About a week before the aforementioned events occurred, Erebus had been seated on his throne, currently in position number two. He said at the wall of which he had memorized all the cracks and fissures in the stone along with the spider webs that appeared in the corners. Today, he wasn’t wearing his eyepatch, so he was able to see the beautiful mana flowing around in the room.

Because of the languid movements of the mana as it circulated, his eyelids were growing heavy, so he had slowly begun to close his eyes. Something about watching the mana lazily move around had an effect on Erebus as if he had been put under a spell by the vision.

Just as he was about to fall asleep, a voice belonging to a vexing man Erebus associated with hassles sounded in his head.

Erebus.

His eyes snapped open at the sound of Rolut’s voice.

What? Erebus snapped in response. What is with you and calling me so often as of late? Do I look like your errand boy? Tell me, what is it that you want!

He didn’t bother hiding his annoyance. To Erebus, naps were incredibly precious things.

Please... come to the Dragon Continent, there are urgent matters we need to attend to. Get here as fast as you can.

Erebus groaned heavily, standing upright. I’ll be there soon, he responded. He then contacted Tear and informed her that he would be stepping out for a while, she, as always, was saddened by this but told Erebus that she would tell the others and continue doing her job.

He stood up and walked over to the window that was hidden by moth-eaten curtains and pushed them inside. The glass in the window had been shattered long ago when he had participated in the act of defenestration of some loud-mouthed runt. Erebus knocked aside the jagged glass and placed his foot on the window seal then proceeded to jump out of the window himself.

Unlike the unfortunate soul, Erebus could shift into a dragon and fly, so he did not become a red-colored splat on the ground. The moment his wings stretched out and he flapped them, rising higher and higher into the air, the annoyance that had built up inside of him began to disappear.

This was where he belonged, in the skies, how could he remain angry here? Erebus took off and made his way to the Dragon Continent as per requested.

From how Rolut had sounded, it was probably something serious, but then again, every word out of that man’s mouth sounded like the problem of the century.

“It’d be nice if it wasn’t a big deal,” Erebus spoke in his native tongue out loud to himself. “But... at the same time, there might be something entertaining waiting for me.”

He passed over the sea, racking his mind over what could have happened. The mana stone case had been solved a few of years ago, so it couldn’t be that, right?

When Erebus entered the territory of the dragons, Rolut was already there waiting for him in the sky. “Erebus, you came faster than expected.”

“Aside from Frize, I am one of the fastest flyers,” Erebus pointed out. All of them moved at insane speeds, but Erebus and Frize were the fastest in the air while Azure was the quickest underwater.

“That is true, let’s go, the Council is waiting.”

“You summoned everyone again?” Erebus asked, clearly exasperated. It wasn’t like the members of the Council stayed on the Dragon Continent after the meetings were over, either, so calling them all back multiple times was only warranted if the situation was grave.

“You will understand when I give the debriefing,” Rolut said and flew off towards the tower that the Dragon Council met in. Erebus followed behind him, he beat his wings as quietly as he could, since Rolut seemed to be in deep thought about something even Erebus didn’t want to disturb him.

When the two arrived at the platform, they both shifted into their human forms and made haste to enter the meeting room where the other seven members sat. It was the usual scene, really, Massath was fast asleep and Midrn was looking at Erebus with a sneer on his face while his twin brother, Dissolve, was looking up at the ceiling as if it held all of the answers to the world’s mysteries.

Ayirn was smiling kindly at the two who had just come in while Lisset and Greur were bickering about something. Finally, Azure was braiding her hair while swinging her tiny legs and humming.

“Let us begin,” Rolut said as he and Erebus took their respective seats. “I don’t want to waste any time, so I’ll tell you why I’ve called another Council meeting...”

Azure perked up. “What is it? What is it?”

Rolut raised his hand to silence her. “The humans have discovered the effects of transmutation on their bodies, I’m not sure how they’ve figured it out as of yet, but, they have learned how to enhance their bodies greatly through the use of magic stones. From the intel I’ve received, they plan on attempting to dominate the land-dwelling races when they gain enough power.”

Erebus didn’t say anything, but he recalled Vyne conducting experiments like that on multiple subjects of varying races.

“You’re afraid this might evolve into another war?” Massath asked through a yawn, he only had one eye open, but the intensity in it was undeniable.

“I doubt they’ll be able to realize their plans completely since the other races are formidable in their own right,” Lisset countered. “I say that we leave it alone and let them solve it on their own. If not, then we step in.”

Rolut narrowed his eyes. “There’s more. With this transmutation, they’ve figured out how to ‘resurrect’ the dead.”

“Necromancy isn’t anything new,” Frize said.

