The Villain Professor's Second Chance

Chapter 614: Necromancy’s Hidden Thread (3)

Chapter 614: Necromancy’s Hidden Thread (3)

Together, we began piecing together Lisanor's growing influence within the Council. Even though I had anticipated her to be formidable based on rumors alone, the depth of her infiltration was more than I'd imagined. She possessed a natural gift for pyromancy—one that set her apart from the countless other flame-wielders who relied on flashy displays of fire and fury. Lisanor, by contrast, wielded her art with surgical precision, burning away opposition in more ways than just literal flames. She had maneuvered herself into a position of quiet power, waiting for the perfect moment to ignite a blaze from within.

I found it darkly ironic: a pyromancer forging alliances in secret, her every move cloaked in subtle manipulations and gentle persuasion. Yet, when you thought about the nature of fire, it made sense. Fire could be sudden, explosive, and impossible to contain once it was let loose—but it could also smolder undetected for a time, devouring foundations before anyone realized the danger. Lisanor embodied both extremes, harnessing the allure of knowledge like a hidden spark, ready to burst into an inferno when the time was right.

Standing next to Kyrion in that claustrophobic, mana-saturated chamber, I felt an unexpected pang of understanding for how she might have amassed such influence. Information was a priceless commodity. In a Council filled with ambitious mages and cutthroat politicians, simply offering glimpses of "secret knowledge" could bind even the most suspicious mind to her cause. Not all, of course, but enough to shift the balance in her favor.

"She had to have started small," I muttered, voice echoing in the chamber. "Subtle gestures of goodwill. Providing spells or arcane research that these Council members desperately needed."

Kyrion inclined his head, a gesture of acknowledgment. "Precisely. She never overplays her hand. A single, well-timed gift. A promise of future cooperation. For those who resist her overtures, she sows quiet doubt in their reputations or stokes internal conflicts. In a Council so large and so used to bureaucracy, it's disturbingly easy to slip in unnoticed."