If others heard Gael’s report, they might not be able to find anything unusual about it. Because there had been past incidents where other officers met people who ‘looked-like’ some dead wanted man or officers that went missing. In the end, they confirmed that these people were only look-a-likes.
However, everyone inside the throne room froze after Gael said his piece. Because their interest was instantly drawn to three points from what he said; dead body, ruin at the Chaos Palace, and ten years ago.
They were all veterans who served the empire for more than fifteen years, and when one talked about a dead body found at a ruin in the Chaos Palace ten years ago, they were reminded of the unsolved case of the wanted man, Gray.
Just thinking about this person, anyone would be attracted, regardless if Gael only met a look alike. Because there were still people who did not believe that the body found in the ruin was Gray, although all evidence confirmed it was him.
Euan, in particular, was not convinced. He still had people looking everywhere to find him. After all, that man killed an important figure of the empire who had the Legendary Badge.
With eyes narrowed, Euan asked Gael.
“You will not come here yourself if you have not confirmed his identity, correct?”
Gael nodded.
“Yes, your majesty. He confirmed it himself.”
Euan abruptly stood with both his fists clenched.
“Where is he now?” He asked through gritted teeth.
Gael furrowed his brows.
This question was what he dreaded answering. If he admitted that he failed to track Gray or even left a mark to continue his pursuit, the emperor and everyone present would mock him. He was a Magus and the Grand Marshal. How could he fail such a simple task? However, Gael knew that having a smear on his name was a small price to pay. Because the important thing right now was to divert the emperor’s attention away from the Regis Clan and have him focus on Gray.
It was Gael’s reason for reporting this incident.
“I’m sorry. I failed to catch him,” Gael replied remorsefully.
“What?” Euan growled in anger. His magic pressure suddenly erupted, forcing everyone inside to their knees.
Gael’s eyes widened from Euan’s pressure. It was not a pressure an Exalted Mage could have!
‘H-He has been promoted to a Magus?’ Gael thought in alarm.
If this was true, how come Euan’s pressure could affect even him, who was also a Magus? It was simply impossible!
“How did you fail?” Euan asked. His amber eyes glowed malevolently as he stared at Gael.
Aiden and the four royal knights trembled from Euan’s undisguised anger. They did not dare look up and kept their heads low.
“H-He has been promoted to a Magus, your majesty.” Gael replied hastily.
Euan’s eyes widened.
“A Magus?”
“Y-Yes. And his magic… it was different from the information we have.”
Euan frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Our information indicated that he possessed Steel Magic, however, when I fought with him, he constructed a huge Golem that was not only made from steel but different elements.”
After fighting Gray, Gael had racked his brains in figuring his magic. And this was the answer he came up with after talking to Seanne, the blacksmith he entrusted with repairing his scythe. It was the only possible reason Gray managed to destroy his magic weapon.
The expression on everyone’s faces changed drastically.
What did it mean to be able to utilize different elements?
In a battle between mages with specialization, the environment would become a critical factor. It would determine a mage’s advantage if his innate magic was dominant in that place. For example, a battle between a Fire Mage and a Water Mage would be advantageous to the latter if there was a body of water nearby. Because once both mages run out of magic reserves, the Water Mage could easily manipulate the water nearby to his advantage.
If a mage could utilize different elements, then that mage would practically be invincible in any environment because elements were present everywhere.
Euan also undid his magic pressure as he sat on his throne. His face looked ashen from this information.
“What elements can he use?” Euan asked after a short pause.
“I can only guess three, from how he was able to destroy my magic weapon. Gold, silver and… carbon,” Gael answered.
He had thought of this answer long before. After all, his scythe was made up of these three.
Everyone’s expression distorted at once.
To utilize one element was already troublesome, but to have three confirmed elements? Not to mention, carbon element was also present in humans.
“Are you sure?”
“It is base on my own understanding. I dare not say it is for sure,” Gael admitted.
He did not confirm it because he had a feeling Gray could manipulate more elements. He had this suspicion from how the black orbs Gray manipulated performed.
“It was recorded that he was an Abjurer. If he can construct a Golem, then he has learned dual specialization,” Euan commented.
Gael nodded his head in agreement.
“That is right. He is very proficient as a Transmuter.”
Euan closed his eyes and heaved a sigh. He leaned on his chair and fell into deep thought.
He did not expect to encounter this kind of complication as soon as he returned to the palace. Honestly, the three months he had been away, he had been building relations with other independent factions from the north. His reason was simple. He planned to get the Three Noble Families down their high horses. After returning, his next step was to curry favor to the Regis Clan.
Unfortunately, Gray’s reappearance would have to be prioritized. What he did was of national importance because he discovered a top-secret.
Aiden and the rest did not dare disturb Euan’s thoughts. They remained silent as they waited for him to speak.
It was the same with Gael. But since he was not privy of why the Royal Family wanted to apprehend Gray, he was not as anxious as them. On the contrary, he rejoiced in his heart because he knew he had already succeeded in diverting the emperor’s attention.
After a few minutes, Euan finally opened his eyes and looked at them.
“We will renew Gray’s bounty. Contact the Conclave, Templar Code and Aureole and have his bounty available to them as well. This is a Royal Decree,” he declared.
All of them bowed at once, “Yes. Your majesty.”
Soon after, all major factions in the empire received the decree and caused a huge uproar.
=======================
It was already late at night when the Conclave received the Royal Decree.
