At around the same time, the various Elders in the Elders Hall gathered. All of them showed an expression of displeasure, constantly glancing at each other, as if trying to provoke some sort of response from the others sitting beside them.
Naturally, Arthur wasn't the only one to notice the numerous traces placed around the Village over the past two weeks.
All of the people present possessed Rank 3 Fae Master cultivations, and had all gone through numerous battles and honed their combat senses before this point. They might not be able to see exactly where a trace was, but they could still feel the uncomfortable sensation of being watched, no matter where they were.
Even Arthur's grandfather, the Elder of the Medicine Hall was present, his expression slightly grim.
The moment Niklos entered the room, Elder Velika couldn't help but stand up, her eyes darting towards each and every single other individual in the room.
"Clan Leader! With all due respect, you are the only one in the room who can move around the Village without being noticed. Everywhere within Parachenko Village possesses these strange traces, with the sole exception of your Residence. If there is something going on in the Village, I do believe we all have the right to know".
Niklos sent Elder Velika a half-glance before turning around and gesturing for Elder Anatol to take his seat. The moment that all the other Elders, Elder Vova included saw this, they all straightened their backs and felt the tension in the room increase.
Elder Anatol, due to the wonderous powers of the Longevity Fae, managed to gain five hundred years worth of extra lifespan, which is why he could live past age five hundred. Ever since he turned three hundred roughly, he had dedicated himself to solely protecting the treasures of the Kovacs Clan, as well as preserving its future legacies.
He only ever came out when the Clan was in dire straits, or possibly when the Kovacs Clan was on the brink of being destroyed.
Just like Elder Vova, he had comprehended a pseudo-Fire Law, allowing the strength of his Fire Attributed Fae to increase by a medium percentage.
Considering that he had come out, it was obvious that Niklos wanted to present a united front on this issue.
The Clan Leader glanced at every single one of the Elders present, resting his elbows on the table while narrowing his eyes.
"The existence of all of these traces has come from someone within the Clan. That much is for certain".
The eyes of all the Elders present widened, and they couldn't help but turn their heads slightly and glance at the people sitting next to them. Considering how these traces had appeared, seemingly without warning, it only meant that the perpetrator was at least a Rank 3 Fae Master.....
And Rank 3 Fae Masters within Parachenko Village were all qualified to become Elders of the Clan.
Elder Sagan sent Elder Velika a glance before turning back towards Niklos.
"Does that mean.... that the perpetrator is in the room with us right now?".
Niklos let out a loud sigh before shaking his head.
"No. These traces have been left by something, or someone rather who is familiar with an unknown type of Attribute. Elder Anatol, Elder Bruge and I have all tried to research the type of Attribute being used against the Village, but haven't determined anything yet".
The eyes of Elder Zarek widened slightly.
He was the foremost expert in the Village on the research of Fae Formula, and as such his knowledge and grasp on the different Attributes of Fae materials needed to create different Fae was on another level in comparison to Elder Sagan and Elder Velika.
Elder Zarek glanced at Elder Bruge, Arthur's grandfather, and Elder Anatol with a curious expression on his face.
"These traces.... are their qualities hidden or something? Perhaps some sort of extremely rare Attribute, like Space or Time. Possibly even unique like Soul Attributed Fae, or even a Physique Attributed Fae?".
Elder Bruge let out a loud snort before shaking his head. Elder Anatol just let out a sigh glancing at the rest of the Elders present.
"We went back to the earliest records that the Clan possesses. There is no available recording for such an Attribute. The Time Attribute in its natural form is supposedly akin to a river, never once stopping its eternal flow. While the Space Attribute is supposedly appears as though a seed, absorbing everything around it and growing perpetually in every direction....".
Elder Anatol paused for a moment before just shaking his head.
"The Attribute that these traces belong to is much too disorderly to resemble either of those. At first, I thought it might be the Karma Attribute, possibly even the Buddhist Attribute from the other Continents. I don't quite understand either of those two concepts, however after more investigation, it proved that it was neither of those two either. Neither the Destruction Attribute, nor its counterpart, the Creation Attribute have been used.
"It's completely and utterly unknown. It is either so old, and so forgotten that no record of it has been made within the last few thousand years, or-".
"It's a completely new Attribute".
Niklos interrupted Elder Anatol, his tone stern and his expression cold. If any of the citizens could see the expression on his face now, they would freeze and deny that the strong, protective Clan Leader that they were familiar with and the one currently sitting before the Elders now were the same person.
Even Dominic had yet to see such a frosty expression on Niklos' face.
Elder Bruge glanced at his son-in-law before nodding slightly and closing his eyes.
He had almost forgotten why he had let his daughter marry Niklos in the first place. It was good to remind the other Elders occasionally as to who was in charge around here....
The Rank 4 Fae Master closed his eyes for a moment before turning towards Elder Vova, his tone devoid of any warm emotions.
"Vova. You, Elder Zarek and Elder Anatol will research the qualities of this Attribute. At the very least, find a name as well as how it compares and relates to the other Attributes that we are currently familiar with in this World.
"Elder Dagan and Elder Velika will find any relatable Fae materials in and around the Clan. If found to be in the possession of some mortal, take it, with whatever means necessary".
"Elder Karl and Elder Jakob, both of whom will be in charge of the Lecture Hall while Elder Vova is busy is to organize Fae Masters and prepare them for any sort of altercation in the coming days. The fact that someone has placed these traces around the Village has not been forgotten, and getting them used to patrol will be our excuse".
"The rest of you will gather yourselves and prepare for another battle. This one will be different from the beast tides, considering that we are not facing a spirit beast as an enemy. We will be fighting another Fae Master, perhaps one that you know. I don't care whether it is your son, your wife, your mistress or even your own grandchild, if they try and jeopardise the future of the Kovacs Clan, I expect you all to complete your duties to the fullest possible extent".
"Is that understood?".
All of the Elders nodded, looking warily at Niklos.
Fighting against spirit beasts, an existence completely different from Humans was one thing, but seeing how he acted when faced with the possibility of a traitor, Niklos didn't even so much as spare time to breathe before deciding to kill them.
Elder Anatol nodded, before taking out some books and handing them around to the other Elders. The shape and the form of the thing that they were looking at, was completely unlike anything they had ever seen.
The words "unstructured", "disorderly", "crazy" and "insanity" were written on the bottom of the page.