(BL) The Villain wants a Divorce!

Cass looked at those who had escorted him and smiled. They were still quite anxious, still looking rather confused. It was clear that asking about the women were on the tips of their tongues, but they couldn’t bring themselves to do so.

At least the aid of the noble and the Priests seemed to be feeling that way. The mercenaries seemed ready to ask at any point, but the other two groups stopped them. They were aware of what kind of person Lord Blackburn was. They did not want to anger him.

Cass thought it was hilarious that if Lord Blackburn had been the only one here, he would have preferred the mercenary’s honest way of asking over the pussyfooting that the other two were doing. Not that Cass didn’t prefer their honest way of handling things. He would have gladly explained it if they asked, but they didn’t.

So, now it was time to put some of their fears to rest.

”Would you mind stepping back about 40 paces towards the camp for me?” Cass asked, and watched as confusion clouded their expressions. Cass just smiled. He knew that people knew he was a powerful mage, the same way that he knew that Lord Blackburn didn’t show it off a lot because he was afraid to scare everyone. They probably only saw him as a noble dressed to the nines, coming to tour a dungeon camp.

That might not be true, since they also knew that he had every intention of going into the dungeon, but it was the feeling he was getting from some of the people around them. Cass wanted to...put them at ease, in a way.

Plus, Lord Blackburn had been powerful before Cass took over, and now he could do magic that was against what humans could normally perform. He had put in so much work to attempt to appear as human as possible, only for Cass to find out that his human side was mostly long gone, replaced with fairy blood and the very demon blood that everyone accused him of having. What was the point of pretending anymore when he had rather powerful allies at his side, and others who were ready to welcome him in with open arms.

What was the point of hiding anymore? Who was he trying to please? That didn’t really matter now, did it?

The Priests, aid and mercenaries did as he asked, and Cass moved towards the edge of the cliff. He stared down at the cliffside, taking in the slopes, curves and dangerous parts all while sculpting out his plan in his mind’s eye. The plan he had would be rather...bold, and probably could be rather dangerous. It was why he had asked them to move back from the edge.

The last time he had used this kind of earth magic had been in a contained dungeon so he wasn’t quite sure what would happen. Cass braced himself, pulling up the sleeves on his jacket until they were tight against his forearms before he took a deep breath and stomped on the ground.

The earth began to shake hard enough that the people in the camp looked around, panic filling them. They clearly thought a monster was about to attack, or had attacked the base of the cliff. Lucian and Edgar’s heads darted up, zeroing in on Cass as the man slowly, carefully began to raise his hands and then pushed his hands against an invisible force that no one else could see. Gideon remained calm, his voice soothing as he ordered patrols, getting the men and women moving so that they didn’t panic and rush over to the area that would be the most dangerous for them.

Cass got to work, unaware of the effort that the rest of the hero party was doing while he was busy. He stomped a few more times, sweat beginning to pool on his forehead as he worked before finally, the stone began to move and he began to see the results of his labour. Stairs began to appear at the base of the cliff before slowly, an intricate guardrail began to appear, protecting the stairs that were revealing themselves slowly but carefully along the cliff’s edge going upwards.

After all, what was the point in making stairs if they weren’t going to be perfect or reusable in the future?

Cass’ plan had been simple. It was all fine and good to create stares that were harsh and exposed to the elements, but they would be unusable in a few years due to how nature worked. Also, given the sharp edges and how the rock was deteriorating along the cliffside, Cass could tell that if he just carved stairs, they would be hazardous even as they went down them to go to the dungeon. Jagged edges hung over the area, telling Cass that the rock wasn’t very sturdy or was highly water soluble.

His decision was the right one to carve more into the rock for safety and longevity. It also looked cooler, but that was neither here nor there.

By the time that the stairs had climbed all the way to the top, Cass’ clothes clung to him with sweat, his breath was laboured, but his eyes were determined as the ground opened up. The stairs exposed themselves to the elements, climbing out of the ground and leaving behind a significant hole in the ground. One of the Priests gasped, making a hand motion that Cass had seen Ava and Edgar make before.

It had to be similar to a cross or something, a holy symbol one made when they were shocked or overwhelmed. Cass just smirked.

Instead of leaving it at that with a gaping hole in the ground, Cass wove a guardrail around the open and dangerous part of the stairs. Then he wove a small stone hut with a stone roof to protect the stairs and made sure that others didn’t just fall down and towards the water. It would have been a dangerous fall for anyone, since while Cass had taken his time with the stairs, they were still steep.

