Simultaneously, aside from the satisfaction within, he was calculating.
This public support could still work in his favor. He didn’t know exactly what evidence had been found against him that led to such a sudden arrest.
But for them to go as far as arresting him, there must be evidence. And with public support, if the evidence was weak, the tower leader couldn’t hold him for long.
If the Lionheart family intervened, external pressure would also begin.
If the founder responded...
But that last part still lingered like a thorn in his mind.
Why was there no response? What had suddenly happened? Where had he gone wrong?
At that moment, a massive wave of mana spread from the tower’s center. All voices gradually fell silent.
Above the central hall, the doors of the command balcony opened, and the tower leader personally appeared before the crowd.
His long robe moved in the breeze from the tower’s height. His face was cold and expressionless.
With a wave of his hand, the sound-amplification spell activated across the central rings, and his voice echoed not only in the hall but through dozens of surrounding floors.
"Lioran has been arrested in connection with a series of murders that have occurred in the tower over the past years."
For a moment, even the crowd’s breathing stopped. Most people had expected anything but this.
Until that moment, everyone had assumed Morcan, a secret network, or an unknown group was behind the murders.
But now Lioran’s name had been raised. The name of someone who had been the symbol of the tower’s future for years.
"The investigation is still ongoing."
"Until this process is complete, no one has the right to interfere, threaten, create chaos, or attempt to free the accused." His gaze swept over the crowd from above the balcony.
"Anyone who disobeys this order will be arrested regardless of rank, family, or status."
The hidden pressure in his voice silenced many of the protesters. The magical barriers were removed, and the security forces resumed their movement.
As Lioran passed through the crowd, he saw gazes that had been full of admiration just yesterday, now staring at him with doubt, fear, and disbelief.
What he had spent years building had cracked in just a few minutes.
His popularity, trust, and the image of a flawless heir were not yet completely destroyed, but the first cracks had formed.
The interrogation room was located in one of the most secretive parts of the central ring. A completely white room, windowless, and devoid of free mana.
Its walls were made of stone that absorbed magical energy, and all four corners were covered with soul-restraint rings.
Lioran sat on a stone chair in the center of the room.
The restraint chains were still around his wrists, and a ring of dormant runes was carved beneath his feet, ready to activate at the slightest attempt to use mana.
Before him, the tower leader sat behind a tall table. Varcas was on his right.
Azreon, motionless and heavy, stood on the left.
Only the three of them were present for the interrogation, because words were going to be spoken that were better left unheard and unseen by others.
This time, there was no trace of perfect calm on Lioran’s face. His expression was tense, his jaw clenched.
His gaze constantly shifted among those present, trying to gauge the extent of their knowledge from each of their expressions.
"What was your relationship with Morcan?" The tower leader asked without preamble.
"The same relationship any succession candidate has with one of the tower’s professors." Lioran answered immediately.
"I saw him in official meetings, sometimes received reports, and spoke with him a few times about research matters."
"How many times did you speak with Ryndor about the murders?" Varcas asked.
Lioran fixed his gaze on him.
"Never. Ryndor was my professor, but he didn’t discuss criminal cases with me. What do the murders have to do with my professor? Why would I talk to him about such things?"
"Why were almost all the victims somehow connected to blocking your path to power or succession?" The tower leader asked coldly.
Lioran furrowed his brows.
"They weren’t. You’re making connections that don’t exist."
"What about Aurelia?" The tower leader asked.
A very brief pause formed in Lioran’s response, but he quickly regained control.
"Aurelia’s death was ruled a suicide years ago. You can’t pin your daughter’s death on me."
A slight pressure spread through the room. The tower leader said nothing, but his gaze grew colder. Lioran continued:
"If you now want to change the results of your own investigation after all these years, that has nothing to do with me."
"What about the professor who was researching your abnormal power growth?" Azreon asked.
"What about the researcher who said you were building a secret network in the tower?"
"What about the professor who said your associates were creating deadly poisons?"
"What about the council member who called for the succession process to be halted?"
Lioran shook his head slowly.
"All of that is speculation." Then he looked directly at the tower leader.
