Early Evening - Early Winter : Elder Hall, Northern Bahamut

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- Leander Sofos ~

"With this, you have been cleared, Miss Kerato. You may bring the others back in."

Giving a short, annoyed nod, she turned to the door and opened it, immediately letting the three other elders back inside.

They all looked quite upset with me, but now they couldn't say a word. "Thank you all for your cooperation. As I'm sure you have already noticed, I have collected the necessary evidence to send a few of my subordinates to search Sir Naftis's temporary estate in the housing district." I held a stack of papers in front of me with my aura, making sure everyone could see it. "I'm sure you all understand what that means... This will take a few hours. I ask for your understanding."

Everyone immediately turned to Naftis with expressions of anger and annoyance as I finally turned back to the door.

Quickly walking out of the hall itself and closing the doors with my tail, I started down the hallway. -Things truly could not have gone better...-

Prior to the investigation, I had scraped together all the old dirt I could find related to Naftis and his previous connections to the rebellion so that if someone attempted to call our investigation unnecessary, I could simply shut them down. -But not only did Naftis have more evidence on him...- I looked down at a letter I had sitting on the stack of papers. -He even gave me some evidence against Holcyon...-

A smile slowly crept onto my face as I thought about it. -Now I just need to wait for Erpo to return with Amphitrite...-

Finally making my way outside, I called over a few young and trustworthy ancients and handed them a small mythril medallion. "I need you all to run over to Lex Naftis's estate in the housing district and search it for anything related to the rebellion." As I handed it to them, I leaned over and spoke in a hushed tone. "Take your time to be thorough."

Quickly catching my drift, they nodded and backed away before taking to the skies.

-Hopefully, that should buy us a few hours...- Now, it all came down to how fast Erpo could retrieve Amphitrite. -At worst, I can stall for longer with that...-

Quickly motioning over Agatha, she set down her things and came running over. "What is it?"

"I need you to run back to my office and grab the third letter from the bottom of the stack on the right edge of my desk. It's a letter from Amphitrite."

"Okay, is there anything else?"

"No, but be quick. I need it to be able to prove forgery."

Her eyes immediately went wide as she realized the severity of the situation. "I will be as quick as I can!"

Watching her promptly take to the sky and fly away, I turned to look at the horizon and watched as the sun steadily approached it. -Let's hope she makes it...-

But sadly, even after another half hour, the sun had started to set and neither Erpo nor Agatha had returned. -They're both late...-

Although I understood that Erpo could be a bit late, Agatha should have taken no longer than 15 to 20 minutes. -Something feels off...-

But then, as if my suspicions were answered by the heavens, I saw a massive and immediately recognizable dragon crest the horizon toward the housing district.

-Megálos Kerato...- The one known as the Grand Healer; an ancient with an unfathomably favored reputation throughout Bahamut. -What is he doing here...-

I already knew his sudden appearance spelled trouble, but it only got worse when I recognized the two dragons following him.

One was Holcyon, and the other was Erpo. -WHAT?!- My blood started to boil in an instant. -WHAT IS HE DOING WITH THEM?!- Flooding my aura into the surrounding air, it sharpened like a blade, making everyone nearby turn to look at me with a nervous expressions. "Everyone, dismiss those who still haven't been searched, and clear the area!" -If Megálos is a part of Holcyon's scheme.. this could turn really bad...-

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Making my way out toward the landing area, I stood there and waited for the massive turquoise dragon to come closer and eventually land.

As they landed, Megálos and Holcyon wore smiles, but Erpo wore an expression of anger and aimed it right at me. -He must have truly lost his mind...-

But before I could even think of doing anything, Megálos stepped forward. "How long has it been, Leander? 600 years?"

"Bast*rd, what are you doing here?" I didn't bother to hide my hostility.

"Still angry, huh... You know she-" *CRUNCH* The ground beneath him shattered with such immense force from my aura that it looked like the ground exploded.

"If you dare say her name, I'll kill you." Both Holcyon and Erpo tensed up behind him, but they seemed a little too trusting.

