Earth's Greatest Magus

Chapter 2749: The Captives

Seeing his two brothers defeated in mere minutes made the eldest expression darken. The weight of disbelief mixed with fury twisted his features as he stepped forward, glaring at the intruder standing amid the broken bodies of the Ninth and Tenth Brothers.

”What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” he roared.

The mysterious figure turned his head slightly, and the flicker of ethereal light revealed his face. It was Emery. His calmness contrasted the chaos around him.

He let his eyes sweep across the room, stopping on the white-bearded man. The faint curl of a smirk appeared on Emery’s lips.

”Good,” he said evenly, his tone filled with dominance. ”You must be their leader, Maldrin the Midnight Demon. That saves me the trouble... I came for someone you captured—a friend of mine.”

Before Maldrin or anyone could respond, two prismatic rings of energy spiraled out from Emery’s sleeves. The bands clamped around the necks of the two half unconscious brothers on the floor and yanked them violently into the air. The men awoke mid-scream, their bodies twisting helplessly under the crushing mana pressure.

”He is... A spirit master.....” Said one of them in utter pain.

With one gesture, Emery shut the man and continue coldly ”Now... if you understand the situation, you’ll lead me to where you’re holding your captives.”

The eldest brother’s eyes burned with rage. His aura flared—a violent surge of dark mana that distorted the air—but before he could strike, a low voice stopped him. The masked man beside him muttered mental words to him.

Maldrin glared at the intruder, but the hesitation in his movement betrayed obedience. He spat on the ground, jaw tightening. ”Fine... follow me.”

Emery’s gaze lingered briefly on the masked figure. Something about the man’s aura seemed... odd. One cosmos realm at most, weaker than the brotherhood leader, yet his influence over Maldrin was undeniable. Still, Emery filed the thought away and followed without another word.

The group moved deeper into the winding maze of the Dawnstar underground, where ancient runes and shifting shadows guarded layer after layer of secrets. The further they went, the thicker the stench of blood and rot became.

More magus began to appear along the corridors, all falling in step behind them like silent wolves.

When they reached a vast chamber lined with towering blackstone pillars, Emery suddenly stopped. His eyes glowed faintly as he scanned the space, his voice low and dangerous.

”You think I can’t detect it?!! ...This room is crawling with rune formations... You really don’t care about your brother, do you?”

Without waiting for an answer, Emery extended his hand, and one of the two floating captives—the Ninth Brother—was yanked forward, choking, struggling against the bands of light that bound him.

Maldrin’s eyes widened in panic. ”What are you doing?! The prison is really this way! Those formations—they’re meant to stop the captives from escaping!”

Emery’s gaze didn’t waver. The air around him trembled with suppressed cosmic pressure.

Maldrin cursed under his breath and pulled out a black crystal. Chanting a guttural incantation, he released a wave of shadow that crawled over the walls. The intricate runes faded one by one, leaving trails of smoke that hissed like dying serpents.

As the formation’s power subsided, Emery’s divine sense expanded—piercing through stone and darkness alike. Dozens of faint life signatures flickered beyond the hall, clustered in separate cells. He could feel their fear, their despair. Prisoners.

From the side corridors, magus guards in tattered black cloaks emerged, weapons drawn. For a tense second, they stood ready to strike—but Maldrin lifted a hand. ”Make way,” he ordered.

The guards obeyed immediately, parting down the center like a tide of shadows.

”All that we’ve captured are inside,” Maldrin said, his voice deceptively calm. ”You can check for yourself.”

Emery’s gaze lingered on him for a long moment. The compliance didn’t ease his suspicion—it only deepened it.

”Does he really care for his brothers,” Emery thought grimly, ”or is he planning something worse?”

He sent out his divine sense again, sweeping through every corner for concealed arrays or hidden enemies. Nothing. Only the faint, terrified breaths of the prisoners ahead.

But he couldn’t afford to linger. Outside, his allies—his daughter—were still in danger.

”No,” he said aloud, tone firm. ”You all come along with me inside.”

With everyone entering together with him, he could lower the risk of being trapped. Maldrin was clearly unhappy, his face twisted in irritation. ”You’ll release my brothers the moment you find your friend,”

”Of course,”

With that, the group moved. The hall opened into another chamber—larger, colder, more suffocating than the last. Dozens of iron-barred cells lined the walls like the ribs of some vast beast. The stench of blood and decay was overwhelming.

As Emery’s divine sense spread again, he felt it all—the pain, the madness, the faint glimmers of broken souls. The luckier captives were bruised and battered. Others had been tortured beyond recognition. Some sat motionless, their eyes hollow, their spirits crushed.

Rage burned behind his calm expression.

He continued down the row, scanning each cell. His pulse grew faster, his breathing heavier—until suddenly, his divine sense touched a familiar spark.

Faint. Weak. Barely clinging to life.

Emery whispered a name ”Livi...”

Everyone froze as an aura flared. With a single gesture, one of the prison bars exploded outward, scattering shards of metal like shrapnel.

From the drifting smoke, a shadow figure emerged. It carried a limp woman in its arms. Her skin was pale, her clothes torn, her wings ragged. Nyx, the Succubus.

”Master...” Livi in her shadow form spoke softly, ”She’s dying.”

For a moment, the world went still.

Emery stepped forward, the fury in his eyes hidden behind an unnerving calm. He looked at Nyx—at the wounds covering her body, at the faint scars that told stories of cruelty—and the rage he had been suppressing burst free.

His voice trembled.

”All of you... are animals.”

Maldrin’s stance shifted immediately. His cosmic aura surged, filling the room with a pressure that cracked the tiles beneath his feet.

”You’ve found your friend,” he snapped. ”Now release my brothers!”

Emery turned his gaze on him, eyes glowing like molten gold. His tone was cold enough to freeze blood.

”Of course,” he said slowly. ”I’ll release them.”

Before Maldrin could respond, Emery’s hand moved.

The two bound brothers—still hanging helplessly in the air—were hurled toward the cluster of magus guards.

”There they go!!”

However despite the rings on their neck were removed, the two were screaming in pain. ”NO!” Maldrin shouted. ”What are you doing?! STOP!”

It was too late.

The brothers screamed as the cosmic energy within them spiraled out of control. The explosion was blinding—an eruption of chaotic power that shattered walls and tore through the guards standing too close.

A shockwave swept through the hall, hurling debris and bodies alike. When the light faded, silence returned.

The once-imposing guards now lay broken, many dead. The survivors groaned amid the rubble. The Ninth and Tenth Brothers were lay flat on the ground, their cosmic body might kept them alive but still they were incapacitated.

Maldrin stood amid the carnage, trembling with fury, his aura flaring like wildfire. ”You... you BASTARD!”