Blood Debts

Edward faced a big stone door with a serious look on his face, not long ago, he received a call from the Elder Council, he instantly knew what they wanted. The failure of his disciples was heavily circulated around the Iqecia Kingdom and dragged the Dark Palace name in the mud.

This event for sure would infuriate all the Heigong elders, Edwards always knew about this, he tried his best to remain calm during this situation. He even had planned excuses to give them.

The door suddenly opened and a dark hallway was revealed. Edward gulped as he entered it, on the end of the hallway another door appeared. This door was already opened and led to a meeting hall filled with chairs.

Most of the chairs were occupied, the small torches on the wall barely illuminated the faces of the people sitting on them, but, Edwards knew their faces and names like the back of the hand.

While the Heigong was his home and he had the utmost respect and loyalty to it, he felt disgusted as he looked at their face. To Edward, most of the Inner Elder were old maggots that were clutching at their waning influence on the sect.

But Edward's hatred towards most of the elders here wasn't born of his judgment of their character, but, from a blood debt. His late father was one the most respected inner elders, he was even quoted to become the Right Guardian of the Sect, but, he ended up dying while defending the sect when Maven Strafhampton attacked.

What made Edward even more bitter was that the ones who provoked the situation were the first ones to run away, leaving only Edward's father, the previous Sect leader, the Left Guardian, and a few more Elders to fight against the Maven.

Edward knew that if more elders stayed and fought against Maven, the damage would be diminished, but, the vermin hide away while the Heigong was in their direr moment and even dared to come back with a mocking smile.

-" Edwards Walsh, do you know why we called you here?" The elder sitting in one of the middle chairs spoke.

-" Yes." Edward's short response made some of the elders even more furious.

-" So, What's your explanation about this matter? Your disciple failure humiliated all of the Heigong, I hope you know something like demands a harsh punishment."

Edward almost lost his patience as the elder spoke, if most of the elder had said this he could maintain his calm demeanor, but, for Paul Olsen to say this, Edward felt that the man didn't have an ounce of shame.

Paul Olsen was, after all, one of the main planners of the attempted ritual that brought Maven wrath to the Heigong.

-" I already punished my disciple and the other sect member who was involved in this matter." Edward's faces didn't show any signs of fear and anxiety, this made some of the elders even more determined to cause him trouble.

-" As the Master of one of the disciples there, and the mastermind behind this plan, is only right that you too face some punishments don't you think?" Another elder spoke, a menacing smile at this face.

-" If that's what the Elder Council thinks, I couldn't think any different."

-" Tsk, at first I thought about going easy on you, we all had some useless disciples after all, but seeing how you're acting I do think that you should face some repercussions." The elders were getting irritated by Edward's insolency.

-" If he may or may not deserve punishment, it isn't for us to decide right?" One of the elders at the further Left part of the room spoke.

-" Brent, you shouldn't try so hard to defend him, are you doing this because of the Left Guardian ties with his father? Franklyn is already dead for so long, you can tell the Left Guardian to forget what he owed to him." A man at the right of Paul spoke.

This caused a commotion, the hall was divided between three divisions, the people seated to the left were all appointed as Elder by the Left guardian, those in the middle by the sect master, and those in the right by the Right guardian.

-" If you want to say something to me, you can say directly." A tall man with scars completely covering his head entered the hall suddenly.

Everyone froze as they noticed the man, the elder who spoke previously began to shake.

-" I ask the Left Guardian for forgiveness, my audacity took control of me and lead me to offend you." The elder bowed as he apologized, his face completely white.

The tall man didn't even bother with the terrified elder and walked towards Edward.

-" Brent is right, The Elder Council doesn't have the authority to punish an Outer Elder, so why are you guys even talking about that?" The Left Guardian voice ringed in everyone's ears. " For Edward's punishment, we shall wait the Sect Master leave his isolation period, and, judge him according to the sect rules."

Paul looked to the Elder at the furthermost right, he was the eldest and the most trusted person under the Right Guardian. The man sensed Paul's gaze and just shook his head.

Even if they wanted to do something to Edward, with the Left Guardian here, nothing could be done about it.

Paul clenched his first, he always hated Edwards's face as he remembered him of Franklyn. The fact that when a golden opportunity to take care of this pest came he felt happy, but, his plans were all for naught.

" Follow me, you will be placed under arrest till your judgment." The Left Guardian was cold as he spoke to Edwards.

To bystanders, it didn't look like the Left Guardian thought highly of Edward, this made some of the elders glean with happiness, after all, without the Left Guardian support there was no chance of him escaping punishment.

Edward knew that too, after the previous Sect Leader passed away with his father, the new Sect Leader inherited a weakened sect who only faced set back, to him anything that made the already without morale Heigong lose even more was inacceptable, he just hoped that the sect leaders and the guardians would be more lenient with his punishment.