Chapter 195

Chapter 195

Roussel was clearly aware of why Hiakin had chosen to bring up that matter at such a time, but rather than deny it, he remained calm and unwavering as he accepted that his son had made a mistake.

“That was indeed our clan’s way of exacting vengeance for personal grievances, so I have no intention of denying what we have done. Although our motives were justified, I cannot condone your method of execution, Hiakin.”

It went without saying that the Blue Master would have killed Lante Agrece one way or another and would have encouraged his son to take the former Black Master’s life all over again if he could go back in time.

“Honestly, who of those among us can say with confidence that they are without fault?”

The air in the small room hung overhead as though it were a thin sheet of ice the clan leaders had collectively plunged through and were in the process of sinking beneath.

“Let us not lose sight as to why we have all gathered here in the first place.” Badrisha Castro finally spoke up again in an attempt to break up the frigid atmosphere within the room. “A few of the puppets managed to escape from Yggdrasil, so we need to deal with them immediately.”

“Since the Gold Master is the one responsible for all this, perhaps we should demand that he provide a solution. Of course... his current state will make that rather challenging.”

The clan leaders furrowed their brows as they considered Noel Vertium’s unconscious, ragged body.

“Did he really cause all this mayhem just to get his hands on that half-corpse puppet? Just what is it about that damn thing that would drive him to such absurd lengths?!”

“I believe the puppet in question managed to escape during the commotion as well.”

“I heard it was the one who left him that way.”

“We need to go after every last one of those accursed things and destroy them all! Such abominations should not exist in this world!”

The other masters’ gazes lingered on Jeremy, but none of them dared to refute Hiakin’s declaration that all of the Vertium puppets had to meet absolute destruction. The Black Master kept his lips sealed shut, but his expression suggested he was disturbed by the thought of Nix on the run as Deon continued to pursue him. By the end of the meeting, the clan leaders had agreed to organize several teams to pursue the remaining Vertium dolls.

* * *

“Done already, White Master?”

The Fipellion knights immediately flanked their leader as he left the conference room.

“The White Heir is still unconscious.”

Hiakin winced as though he was experiencing excruciating pain and disgust from just hearing his nephew’s title. “That pathetic imbecile! He summoned a monster and caused all this mess over what?! That damn Agrece girl?!”

The White Master had been informed of the blatant crime Orka had attempted to commit just before finding himself in his current incapacitated state. The elder clan leader was utterly beside himself.

Is this my punishment for always overlooking that boy’s mistakes and coddling him since he was a child?

It was already bad enough that the catastrophe that struck Yggdrasil that day had been so dire, but the fact that their clan’s heir had only further endangered the lives of others was indefensible.

So many Fipellions had died or been severely injured, but instead of stepping in to protect his fellow clan members like a refined heir would, the White Demon Tamer had been busy trying to forcefully have his way with the acclaimed Agrece beauty. The moment he had heard the utterly preposterous report from his guards, what little patience the White Master had left for Orka had flown out the window.

With the head doctor of the castle dead, there was no way to properly examine the young Fipellion, but from the looks of his ailments, he appeared to be going through some sort of withdrawal. There was something suspicious about it since he had also been heavily wounded, and Hiakin could have certainly sussed out who was to blame by utilizing his clan’s power, but with the last of his strained patience with his nephew completely gone, the Fipellion leader felt no obligation to waste another second of his time or ounce of his energy on their clan’s heir.

To be more specific, the aged leader was simply done cleaning up after the White Demon Tamer. It was an easy enough decision for him since the young man had never displayed any intention of upholding the White clan’s name in the first place.

Honestly, why should any of us have any obligation to protect a brat like that?

“As of this moment, he is no heir of mine. No one should even dare mention that filthy, shameful name in my presence.”

After seeing their leader’s piercing gaze, the guards following behind him swallowed any words they still wished to impart regarding Orka Fipellion.

* * *

Noel Vertium returned to consciousness just as the search parties were being organized. Roussel Pedelian had taken it upon himself to wake the young leader, despite his usual prudence when it came to using his clan’s ability.

However, given current circumstances, he had determined that if there was any way the Gold Master could stop those of his puppets that had escaped from Yggdrasil castle, waking him up would be the surest way to minimize any more potential casualties. But to the Blue Master’s disappointment, the younger leader was unable to control the puppets now that they had already left the premises.

On top of that, Noel Vertium was in no shape to properly communicate with them either. The baby-faced clan leader had begun to wail almost as soon as his green eyes flashed open and the memories of what had transpired rushed back to him. Although Roussel had healed him considerably, he hadn’t seen to all of the young man’s injuries.

