[Kitsuna POV]
"How the fuck did this happen?" the king demanded, his voice reverberating through the council chamber like a thunderclap. He sat high on his throne, his crown glinting under the chandelier light, glaring down at us as if we personally dragged the disaster to his doorstep.
"How the fuck should I know? I wasn't even in the capital when this shit went down," I retorted, my tone sharp and unapologetic as I met his glare with my own. His authority meant little to me; I wasn't about to bow my head like some trembling noble.
The room stiffened at my words. Ministers shifted uneasily, and guards straightened as if they'd leap at me if given the word.
After Kayda finally brought the barrier down, all the corpses were revived. Relief washed over the audience, but it was short-lived. The corpses that Amari had turned to dust never returned. No ashes to restore, no bodies to heal. Just absence. It didn't surprise me in the least—Amari's spells were monstrously strong. If she poured enough power into them, a person could be erased in seconds, wiped away as if they'd never lived.
Amari herself, though, wasn't handling that reality well. She'd just realized she had unknowingly killed over fifty kids. The weight of that hung over her like a storm cloud, pressing down with a guilt that I knew she wasn't ready for. At least Zagan was with her now, though I doubted he'd be much use. From what he'd seen in those caves earlier, he'd probably be more broken than her.
Still, Mom should be with them now. That might help. She had a way of grounding people when they spiraled. Maybe she could help both of them shoulder the weight.
Dean, meanwhile, was here with us, standing tall despite the tension as if daring the king himself to challenge him. The air in the room was thick, the silence between words suffocating.
"Kitsuna Draig, you should watch your mouth in front of the king," the head of the royal guard barked suddenly, his eyes narrowing on me. His armor gleamed in the torchlight, his hand resting just a little too eagerly on his sword. He looked as if he wanted an excuse to discipline me.
"Shut it, old-timer," I shot back immediately, dismissing him with a wave like he was nothing more than an annoying fly buzzing in my ear.
Gasps rippled across the ministers, some whispering among themselves. Even the guards twitched, their knuckles tightening on their weapons.
"Kitsuna," Kayda murmured beside me. Her tone wasn't loud, but the weight behind it could cut steel. Her glare sliced through me like daggers, sharp enough to make even me reconsider.
"Fine, I'll stop talking," I muttered, rolling my eyes and plopping down onto an ice chair I conjured beneath me. The frosted seat crackled quietly as it solidified.
'I still can't believe Mom banned me from making an ice throne after the last time,' I thought with a soft sigh, running a finger along the armrest. Apparently, "showboating in front of dignitaries" wasn't proper behavior. Whatever.
"Hah, why is she even here? I mean, she said she had nothing to do with this at all. She wasn't even there," the king grumbled, his voice dripping with disdain as he gestured toward me like I was some nuisance that wandered in.
"…Her clone was there," Kayda interjected calmly, folding her arms. Her tone carried none of my flippancy—just the steady edge of reason. She knew full well I inherited the memories of my clones, even if sometimes they came back muddled.
"Yeah, so?" the king asked, raising an eyebrow as if that proved nothing.
"I think she's the one who made the barrier, considering how defensive she's being," the organizer chimed in suddenly, puffing out his chest like he'd just made some brilliant deduction. His words, however, had the opposite effect—everyone in the chamber turned to him like he was the dumbest creature to ever crawl into daylight.
"The fuck!" the king growled, his voice like rolling thunder as he glared daggers at the organizer.
"She is unruly," the organizer tried to press on, but his words only dug his grave deeper.
"Shut up for fuck's sake! Why the hell is someone as brainless as him the organizer for the under-16 tournament?" The king roared, his frustration finally snapping. His fury turned on his minister, who visibly flinched.
"Sorry, your Majesty. I didn't think he'd be like this," the minister stammered, bowing his head slightly.
"Haah, whatever. How many died?" the king demanded, shifting his attention to Kayda. His tone carried a bitter edge now, like he already dreaded the answer.
"About 72," she replied evenly, her voice a neutral blade slicing through the room.
"That's a lot," I remarked, letting out a low whistle. The sound bounced through the silent chamber, earning me several murderous looks.
"Yes, and it's also a big problem," the king admitted grimly, rubbing his temples as if trying to squeeze away the migraine pounding behind his eyes.
"Just a question: do we know all the families of the deceased?" he asked, directing his gaze at the organizer again.
"Yes, your Majesty. Everything has been documented," the organizer replied, this time sounding far more subdued.
"Hmm, I didn't really want to handle it this way…" the king muttered, annoyance simmering.
"What? Should we compensate the families of the deceased and allow the tournament to continue, hoping that the culprit will reveal themselves? Dean's voice cut clean through the tension, blunt and straightforward. He spared the king the discomfort of speaking it aloud.
The king's jaw tightened. "…You don't have mind-reading abilities, do you?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly—though anyone with half a brain could see the feigned uncertainty.
"No, but it's obvious what you were thinking. And no, you're not making light of the dead by thinking that way. It's a productive approach, and it might lure the enemy out," Dean explained, his tone firm, his stare unflinching.
The king sighed heavily, leaning back in his throne.
"Also, the main culprits are likely the angels from the federation. That Gluttony guy is probably involved too," I stated casually, the words hanging in the air like a guillotine.
The entire room fell silent.
"Kitsuna, where did you hear this?" the king asked sharply, his eyes narrowing like blades. Suspicion radiated from him.
