“The Verdant Omen is reacting!
There is a Corrupted Beast here!”
One of the Crown Prince’s men, who was now standing together with the Pope, announced as the Verdant Omen in his hands vibrated without stop, sensing the Power of Corruption near it.
“Oh my.”
And seeing that sight, the Crown Prince’s grin widened.
“What do we have here, Tower Head Selene?”
“You used the Verdant Omen…
You dare disrespect the Magic Empi-“
“I think we are already past that, aren’t we?”
Edric interrupted.
“Yes, I ordered my subordinate to activate the Verdant Omen without your permission, and I will apologize for disrespecting you like that.
But…
We have bigger problems to deal with, don’t you think?”
The Crown Prince tilted his head, his grin still stuck on his face.
“The Verdant Omen is reacting.
We have to find what Beast it is reacting to, don’t we? After all, this could very well be a safety concern.”
“…”
Selene’s face darkened at those words, and the Crown Prince didn’t stop.
“Conveniently, there are only a few Beasts out here, so it shouldn’t take a long time to catch the Corrupted, right? Why don’t we hold off on our discussions till then?
Who knows? The very Dynamics might change within the next few minutes.”
Edric then glanced at his subordinate and,
“Jasper, bring the Verdant Omen to the Stage and start inspecting all the Beasts one by one.”
“As you command, Your Highnes-“
“Wait.”
Just as Edric’s subordinate, Jasper, was about to move, Tower Head Selene spoke up.
“What is it, Tower Head Selene?
Is it something so important that you are interrupting the search for all of Nerathis’s common enemy?”
“That is enough, Crown Prince.”
Selene spoke, her tone much heavier than before.
“Whatever do you me-“
“We all know what you are implying.”
Edric smiled at those words.
It wasn’t just him; the rest of the Drakthar Camp understood what it meant as well.
The Hero was right.
Rowan was a corrupted human. This, however, wasn’t the reason why the Drakthar camp was so happy.
This had long gone past the matter of a single Xenthalor Mage being corrupted or not. With how desperately Tower Head Selene had defended the Mage, the implications were heavy.
The entirety of the Xenthalor Empire was under question now.
Were they… working together with the enemies?
Everyone present here now had doubts in their head. This had not only improved Drakthar’s image because Elira, a Drakthar Prodigy, was the one to stand up, supporting the Hero, but it had also ruined Xenthalor’s reputation.
Even if they were proven innocent, the very fact that even someone like a Tower Head was desperately trying to defend a corrupted human would always raise questions.
So much that she might even lose her position as the Tower Head.
Yes, she was in big trouble.
This was also the reason all the nobles and the foreign guests wanted to hear what the woman wanted to say for herself.
With all eyes now on her, Selene paused for a moment and then turned towards Pope Altheran.
“Pope Altheran, I would like to understand how the Power of Corruption harms our Nerathis and why it is seen in such a negative light.”
The people frowned at that question.
Was it not common knowledge? Why was she asking something like that?
Was she… trying to buy time…?
Even the Pope himself had similar doubts in his head, so he turned towards Alden, wanting to seek the King’s permission.
Alden nodded. His men had already surrounded the Arena. Nothing would happen even if the Tower Head tried to buy some time.
The Pope nodded back as he then turned towards Tower Head Selene and started,
“The Power of Corruption puts a Bond in constant pain, so much that the once intelligent Beasts lose their minds and become no different than mindless Beasts who only seek destruction and death.
It destroys the relationship between a Tamer and a Bond, making the Bonds, who were once filled with nothing but love and innocence, lose their minds to constant pain and hate the Tamers they once cherished more than their own lives.
Because of this weakened connection between the two, even when the Bond grows stronger, the Tamer does not. Which gradually weakens the overall strength of Tamers of Nerathis.
Corrupted Beasts cause havoc wherever they go. They have already destroyed more than a few Villages and Towns and have taken hundreds of thousands of lives.
And that’s not it.
These Beasts are as much dangerous dead as they are alive.
Magic Beings are creatures blessed by Lord Feraos himself. When they die, their energy returns to nature, keeping the balance of Nerathis stable and its environment fresh.
However, when a Beast is influenced by this vile power, its energy is contaminated. And when this contaminated energy is released into the environment, it ruins the environment instead.
