Chapter 42: The Aftermath

The Tower of Conclave consists of four towers. Three towers were located at the northeast, northwest and south forming three points of a triangle. These towers were also a few kilometers away from the three entrances. Then northwest tower was where the infirmary and barracks were located. The main supply warehouse, banquet hall and conference hall was located at the northeast. While the south tower serves as the receiving area and quarters for all other visitors.

The last tower was the biggest one located at the center of the Tower of Conclave. It had an inner wall and was surrounded by a moat with only one entrance at the south. Only the council members and few trusted aides were allowed inside. This tower was where the archive, the quarters of the Head of Conclave and the Lord of the Tower was located.

It was also where Kyran and Malek fought.

After Hugh left with Malek and the rest of the Security Unit, he also received a message from Callan informing him that he had met with the rest of the reinforcements.

With a sigh, Hugh replied and relayed some of the Lord of the Tower's orders.

At Callan's side, when he received the message from Hugh, he was a little confused. From his message, it seemed the whole ordeal had ended.

Without delaying any further, Callan relayed the content of the message to all the leaders that responded to the Conclave's distress call. The leaders immediately split their forces to secure the surrounding area, clean up the mess, and heal the injured mages and soldiers. Chairman Noir of the Blacksmith Order, also instructed all Master Blacksmiths with him to inspect the damage on the defensive array.

When they were finished sending out commands, all of them went straight to the northeast tower.

The ground floor was where the banquet was located. But this was not their destination. They went to the third floor and entered the conference hall.

Inside the conference hall, a round table with fourteen seats was situated in the middle. A visible complex array covered the whole floor, and it was mirrored on the ten-meter high ceiling. This array could be activated at will by the Lord of the Tower. Its effect was also known only to them.

Sculptures of humans with wings, decorated the seven columns on the wall, with half of their body protruding. Three of the statues were holding a lamp made of light blue crystal that lit the whole place. While the other four held a sword, a staff, a spear, and a tome.

The leaders sat around the round table.

Currently present were President Callan, of the Mercenary Hall; Chairman Noir and President Sigma, of the Blacksmith Order; Head Alchemist Avrum, of the Alchemist Association; and Vice Chief Emery, of the Chamber of Commerce.

Noir was a tall middle aged man with long black hair with grey streaks and dark blue eyes. As always, his eyes were closed. It was very rare to see him open his eyes. He was also dressed in a black robe with silver linings. A golden hammer with diamond hilt was stitched on the right chest of his robe. This was the symbol of the Blacksmith Order.

Sitting on Noir's right was Sigma.

Sigma was a huge man in his late forties. He had an unruly short dark brown hair, and green eyes. On his forehead was a big cross-shaped scar that made him look more dangerous and fierce. He wore a black coat similarly designed as Noir, except the golden hammer had a silver hilt.

On Sigma's right, was Avrum.

Compared to Sigma, Avrum had a small stature. Among them, he was also the youngest. He was in his early forties, with short wavy blonde hair, and light brown eyes. His light blue robe, had gold linings and a golden cauldron with silver beads, the symbol of the Alchemist Association, was stitched on the right chest.

Across Avrum's seat, sat Emery.

She was the only female and also a non-mage in the group. She was in her mid forties with short curly brown hair and light green eyes. She wore a square shaped spectacle that on a closer inspection, the temples had rune writings. Because she was not a mage, but a combat specialist, she was wearing a gold plate armor over her red coat. Carved on the front of the armor was the Chamber of Commerce symbol, a book with a hovering stamp.

On Emery's right stood Callan.

"Why don't you take a seat, Callan. It's a little unnerving to see you standing there," Emery told Callan.

Callan sighed. Although Hugh's message hinted that the ordeal was over, he knew there was more to it. As of the moment, only he knew that the intruder might be Kyran.

"Forgive me. I'm just a little nervous."

Sigma sneered, "What's there to be nervous? Honestly, although the damage on the defensive array is indeed surprising, who would dare attack the Tower with the Head of Conclave present?"

