In contrast to the situation at the academy which was filled with happiness, in a bar on the corner of the city, something different happened to Desmond.
It had been ten days since he suffered the defeat that ruined everything, and right now, he felt like he had no purpose.
Desmond, a person with high self-esteem and pride, has not yet informed his family and clan about his expulsion from the academy. He lacks the courage to tell his parents the truth because he knows that it would not only hurt their feelings but also lead the rest of his clans to look down on him. This is because the Darthon clan, to which he belongs, is a respected spellcaster clan in the Zephyr Kingdom, albeit still considered inferior to the four noble clans that have upheld the integrity and strength of the kingdom.
What Desmond had been doing for the past few days was just drinking, trying to forget everything even though he knew there was no way he could forget everything that had happened.
While he was savoring a few pints of beer, the previously bustling bar suddenly fell silent.
At first, Desmond thought that the sound that disappeared was the effect of alcohol. Indicating that he was starting to get drunk.
But the pungent smell of blood that he began to smell made his mind clear again, and he immediately moved his head to observe the area around him carefully.
It was at that moment that he saw something that made his stomach churn. The reason why the previously bustling bar suddenly became quiet was because all the people inside the bar had become piles of corpses. Blood and organs were splattered on the floor, showing a gore scene that could cause deep trauma for whoever sees it.
"Are you Desmond of the six elites?"
Standing at the table where Desmond had been enjoying his drink a few moments ago, a woman stared at him expressionlessly.
Perhaps the previous description seemed less fitting, considering that the beautiful woman's face had both eyes and mouth tightly closed by stitches, her ears and nose were also covered in piercings. Her long black hair that reached the floor, and her face's unusual condition should have made it impossible for her to walk normally. However, Desmond, a former elite, barely noticed the massacre happening around him, if not for the pungent smell of blood.
Without needing to be told, Desmond was fully aware that the mysterious figure in front of him was a very dangerous figure.
Desmond quickly took out his grimoire and cast a summoning spell.
They are the cursed souls, unable to escape from sin and suffering. Waiting for the chains of judgement to wash away their detestable sins. Summon – Shadow of The Sinners, The Traitorous Knight - Mordred, The Queen of Terror – Bloody Mary, The King of Crusaders – Richard!
Suddenly, three corpses emerged from the shadows and positioned themselves to protect Desmond from the threat ahead.
"Summoning spells and corpses from the era of knights. You are indeed Desmond of the six elites. Ah, how lucky I am."
Desmond reacted swiftly when he saw the woman move her hand slightly and immediately commanded his zombies to attack her with killing intent.
Three swords moved quickly about to stab and cut the woman's body, but all their movements suddenly stopped when the mysterious woman's finger pointed right at them.
Desmond experienced intense terror for the first time. His expression turned panicked as he realized that the three corpses he had summoned were no longer under his control. Even though Desmond still felt that the master-servant relationship ingrained in their souls was intact, the three of them refused to obey his orders and began to kneel before the mysterious woman as if she were their true master.
The zombies moved to hold Desmond's body and forced him to kneel even without being ordered to by the woman in front of them. If the woman's mouth wasn't stitched, she might have smiled at him, but unfortunately, Desmond couldn't read any expression on her face. The woman stroked Desmond's cheek and chin slowly before saying, "I have never collected the six elites of the Zephyr Magic Academy before. You will be a valuable addition to my art collection."
At that moment, Desmond realized that losing his status as a student at the Zephyr Magic Academy was nothing compared to the terror that awaited him.
A few hours after the mysterious incident that befell the bar, in a secret room whose exact location is unknown, a mysterious meeting was held.
The room was designed like a banquet hall with a long table and several chairs filled with mysterious-looking people. Behind them stands a pillar with a black flag, each bearing a different symbol.
One of the assembled individuals shattered the silence with a stark and emotionless remark.
"You are already half an hour late, Ur. What kind of trouble are you facing that makes the nine of us wait for your arrival? You do know that this is an important meeting to discuss the next agenda, right?"
From the dark corner of the room, the sound of footsteps was heard. A woman with a face covered in stitches and piercings appeared in front of the other nine mysterious individual.
In her hand was a human head that had just been preserved and placed in a tube filled with green liquid.
From the expression on the face of the head, the owner must have experienced something terrible before his death.
Placing her latest collection on the table, Ur said, "During my travels to this place, I met one of the six elites of Zephyr Magic Academy and couldn't resist adding him to my collection. I apologize for making you all wait for half an hour due to my burning passion of art."
One of the gathered individuals seemed to recognize the face inside the tube filled with green liquid.
"You added Desmond Darthon to your collection? It seems you have done something meaningless."
Provoked, Ur asked in a cold tone, "Explain properly if you don't want to be part of my collection."
Looking at Ur with his red eyes, the figure replied, "I never fight without the intention to kill. If you wish to provoke me, be prepared to become part of your own collection."
Hearing the provocative words from both sides, the figure who was the leader of this mysterious group of individuals said, "It is forbidden for fellow Black Banner members to fight each other seriously. If both of you still continue your meaningless conversation, I will kill both of you with my own hands. Claws, you know how much love Ur have for arts. You better explain what you mean quickly so we can discuss our main agenda soon."
Claws looked at Ur and said, "I just wanted to say that Desmond has been expelled from the Zephyr Magic Academy. He is no longer one of the students, let alone the six elites. His head is completely worthless as a collection."
Ur immediately threw the head that she had previously held with love. Her attitude changed one hundred and eighty degrees and now she stared at Desmond's head with a look of disgust. Her anger was triggered by remembering that she had stroked the man's cheeks and chin before making him part of her art collection.
Seeing Ur like that made Claws laugh happily. Besides that, he also added some important information such as the name of the person who defeated Desmond and most likely replaced him as the newest member of the elites.
No one realized that when Claws mentioned Ace Arcane's name, one of them looked at him with a mysterious expression.