An Epic Ranked Beast whose powers were on the level of a Mythical Ranked Beast.
A Beast who alone defeated all his opponents in a single move.
A Beast far stronger than any Beast at his level.
And a Beast… who hasn’t lost his mind to the energy we could not understand.
This is the product of the Xenthalor Empire, who learned to use the Power of Corruption in a way Lord Feraos intended his children to.”
Selene announced, and silence fell over the Arena. The guests glanced at each other, their expressions varied.
Some seemed angry or had looks of dismissal on their faces, clearly viewing Selene’s words in a negative light. The woman had just admitted to using the Power of Corruption. It was a taboo in Nerathis.
But…
Some were different. They were curious, they were… tempted.
They had seen Maw’s strength with their own eyes. He took out everyone around him without any effort whatsoever.
His powers clearly far surpassed all others, and… he looked fine, didn’t he?
If…
If they could strengthen their Bonds like this as well…
Of course, even if this had taken root in their minds, they didn’t say anything out loud. After all, the Power of Corruption was still seen in a negative light, and as strong as Selene’s argument was, it wasn’t entirely convincing.
“So you’re saying… the Xenthalor Kingdom used the Power of Corruption on that Beast?”
Edric questioned.
“We used the Power of Corruption correctly.
And we do not use harsh and boorish terms like ‘Power of Corruption.’
We call this the Energy of Dawn.
The Energy that will be the gateway to a new Era. An Era of Tamers with much stronger Bonds.”
“Just because you were able to hide that vile aura doesn’t mean you were able to use it correctly. There is no correct way to use a vile power.”
Cedric spoke up. Clearly, he didn’t like the idea very much.
“As one would expect from a Warrior. Hard-headed as always, huh?”
Selene chuckled, mocking the Commander.
“You lied, Selene Valcroft. You tried to hide the use of the Power of Corruption and even went as far as blaming the Hero and the Drakthar Kingdom for falsely accusing you when they were right all along. If you were right and had nothing to hide, you wouldn’t have reacted in such a manner.”
Cedric answered calmly, his words earning nods of approval from the crowd.
“This was a gathering where we celebrated the Hero’s achievements. I wasn’t supposed to reveal any of this today.
My aim today was to introduce Maul as a Mythical Ranked Beast with no one being able to tell the difference. It was supposed to be an experiment, which would have succeeded if it weren’t for the Hero using his special eyes.”
Selene revealed as she glanced at Kael.
“Yes, I apologize for acting out. I let my emotions get the best of me. The Hero wasn’t at fault here. He was worried about his instructor and trusted his ability—it is something I respect.
What angered me was the Court Mage Elira, who lied about sensing the Power of Corruption, and Prince Edric, who implied that my Empire was an enemy of Nerathis.”
“Isn’t that what you are, though?”
Aurelia, the Sky Serpent General, spoke up as well.
“You used an Energy that harms the Bonds people of Nerathis cherish. Doesn’t that make you the enemy of Nerathis?”
She questioned.
“We found a way to use the Energy of Dawn without harming the Bonds.”
Selene repeated. Aurelia, however, just narrowed her eyes.
“The very fact that you had access to this energy means that you colluded with the Twilight.”
She stated.
“We did not collude with the Twilight.”
Selene retorted the instant that word was mentioned. Her reaction this time was much stronger than before.
“Then where did you get that Power from?”
“As I said, the Energy of Dawn is just one of the many energies in our Nerathis. Just because Twilight was the first to use it doesn’t mean they own it.
We found our own way to use this energy—a way much better than theirs.”
Selene answered proudly, and Aurelia snorted at those words.
“Of course you did.”
“Yo-“
Knowing she didn’t believe her, Selene tried to say something, but then,
“Don’t act like you’re innocent, Mage.
Do you truly want us to believe that you haven’t harmed more than one Beast as you found the correct way to use the Power of Corruption?
Do not think we do not know how you mages usually do things.”
Cedric spoke up, and together with him, the rest of the warriors stared at Selene with apparent disgust.
“I shiver at the thought of the number of Beasts that have suffered for your little experiment to succeed.
And who knows if it is even a success now? It might just be one of your ploys to fool everyone.”
The Commander snorted, dismissing Selene, and once again, the warriors present in the Arena nodded.
“Haaahh…”
Selene exhaled deeply.
“I have neither the time nor the energy to debate with a hard-headed fool like you who refuses to look at things from a different perspective.”
She then turned toward the rest of the people gathered in the Arena and said,
“I know more than a few people are tempted by what we have discovered. If you wish to learn more about it and use the Energy of Dawn to strengthen your Bonds without having to worry about any possible side effects, you are welcome to the Xenthalor Empire, where we do not restrict ourselves to traditional standards set by others.”
She then momentarily stared at Cedric and Aurelia and snorted,
“If we had listened to people who resist change, we would still be living in caves, using weapons made out of stone, and relying on Beasts for every little thing.
People, times are changing.
The Twilight is getting stronger.
The Hero alone will not be enough.
Instead of waiting for him to grow and protect us from our enemies, we need to become strong allies he can rely on.
Rise up.
Nerathis needs you.
A New Era is about to begin.”
The Tower Head stared at Cedric and Aurelia and,
“An Era where the Old Timers will be left to rot in the dust.”
Saying those words, Selene and the rest of the Xenthalor Mages, even the Xenthalor delegation that usually stayed in Drakthar, brought out a translucent crystal and,
Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh
They disappeared into thin air.