“It’s similar to necromancy, but it’s different, the corpses are sentient and rely on their own mana supply,” Rolut spoke. “Erebus, if I recall correctly, one of your subordinates is Lilian? She is the top necromancer, so you should know something about the subject, too? Could you explain to Frize?”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Well, more or less...” Erebus sighed. “In necromancy, the only way you can revive a sentient being is if you still have a portion of their soul. Acquiring that is next to impossible, actually, for the humans, it is impossible. What we call a soul is a special formation of mana, when someone dies, that soul blends in with the rest of the mana in existence. Finding it is like finding a needle in a haystack, so unless you have a piece of that mana formation, it’s impossible to bring back their soul.

“Next, for the mana supply part... necromancers are required to have a high mana capacity for a reason, if they do not, then they won’t be able to call upon powerful beings. Typically, their summoned undead feed off of their master’s mana since they’re unable to gather their own since they’ve lost their soul. But, if you have the soul of the undead, this entire issue is averted.”

Midrn seemed to be confused. “I already knew about the soul being mana, but, how would the humans be able to bring back their souls? Is that even possible for you, Erebus? To see souls, that is.”

“If I knew someone long enough, I could be able to distinguish their soul pattern among others, but if not, I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between minor changes. But that’s only possible because of my eye.”

“Then how did the humans do this?” Greur input. “Is it possible that the information you received is false, Rolut?”

The elder dragon shook his head. “The information isn’t false, a human who swore blood loyalty to me supplied me with it. He doesn’t have a high enough clearance to find out any of the specifics, though, that’s why I have a request of Erebus.”

“What?”

“Have you heard of Opinum Academy?”

“I have, I don’t understand how it ties into this subject, though.”

Rolut exhaled. “The students have been receiving minor enhancements from the stones, I’m assume that they’re the test run. If the enhancements kill them, then they are brought back to life.”

“Ah. So you want me to go there to find out more information?”

“Yes. You’re the most knowledgeable about necromancy, also, you’re accustomed to acting as a human and restraining your strength, meaning that you’re the best candidate for the task.”

Erebus groaned.

“From what I’ve heard, a lot of strong humans gather there.”

Erebus’ head tilted. “I’m listening.”

“Not only strong humans, but there is also multiple members of the other races with a considerable amount of power. They might be fun to watch, it might even cure your boredom...”

Erebus sat up straight. “I will carry out my duty for the safety of our planet!”

“So see-through...” Azure muttered.

“Anyway, Erebus, I’ll be able to handle your enrollment along with two of your subordinates for assistance. Tell me their names and it’ll be done within a couple of days.”

Erebus ruled out Stone, Magnus, and Weryn almost instantaneously. The first two were far too conspicuous and Weryn didn’t need to be involved in this to that extent. Lilian was a contender since she was a necromancer, but she was better than Tear at maintaining order in the castle. Also, since she was a beastman, she probably wouldn’t become a candidate for the mana stone enhancements.

“Tear of the Moon Goddess and Vyne of Tartarus,” Erebus told Rolut. “If that’s all, I’ll be leaving now.”

Rolut furrowed his brows. “About the possible war...”

“I’ll be dealing with the academy, so I leave that to you guys,” Erebus said while dismissing himself and leaving the Council room.

“That guy is really shameless, isn’t he?” Lisset asked, shaking her head. She hated to admit it, but Erebus did offer good input, and he was the most combat-trained out of all of them.

“At least he agreed to it,” Frize said. “That guy is far smarter than he acts, he’s knowledgeable in a broad variety of subjects. So him deciding to infiltrate the Magic Academy is best for us.”

Ayirn stood up and walked over to pat Frize’s head. “It’s okay, even if Erebus is more intelligent than you are, we still have faith in you.”

“I wasn’t saying he was smarter than me...” He shook Ayirn off of him and turned to Rolut. “Didn’t Erebus have that one friend named Mira or whatever name she used last?”

Rolut frowned. “The legendary alchemist?”

“Yes, her. I think she would be helpful to ask, too. I’ll tell Erebus to get into contact with her,” Frize said.

“I didn’t think of that, but her knowledge would indeed be beneficial.” Rolut grunted in agreement. “Tell Erebus to request her assistance.”

Dissolve turned his gaze away from the ceiling and said something surprising in his quiet voice, “I’m willing to help Erebus at Opinum. It shouldn’t be too much of a hassle for you to register me as a new teacher in the middle of the school year.” Dissolve seemed to start melting. “After all that talking, I’m thirsty...”

Azure smirked. “I can get some water for you~”

“Your water tastes disgusting,” Dissolve muttered. He slowly tilted his head back to the ceiling and stared at it, expressionless.

“I can do that for you, Dissolve,” Rolut said, he only agreed because Dissolve rarely volunteered himself to do work. But he couldn’t imagine Dissolve as a teacher, seeing as the man got tired after speaking one or two sentences.

Everyone looked at Dissolve while thinking the same thing:

His students would probably pity him if anything...

My goal is to get out another two chapters by the end of today. I'll try my best to get them out.