Eleazar reached the source of the commotion as fast as he could, raising an eyebrow upon examining the ravaged street and destroyed buildings. His heart clenched as he thought that Percival had attacked his colleagues on sight, though a closer look revealed that things weren’t exactly like that.

  The damaged part of the settlement was limited to Ostanes’s immediate surroundings. As for the spot where the young man was standing, it was entirely untouched. More importantly, nobody was fighting right now, the colourful motes dancing around them without a care in the world, indicating that the situation had calmed down.

  Exhaling in relief, Eleazar softly landed a few steps away from Anqi, right next to a long fissure that ran across what was left of the street, almost splitting it into two lanes. Hopefully there was still a chance that they could come to an amicable conclusion with Orin’s student.

  ‘I suppose I’m among the last to get here,’ he realized, counting three other elders at the scene.

  Percival and the Violets tossed him fleeting glances, though they didn’t say anything, clearly waiting for everyone to arrive first. It wasn’t until about a minute later that Paracelsus joined their ranks, completing the group. Ostanes looked like he wanted to speak, but Eleazar didn’t let him, rushing to talk to the young man before his short-fused colleague made the situation even worse.

  “Percival, I presume? It’s nice to finally meet in person. We’ve all heard so much about you over the years,” he said, wearing the warmest smile he could muster. “I admit that not all of it was positive, but there is no denying that you are an extremely talented young man. If only we could set aside our differences, I’m certain that our world would have a lot to gain.”

  Percival eyed him coldly, clearly not very interested in idle chatter.

  “I… used to be your mentor’s mentor,” Eleazar added, awkwardly rubbing his beard. “In some ways, you could even say that we’re connected.”

  His words appeared to soften Percival’s gaze ever so slightly, but didn’t entirely dispel his apprehension.

  “You were Orin’s mentor, yet you still allowed him to rot in a cell for years,” the young man replied in a hoarse voice that made it clear that he hadn’t spoken to another human in a while.

  Eleazar saw many of his colleagues’ features twist into grimaces upon listening to Percival’s scathing remark. Fortunately, Flamel gave each of the others a meaningful look to diffuse the situation. Evidently, the most senior among the elders seemed to agree with Eleazar that negotiation was still preferable to violence.

  “Your actions have placed everyone in a difficult spot,” Eleazar continued. “I assure you that I’ve advocated on Orin’s behalf many times. I’ve also visited him regularly and made sure that he was as comfortable as Deimos would allow. Your mentor spoke highly of you, so I want to believe that the image of you that the Divine Root has painted isn’t entirely accurate.”

  Percy chuckled. “I don’t suppose that you’ve extended the same generosity to my grandfather, have you?”

  Eleazar’s expression darkened, though he couldn’t deny Percival’s accusation. None of them knew Archibald that well, so they hadn’t cared that much about him. Deimos had been a lot more heavy-handed toward the man too, since they didn’t need him to reveal the Aurora Dew’s recipe in the future. House Avalon’s patriarch didn’t even dare to resist, since the Root essentially held his family’s future over his head.

  “I’m not going to sugarcoat this,” Flamel said, clearly deciding to jump into the conversation. “Many of the crimes you’ve committed are unforgivable, and I’m not even talking about murdering the Holy Children. Fortunately, the good things you can do for Remior are also unprecedented, so the gods and the Great Houses might just be willing to make an exception for you this time. I’ll happily negotiate on your behalf if you surrender without resisting and cooperate with our research. I presume that’s why you’ve taken the risk to come here alone?”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  To Eleazar’s surprise, the young man shook his head. “I’m indeed tired of all the fighting, so I’m right there with you if you want to solve this peacefully. However, we’re doing this on my terms. I’ve no interest in stepping into a cell and waiting for judgement.”

  Seemingly unable to suppress his anger any longer, Ostanes unfolded his domain, the motes between him and Percival shifting as a wave of force coursed through them. Paracelsus and Anqi wasted no time helping him, even Flamel soon joining them.

