Elder Kent floated atop the Magic Tower as he looked down below.
His long white hair and beard fluttered in the wind.
His dark expression indicated that he was very angry.
`Kek, what an actor!` Elder Alpha mocked him.
He put down Zachariel on the ground and vanished from the area.
Elder Kent did not stop him.
A mage ran out of the building and looked at him above.
“Elder, it’s the prince. He’s gone mad!”
“Mad?” Elder Kent narrowed his eyes.
“Where’s Captain Burton?!” He called out.
“Elder Kent!” Captain Burton arrived and knelt below.
“Care to explain what happened here?!”
Captain Burton gulped as he heard the ridiculous words coming right out of Elder Kent.
“Elder Kent, Prince Kane suddenly attacked out of nowhere and threatened the lives of everyone in the area. 19 people were killed. One of the Golden Guardians helped us out and defeated the maddened prince. That is all.”
Elder Kent didn’t listen at all. He was rather interested in that hidden power from Prince Kane.
`Hmph, Emperor Marcus! To think you hid this fact from the public. Let’s see how you’ll deal with this issue!`
He recorded what happened earlier, and was rather confident about what would happen next in the few days.
`The others should’ve also made their move. That Matthias, just how lucky is he that destiny is always on his side. I wouldn’t even mind calling him the Child of Destiny right now.` Elder Kent concluded.
For some reason, Matthias’s plans always worked as what that sly guy would narrate.
“Is that so?! Does His Imperial Majesty think his child can have fun wherever he is and kill people while he’s at it?” Elder Kent shouted.
He acted like he was furious at all.
`I’m going to charge at the Imperium Palace and make a scene!`
“Give me that prince! I’m going to the Imperium Palace!”
“Understood, Elder.” Captain Burton replied.
He stood up and looked above.
`He’s gone, and Prince Kane. What a crazy old fool.` Captain Burton remarked.
He turned around and ordered.
“Guards, clean up the mess in here. Where are the reinforcements? Are they here yet?”
“Yes sir! They had arrived just now.” A guard responded.
“Good, have them help. Also, call out to the Ancillary Guild and have those masons come over here and repair this area.”
“Yes sir!”
Meanwhile, one of the guards approached him and asked.
“Sir, what do we do about that other student?”
“Send that other student to the ward.” Captain Burton directed.
“Also, where’s Lieutenant Marck?” Captain Burton asked.
“Lieutenant Marck was found unconscious in a secluded part of the city by our guards, sir.”
This angered Captain Burton. `That idiot! Elder Kent will surely have a good time in the Imperium Palace! Sh*t!`
“F****** useless!”
He grabbed the guard and threw him far away.
The latter sustained grievous injuries and passed out.
Everyone else looked over and saw what happened.
`Oh no, Captain’s mad right now!`
“Someone go over to the Imperium Palace and report what happened here!”
The guards were dumb stricken by what Captain Burton said.
“Why are you still on a daze there? Move!” He bellowed.
“Ah, yes sir! Come, let’s go!” The guards moved.
Captain Burton sighed.
`That power. It sure does remind me of the Fleeting Shadow. Don’t tell me Prince Kane is a cursed being.` Captain Burton guessed.
The guards and the onlookers were a bit shocked when they saw what happened to Prince Kane. However, they didn’t panic and thought out ways to handle the situation.
With all the battles, surprises, and trickeries they had endured and experienced over all the years, they have learned to be calm and collected when faced with such atrocities.
`The dark mist and that ethereal woman. Is it the Dark Lord that those rats were referring to?`
If that was true then it would be a big issue. Having the son of the Emperor, and an alleged ‘Child of Destiny’ at that, being related to the Fleeting Shadow would bring discontent to the entire public.
`Prince Kane would be publicly prosecuted and executed, and Emperor Marcus would be brought upon investigation by the CPL.`
`The Great Human Imperium’s throne would then be vacated, and the power-hungry nobles would seek this chance to ascend into the throne.`
However, he realized another matter.
`No, the revolutionary faction will make use of this incident to push down the royal family. Those people sure are crafty.`
Captain Burton shook his head and sighed in defeat.
`A storm is coming, and it’s something big.`
He looked above.
Even though it was still early in the morning, the sky was already dark.
Thunder would rumble and lightning would flash from time to time.
“Captain, we’ve got a problem!” A guard rushed to him with haste.
“What is it?!” Captain Burton turned around.
“It’s the public, they’re demanding to see what happened here!”
“What?!”
Captain Burton was shocked.
`It hasn’t even been an hour yet and the news about this had already spanned over the entire Imperium Capital City?`
“Captain, what do we do? They’re almost about to break from our barricade!” The guard reminded him.
“Damn it, hold the line! Do not let them inside here!”
If they saw the amount of destruction in this area, it would bound to start an unrest.
‘Boom!’
A loud explosion reverberated on an area near where they were.
“What’s going on now?!” Captain Burton was slowly losing his mind.
“Captain, we have another problem!” Another guard rushed on him again.
“Those ghost-like beings from the dark mist earlier, they’re rampaging!”
“Huh?!”
…
Imperium Palace.
Elder Kent arrived in the Imperium Palace and charged straight at the entrance to the throne room.
Two guards stood there and tried to restrain him from going in.
“Elder Kent, stop! A meeting is currently-“
“Get out of my way!” He pushed the guards away with his wind mana essence and abruptly opened the two huge golden doors.
…
Inside the throne room.
There were a lot of officials currently gathered and lined up in front of Emperor Marcus.
They all had different looks on their faces.
Some were worried, panicking, indifferent, and some even had a smirk on their faces.
