Trixan Yvis sat among the Twelve Elders around the oval table. At the head of the table sat the Grand Elder, Jakhan Igenbel.

The man had been the Grand Elder longer than most of the Elders had been alive. Even at such an old age, no Elder would dare underestimate Grand Elder Jakhan Igenbel. He was a man of action who wouldn’t waste time on trivial things, so his reason for calling this virtual meeting must be incredibly important.

Two emergency meetings in less than three months? What exactly was going on? Trixan thought.

“Thank you all for coming on such short notice,” said Jakhan in his soft-spoken voice.

The room was so silent that Trixan could hear everyone’s heartbeat simultaneously. They were anxious.

“Some of you already know why we are here.” The Grand Elder’s bright gray eyes swept over the room.

Trixan tilted her head slightly. The meeting had been called suddenly so she had no idea what it was about. Thankfully, it was a virtual meeting. Given the recent events in her school, she didn’t think she could have gone to Agon, leaving all her vanquishers behind in such bad shape.

Jakhan said, “Three schools have sent reports of sighting someone believed to be Hellstorm.”

The chill in the room could freeze an ocean. Suddenly the Elders muttered among one themselves.

“That’s impossible.”

“Hellstorm’s dead.”

“It couldn’t be him.”

“I believe it is. I saw him.”

Trixan herself was lost in thought. She had assumed that Zemeron had been mistaken, but if other vanquishers claimed they had seen him, then that changed everything.

The Grand Elder lifted his frail yellowish hand. Silence returned. “Nezeric Highrain, report.”

The Elder of Highrain School nodded. “Last night,” he began, “my vanquishers tracked down a human-eating lowblood royal in the Bahamas. But just before they could vanquish it, a man in the likeness of Hellstorm appeared and captured the demon into a holy cage. He instantly disappeared.”

“What do you mean likeness?” asked Marra Irondel, Elder of Irondel School. Although Marra’s facial expression was quite indifferent, her erratic heartbeat told a different story. This wasn’t simply nervousness. This was fear.

Nezeric said, “The man wore the same outfit as Hellstorm usually did. He had the same height as Hellstorm too.”

The Grand Elder said, “Varshra School has the same report, does it not?”

“Yes.” Irami Varshra nodded, saying nothing in addition.

“How’s Hellstorm alive?” Marra asked.

“Why do we keep calling him Hellstorm?” said Trixan suddenly. All eyes were on her. “Hellstorm’s dead — everyone knows it. That person could be an impostor for all we know.”

“We can’t be certain about that yet,” said Nezeric.

“We can’t be certain that Hellstorm’s dead or that the man is an impostor?” Trixan stared pointedly at Nezeric. Slowly, her gaze swept over the crowd. “I was there when Bezvaros himself killed Hellstorm. The Demon King stabbed him in the chest in case you need a reminder.”

“Those damn Vessels sent him back to Bezvar, Yvis,” said Esumeraz Zoleris, “in case you have forgotten.” Trixan glared at Esumeraz. But he ignored her and continued, “Hellstorm died, no one is denying that. But the man was lost in Bezvar. Who knows what could have happened to him in there? He’s probably been turned into a demon by now.”

“How dare you?” Trixan's voice was deathly calm.

“I know hearing this truth is painful. Hellstorm was like a father to you, yes. But you have to wake up, Yvis. The man was in the realm of the Demon King. You don’t think Bezvaros could have revived Hellstorm and turned him into one of his demon lackeys?”

Coldness stilled Trixan’s heart. Her body would not move from all the rage freezing her in place. Suddenly, Trixan laughed. It was rather unfortunate this meeting was virtual. “Be careful, Esumeraz.”

“Of what, Trixan? Speaking the truth?”

“Truth?” Arequil intervened. “Aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves now, Esumeraz?” Arequil smiled warmly at the Zoleris. “We don’t know anything yet. Just because the man is dressed like Hellstorm doesn’t mean he’s Hellstorm. Until we see his face and his lightning elema, we can’t be certain if Hellstorm is back from the dead or not.”

