the chamber.

Vaelor saw the opening.

He charged.

For once, charging was exactly the correct strategy.

The barrier was still recovering from throwing Runa away.

Vaelor entered through the fracture.

Three steps.

Two.

One.

He raised both fists.

Then brought them down on the inscription.