Chapter 66: The High Court of the Central Kingdom

When Abaddon left the borders of the Central Kingdom and returned to the Realm of Demons, his father Mezrathus met him in the corridors of his castle. The Archdemon's face was tense, his gaze fixed directly on Abaddon.

"Abaddon, where have you been!?"

"Your assistant said you haven't been in Gelam for three days. The Demon King gave you that region to govern, not so you could leave your duties to your assistant and go off!"

"Don't tell me you went to see your son again."

Abaddon hesitated at his father's outburst and tried to come up with an excuse to smooth things over. But Mezrathus had understood everything from the look in his son's eyes. He let out a deep sigh.

"Look, Abaddon, I understand your longing for your family, but being with them will put them in even greater danger—you know that too."

"I know... But I heard that the Central Kingdom is organizing an inter-academy tournament. I've had a bad feeling about it, and I also wanted to see with my own eyes how Kael is doing and how he's controlling his power."

Mezrathus's brows furrowed. "Did you say an inter-academy tournament?"

"Yes," Abaddon continued. "It turned out to be a good thing I was there, in a way. Apparently, the Central Kingdom's Archmage has viewed Kael as a threat from the very beginning."

"Abaddon, don't tell me you fought Luminos!"

"I just stopped him from hurting Kael—I was wearing a mask. He doesn't know exactly who I am."

Mezrathus sighed once more, then, unable to hide his curiosity about his grandson, asked:

"Well... how is my grandson?"

A proud smile appeared on Abaddon's lips.

"Kael has grown much stronger. He only used the spell that caught my attention during the tournament. Kael uses dual spells, just like me. He likely inherited the fire spell from me as well."

Mezrathus fell deep in thought upon hearing that Kael used fire magic. The fire spell had been passed down to Abaddon from his late mother, and from Abaddon to Kael.

"But there's something odd," Abaddon added. "Kael's flames suddenly turned black at the end of the fight, Dad. Have you ever heard of black flames before?"

"Black flames? Interesting... Since Kael is a half-breed, the two different types of mana within him might have interacted with each other."

"At some point, we'll need to help Kael control his demonic powers, Father. People don't seem to know much about dark magic."

Mezrathus placed his hand on his son's shoulder.

"I promise I'll be with your son when the time comes. But don't leave the Demon Realm again without consulting me first."

At the same time, in the Eastern Kingdom, a magnificent carriage bearing the golden crest of the Central Kingdom pulled up to the gates of the Krowel estate. A knight in armor stepped down from the carriage, unfurled the parchment in his hand, and began reading the royal decree aloud:

"In the name of the High Justice of the Central Kingdom! Due to allegations that Kael Krowel, a student of the Eastern Academy, used ominous, unknown magic and illegal powers that threaten the kingdom's security during the tournament; Kael Krowel and his guardians are hereby ordered to appear immediately before the Central Court!"

Vaelmon stood at the door listening to this decree, his face betraying not the slightest trace of surprise. He knew full well that something like this would happen to them, that Luminos would not let this matter rest, and he had long since prepared himself for this situation.

Meanwhile, a group of Central guards had also arrived at the gates of the Eastern Academy to take Kael into custody personally. When the academy director saw the armored guards appearing at the gate, he went over to them in great surprise. The knight read the same official order directly to the director's face.

Kael stood calmly in the midst of the guards. After iron shackles were placed on his hands, he was escorted by the guards and set off toward the Central Kingdom.

Kael's friends, watching him being led away by the guards in the academy's garden, were filled with great anxiety. Rota stepped forward in anger:

"What does this mean?! Kael didn't do anything wrong—he didn't intentionally injure Ronan!"

Lyra, meanwhile, shouted after the guards: "Kael! Why are you taking him away like a criminal?!"The other students in the garden had also begun whispering among themselves:

"What are the knights of the Central Kingdom doing here?"

"Why are they taking Kael away? What crime has he committed?"

When the carriage arrived at the Central Kingdom's justice square, Vaelmon and Zephyros also stepped out of another carriage. The moment Vaelmon saw that his grandson Kael's hands were bound with iron chains, lightning seemed to flash from his eyes. Just as he was about to storm toward the guards in a rage and break the chains, Luminos, coming from the opposite direction, stopped him.

"I never would have expected such behavior from a respected Archmage like you, Vaelmon," said Luminos in a sarcastic tone.