“That is true, Arequil,” said the Grand Elder. “But right now, that man’s identity doesn’t matter. Because whoever he is, he’s rescuing royal demons. That alone is proof he’s working against the Ancient Order of Vanquishers. We can’t let that happen.”

“That man is Hellstorm,” said Irami, effectively silencing everyone. Irami Vashra didn’t often speak, but when he did, people listened. “He’s not just dressed like Hellstorm. He is Hellstorm.”

“And why do you say that?” Trixan asked. “Did you see his face?”

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“I did not.” Irami paused. For a moment, Trixan thought the man wasn’t going to speak anymore, but he continued, “Hellstorm appeared in Varshra School to break out a demon we were holding hostage. Like you, Trixan, I assumed that was an impostor and I tried to stop him myself.”

“You couldn’t stop him?” Marra asked. Her heart skipped a beat.

“He used Lightning Fury,” said Irami, tucking a strand of blue hair behind his ear.

Lightning Fury? Trixan narrowed her eyes. It can’t be. But there was no way Irami would make up something like this. The Varshra did not lie. They could not. If Irami himself had seen the man use Lightning Fury, then the possibility that he was an impostor was very slim. Lightning elema was so rare that Hellstorm was only one of three people in Agon who had it.

“He used a teleportation power different from xuul technology.” Irami’s onyx eyes settled on Trixan solemnly. “His portal was full of demon energy.”

Zemeron had said the same thing. That couldn’t possibly be Hellstorm. But what if she was wrong? Hellstorm got lost in Bezvar. What if Esumeraz was right and — 

“Then that proves he’s a demon,” said Esumeraz. “That explains why he’s rescuing demons.”

The other Elders nodded.

Trixan wanted to speak up. She wanted to stop them from slandering the man who raised her and taught her almost everything she knew. But she could not. What if they were right and she was wrong? She had seen with her own eyes how the Vessels had used Bezvaros’ Crystal to send the dying Hellstorm to Bezvar. What if Esumeraz was right and Bezvaros had indeed turned Hellstorm into his demon servant? Why else would Hellstorm rescue demons from the Order?

No. She refused to believe that. Hellstorm would rather die than let Bezvaros control him. That man was the most stubborn person Trixan had ever met. Bezvaros would need a billion years to turn Hellstorm into his loyal servant, and even then, Hellstorm would never yield. She was absolutely certain of it.

“Whether that man is Hellstorm or not,” Jakhan said, “I believe he’s directly connected to the rise in royal demon activity and we need to stop him. To prepare for anything, we’ll assume he’s Hellstorm. I am issuing the immediate arrest of Hellstorm. By the end of today, I shall appoint a vanquisher in charge of Hellstorm’s case. They will work closely with the Twelve Schools so I expect your maximum cooperation.”

“What will happen to Hellstorm if he’s arrested?” Trixan still found it hard to refer to the man as Hellstorm. Unless she saw him in person, she would never believe it.

“If he’s indeed a demon,” said Jakhan, “we will deal with him according to the law.”

“You mean you will vanquish him. After all his sacrifice for the Order.”

“We are vanquishers,” said Esumeraz. “Vanquishing demons is what we do.”

Trixan rubbed her knuckles. “If Hellstorm is indeed a demon now, let us all do well to remember that he became that way serving the Order.” Trixan gazed at each Elder in the room. “If anyone is the victim here, it’s him. He led the war against the Vessels. He gave his life to stop the Vessels from unleashing chaos into the Outer Sphere. It’s because of him we were able to recover Bezvaros’ Crystal from the Vessels. Never forget that.” A heavy silence fell over the room. “We can’t possibly imagine what he’s been through in Bezvar,” she said. “What kind of torture he might have endured all these years. It’s his sacrifice that’s keeping all the realms safe today from the Demon King. As his comrades, we failed him when we lost him to Bezvar. And now what? We want to fail him again by vanquishing the man who became a demon through no fault of his? Really?”

