Supreme Magus - Chapter 3727

"If that’s not reason enough to stay your hand, I remind you that Valeron the Bahamut is the only one of his kind and the only trace left of the Emerald Dragon bloodline.

"More Bahamuts will be born from him, and maybe he’ll sire Emerald Dragons like we do Lesser Dragons. In case you are too stupid to connect the dots, little mice, I’ll spell it out for you." Quashol said.

"The Brood hereby officially recognizes Valeron the Bahamut as one of our own. He won’t receive our protection, but will enjoy the Law of Revenge like the rest of our kin. You already know how it works. A life for a life.

"Yet Valeron is different. By killing him, you sever not one, but two Dragon bloodlines. If you still decide to act against him, remember this warning. You sever our bloodline, we sever yours. Everyone carrying the blood of the murderer will be killed.

"Entire Awakened Households will be burned until nothing remains. We won’t attack the members of their race, of course. Only those who carry either the murderer’s last name or share their magical legacy. We’ll erase you from Mogar’s history."

The message ended like that, brooking no argument.

Many inside the Awakened Council were rattled. The Brood wasn’t bound by Council laws and owed it no respect. The Awakened Representatives knew from past experience that there would be no debate with the Brood.

The Wyrms would attack if provoked and go to war with the Council if necessary. The previous World Tree had learned it the hard way, and no Awakened took their warning lightly.

To make matters worse, only a handful of Dragon bloodlines had taken arms to avenge Valtak’s death, whereas the entire Brood had issued the warning about Valeron the Second.

Like often happens in life, bad things always found a way to get worse.

"Listen, and listen well, you ungrateful bastards, because this is the only warning you’ll receive. I am Rethia the Wind Griffon, wife of Surtr, and I speak as the representative of my people." She said in the message she broadcast on the emergency channel of the Council minutes after Quashol’s.

"After everything our mother has done for you, you have wounded her heart. After everything we Griffons did for your species across the entire Mogar, you dared attack one of our own.

"Valeron the Bahamut may be the son of Thrud the Mad Griffon, but he’s also the grandchild of Tyris the Great Mother. Any further attempt on his life will be answered with extreme prejudice. We are many. We are everywhere."

The message was shorter and vaguer, which only made it more unsettling.

Rethia had been chosen as the representative of the Griffon Bloodline not only because she was a white core, but also because she was married to Surtr. Even the dumbest among the Awakened understood that her warning was twofold.

Anyone who attacked Valeron the Bahamut wouldn’t have to face the Dragons and the Griffons, but their joined forces.

The Council Representatives and all the patriarchs of the Awakened Households had witnessed what one Divine Beast parent empowered by the Life Maelstrom of his child could do.

Picturing thousands of them, all empowered by the Life Maelstrom produced by an adult Griffon skilled in its use, was enough to make the blood freeze even in the veins of the most ruthless Awakened and paint a world ablaze with fire and thunder.

"Change of plans!" Meln Narchat said to his troops. "Don’t touch the little mongrel. Ever. He has to be considered a threat on par with Leech’s spawn. I have gone through too much to achieve what I have and build myself an army just to be wiped out by a bunch of angry monsters.

"If anyone violates my order, I’ll kill them myself. I want this to be clear to whoever will read your minds and memories. I have heeded the warning."

No one in the Awakened Council hated Valeron the Second as much as Meln did. The baby boy was a living testament to the abuse the Dead King had endured. Of the humiliation both his parents had inflicted upon him time and time again.

Valeron was a thorn in Meln’s pride and a constant reminder of his "Incontinent King" nickname. Meln was one of the pettiest and most arrogant people on Mogar, yet he didn’t hesitate to relinquish all his grandiose plans for revenge.

There was no point in winning if he wasn’t alive to enjoy the fruits of his victory.

He wanted to make the Vurdalak race the sixth on Mogar and rule over his future children as their immortal king. As long as he had Night with him, he wouldn’t die of old age. She could defeat even time, but not the Brood and Tyris’ children.

The rest of the Awakened were less petty and arrogant than Meln, reaching his same conclusion even faster. They had no grandiose plan, but they couldn’t afford to lose everything because of a reckless hothead.

They ordered their youths to stand down, and when the young Awakened seemed reluctant or outraged, measures were taken. The good and understanding Household leaders would reason with the youths and interrogate them with mind links only if necessary.

The other patriarchs just killed those they considered a threat to their own survival, no matter their position within the line of succession, sending a warning of their own to the rest of their apprentices.

***

"Well, this should take a huge weight off Lith’s shoulders." Menadion said after watching the messages back-to-back with Silverwing and Baba Yaga.

The three women met whenever Lith was at the Mansion and the two white cores weren’t swamped in their research, which happened quite often.

"And why do you care, Ripha?" Silverwing asked. "As far as I remember, you’re not a fan of the runt more than I am."

"I wasn’t before, but I am now." Menadion shook her head. "Things change, Lochra."

Menadion had spent over seven hundred years looking after her daughter as a wandering soul, and the last seventeen observing Solus’ relationship with Lith unfolding.

She couldn’t listen to the way too many mind links between them, but she had heard every word they said and watched every plan Lith had devised unfold. Useless to say, she didn’t like someone who manipulated, lied, and killed since he was four years old.

Menadion hadn’t liked how intimate the two had gotten since Solus had regained her energy body despite Lith having a girlfriend. Their relationship was weird and unsettling, but the silver lining was that Lith never crossed the line with Solus.

Even when she wanted him to.

Menadion’s opinion of Lith had gotten much worse when she had listened to him confess to Kalla and her children about his being from another world and older than he appeared to be.

The revelation had shocked the First Ruler of the Flames, for about five minutes. She had met Guardians, learned from white cores out of legends like Baba Yaga, travelled to the moon, and become a wandering ghost herself.

The notion that there was life in space and that other souls like her could stay behind was far from hard to believe.