Because it was a decree issued by the Ylfaen Emperor himself, it was sent directly to the Tower of Conclave.
After Malek received the decree, he immediately contacted Stella, who met with him at the south tower’s receiving area.
Stella sat on the high chair holding the gold parchment.
The gold parchment was sent from the Royal Palace through a transmission array to the Royal Army’s HQ in Starhorn. Then it was delivered to the Mercenary Hall, after which Callan sent it over to the Tower of Conclave using their transmission array.
A slight frown appeared on Stella’s beautiful face as she read the content of the parchment.
Malek looked at her in concern. He stood at the foot of the raised platform, waiting for her to speak.
Stella rolled the parchment with a sigh before turning her attention to Malek.
“They want us to issue a bounty to ‘Gray’,” she told him.
“Gray?” Malek repeated, his brows furrowed in confusion.
As a faction with a vast network of information, the Conclave knew about Gray. They knew that his body was found in a ruin in the Chaos Palace ten years ago. And that he was thought to have been killed by mages from the Archadia.
“Does this mean he is not dead?”
Stella rubbed the bridge of her nose as she leaned on her chair. Among the Conclave members, she was the only one who knew the truth about Gray. Even Malek did not know. It was not because the Regis told her but because she managed to put two and two together after coming across Nolan’s information. Of course, ordinary people would not be able to guess it. Not even the most intelligent human would be able to find the truth. Stella’s only advantage was that she knew the Regis, and all information was available to her.
“I can’t say if this is good for Kyran or not,” Stella said, avoiding Malek’s question. “But with this, the interest of those outsiders who wanted to try Kyran’s bounty will shift to Gray’s. After all, the Royal Family issued it.”
Malek frowned a little from her reply. He felt a little annoyed, not because she did not answer his question, but because she still managed to think of Kyran’s situation from this decree. Still, he dared not say anything and remained silent.
“Still…” Stella’s voice trailed off as she thought of Nolan.
‘How did you end up revealing your identity?’ She wondered in frustration.
Stella was aware that what she asked Nolan to do was not simple. She also anticipated that Nolan might face the Grand Marshal to save Gage. But she did not expect that facing the Grand Marshal would reveal his identity.
After a few minutes of silence, Stella finally nodded and ordered.
“You can post the bounty. Place more importance to it so Kyran’s bounty will slowly fade in the background.”
“Milord, I don’t think Gray’s bounty will attract other’s interest. Compared to the bounty reward, the boy’s bounty is still better.”
What Malek said was true. Gray’s bounty did not show any amount compared to Kyran’s. But since Gray’s bounty was issued by the Royal Family, it was a given that the reward would be immense.
“It doesn’t matter,” Stella replied with a wave of her hand. “We’re doing it to ensure the Royal Family has nothing to complain.”
Malek nodded his head in agreement.
“Very well.”
After Malek left, Stella remained seated in her chair and looked at the receiving area’s ceiling. She watched the floating lanterns distractedly as she pondered how to explain this to Kyran.
She did promise not to keep anything from him. Although Kyran did not know that Gray was Nolan, she would tell Kyran the truth because she knew he was waiting for him.
While Stella pondered about this, the space in front of her suddenly crackled as a light-blue array appeared.
Startled, Stella looked up and was about to cast her magic to isolate the array’s activation time when Lumi’s small figure appeared in the middle.
“Lumi?”
Stella stood up in alarm.
“Humph!” Lumi flew out of the array and went straight at Stella. “That stupid Silas! I don’t run a delivery service!”
Stella looked at her with a stump expression.
“What?”
Lumi ignored Stella’s question and instead opened her little hand. A dark red stone appeared above Lumi’s hand and flew to Stella.
“That is…” Stella’s eyes widened as she recognized the stone.
“Yes,” Lumi replied with a short huff. “The Void Master has acquired the rare stone. But he can’t bring it himself because he is recuperating.”
“Recuperating? Why? What happened?” Stella asked in concern.
When she saw Lumi take out the stone, she already had a bad feeling. How come Lumi had the rare stone? The answer was obvious, Kyran could not come to deliver it himself.
Now that Lumi had confirmed Kyran’s status, Stella’s heart immediately sunk.
Lumi scowled as she exclaimed, “I don’t know! That stupid Silas barred me in the cottage! I did not even see the Void Master’s condition! AAAAHHH! I want to skin that stupid little human alive!”
Lumi’s sudden outburst made Stella speechless. It was her first time seeing an angered Spirit, and she could not help but pray for Silas. She could only imagine his fate after Lumi returned. Hopefully, Lumi would not seriously skin him alive.
“Barred? Cottage?” Stella repeated questioningly.
“Humph!” Lumi huffed angrily and crossed her chubby arms across her chest. “Yes. That stupid Silas said not to worry because the Void Master is in good hands. He doesn’t even want to tell me the details! AAAAAHHHH! I really want to skin him alive!”
Stella blinked and said, “No. Don’t. If you do you’ll lose your connection in this plane if something happens to Silas.”
“I know that! I won’t really skin him. Instead, I’ll shave his head bald!”
Stella no longer reply and could only sigh in her heart.
But.
While she tried to divert her concern by focusing on Lumi’s annoyance, she was still very worried about Kyran. She wanted to go to him, but because of the restrictions placed on her by the Royal Family, she could not leave the Tower of Conclave.
At times like this, Stella hated being bound to this place.
‘Kyran… Please be safe,’ she prayed silently.