Ever since the elves launched the coordinated attack on the headquarter of the Magus Alliance, the atmosphere of the ongoing war has been escalated to a whole new definition of tension. Every day, dozens of magus died on the frontline fighting against the elves.
However, problems that the Magus Alliance had to worry about were not just about the ongoing war on the horizon itself, but also the enemies that hid and lurked within the shadows. The one making those people of the Magus Alliance nervous were the half-blood people, whose loyalties were brought into question after the incident.
Being a big part of the Magus Alliance's force, the half-blood could tip the fragile balance between the two factions if they ever decided to abandon the humans and join the elves.
It was a perfectly normal action in the eyes of the Magus Alliance, when they immediately launched an in-depth, bordering intrusive, investigation on the half-blood party.
However, the alliance knew this process couldn't take too long, or else it would be the spark leading to the eventual defection of the half-blood instead. After all, no one wanted to be suspected by their ally.
After 3 years, the tension was not just between the two wolf and serpent clans, but it also affected the whole 12 clans, which each day grew more dissatisfied with the human alliance.
Hence, the truth about their loyalty needed to be quickly settled, before things reached a point of no return.
The mission Emery would be joining hopefully would bring the truth of the matter into light. Bring peace between the human alliance with the 12 bloodline clan. It might even lead to humans winning the war.
"The Wolf Bloodline clan, to be specific the White Fang Clan led by Beowlf sent a letter to the alliance, saying he had proof about theirs and the Serpent Bloodline's innocence in the incident. Therefore, they wanted to hold a face-to-face meeting to show the evidence and attest their integrity."
"That is good news!" said Emery quickly. However, his sudden excitement only made Magus Leon irritated.
"There is nothing to be excited about. This is just one out of the dozens of claims by the bloodline clans. We received similar claims of innocence every month not just from the white fang or the wolves for that matter, hence although the mission was at most importance, it might be just the same false claim of innocence by the clans"
Following what he had just said, Magus Leon then told Emery the reason he did not tell him about the content of the mission previously was that the entire matter could probably be nothing but a false alarm. Subsequently, having him knowing the matter was a security breach by itself, being an academy acolyte, he shouldn't know about these things.
"Honestly, we might not need you at all," Magus Leon said, while looking at Emery. "I still don't understand why Headmaster Delbrand and the Magistrate insisted on you coming with us. Either way, if you decide not to go, don't come tomorrow. If you do, come prepared for anything."
Afterwards, Magus Leon left Emery alone, allowing him to think about what he wanted to do.
In all honesty, if there was anything Emery could do to help clear the Wolf Bloodline's name, he would definitely do it without question. Especially, if it was his clan, the White Fang Clan, involved in the middle of it all. Emery had no reason to reject such a mission.
While Emery was still contemplating in his mind, it was at this moment he noticed a translucent green bird come flying towards him. Knowing what it was, he quickly cheered and extended his hand, letting it land on his arm.
Emery looked at the message that appeared on the symbol on his hand. Surprise gradually appeared on his face, as he read through it.
[You have returned from that privileged planet, and then forgotten about us – the lowly elites – didn't you? We know you are in Zodiac City, so come meet us at the Dancing Cats Tavern when you are done with your business]
The message came from none other than Klea. Even though he didn't expect such a harsh opening sentence, a faint smile still sprouted on Emery's face as he finished reading the message.
It couldn't come at a better time. He really wanted to see them as well, after all.
Without further ado, Emery took off from the palace and roamed the streets. He went around asking about the tavern's whereabouts, because he had absolutely no idea where it was. One kind pedestrian told him it was located on the east side of Zodiac City.
After several good minutes of scouring through the streets on that side of the city, Emery finally found the place. However, there was something odd that he noticed upon arriving in front of it
There were not that many pedestrians around the area. The tavern itself almost looked desolate at first glance. He went to the door to check if the place was correct, and it was. There, right beside and slightly above the door, a plaque with [Dancing Cats] written on it.
Emery entered again and was still greeted by a desolate sight. He was about to get worried, when he finally noticed a familiar face at the other end of the room, hidden from the entrance. At the same time, the other person also saw him and called his name.
"Emery!"
It was Klea's voice, as Emery cast his gaze towards her, he also noticed Chumo sitting at the same table. Seeing that they were really here, he moved his legs and quickly approached the two.
"Hey guys! Glad to see you two," Emery said, as he took a seat. Then, he sneakily shifted his body forward and whispered, "What's with the weird place as our long-awaited meeting location?"
Klea grinned when she heard his words. "Why? So we can have more privacy of course!"
The reason given sounded perfectly logical, but Emery was not fully convinced, especially after seeing the way Klea acted. He was sure ever since what happened on Earth, both of them knew there was still something that needed to be sorted between them, but now she acted like nothing happened.
Then, Emery realized Chumo was using his [Eye of the Raven] on him and their surroundings. He was about to ask his friend what he was doing, when he saw him give a nod to Klea and she let out a sigh.
Emery was still confused by what was going on between his two friends, as he saw Klea suddenly use her special bracelet.
The bracelets gave out a glow and Emery can tell it created a powerful spirit defense around their area. Noticing the look Emery had, Klea finally decided to say something, in a whisper at that.
"We need to be sure no one is following you and no one hears us now, we are not even sure if this is safe enough."
These two sentences that bode some kind of foreboding certainly made Emery anxious.
"What? What do you mean? What is going on, Klea?" Emery asked, confused with a hint of worry. "Tell me."
At this moment, the girl's eyes were looking towards the back door. Seeing that, Emery also looked over and realized with Spirit Reading that someone was there, but they were trying to cover their presence.
"Emery, you need to speak with her." Klea said, "Don't take too long."
Even though he was dubious, Emery still stood up and walked towards the closed back door. Before his hands even opened it, his nose could already sense the scent of the unknown person – it was someone familiar.
A look of surprise appeared on Emery's face. Then, he opened the door and saw a girl with brown hair in a ponytail.
"Tatjana!"
The girl was the senior wolfgirl part of the White Fang Clan, the fox girl who kidnapped him during the magus game with two of her friends.
"Emery… It's… it's really you. You are here…" Tatjana said, looking at his face.
The always cheerful wolf girl appeared to be anxious, which quickly made Emery worried, "Tatjana, what happened to you?" Emery asked in a concerned tone.
The girl's expression turned serious when she asked, "Emery, I heard you were given a mission to find the White Fang Clan. Am I right?"
Hearing that, Emery was stunned, unable to say anything. He was, after all, just being sworn not to reveal anything just an hour ago. Seeing this, the girl suddenly became irritated.
"Urrgghh! You can't even tell me such simple facts! Which side are you really on?!" I am here to warn you to not trust Headmaster Delbrand! He was the reason we, the wolves, went into hiding! You hear me, Emery! The mission will be the death of you!"
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Written by Avans, Published exclusively by W.e.b.n.o.v..e.l,