Uncle John

After killing the undertaker, Uncle John proceeded to loot the necromancer. There were a few trinkets, but nothing worth much. He did gain a few magic crystals though, which was enough to put him in a good mood.

Still, he could not prevent his doubts from arising as he endured the constant nagging of the Guard Captain. It seemed like the man wanted him to get out of Frozen City as soon as possible. It was understandable.

From a commoner's point of view, necromancers disrepected the dead, and even committed murders in daylight. Necromancers and acolytes weren't that different. Even if he was from the Moonfall family, the soldiers and knights were reluctant to receive acolytes because they were afraid of powers they didn't understand.

However, as they approached the Town's hall, Uncle John's senses clearly alerted him.

"The smell...", John muttered

The Guard Captain frowned: "What do you mean? We are still miles away from Frozen City. Can you smell something?"

John knew something was amiss the moment he smelt the air. It was the putrid air of a battlefield. Blood mixed with flesh. It was a horrible smell. One that reminded him of the last territorial war where hundreds died.

John rushed in the city.

"Oh almighty Lord, please make it that my nephew Drake is safe", he prayed

However, the more he approached the Town's Hall, the more he felt uneasy. People were hiding in their homes, guards were nowhere to be seen.

As soon as he entered the Town's Hall, he found blood sprayed on walls, and instead of corpses, he found some sort of ash.

'Was there really a second necromancer? But why would he kill innocents like that...Don't tell me...DRAKE! Don't tell me this little rascal offended the necromancer by himself, and tried to fight him? Damn it!'

As Uncle John approached the Mayor's room, he was greeted by an enormous shriek. He moved closer. He could feel his blood boiling. It was a cry for help. It was a demonic raven cry of pain.

However, instead of his injured nephew, the sight greeting him was that of a demon.

"Drake...What have you done?", John muttered.

Drake didn't try to hide the truth. It would have been futile.

"I killed them all. They were colluding with Moundir Yale, a part-time tailor who happened to be the true necromancer in the story. I have already collected proof. I merely unrooted the evil in this town hall", Drake answered in the calmest way possible.

His eyes, however, were bathed in a blood red.

John couldn't believe his eyes. His nephew, whom he had educated and helped, had murdered over a hundred guards. Looking at the documents, it was proof that all of this masquerade was a scheme offending the honor of the Moonfall Family.

"How did you...What of Moundir Yale?"

"Dead"

"What of the knights in the city?"

"Dead. I killed them myself"

John's eyes widened. Knights were not easy opponents. Even if John had told Drake to train his swordsmanship, he never expected him to be able to face knights at the young age of 15. Even the direct heirs of the family were not able of achieving such feats, despite being years older. Even John would not have been capable of achieving such a feat, and he was nearing 50 years of age.

"They all turned into ash..."

"This is but the effect of my innate spell", Drake said.

Of course, he could not say it was a blood ritual. Drake already had a plan to learn a spell from the family's library with similar effects to lower people's suspicions. Since bloodline acolytes did not bother learning spells like normal acolytes walking the path of elemental magi as they possessed innate spells, no one would suspect a thing.

"Can you show me the spell?", John said with a suspicious voice, smelling the foul odor of a blood ritual. It was just his instinct, but he couldn't help but doubt his nephew.

Drake, however, fainted on the spot. His back revealed numerous traces of injuries.

The sight of a family member being injured instantly softened the severe gaze of John. His doubts could wait. The priority was his nephew's survival.

Little did he know, for the wounds in Drake's back were not inflicted by the knights or guards, but by himself to soften his uncle's judgement. Drake was a monster.

Turning to the Guard Captain who could not believe what he was seeing, John released a shadow bolt. Instantly, the knight turned into a pool of dark mud.

The guards behind were shocked, but since they heard the discussion, they knew that the higher-ups had messed up somewhere. They all knelt to John, who represented the Moonfall Family.