A feeling of doom settled on all but Sotomura who had already calculated the possibilities. If he was being very honest, the situation did not look good for them in anyway. But if there was one thing he was certain of, it was that there was no traitor amongst the current circle. As much as Akihiko disliked Suzuki, even he would recognize the situation immediately. That was why no one complained when Akihiko was drunk. In fact, Drunk Akihiko was abnormally smart. It was so weird Tomo had been tempted to dissect his brain for research.
Surely, he had heard everything that had happened and would make the best possible wish.
Fafnir crouched next to the drunk and lifted his head. A few light taps and the behemoth of a man was looking up in a daze.
“I am here to grant your wish, Akihiko. Make your wish.”
“W-Wish… hic…?”
“Yes, Akihiko, your wish.”
Fafnir whispered into his ear. Akihiko stood up and his body cackled with lightning.
“You know? Hic… I’ve always disliked… hic… you, Ibuki.”
He started stumbling about.
“After, hic, Suzuki died you pre- hic… you pretended to be her and no one has found out… hic... they still don’t believe me to this date. Hic. I-I will give you a worse fate than death. Hic. I-I wish for the death of Goliath of Larm. The only being that could help you cure yourself.”
“WHAT?!”
The wish in itself was a harmless one. In fact, the benefits to such a wish were numerous. So much, simply one sheet of paper would not be enough. However, to the dragon priestess, this was an unimaginable loss. One of levels she had never dreamed of in a million years.
“Wow, you would have me destroy one of my kin? Ha! Good to see that at least the wicked nature of humans remains the same. This makes the coming events or the more pleasing to me. Very well then, farewell Elder Clans! My duty to you is complete the moment I ensure that Tatsumaki Suzuki and her clan remains safe. Rest assured, following the events tonight, your daughter shall remain unharmed. As an extra bonus, same for all of your children. With that, may I see your souls in the Underworld.”
Just before the others could make a single move, their bodies felt increasingly heavy. An insurmountable weight fell over them, forcing them all to the grounds. Their senses started to fail them and their mind was begging for them to pass out. One by one, they all fell asleep, till only Suzuki was awake.
A man left the shadows and came before Fafnir.
“So, just don’t touch the children. If you do as I say, I won’t destroy your foolish cult.”
He ordered.
“V-Very well.”
That voice sounded like Kai’s. But there was no way. The little boy whom she had taken in wouldn’t betray her just like that. Surely it must have been someone else. With her will power, she managed to mutter out his name before passing out.
“K-Kai.”
***
The fireworks had begun. Normally the Clan Heads were to be present for this event to take place, but the Firework crew had been given explicit orders to begin without them. They were to reserve the truly grandiose for the moment they heard a large chime.
The Kazoku stood together, watching the fireworks with excited gazes.
“Wow.”
Kana’s mouth was wide opened and her eyes sparkled with joy.
“This is amazing.”
Shiro found herself muttering. Even if she had experimented and made her own fireworks before, seeing the ones made by experienced people was a whole other experience. The myriad of colours were a treat for the eyes. The synchronized “Ooos” and “Aaas” of the people were also sort of amusing to hear for her.
‘Master, this is beautiful.’
‘I know, Karma. Call me Shiro already!’
‘Never!’
She sighed, drawing the attention of the others.
“Did you already get bored?”
Akari asked.
“Geez, you’re like a little kid, getting bored quickly.”
Kana mocked.
“Says the person whose eyes sparkle at the sight of any and everything.”
Shiro teased back. Daisuke grabbed Kana before she could jump at the poor girl.
“Calm down you two. The best ones are yet to come.”
GONG!
The first gong went off and reverberated through the entire open court till it was dead silent.
“What just happened?”
“Before the best fireworks, there are 3 gongs. The first gong is to silence us so we may be grateful to our ancestors for all their hard work.”
After a few minutes of pure quiet, the second gong went off and the people started to chant the names of the current Clan Heads.
“The second gong is to allow the people to cheer out their gratitude for the work the current Clan Heads are performing. And the third gong is for the people to celebrate the appearance of their future clan the heads.”
“Oh, I see.”
“You know, considering you were part of those hosting the guests, I am surprised you did not know this.”
Akari felt that it was a bit suspicious.
