"This isn't a defensive ward," Mei noted, stepping up to the heavy petrified oak. Her hand rested lightly on the hilt of her katana, her eyes narrowing at the glowing symbols. "It feels aggressive. Like a cage."
Alexander limped forward, leaning close to examine the seal without touching it. The crimson light cast long, sickly shadows across his bruised aristocratic face. "It is both. The Scientist has been here. These are high-tier containment runes, grafted using Syndicate blood-alchemy. They are designed to keep external forces out, but more importantly, to trap whatever is inside."
"Can you break it?" Raven asked. He had stepped up beside Alexander, his broad frame tense, his hand instinctively coming to rest on the small of Gazelle's back. The heat radiating from his touch was a grounding anchor for her frayed nerves.
