Chapter 458: Ryozan Eryndor?
The hologram warped and displayed the appearance of a 3D cultish mask, which caused Marionette’s eyes to briefly widen. She recognised this mask, greatly so.
"The Cult of Jesters. While they aren’t a new organisation per se, they have the highest amount of activity in recent months. So far, their greatest feats yet were leaving the Indominable Shield Academy in the west and the Louis Mana Academy in the South in ruins."
The Crown of Roses tapped his fingers against the table rhythmically before leaning back in his seat.
"Such resources needed to accomplish two large-scale terrorist attacks are incredibly large; I even had the honour of experiencing their attack as well."
The Gardener of Roses, who was listening to the Family Head’s accusations, spoke up with a deep, but elegant voice:
"You speak of this organisation in high regard, was their attack that impressive?"
"It was. They had hundreds upon thousands of soldiers, each with different faces, but cold bodies. Although I am unsure whether or not they were created by an Element, it would be safe to assume that they have this many members."
"Hundreds upon thousands, you say?" The Gardener of Roses held his chin with a thoughtful look, "Such an amount of soldiers could only mean that they were all ants, yes? Unless they had been planning this for years, that number of soldiers can’t be easily made in the span of a few months."
The Thorn of Roses, who was sitting beside the Gardener of Roses, added to her brother’s words:
"You also spoke of how the bodies were cold, correct? If I were to assume they were still able to fight, that could only mean that..."
The Crown of Roses nodded slowly.
"All undead. But still capable of speech when pushed and able to use their mana and abilities, which is the main issue."
He then turned to Marionette, who was seated at the other end of the table and ordered:
"Give your perspective on the matter. You were there when they attacked, as well."
Marionette, having already expected such a request, nodded and gave her input:
"You are correct, Blade of Roses. All members of the Cult of Jester who attacked were nothing more than first or second-tier mages. However, while there were rare cases of third-tier mages, they were limited to only one of their abilities from when they were still living—or so, I’ve been told..."
"Or so you’ve been told?" The Crown of Roses repeated, his emotionless voice now adopting a hint of curiosity.
Marionette nodded before going silent for a second as her eyes momentarily shifted away.
"A classmate of mine had informed me of such a trait during the attack and after... I made sure to listen keenly to what they said, they I can inform you all."
The Crown of Roses, catching a split moment of his daughter becoming bashful and hiding it, sighed as he immediately thought back to a certain girl...
More specifically, one from the Arius family.
To think that someone from that family had affected his daughter’s way of thinking this much...
"I’m sure it was for that exact reason..." The Crown of Roses muttered in a sarcastic, yet indifferent tone. "Thank you for your input, daughter."
Tapping his finger, he muttered:
"Now then, let’s move on to the most troublesome of news..."
The hologram flickered once more—this time—revealing a tall, handsome man with a blindfold, who sat on a mountain of corpses.
At the sight of him, everyone at the table reacted. The widening of their eyes, the narrowing of their gaze, the tensing of their bodies. Despite the variety of reactions, they all lead to a single display of emotion.
Seriousness.
"Recently, after an infiltration to acquire a high-valued target by the Lady of Roses, we have now identified that this organisation has hired a powerful ally into their cause...
"I’m sure you all are aware of the man named Ryozan Eryndor? The man titled as the Strongest Mercenary Mage, who had once attacked our estate in the past?"
The Gardener of Roses clutched his gloved hands into tight fists, clearly aggravated by the memory of the breach in their defences.
The Thorn of Roses tapped her index finger violently against the table, sharing the same sentiment as the Gardener.
The Veil of Roses remained silent, clearly remembering the memory of the attack.
The Blade of Roses stroked his bearded chin as he spoke with a nostalgic tone:
"I still remember that attack like it was yesterday... To think it took all 4 of us to repel a single man. What terrifying ability and potential that youngster has."
Marionette’s face hardened at the words of her grandfather; the fact that it took four Tier 4 mages to repel one man—those of her family specifically—was a massive achievement.
No...
The most grandiose of achievements, in fact...
According to the Threat Ratings that could be applied to humans, the average Tier 2 mage can level a street, and the average Tier 3 mage can destroy an entire town.
However.
An average Tier 4 mage? Just them alone were capable of destroying an entire city.
The fact that each one of her family members, who were capable of taking on half a hundred Tier 3 mages on their own, needed to put aside their pride to gang up on a singular man was worrisome.
If her knowledge was up to date, this man named Ryozan Eryndor was a Tier 5 mage with the ability to predict the near future of events and influence his surroundings in a variety of ways...
’At that time of the attack, I was fortunately away when it happened...’
But with her recent encounter with the man, she was lucky to be spared...
"If I were to recall Crown of Roses, didn’t you return to the estate to chase down that youngster?" The Blade of Roses asked, staring at Ryozan’s blindfold.
The Crown of Roses nodded slightly, making a swiping gesture over towards the hologram’s eyes.