Chapter 157: Black Lotus Extract

"Take everything," Leon commanded projecting his heavy unyielding authority. "We burn the corrupted cores and we take the lotus extracts back to the estate for analysis. Lady Morgana just lost her supply line and I want to see the look on her face when she realizes her ritual is starving."

The retreat from the Obsidian Vault was swift and brutal.

The local city patrols finally arrived responding to the seismic destruction of the golden lobby. They found their path blocked by a terrifying unified front of ice fire and crimson mana.

The strike team carved a flawless path through the corrupt guards leaving a trail of frozen shattered weapons and groaning mercenaries in their wake.

They loaded the confiscated wooden crates into their hijacked carriage fleeing into the dense capital smog before the Imperial Vanguard could mobilize a proper response.

They arrived back at the Sterling estate just as the afternoon rain began to fall washing the grime from the cobblestone courtyard. The Vanguard knights immediately secured the perimeter hauling the heavy crates of confiscated contraband into the depths of the manor.

Leon directed his strike team toward the private estate library needing a secure isolated environment to analyze the dangerous alchemical reagents.

The sprawling two-story chamber offered a quiet sanctuary away from the bustling household staff. Elara stoked the massive stone hearth filling the room with a comforting dry heat while Beatrice began cataloging the stolen vials on a long mahogany reading table.

Valeriana shed her damp leather coat tossing it over a nearby velvet chair. The beautiful spy wore a form-fitting dark silk blouse underneath her dark eyes burning with intense intellectual curiosity as she picked up one of the crystal vials containing the black lotus extract.

"This concentration is dangerously pure," Valeriana murmured holding the vial up to the glowing crystal chandelier. The thick dark liquid swirled aggressively catching the light with a sinister purple hue. "It requires masterful precision to brew this without poisoning the alchemist. Morgana must have foreign warlocks working inside the inner keep."

Leon stood near the roaring fire rolling his broad shoulders to ease the lingering tension from the brutal morning battles. His gaze remained fixed on the beautiful broker watching the hypnotic sway of her hips as she paced around the reading table.

"Can you reverse-engineer a counteragent?" Seraphina asked leaning her heavy broadsword against a wooden bookshelf. "If the Emperor is already partially dosed we need a way to purge the dark magic from his system before we confront the High Priestess."

"It is possible," Valeriana nodded her brilliant mind calculating complex alchemical formulas. "But I need to test the volatility of the extract first. The binding agents are highly sensitive to sudden thermal changes."

She reached out with a delicate silver tool intending to carefully pry the crystal stopper from the vial.

The moment the silver touched the glass a microscopic fracture in the vial aggressively ruptured under the pressure. The crystal violently shattered raining sharp splinters across the mahogany table.

A thick dense cloud of shimmering purple mist aggressively erupted from the broken glass expanding rapidly into the quiet library.

"Get back!" Leon roared activating his Kinetic Repulsion to blast a wave of raw force across the room attempting to scatter the toxic cloud away from the women.

Seraphina Isolde Beatrice and Elara managed to throw themselves backward avoiding the primary blast zone. But Valeriana was standing directly over the table.

The beautiful spy gasped inhaling a massive lungful of the shimmering purple mist before Leon’s kinetic wave cleared the air.

She stumbled backward dropping her silver tool as a violent coughing fit wracked her athletic frame.

"Valeriana!" Leon shouted crossing the room in a terrifying blur of raw speed. He caught her just as her knees buckled wrapping his strong arms securely around her waist to keep her from hitting the floor.

The spy looked up at him her dark mysterious eyes rapidly dilating until they were almost entirely black. A brilliant furious red flush aggressively painted her pale cheeks and her skin felt like a blazing furnace against his calloused hands.

"It burns," Valeriana whimpered her voice cracking into a desperate breathless whine. She instinctively clung to his broad chest burying her face against his collarbone. "Leon my blood feels like it is boiling."

Seraphina rushed forward her violet eyes wide with genuine panic. "The lotus extract acts as a soul suppressant but in its raw aerosol form it is a catastrophic aphrodisiac and mana disruptor. It is violently tearing her internal pathways apart searching for a vessel to bond with."

"Beatrice lock the library doors," Leon commanded his deep resonant voice echoing with heavy unyielding authority. "No one enters until I say so. Elara gather clean water and towels."

He scooped the trembling spy into a firm bridal carry holding her securely against his muscular chest.

He carried her toward a plush velvet chaise lounge located in the deepest shadowed corner of the massive library setting her down gently onto the soft cushions.

Valeriana thrashed helplessly her dark silk blouse clinging transparently to her skin as thick beads of sweat rolled down her elegant neck. She reached out with frantic desperate hands grabbing the lapels of his white shirt and forcefully pulling him down toward her.

"Please," she begged her arrogant spy persona completely eradicated by the overwhelming alchemical toxin. "It hurts so much. Please do not let me burn."

Leon went gracefully beside the velvet lounge projecting a calm magnetic dominance to soothe her frantic panic.

He realized his passive Dual Cultivation skill was the only thing capable of purging the volatile dark magic from her delicate system before it caused permanent neurological damage.

He looked back at the strike team standing near the reading table. Seraphina offered a firm understanding nod recognizing the grim medical necessity of the situation. Isolde looked away her cheeks flushing while Beatrice and Elara quietly moved to secure the perimeter.

Leon turned his intense midnight eyes back to the beautiful desperate spy writhing on the velvet cushions.

He reached out gently brushing a damp lock of dark hair from her flushed cheek.