"Are you trying to cause trouble in the Central Kingdom, old man?"
Vaelmon thundered, striking his staff against the ground: "Luminos! You know Kael is my grandson—what kind of treatment is this?! Release him at once!"Luminos replied without flinching:

"Unfortunately, Vaelmon, Kael currently poses a grave threat to the kingdom. He is using a sinister, dark magic. How can I be sure he won't harm my people and my kingdom?"

At these words, Vaelmon's rage erupted so violently that all the knights nearby were forced to step back several paces under the force of his fury. Luminos, however, didn't even flinch.Just as Vaelmon was about to attack, Kael stepped in:

"It's all right, Grandfather, please calm down."

Kael then looked directly into Luminos's eyes and spoke:

"Mr. Luminos, would you grant me permission to speak privately with my grandfather and Uncle Zephyros before the trial?"

Luminos eyed Kael suspiciously. "A private conversation? Alright, go ahead... But keep it brief."Kael walked over to Vaelmon and Zephyros and said in a low voice,

"Grandfather, could you create a soundproof barrier around us?" Vaelmon looked at Kael in surprise, but upon seeing the confident expression in his grandson's eyes, he raised his staff slightly and wove a transparent barrier that cut off their connection to the outside world.

Luminos watched them from a distance.

"I wonder what's going through that demon child's mind?" he thought.

Inside the barrier, Kael explained to his grandfather and Zephyros how he could keep the power within him under control. As Vaelmon heard the plan, the wild fury on his face slowly subsided; by the time the barrier lifted, Vaelmon had completely calmed down.

Luminos was stunned to see the man who had been seething with rage moments ago now looking as relaxed as if he had accepted everything:

"What could this boy have said to Vaelmon to make him calm down so suddenly? Anyway..."

Shortly afterward, they moved to the kingdom's massive, high-ceilinged courtroom. At the top of the hall, the Chief Judge sat on a high dais. Kael was in the defendant's chair, with Vaelmon and Zephyros behind him. Chief Mage Luminos stood directly to the Judge's right, ready to present his case.

After reviewing the reports before him, the Chief Judge silenced the hall with his deep voice:

"Kael Krowel, student of the Eastern Academy! It is alleged that during the tournament's final match, you used a black flame of unknown origin and used those flames to severely maim Ronan, a student of the Central Kingdom. Furthermore, based on the testimony of Chief Mage Luminos, you are suspected of possessing powers belonging to a non-human entity. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

When the floor was given to him, Kael took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders, and looked at the Judge:

"Your Honor, the black flames you saw at the tournament are not a forbidden spell of mine. They are the flames of Grosolun, my contracted creature."

The Chief Judge raised his eyebrows and looked at Kael in astonishment

"Grosolun? What kind of contracted creature is that? Can you prove it to us here—can you show him to us?"

Kael calmly warned the hall: "I can, Your Honor, but I ask that everyone here remain calm and not be afraid."Kael's warning had sparked great curiosity in the judge

"Afraid? What kind of creature could this boy have made a pact with?" he wondered

Kael extended his hand forward, and a massive, pitch-black summoning circle appeared in the center of the hall. From the black smoke rising within the circle, a colossal dragon, Grosolun, extended its head! Grosolun fixed its terrifying eyes directly on the Chief Judge at the podium.The Judge was frozen in horror.

"A-A dragon?!" he shouted.

The spectators, guards, and nobles in the hall immediately began screaming and scrambling to flee in all directions; some people even fainted from fear due to the immense pressure the dragon emitted, and emergency medical teams were urgently summoned from outside for them.

The Chief Judge turned to the mage beside him with a trembling voice:

"Luminos! What on earth is this?!"

Kael immediately stepped in, trying to calm the panicking crowd

"Please stay calm. Grosolun is my trusted ally; he will never harm anyone here unless I give the order."

Meanwhile, Vaelmon and Zephyros, standing in the back, stared wide-eyed at the dragon Kael had summoned.

"How does this kid manage to surprise me every time? Who would've thought he'd summon a huge dragon into the courtroom while telling us about his plan? Ha ha ha."

The Chief Judge looked at Kael and said, "W-well... Can you send the dragon back, boy?"Kael nodded and sent Grosolun back into the black circle. When the dragon vanished from sight, everyone in the hall let out a deep, relieved sigh. The Judge wiped the cold sweat trickling down his forehead with a handkerchief and asked:

"So that dragon is the source of those black flames, is that right?"

"Yes, Your Honor," said Kael. "In fact, those wings that Mr. Luminos claims to have seen amidst the smoke are entirely part of Grosolun's aura."

