“This… this is impossible,” muttered Grand-magi Augustus.

The Mirage Dungeon recording stopped playing after everyone had witnessed it. Like others in the room, the elder of the [Lightning] blessed family couldn’t believe his eyes. Everyone had seen how the [Water bolt] drilled into the stone puppet multiple times in a row.

Bella didn’t think anyone from his family or others would poke fun of the affinity after this. It would be a horrible nightmare if the target was flesh and bones.

“Indeed,” The Yang family head laughed heartily as he looked fondly at his granddaughter.

The look on his face told her a lot of things. Never the old man had thought that one day he could boast about the [Water] affinity lineage his family had carefully and lovingly cultivated. No longer would they be deemed to be the lesser healer and nothing else anymore. It was true what was said in the fold of history, the [Water] element was as powerful as others.

Only three mages with [Ice] affinity were born in the long history family. It was never enough to lift up the clan’s name when compared to other magi or noble families. Before today, at least.

She as the Emberwind Matriarch had watched in silence. No one in the room knew what she knew except for the stubborn little girl. Bella cursed inside. Ana had no idea what she was doing. For the good of the mage society? The girl was too naive.

Rosabella wondered what would happen if the news of the blue flame got out and somehow linked to the same man in the recording? Adrin would hate them no matter what good intention the naive girl thought she was doing.

The recording continued after everyone settled down. It was clear that Adrin had many more to offer the kingdom as the recording progressed. Everyone seemed to forget that this kind of reveal was what had created the first full-fledged [Necromancer].

“Very interesting,” purred Grand-magi Daisy, the Stonemother. “You are saying these ball bouncing exercises will improve spell aiming?”

Bella chuckled inside. The woman hated that nickname.

“Yes, Headmistress, I’ve got the skill [Coordination] that increases both my [Perception] and [Dexterity] after only two hours of training,” Ana said. “There is no mistake about it.”

“Impressive, so we don’t have to lower ourselves and learn [Marksmanship] anymore,” added the Stonemother. “Bella, you are awfully quiet about this.”

“What is there more to say? My instinct is already proven right, yet again,” she shrugged.

“But your instinct failed to stop him from disappearing the second time?”

“It isn’t me who broke into his chamber while he was in the Mirage dungeon,” Bella stated the fact. “That is a breach of trust. Can’t you see the appalling face the young man had? He knew someone was there and that’s why he disappeared right before our eyes.”

“Yes, no one was able to notice him leave, not even the [Templars],” said Augustus, stroking his long white beard. “It is worrisome.”

“The young man means no harm, and he knows that mana corrupts many,” Master Yang said with both his hands in his wide sleeves. “That’s why we need the royal family's guidance in this.”

“Many also forget that mages are still human,” Grand-magi Daisy stated, both agreeing and disagreeing with the former’s statement. “Let’s continue, the Church of Light is waiting to confirm something. I’m sorry Reverend Mother Thalia, to keep you waiting with our bickering.”

“All is well, my children of light, all is well,” the ancient blind woman replied. Her platinum hair was the reminder of who she was before devoting herself to the church.

Some say the lady was already a few centuries old but no one could tell by her looks. The purity of her mana had kept the woman youthful but a few wrinkles. Her eyes might not have worked any longer but the woman still could see clearly. A mystery that even the Archbishops of the church couldn’t comprehend.

The recording continued when everyone was in agreement, and what came next had left everyone speechless. Blue flame apart, she had never seen such a flawless construct of mana.

No one in the room had ever seen such a thing. It should have cost an innumerable amount of mana to reach such stability. Mana was never a tangible thing to turn solid on command. What he did with the [Shell] was unheard of, at least after the calamity.

“Dear Azura, guide us with your light,” the Reverend Mother said as her hands joined together in prayer. “Our Lightbringer is here.”

“So what you’ve said is true then,” said Daisy with a sigh. “And when you’ll tell us about his blue flame, Bella? I know you are obsessed with such triviality.”

Bella knew this was coming. She knew it. Her instinct was screaming at her from the start. She had never wanted to keep the blue flame for herself, but now everyone and their mother would demand her to hand over Adrin to them. Couldn’t the brilliant family heiress see this coming?

“Ana, you brought this upon us, why don’t you tell them?”

The girl gasped in surprise. Bella could tell the girl had just realized her grievous mistake, but it was too late. The man already slipped out of their hands. He would never choose the family who willingly revealed his secrets, Adrin would never trust them with anything.

“We- we can’t, he made us drip our blood,” the girl said.

“You take an Oath? For what?” asked the female Grand-Magi.

