Gyros’s gaze finally settled on Romothese. His voice dropped lower and colder.
"What do you have to say for yourself?"
Romothese swallowed hard. His blue flames flickered weakly around him as he tried to lift his blade, not in aggression but in confusion.
"I... I don’t know what happened," he said, voice cracking. "One moment I was in the Del Rey estate... the next I was unconscious. I woke up only to find myself inside the Bloodreaver ancestor’s chamber." He shook his head slowly, staring at all of us. "When I came to... his back was right in front of me. And my sword... my sword was already raised. I swear I didn’t plan that, someone placed me there!"
Orobas roared immediately, the sound shaking loose debris from the surrounding ruins.
"You were dropped in the perfect position to stab me from behind!" he shouted. "Your blade was already touching my skin! If I hadn’t awakened at that moment, I would be dead!"
Romothese flinched at the accusation. "Orobas, listen. I didn’t attack you. I didn’t intend for any of this. Someone is framing me!"
"Framing you?" one of the Bloodreaver grandmasters growled. "Then explain the Phantom in our city!"
Another shouted, "Explain why they came here! Explain why the abominations attacked only us!"
Romothese’s face tightened with panic. "I don’t know! I truly—"
"You expect us to believe that?" Orobas cut in. Blood swirled around him in visible streams, rising like red mist from the ground. "You have always wanted to weaken my clan. And now you say you appeared in my chamber by accident?"
"Envoy," Romothese said desperately, turning toward Gyros. "You must see it. I was manipulated! Someone brought me there to create this exact situation!"
Gyros remained silent for a few breaths, studying him with careful eyes. His aura had softened, but only slightly. The demons surrounding him were restless, shifting, waiting for the smallest sign of danger.
Dorian stepped forward. "Lord Envoy, look at the battlefield," he said. "Look at the destruction. The Phantom reached our city core. The abominations targeted only us. Only our clan was ambushed. And then Romothese appears in our ancestor’s chamber with his blade raised? This is not coincidence."
A chorus of agreement rose from the Bloodreavers around us.
"He betrayed us!"
"He sided with the Eternals!"
"Capture him now!"
Romothese looked completely cornered. "I didn’t betray anyone!"
Gyros finally raised a hand, silencing the crowd.
"I understand your rage. This situation is far from ordinary." He looked between Orobas and Romothese, then at the devastation below. "But I must prevent unnecessary war between two ancient families. If we make the wrong move now, the entire world will suffer. Your families are already engaged in a conflict and this will flame it more unnecessarily. "
He pointed his sword downward.
"I will investigate this matter thoroughly. Allow me to capture him."
A wave of protests erupted instantly.
"No!"
"He cannot be trusted!"
"He will escape again!"
"Let us kill him!"
Gyros’s voice cut through them. "Enough." His tone carried a command none could ignore. "If you kill him now, and he is innocent, the consequences will ripple through every city and demon associated with the Del Reys. If he is guilty, I will be the one to execute him myself."
Orobas glared, chest heaving with fire. "You ask too much, Envoy."
"I ask for order," Gyros replied, locking eyes with him. "And for peace. Your clan has just survived an attack from a Transcendent Eternal. If you begin another war today, you will not recover."
The air went completely still.
Even Orobas had no response for a few long seconds. His fire swirled around him, but his sword remained frozen in place. He looked torn between fury and duty.
Gyros stepped forward, lowering his aura just enough to sound controlled.
"Let me take Romothese," he said. "I will uncover the truth. I swear this on the name of our ancestral demon."
The surrounding demons exchanged glances. Their faces twisted with anger, suspicion, and frustration. None of them trusted the Envoy but none of them wanted to ignite a complete clan war either.
I stood quietly, not moving, simply watching as things unfolded exactly how I wanted. Gyros had walked straight into the trap without even noticing.
I sent a calm message to Primus.
He gave a barely noticeable nod and stepped forward, flames still faintly glowing along his arms.
"Grandfather," Primus said, his voice steady but tired, "let’s leave this matter to Lord Envoy. Right now we should focus on recovering the wounded... and on understanding how the Phantom and its army managed to reach our city. We must raise our defenses. We don’t know if this is the end of the attack."
Orobas turned to him sharply, eyes narrowing. "Primus?" he asked, as if confirming he heard right.
Primus nodded. "We need to prepare. There might be another threat coming."
Orobas opened his mouth to argue, but Gyros cut him off smoothly.
"Primus is right," the Envoy said. "And I also need to alert the other two families and send a report back to Dragos. We have to check every frontline. How did a Transcendent Phantom slip through? How did this breach happen? I will need to investigate that as well."
For a moment, Orobas’s flames flared higher. I could see the battle inside him, his fury against his sense of responsibility. But with Primus and the Envoy both reinforcing the point, he finally lowered his sword.
"Fine," he growled. "Do as you please. But the Bloodreaver clan will conduct its own investigation. And if I find even one piece of evidence against the Del Reys... even one... I swear on our bloodline, even if it’s the last thing I do, I will make sure the Del Reys are finished."
Gyros gave a single stiff nod. "All right. I will return to the capital and report this matter. I will also put Armus on alert."
He grabbed the weakened Romothese with one hand. Dark-blue flames flickered weakly from the Del Rey ancestor’s arms as he tried to speak, but Gyros didn’t give him a chance.
The Envoy turned toward the horizon and then shot off, ripping through the air like a spear of pressure and wind.