The Five Members of the Round Table Council (Part 2)

"Lufa—Lufa—"

Back in her own shop, Oyana immediately grabbed her hookah and took deep drags. "Hurry—hurry—"

Oyana's voice kept trembling. Her long black dress slowly faded amid the hookah smoke, revealing the witch's aged, sagging skin.

"Lufa, contact Yalila right now! I want to know what that old hag Dilanna is trying to pull!"

"Yes—" The demon in the fireplace continued to flicker under the witch's command...

Meanwhile, Yalila was having the time of her life at the lavish banquet of Grand Duke Viel Nas. Fine wine, desserts, extravagant decorations—things she rarely got to enjoy had utterly captivated her, nearly making her forget the task Oyana had assigned her.

On the very night the undead monsters erupted, Archmage Dilanna and Grand Duke Viel Nas had already sent people to the witch's shop to inform Oyana of the severity of the situation.

As the mother of Arlanfa, the Archer of the Lake and one of the Forty Heroes, Dilanna had long known that these undead monsters would become Canfor's disaster. But Yetara, the lord of Canfor at the time, refused to receive visitors for personal reasons, while Cardinal Labrador disagreed with her. Left with no choice... the first person Dilanna summoned was the leader of the Witches' Coven—Oyana.

"Damn it! Damn it! That damned old hag!" Oyana frantically smashed the items in her shop. Amulets, jewelry, ancient books, magic scrolls—none escaped her wrath. "That shameless hag! I knew she'd screw me over sooner or later, but... I never thought... she'd dare play it like this! She actually pinned all her hopes on that little bandit Tiadam!"

"Um... Oyana... why are you so angry..." Lufa, frightened by Oyana's rage, curled up in a corner of the fireplace.

"Why? Why?" Oyana raised a hand and threw the ancient book Dilanna had given her into the fire. "At first, she sent elves to find me and said, 'Oh, esteemed Miss Oyana... regarding Tiadam, descendant of the Hero, I hope you can offer me a little assistance. After all, monsters are running rampant outside Canfor, and we should work together. As for compensation... we can discuss it...' To hell with compensation! If that old hag didn't have the Old Gods backing her, why the hell would I bother with her?"

"And then you encouraged Yalila to break up with Tiadam."

"Bullshit—" Oyana abandoned all the elegance and restraint she had maintained before and cursed like a shrew. "That little XXXX Yalila would have dumped Tiadam even if I hadn't said a word! She's got the same damned nature as that hateful father of hers!"

"Uh... she's still your daughter... you don't have to curse her like that..." Lufa placed the ancient books Oyana had thrown into the fireplace one by one onto the coffee table in the sitting room. "But even if Yalila broke up with Tiadam, it's not that big a deal, right... A bandit with no lackeys and no territory... what's there to fear..."

"What the hell do you know—" Oyana threw another magic book into the fire. "That damned old hag is pushing Tiadam to become a Hero and subdue the undead monsters outside the city. She must have prepared everything to make that brat famous in a single battle. If he succeeds, the elves under Dilanna's faction will gain influence, and life will become even harder for our Witches' Coven."

"Then what if Tiadam fails..."

"If he fails, our Witches' Coven will have to collectively leave Canfor. Demon power alone cannot possibly contend with Rosa Kevin's Curse..." Oyana felt a faint ache rising in her forehead. "Once we leave Canfor... where else is there such a tolerant environment for witches and alchemy..."

"Even so... why would Dilanna insist on pushing Tiadam—a bandit—to be the Hero? Isn't she afraid her hopes will fall through?" Lufa asked. "Besides, she has so many Forest Elves under her who want to expand their influence in Canfor. No matter what, she should recommend one of her own people. Why choose... a human to be Canfor's savior? Isn't she afraid the Forest Elves will rebel?"

"That's the clever part. If the Forest Elves fail, then they'll bear the responsibility for Canfor's destruction. With Yetara's twisted methods, you can imagine what kind of fate awaits them. But if Tiadam fails, the blame falls on the humans. At worst, they can open a teleportation array and leave Canfor for another city. Of course, if Tiadam succeeds, everyone wins. A descendant of the Hero, strongly recommended by a certain archmage, successfully drives back the undead monsters. That old hag's influence in Canfor will definitely rise to a whole new level."

