My Devourer System: Rise of the Bastard Son

The black room and its golden accents were blasted from Lucen's vision by Chester's authority. The members of the direct line all paled slightly, and their faces blurred and darkened. Lucen only caught Ymir's frantic look before all he could see was black.

Chester occupied the silent darkness with him, his golden eyes cutting through it. Lucen felt Chester's grip tighten on his soul, and cold sweat ran down his back. Could he really not disobey?

But then the cold fingers of his authority slipped against Lucen's soul, like trying to grab a wet bar of soap. Lucen almost sighed in relief, but he expected Chester's jaw would drop if that happened.

"I am not lying," said Lucen. "He said his name was Peter Cross, and he said he was here to get revenge on you."

Lucen whispered that last part, even though he expected no one could hear him. But Chester's face tightened.

He nodded slowly. "Did he mention why? Did he say anything about the Nine-claw swamp?"

Lucen's eyebrow twitched, but he held it back. "Not much, he said you were a traitor. He didn't mention any swamps."

Chester stared into his soul for a couple of seconds, still as a statue, then the silver light of the Crown of Stars and the unusual darkness faded away in the blink of an eye.

The large room and its occupants returned. The blinding lights of the room stung his eyes a bit after being in the dark. The Lightcloaks and his peers had a curious look on their faces that hinted to Lucen that they might not have heard what was said.

Chester returned to his seat and remained silent for a moment. Then he turned to one of the younger-looking Lightcloaks.

"Himmel, prepare my Messenger orb," he said casually. A boy rushed from the room, and Chester turned to another older man. "Ron, how's the Mirror?"

"The Fabarial Smithy hasn't responded to our meeting," the older man explained. "Once a request to speak has been made with the Mirror, it can't be rescinded till the other party accepts or declines. We might be able to schedule another meeting once they answer, then we can request a meeting with one of the Imperial Sky castles or the Inquisition."

"Let's try reaching the closest Sky Castle first," Chester decided. "We'll report this. They'll most likely want to include the Inquisition. I don't want Diraneil or Karvath here, so we'll suggest they inform the Crimson Daggers' inquisition. Borial is the only one that still has respect for this family."

They began to discuss what was to come. Chester waved his hand, signalling to the students to leave. Warren turned and began to usher them out. Ymir fled with them, hugging her brother as they left the office.

They bowed to Kant and Fyodor once more before leaving, and then their hushed voices echoed over the staircase.

Lucen thought of what Chester said. The Mirror was a communications device, most likely. Sky castles, floating mountains that were the symbols of the imperial army. The Sky castle guarding this region was taken into the Void with Alger.

As for why Chester didn't want the Inquisition involved early, he suspected it was due to how far the Lightcloaks had fallen, and Peter Cross must have been included in his machinations.

"That was the Crown of Stars!" Arielle gasped, "Its magic was so warm and heavy."

"You'd best watch your mouth next time, Lucen," Callan warned. "It doesn't reflect well on a Knight to embellish his deeds."

"So you can beat a mid-tier Knight?" Tharic said, "I don't think you could beat my dad, though. We should duel so we can check."

Callan glared at Tharic. Set scoffed, "That ugly monster couldn't match a Mid-tier Knight. Knights aren't just physically strong. They have an array of spells and are trained fighters."

"Don't diminish what Lucen did," Ymir said sternly. "He could have died yesterday, and we'd be none the wiser to their plot."

Set clenched his jaw, turning away from his sister. Lucen raised an eyebrow at her, which only got a placating smile from Ymir. What was she doing?

"This Peter Cross, was he stronger than Korgath?" Set asked instead.

"I wouldn't be here right now if his weapon didn't kill him first," said Lucen. "I think he'd give a Top-tier Knight a run for his money easily."

Warren turned back to him, narrowing his eyes. "Did you tell Lord Chester this? And are you sure? You mean to say he could beat me?"

That was confusing. "Yes, I informed him," he lied. He was sure Warren would drag him back to the office if he said he didn't. "But I don't understand. Aren't you a Top-tier Knight? I doubt Peter could kill you, but it would be a hard fight."

"I don't think you understand the gaps between Knights well. Anyone who can pressure me will kill you in a few attacks," Warren explained. "A Top-tier Knight is someone with a fully realised tripartite and has the potential to become a Grand Knight. I'm not a Top-tier Knight"

Well, it seems Peter would reach that level with an ascension-rank weapon, but Lucen had a feeling that if he mentioned the golden spear in his storage right now, he'd be in serious trouble.

Tharic tapped him on the shoulder, eyes narrowed.

Lucen raised an eyebrow, then remembered. "Oh, the duel. I don't mind. We'll do it tomorrow before I go to Castaway."

"You're still going out after everything?" Ymir gaped. "Then duel me too, please."

"Me too, if you don't mind," Arielle chirped.

Set silently challenged him with his eyes, and Callan was unsure what to do. Lucen sighed; testing his growing skills was important, but after that, he would be too tired to search for Aya.

Things weren't going to slow down anytime soon. The Bull Wolves were still coming. He also needed to find a way to get the news about the Red Keep's problems to Chester.