Chapter 687 Resounding Clash
'I didn't want to come to this conclusion before, but…'
As Adrien stood before the Dragon Generals as an accused traitor, surrounded by the entirety of the Dragon Camp, he found a small smile crawling up his face.
'... There's definitely some mastermind pulling the strings here.'
It felt a little ironic—rather hilarious, even—to Adrien. He was the one who usually took on such a role, so it was a little shocking to have someone else manipulate these events from the shadows.
'Whoever they are… they are good.' He smiled to himself. Not only were they able to catch him off-guard, stripping him of the advantage he had built up from the start, but he was still unaware of this person's identity.
All possible suspects weren't present, which meant this had to be a new foe. 'Unless…'
"What's with that look?! Do you not have words of defense to give?" R'azak yelled out, his eyes bloodshot as steam proceeded from his nostrils.
He seemed the most upset. Perhaps this was because he trusted Adrien the most, so he didn't expect this sort of outcome from their ultimate pawn.
Whatever the reason was, the fury he felt nearly drove him mad.
"It doesn't matter what I say, does it? You've already concluded that I am the perpetrator." Adrien answered with composure, slowly acclimating to the surprising situation that he found himself in.
"I don't know what you saw, but what happened was simple. The enemies overwhelmed us. We tried to escape, but couldn't. Then, some invisible enemy attacked the commanders and killed them. After they all perished, the interference was lifted, and I was able to escape…" As Adrien said those words, he too realized how off the series of events were.
It all played out too conveniently.
"An invisible enemy, huh? You mean YOU attacked and killed them, don't you?" U'riah growled as he deepened his glare.
Adrien was forced to sigh again. 'This is why I didn't want to respond. It doesn't look like there's anything I can say to change their minds…' He found it to be a shame, though. If the Dragons could use their brains a little, they would realize that the whole narrative didn't make a lot of sense.
'Why would I kill the Commanders in such an overt way when I am being watched and recorded by Magic? Speaking of Recording Magic, that's probably how the mastermind was able to implicate me.' He leaked out a wry grin, remembering a particular moment of the past.
'I suppose this is how you felt, Rey. Being surrounded and accused so surprisingly, despite having plans of your own…'
The only difference between Adrien and Rey was that the former was not in any way responsible for the death of the Commanders, while the latter was.
'That means we can resort to using the Truthseeker, right? Or… perhaps that's what the mastermind wants. If the Truthseeker has been tampered with, and it proves me guilty, then there's no coming back at all.'
That would definitely put him in an even worse off position.
'This whole affair still confuses me, though.' Adrien felt everything slow down as he had these thoughts, slowly raising his head to look at the Generals.
'The best way to explain the current situation is if the Recordings were tampered with right as it was broadcasting the information to the Generals, allowing them to see completely different information from what was actually happening.'
But… that didn't make any sense to Adrien.
'My Magic was coursing through that device and I was constantly observing it. There's no way anyone would have interfered with it and I wouldn't have felt a shift.' He thought, tightly gritting his teeth.
He already envisioned a similar situation like this happening, so he made sure to take all the precautions necessary. Yet… it seemed that wasn't enough.
'Is there something I'm missing? What exactly is it? I have to kno—!'
"THAT'S ENOUGH YAPPING!" Ce'phas yelled out, causing everything around him to tremble like with an earthquake.
His eyes were bulging wide, and his lips were stretched so they met both sides of his face. In all honesty, he seemed nothing short of an insane man.
Well, a very young one, but still…
Energy pulsated out of Ce'phas as he stepped forward. The very air vibrated, constantly buzzing as sparks and crackles of light danced off him.
"We already know he's guilty, and that he's dangerous. He killed twelve Commanders, so the answer is clear. He's working for the Elves and has backstabbed us. Perhaps this was his intention all along. In that case…" Ce'phas crouched, almost as if getting ready to sprint.
His position felt slightly animalistic, and his slithering ashen tail, coupled with the four horns that were evidently protruding out of his head, shot up as his eyes widened considerably.
His eyes shone a bright white, and his hair took on that color instantly.
"... We should execute him!"
~WHOOOOSH!~
In a blur that would be impossible for any normal eye to keep up with, he zoomed away from his position, causing the ground beneath him to shatter.
Not even the Dragon spectators could keep track of his movements. What they could only see was a blur, and the blur only had one destination.
—The traitor, Adrien.
"Hahahahahaahaha!!!"
Cacckles of laughter echoed out as Ce'phas launched his claw towards Adrien, who blocked it with a blade that he manifested out of seemingly nowhere.
The result?
~BOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!~
Immense destruction spread for a dozen meters or so, but everything that surrounded them for at least a couple kilometers shook in response to the impact.
The clouds slowly began to shift as the air pressure was slowly changing.
"Don't worry, everyone! I'll execute him for us!" Ce'phas licked his lips as he stared very intensely at Adrien, who kept up his calm facade.
The other two Generals sighed, shaking their heads as they witnessed their colleague go savage again. They already knew there was no stopping him at this point.
Once the Dragon General decided to have his fun… it was too late.
"He could still be useful, though. Isn't killing him a bit of a waste?" U'riah mumbled, looking at R'azak with a bit of forlorn eyes.
As much as he didn't trust Adrien, there was no denying his value. Surely, his comrades could see that and arrive at a compromise—perhaps enslaving the boy in some way.
"Don't overestimate him, U'riah. He is only a human in the end." R'azak's response was cold and detached, but his frown seemed to show something different.
"I would have granted his request, you know? The kid had so much promise. He just had to blow it…"
"Yeah…"
The two Generals chose to watch the fight from where they stood, ignoring the other soldiers who were already seeking shelter from the devastation that the clash was causing. Not many could withstand the debris and several lashes of energy that chaotically befell the camp.
But, all of this was nothing.
It was nothing more than a welcome greeting from the two—especially Ce'phas.
"Get ready, Adrien!" He licked his lips, clenching his other hand to form a fist as his claw scraped against Adrien's blade.
"We're going to have quite a ride!"
He wasn't interested in a swift execution—or any kind of execution at all, despite declaring himself as the executioner.
He just wanted to FIGHT!
~BOOOOOOOOM!!!~
The blow from Ce'phas resounded across the land, and it sent Adrien flying into the sky. "You used a barrier, huh? Hahahaha! That's impressively fast!" Ce'phas' laughter echoed as he ascended to the sky to keep up with Adrien.
In no time at all, he was right in front of him, the both of them ascending together.
"I always knew you were strong! Stronger than you were letting on!" He reached for Adrien's throat, but found the barrier that shielded the boy was still in effect.
"Hehehehe! There's no need to be so shy!"
The child-like voice of the General felt like metal scraping metal—a disgusting display of the lust for battle.
Strands of saliva floated out of his lips as he spoke. As his now white hair danced with the wind, he raised both hands, clasped them together, and then sent them crashing on Adrien's barrier.
The result was a shattering effect.
~BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!!!~
In an instant, the barrier broke apart, leaving Adrien defenseless as he began to descend to the ground as a result of the powerful impact that Ce'phas exerted.
Before he could fall any lower, though—
"Where do you think you're going?!"
—Ce'phas grabbed him by his shirt and yanked him back up. The transition was smooth, and the moment Adrien was pulled up, a wave of energy crashed upon him that sent the boy falling back down.
"Hahahahah! Hahahahahahahahaaha!! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaha!!!"
Ce'phas laughed maniacally as he held Adrien tightly and thrust himself towards the darkened ground, aiming for the two of them to crash upon it together.
"We're going to be having loads of fun, Adrien. Let's enjoy ourselves a lot!"