He sighed and looked up at the sky because of what was happening. The city just survived a near destruction experience and now they're about to face a maniac who takes somebody else's core. If they don't solve this now, the city will fall into chaos once again.
"What should we do now?" The royal knight asked after the major did not speak.
"First, clean the place. After that we will release an official statement to ease the people. I will also form a group to hunt the criminal who did this." Major Linius rubbed his head while giving his instructions.
The royal guard nodded to the others. They promptly emptied and vacated the scene and after that an announcement was released. The people, who were yet to recover from the attack, felt a bit relieved after reading the announcement. Patrols throughout the capital was also doubled because of the incident.
During the time of rehabilitation, Cygnus remained in the manor with not much to do well, aside from taking care of the dark child. His decision was opposed but at the end he still had the last say. The employees of the manor also returned to their work.
Once everyone returned to their work another problem appeared. Four pairs of eyes stared at each other in the manor's living room. William returned with the workers only to be shocked at the people whom he saw. It was natural for Rigel to be in the manor but for Ezio and Isaiah to be there as well was a rare sight.
He looked at them in confusion and when Rigel's butler appeared together with another one more person, his confusion reached another level. Added to that a child in the arms of the man who came with the butler. This standstill was what met Ulysses after he finally finished up at the Magic Tower after many days of working there to get the investigation rolling.
This scene was something the duke wouldn't forget. It took them several explanations before William finally accepted everything. During this time, Lindon also came to visit them and show his concern even though his presence was not welcomed. He even did it when the duke and the major wasn't around.
They could tell that he wanted to throw his weight around but with William and Isaiah in there, he kept it to minimum. Even though he was close to the crown prince, he was still mindful of his surroundings. He smiled and talked with the two of them while clearly ignoring Cygnus and Ezio who were with them in the room.
"What a cunning bastard," William glared at the carriage that carried Lindon. "I really hope that the duke will kick him out of the house already."
They spent their days in the manor and then the news of Arean dying and losing his mana core reached them. Cygnus laughed at the news which made the entire room silent. They were currently in the living room and having a snack when the news arrived.
"Ah, he is finally making a move. What should we do?" He leaned back and look at the people in the room with him but they were all silent. "Then I should let him be for now and catch him later. I'll let him experience power before I take it all from him. Oh wait, if he takes more mana core, he'll surely explode."
His crisp laughter dominated the entire room. Ezio was already used to it while Isaiah was getting used to it and on the other hand William was still adjusting to it. The room was a mix of reaction and it was quite comical.
After that short intermission, they all went their own way. Cygnus on the other hand visited the base where the dark child was being taken care off. He entered one of the buildings and saw that the dark child was silently sitting on one of the corners.
"How is he?" Cygnus aske Leif who was in-charge of overseeing the kid.
"Well, nothing is wrong with him. He's just a bit aloof and doesn't really speak so we can't communicate with him. Although, he will come for every meal so we don't have a problem in that area," Leif explained.
He was already used to seeing the man in the base. Major Linius explicitly told them that aside from him, they should listen to his brother. They had no objections regarding this matter since the man was reasonable and he didn't visit a lot well except now that there was a reason for him to visit.
"That's good to know." Cygnus nodded, then he looked at the child once again. He was now a lot different from the first time they saw him, he looked more human.
"If I may ask, does he have a name? it is a bit tiring to keep on calling him child," Leif asked. They don't know what to call him that's why they kept on calling him child or just plain he.
"Ah, yes that's quite a problem. Let me think for a while." Cygnus started to pace for a while thinking of a name. He was not good at giving names so it took him a while to finally think of one. "Let's just call him Vain."
He left after he gave the child a name. Leif looked back at the child and approached him. "Sir Rigel has given you a name, from now on we will call you Vain."
He returned to the manor and ran into Linius who just came back from the crime scene. They stared at each other for a moment before Cygnus shook his head and laughed. The glare and serious look on the man's face became the norm of the manor and he knew that it was directed at him.
"When will you stop looking at me like that?" Cygnus crossed his hands on his chest with his brows raised. "Are you still angry because of what happened?"
"If you take innocent lives like it is nothing, I cannot accept that. You've done it during the dragon incident and now you did it again. Do you plan on letting the culprit run around again?" Linius was not happy with how things turned out.
He was patient and tolerant even after knowing how the master was but he couldn't take it any longer. Innocent lives were getting caught up in the fight that the master was leading and he did not care about them. He knew that the man didn't know how to show mercy but it was beyond what he could tolerate.
Cygnus sighed as his gait changed. "I've told you many times before major, you don't get to lecture me or tell me what I should do. Aren't you happy that the tower you despised so much is now in shambles and disarray?"
He walked up to Linius and patted his shoulder. He then gripped it hard as he leaned forward with his face close enough to feel the major's breath. He narrowed his eyes before tilting his head to the side.
"You are under me, beneath me and can't be compared to me. I gave you what you want but you don't get to dictate me because right here right now I can kill everyone including those lambs in your land. I have no qualms in restarting that ancient spell to kill them all so I'm warning you to be careful of your words." He stepped back and snapped his fingers in front of Linius's face.
Cygnus turned around and started to walk away while Linius fell down on his knees as he clutched his chest. He was having a difficult time taking in air and he could taste the metallic taste of blood in his mouth. He finally fell down on the cold hard floor and after a few seconds he was able to breathe once again.
He laid on the floor and let the coldness of it calm him down. Linius was under pressure and stress that he was not able to hold himself back from lashing out. The master has warned him several times and he already knew how the master works. He was just stupid to take it all out in the wrong person.