"Hear? No, this is just something I suspect. Gluttony is a high-ranking member of the angel faction. I know this because Rachel is terrible at keeping secrets," I replied with a shrug, chuckling softly. The memory of Rachel's loose tongue amused me even now.
"She wants us to overthink this," Dean mused aloud, his gaze distant.
"Nah, she's too dumb to pull that off," I said dismissively.
"So her superior wants us to overthink this," the king reasoned, though his words held the weight of a question.
"Yeah, that sounds about right. But I doubt they'd go to all this trouble to create a barrier Kayda couldn't detect from a few meters away," I remarked, my gaze sliding to Kayda, silently inviting her to weigh in.
"Hmm, you have a point. But there's one thing, Kitsu—I wasn't there either," Kayda admitted, her words dropping into the conversation like a stone into still water.
"…You weren't?" I blinked, tilting my head. That caught me off guard.
"Yeah, I got called away by Stacy."
"… Don't tell me she didn't show up."
"She did, don't worry. She wanted to talk about something. "It was nothing important enough to prolong this meeting," Kayda said, brushing the topic aside.
"Hmm, so what we know is that they somehow knew you wouldn't be there and that their target was Amari Draig," the prime minister spoke up thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
"I doubt they knew she wouldn't be there," Kayda interjected quickly. "But their target was definitely Amari. The intention was not to actually kill her, but rather to make us believe she was dead. Her voice was steady, though I caught the faint spark of anger beneath it.
"What do you mean by that, Kayda?" the king asked, his brows furrowing.
"Well, the only reason the 72 kids didn't come back was because there were no bodies left to reverse or recover. More accurately, their ashes were dispersed before the original reversal barrier kicked in," Kayda explained.
"Please explain this for those who are uneducated," the king sighed, rubbing his forehead as if this entire discussion were dragging knives through his brain.
"The reverse barrier can only reverse events within a specific time frame," Kayda replied with calm patience.
"Yes, but that timeframe is a few hours," the king countered, his voice rising again.
"Correct—it's six hours. But what if the secondary barrier sped up time? We didn't even manage to remove it until two hours after their deaths," Kayda elaborated. Her tone was analytical, but the undercurrent of frustration was clear.
"So, you're saying they did try to kill Amari Draig but ended up screwing themselves over with their barrier?" Dean asked, his lips curling in something that wasn't quite a smile.
"That's assuming the deceased kids were from the federation," Kayda confirmed.
"Or the angel faction," I added.
"That's true. But do they even use non-angelic beings?" the king asked skeptically.
"It's the most likely option," I replied. "The easiest way to gather forces and cannon fodder."
"Sigh… This is so annoying," the king muttered, rubbing his temples once more.
"Yeah, but don't cancel the tournament. Just let it continue and compensate the families of the deceased. End of discussion," I stated, my tone brooking no argument.
"Kitsuna, it's not that simple," the minister protested, shaking his head.
"They don't know about the second barrier. They'll just blame Amari for killing their kids. Well, at least the ones actually mourning their children," Dean remarked coldly. "Everyone in the arena saw her use her new spell, so just let them think it was that."
"You think not all of them are mourning?" the king asked, narrowing his eyes at Dean.
"Some of them are definitely from the federation, and we all know how those sick bastards view their kids most of the time," Dean replied bluntly.
"Fine. We'll handle it like that, but I'll go over it with the council first to finalize the best approach," the king decided at last.
"Sure, go for it. Now that's settled, can I go?" I asked, already itching to leave this suffocating room.
"Yes, you can leave."
"Wait, Kitsuna, we need to talk," Dean said, his glare pinning me in place.
"Fine. Let's take it outside," I replied, rising from my chair and striding toward the balcony doors.
"I'm coming with you," Kayda added, her steps echoing close behind.
Once we were outside, Dean wasted no time. "Why are you making your sister take all the blame?"
"It's the best outcome, and you know it," I shot back, crossing my arms.
"Yeah, for the country, but not for my kid," Dean countered, frustration bleeding into his voice.
"Hmm, Dean, you realize about 90% of the deaths were from the federation, right?"
"How sure are you?"
"My group only consisted of federation participants. All 2,499 kids were from the federation," I explained flatly.
"No, that's not possible," Dean said, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
"It is. I checked yesterday. That's why I was speaking with Stacy during the tournament. Everyone from our country was placed in Group 4 with that over-leveled 800 kid. I haven't seen him myself, but it seems intentional."
"Still, why make Amari take the fall?" Dean pressed, his voice sharp.
"She'll be fine. Just explain everything to her—all the details, even the small ones. She'll be depressed for a few days, sure, but she'll recover," I said firmly.
"Kitsuna, you're terrible at understanding familial love," Dean muttered. His words cut deeper than I expected.
"Uncalled-for, sickhead," I snapped, glaring at him.
"It's the truth."
"…Sigh." I sighed heavily, irritation clawing at my chest as I teleported away without another word.
'How the fuck am I supposed to know how family love works?' I thought bitterly, rage and frustration mixing into a knot in my chest. My foot lashed out, kicking a tree nearby. The impact shattered it, the trunk splintering before toppling, crashing into several others, and sending them down in a domino of destruction.
'Should I just finish what Zagan failed to do today?' I wondered grimly, staring at the wreckage before teleporting away again.