He had to hide the bodies, but there was no place to hide them. Is there space on the other side of the door?

Leo opened the door. It was another staircase that led down. In the end, there were two rooms.

Leo walked down. He tried to open the door on the left but failed due to the lock. He tried the right door. It opened. Sacks filled the insides. All stacked on top of each other. He could hide the bodies here.

Leo dragged the four bodies down. He wiped off all the blood by using their clothes and his water element. He used the parts where blood did not cover it.

He kept the four bodies behind a big stack of sacks. This would hide them, but who knows for how long? It did not matter as long as it was a few days.

Leo changed his clothes. He now wore his black clothes over the other one. Since it was dark here this would allow him to blend into the surroundings.

But as he was about to go footsteps rang in his ears. Leo closed the room and waited.

The footsteps came in front of the room, but the person did not open the room rather used the stairs.

Leo waited for two things. One was to let whoever those footsteps belonged to go. The other was because of the people he killed. Since there was no one guarding the entrance the person to whom the footsteps belonged to can become suspicious. He had to be careful. Leo waited for thirty minutes, but nothing happened.

Leo got out of the room and continued his journey downstairs.

There was another staircase. How deep did this tunnel go? This was the third staircase.

Leo reached the bottom. There was only one room. He tried the knob but failed.

Leo summoned Tenebris. He did not break the door. That would create noise. Leo pushed Tenebris through the door. Then he used the blade to cut from the edge of the door. This would not make any sounds.

After a minute. The door opened. There was only one torch in the room. The room was bigger than the rooms above him.

There was a bed in the middle of the room. It was not a normal one, but one you would find in hospitals. Molds covered the walls. They looked uncleaned for a long time.

Blood and flesh filled the ground. A pungent smell hit his nose. The room felt like a battlefield. Beads of sweat fell down his back. He was not the only one in the room.

On the bed, there was a person. His eyes remained closed. He had no nails on his right hand. As for his left, he had none. They were on the floor. His clothes red.

The man was breathing, but he looked worse than a dead person.

In front of the bed, there was a dark wooden desk. On top of it were three white colored rocks. Leo picked them up, but as soon as he did that his Crystal stopped.

So, this is that power. The rock was white like clouds on a sunny day. An experiment came to his mind. He placed the Crystal back on the desk. He then waited.

After five minutes he could use his Crystal again. He then covered his hand with his dress. Leo picked up the rock, but this time his Crystal did not stop working.

So it needs to have physical contact. Even clothes can prevent it from working. Leo took the three rocks and kept them in the pockets of the cloth he took from the city. They would come in handy in battle.

The desk had two compartments. The down one had nothing, but a book.

The writing on the paper was good. Neat and ordered.

On the front were the words. Diary of Xavier.

Leo scrolled through the pages. There was nothing interesting until...

The Runes From Hell.

I have found them. After years of searching, I have succeeded. They could not get it. My plan to trick them worked. With this, I can get everything I want.

I need humans with magic. I still have to test the runes. The scriptures are not detailed enough, but that does not matter now. With this, I can control my enemies. All I need is to get is a meeting with the king. Then, he will have to do everything I say. This will take time, but it is worth the wait. They will pay. Every single one.

So, it was all his plan. That would mean they kidnapped Xander and the others for this? Wait, It says if he meets with the king, he will do everything Xavier says. Does that mean I can use these runes to control people? That would explain why people who can use magic are helping the city.

He was planning to meet the king. Then, he would use a handshake as a catalyst to prevent the Crystal of the king from working. If that was the case why did Aldous not control Emilia and Xander?

So Xavier is the mastermind behind all this. And he is not as simple as he sounds. Also, who could be the 'they' in the book?

Leo turned the page.

I risked my life by going into the border between Dawn and Celsus. The war on the border has reached a terrible state. Celsus is a mess. It is a war-torn kingdom, but I had to risk it. The runes are too valuable. If it means giving up my life for the dream I have then, I will.

That was the last time Xavier wrote about the runes. Celsus? Does this mean I have to go there? But even if I go there where should I search?

Does not matter. If it means uncovering more secrets about the Crystal he would take it. The journey to there will be difficult based on the contents of the diary, but he would go to that place.