Zevan's suggestion

Nobody in the courtroom, no man or woman was able to provide an answer to Elion's question. Everyone lowered their heads as they silently revealed their stance. Even the King and his sons and daughters who were inside the room were rendered speechless by his request. 

Although Master Elion's suggestion was drastic and risky, it was nevertheless still a suggestion which they had never thought of. They were, instead, useless and had been incapable of drafting anything worthy that could help them seek justice to the deceased.

Even Zevan was stunned by his master's suggestion. But unlike the others, he was not averse to it and was willing to give it a try if they could find the people behind the numerous deaths.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness?" Elion pressed, looking at the two men for their response. "Anyone in the courtroom? Do you have an alternate solution? If you do, please let us know. If your plan is better than mine, I will be more than happy to cooperate."

Elion darted his eyes around and even made sure to linger his gaze on the King and the Prince a few moments longer, waiting to see what they would say next. But all he got in return was silence. Nobody dared to even meet his eyes, let alone voice out their thoughts. No one, except Zevan. He was the only one who had his head raised as he confidently met his master's gaze.

Elion had expected this outcome and he was even more impressed with Zevan. He was the only one who knew what was right. 'You are not my favorite disciple for no reason.' He thought and nodded at him who flashed him a supportive smile in return.

Prince Jarett narrowed his eyes when he noticed this subtle interaction between the two. But he remained silent, although a sense of suspicion arose in his heart.

King Harald sighed in helplessness and dragged his body back to the throne. All of a sudden, he looked exhausted and disconcerted.

"Do we have no other choice, Elion? Not many people in our kingdom are powerful enough to cast the Soul Avenge Spell." Harald plopped on the throne, his legs finally giving away.

"I know, Your Majesty. That is why my priority lies in finding any warrior or sorcerer who might have an inkling about this incident. If we can find anyone, then there is no need for us to use the Soul Avenge Spell."

Zevan pursed his lips as he thought about it. It was true that Soul Avenge Spell exhausted a lot of energy of the person who cast it, sometimes to the extent that they had even lost their lives. So, most of the time, people cast it in groups, sharing their power with each other as they raised the soul of the deceased from its slumber. Then, the soul would guide them to the person who was responsible for their death even if the deceased had never seen the person when they were alive.

Zevan scrutinized all the people in the room and started to note down all the people who could help his master in casting the spell. Even though they were yet to conclude if they would be using the spell or not, Zevan was sure that they would eventually settle for this plan. He could sense it.

Zevan did not miss any person in the court as he analyzed their powers and abilities slowly. Even though with more people, they could easily summon the soul, there was barely a handful of them who had the power to do so.

'So if I include His Majesty and Master Elion, there are twenty-one people who can cast the spell. Will they be enough? And most importantly, how many among twenty-one are willing to help Master?' He wondered, giving a deaf ear to the conversation happening between the King and his master. Whatever they discussed was of no use to him. He might as well start planning for other things.

'Master, I have narrowed down all the people who are powerful enough to help you.'Zevan relayed the information to his master when he noticed that the courtroom had returned to silence. He was not at all guilty for not listening to the session attentively.

Master Elion's lips twitched in dismay. His disciple was amazing. But he could be equally annoying and this was one of the many times when he found the chap to be highly irritating. 'Zevan, this is not the time for you to be mischievous.'

He scolded, even though his tone was anything but harsh.

'Master, I am not being mischievous. I have an inkling that we will end up using the Soul Avenge Spell. So, I am just preparing for it."

Elion's heart skipped a beat in apprehension and his head snapped towards Zevan immediately.

'Did you have another vision, Zevan?' He queried hurriedly. The young man was unleashing this power of his faster than he could comprehend and accept. If this continued, Zevan would soon be in danger and that was the last thing Elion wanted.

Zevan was like his child and he wished to protect him for life. Having no family in the world, he had only Zevan and just like him, Zevan too had only him. Even though they did not share any blood, they were closer than any bloodline could prove.

'No, Master. I did not. But my intuition says that your first plan will not be fruitful and eventually, we will be using the second one.'

Elion's heart dropped in fear. Somewhere he was hopeful of the first plan being a success and they would not have to use the Soul Avenge Spell. But after listening to Zevan, his hopes crashed immediately. Even if Zevan did not have any vision, he started to trust the young man's intuition. 

'Zevan, is there any way we could not use the Soul Avenge Spell?' Despite having an answer himself, he looked for an answer from his disciple, hoping for him to at least provide him with an alternative solution. Even though the chances were bleak, he wanted to give it a try.

'Master, there is another way.' Zevan replied after remaining silent for some time and his master's eyes lit up with hope. 'But it is almost impossible.'

'What is it, Zevan? I am willing to try anything if it is worth it.'

'Master…' Zevan hesitated. 'The only way to find the person behind the massacre or maybe even stop it is by using Chronomancy.'