Seven pairs of eyes, hidden behind dark cloaks stared at Raven and the company.
The large room, adorned with numerous ancient treasures, runes and carvings, went still and silent. Tension was palpable in the air, everybody was solemn except maybe Raven himself.
The words he uttered died down after a few seconds upon entering the room. He could feel the heavy gazes pressing down on him, making him feel slightly displeased.
Raven never really liked it when some people think they could openly look down on him, figuratively and literally.
Nevertheless, his actions are measured. He didnât became reckless. He was calm, rational and confident. He knew that he has everything within his control, there no need to worry about some nasty surprises here.
âFor the current leaders of one most reclusive sects in Divine Realm, weâd figure that there would be a little moreâ¦class, in this kind of approach. A bit moreâ¦diplomatic, per se. It is quire surprising that you, out of all people, would barge in just like thisâ¦like barbarians.â
One of cloaked figures muttered after a short bout of silence.
âI havenât met you for quite sometime yet that venomous and calculative tongue of yours is still as hateful as I could remember, Jade.â Sect Master Lucas coyly replied.
âYou flatter me, Lucas.â A cold snort was sent as a reply by the voice that belong to a person named Jade.
âWhat are your intentions of barging in to the Council, Lucas? Is it really something that canât make you wait that you needed to go through this lengths just to seek an audience with us?â Another voice sounded.
âSurely you are jesting, Yellow.â Sect Master Lucas snorted, âAll of you Old Fools know why Iâm here, stop feigning ignorance. I heard your panicked voiced cursing Ashura when he was leading us here. You folks can spy through anywhere and anything within the Divine Realm, nothing escapes you perverted gazes so thereâs no need to keep up this act in front of me. Itâs not working.â
Silence permeated once more. The pairs of eyes gazed at them even more sternly. Raven could feel the shift of emotions within those eyes. He could feel their great discomfort about whatâs happening, he can also feel the slight ripples of movements coming from spaces hidden from their eyes.
A cold smirk appeared on his face as he also made silent movementsâ¦
A few seconds later. The silence was interrupted by a âtickâ sound. Its as if a bead fell, making a tiny yet discernable sound.
The smile on Ravenâs face became a sneer. He rolled his eyes and muttered: âHuh, I guess youâd be a little more challenging that than. What a shame.â
His soft voice might as well sound like shout given how silent this large room is. He almost laughed out loud when he felt a certain gaze locking on him containing a venomous and bloody intent.
Raven just played with the holder of this gaze. The ripples earlier were Karmic Strings, being pulled by this person.
Karma is a fleeting thing, something that would take eons to completely grasp. Thatâs not even including the art of interfering with it.
The âKarmic Controllerâ as Raven called them for now, was good at what they do. Sadly, Raven was just the perfect counter for that since he has the ability to seal any kind of advances they do. Unless he wanted to, those seals will forever remain in there.
Raven was enjoying himself for a little bit but unfortunately his opponent broke first, cutting off his fun. Now heâs bored again.
âLucasâ¦â
âLady, just stop.â The Sect Master just shook his head as he referred to another person in the room. âAt this point, anything you people say will just be used against you.â
âWoodcutter, I placed my trust in youâ¦once.â Sect Master Lucas faced a certain cloaked person, his eyes speaks volume, something that Raven rarely sees.
âYou told me before that everything will be different if you became the Chairman of the Dawn Council. Hell, I was one of your backer! Without me, you wouldnât be warming your ass in that throne. But what did you do?â
ââ¦â
âExactly! Nothing!â The Sect Master was incensed. âIn fact, itâs even worse than nothing! You schemed! To me! To us! Of all people!? Why?â
âLucas I-â
âNo.â Sect Master Lucas shook his head firmly, glaring at Woodcutter firmly. âIâve told you this before. You only get one chance. One chance to earn my-no, our trust. You break it, and youâll never have it again. You failed Woodcutter. Now pay the price.â
âWhat is it that you seek to achieve here, Lucas?â Another voice interjected. Sect Master Lucas faced that person and repliedâ¦
âItâs very simple, Monkey.â He uttered, âThe Dawn Council has rotten to the core. The curse of greed already permeated deep down to your bones and marrows. Thisâ¦canât go any longer.â
âSo what? Youâre here to declare war on us?â Another voice interjected. âNo, this isnât like you Lucas. Even though I can tell that this is what you desire, it certainly isnât you who brought this idea up. Itâs that child over there isnât it?â
Everyone was amused, Raven included. Everybody knows that this voice is referring to him.
