"Where is Mother and Father?".
Arthur's tone was slightly worried, and the hurried manner in which he said it caused both Dominic and Leon to feel a bout of relief bubble up inside of them.
They didn't at all think that the emotions that they suddenly felt were engineered, or rather, had been pushed to the limits by Arthur using his power of Laws.
The first level of Emotion Laws: Overflowing Emotion allowed a Fae Master to generate more emotions that had already currently existed. So any happiness that someone would feel would be increased, and any hatred or rage that someone could feel would be multiplied using Emotion Laws.
Just a sliver of joy and relief, could expand and overflow into a bubbling torrent of joy and relief.
It probably didn't do anything in the long run, but it only added the final nail to the figurative coffin.
Dominic nodded, and gestured for Leon to take over for a moment.
"Father is in his study with some of the other Elders. Grandfather, or Elder Bruge and Elder Karl and Elder Jakob from the Lecture Hall are also here. Elder Vova, Elder Velika and Elder Zarek were all also here, but they were sent out to look for any remaining Fae Masters still trying to escape from the corrupted".
Arthur glanced at Dominic.
"Have they determined the cause of the explosions? Or the reason why people are being corrupted?".
Dominic's silence was all the response that Arthur needed. The Hatred Imperfection Powder had many forms, considering which Rank of the powder was used. Arthur was currently using the Rank 1 Hatred Imperfection Powder which was useful against Rank 1 and Rank 2 Fae Masters.
If a Rank 3 Fae Master was infected by Hatred Imperfection Powder, they would experience the same drastic increase in strength, endurance, stamina and speed, but the powder would only overwork their system for a short period of time. It wasn't enough to overtax their bodies so that afterwards, all that remained was the certainty of death.
Entering the Clan Leaders residence, Dominic gestured for one of the maids to walk past them, said maid was currently carrying a large number of medicinal herbs towards the main dining hall.
Dominic pointed to said room.
"Mother is in there, tending to the wounded. Grandfather might be in there if he is finished with whatever it is him and Father were talking about".
Arthur glanced at the room for a moment, before nodding. Along the way, he had left a few green coloured splotches of clay alongside some of the doorways. These spots were not very noticeable, even despite their strange colour.
Dominic didn't suspect a thing.
Knocking on the door to Niklos' study, both Dominic and Arthur straightened out their clothes somewhat.
"Come in".
Niklos didn't even bother asking who it was, and the first born son of the Clan Leader, standing beside the third born son opened the door and entered the study.
The moment that Niklos saw Arthur, a wave of relief washed over him, and he unconsciously smiled before glancing towards Elder Karl and Elder Jakob. Elder Bruge was nowhere to be seen.
"Find Elder Vova and Elder Sagan. Support them in killing off any of the infected and prevent as much damage to the infrastructure around the Clan as much as possible. Prioritise saving the lives of Fae Masters as much as possible as well".
The two Elders nodded before quickly leaving the room. Arthur felt that things were a little too perfect, considering he had both his Father and his older brother right where he wanted them, but he couldn't feel any sort of hostility or killing intent coming his way.
From either of them.
Arthur didn't like it when things were too easy, but it seems that at the end of the day, he played his role to absolute perfection.
.... They didn't suspect a thing.
Niklos let out a loud sigh, shaking his head. The middle aged man seemed to have aged quite a bit since Arthur last saw him, and that was saying a lot, considering it had been less than a week since Arthur had dinner with the entirety of his family.
The wrinkles on Niklos' face became more pronounced, and his hair was no longer possessed the same glossy tone to it. It was slightly withered, and much more aged than it was in Arthur's previous life....
No doubt because of his influence....
Niklos glanced at Arthur, smiling slightly.
"The danger of this infection or this attack isn't that severe. Quite a number of the casualties are mortals, however most of the Fae Master related deaths are too our Rank 1 Fae Master populations. Quite a few Fae Masters from this new generation have also been killed, and right now, less than 30 of the original 91 remain.....".
Niklos let out another sigh, rubbing the lines on his face.
"You two can take care of yourselves, so you'll be fine. Even if the Heavens themselves are against the future of the Kovacs Clan, so long as some trace of our bloodline remains, we can always come back.... Arthur".
Arthur lifted his head slightly, meeting his Father dead in the eyes. The man whose blood ran through Arthur's veins was something that he could never change, and something Arthur wouldn't want to change either.
Niklos may have a demon as a son, but that didn't mean that he was by any means a bad Father. Arthur was the one who didn't care about the lives and deaths of those around him. He had become numb to such a thing a long, long time ago....
Niklos opened up one of the draws within his desk, and took out a small medallion in the shape of a small wolf. It was broken in half, so obviously, somewhere out there, there existed an individual with the other half....
Arthur raised an eyebrow, not sure where this was going. He had never seen such a thing in his previous life, and the craftsmanship on the wolf medallion, it was far to intricate and complex to have been carved in a small place like Parachenko Village....
Niklos rubbed the half wolf medallion gently with his thumb, a reminiscent expression could be seen on his face.
"You probably don't really know this, considering I had most of the records erased, but you boys had a few uncles and aunts that I haven't told you about....".
The smile on Niklos face was an expression that both Arthur and Dominic had never seen before. For a single moment, their Father, a Rank 4 Fae Master almost appeared.... fragile in a way.
"To be perfectly honest, I killed some of them in order to become the Clan Leader. Two inadvertently, but one with my own hands..... I didn't want any of my children to fight against each other the same way my siblings and I did, so I tried to raise you all with righteous morals and beliefs within you.....".
"One of my siblings, in fact the only sibling whom my own Mother didn't give birth too was also talented. Just like you Arthur.... He wasn't allowed to participate for the position of Clan Leader, so one day he left, without warning and without leaving behind a single note....".
"I thought that he had run away, we all did, afraid that he was going to be killed due to his existence as a bastard child. I never saw him again, until the day that Dominic was born.....".
Niklos paused for a moment, feeling his eyes slightly water. He clutched onto the half-wolf medallion tightly, but due to the craftsmanship it didn't even so much as chip or break.
"My half-brother gave me this just before he left, and told me that if any member of the Kovacs Clan was extremely talented, he should go to the Divine Tannhauser Empire and try and join the Transformation Academy within Southern Night City.... I wasn't sure whether or not I should give this to you Arthur, but considering everything that is going on in the Kovacs Clan right now, I can't afford to take any risks".
Niklos flung the object towards Arthur, who just caught it in one hand, his eyes widening as he looked down at the wolf medallion.
Arthur's Father could see the expression of shock on his son's face and knew that Arthur had already known about the Divine Tannhauser Empire.
"The Divine Tannhauser Empire is controlled by an Immortal Clan. One of the strongest Immortal Clans within the Azure Envy Continent. So long as you can join one of their Academia Arthur, the chance that you can become a Rank 5 Fae Master will increase explosively! Then, and only then, will I permit you to return to the Kovacs Clan!".