Chapter 44: Chapter 44: The Emperor’s decree
Morning sunlight poured through hundreds of towering stained-glass windows inside the Grand Council Chamber.
The chamber itself was one of the largest rooms in the Imperial Palace, large enough to host entire military assemblies if necessary. Massive white marble pillars stretched toward a ceiling painted with scenes depicting humanity’s victories against countless races over thousands of years.
Golden chandeliers hung overhead, illuminating a massive horseshoe-shaped council table positioned at the center of the room.
Every seat was occupied.
The empire’s most influential ministers, generals, merchants, and nobles sat in silence while attendants moved between them, refilling cups of tea and replacing burning incense.
Despite the beauty surrounding them, the atmosphere remained tense, at the center of the table sat Duke Kenneth Von Obsidian.
The Prime Minister maintained his usual elegant appearance, his silver-black hair was perfectly groomed, his dark aristocratic uniform was immaculate, and his gloved hands rested calmly on top of his cane.
Anyone looking at him would see nothing more than a refined statesman and only a handful of creatures in the world knew the monster hidden underneath that disguise.
Across the room, several ministers were arguing loudly.
"The Moon-Howler Werewolves have become far too aggressive."
"Our western trade routes have already suffered three attacks this month."
"They’ve never ventured this close to the city before."
"This is unacceptable."
Another minister slammed his hand onto the table.
"They are testing our defenses, I say we send more soldiers immediately."
A military general shook his head.
"That would spread our forces too thin, and the northern regions are already under strain."
The debate continued to grow louder, Kenneth listened quietly and his face never changed.
However, behind his calm exterior, his thoughts moved quickly;
The werewolves were becoming bolder, which meant something was disturbing the balance and predators only moved when opportunities appeared.
’Something was changing.’
His fingers gently tapped against his cane, then his attention shifted elsewhere. At the far end of the chamber sat a man dressed in simple white robes.
Lord Alistair. The Principal of Aurelius Academy, unlike everyone else, didn’t appear interested in the debate.
He sat with one leg crossed over the other while staring out one of the enormous windows and his silver hair swayed slightly whenever a breeze entered the room.
There wasn’t a single document in front of him. Yet despite his relaxed posture, every minister unconsciously kept their voices lower whenever they looked in his direction.
His presence naturally pressed against the room. It was simply overwhelming, like standing beneath the night sky and realizing how small you truly were.
Kenneth glanced toward him briefly, the two men didn’t exchange words, and the silence itself carried enough meaning.
Then suddenly the massive golden curtains at the head of the chamber parted, and every person inside immediately stood up.
The Emperor entered, his crimson ceremonial cloak flowed behind him while golden dragon embroidery shimmered beneath the sunlight and his posture was straight, and every movement carried the weight of absolute authority.
The room instantly fell silent, and the Emperor walked toward his throne without rushing.
Once seated, his gaze swept across everyone present.
No one dared to speak. After several seconds, his voice echoed throughout the chamber.
"The wild zones are changing."
Every person straightened immediately.
"The Moon-Howler clans are no longer behaving like scattered beasts."
His fingers lightly tapped the armrest. "They are coordinating their movements."
The room grew even quieter, that single statement was far more terrifying than any attack, coordination meant intelligence, and intelligence meant leadership, and where there is leadership, it meant danger.
The Emperor continued. "Our borders remain secure, but these changes cannot be ignored."
He leaned slightly forward. "If our enemies are evolving, then our future protectors must evolve faster."
The ministers exchanged glances, and everyone immediately understood where this was heading.
The Emperor’s voice remained calm.
"So this year, I will personally attend Aurelius Academy’s First-Year Inter-Class Grand Tournament."
The entire chamber froze, several ministers almost dropped their papers. Even some military officials couldn’t hide their shock.
The Emperor attending a first-year school tournament?
That had never happened before. Kenneth remained composed, but internally he understood the implications immediately.
Everything had changed, this was no longer an academy event, it was now a political stage.
The Emperor continued speaking. "I want to see the next generation with my own eyes, their talent and their adaptability."
"And I want to see who among them deserves to stand at the forefront of our future."
The room erupted into murmurs, every noble family would lose its mind after hearing this and even hidden factions would become active.
Every student would suddenly become an investment and every commoner could rise overnight if they performed well enough.
Alistair remained completely unmoved, he simply sat there quietly.
The Emperor eventually stood up.
"The meeting is adjourned."
Everyone rose once more, and slowly, ministers began exiting the chamber.
Kenneth stood up and walked toward the enormous marble hallways outside, his pace remained measured.
Attendants followed behind him.
Everything appeared normal, and anyone observing him would never imagine he was one of the most dangerous vampires alive.
Eventually, he reached his private carriage, but the moment the doors closed, the atmosphere inside changed.
One of his personal guards leaned forward, to everyone else, he was simply a trusted servant but in reality, he was a disguised vampire subordinate.
The servant lowered his head.
"My Lord Duke."
Kenneth didn’t respond immediately.
The servant continued.
"One of the elite shadow assassins we deployed to the dormitory sector has been neutralized."
Kenneth remained silent and the servant swallowed nervously.
"His body was recovered and he was completely drained, his core was removed leaving almost nothing left."
For the first time that morning, Kenneth’s fingers stopped moving, then the air inside the carriage suddenly became heavier.
His eyes slowly shifted toward the servant.
"Repeat that."
The servant lowered his head further.
"Our assassin was slaughtered."
Kenneth closed his eyes briefly, the loss wasn’t the problem and elite assassins could be replaced.
What terrified him was something else, something that was hunting vampires, and whatever it was wasn’t just killing them, it was harvesting
A dangerous pressure escaped his body for less than a second, and the carriage windows instantly cracked.
Tiny fractures spread across the glass before stopping, the servant beside him trembled violently, then Kenneth immediately compressed everything back down.
His breathing returned to normal, and he had to remind perfect, but a chill suddenly crawled down his spine.
He slowly lifted his head and outside the carriage window, at the top of the palace steps, Lord Alistair stood, his silver robes swaying gently in the wind.
Their eyes met, then something terrifying happened Alistair smiled.
Not a friendly smile, it was the expression of someone who had just noticed an interesting piece being moved on a chessboard.
Kenneth immediately understood that he had been noticed and somehow that felt far worse, because he knew that creatures at Alistair’s level didn’t chase prey.
They waited and observed, playing with their prey.
Kenneth slowly tightened his grip around his cane and the leather around the handle groaned under the pressure.
The game had become infinitely more dangerous and the Emperor was coming, the werewolves were stirring.
