With hours to spare till the gathering at night, Luca made multiple preparations. He couldn't learn so many spells in such a short time frame, but he was able to make do with the ones that were easy to learn.
Unfortunately, that was only one spell: Rust Hand. It was rather simple to get the catalyst for Rust Hand, as it was only one item which was quite common and easy for him to gather in large amounts.
After leaving the Venton villa, Luca first went over to Mina's to get the rest of his clothes, and then over to Humphrey's, where he got the vial of rust from.
He also had an alternate reason for going over to Humphrey's, and that was to change his one crown coin into a bunch of smaller coins.
As of this time, his work with the princess wasn't official, so in turn, he wasn't ready to go through the hassle of finding official measures.
Humphrey was rather rich, so he had no shortage of money he could use to exchange with Luca. However, the old blacksmith did give him a strange look that indicated he had questions he was keeping to himself.
It was best like that.
After that, he got back and started making preparations. Spells, talismans, and everything else. He got them ready.
*****
The Middle of the Night
The prescribed time for the gathering was near, and Luca was about to leave the house. He donned his old set of clothes, which had now gone through some alterations under his hand.
He tore off a large piece of fabric from a new coat of his, wincing as he did so, then stitched together the dark pieces of fabric in a way that they appeared quite raggedy.
It hadn't taken a very long time. After years of living alone, Luca had become very skilled with a needle and thread.
Finally, his makeshift mage outfit was complete. The full ensemble was a strange patchwork coat that jutted out sharply at angles that he couldn't fix. It was unfit for a gentleman's overcoat but was good for a cruel mage's outfit.
Every other thing was more or less how he would dress on a normal occasion.
But the clothes included one final, important detail.
There was a piece of dark cloth left. This part was thinner than all the pieces he used but still thick. He fashioned it into a mask that covered his entire head.
This mask was a simple black slate with two invisible slits to help him breathe, and a slightly shaved-off area where the eyeholes were supposed to be.
"This bloody sucks. It's so stuffy," Luca cursed, still getting used to the feel of the mask. He could hardly breathe and now saw the world through a veil of darkness.
It took some getting used to, but in a few minutes he came to a conclusion.
"I'm ready."
Without waiting any further, he slipped out of the house under the watchful eye of the moon while avoiding any patrolling guards.
The gathering spot was on the outskirts of the city in an abandoned building. The location was chosen because patrols were reduced near the edges of the city.
He arrived at the building with no suspense. It was a rather large structure with two floors, but the Count's journal said that the meeting was held on the first floor.
His hand fumbled through his coat nervously.
Everything was there. Both daggers, talismans, and he could feel the warm spell circle paint still drying on his right hand.
'Here goes nothing…'
Then he stepped in.
Nothing at first. It was just pitch blackness, which was a lot even for Luca, but then—
WHOOSH!
A sudden gust of wind flew right past him. Luca's eyes were still constantly pumped with mana, so he was able to slightly 'see' the sudden attack.
It was a blade of wind. A spell. Another mage was here.
'Is this a setup?'
Each realization trampled him like a horse, but there was no time to wait around. If this was indeed a setup, the fastest way to come out of this alive was to simply burn everything standing in his way.
'Just in case… I'll exercise caution first.'
Luca whisked out a talisman from his pocket. The glyphs inscribed on this one were a little different from the one he used against the Count.
And it was precisely because they were.
Illuminate!
The spell activated midair, consuming the entire room in a bright flash of light similar to the sun.
'Found you!'
Six figures stood in a circle completely surrounding him, but they were too shocked by the sudden flash of bright light to react.
Luca wasn't affected. The black mask covering his head wasn't just to hide his identity. It helped shield him against his own spell, which was a version he fashioned by replacing a key glyph with one of the simplest glyphs he'd learned in the Veil.
Light.
'There wasn't enough time to test, so I wasn't sure that would work!'
He reached for the nearest figure—a feminine figure in a quaint wooden mask, who stood near the door he'd just come in from—then pulled out his dagger.
At this point, the light faded, but the results were clear.
"Don't move or I will slice her throat," he said calmly, watching the other figures where they stood.
After the Illumination talisman was used, Luca got a much clearer picture of where they were and how they would move.
It didn't hold a candle to actually seeing, but it was more than enough for him, someone who lived in the shadows.
Silence hung through the air for a few seconds until someone finally spoke.
"Oi, calm down, lad, it was a joke."
Swish~!
A small ball of flame hovered to life, first hanging above the now visible silhouette of the caster, and then eventually rising to the ceiling where it split into two and illuminated the whole room.
Then, another voice spoke.
"Well, I don't think he's from the Church."