Zevan lowered his head as he tried to appear non-existent in the courtroom. King Harald occupied his throne while he faced his trusted men with a somber mood. The death of his mighty men was a big blow to him and he was now filled with vengeance.
Although he mourned the death of the brave men, his ego had dealt a bigger blow. Someone out there had challenged him blatantly and being a conceited king who prided on his powers more than anything, King Harald was livid.
He had called for the court session the moment they finished holding a funeral ceremony for the deceased. The deaths were not simple and they now had to come up with plans to protect themselves as well as avenge the brave martyrs.
Zevan peeked at Prince Jareth who was seated right below the King's throne towards the right. Just like his father, he too was a bumptious man. He was ruthless to his siblings who were eying the throne like hungry wolves even though he had already been declared the crown prince long ago.
However, neither the father nor the son were malicious people. They were good rulers and never harmed any innocent.
Zevan's eyes met the Prince's who was already looking at him and he flashed him a sympathetic smile. They were in a precarious situation. The sudden deaths of twenty-seven people had put them in a fix, especially when they did not know who the culprit was. It would be arduous to track down the mastermind and handle them, which no doubt was perilous.
"I am deeply saddened by the loss of twenty-seven brave warriors." King Harald started and clouds of melancholy hovered over the courtroom. "They were tortured beyond belief before they were killed. We do not know who killed them and what their motive was. However, they have provoked us by touching our people and we will not sit still and do nothing."
King Harald's expression grew increasingly fierce as he spat in anger. He was one of the most powerful sorcerers in Meadel and had good control over his emotions. Even in the most dangerous situations, he had remained calm and steadfast. However, his state of mind was anything but calm at that moment and due to the fluctuations in his emotions, his powers were threatening to unleash and wreak havoc.
"I wish to catch the person behind this massacre and show them who they have provoked. In this regard, does anyone have any suggestions?"
King Harald ran his eyes, making sure to look at everyone in the courtroom. All the strongest warriors and powerful sorcerers were present in the room and their opinions mattered significantly before they formulated a plan.
Nobody spoke a word for a moment. Sensing everyone's troubled and chaotic thoughts, Master Elion stood up, garnering everyone's attention to him.
"Your Majesty, it surely is saddening to our men viciously murdered. We must avenge those valiant souls. However, in this regard, we should also not forget how formidable our enemy is." Elion reminded. "Since they were able to send our men back accurately without appearing themselves, they are more formidable than we can comprehend. We will have to be meticulous and astute."
A stunned silence fell inside the courtroom, the gravity of the situation falling heavily on their shoulders. Nobody spoke as they tried to comprehend the truth.
It was not unusual to have sorcerers who could manipulate space. There were quite a few in the courtroom who could teleport and even could bring a few people with them. However, no one in the kingdom of Meadel could teleport other people without accompanying them. Just this power alone was enough to discern how formidable the enemies were.
"Master Elion, do you have any suitable approach for our problem?" Prince Jarett queried, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
"Although I do have a plan, I am uncertain if it is suitable or not." Elion gave him a helpless look and glanced at Zevan, scaring the hell out of him with the brief stare.
'Why is Master looking at me? What is he planning?' Zevan wondered, his thoughts running wild immediately. 'I hope his plan does not involve me. I do not want to be in charge of such a huge matter.' Zevan begged, giving his Master an aggrieved expression.
However, his master was oblivious to it. He instead, focused his attention on King Harald.
"Your Majesty, it is impossible for us to know who murdered our men without any clues. I am thinking of contacting the warriors and sorcerers stationed on the outskirts of the kingdom to check if they know anything.
"What if they do not know anything, Master Elion?" The Prince butted, quirking his brow challengingly.
"If I were to receive an unfavorable response from them, then…"
Zevan observed his master swallow in nervousness. The tension in the courtroom was thick and palpable as everyone waited for the old master to continue.
"Then?" King Harald prompted.
"Then, I was thinking of using Soul Avenge Spell."
King Harald stood up in shock. Even Prince Jarett was flummoxed and he followed his father's actions. The people in the courtroom were in disbelief and it took them some time to digest what the old master had just said.
"Elion, do you even realize what you just spoke?" King Harald reprimanded the man harshly, his tone increasing to an all-time high in fury. The people shivered as they tried to make themselves less prominent before the king. Although this was not the first time he had lost his temper, it was still bone-chilling and nobody wanted to be at the receiving end of his wrath.
Climbing down the stairs in a hurry, King Harald stood before Elion and glowered over him, his eyes filled with insurmountable rage.
"Do you not know how fierce and strong the spell is? Do you want to sacrifice other people in the kingdom as well?" He seethed and Elion lowered his head immediately.
"How is it us avenging our brave warriors? We are only killing more people." King Harald had never been infuriated with Elion. To him, the old man was impeccable and wise and never did anything wrong or out of the line. However, today, he had crossed his bottom line, forcing Harald to lose his calm.
