The figure flew at terrifying speed, quickly alarming everyone around. Their heads instantly snapped in the direction where the new arrival was coming. Those from the White Fang Clan stared at it with intensity, their body tense and ready for combat.
Amidst the panic, Magus Leon shouted.
"Don't be alarmed!"
Despite the reassurance, all of them, especially the wolves, were still anxious. Even from afar, they could sense the faint pressure radiating from the figure, who was a Grand Magus level figure.
Emery looked up while making sure he made minimal movements as he did so, trying to identify who the figure that was still hovering in the air was. A few moments later, he realized that person's true identity.
It was a middle-aged looking woman with white hair and a blank yet terrifying expression on her face. Of course, almost everyone in the academy would know who that was. She was Kadek, the Grand Magus enforcer tasked with maintaining the Magus Academy's safety.
The woman was floating in the air, blueish light completely blanketing her body. While everyone fixed their gazes at her, her eyes darted around them, as if trying to look for something.
As Emery stared at her, the Grand Magus surprised him for half a second by taking a quick glance at him.
Within less than a second, Emery could feel his heart thumping in a chaotic manner, like it was about to hammer its way out from his chest. The Grand Magus had made him feel nothing short of pure fear.
He felt like within that split second, everything that made him was laid bare to the open. Fortunately for him, the Grand Magus seemed to have decided to ignore him for the time being. She only glanced and didn't maintain her gaze on him.
Emery wasn't sure of the reason. Was it because she knew his identity, or was it because he was just not a threat at his current strength?
Magus Leon quickly explained to the restless White Fang Clan the Grand Magus was actually the representative sent to talk on behalf of Headmaster Delbrand. After all, it was a matter related to the Magus Alliance, not the academy itself. If anyone else served as the representative, it would create unneeded rumors about the stance of the academy.
The explanation seemed convincing enough. However, Chief Beowolf did not seem satisfied by it.
"This is not about jurisdiction, this is about trust and integrity! I cannot trust anyone with what I found except Delbrand himself or King Alduin!" The chief of White Fangs shouted.
Despite the enraged chief's demands, Grand Magus Kadek did not budge. She looked at the former calmly and said, "Your request cannot be approved. I will give you some time to give me a short explanation about what happened, or you will be taken into custody without further question."
Considering how the chief insisted on seeing the headmaster or King Alduin and the way Grand Magus Kadek responded, it appeared there was no point for Emery to even try mediating between them. After all, under magus standards he was still young, and merely a rank 8 acolyte.
As the 'discussion' that sounded more and more like a shouting match went on, Chief Beowolf became increasingly more irritated. In the end, with an angry glare directed at his debate opponent, he turned to look at his subordinates and barked.
"Bring her here!"
Knowing their chief was as angry as he could be, one of the subordinates immediately moved as he walked deep into the forest. Within a minute, another man could be seen accompanying him, while dragging another person. Emery could recognize the other man who just appeared as Brutus, his senior in the Magus Academy and the one Tatjana inquired about.
Seeing the man seemed fine, Emery made a note in his mind to tell Tatjana about this, when they meet in the future. Then, he turned his gaze towards the other person, who came with the two. After he got a good look at the figure, he was shocked along with everyone else there. There was no way he could forget the distinctive appearance.
It was a girl with long white hair, bound with a magical rope. Her eyes were blindfolded, and a crude gag covered her mouth.
"Silva! It's really her!" thought Emery inwardly.
It wasn't just Emery who was expecting the girl. Considering how mild the reactions they showed, it seemed Magus Kadek, Leon and the others in this meeting already knew about this all along.
"What's with the binding? Let the girl go!" Leon said.
In that second, the situation seemed to escalate for the worse. Even Emery became tense due to that.
While everyone was glaring at each other, Emery looked left and right, desperately thinking for a way to help Silva, but idea after idea that crossed in his mind was immediately discarded, as everyone in his general vicinity seemed too much stronger than him.
In the end, he gave up, because he knew his strength was insignificant in the grand scale of things. All he could do was hope that Magister Kadek could handle this situation properly and save her in the process.
Chief Beowolf decided to explain what this was all about.
"The girl just cannot be silenced, but don't worry, we don't need her anymore. She has given us everything she has."
Emery saw the chief take out a golden parchment wrapped together with a gleaming silver metal ring. He could see a certain marking engraved on the silver ring, but from where he was standing, Emery could not make out what it was.
After reading the scroll for a while, the chief once again said,
"This is the scroll given to us by the Oroboros clan. This scroll doesn't just contain the proof of our innocence, but it also contains proof of who the real traitor among the 12 clans really is."
The real traitor? Emery realized the situation had become even more complicated. From this, he started to understand why the Wolf Clan was being so sneaky about this. However, he noticed the metal engraving on the scroll seemed to hide some meaning, From her gaze, Magus Kadek seemed to realize the same thing as well.
"Then, you will give me the scroll and put yourself in custody. I can promise that I will keep you safe."
The offer made Chief Beowolf hesitant. In that moment, Emery remembered what Tatjana told him. The headmaster was behind the deadly mission that slaughtered many of those from the Wolf Clan, so of course, the chief would be wary of accepting an offer like that.
While he was busy thinking, his train of thought was interrupted when he saw Chief Beowolf suddenly look up to the sky and let out a loud howl.
"What… is he doing!"
A sudden explosion of bright light ensued, as the howl echoed in the air, blinding all the magus who stood on the ground. From the cascade of footsteps, which was heard afterwards, it was clear the White Fang wolves were trying to escape to two different directions.
Moments later, the group of magus as well as Emery regained their visibility and saw what was going on. Chief Beowulf, who held the scroll, went to one side with pack leader Anna, while the other pack leader, Beatrice, dragged their white-haired captive to another different direction.
"You cannot escape!" Kadek warned.
True to her words, the ground started to shake and crack after the escaping clan members took a few steps, creating a doorway for multiple creatures to rise up from beneath. The Graboids proceeded to do their job and stood in front of them.. It was as if they had been sleeping underneath all along, waiting for the perfect time.