More than once, the death of a strong Corrupted Beast has released so much contaminated energy that the area around it became uninhabitable. The land turned barren, water contaminated, and the air became poisonous.
Even to this day, those areas haven’t recovered to their natural state, and the life that once flourished there was forced to settle somewhere else.”
The Pope could go on and on about this topic. He, however, quickly summarized the key points, and Kael listened to those words very carefully.
After all, he was the only one here who didn’t know about this. For others, this was common knowledge.
Even for the one asking this question.
“Your explanation was enlightening, Pope Altheran.”
Selene smiled at the Pope’s words.
Soon, however, she tilted her head in confusion and,
“However, I wonder—does the Power of Corruption always lead to destruction? Is there truly no exception?”
She questioned.
“Are you asking this because you do not know?”
Altheran narrowed his eyes. Even he seemed frustrated, almost offended by Selene’s question. The Tower Head, however, just chuckled at his response and,
“I apologize if I offended you, Pope Altheran. It is just that…
As a Mage, I tend to look at things differently than others do.”
The people present, especially the mages, narrowed their eyes at those words,
And this was exactly what Selene wanted—attention.
“You say Corrupted Beasts are mindless, filled with hatred, and incapable of rational thought. And I cannot help but think…
Is that really true?
Take Maul, for example,”
Selene then pointed at Rowan and his Bond and,
“Does Maul look like he is suffering? Does he look like a mindless creature driven by rage?”
As if on cue, Rowan’s Maul rubbed his head together with Rowan’s, showing his love. Rowan smiled at that and played with his obsidian exoskeleton like he was the most precious thing in the world.
“Do not forget, Maul spared the lives of his opponents because he knew it was merely a duel, not a life-and-death battle. Can a mindless beast stop itself from killing when the opportunity is right in front of it?”
Selene asked a series of questions, and this time, the Pope’s tone became uncertain.
“Are you saying that Maul isn’t affected by the Power of Corruption?”
The Pope questioned directly. Selene, however, shook her head.
“There is no point in hiding this anymore.
The Power of Corruption was indeed used to strengthen Maul.
The Hero was correct. Maul is not the Mythical Ranked Beast Eclipsing Devourer as my Mage claimed; he is an Epic Ranked Beast, Abyssal Dreadmaw.”
Selene admitted, shocking everyone present here.
The Tower Head, however, wasn’t done yet.
“The Power of Corruption is just a filthy name we gave to this energy because we didn’t understand it.
In truth, it is nothing more than one of the countless energies that exist in Nerathis. If it was as harmful as we think, Lord Feraos would have never created it in the first place.”
“…”
The Pope turned silent the instant Lord Feraos’s name was mentioned, and Selene pressed even further.
“Think about this.
If the Power of Corruption truly weakens the bond between a Beast and its Tamer, then why does Rowan’s Maul stand proudly beside him? Why does he display intelligence, restraint, and loyalty, instead of madness and destruction that the corrupted beasts are known for?”
Selene raised questions, and the mages present here instantly became curious.
Why was Maul different?
Was it because it was one of the Dark Elemental Beasts?
Or was there any other reason?
Discussions started again, but this time, they weren’t against Selene. People, especially mages, needed answers—answers Selene had already prepared.
“It is not the Power of Corruption that is harmful. As I mentioned, it is just one of the many energies that Lord Feraos created.
An energy that strengthens our strongest and most trusted allies by a huge margin.
Can we really ignore an energy like this just because we are scared of the harm it does?”
Selene’s tone then shifted and,
“Or do we try to find a way to properly use this energy?”
She smiled, instantly attracting everyone’s attention.
“Yes.
We, the Xenthalor Empire, have found a way to use this energy correctly.”
The woman then pointed at Maul and with a grand gesture,
“And this right here is the demonstration of our Xenthalor Empire. The True effects of this energy we didn’t understand before—effects that do not have the downsides you worry about.
An Epic Ranked Beast whose powers were on the level of a Mythical Ranked Beast.
A Beast who alone defeated all his opponents in a single move.
A Beast far stronger than any Beast at his level.
And a Beast… who hasn’t lost his mind to the energy we could not understand.
This is the product of the Xenthalor Empire, who learned to use the Power of Corruption in a way Lord Feraos intended his children to.”