"I understand your concerns, Your Majesty. However, what other options do we have? How else are we going to track the people responsible for our warriors' deaths? Does anyone here have a better idea? Please do propose it if you have any."
Nobody in the courtroom, no man or woman was able to provide an answer to Elion's question. Everyone lowered their heads as they silently revealed their stance. Even the King and his sons and daughters who were inside the room were rendered speechless by his request.
Although Master Elion's suggestion was drastic and risky, it was nevertheless still a suggestion which they had never thought of. They were, instead, useless and had been incapable of drafting anything worthy that could help them seek justice to the deceased.
Even Zevan was stunned by his master's suggestion. But unlike the others, he was not averse to it and was willing to give it a try if they could find the people behind the numerous deaths.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness?" Elion pressed, looking at the two men for their response. "Anyone in the courtroom? Do you have an alternate solution? If you do, please let us know. If your plan is better than mine, I will be more than happy to cooperate."
Elion darted his eyes around and even made sure to linger his gaze on the King and the Prince a few moments longer, waiting to see what they would say next. But all he got in return was silence. Nobody dared to even meet his eyes, let alone voice out their thoughts. No one, except Zevan. He was the only one who had his head raised as he confidently met his master's gaze.
Elion had expected this outcome and he was even more impressed with Zevan. He was the only one who knew what was right. 'You are not my favorite disciple for no reason.' He thought and nodded at him who flashed him a supportive smile in return.
Prince Jarett narrowed his eyes when he noticed this subtle interaction between the two. But he remained silent, although a sense of suspicion arose in his heart.
King Harald sighed in helplessness and dragged his body back to the throne. All of a sudden, he looked exhausted and disconcerted.
"Do we have no other choice, Elion? Not many people in our kingdom are powerful enough to cast the Soul Avenge Spell." Harald plopped on the throne, his legs finally giving away.
"I know, Your Majesty. That is why my priority lies in finding any warrior or sorcerer who might have an inkling about this incident. If we can find anyone, then there is no need for us to use the Soul Avenge Spell."
Zevan pursed his lips as he thought about it. It was true that Soul Avenge Spell exhausted a lot of energy of the person who cast it, sometimes to the extent that they had even lost their lives. So, most of the time, people cast it in groups, sharing their power with each other as they raised the soul of the deceased from its slumber. Then, the soul would guide them to the person who was responsible for their death even if the deceased had never seen the person when they were alive.
Zevan scrutinized all the people in the room and started to note down all the people who could help his master in casting the spell. Even though they were yet to conclude if they would be using the spell or not, Zevan was sure that they would eventually settle for this plan. He could sense it.
Zevan did not miss any person in the court as he analyzed their powers and abilities slowly. Even though with more people, they could easily summon the soul, there was barely a handful of them who had the power to do so.
'So if I include His Majesty and Master Elion, there are twenty-one people who can cast the spell. Will they be enough? And most importantly, how many among twenty-one are willing to help Master?' He wondered, giving a deaf ear to the conversation happening between the King and his master. Whatever they discussed was of no use to him. He might as well start planning for other things.
'Master, I have narrowed down all the people who are powerful enough to help you.'Zevan relayed the information to his master when he noticed that the courtroom had returned to silence. He was not at all guilty for not listening to the session attentively.
Master Elion's lips twitched in dismay. His disciple was amazing. But he could be equally annoying and this was one of the many times when he found the chap to be highly irritating. 'Zevan, this is not the time for you to be mischievous.'
He scolded, even though his tone was anything but harsh.
'Master, I am not being mischievous. I have an inkling that we will end up using the Soul Avenge Spell. So, I am just preparing for it."
Elion's heart skipped a beat in apprehension and his head snapped towards Zevan immediately.
'Did you have another vision, Zevan?' He queried hurriedly. The young man was unleashing this power of his faster than he could comprehend and accept. If this continued, Zevan would soon be in danger and that was the last thing Elion wanted.
Zevan was like his child and he wished to protect him for life. Having no family in the world, he had only Zevan and just like him, Zevan too had only him. Even though they did not share any blood, they were closer than any bloodline could prove.
'No, Master. I did not. But my intuition says that your first plan will not be fruitful and eventually, we will be using the second one.'
Elion's heart dropped in fear. Somewhere he was hopeful of the first plan being a success and they would not have to use the Soul Avenge Spell. But after listening to Zevan, his hopes crashed immediately. Even if Zevan did not have any vision, he started to trust the young man's intuition.
'Zevan, is there any way we could not use the Soul Avenge Spell?' Despite having an answer himself, he looked for an answer from his disciple, hoping for him to at least provide him with an alternative solution. Even though the chances were bleak, he wanted to give it a try.
'Master, there is another way.' Zevan replied after remaining silent for some time and his master's eyes lit up with hope. 'But it is almost impossible.'
'What is it, Zevan? I am willing to try anything if it is worth it.'
'Master…' Zevan hesitated. 'The only way to find the person behind the massacre or maybe even stop it is by using Chronomancy.'