"Alright, alright. Sorry to touch an open wound." His smile slowly widened. "In any case, what are you doing here, Leander?" He quickly glanced around at the Lightning squad that kept people from coming near.

Although I wanted to rip his throat out there and then, I had to calm down. "This area is under lockdown for a class 5 investigation."

"Hoh?"

"Lex Naftis is being investigated for reasons related to rebellion. I'm sorry, but none of you have a right to be here." I glared at Erpo for a moment before turning back to Megálos.

"Hm? Is that so?" He gave me a troubled look for a moment before smiling. "Well, you see, I need to speak with my daughter, and this man behind me supposedly has a trial that should be starting sometime soon."

"That trial will not be able to commence until the investigation is complete, but I could send someone to retrieve your daughter for a moment. However, she cannot leave the area."

"That is alright. I simply need to speak with her."

-Something seems off...- My gut kept telling me not to listen, but his request was something I couldn't refuse without a reason. "Please wait here a moment then. As for you," I looked at Holcyon. "I recommend leaving and coming back later. As Lex is a part of the Elder Hall, your trial will be postponed until this matter is resolved."

His expression turned sour in an instant.

-How does it feel to be powerless, you weak excuse of a dragon?- Finally turning away from the group, I called over one of my subordinates and sent them into the Hall to fetch Galen.

While waiting for them to return, I decided to confront Erpo to see if he would really choose to feign ignorance. "So you returned without her?"

He responded immediately. "She said that she wasn't coming. Supposedly she already sent a letter stating that."

-You think that lowly of me, huh...- My eyes turned cold as I lost all traces of sympathy for him. -Maybe I should have trusted my gut back then...-

*Clunk* Hearing the huge door to the hall open once again, I turned around to see Galen Kerato slowly walking outside. -To think she was the one helping Holcyon in the Hall...-

But unlike what I expected, her eyes went wide the moment she saw her father. "Father? What are you doing here?"

Her reaction looked so genuine that my mind stuttered for a moment, but I quickly caught myself. -No, she must be acting... There's no way Megálos isn't with Holcyon...-

But although I didn't want to admit it, I didn't have a single reason to tie Galen to Holcyon besides her father, even after completely searching her, and couldn't tie Megálos to Holcyon without simply listening to my gut. -Lex was the only one with evidence of being in communication with Holcyon...- I momentarily glanced down at the letter I got from him with a momentary sense of doubt.

But that doubt was destroyed in an instant. "Don't trust them!"

Hearing Agatha's voice, I looked over in a flash, but I didn't see anyone in the air. -What? Am I hearing things?-

But after another moment, I saw her head poke around the edge of a building. The issue was, the further she crawled out from behind the building, the paler I became.

Her body was covered in injuries, with all but one leg and one wing broken and bleeding. "They're all together! Megálos burned the letter and tried to cripple me!"

Immediately following her words, Megálos turned around with a look of shock and anger.

It was the last bit of evidence I needed. *VWOOOM-CRACKLE* The ground cracked beneath my feet as I slowly turned to him with a look of indescribable fury. -To think you would touch her...-

Megálos immediately used wind magic to silently speak to Holcyon, but I heard it anyway. "Holcyon, it seems we need to move to plan B..." Finally turning to me, his expression darkened.

-This bast*rd really doesn't know which lines to never cross, huh...-

"Father, what did you do?!" Galen's voice was drowned in confusion, but I had already blocked it out.

The only thing in my mind was Megálos. "You've taken it too far, Megálos..."

However, he was quick to calm down. "Is that so?" His smile slowly turned greedy before he spoke up with enough volume for other people to hear. "How dare you accuse me of such a horrible action! Do you truly believe I am a dragon of such terrible char-"

Not letting him finish, I lunged forward and bit into his neck before slamming him into the ground. *crunch-WHAAAAM*

The entire area shook like there was an earthquake as his nearly 110-meter-tall body was slammed into the ground. -Today will be the day I behead you...-

But as I reached up and set my leg on his neck to break it, his smile only grew wider, and a look of insanity appeared in his eyes. "Now it's my turn!"