"I've never expected that you, Siprytas, would be the one who let me down..." Despite the sorcery arrays designed to prevent everything from the outside to come in, a sudden wind of cold converged into the white mist before dissipating into nothingness, revealing an aloof figure.
As soon as the figure appeared, the warriors from Fiery Tarantula Sect quickly surrounded him, holding onto their burning weaponry until it began to shake. However, even with their numerical advantage, the said warriors could not stop their body from shaking in fear of the man's presence.
"Sect Head... Aren't you supposed to be in your breakthrough seclusion?" Siprytas took a step back in shock while countless thoughts flashed in his mind. As he detected the cold gaze of his teacher, he lowered his head in shame and sorrow.
Not only him, but the surrendered Elders also stayed silent, not daring to even excuse themselves from their pathetic actions. They knew that everything was over, and there would be no coming back or asking for forgiveness.
The last remaining peak-staged second-ranked sorcerer did not speak anything. He merely swept the area with his gaze before landing them onto the stiff body of Siprytas' uncle.
"To think that before my Sect could even experience its golden age, it would fall because of me." A subtle sigh leaked out of his mouth. The Sect Head merely shook his head at the signs of the cowering Elders.
He knew that the hope of the Sect was no more. The Fiery Tarantula Sect had already exterminated every loyal Sect Member and only let those weak Elders alive. Even if they somehow could start over, there was no way for Icy Scorpion Sect to recover.
"Teacher, because of our past relationship, I could make an exception to let them live, if you promised to step down from the Sect Head position." Siprytas spoke up as he took another step backwards. Although he feared the power of his teacher, he was confident that the arrangement of Fiery Tarantula Sect was sufficient to exterminate Icy Scorpion Sect.
"You should've known the answer yourself, Siprytas." The cold air raised from the ground and expanded outwards, seeping into every corner of the building. No matter how hard the flaming warriors tried to drive it away, the mist always came back to block their view.
The noisy chatters began to fade as everyone found themselves to be alone in the whiteness, gradually feeling as if the mist had swallowed them into an unknown plane of existence.
"Hazy Scenery... To think that you had this kind of trump card." Siprytas tightly held onto a small mysterious cubic gem. Its crimson surface faintly stirred as red light slowly crept out from it, combatting the white mist that separated everything from one another.
...
As everyone around Forus noticed the strange phenomenon, they quickly retreated away from him in fear. In a mere moment, the area surrounding him became an empty landscape, devoided of any sorcerers.
Sounds of crackling resounded around Forus as root-like tendrils began to emerge under his skin, moving across his chest and climbed up onto his face. The greenish colour manifested and mixed with his pale skin, spreading the strangely-calming fragrance onto the surrounding.
As Forus attempted to suppress the change within his body, a sudden itchy sensation assaulted his eye sockets. Before he could do anything, blood began to seep out from his eye sockets and gave birth to a pair of dazzling flowers.
By using his blood and sorcery energy as the nutrient, the flowers quickly absorbed them and spurted into existence. They slowly rotated while continuously using their roots to devour his inside. With every passing moment, a hint of crimson colour would manifest on their pure-white petals.
"Forus..." Tears began to form around the edge of Ocelia's eyes. She struggled to push Abicel away to run towards Forus. However, no matter how hard she struggled, she could not free herself from the hug of the Nature Fairy.
"Please don't die, Forus. You must not make her sad." Abicel bit her lips as she shifted her gaze away, not wishing to view the tragic scene any longer. If she did not promise Forus to take care of Ocelia for him, she would have gone in with Ocelia.
Although she did not know why, when she watched that steady back, her mind became filled with a sense of pity, and instead of getting in awe of his selflessness, she felt a sensation of loneliness and longing behind his expressionless appearance.
Despite the great distance between the ground and the sky, none of the people missed the commotion. The Mountain Envoy frowned as he glanced at his commanders, who had transmitted a message detailing the obscure event he just received from one of the insiders.
Hearing the explanation, the Mountain Envoy fell into silence as his mind began to work at a rapid rate, trying to come up with the best scenario. He did not wish to let his brother-in-law down, but also could not make the reputation of Mountain Union tainted by his decision.
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When it came to the conflict between people from different powerhouses, the matter would escalate into the clash between the power behind the two. The victory and defeat of the small members would reflect within them the status of their respective organization.
At this moment, the conflict had forced the Mountain Envoy to choose between two bad choices. Either he continued to oppose Flying Green Garden and their backer, starting a war to protect the pride of Mountain Union, or decisively announced the banishment of Forus and handed him to Flying Green Garden.
The Mountain Envoy had to choose between his brother-in-law or His Majesty, the Mountain Emperor.
"Levota, what should I do?" The Mountain Envoy muttered as he gazed towards his brother-in-law, not knowing how to process next. Although he understood the solution of the problem, his mind was still clinging on the hope of some miracle that would help him.