The room was silent for a long time until the Grand Elder spoke. “It may not be Hellstorm’s fault that he is a demon now, that much is true. But for all we know, he might be under the control of Bezvaros which makes him a ticking time bomb. But of course, Hellstorm will always be one of us, demon or not. And if there’s a small chance that we can help him, then we’ll take that chance.”

“That sounds dangerous,” Marra Irondel protested. “You already said so yourself, Jakhan, Hellstorm is a ticking time bomb. He was terrifying enough as a vanquisher. Now that he’s a demon too, I don’t want to imagine what he’s capable of. We could lose many good vanquishers.”

Trixan shook her head in disbelief. These people didn’t know Hellstorm as she did. There was no way Hellstorm would let himself be manipulated by the Demon King. He was no one’s puppet. Trixan grew up watching that man — Hellstorm’s mental resilience was not of this world. There must be an explanation as to why he was rescuing all those royal demons. Or perhaps, he wasn’t rescuing them at all, but capturing them.

But why capture them from the Ancient Order of Vanquishers? What was she missing? Whatever it was, if Hellstorm was really a threat to vanquishers, he would have attacked Zemeron. But he did no such thing.

“Irami.” Trixan glanced at the blue-haired man. “When Hellstorm used Lightning Fury, did he kill anyone in your school?”

Irami paused thoughtfully. Then he shook his head. “No. He could have. But he didn’t hurt anyone.”

Trixan exhaled with a nod. “This proves that Hellstorm still recognizes us as his comrades even if he’s a demon. We shouldn’t give up on him.”

“We won’t, Trixan,” said Jakhan. “This case will be thoroughly investigated and if that man is indeed Hellstorm, I promise you he will have a fair hearing. Do you have any objections, Trixan Yvis?”

“No.” This was a good start. If that man was Hellstorm, Trixan would never forgive the Order if they straight-up executed him for no good reason, demon or not.

“Great.”Jakhan nodded. “Expect the person in charge of Hellstorm’s case by tomorrow.”

“Yes,” said all the Elders.

“Meeting adjourned.”

Each Elder pressed a button on their xuul and their holographic form instantly disappeared in the room. Trixan disconnected herself from the virtual conference and soon she was all alone in her meeting room.

She went back to her office and sat in her chair, thinking. She should be happy Hellstorm was alive. Well, she was. But there was still a graveness in her heart about everything happening. She didn’t want to believe that Bezvaros was using Hellstorm. The man was too stubborn to be anyone’s puppet. The fact that he had appointed Trixan as his successor against the wishes of the Draghein Family was a sign of Hellstorm’s obstinacy.

It was this stubbornness that also made Hellstorm a powerful vanquisher. No wonder he was appointed as the lead vanquisher twenty years ago, to recover Bezvaros’ Crystal from the Vessels.

Bezvaros killed Hellstorm. Trixan had seen it with her own eyes. Why then did Edicles claim that the people he was spying for were responsible for Hellstorm’s death? Unless he was talking about the circumstances surrounding the entire war with Bezvaros and the Vessels. Was that what Edicles had meant?

That was the only way Trixan could explain it. The Vessels had mysteriously gained possession of Bezvaros’ Crystal and tried to summon the Demon King with it. No one, but the Twelve Elders and the Grand Elder, knew where Bezvaros’ Crystal was hidden. If the Vessels had found it, then it could only mean that its location had been disclosed to them by vanquishers, specifically an Elder or the Grand Elder. This was far too great a conspiracy. But what if someone from the Order had indeed done this?

Trixan rubbed her forehead. Why go through all this just to have Hellstorm killed? What did they hope to gain from this? Is it for the same reason they wanted Trixan dead?

“Who are they?” she whispered.

Whoever they were, they were incredibly dangerous. They had even spread the false rumor that Bezvaros’ Crystal was in Draghein School just so her school would be attacked. Whoever was pulling the strings wasn’t only trying to eliminate Hellstorm and Trixan. They were also trying to destroy the Draghein School and possibly the Draghein Family.

Now that Hellstorm was back from the dead, Trixan wondered what they would do next.