The Sect Master snorted and said: âNow you have to bring him up. Of course you would, wouldnât you Beast Lord? I expected nothing less from you.â
âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â
âLucas, I suggest you think about this further.â Another voice interjected before Beast Lord could get answers. âThereâs no need for you to go this far. You are the one in control, not the child behind you.â
âThe âchildâ behind me, Heaven Breaker, is the Savior of Humanity. Are you really no listening earlier?â Lucas snorted, âHeâs the one who neutralized the Devil Emperor and made sure that it will never be a threat to us any longer. He was the one who solved the problem that we had been suppressing for millions of years in mere decades.â
âHeâs the rightful successor to my position and my title. He has every right to express his opinions. In fact, I merely am acting as a spokesperson for him because I am the one acquainted with all of you. Trust me, if we were to follow his original idea, there would be no conversations right now.â
âPathetic!â Beast Lord snarled, his clock rustling due to the flurry of emotions he was feeling. âLucas, I canât believe this. You bowed your head to this Empyrean Cub? I regret respecting you.â
âMy, now thatâs just rude.â
It was Raven who spoke this time. Lips pressed into a thin line, Raven took a step forward and stared coldly at the Beast Lord whoâs glowering at him.
The Beast Lord felt jubilant, inwardly thinking: âYeah, thatâs it little cub. Court your own death. Just as I thought, thereâs no need to be nervous about this at all.â
Then again, the Beast Lord felt shivers crawling up his skin the moment he saw a huge sneer on Ravenâs face.
Under everyoneâs gaze, Raven raised a hand and flicked a finger. The Beast Lord suddenly lost control of his own body movements which surprised and horrified him, before he could even think about fighting back, his body was already flying towards Ravenâs open palms.
Everybody was gaping. They all couldnât believe what was happening. Raven just rendered a Divine Knight helpless against him. The struggles of the Beast Lord to regain his body movements were visible to them, they could feel him trembling and jerking to no avail, his body went completely rigid and obediently landed in front of Raven.
With Ravenâs hands forming a claw over his face, the Beast Lord never felt as humiliated as this. He was reeling in shock. He canât, for the life of him, even begin to understand how this was possible.Â
âAn ugly mutt that bites back the hand that feeds you.â Raven uttered coldly, âYou are underserving of you privileges.â
A scepter appeared out of Ravenâs hand, causing the entire room to glow. Ravenâs aura soared to the skies.
The Beast Lordâs eyes widened in disbelief, even the rest of the Dawn Councilâs members were staring at the scepter being held by Raven.
They know what this scepter is and what it represents.
âWell, Iâm sure everyone is dying to know how I managed to do the seemingly impossible claims that we uttered before. I say, we do a demonstration, yeah?â
âDonât you dare!â
âSilence.â
One cold, crisp order, and the Beast Lord struggled to open his mouth. All of a sudden, Raven started glowing.
Grabbing the Beast Lordâs face he floated up, raised the scepter and knocked the tip on his head.
A seal-no, a brand appeared on the Beast Lordâs forehead.
Before everybody knew it, the Beast Lordâs body was wrapped in colorful seals.
Everyone watched as the Beast Lordâs pupils went slack and his aura coiled within his body, unresponsive and seemingly dead.
Raven didnât spare a single glance to the Beast Lord once the deedâs done. Instead, he looked at the rest of the Dawn Councilâs members and said:
âOne statement remains true since Ancient times.â
âIn front of absolute strength, all schemes are useless.â