Bane stood staring at the man who he recognized as his Kingdom's War Master. The advisors sat in awe as this revelation shocked them beyond belief. "But why? Why is this man in chains?! How would this protect his safety?!" Bane asked in an almost pleading tone. The King gave a nod and Vanguard Servious suddenly dissipated into a black mist and entered into Freego as the advisors immediately cried out.
"The heavens, what are you doing to him?!"
The King simply raised a hand and replied, "Relax. One of the units found him wandering some distance from here. When they recognized the patch, they immediately brought him here. I had Vanguard Servious enter his mind to see his condition, and after what he saw, he decided it was better to seal him off until we could have this meeting. The information he possesses cannot get out. I alone currently know what happened to your Kingdom. Servious is currently undoing the seal."
Bane watched as the mist slowly exited and Servious could be seen again. "My King, it has been done as requested."
Freego slowly came to and started to look around. "W-Where am I? Who are you all?!" Freego started to panic until he saw Bane and the advisors. "Young prince? What is the meaning of this? Where are we?"
Bane stood and walked to Freego. "That's not of concern, my friend. Tell us what transpired at Algoro." Freego got his bearings and started to look around. He immediately started to recognize the faces of the Vanguard, then laid eyes on the King and immediately felt as if he had laid eyes on a fearsome beast. He dared not to hold the gaze any longer. "I cannot reveal Algoro information inside another Kingdom," Freego stated.
Bane kneeled and looked Freego in his eyes. "Command Authority Magic activate: Total Command." Freego's eyes suddenly turned white as his pupils glossed over, and he went into a trance.
'So this is the Command Authority? The magic ability to influence any member of their Kingdom that only the top Royal members knew. I've never seen it in action. To think the Young Prince would know it at such a young age,' the King inwardly thought as the rest of the Vanguard continued watching the scene.
"I command you, reveal what events transpired at our Kingdom," Bane said, his eyes glowing slightly yellow.
Freego, as if he were a zombie, started to speak in a monotone voice on command.
"It started as we began to receive reports of increased Ifrit attacks in the nearby villages. After our units began to take heavy losses, I, along with a small unit, went to investigate. As War Master, I couldn't put any more individuals in harm's way, so I took it upon myself. While investigating one of the recently attacked areas, we were ambushed by Ifrits that weren't normal. They had set a trap for us. They were fiercer and stronger than any Ifrit I had ever encountered. That didn't stop us, though, as we repelled the attack. Until IT showed up."
Bane quickly asked, "It? What was it?"
Freego continued, "A fearsome creature. It referred to itself as ... Shai. Much larger and stronger than any of the other ones. Able to direct the Ifrit like a commander. I had never seen such command and structure from them before. It was able to fight almost on par with me, and I thought I had won. Until it used its mana to produce an attack. It was able to shoot energy blasts."
Everyone in the room was disturbed by this new information. This seemed even worse than the message Warlord Mye had sent. What did seem similar, though, was that it also reminded them of the Ifrit that killed Jax. Was it the same one, or were they all developing magic?
"I was hit by one, but something weird happened after. Instead of being hurt, I suddenly felt as if I wasn't myself, and I started to move on my own. I could see what was happening, but I couldn't stop myself. I was a prisoner in my own body. I then turned to my unit and slaughtered them all."
The room fell silent, the weight of Freego's words sinking in. The advisors looked horrified, and the Vanguard members exchanged uneasy glances.