Chapter 358 – Culprit
“The S Rank General Assembly is now called to order. Mage Teft has requested all members be in attendance and I am happy to see that all 38 of us have made it. In one form or another.” Donald Harris, the Time mage said as he looked around the room to see the majority of S Rank mages had attended in person, through there were still close to a dozen that had been too far away or too busy with other issues to be able to attend in person, even if Ingrid Fletcher had promised them swift Portals back and forth.
“Thank you Mage Harris,” Mage Teft said, standing up to take the podium at the front of the chamber. “As some of you are aware, several weeks ago there was an attempt on the life of my student, Damion Wells, who as all of you know, is the most promising young mage ever recorded.”
“Enough with praising your student! Get to the point Helga!” Shouted Marian Caplan.
“Very well. After an investigation was done, it was found someone used the authority of the Protectorate to disguise their attempt at murder and to clothe it a veil of righteousness. As all of you know, the Protectorate has always stood as independent and secretive, only appearing in the direst of circumstances to preserve humanity as a whole. Never have they appeared for a matter of what a mage ‘might’ do in the future and never have they asked others to do what they deem as necessary.”
“What is your point?” Asked Phillip Spurlock, Lightning mage.
“My point is that I did not believe the Protectorate ordered the execution of Damion Wells. I believe someone used them as a convenient shield to protect themselves. And my point, is that the only individuals capable of such actions are the members of this Assembly.”
Mage Teft’s words caused a sudden outcry of disbelief. Many calling into question Mage Teft’s ability to even broach such a subject, considering she was the newest member of the S Rank Assembly and had little knowledge of how things were properly conducted at their level. Some even bringing up her execution of Theodore Bianco and Thomas Sorin as examples of her poor judgement.
The arguing back and forth between the various members of the Assembly showed the divided stances the S Rank mages. Some sided with Teft, others calling for her to be exiled. Little could be heard or understood amongst the chaotic shouts until Mage Harris intervened. Everyone in the room suddenly froze in place when Mage Harris raised a hand.
To an outsider it might look that everyone was giving the Time mage their undivided attention, but to the most powerful mages of humanity, they knew different. Mage Harris had frozen them all in time. They were unable to move, unable to channel their mana, unable to do anything but feel the weight of his Time Domain press down on them.
After a moment, Mage Harris released his Time Domain and spoke softly to the rest of the Assembly.
“I agree with Mage Teft’s assessment of this situation. I have never known the Protectorate to act in such a manner.”
Mage Harris’ words struck a chord with many of the mages in the room. They knew he was the most impartial of all the S Rank mages. After all, if not for him, most of them would not even know of the existence of the Protectorate. Some of them even believed the Protectorate was a secret faction that he created as a protective message against any of the noble families growing too powerful in the Mage Association or Adventurer Association.
“But during the investigation the messages from the Protectorate showed up. What are we to believe of those?” Mage Fletcher asked, right at the perfect time according to her and Mage Teft’s plan.
“Indeed, that puzzled me,” Mage Harris said. “Mage Teft would you explain.”
“Certainly. The messages were faked.”
Mage Teft’s declaration caused another bought of chaos, but a raised hand from Mage Harris silenced everyone before he could even cast his Time Domain again.
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“With what proof do you claim they are faked?” Mage Moretti asked.
“When I started my investigation, I learned very quickly that someone using the Protectorate’s authority had ordered Mage Wells’ death. That proof was in an official message terminal that any of us could access. Since orders from the Assembly are always disseminated through such terminals and always in the name of the Assembly as a whole and not an individual member, tracking down who was responsible for the order to the Crimson Order outpost to attack Mage Wells was impossible to track.
“Luckily, my investigation was faster than the coverup. I was able to hide all prior copies of orders from the Protectorate. Thus, when I requested a copy of the message from the Protectorate, the one ordering Mage Wells to be disposed of, only the perpetrator of the attack would have motive to create said message and log it into the terminals for the investigators to find.”
Mage Teft activated the terminal at the podium and a series of messages appeared in the air for the room to see.
“The lone message on the left is the message the investigators found. The messages on the right are past legitimate messages from the Protectorate. As you can see, the style, phrasing, even the layout of the message itself is different from legitimate messages from the Protectorate.”
“The proof is there for you all to see,” Mage Harris said. “Another point of fact, is that I never received this phony message. And all messages in the past from the Protectorate have come to me directly and then I have passed them on to this Assembly. There is no doubt in my mind, someone attempted to use the name of the Protectorate for their own agenda, and I will not tolerate such abuse.”
“Is there a way to tell who logged the message into the terminal. Or who sent the message to the Crimson Order outpost to take action?” Dominic Strand, Wood mage asked.
“The message to the Crimson Order was untraceable. For me to attempt to roll back events to that moment would cost more mana that I have,” Mage Harris said. “We also don’t know which terminal it was sent from. However, we do know which terminal the message was logged to, because Mage Teft prepared he trap well. And since I know the location, I will reveal to you all the perpetrator.”
Mage Harris raised his hand and cast another spell, this one on a terminal near the edge of the room. Everyone quickly turned to the terminal to see what the spell would do. A shadowy bubble appeared around the terminal and inside the bubble they could see events moving backwards. First people passing near enough to the terminal to be caught in the reverse flow of time. Then a few different mages using the terminal over the past day. When finally, the perpetrator was revealed, everyone let out a surprised gasp.
Every head in the room looked over to the guilty party, who let out a sigh and slouched down in her seat.
“Mage Tricia Bianco, why have you done this awful thing?” Mage Harris asked.
“Mage Teft murdered my nephew. I wanted to avenge him.”
“Mage Teft’s actions, while excessive, were justified. Theodore attempted to harm Mage Wells on multiple occasions and never once sought revenge on him or your family. As I understand it, Theodore was not the most pleasant of persons. He was arrogant and entitled. Flaws more common with each generation of noble mages. The rest of you noble families should take note, teach your youngsters properly, or there may come a time when the wellbeing of young mages is removed from list of noble family responsibilities.”
“I will accept the judgement of this council,” Tricia Bianco said, while her grandfather Eddard Bianco hung his head in shame at what his future successor had done.
“You have nothing to say in your defense?” Mage Harris asked.
“No.”
“Then I open the floor to discussion on what her punishment should be,” Mage Harris said. “Mage Teft, as the representative of the aggrieved party, you may go first.”
“Thank you. While Mage Bianco has attempted murder and perpetrated a deception against all of us, little harm was actually done. My student was able to defend himself against magic cannons rated to take down an A Rank Demonic Beast. That should give you all a bit of hope for the future. For the future of all mages.
“Since Mage Wells is unharmed, I ask only that Mage Bianco be barred from taking on a Headmaster position in the future, with any school. As for the rest of her punishment, I will leave that in the hands of the rest of you.”
Mage Teft’s words surprised many present. Especially Tricia Bianco. Everyone was aware that the position of Headmaster at Erythraean Academy was hers whenever she wanted it, but she had steadfastly refused to accept it for years. Barring her from the position was more of a weight off her shoulders than an actual punishment.
“In that case, may I make a suggestion,” came an unfamiliar voice to the room.
Everyone turned to look at a short man standing in the doorway. He was unfamiliar to all of them, but he radiated power that put him on par with any of the S Rank mages in the room. Everyone except Mage Harris was quite surprised to see the man and before anyone could step forward to demand his identity, Mage Harris spoke up.
“It would be an honor to hear the suggestion from the representative of the Protectorate.”