  Sighing, Eleazar unleashed his willpower too, aiding his colleagues in pinning down the young man from five different directions. He still hoped that they could speak to Percival in a civilized manner later, but it appeared that he needed to be taught a lesson first.

  A sixth domain rose from Percival’s body to meet theirs, eliciting shocked reactions from everyone other than Ostanes and Flamel. The two had presumably been the first ones to arrive at the scene.

  ‘Well… that certainly explains the destroyed buildings...’ Eleazar thought.

  Whatever means had allowed the young man to manifest a domain on par with a Violet’s, it clearly wasn’t powerful enough to resist two of theirs at once – let alone five. Revolving around him, Percival’s willpower barely managed to form a small bubble that gave him some breathing room. Still, he shouldn’t be able to take a single step from that spot.

  Even so, the young man remained perfectly calm – almost as if he was still in complete control of the situation. Just as the elders were staring at one another in confusion, clearly racking their brains to understand where Percival’s confidence was stemming from, Eleazar heard a faint hum in the distance.

  The noise intensified as numerous shadows faintly appeared on the horizon. They grew larger and more defined, eventually settling into insectoid shapes bigger than houses, Blue cores burning brightly in their thoraces.

  Many of the Guild’s Blues flew to intercept the creatures – they might have lacked the guts to approach the infamous Spectral Reaper, but they were apparently more than brave enough to compete with a few oversized beasts.

  Unfortunately for the mages, there was no end to the creatures, however. More kept flying from every direction, their domains stacking to stifle the humans’ spells before they even formed, suppressing their willpower.

  Thankfully, the giant wasps showed no interest in fighting back – otherwise the settlement would have easily been razed to the ground already. They merely converged towards Percival’s position, somehow working in cahoots with the young man.

  Before long, thousands of colossal insects hovered above the settlement, their dark carapaces blotting out the sky. They flapped their wings many times per second, though the deafening noise they emanated could no longer be described as “buzzing” at their size. It was closer to the sound a giant’s sword would make as it violently sliced through the air.

  Looking at his fellow elders, Eleazar noticed that their expressions were as pale as his own.

  “Starry Commanders… But how?!” Ostanes asked, failing to mask his inner turmoil.

  Everyone was probably wondering the same thing. There shouldn’t be that many Blue creatures roaming the fifth level of the Spire – most of them must’ve come from the depths of the hive. Still, that didn’t explain why the Starry Queen would break her ancient treaty with humanity to attack the settlement, nor why she would cooperate with Percival.

  “Boy, how are you doing this?!” Flamel demanded, even the once-serene leader among the elders having apparently been pushed to his limits. “I swear I’m going to kill you if you don’t stop this immediately!”

  “Kill me? Try it if you can,” Percy taunted, his cold gaze brushing over the Violets, lingering on each of their faces for the briefest of instants.

  As if on cue, over fifty domains descended at once, tearing the elders’ willpower to shreds. A Blue’s domain was far weaker than a Violet’s, but there was no way the five of them could compete with such numbers.

  “Besides, none of you would dare touch a hair on my head,” Percival added, once again eliciting confused reactions from Eleazar and his colleagues.

  Answering their unspoken questions, a small creature emerged from the back of one of the giant beasts, flying toward the young man. This wasp was barely larger than a common fox, making Eleazar think that it was a Starry Worker. Strange, considering that the army didn’t seem to contain any other beasts below Blue.

  Upon closer examination, it became clear that the creature’s lineage was far nobler than he’d first thought. Even if Percival had faked the golden watermarks rippling across its tiny exoskeleton, there was no denying the wasp’s authority over the larger bugs.

  The elders knew enough about the hive’s secrets to understand what this meant. As if to settle any lingering doubt, the Starry Princess landed on Percival’s free shoulder, Eleazar watching in horror as she folded her wings contentedly to stand opposite the crow.

  The young man grinned. “Let’s start over, shall we?”

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