“Your Imperial Majesty, we’ve received reports that a Templar was found in the outskirts of Medullan Forest.”
“Your Imperial Majesty, the demon beasts on the northern frozen mountain range are on the move. We’ve sighted 3 King-level demon beasts, and possibly more!”
“Your Imperial Majesty…”
They were reporting to the Emperor in a rushed manner.
Emperor Marcus listened in to each report and he would feel a headache every time he heard them.
Wille stood beside him. His deep-blue eyes looked bored.
His black short hair fell on his face that had an indifferent look after hearing these reports from the officials.
On the other side was a very tall and bulky middle-aged man. His white hair and wrinkled face were a result of his participation in numerous fights over the years.
Emperor Marcus massaged his head and thought.
`There are too many things going around. We can’t invest our resources in everything or else we will crumble from the inside.`
Emperor Marcus looked at the bunch of officials standing in front of them.
`Moreover, there’s this bunch of wolves waiting to take power. Do they think I do not know what they are up to? I’ll teach them a lesson in this upcoming battlefield exercise.`
He planned to put them on the frontlines in the invasion of the Great Human Imperium to the Medullan Forest a few months from now.
The throne room was filled with arguments and insults from the officials when suddenly…
‘Bang!’
“Huh?”
Everyone looked over.
Emperor Marcus’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the newcomer.
`What is this old fool doing here now?!`
“Your Imperial Majesty!” Elder Kent shouted.
A noble official looked at him with displeased eyes and reprimanded him.
“You bastard, how dare you strut in with such a rude manner and shout at His Imperial Majesty without a single hint of honor and respect fro-“
He was unable to finish what he said as Elder Kent also pushed him out of the way.
“Of course, I have the right to be as rude as I am right now.” Elder Kent bellowed.
He threw Prince Kane to where Emperor Marcus was and pointed at the unconscious prince.
Everyone was shocked by this sudden rude behavior from Elder Kent.
“Your stupid son behaved ridiculously outside of my guild and killed 19 people while he was at it! Guess what, he had fun while doing that!” Elder Kent reprimanded.
“I will not stand for this atrocious behavior, Your Imperial Majesty! I demand a reasonable explanation and compensation!” He continued.
“You dare to curse his Imperial Majesty in front of him and his many people! You’re courting death, Kent McKenzie!” A bald mage responded.
“Shut up, James Mason. Don’t make me blurt out the dirty dark secrets you’ve been hiding all this time.” Elder Kent threatened.
“You-!”
“Enough!” Emperor Marcus ordered.
His voice carried a will that overwhelmed the others.
“Kent McKenzie, although I respect you as a guild leader of the Mage Guild, you should know that accusations like this without solid evidence are punishable by death.” He threatened.
“Well then! Wille Cross, I’m pretty sure you can confirm whether what I’m saying is true or not.” Elder Kent emphasized.
“Impudent! You dare to use Memory Lapse onto my son?!” Emperor Marcus bellowed.
“Hmph, then let’s not do it then!” Elder Kent snorted and turned around, preparing to leave the throne room when a guard rushed inside with a panic expression on his face.
“Your Imperial Majesty, we have a problem!”
“What is it?!”
“The guards from the western side of the Imperium Capital City had sighted several ghost-like beings rampaging throughout the area! Their levels are still undetermined. The local groups of guards and mercenaries have tried to contain the situation but things are not looking good!”
“Hmm?!”
Everyone was shocked.
“An attack? But how? This city is closely guarded by some of the best fighters in the Imperium! There’s no way those ghosts would get in here!” An official retorted.
“Sir, it was reported that they came from the Mage Guild building and wandered towards the other areas! It happened after a golden light arrow pierced through a dark mist from the same area!” The guard responded.
“The Mage Guild building, you say? And a golden light arrow?” James Mason stuttered.
“Yes sir! Many have heard a woman-like voice saying ‘Arrow of Repentance’ before it clashed with the dark mist!”
“It’s Madame Lena’s technique, but why would she use it inside the Imperium Capital City?” The officials gossiped.
“Your Imperial Majesty, it was also reported that Prince Kane raged outside of the Mage Guild building earlier. Maybe it is somehow related to those ghost sightings as of late.” The guard nervously said.
`Don’t tell me that what this old fool was saying is true?!`
Emperor Marcus couldn’t accept the fact that it was.
`Impossible! My son won’t act atrociously like this when he’s outside! Wait, don’t tell me the curse is acting up again?!`
If that was the case, then he was in real trouble.
The secret of Prince Kane’s curse was a matter of high secrecy for Emperor Marcus. Nobody else in the Imperium should know what happened 16 years ago.
He thought that the curse was purged right after that day, but it looked like that wasn’t the case.
`Don’t tell me those rats planned this out!`
He gripped the armrest, slowly cracking it with great force.
It blew into pieces, hitting some of the officials in the face and knocking them out.
Everyone gulped, awaiting the next move from the Emperor.
“Surround them and kill them! Why are the Imperium guards and the other Golden Guardians are not doing anything about this issue?!”
“Your Imperial Majesty, a massive wave of demon beast was spotted in the northern side of the Imperium. That’s where most of them are right now.” The same official who reported about the sightings of king-level demon beasts replied.
“Then what about Madame Lena? If she is here, then she should’ve already taken care of them!” Emperor Marcus retorted.
“That-“
The guard couldn’t come up with any reasons whatsoever. The officials were also bothered by this.
Why was a Golden Guardian ignoring the call onto a crisis right now?
Emperor Marcus was about to say something when another guard rushed in and reported another matter.
“What is it now?!” Emperor Marcus couldn’t almost take it anymore.
“Your Imperial Majesty, the blackout is here!”
