No lives were lost during the fight but the people became wary of Arean. Many saw her creating spells and before they knew it, their houses were already burning down. Some business establishments were also not spared.
The mayor who was woken up by the commotion felt complicated when he heard the full account from the witnesses. He looked at three Grand Mages then his gaze lingered a little bit longer on the woman who caused all of this destruction.
"My subordinate's action were uncalled for thus I am apologizing in her behalf. She's still young and lacked experience. The Magic Tower will be compensating everyone who had suffered damages from her unscrupulous behavior." Alastor made his voice and expression as amiable as possible while speaking with the mayor.
They were in front of many people so he can't get angry. Even though the mayor had a frown on his face, he can't really get angry because they were still mages. There was no other choice but to accept the other's office.
"I understand, why don't we settle this tomorrow. I'll let the affected people stay at an inn for the night then we will meet at the municipal hall for the talk." He relented as it was the only option he had. He then looked at the Moonvale Knights, who kept the peace and order of the town, and gave them a nod.
The knights started to usher the people who lost their homes to different inns that can accommodate them. Alastor also offered to pay for their expenses which made the people easier to lead away.
After the mess was dealt with temporarily, they returned to their accommodations. Once they were in an empty room, Alastor set up a barrier.
"Once we return to Lamier, your master will deal with you." Alastor's calm voice was particularly calm, he did not shout but the cold glance he gave to Arean was enough to convey his anger.
"Why? I didn't do anything wrong! It was my imposter's fault!" She couldn't not accept the man's words. She only wanted to clear her name and yet she was the one being blamed. "The real culprit was that person!"
Meliore and Alastor only looked at her without speaking. She has been speaking about an imposter which was not impossible, but there was a reason why they had a difficult time believing her. Alastor ordered Meliore to see if there were other traces of mana on the remnants of destruction or around it.
Meliore did what the man commanded but found only traces of Arean's mana signature. She kept on claiming that she was fighting someone, but based on the witnesses and on the traces of mana left on the battlefield, she was alone.
"We swept through the area, Arean, and only your mana signature was there. Even the traces of magic used has your mana in it," Meliore looked her in the eye and told her what they found from the scene.
"Are you telling me then, that the person I fought yesterday was an illusion? Are you saying that I am crazy?" Arean took a step back while shaking her head. Her expression changed from shock to anger then to confusion. "It was real, there was really a person there fighting me!"
She clutched her hair as she looked at the floor, while mumbling to herself. Alastor frowned at how Arean was acting so he gestured for Meliore to take care of it. He didn't need this drama right now because they still had the Magic Tower's orders on their shoulders.
Meliore could do nothing but try and pacify the woman. "Arean, although we found no traces of other mana in the scene, we are not blind as not to see that the destruction was not caused by only you. For now, you need to stay here and we will deal with the aftermath. Gather yourself, you are a mage of the Magic Tower. Looking at how you are acting right now, you seemed truly crazy."
Arean froze at the other's words. She did not want to be labeled as crazy so she immediately fixed herself and stood straight. Thought the words were a bit unpleasant to her ears, she knew that she needed to bear with it because she still her pride as mage of the Magic Tower.
"What are we going to do now?" She asked after she finally calmed herself. She can't be weak and breakdown in front of these people who already thought of her as an additional baggage.
"Good, now that you are calm, we can proceed with the plan. We will be leaving Moonvale tomorrow night and along the way we will be snatching Ezio. We can't fail the Magic Tower, once we are in Lamier, no matter what that shop owner does, he won't be able to touch Ezio in that place." It was their last resort so Meliore emphasized the matter to Arean. If they fail, then it would be their end.
Although it was not her style to force people and she felt a little sorry for Ezio, she was still part of the Magic Tower. Anyway, this kidnapping will be covered by the Magic Tower and nobody would really think any of it when Ezio disappears. She was only concerned about the people who were with the child because her instincts were telling her that they were not ordinary.
She wanted to tell Alastor to be more careful but she knew that the man would not heed her warning. It was no use in wasting her efforts, she should worry about herself for now and how she should escape if the plan failed. fre ewebn ovel
"What if the person who caused that earthquake or the person who fought me chose to interfere?" Her question has a point so the woman looked behind her at Alastor who was leaning on the wall with his eyes closed.
"They will not interfere and if they did, we only need to be faster than them." Alastor did not move from where he was. "I'll be acting as the diversion while Meliore will grab Ezio, you on the other hand will be waiting for us with the teleportation spell that will directly transfer us to the Magic Tower."
Arean nodded, although she will not be able to deal with that imposter, no one will really pay attention to something that happened in a faraway town like Moonvale. Sooner this incident will be buried like it never happened. She felt indignant about what she was thinking but there was nothing more important than finishing their mission.
"What about the discussion you promised with the mayor?" Meliore asked the man again. They can't forget about that as well.
"The two of you don't need to attend. I will personally handle it. What the two of you need to do tomorrow is to prepare what we need." Alastor left the room and lifted the barrier after he left. Both Meliore and Arean also returned to their room with different thoughts in their minds.
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