Chapter 116: His Thief in the Night

Raziel stood outside Father Marius’s office on the third floor after the midnight bell rang and the corridors of St. Celeste went completely dark.

He wore a dark tunic to blend into the shadows and held a small communication crystal in his left hand.

Arawn crouched next to the door, wearing his black Exorcist cloak and held a small glass vial filled with a green liquid.

Lucian knelt directly in front of the iron keyhole.

He wore soft leather boots and held a set of customized lockpicks he had smuggled from the Nyxian estate.

“Three layers of Paladin containment seals, a sonic alarm trap, and physical mechanical locks,”

Arawn checked the magical resonance of the door with his interface. “And a minor guardian golem stationed inside the safe.”

Lucian slid a tension wrench into the iron keyhole.”I will handle the metal, you two handle the magic.”

Lucian closed his eyes and activated his Stealth Gift.

He manipulated the lockpicks with extreme precision and bypassed the internal tumblers connected to the alarm wires.

CLICK.

The first mechanical lock disengaged.

CLICK.

The second lock turned smoothly.

Lucian pulled his tools out and stepped back. “The door is physically unlocked.”

Arawn stepped forward and uncorked the glass vial. “Now the annoying part.”

He poured a single drop of the anti-mana acid directly onto the center of the wooden door.

FZZT!

The green liquid reacted instantly with the first layer of Paladin seals.

The holy magic sizzled and dissolved into white smoke, completely neutralizing the perimeter defense without triggering the alarm.

Arawn poured a second drop onto the door handle and burned through the secondary kinetic trap designed to paralyze unauthorized users.

“Two layers down,” Arawn said, pushing the door open silently.

Raziel entered the office first, checking the corners for hidden traps.

The room smelled heavily of old parchment and expensive wine.

Marius’s personal safe sat behind his large mahogany desk.

It was a massive block of reinforced steel, bolted directly into the stone floor.

Arawn walked over to the safe and crouched down.

He inspected the magical lock covering the steel dial. “We have a problem”

“What?” Raziel asked, stepping closer to inspect the mechanism.

“The third layer is a blood seal.” Arawn pointed at the red geometric lines glowing faintly on the metal surface.

“It requires Father Marius’s specific genetic mana signature to open. If I use the acid on this, it triggers a localized explosion and alerts the entire academy.”

Lucian walked over and looked at the red lines. “Can you bypass it?”

“No,” Arawn stated. “I am an Exorcist. I destroy magic, I do not hack it.”

Raziel stared at the blood seal.

He had weeks of brutal training with Zorya burned into his muscle memory.

He knew the geometric structure of standard Church containment spells.

“I can break it from the inside,” Raziel said.

Arawn looked at him skeptically. “If you touch that seal with your corrupted mana, it will detonate.”

“Not if I mask it properly,” Raziel replied.

He knelt in front of the safe and raised his right hand.

He channeled a concentrated burst of Umbral energy to his index finger, forcing the gold and black veins to stabilize.

He drew a specialized Infiltration Rune directly onto the steel surface right next to the red blood seal.

Raziel didn’t lift his hand.

He pulled a small vial of standard blue runic ink from his pocket and dragged the liquid over his Umbral creation, masking the dark energy completely.

He pushed more mana into the hidden rune and gave it a mental command.

Pierce.

The masked Umbral Rune slid across the steel surface and merged directly into the red blood seal.

The tiny black eye hidden beneath the blue ink blinked once, and the dark veins of the Umbral energy injected themselves into the holy magic.

The black mana scrambled the genetic signature requirement and forced the locking mechanism to accept the false input.

CLACK.

The heavy steel door of the safe popped open an inch.

The red glow of the blood seal died completely.

The masked Umbral Rune dissolved into smoke and vanished.

“I still hate your magic,” Arawn muttered, grabbing the edge of the steel door and pulling it open.

A stone guardian golem the size of a small dog stepped forward.

Its eyes glowed red, and its jagged stone jaws opened to sound the alarm.

Arawn didn’t hesitate.

He raised his right hand and shot a thick silver thread directly into the golem’s open mouth.

CRUNCH.

The red light in the golem’s eyes faded, and the stone body collapsed into a pile of lifeless rubble before it could make a single sound.

Raziel reached past and pulled out a small, ornate wooden box. He opened the lid.

The Eye of Judgment sat on a velvet cushion.

Arawn pulled an identical wooden box from his cloak.

He opened it and revealed a fake crystal.

Zorya had spent three hours crafting the replica in the East Basement, inscribing the empty glass with highly advanced illusion runes to mimic the exact visual signature of the real artifact.

Raziel swapped the crystals, placing the fake one into Marius’s safe and securing the real Eye of Judgment inside his own tunic.

Arawn closed the heavy steel door and pushed the locking dial back into place.”Done,”

Lucian deactivated his Stealth Gift and let out a long breath.

“Is it always like this?” Lucian asked, his voice trembling.

“What?” Arawn asked, checking the hallway before stepping out.

“Stealing.” Lucian pressed a hand against his chest. “Your heart beats so fast it feels like it is going to come right out of your mouth.”

Arawn looked at the young noble. His gray eyes lacked any trace of emotion.

“That goes away with time,” Arawn said.

Lucian frowned. “And what is left?”

“Nothing.” Arawn turned and walked down the dark corridor. “That is why I left the Inquisition.”

***

Raziel returned to his isolated room in the old wing an hour later.

He locked the heavy wooden door, pulled the Eye of Judgment from his tunic, and placed the glowing artifact on his desk. He had successfully secured his survival for the evaluation phase of the tournament.

He walked over to his bed and pulled back the heavy wool blanket to lie down and rest.

A piece of folded white parchment rested squarely in the center of his pillow.

Raziel stopped moving.

He hadn’t left any parchment on his bed, and the door had been locked the entire time he was gone.

He picked up the paper and unfolded it.

The handwriting was incredibly elegant and written in dark black ink.

I know what you stole tonight. I know what you truly are. I will not say a word to the Exarchs. In exchange, I need a favor. Soon.

There was no signature at the bottom of the page.

Raziel brought the parchment closer to his face.

The paper carried a very faint, distinct scent of lavender mixed with a sharp chemical undertone.

It was the exact same perfume Sister Elena wore during their classes.

Angelina.

Raziel stared at the note.

She had infiltrated his room while he was robbing Marius, proving she could bypass his physical security entirely.

He held the parchment up and channeled a tiny spark of Umbral energy into his fingers.

The paper caught fire and burned into black ash in seconds, dropping onto the stone floor.

Raziel looked at the ashes, his empathy level low.

Angelina had massive leverage over him now.

He knew her favors were never free, and she would definitely collect her debt during the Ascension Tournament.

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