"I have the results of the investigation." Magnus announced.

No one responded to his claim, merely watching as the prince made his way over to the last available seat at the table. Once he sat down, Melody was the first to speak up—her voice flat.

"You look like garbage."

The comment sounded a little out of place, especially when talking to a prince. But surprisingly, a small smile pulled at Magnus's lips as he looked at her.

But it didn't last long as he turned to the rest of the class representatives seriously. "After three weeks, our royal family have called an end to the investigation. We have captured the group of occult mages responsible…"

His words caused the entire room to sit to attention, mixed emotions rising to the surface. Shock, confusion, even hope in their eyes.

"You found out who did it?" Ren looked surprised, clearly not expecting the development.

But it was Michael whose entire body went stiff, "Are you sure they're the real culprits?" he asked seriously, unable to hide his agitation.

"Are you questioning our methods, Michael?" Magnus replied, his face donning a cold mask—one that oozed royal authority.

Realizing his mistake, Michael took a deep breath and adjusted his line of questioning, "What was their goal? Do you know why they committed such… atrocities?"

It was difficult, but he had done his best to appear less invested, and hopefully avoid any suspicions.

Magnus brushed a wayward lock of hair from his forehead and nodded, his expression softening slightly. "I know it might be difficult to accept, all of a sudden—but we are confident. They call themselves the Black Night, a fanatical group of religious nuts who worship demons from the abyssal dimension."

Abyssal dimension!? Michael tensed visibly.

This was a subject he had very little knowledge on, there were only vague mentions of other dimensions in some books he'd read at the Winterborne library.

"What is the Abyssal dimension?" Ren was the first to ask, his confusion evident.

"It's the realm of demon's. Evil and baleful existences that only know slaughter…" Blake replied, his tone grave. "There are records of dimensional rifts opening up before the great war, allowing them entry into our world—though none of these records have been verified."

"Dimensional rifts? You mean these demons can appear here?" Mason replied with shock and fear.

Michael's heart shuddered. He remembered the headmaster mentioning that there were rituals to summon beasts from another dimension through the collection of souls—lost texts from before the great war.

His eyes focused on Magnus, seeing the grave expression on his face. It was likely that he wasn't lying. The fact that his information was in line with what the headmaster had explained to him in his office made it even more credible.

"So this group of people were collecting souls with the purpose of appeasing the demons? Or was their goal something else?" Rose spoke up for the first time, her expression grave.

"They wanted to summon one here, to lead them…" Magnus replied.

"What!?"

The room went into turmoil. They had just been told that demon's were beings of slaughter, yet there were a group of mages who wished to bring one of them here?

"Those monsters…"

Silence followed as everyone came to terms with what had happened.

"But how did they collect the souls from those poor people?" Michael spoke up, feeling as if some information was missing. As someone who had experienced the mysterious entity trying to enter his inner palace, he found it especially hard to believe that they'd found the right culprits.

"That… We don't know yet." Magnus admitted, his expression darkening. "We will continue with our interrogation of the group while they're in custody—but the immediate danger is over."

"I have already advised the headmaster that the lockdown can be lifted. With those people now in the royal dungeons, they won't be able to hurt anyone anymore." He added, glossing over the previous point with royal efficiency.

The class representatives seemed to let out a sigh of relief—all but Michael.

There was a nagging suspicion in the back of his mind, telling him that something was amiss. He needed more information, but Magnus didn't look like the kind of person who would speak freely about his family's affairs.

And so he was back at square one, with no information on who killed his mother—or why. The thought was a depressing one, but he did his best to remain calm. There was no use throwing a tantrum.

Was my mother's assassination an isolated incident? A coincidence? Michael went deep into thought, his hand carressing the storage ring on his finger underneath the table.

If it's as Magnus says and this group was responsible for the fall of these cities, it doesn't make sense why they would purposefully go after my mom.

As he thought about these things, the small sense of hope he'd carried for a lead slowly began to flicker—diminishing in size. He had believed that the two incidents were linked, done by the same people who had eliminated Velmara.

After all, the timing was too close.

But it seemed that was not the case.

With a heavy heart, he closed his eyes, silently accepting the fact. But this led to far more questions.

Alice Aurelius wasn't a popular figure in the noble circle by any means—but she certainly wasn't hated. Even as he combed through his now distant memories, Michael couldn't think of anyone who would want to hurt her.

But just because he couldn't remember, didn't mean there wasn't someone who had a grudge against her. After all, many nobles were used to being two-faced—smiling sweetly while they planned to stab someone in the back in the shadows.

Michael felt a wave of fatigue, his eyes turning dull. He should be happy that the culprits were caught—at least then those poor commoner families would be able to rest easy, knowing justice had been served.

This is a good thing… he told himself, forcing down the disappointment of losing possibly his only lead.

I'll get stronger, and I'll find the one's responsible.

A face he'd never forget appeared in his mind, his pale blue eyes and neatly combed brown hair appeared, as mocking as he remembered.

Rohan.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.