“My mother said it would be best if I found out the sequence of events firsthand rather than the thrill being spoilt for me.”
“I guess that would actually have been the best.”
While they spoke, a third and powerful gong resonated in the area. Everyone expected the blast to be powerful, but to the extent where people would be on their knees and painfully holding their ears, no one had expected that.
“W-What the heck?”
Shiro’s head started pounding intensely, same for the others. Everywhere she looked, the guests had passed out on the floor. When she looked up, she saw men jumping in the sky. They were descending from the roof in absurd numbers.
Her fellow Kazoku had already started to recover from whatever the heck was happening. The lights had gone out, yet the final fireworks were in the sky, flashing brightly and beautifully. They were a distraction, to ensure those not in the courtyard would not notice anything odd even if the lights were out.
“Shiro!”
Kana was shaking her by the shoulder, but all she could hear was an annoying ringing in her head as Kana’s muffled voice. Unfortunately, Shiro had chosen the class Summoner, which gave her a weak physical constitution. Sure, there was the exception to her class which was the summoner with the job [Beast Tamer], however she did not yet have such a job. She planned to acquire it in the future, maybe in her adventures that she’d always fantasize about, but she hadn’t done so yet.
Trying to think of the cause, reason and current events was starting to give her a headache. Shiro reacted to headaches and troublesome things in a… as Senku would put it, “Very Difficult” way.
“Tora… p-please… c-“
‘There’ll be no need to summon that thing here today.’
A voice came into her mind. When she looked up, standing in front of her was someone a bit bigger than herself. The person wore a tattered red cloak and a mask that hid all her facial features.
‘Let me handle everything from here.’
After having heard this, she passed out on the ground.
***
It was the end of the Elder Clan Summit. The courtyard had been set ablaze, all those who were passed out had been burnt alive. At least they wouldn’t have felt the flames burning them.
“I’m impressed, Kai. This night went almost perfectly. The Clan Heads are in captivity. The clan worshippers are dead. We have been able to hoist our flag and claimed this empire as ours. Soon, we will reach out to the other power nations.”
Cardinal Five said from the balcony of the highest floor of the castle, where he overlooked the entire capital. Currently, the crusaders would rush in and start either killing or threatening the people from the outskirts of the capital in. It wouldn’t take long for them to reach the castle and spread their faith.
“I apologise for the failures.”
“Oh? Do not be alarmed. Only nine people managed to escape, the three clan members included. We captured the most important one. The others were of no importance to us.”
“The Tatsumaki girl?”
“Yes. That one.”
“What is so important about her?”
“Do not play stupid. You should know better than any of us, that that girl had the highest potential amongst all the Kazoku, as they call themselves, to become a hero. We shall awaken that potential, then brainwash her into our personal hero.”
“I-I already knew this.”
“Of course, we were also informed that this girl formed a soul bond with the [Divine] upon its awakening.”
“How do you-“
“Did you believe the Head wouldn’t even notice when our object of worship had awakened after so many years of waiting? He even came into contact with it in one of his visions. Normally you would be dead for keeping such a secret for so long. However, the Head says you still possess some use, so you will be promoted to Cardinal now. You are Cardinal Eleven. Report to the Headquarters immediately.”
After receiving his orders, Kai receded into the shadows, using [Shadow Travel] to teleport away. Cardinal Five, being alone, spread out his arms and took in the breeze. The sweet smoke-stained air made him feel exhilarated for it kept reminding him of the non-believers whose deaths would be used to save millions of souls.
He turned around and moved back in, shutting the doors behind him to keep the noise out. For now, he wanted nothing, but ambiance in the scream-filled night.
The Elder Clan Summit kicked off with a bang, and ended with a pang.
<A/N: Due to various reasons, this part was kept really short even though it was 4 chapters. Hmm, wow, I just realised that every time I put Shiro in a part she falls unconscious. That's kind of pathetic and would really get me annoyed if I was reading. That needs to stop! Shiro shall rise! I, hope to stop this and will show Shiro's good side eventually. Anyway, now that there's stuff happening here, there's also stuff happening in Larm. So many questions to ask... Ah well, hopefully you should receive some answers in the next 2 or 3 arcs. Anyway, by for now.>>
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