"Did you arrest me based on speculation?" He was slowly beginning to hope that these people had no evidence.
No one answered. The tower leader reached for a small box on the table. The box’s lock opened with his touch, and a transparent crystal emerged from within.
Upon seeing the crystal, Lioran felt his heartbeat quicken for the first time.
The tower leader placed it on the table and activated it without explanation. A blue light spread through the white room.
Ryndor’s image appeared. Daniel was sitting before him. The conversation didn’t play from the beginning.
It started from the moment Ryndor’s mental defenses had broken, and the words came out of his mouth one after another.
"Lioran is not the heir..."
"He is just a vessel..."
"His body has been cultivated since childhood to carry the founder’s Divinity..."
Lioran’s face went pale. His gaze was fixed on the image.
"All the resources, missions, and opportunities he received... were planned in advance..."
"When his body is complete, the founder will transfer his Divinity..."
"After that, Lioran will cease to exist..."
Lioran held his breath for a moment. He hadn’t known this part.
For years, he had believed the founder had chosen him for true succession, to reach the peak of magic, and to become the greatest leader in the tower’s history.
He knew his body was being prepared for a great purpose. He knew there was a deep connection between him and the founder.
But he didn’t know that the end of that path was his own complete annihilation.
Not succession, not unity... but possession.
A few moments later, the image showed the Silence Curse. Black chains emerged from within Ryndor’s soul.
He screamed, his soul shattered, and it was destroyed before Daniel’s eyes.
The crystal went dark.
Lioran was still staring at the empty space before him. His eyes were hollow, as if he couldn’t believe the truth.
But the tower leader didn’t give his mind time to recover. He activated the second crystal, and this time Morcan’s image appeared.
His face was tired, wounded, and worn. He looked directly at the crystal.
"If this image is being shown, it means they’ve pinned all the murders on me."
Morcan’s voice echoed in the room.
"I carried out the orders, but the mastermind was Lioran."
Lioran’s fingers involuntarily clenched.
"All the victims were people who could have threatened his future." Morcan continued.
The image flickered for a moment.
"The founder knew everything. He didn’t approve the murders, but he allowed them to happen."
The crystal went dark, and a deadly silence filled the room. Lioran showed no reaction for a few seconds. His face had lost its color.
His eyes were still fixed on the second crystal. Finally, his lips moved.
"How is this possible..." He was truly terrified.
He realized that everything had truly been exposed, even truths he himself hadn’t been aware of.
The sentence stopped before completion. He suddenly raised his head and tried to hide that shock behind anger.
Now was not the time to be afraid. He had to find a way to escape!
"This is all fabricated."
No one reacted. Lioran continued in a louder voice:
"Daniel can definitely affect people’s minds. Ryndor was under his control."
"Morcan might have been manipulated before recording this image as well." His gaze moved among the elders.
"All of this is his doing."
The tower leader replied in a voice so cold that even the room’s air grew heavier.
"The crystals have been examined. The memories have been examined. The soul signatures, mana pathways, temporal consistency, and signs of any mental manipulation have all been examined."
He leaned forward slightly.
"There is no forgery or manipulation."
Varcas opened a file before him.
"The path of each murder has been re-examined."
"Professor Halvorn had requested an independent examination of your body a few days before his death."
"The archive researcher had found Ryndor’s six recorded meetings with the founder."
"And Professor Caldus had officially called for the succession process to be halted a week before his death."
"Each death removed an obstacle from your path. Each death strengthened your position. And each time, Morcan or his people were present near the scene. Of course, sometimes it was also about revenge." Azreon continued.
Lioran opened his mouth, but no words came out. For the first time, he had no ready answer.
No story could explain all these connections simultaneously.
No lie could discredit the crystals, the memories, and the confessions all at once.
The tower leader had remained motionless until then, his hands on the table, his face still cold.
But when Aurelia’s name echoed in the room again, something inside him broke.
A massive wave of mana pressure suddenly erupted from his body. The entire room trembled, and the stone table before him cracked loudly.
He could no longer suppress his rage!