As if Invictus did not hear what the king just stated in front of him and his friends he wanted his highness to repeat his words.
"As I was saying," resumed the king, reading once again the contents of the scroll right in front of Invictus with Uria and Austria behind him.
The king finished rereading the scroll, and Invictus was completely dumbfounded by the information he just heard. His mouth was slightly agape, his mind floating in his thoughts, and still could not process the pieces of information and accusation being thrown at his wife.
"Invictus..."
"Guys! Tell his highness that he got it all wrong! I mean, how could Uria be the Black Cantrip's leader?!"
He looked back at his wife, meeting her eyes with a disturbed expression on his face.
"Hal, you tell them that it isn't true." Invictus insisted on her, and Uria did so.
"This is a baseless accusation! How will you prove that I am the leader of that witch group?!"
She raised her voice, forgetting the fact that Austria was behind her. Uria felt that her daughter was trembling, and Invictus was taken aback because he hasn't heard her raise her voice. Not even once.
"Mother, w-what is wrong? Why are they persecuting us?"
It was not just Austria's body that was trembling but also her voice. Her parents noticed traces of fear in her tone, and her terrified expression had them reassuring her that nothing was wrong.
"Can you please take Austria to her room?"Invictus ordered the child's nanny but was stopped by his friends.
They blocked the path leading towards the house where people were peering through the crowd, listening to what was transpiring.
"You were asking for proof, right?" spoke his excellency. "Damian, Corazon, show them the evidence."
The grin on Damian's and Corazon's faces reflected in Invictus' eyes, giving him a bad omen about it.
Under the night, on the green field where the wind blew colder, revealed the solid proof that Uria was hiding from even her husband. The mark of the Black Cantrip, a tattoo carved on her back, using a spot of special ink that will appear once body temperature arises.
Helplessly, Uria was stripped naked by the forceful hands of Damian and Corazon, who seemed to enjoy their task. They ripped her clothes to shreds, destroying even her underwear, which instantly angered and had Invictus lose his temper.
He felt his blood boil from within, having his wife suffer humiliation in front of men and even his child.
Uria fell on her butt, and she could not catch herself, for she was trying to cover both her bosoms and her womanhood from the lustful gaze surrounding her.
"What the hell do you think you're doing to my wife, Damian, and Corazon?!"
A sparkle of blue flame procured by Invictus was completely extinguished in an instant.
"Huh? Why did my magic—?"
The concealed anti-magic barrier shrouding the whole place revealed itself upon neutralizing the magic particles in the air.
Invictus immediately knew what happened, which angered him even more, causing him to fly into a rage.
Knowing that trying to use his magic was futile, Invictus unsheathed his
the sword hanging on his side, but his attack was repelled.
Clang was the sound of two metallic objects clashing against each other. The force that had been exerted was powerful enough to cut someone in half, and Invictus lost grip on his sword, which provoked the man to resort to his sheer strength.
Invictus threw punches at both Corazon and Damian, but without his magic where most of his abilities are borrowed, he failed to land a single
hit, making a fool of himself.
It was as though the anti-magic spell was only effective on the family, for both Corazon and Damian could use their magic, infusing their bodies with spells to move faster and avoid Invictus' slow fists.
Damian laughingly slapped Invictus' fist to the side, causing him to lose balance and fall on his stomach. Thanks to the soft grassy ground, Invictus might have a few shallow scratches by now.
Invictus suffered much more humiliating things in the past that such a disgrace was nothing more than a mere trivial matter to him.
"Argh!"
Invictus was sent flying after being kicked by Corazon right on his face.
"Father!"
"Hal!"
Even if the lustful gaze was still there, wishfully hoping to see a glimpse of her previous body, Uria stood up, and she and Austria ran to Invictus' side.
"It is futile, Invictus."
All seven friends of Invictus had turned against him and his family. No one dared try to help them except for the nanny when his friends took both his wife and daughter away from him.
"No! Let go of me! Father, help us!"
Invictus was restrained with both of his arms being held and kneeling on the ground, helpless and full of hatred.
Strugglingly, Invictus did his best to free himself, but Damian and Corazon were just too strong without his magic. He was forced to watch his daughter being tied up in logs, weeping as his name rang inside his head, being called for help by Austria.
While Uria, on the other hand, was brutally violated by people–friends he thought were real. Invictus tried to look away as the painful expression on her face flashed in his mind, screaming at him, calling out for help as Uria extended her arm.
Everything was slowly collapsing in his eyes, the family he had built, his reputation, all of the things he had earned through hard work alone, everything was crumbling right before his eyes. And there was nothing he could do about it but cry and beg for his former friends and the highness to stop.
"Don't resent us, Invictus. We are only doing what we've been told. Kukuku."
"Now, stop turning away your eyes and relish this feast we set up as a gift for your fifth anniversary!"
The only female among his former friends, of course, did not like the treatment Uria suffered but stayed silent and let the others violate her.