They were climbing up a whole fucking cliffside, after all. And they were probably sharp. That was something Cass would have to focus on later. For now, this was all that he could do.

The breeze coming up the stairs hit him in the face, nearly knocking him on his ass with the force of it. Cass stumbled back, his body weak from using so much magical power but he shouldn’t have worried. There were hands ready to catch him, protect him. The warmth was familiar, comforting as two large hands held onto his shoulders, practically holding Cass upright as the man continued to pour magic into the area, making sure that there wasn’t a flaw. That the ground wouldn’t collapse out from underneath them when he let go.

Cass was meticulous, the ground continuing to rumble as the others stood around, wondering what the hell he was doing when he had stopped outwardly. moving.

Finally, Cass let go, the ground stopped shaking and the earth stilled. Those who had stood there and watched him were amazed as Cass tried to catch his breath. His body trembled, his fingers feeling cold as he tried to close his hand into a fist. Lucian’s hand covered his own, his body radiating heat in a way that made Cass want to sink into him.

”You damn mage.” Lucian muttered, but pride was oozing from the dragon. ”I gave you a simpler path, and you ignored it.” Lucian sounded mildly upset, but his hands were shaking where he held him. Cass turned his gaze upwards, giving him a playful grin. He was tired, but he couldn’t help himself.

Those watching stood still in shock.

”That wouldn’t have brought honour to the Blackburn name.” Cass teased and Lucian growled. He scowled down at the man, but he couldn’t be angry for long. His orange gaze held too much pride, too much affection for the silly white haired mage.

”You damn cutie.” Lucian sounded like he wanted to smother Cass with affection, but was holding himself back. Cass was glad to hear it, because the strength had left his legs. He hadn’t had to use that much magic in a long time, and it had really taken it out of him.

Lucian was right to scold him, even as Cass felt pride fill himself. As long as things didn’t go poorly tomorrow, those steps could be used for decades to come. That was something to be proud of. The fact that he had been able to make something from practically nothing.

It was something that Cass hadn’t felt for a while since he’d stopped making clothes a few years back.

”W-What did you do?” The aid asked and Cass gave him a tired smile.

”I shifted the earth so that there was a clear path downwards to the dungeon. Taking a boat out is dangerous, right? So if I make a shortcut, it’ll be easier. At this point we can go down, scan the area and see if we can get a closer look at the dangers in the water. See what kind of monsters the dungeon is spawning, and how to handle them.” Cass blinked. ”Oh. I should have made doors to close so that if monsters do show up, you can block them out. I can-”

”Let Gideon and I handle that part, Cass. You’ve done enough. Getting wood for some damn doors isn’t going to be hard.” Lucian muttered. ”You need to eat and rest. Edgar is already assembling those damn magical tents the way you showed him last time. You need to eat, and I won’t hear a word of complaint. You’re trembling, damnit, and you’re going to be doing a lot of the heavy-lifting in this damn dungeon. I’m already not looking forward to this.” Lucian sounded upset and Cass just stared at him blankly.

”You’re the one doing a lot of the heavy lifting in this dungeon. You’re going to have to use fire, all the time.” Cass countered and Lucian rolled his eyes.

”Oh yes. Using my innate nature. That’s going to be so hard. What you’re doing is using a gift the gods have given you over and over and over. In a body that is still unwell. You better be prepared. I’m going to have to fill you up later.” Lucian’s sarcasm and warning had Cass feeling a little strange. Out of sorts. Cass had no idea what to say to that.

”F-Fill me up?” Cass repeated and Lucian’s gaze narrowed.

”You know damn well what I mean by that, Cass, so don’t make me spell it out. You’re the one who gets embarrassed.” Lucian reminded him, and Cass flushed further. Yup. It was exactly as he thought, and Cass needed to keep his mouth shut. ”If you have any more questions, you can follow us back to the tent. Edgar, Gideon and I are also more than capable of answering any questions. Lord Blackburn is our de facto leader at the moment as Fiona is off for health concerns. We have her blessing to be here.” Lucian cleared up any concerns and spread rumours beautifully.

It was almost as skillful as Edgar.

Cass just closed his eyes and let the other man carry him back to the camp. He truly didn’t have the energy to argue with him or put up a fight, even as the man carried him damn princess style in his arms.

Well, they had to be impressed with him even if he was being carried like this, right?