To be precise, he had only treated him enough to ensure that he could remain conscious enough to just barely speak. The gruesome slashes riddling his body had been wrapped in bandages which had already begun to turn red from all the blood still seeping out of each wound. But oddly enough, the Vertium leader did not seem to be crying due to any sort of physical pain.

Instead, an immense mental trauma had been inflicted upon him. It was quite pitiable to watch such a renowned young man weeping like a child as he muttered the names Dante and Nix repeatedly. It was only after the other masters had urged him on that he managed to explain through his sniveling that he could only control the puppets when they were close to him.

He then confessed to having commanded them to find and retrieve the golden-haired puppet before setting out for Yggdrasil from Vertium, so Noel presumed they were already well outside of the neutral territory after hearing that their target had fled as well.

“But why are you so obsessed with that confounded thing anyway?!”

The clan leaders had yet to understand the meaning behind the carrot-top’s tearful mutterings. Noel’s condition had also left his throat dry and raspy, and when they realized what the young man’s chanting of his steward’s and the puppet’s names meant, they were all left gawking at the Gold Master in silence.

Roxana reacted similarly upon hearing the revelation. The young leader’s decision to take such extreme measures at least made partial sense to her once it was clear that he had intended to transplant Nix’s heart into Dante’s corpse in order to revive the white-haired steward.

Even so, upon learning that their creator was of no use in curtailing his deadly dolls, the pursuit teams were ordered to prepare even faster. Their greatest concern was that the puppets were still under the influence of their order to eliminate any and every obstacle. Thus, compared to the number of casualties they had caused within the castle, there could be immeasurable outside losses.

Many who still had possession of any sort of heavy equipment or weaponry gathered in front of the castle, while others were hard at work restoring the territory’s bastion of peace. The only objective of those still capable of fighting was to find and destroy every last one of the Vertium warrior dolls. Nix was no exception.

“Sis, the pursuit parties are about to leave,” Jeremy whispered under his breath after peeking out of the window at the crowd that had gathered. “Shall we leave separately?”

Roxana lowered her gaze. The memory of both Nix and Deon’s faces just before their separate departures lingered in front of her red eyes like a fog. There was no doubt in her mind that her half-brother had gone after the reanimated corpse of her late brother.

Considering they were both severely injured, she found it unlikely that they had made it very far. She had at first felt that the issue regarding the two was a matter only the Black clan should resolve, and had therefore not directed Cassis away from the battle while only leading Jeremy to rendezvous with her. But since then, the situation had gotten far out of hand.

“No, there’s no need to look for them,” she replied coldly. There was no doubt Nix would be executed on the spot once the search teams found him, but Deon would likely get to him first and do the deed himself. Of course, there was also a chance he might not survive the severe wounds he had sustained during the puppet battle either. Even so, none of that was of any concern to her. Perhaps it would be best if they both died far away and out of my sight.

However, as she considered that possibility, her fists grew pale from how tightly she had begun to clench them. She looked down to see that her nails were nearly breaking from digging into her palms. Only an hour or so had passed since they had all been standing in that place.

The part of her waist where Deon had grabbed her just before she was about to plummet along with the shimmering glass shards began to ache again. Then the sensation she had felt when she first saw that his arm had been severed after exerting such a powerful force to push her away rushed back to her.

“Xanaaa!”

There was also the sharp cry Nix had let out from up above after she had made it to the ground below still ringing in her ears.

“No matter what... I just can’t seem to kill you! I guess I’ll just have to find another way to end all this.”

Her half-brother’s shallow voice and crumbling smile had burned themselves into her eyes and ears before he disappeared, but she knew she didn’t have time to linger on either of them at present. Roxana was doing her best to suppress the urges slowly swelling up within herself.

Jeremy studied her cold expression, then looked down to see her relax her fists. “Well, I’ve gotta run, Sis.”

As the Black Master, he needed to go check on their siblings, many of whom had sustained injuries during the battle. Their clan had of course been the only one not to suffer any casualties, but it was still his duty as their leader to aid in the restoration of Yggdrasil castle.

However, before any of that, there was one other place he wished to visit. He paused for a moment when he noticed that someone was standing on the other side of the door before opening it. Despite his otherwise combative nature, the blue-eyed young man stepped past the newcomer and made a quiet exit. In his wake, the new visitor stepped into Roxana’s room.

“Roxana...”

Once the door closed, a small voice called out to her as she stood on her windowsill, then she turned back to meet his gaze.

“Cassis.”