Emperor Lodestar's brows creased together in a frown as he took in the information that had just been relayed to him by a messenger.
"The Holy Inspector, Jiro Court, is dead?" Lodestar repeated the words of the messenger.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The messenger nodded fervently while maintaining his kneeling posture.
"I see. You may go." Lodestar waved the man away and turned to the Heroes that were standing to the side. They also had frowns on their faces.
"I did not expect this at all. It seems we had underestimated this threat." The strongest Hero of the White Empire, Burns, spoke up, his arms folded across his chest. His fiery red hair was pointed in all directions and the air around him seemed to waver and shift under an invisible heat.
"I warned you, Burns. But you told me to wait. We have already lost a valuable Holy Inspector. Jiro was a good man, serving the White Empire from the bottom of his heart." Lodestar's scars bunched up as he frowned deeply.
Emperor Lodestar was a diligent man. He knew each and every Holy Inspector in the White Empire. While he may not actively take note of them, if any one of their names were brought up, it only took him a few moments to recall the person and their features.
"We will send stronger Inspectors after the culprit. Unfortunately, it is not the right time for us to appear on the field." The green haired man, whose name was Hibbert, said.
"Not yet time?" Emperor Lodestar was stumped for a moment before turning to the person who most likely had the answer. It was the man who had a horizontal scar that blinded him running across his face. His name was Moretti.
Moretti, the 'blind' man turned to Emperor Lodestar as the latter's gaze landed on him. "My grasp over Fate has told me that it is not our place to interfere. If we do so at this time, the backlash will be too heavy. We might even directly die in mysterious ways. We can only wait until it is time for us to appear." He sighed helplessly, holding his hands open.
Emperor Lodestar's lips twitched as a flurry of emotions ran through him at once. At the top of those emotions was frustration and anger. He was frustrated at how useless these powerful Heroes were at the moment, and angry that his people would continue dying until the culprit was handled.
Who knew how long that would take?
"Do not worry, Emperor Lodestar, we will send much stronger Inspectors and make sure they move in groups this time. The culprit this time is clearly stronger than we expected. We will not make the same mistake as before." Burns said. "We will also take into account the possibility that he is not on his own."
'Yes, he might not be alone. This could be a ploy of a group of crazy fanatics.' Emperor Lodestar thought to himself as he settled back onto his seat. His fingers rapped along the armrest of his throne and he called for a messenger.
"Organize for sufficient compensation to be given to Jiro's family." He told the messenger, then turned to the side where a middle aged man was standing dutifully. "Prima Jason, assist them with this matter."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." The Prima of the King, Jason, bowed and left the throne room with the messenger.
.
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"You have been too reckless. If you know the amount of trouble to have raised because of your reckless actions, you would go into hiding at once. Luckily, I am farsighted enough." Wikes chuckled and rubbed his belly. He continued to lead Raven and his loyal subordinates in a direction, taking them through a winding pathway that linked many caves and rooms together.
"It was necessary." Raven replied, his face expressionless.
"Alright, alright. If you say so. I have my fair share of blood on my hands." Wikes paused and chuckled deeply before continuing forward. Very soon, they came into a very large room that had several long tables along the wall, and slightly longer one than the others in the center of the room. There were many glass tubes and vials lined in shelves along the wall, and some stoves on the tables.
This is my Alchemy room. I concoct all sorts of things here. I have a mixture that can help you with any residual pain that remained from your fight." Wikes said, turning slightly to look at Raven with one eye.
"It's fine. I can handle the pain." Raven immediately said, not even considering accepting the potion.
"Hehe, if you say so. However, that is not the only reason I brought you here. If you want to continue on your revenge plan, then you cannot do it blindly. Raven, I want to give you an opportunity." Wikes' voice turned grave and hoarse. "Do you want to become my apprentice?"
"..."
The men that had followed them all froze, their eyes wide as they stared between Raven and Wikes. These men were all Dark Magic practitioners. However, none of them were Wikes' students, only his subordinates. They had tried and failed many times to get him to take them as his students, but he had rejected each and every one of them with two words: "Not Worthy!" Now, they were hearing him offer this child such an opportunity?!
Raven paused, also clearly not expecting such an offer. He also noticed the expressions of the four men that were with them, quickly deducing that such an offer was not ordinary.
"I... I would like to think over it." Raven had wanted to outright reject it. However, he knew that he had hit a wall in his comprehension of Dark Magic. There was a limit to what he could do without guidance. As such, he was tempted by this offer made by someone who was clearly an authority in the field of Dark Magic!
"Hehehe, take your time, kid. Come back here when you make up your mind." Wikes laughed and turned around.