“So he can hide in the shadows, what else?” Reverend Mother chuckled. “The Lightbringer holds the knowledge of our ancestors within his Spirit, of course, he will safeguard it from the unworthy and corrupted. The light will shine onto all but not to those who willingly oppose it.”

“But Reverend Mother, how can you be so sure he is not corrupted?”

“Oh, dear Augustus,” the blind lady sighed. “Had he been corrupted, we would have already noticed it by now.”

“What do you mean?” Bella found herself asking.

“Had he asked for riches, women, or status for the blue flame?” the blind lady said. “By Azura, there are no signs better than this.”

The recording continued after everyone had gathered their thoughts.

Gasps still filled the room even after every person in the room had seen his unique [Shell] and already heard about the church’s story. Monster waves designed to teach the young mages a lesson failed to do their job.

They were lucky that the girls who joined him had already been drilled about the importance of others who weren't blessed with magic. The kingdom had enough noble mages who thought everyone else was beneath them. The whole kingdom had long been run over by the undead if this plague wasn’t kept at a minimum.

The recording was paused again as the large club hit his [Shell]. Bella looked closely before she saw it as everyone in the room. It was obvious when another collective gasp filled the room.

Now only the Royals could stop him if he was corrupted.

“That is indeed the [Diamond Shell],” said Daisy, confirming everyone’s thought. “I can’t believe it can be that thin and clear, what should we do, Reverend Mother?”

“We will do nothing,” the lady replied to everyone’s surprise.

“We can’t do nothing!” exclaimed Grand-magi Augustus. “This is [Diamond Shell] we are talking about, what if it fell to the wrong hand!?”

Bella understood the man’s worry. [Diamond Shell] was a relic. A lost knowledge from the fallen kingdom took them almost a century to recover. Some say it was an ultimate defense.

“If it does then we have no one to blame but ourselves,” the blind lady sighed. “The Lightbringer is young, what he needs is time and someone he can trust. There is no way around it.”

“This is outrageous! How can this be our fault!?”

“My friend,” Master Yang said. “Shall I remind you of Mathias, The [Necromancer]? The innocent soul who our predecessors had turned into our greatest enemy. Two great kingdoms had fallen due to this mistake and even now the undead is ravaging our borders. We still have no answer to his [Bone Dragon], my good friend.”

“Reverend Mother is right, we didn’t need another calamity, Augustus,” Daisy said. “I understand your concern because I also think that we need to do something, but we can’t afford to make the same mistake. The people might not know it, but these great walls are next to useless against him, and we are already past the routine invasion. We need all the help we could get.”

“We are lucky that we are the only few who learned about the existence of this recording,” Bella said while staring down at Ana.

“I agree, I’ll delete it right now,” Daisy said and waved her hand on the pedestal. “I don’t need to tell what we shall do with this knowledge, is everyone in agreement?”

Grand-magi Augustus groaned while Master Yang sighed. Bella scoffed inside as she knew that every one of them already had their own plans for the young man. Even Daisy, the academy’s headmistress wouldn’t be able to help herself. Her pursuit of knowledge knew no bounds hadn’t changed even after almost a century and it never would.

No calamity would stop human greed and these leaders were among the reasonable ones. She could say for sure the others would have reacted the same.

The kingdom needed ambitious families in order to produce more mages to combat its sleepless enemy, but the same boon would create monsters of its own. Everyone knew this and there was nothing anyone could do about it. It was a necessary evil.

This was why Bella hated politics. It was why she rather was slandered as a wandering [Pyromancer] than took the seat of power. The races were lucky that their other, the real mortal enemy was across the wide ocean, or the last kingdoms of mortals would have long perished.

The lightning grandpa left the room first before being followed by everyone else. Bella was still seated when the Reverend Mother placed her hand on her shoulder. She also left after giving Bella an incomprehensible stare.

“I- I’m sorry, great aunty, I should have known better,” said Ana.

The direct descendant of her sister was as stubborn as the last Matriarch. She just hoped the young lady wasn’t as suicidal as the foolish sisters of hers. Sometimes, the greater good was never worth the sacrifices.

“Your grandmother chose me for a reason, Ana, remember that,” she said to the girl. “And when you’re ready, I’ll be glad to hand this seat over to you.”

“But what if I am never good enough?”

“Well, someone has to rise to the occasion. One way or the other, honey,” she got up and kissed the naive girl’s head.

Rosabella was never a mother. She could never cuddle the girl and tell her everything would be alright or that she believed in her. Someone had to be that person everyone loves to hate.

The girl would never be the next Matriarch if she couldn't even make her own decision, despite what everyone else said. Too bad, the girl had to learn that herself.