Realizing his plan was slipping away, Luminos interrupted angrily. The presence of a dragon had surprised him too, but he had no intention of giving up.

"Wait, Judge! I saw with my own eyes that Kael was holding a mysterious signet ring. Don't you think this is suspicious?"

The judge looked at Kael's left hand. There was indeed a seal ring on his finger.

"Why are you carrying a seal ring, Kael? Do you have some secret power you're trying to hide from us?"

Kael calmly held up the ring:

"No, sir. This ring doesn't contain my own powers; it seals the dragon's uncontrolled power—the one you just saw—inside my body. If that seal weren't there, the dragon's essence would spill out into the surroundings."

Luminos smiled; he had received exactly the answer he wanted to hear.

"Then... there's no harm in you removing the ring in front of the court, is there? After all, it's your contracted creature, and you said it wouldn't come out unless you gave the order."

Kael slowly raised his hand and reached to remove the ring from his finger with his other hand. Vaelmon and Zephyros held their breath for a moment, looking as if they were about to lunge forward in anxiety, but they stopped, remembering the words Kael had spoken to them at the barrier.

Kael completely removed the seal ring from his finger.

Luminos, with the air of a victor, waited for that dark demonic essence to burst forth from Kael's body. However... nothing happened. Kael simply stood there, in the form of a completely normal, ordinary human.

Luminos's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets; he stammered in shock:

"H-how...? What did you do, boy?! Why didn't your demon powers overflow?"

Kael raised his eyebrows with an innocent expression:

"I don't understand what you mean by 'demonic power,' Mr. Luminos... I told you this ring is merely a tool I use to seal my contracted creature."

Zephyros and Vaelmon, standing behind him, were also inwardly stunned. They couldn't believe that even after the ring had been removed, Kael could remain as ordinary a human as ever. Kael, however, slipped the ring back onto his finger, took a deep breath, and thought to himself:

"That technique for controlling the dark essence the masked man taught me on the mountaintop really does work."

Just as Luminos was about to interrupt again in a rage, the Chief Judge slammed his gavel on the table to silence him.

"Mr. Luminos, that is enough! There is no evidence of a crime or any trace of a demon. I hereby announce my decision:"

"It has been decided that Kael Krowel, a student of the Eastern Academy, is innocent and shall be released! On behalf of our kingdom, we apologize to the Krowel family for these misunderstandings."

Kael bowed respectfully: "Thank you, Your Honor."As the carriage began to move away from the Central Kingdom, Zephyros reached out with great joy and ruffled Kael's hair.

"Kael, you really surprised us! What was that dragon all about? Why didn't you tell us about this before?"

Kael smiled sheepishly: "Things happened so fast; I'm sorry."Vaelmon, however, fixed his gaze on his grandson; there was still a question he was curious about.

"And when you removed that seal ring... how were you able to maintain your human form?"

Kael looked at the ring on his finger and replied:

"I told you about that masked man who saved me on the mountain, right... Well, before he left, he taught me how to suppress the dark power. Thanks to this technique, I can maintain my human form for about two minutes without my mana spilling out of my body."

Vaelmon fell into deep thought at what he'd heard, then turned to Zephyros.

"Zephyros, you said that masked man clashed head-to-head with Luminos at the tournament, didn't you? There's no other 9-ring human in the Central Kingdom who could go toe-to-toe with him."

Zephyros nodded,

"Yes, perhaps that person isn't human... The fact that he possesses such immense knowledge of dark magic and helped Kael makes me suspect he might be a demon."

Kael fell silent at Zephyros's words. His mind drifted back to that moment on the mountaintop—the fatherly tone behind the mysterious man's mask and the indescribable warmth he'd felt when the man had embraced him.

"Whoever he is... I owe him a great debt of gratitude for protecting my grandson from that fanatic Luminos."

When the carriage arrived at the entrance of the Krowel estate, Nerya, who had been waiting at the gate, ran to embrace her son the moment she saw him. Vaelmon smiled upon seeing his daughter's anxious state:

"I told you we'd bring him back safe and sound, didn't I?"

Nerya, wiping the tears from her eyes, looked at her father and Zephyros with a gaze still filled with hurt and anger.

"If Kael hadn't entered that tournament in the first place, none of this would have happened!" she snapped.

Faced with these events, Kael had made a decision: his next goal would be to urgently raise his power to the 5th ring. This way, he would be able to maintain his human form for a longer period without the seal ring.