Callan's brow creased but he did not reply and just sat down.

However, Callan's reaction was not missed by Noir. "Is there something you are not telling us Callan?"

The other three also looked at Callan.

"Chairman Noir... well... I-that's..." Callan stammered unable to make up his mind what to tell them. After all, the information about the army's attack on the Regis Clan was only known by them.

Before he could finish sorting his thoughts, the huge door opened and Malek and Hugh entered.

"Head of Conclave," all five of them stood at once and greeted Malek.

Malek just raised a hand and gestured for them to return to their seats.

"Thank you for coming and providing support during our time of need."

Because his condition had already improved, Malek told Hugh that he would be the one to explain the situation with the rest. Hugh did not argue, after all, Malek might know more than what was really happening.

"Everyone, what I am about to tell you may be the beginning of a turning point in the history of the Conclave." Malek started.

For the next half hour or so, Malek told them what happened. Of course, he left out the detail where Kyran almost killed him. He also told them about his vision last night.

In his vision, Malek explained that it started out as a premonition of an attack by an unknown shadow. But as he ventured deeper into the vision, he found out the identity of the shadow and his reasons for his attack.

All the leaders present were shocked after knowing that the 'intruder' was actually Kyran Regis. At Hugh's encouragement, Callan also shared what happened at the Mercenary Hall and how the Royal Army planned to use them to hunt Kyran.

"That Gael! Finally showing his true colors by using our own men to fight against an unknown target and whittle our forces!" Sigma bellowed and slammed his clenched fist on the table.

"And why is the Lord being lenient to that rascal? We may be a neutral faction, but we are not pushovers! He dared attack and will not receive punishment? Preposterous!" he added after learning that at the moment the Lord of the Tower did not enact any judgement and instead wanted to speak with Kyran alone.

"We have to understand his situation. I am sure each one of us, one way or another, also felt that despair and hopelessness when your own family's safety was hanging on a thin thread," Callan surprisingly jumped to Kyran's defense.

"Hm. I can understand somehow. But he was reckless. Although his magic is very powerful, he is only one man. If we don't have a connection with the Regis Clan in the first place, he is only seeking death." Emery pointed.

"From what I see however, our young friend seemed to have an idea of our relationship. And he took that gamble," Noir shared his opinion. "And seeing what he managed to accomplish alone... well, is he not equivalent to at least a platoon?"

Avrum laughed light-heartedly, "My thoughts exactly Chairman Noir."

"You're missing the point here!" Sigma roared and slammed his fist on the table once more. "Are we really going to let one boy run around and do what he pleases without any punishment? I want to speak to the Lord. I will teach that rascal a lesson!"

Malek suddenly cleared his throat, "Sigma. Calm down. The Lord has plans. It will not do good for you to waste your energy in dealing with him."

Black lines appeared on Hugh's head. He remembered the condition Malek was in when he fought Kyran. Was this his way of saving Sigma the embarrassment of facing Kyran, while keeping what happened to him a secret?

"But Head Master-!"

"Whoever lays a hand on Kyran, will answer to me."

A cold yet gentle female voice suddenly resounded in the hall.

The array on the ceiling lit up and a semi-transparent golden sphere slowly descended.

Everyone stood up and kneeled immediately, "Lord of the Tower."

Stella was inside the golden sphere.

As soon as she landed on the floor, she released her sphere and went straight at the head of the round table.

"Everyone stand up and take your seat."

"Yes."

Once everyone was seated, Stella looked at Sigma with a smile.

"I understand why you are angry Sigma. I know you are only concerned about the image of the Conclave. Thank you," she said.

Sigma bashfully scratched the tip of his nose, "Yeah well..."

"But Kyran can easily take you down," she added lightly and looked at Malek. "You did not tell them how he almost killed you?"

Malek looked embarrassed as he shifted in his seat and cleared his throat once again.

Almost everyone was shocked by this information.

