Chapter 389: Dionesium!
Delk's Bloody Ascension
"Give... give them to me?"
Delk was startled and immediately waved his hands. "No, I don't want them."
"Relax. It's fine."
Luke Shaw patted his shoulder reassuringly. "I promised you that after this was over, you'd become a Grandmaster of the Court of Owls. Unfortunately, even the best-laid plans go awry. We fell short in the end."
"But it doesn't matter. These people are still alive; you can rebuild the Court of Owls."
"Master, I... I..."
"Enough," Luke cut him off. "Their lives are in your hands. Whether they live or die is your decision."
With that, Luke turned and walked away.
Delk stood there in a daze, unsure what to do. He turned around and saw pairs of hate-filled eyes glaring at him, feeling like sharp swords piercing his chest.
He shivered violently.
"No. These people must die. If they live, I will die."
Delk knew the Court's essence all too well. Those invited to join were either old-money nobles whose lineage spanned centuries or powerful new elites. The rich and powerful Court members considered themselves superior and always looked down on the poor. Many had dark proclivities—drug addiction, prostitution, pedophilia, and more. There wasn't a single good person among them, and the evil they had done was countless.
The long decline into depravity had extinguished their good nature. If he let them go today, they would use every means possible to seek revenge once they were free.
"No, I can't let them leave."
"Only if they are all dead can I be truly safe."
Delk's face hardened, and a look of fanaticism crossed his eyes.
To live, he had to kill!
Having reached this decision, Delk walked to the corner and picked up the submachine gun the Red-Robed Grandmaster had used.
"Delk, what are you doing?"
Someone shouted. "Damn it, put the gun down!"
"Delk, are you insane? Mr. Shaw promised that if we remained still, he would ensure our survival! You dare defy his will?"
The survivors were terrified and yelled frantically, but Delk showed no emotion. He loaded the magazine, raised the submachine gun, and walked toward them.
Witnessing this, the crowd sank into complete despair. Some couldn't take it and tried to run, only to be kicked back by a nearby armored soldier.
"The Boss said no one moves without his command."
"You can't do this! Mr. Shaw promised he wouldn't hurt us!"
"Yes, the Boss did say that." The soldier's tone shifted, and he smiled strangely. "But he only promised he wouldn't do the killing himself. He never said anything about anyone else."
Tat-tat-tat!
The sound of automatic gunfire echoed through the hall, accompanied by screams of agony and curses of defiance. The remaining members of the Court of Owls fell one by one into the pool of blood.
Luke glanced back and shook his head thoughtfully.
"Did he confess?"
Dior replied, "The Red-Robed Grandmaster couldn't handle it and gave us everything. The other one hasn't broken yet."
"Is it trustworthy?"
"We've sent men to verify, and we'll have confirmation soon. But one thing is tricky: according to the Red-Robed Grandmaster, the door to the secret vault requires three keys to open. He only has one; the other two are with Sir Black Hawk."
Luke thought for a moment. "Let's check out the door first."
The men sent to investigate quickly returned, reporting urgently,
"The old man wasn't lying. There is a secret passage on the second floor that leads straight to the secret vault."
"Let's go take a look."
Luke was uncharacteristically excited. The importance of Dionesium was self-evident. With it, his armor's performance could be comprehensively upgraded, and he himself could shed his mortal body to become a super-powered being.
The three walked along the second-floor secret passage, arriving before a metal door covered in carvings.
The metal door was three meters high, fitting snugly into the rock wall. In the center was an owl image, with a keyhole at the mouth and one at each eye.
"AVA, analyze the lock structure."
"Affirmative, Young Master."
A scanning mirror emerged from Luke's chest, performing a full 3D scan of the metal door.
Soon, the lock structure was displayed before Luke as a holographic projection.
"Can you bypass it?"
"No problem."
"Good. That saves trouble."
Luke walked up to the door and inserted his fingers into the three keyholes. The material of his sleeve flowed like liquid, pouring into the keyholes along his fingers, transforming into three functioning keys.
Click!
The keys turned. With the sound of grinding gears, the heavy door slowly opened, revealing a brand-new world.
This was an abnormally vast underground vault. The further they walked in, the wider it became, reaching a length and width of over twenty meters at its deepest point.
The vault was not filled with gold, silver, jewelry, or diamonds as one might expect. There were few items, but every single one was precious: fist-sized gems, half-man-tall jade crystals, heirloom oil paintings, various statues, ancient artifacts, and so on.
These were unique, peerless treasures.
"Boss, we're rich."
The subordinate who came with them cried out excitedly. Luke kicked him.
"Rich for what? You've been with me this long, and you don't even know what's truly valuable."
The subordinate fell silent. After a moment, he whispered,
"What should we do with these things? We can't just leave them buried here."
"You can split the jewels amongst yourselves. Destroy everything else."
"But why? There's so much..."
"Shut up!"
Luke ignored him. He walked to a corner and picked up some square bricks on a table, examining them closely. The bricks were utterly black and dull, with a unique matte finish. They looked like metal but weighed far less.
"Dior, bring over the Talon weapons."
Dior turned and quickly returned, placing a black knife and a black sword on the table.
Luke picked up the knife and sword, examining them.
"AVA, what's the analysis?"
"Based on external appearance, they belong to the same material. The exact composition requires chemical testing."
Luke nodded. He stood up and commanded,
"Get a few men over here and take all the black bricks."
The subordinate was speechless, thinking, The Boss is hard to figure out. He ignores priceless artifacts and paintings, yet he wants to haul away these black bricks. What use are these ugly things?
Despite his inner complaints, his actions were swift. He and a few others carried the gems and all the black bricks back to the Grand Hall.
After checking the rest of the vault, Luke walked to the owl statue in the center.
Following the information provided by the Red-Robed Grandmaster, he pressed the right eyeball and turned it clockwise. A grinding noise came from inside the statue. Its belly indented, revealing a small compartment inside.
Luke opened the compartment and retrieved an abnormally heavy crystal vial. The vial contained an unknown liquid that appeared dark yellow at first glance but reflected seven different colors when held up to the light.
"Dionesium!"
"Is this the Dionesium?"
Luke muttered to himself, unable to hide his excitement.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!