Twilight Brotherhood Headquarters.
The main hall was vast and imposing, its tiled floor stretching wide beneath the high ceiling. Countless operatives filled the space, standing in orderly rows that were divided cleanly by faction.
At the front of the hall, a slightly raised platform overlooked the assembled ranks. Upon it stood the Wardens, positioned at the head of their respective rows.
They remained still and watchful, their presence commanding silence and attention as the weight of what was about to unfold settled over the hall.
So of the Agents and Acolytes, standing in rows of their respective factions, couldn't help but look around in puzzlent.
They knew why they were summoned. It was because of an announcent pertaining to the Sovereign Conclave.
But what they couldn't understand was what was taking so long? The Conclave was only minutes away, and by now they should have all taken their respective positions within the city. Yet they found themselves gathered in the great hall instead.
Even so of the Wardens were perplexed. Wasn't this cutting it too close? Although the security of Springdale was handled by the city watch, the Brotherhood operatives still provided critical support. After all, the city housed its headquarters, and pulling the operatives away was a dangerous gamble.
At last, Krummor Grimriver, surrounded by a few other Magi, erged from one of the many corridors. He carried a stack of papers, and his footsteps carried a trace of urgency.
"Ah, forgive , my fellow Wardens," he said as he stepped onto the platform. "I was running so last-minute matters with the Councilors. They've prepared a special spell for all of us, for our convenience."
"What spell?" A Warden asked with an arched brow.
Krummor answered with a polite smile, "A communication spell. It will allow for instantaneous communication, and the range is the entire city."
"Instantaneous?" The sa Warden asked, slightly impressed. "Very interesting."
Krummor smiled. He clapped twice, then said, "Now, I'll need help from nine other Wardens to individually mark all our operatives present."
None of the Wardens present thought anything suspicious about it. After all, a communication spell indeed needed an anchor. However, before any of them could volunteer to cast the spell, the dwarf began to quickly call out nas.
"Magus Wheeler, Cross, Virion, Browning…" Krummor called out nine seemingly random nas from different factions.
These were the Wardens who hadn't been compromised.
With a casual look on his face, he said, "I'm going to now explain the three magical components of the spell."
He then cast Mind Whisper and directly spoke in their mind:
'Act normal. What I'm about to say will determine the future of the Brotherhood. I solemnly swear on the mana coursing through my veins that Lord Glynhorn, Jidu, and Yates have uncovered the identities of every compromised operative within our organization…'
He spoke for several minutes, explaining what Lebu and Kenny had uncovered. None of the Wardens he spoke to displayed a shocked expression. Though inwardly they were thunderstruck.
"Very well, gentlen." Krummor smiled. "That will be all. Now if you'll cast the spell together with ."
All ten Wardens stepped forward and sacrificed the material component the dwarf had just given them. In unison, they began weaving hand seals.
Monts later, a large magic circle ford in the air above the hall, its reach spanning all the operatives gathered.
From the magic circle, several red beams of light spilled forth.
They twisted and drifted through the air, as if searching for their targets before plunging into the bodies of almost fifteen percent of all the operatives assembled!
A low murmur rippled through the hall, with the non-marked individuals thinking that the spell had malfunctioned. anwhile, the marked operatives slowly ca to a chilling realization.
Even on the platfrom so of the Wardens were not spared. Several Magi stiffened as faint red light blood above their heads, marking them for all to see.
"H-Hey, Grimriver!" The Warden, who had spoken earlier, couldn't help but blurt out. "What's the aning of this!"
As he glanced at the marked individuals among the crowd, he quickly recognized most of them as fellow spies who had been turned by the very enemy they were ant to fight.
Panic settled in among the marked operatives.
However, the next mont, Krummor Grimriver stepped forward and placed a strange-looking artifact near his throat. Then, he said in a booming voice:
"The people marked red have betrayed us! They have betrayed the Twilight Brotherhood! We have secured evidence! My fellow brothers… kill them all! They are our enemies! Kill them!"
The artifact was inscribed with the Rank 3 Spell: Compel.
The mont the unmarked individuals heard Krummor's voice, they were compelled to believe him.
Whatever he had said… it was the truth.
"A-Are you out of your fucking mind!" An old Warden standing on the platform scread in fear and panic. "If Lord Bowman hears of this—"
His words died in his throat.
A mana-infused blade ripped through his chest from behind.
Blood spilled onto the tiled floor
First blood had been drawn.
Krummor Grimriver retrieved his warhamr and lunged at the nearest Mana Vortex-level traitor, his roar echoing throughout the hall.
"Slaughter them all! Cleanse our Brotherhood of this traitorous scum!"
Chaos erupted instantly.
The unmarked operative surged forward as one, turning on the traitors without hesitation. Steel flashed and spells ignited at point-blank range.
Blood sprayed across the titles, heads fell, and bodies collapsed one after another. Any spell a traitor managed to cast was smothered as soon as it appeared, cut short by blades, crushed by force, or overwheld by magic.
So tried to flee, but they didn't get far. From the balconies lining the walls, more Magi revealed themselves, reigning precise ranged spells down onto the would-be escapees. Besides, every exit had already been sealed. There was nowhere to run.
This was never a battle. It was a complete purge. A one-sided slaughter.
Within minutes, the hall felt silent, littered with corpses. Every traitor of the Twilight Brotherhood had been violently butchered.
An unmarked Warden approached Krummor and asked with a dark frown, "Is this… is this really true? Were they all traitors to our cause?!"
The dwarf, covered in the blood of his enemies, turned to the man and solemnly nodded. "Yes, we have proof. A few of us gathered evidence in secret and waited for the right mont to attack."
"Where is the evidence?" Another man roared. "Show it to us!"
In the heat of the mont, and especially under the artifact's influence, many had begun killing anyone marked in red without hesitation. So of those labeled traitors had been their friends, yet they were cut down all the sa.
So, until and unless they were shown hard, undeniable evidence, those n would struggle to fully accept Krummor's words and would be left carrying the weight of what they had done.
Moreover, they found it hard to believe that so many of them — nearly fifteen percent — had actually been traitors. It was an alarming number!
Krummor scanned the expressions of all the Wardens. He had naturally expected it and had already prepared the evidence beforehand.
"Vey well, then I shall—"
He was just about to summon Lebu and present all the gathered evidence when…
RUMBLE!
The ground beneath them shook violently.
Those in the know instantly realized the source of that massive disturbance.
The battle between the Councilors had already begun!
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