Stella looked at their shocked expression, feeling a little proud. She wanted to make these people understand that Kyran was not just a 'rascal' who attacked them without thinking. He was a force that must not be taken lightly. Of course, she knew most of them would love to hear if their decision to agree with her in protecting the Regis' secret was really a wise gamble. And telling them of Kyran's strength was also her way to ease their doubts.

Hugh could not help but sigh in his heart. Their Lord was really whimsical at times.

"Okay. Enough jesting," Stella said after seeing the reaction she hoped for.

"Getting down to business," she turned to Noir and asked, "How's the damage to the array?"

Noir nodded, "Duvan and the rest are already checking. I will create an improved blueprint once I received their data."

"Good. I'll leave it to you. Hugh, please make sure to control the flow of the information. Callan, I'll leave the confounding to you if needed."

"Yes, Lord."

"Now, then. Kyran is resting at the moment so he can't join us. But I will arrange another meeting with the rest of the council to discuss our future plans. I know you also have questions, but the important thing to do right now is make sure the army does not find out about this incident."

Callan suddenly looked worried, "Lord. May I speak?"

Stella looked at him and gave a nod, "Of course. What is it?"

"After the incident at the Mercenary Hall, Celine, our Mercenary Hall Master went to meet with Kyran to negotiate. I specifically told her to tell him that we intend to help, but that we can't let the army know. I'm wondering if... well... We haven't heard from her yet."

"Hm... The truth, Kyran and I haven't talked yet. He is exhausted and I decided to let him rest. Don't worry, I believe Celine is... safe. Although, I also believe she failed in the negotiation that's why Kyran came here."

Callan sighed. "Then doesn't that mean, Kyran prefer this incident be known? If we hid this, won't he be angered?"

Sigma frowned. He did not like how Callan acted so afraid of that rascal. Although he, himself, was surprised that the rascal almost killed Malek, he was not convinced that he would end up the same.

"Humph. Since when does his mood affect how the Lord must make a decision?" Sigma grunted disapprovingly.

Stella just smiled at them, "Don't worry. I have my reasons. As for Kyran, he'll definitely agree once he hears my proposal."

"Very well."

"Next. Once Noir is done with the new blueprint for the array, Emery, please expedite the materials we'll need. If there are materials we lack, let Malek know as soon as possible. We'll take care of securing those."

"Yes, Lord."

"Right. Make sure to do the same for the Mercenary Hall. We can't let them stay defenseless."

Hugh and Callan were surprised. They immediately bowed to Stella and said, "Thank you, Lord."

Stella waved her hand and shook her head, "No need to thank me. If we want to hide Kyran's involvement, we have to make sure to get everything he destroyed, fixed."

She turned to Avrum and continued. "Avrum, can I trouble you to call Malia? Tell her to come here immediately. I need her."

"I will, Milord."

Stella nodded and looked at Malek.

"Malek, gather the rest of the council. In three days, we'll reconvene."

Malek gave a short nod. "As you wish, Milord."

"Alright. Everyone, please stay for a few days. I will have to leave you for now to attend to an important matter. If you need me, let Malek know. He'll know how to reach me."

"Yes, Lord."

Stella nodded and stood up.

The array on the ceiling lit up again while she summoned her golden sphere. Without further ado, she slowly ascended on the array and left.

Once she left, all of the leaders turned their head at Malek. They were all curious about what happened between him and Kyran.

Even Hugh, who saw the aftermath, was curious. Once again, he remembered Malek's appearance at that time and felt a chill run down his spine.

"Is it true you were almost killed?" It was Avrum who asked first. He looked at Malek teasingly.

Malek stood up with a scowl.

"Well, everyone, please make yourself at home. I will go and deal with what the Lord has ordered me to do," he said and looked at Avrum sternly when he said his last sentence.

"Spoilsport," Avrum muttered, but he just grinned.

One by one, the leaders left the conference hall, except for Sigma who remained seated.

He was deep in thought, and his expression showed dissatisfaction.

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