"Lord Envoy, please make your decision." Corulem smiled as he urged the Mountain Envoy to hurry up. At first, his plan to bring shame and suffer to Coruscare Family had failed, but now, another chance had presented itself, and he was quick to grasp it.
Under the scornful eyes of the Mountain Envoy, Corulem took out a token with the simplistic symbol of three mountain peaks. Although its design was plain and unassuming, the look on the Mountain Envoy's face became pale upon laying his gaze onto it.
Seeing the special token, every member of Mountain Union retracted their sorcery energy before bending their head forwards, lowering their body until it became parallel to the ground. In an utmost orderly fashion, the Mountain Envoy stayed motionless as he displayed a respectful expression.
"We, your subjects, offered our sincere respect." At once, everyone exclaimed in resonance, causing the sky to rumble with their powerful voice. Only after their show of loyalty did they rise back up.
"Lord Corulem, are you sure about your decision?" Levota spoke softly with a hint of melancholy in his speech. In front of the Token of Contribution, bestowed by the Mountain Emperor, everyone must treat the bearer with the utmost respect, as the token represented the Mountain Emperor himself.
As one of the sorcerer families within the Flamedouse City, Ninguis Family also had ways to combat against Coruscare Family, and the main reason they could stand side by side with Coruscare Family was the sole existence of the Token of Contribution.
"Everything I did was for the greater good of His Majesty." Corulem, with the Token of Contribution in his hand, locked his gaze at the Mountain Envoy, waiting for his final judgement.
The leader of Flying Green Garden fell into silence, not showing any emotions whatsoever. Within such a short moment, he could see the different factions clashing in a battle of the wit. As an outsider, it was not appropriate to step in and meddle with the internal affair.
"According to the rules set by His Majesty, none shall harm the innocent and tarnish the laws of Mountain Union. Falsus Nomen, you had broken the rules, and shall be punished." The Mountain Envoy magnified his speech for it to reach all over the outpost, letting everyone within the surrounding heard every bit of it.
As he did so, the Mountain Envoy sighed as he smiled at his brother-in-law, showing his unwillingness. Although he did not wish to tarnish the reputation of Coruscare Family, the responsibility of the Mountain Envoy preceded his relationship.
"With my authority as the representative of the Mountain Emperor, I hereby declare, Falsus Nomen, from this moment onwards, your presence is no longer a part of Mountain Union." Every eye fell onto the lonely figure on the ground. Most of them recognised him to be the future spouse of Coruscare Family, which caused their mind to run wild in amazement.
In only a short time, this unknown person had undergone a drastic change. At first, he began in his humble origin as a nobody before revealing his status as the lover of the successor of Corsucare Family. After that, he got dragged into a clash between two sorcerer families. In the end, his life fell from one of the blessings into a living hell.
"Levota, you know what to do, right?" In a sneering manner, Corulem asked Levota by raising his voice, attracting the attention of others. At this moment, Levota could only disown his daughter's true love to preserve his family's status.
Levota did not speak but turned his head towards the ground, directing it at his eldest daughter, gazing into her teary eyes. In response, Ocelia used her hands to wipe the watery emotions and lock her windows towards the soul onto Forus, not letting any movement eluded her perception.
At this point, Abicel did not try to restain her anymore. She could only stand beside Ocelia and watched the fate unfolded. Recalling the promise she made with him, she began to wonder why did Forus requested her that way, and how could he know about any of this.
"... By my authority as the Family Head of Coruscare Family, I hereby declared the banishment of Falsus Nomen. From this point onwards, he shall no longer be a part of Coruscare Family." Although Corulem knew that Levota deliberately did not announce the real name of Forus Ander, he did not care about the trivial detail as he was able to achieve a part of his goal.
As soon as the collective decision to abandon Forus finalized, a series of wind howled as they carried with them leaves and petals from above. They danced joyously according to the emotions of their master, forming a vortex that spanned around Forus, covering his surrounding in various shades of nature.
In the group of floating petals, a figure stepped forward, landing in front of Forus. Although her green robe had concealed parts of her appearance, her unique disposition, coupled with a wooden staff in her hand, reminded him of a lady he once met.
Just as Forus gazed onto her green pupils, the wind blew away her hood, revealing her unnatural body condition. On her chest, a greenish jewel embedded itself onto her, causing her body to mutate into the constitution of a Nature Fairy.
With flowers hanging out from her body, the bizarre sense of beauty was leaking out from her presence. Although she did not completely transform into a full-fledged Nature Fairy, her body had already become one. If not for the impurity and imperfection of the method, she would also achieve the same state as Abicel.
"Falsus, we meet again." At the sight of her nemesis, Florie smiled widely, revealing her sharp, unsettling rows of teeth. There was not a single hint of her naive youth in that pair of eyes. Instead, a trace of dark desire slowly emerged from her heart.
After getting her world view shattered by Forus, she had developed a colder personality that manifested a sign of insanity when she fought, showing the impact the defeat from Forus had to her naive self.