Reports about the incident in the Wintermoon estate reached the palace the same day. The survivors of the terrifying event used communication crystals to tell their families about what happened and to warn their lords and masters about the situation.

The substantial casualties resulted in an emergency meeting with all authorities staying in the capital.

“It has been centuries since the Devils moved. Why did they start granting Demonic Gifts again?” One of the Old King’s advisors asked the group of authorities. He was an old man who knew nobody would say anything for the next few minutes if he didn’t start. The authorities were too shocked about the deaths of their heirs and the damage the incident had inflicted to the kingdom.

“I am more surprised that Demons managed to travel through the Moonlight Forest even though the Demon Ward was active. The Imperial Instructors were told to check and replenish the Demon Ward – if necessary – like every cycle. It doesn’t make sense for several Infernal Lairs to pass through the Demon Ward. The whole incident doesn’t make any sense!” The Old King growled while his son, the king, nodded slowly.

“My daughter’s report is very thorough, but she cannot tell me exactly what happened. They were warned about the demons in the Moonlight Forest mere minutes before the Demonic Gifted and Infernal Lairs appeared. To be precise, it didn’t even take minutes,” A middle-aged man seated near the King announced.

The man had vibrant amber-colored eyes and dark hair that shimmered blue in the sunrays falling through the windows. They looked just like his daughter’s hair in the sunlight.

He was the Reeze Duke, Melissa Reeze’s father.

“I don’t care when the Demons attacked or how they attacked. I want them dead!!!” One of the younger men shouted, jumping up from his chair. His fist smashed into the wooden table before him, cracking it at once.

“Calm down, Leodias,” The man next to Leodias growled.

Leodias spun around, his eyes overflowing with wrath, but not a single word escaped his lips when he saw his friend’s steely gaze.

“I just lost my daughters to these bastards a decade ago, and today I lost my son. I know how you feel, but these vile cretins are dead. We need to find out who the last Demonic Gifted was and who ordered them,” The man said in an eerily calm tone. Leodias swallowed hard and sat down without another outburst.

“They had to get past the Demon Wards,” The steely man said, “That’s not possible, except…”

He left the last words unsaid, but everyone knew what he indicated.

“Someone deactivated the Demon Wards,” the King completed the sentence, “Someone betrayed us.”

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The following silence hung heavy in the air.

The accusation was extreme, but the evidence spoke for itself. Demons couldn’t enter the Moonlight Forest without an alarm notifying the palace and Wintermoon estate. Even if the Demon Ward malfunctioned, the Imperial Instructors would have noticed something off. However, the reports stated no damages or any other issues.

“Deploy the Demon Hunters. Maybe they can make sense of the situation in the Moonlight Forest,” The King ordered, “As for the traitors…I will start investigating right away.”

The King turned to the Reeze Duke and smiled, but the sadness of today’s incident was still apparent in his eyes, “Your daughter did a great job. You raised her well.”

“It’s nothing. You shouldn’t praise her too much, your majesty. Melissa still has a lot to learn,” The Reeze Duke said, hinting at a bow.

“But to think you would give her one of your Essence Relics. It saved everyone’s lives, but I did not expect her to give her such a dangerous object,” The King studied the Reeze Duke for a reaction, but the duke's reaction was lackluster, to say the least.

The Reeze Duke smiled, a hint of sadness flickering through his eyes.

“Melissa is my only child. I gave her everything I could spare to ensure her safety. I’m glad I did,” The Reeze Duke sighed deeply as the last words fell, “But if not for the anomaly she picked up, Melissa would be dead already.”

The men and women seated around the table listened up, some nodding slowly.

“I heard about it. Your daughter picked up a young man, an Ego, from a small village bordering the Meiso Plains. Is it true he used the Staff of Leech seven times in a row?” A middle-aged woman with a long scar across her face asked.

The King looked at the Reeze Duke alongside the others.

“If Melissa’s report can be trusted, Percy – that is the name of the young Ego – conjured five ordinary energy bullets and released two compressed energy bullets. The latter was strong enough to kill the mutating Pleacis, who’ve been absorbing the Devil’s power of the Demonic Gifted. Reports say the mutating Pleacis were stronger than Evolved Monster.”

Many nobles nodded, but another woman spoke up to support the Reeze Duke.

“My son’s report can vouch for Melissa’s words. I think all reports will state the same or roughly the same. That child, Percy, used the Staff of Leech several times, whereas my child’s Essence was drained after the third energy bullet. This child has been trained to use Essence since birth, or…”

“Or he is an unknown bastard,” The King completed what everyone else thought.

The former was very unlikely because commonbirth Ego would have to be trained for decades to acquire the Essence needed to activate the Staff of Leech seven times in a row. However, the average Ego manifested in the teens. According to the reports, Percy was around Melissa’s age and oblivious to the world.

“Looks like someone gave birth to a powerful bastard. Congratulations to whoever’s spawn this is.”

Everyone glanced at Levian Darkai, the baron of the Moonlight Forest, but he shrugged nonchalantly.

“I have a few bastards, but I know all of them,” He said lightly, “Furthermore, I never possessed much Essence. That child is either an anomaly, or we found the affair child of a high noble amid the chaos of the Bloodmoon incident.”

The baron chuckled, but nobody joined his happiness.

“Bloodmoon incident…really?” The King growled quietly, but Levian Darkai shrugged again before he bowed deeply toward the king.

“Call it as you please, your majesty.”

The King cursed quietly but turned away.

“That kid saved the lives of many. Let’s find out whose child he is.”