Chapter 18: A Sharp Turn

King Cadmus, though reluctant, returned to his seat. He ordered Ionis to stay on guard. The dangerous object made the small nation of Alvaria a terrifying kingdom.

"Wha- what's the meaning of this? Why is that thing in your possession?", King Cadmus asked.

King Roy ordered the general to find and pick the bead. The general brought it to King Roy's hand. King Roy presented the object again, making King Cadmus to lean to his seat closer.

"This bead, as you know, is frighteningly powerful. This single thing can answer the questions we have for so long. I didn't mean to frighten you King Cadmus, I just want you to give me the information I can't read from within this object", King Roy said.

"Why? How is that related to our discussion? That thing can seal my kingdom for good you know? I don't understand. I.. I.."

"King Cadmus, calm down. I know it's frightening, but the fact that I can hold this, without something happening to me is the proof that it's not my intention to harm you"

"How many of that thing do you have?", King Cadmus asked.

"Not much, but from where this came from, my subordinate said that there's hundreds of these"

"Hundreds!!? That's insanity! What are you going to do with those!? Will you conquer the world!? Is this some plot to get me to your side?"

"You're panicking again. In the first place, we didn't even know how to activate the magic within this. Your suspicions were unfounded"

King Cadmus looked at the king of Alvaria. King Roy maintained his look of honesty. The dangerous bead may not be so dangerous afterall.

"Don't scare me like that then. I thought you will claim Catherina", King Cadmus said.

"My apologies, even I am terrified with this discovery, so I wanted someone to bear it with me", King Roy said.

"I appreciate your trust but this is too sudden. I already imagined my kingdom crumbling"

"That should be my thought. Your kingdom have one of the treasured weapons but my kingdom? The majority didn't even know magic"

"Oh- yeah, you're right I guess"

The tense atmosphere finally calmed down. The king of Catherina relaxed to his seat. Ionis was ordered to return his sword. The discussion continued.

"So, what did you find within the bead? I only knew it has a powerful nullification magic within it", King Roy said.

"That's not just nullification magic. That's worse", King Cadmus said.

"Huh? Worse?"

"Yes, but before I answer that, if what you said was true, where did you find that? Don't tell me someone picked that up on the road"

"You're persistent, but the only thing I can say is, the owner of this bead can possibly be the isolated forest's monster"

"What!? Are you sure?"

"Of course I can only be sure if you tell me more information"

King Cadmus looked at King Roy displeased. He can't convince the king to say anything specific. He can only answer the question.

"Okay then, you win. That bead's magic, it's 'Total Suppression'. It's a powerful one too, it can probably seal the power of a dragon", King Cadmus said.

"Total suppression? Isn't that a complete seal? Are you sure?", King Roy said.

"Certainly. I mastered 'Read Magic' long ago so my readings are accurate. Speaking of dragons, that bead was made with compressed dragon scales. It's impossible to break that"

"That's.. that's something else"

"Yes, it is. That bead can become a weapon of someone that knows how to use it"

"So, you're telling me the owner of this bead, he will not try to use it to himself?"

"What!? Are you out of your mind? If someone does use it to himself, he will not be able to control the output. In short, he will die", King Cadmus said.

"What if he's strong enough?"

"That's unlikely. Even the isolated forest's monster couldn't survive that. But let's say someone is powerful enough. I think you will feel no magic power at all coming from him"

King Roy was surprised when he received the readings. He's now more confused than he was before.

"Wait. Maybe the person surpassed the seal? Is that possible? I have limited knowledge about magic, help me here King Cadmus", King Roy said.

"That's not possible. What are you talking about? Are you trying to seal a deity? There's only a single being that could surpass this seal. I would also assume you get this from him", King Cadmus said.

"Are you.. are you referring to the dragon king?"

"Yes, no one else. Now that I saw that object, I feel like the dragon king was the monster inside the isolated forest"

King Roy couldn't believe it. The things he heard conflicted so much to what he knew.

"Maybe there's another deity?", King Roy said.

"Don't go inventing the truth of the world just because you're wrong. There's only one deity as recorded for so long", King Cadmus said.

"Are you saying 'Read Magic' can mistake the type of being it reads?"

"What? That's one of the most basic that it can read. If 'Read Magic' failed, the caster was the only one to blame"

"Then, I may be wrong about this"

King Cadmus looked at the king of Alvaria. King Roy's disappointment was obvious. The king's beliefs were shattered.

'He's a human, that's for sure. There's only one deity in existence; Theo is not that deity. But he has the beads that can seal a dragon. He can't seal himself because he would die. Why did we miss the things in front of us? There's only one thing I can assume. Theo has a guardian and it was the dragon king. The deity could possibly be the reason that the child was in the forest. Theo might be someone's son from another kingdom. I don't know why, I need more information. I need to ask Theo for this', King Roy thought.

"King Roy, are you okay?", King Cadmus said.

"Apologies, sometimes I could really be naive in my assumptions", King Roy said.

"So, will you supplement me with what you know?"

"The beads came from a child, a human child"

"How!? Are you trying to trick me?"

"No, it's true. I think someone gave the beads to the child to protect him"

"You think it's the dragon king?"

"Yes. The beads being made of dragon scales can raise the possibility. But it's confusing that the dragon king gave the child sealing magic and nothing else"

"Hmmm… that's true. Some attack magic could also help to defend the child. Maybe the dragon king was restricted to a single magic or he thought that's best for the child?", King Cadmus stated.

The kings formulated their own assumptions. There's many uncertainties that need satisfying.

"By the way, did you figure out how to activate the magic?", King Roy asked.

"It looks like it will fit a sword's crystal slot. On living things, let's try placing it near the concentration of magic", King Cadmus said.

"Why? That's a little specific"

"I thought that it can be activated when magic flowed through it"

"That makes sense"

"Though, let's not try it here"

King Roy nodded. The kings discussed further until their doubts cleared a little.

"By the way, I didn't see the 'Fang of the White Snake' before, could I see it?", King Roy asked.

"No", King Cadmus said.

King Cadmus was hit with fear when the king of Alvaria talked about the treasured weapon. He realized that King Roy might become suspicious so he figured out a reason.

"I can't show it to anyone for awhile. The sword was acting unusual sometimes so we need to be careful. I hope you understand", King Cadmus said.

"Ohh, okay, I understand", King Roy said.

King Roy left the guest room after some time talking. He was escorted to his temporary room as he was going to stay for more days. He wanted to look around Catherina to try and improve his own kingdom.

After his visit finished, King Roy once again returned to Alvaria. He was greeted by his people as he was going in the castle. At the throne room, Warrod and the intelligence head were waiting.

Theo remained near the forest as he was told to exercise what he learned. Warrod was anticipating the result of the king's meeting in Catherina. King Roy sat on the throne.

"Your majesty, I'm glad you returned safely", Warrod said.

"Likewise, my king. I hope you enjoyed your trip", the intelligence head said.

"It's quite fruitful, I should say", King Roy said.

'This is it. Theo might be the answer to everything. There's no way I will just let him go. I apologize in advance but you're an important person Theo', Warrod thought.

"My king, what is the result of your meeting?", the intelligence head asked.

"It's not what I expected but I think we got a clearer picture now", King Roy said.

"My king?", the intelligence head once again asked.

"Yes, the result of me gathering information landed to a more probable possibility. Something not outlandish, something within the realm of reality, something not belonging to the delusions of a hasty king", King Roy said.

"Your majesty, are you saying you're wrong?", Warrod said.

"My assumption was wrong. Theo was never the answer we needed. It's who protected Theo from all those years inside the forest, that being answers everything. Don't worry, I'll clarify everything to all of you"