"But... Tiadam... descendant of the Hero... mm-hmm... mm... mm... Him becoming a Hero is too ridiculous..." Since Lufa knew Tiadam far too well, he felt that such a dissolute man could hardly shoulder such an important responsibility.

"Lufa, does it matter who Tiadam is?" After smashing things for a while, Oyana's mood had clearly eased. She skillfully picked up her hookah again and took a drag.

"Who Tiadam is doesn't matter. What he did before doesn't matter either. What matters is the blood flowing through him—the blood of the first Hero. Only the first Hero's bloodline can summon the Holy Sword, and only the first Hero's descendants can be acknowledged by it. To Dilanna and the Old Gods of the north, Tiadam is nothing more than a tool... just like Ocast..."

Oyana slowly exhaled smoke. "Tell Yalila that if she sees Tiadam at Viel Nas's banquet, she'd better put away that XXXX look of hers. Don't disgust the future Hero! And don't drink too much. I need to know what other shady business that lunatic Viel Nas and that old hag Dilanna are up to."

"Uh... uh... Oyana... the magical interference around Yalila is too strong... I can't reach her for the moment..."

"Then keep trying—" Oyana roared.

"Yes—" Lufa replied.

"I have to say... the Hero's bloodline truly is remarkable..." Grand Duke Viel Nas sat securely in the place of honor, watching Tiadam battle the Forest Elves below and clapping in delight. "That big brother without a shirt—keep it up—you can't lose—"

"Who... who is... talking..." Tiadam looked toward the source of the voice. A noble girl of around sixteen, with blond hair and mismatched eyes, watched his battle with the Forest Elves while being guarded by two muscular maids.

"So... that girl is the one backing these Forest Elves?" Tiadam thought as he retreated. The Forest Elves' energy bolts were forcing the Hero's descendant steadily back.

"Arcane energy wandering this world, heed my summons. We shall turn nothingness into existence, and use existence against our enemies..." The Forest Elves chanted, and several Arcane Missiles streaked past Tiadam.

"X—X—"

Tiadam cursed viciously as two blue-white bolts struck his arm. Did that girl speak up suddenly just to distract me...

Tiadam hid beneath a dining table in the hall. He propped up several nearby tables as shields, blocking the Forest Elves' arcane magic.

Once the barricade was in place, he used the opening to reach his right hand toward the wound on his left arm.

"Pain, pain, pain—" Tiadam dug a pale green sphere of energy out of the crater in his left arm and tossed it onto the ground. That green sphere was solidified arcane energy.

"Thank goodness... thank goodness..." Tiadam panted as he dug out the second energy sphere. "Thank goodness... these Forest Elves aren't skilled enough with arcane magic. If they'd been any more accurate, or if their arcane energy had been any stronger, I'd probably have died on the spot..."

"Arcane energy wandering this world, heed my summons..." The elves' chanting rose through the banquet hall once more. It seemed they were preparing another barrage of Arcane Missiles.

"Stay calm... stay calm... I have to stay calm..." Tiadam poked his head out from behind the table and observed the Forest Elves.

Forest Elves were extremely adaptable to magic, but their bodies were weak. Under normal circumstances, when fighting Forest Elves, all one needed to do was seize the brief gap in their casting or chanting and engage them in close combat. It was easy enough to subdue them that way, but...

Tiadam quickly counted the Forest Elves on the field. There were around thirty of them. If those thirty had been spread out, he was confident he could beat them into submission within an hour.

But now they were fighting as a group, treating Tiadam as their sole target and bombarding him with arcane attacks. In this situation, Tiadam the bandit simply had no way to get close to the Forest Elves.

This is troublesome... Tiadam counted silently.

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One..."

Nearly a hundred missiles burst from the arcane energy in the Forest Elves' hands, shooting straight toward Tiadam's cover.

"Boom—" A violet-red flash erupted in the center of the banquet hall, and nearly a hundred missiles illuminated the entire estate.

"Mm..."

Yalila smiled in satisfaction, then casually tossed the unfinished cake in her hand aside. The bright blue gown reflected the light of the arcane energy onto her beautiful blond hair, making her golden locks appear a different color from usual.

"The nuisance is dealt with... now it's time to handle business." Yalila rose onto her toes and walked deeper into the estate...