Jason’s and Rubik’s standoff had raised the tension in the room to new levels, and in the midst of this, a pleasant laugh echoed through the hall. Jason didn’t need to turn to know that the laugh belonged to Hesabeth. It was obvious that Hesabeth was very entertained by what she was seeing, and Jason just ignored her as he spoke up again.
"The Sovereign was responsible not only for taking control of the Radagan political sector, but also for the attack on Earth that warranted retaliation from Earth."
"You aren’t even an Earthling. Do you really expect us to take the word of an Avaran in defence of Earth?"
Jason suddenly turned when he heard a lazy voice say this, and Jason’s eyes landed on the female Angel sitting in the second seat. The woman had an otherworldly beauty that was far outside anything Jason could describe using words. Her face was so well sculpted that you were more likely to see it in a painting than on an actual person. She had long white hair, large white wings, and pure white eyes that made her look blind, but her eyes were fixed on Jason, so Jason knew that she was not blind. Jason remembered the announcer calling her Rak’hael, and Jason felt his eyes narrow as he looked into her bored eyes. Rak’hael pointed a perfect finger at Jason and spoke with an expressionless face.
"We can all feel the power radiating off you. There are a great number of magical Essences swirling and mixing in you like a brew of madness, and that is a biological trait exhibited by only one known race. You are of the Avarans, are you not?"
Jason took in a breath and spoke as calmly as possible.
"My mother is an Earthling, and I was born there as well."
"The son of a warrior should not refer to himself as a peasant simply because he was born from the womb of one! Do you have no pride in your heritage!?"
This time, it was the fifth seat of the council that spoke up, Val’kat, the ruler of the goblins. Val’kat was a green-skinned creature with long elf-like ears and an ugly face that would terrify any child. He had a hard look on his face, and Jason felt irritated when he heard the man referring to his mother as a peasant. Jason’s eyes narrowed at the goblin king, and Val’kat glared back with full confidence! Val’kat was a warrior, and he led a race known for their short temper and great feats in battle. He was not the sort of person who would hold back from speaking his mind! Jason spoke to the council while keeping his eyes on Val’kat.
"Like I said. My mother is of Earth, and I have lived amongst them all my life, so I am one of them. That is why I am defending them."
Val’kat scoffed, and Rak’hael spoke with that expressionless face still in place.
"What truly intrigues me is how someone with power such as your own has not been branded as an Enigma as of yet. You possess enough power to place you as an apex predator within any Rank III world, and yet you stand here as the representative of a Rank II world? Is this some sort of joke?"
"I hardly think you have any right to comment on the Enigma status of any being outside your domain. Especially after the lengths you went through to defend your previous king."
This time, it was Farlow who spoke up against Rak’hael, and Jason’s hand tightened into a fist as an intense pressure suddenly poured out from Rak’hael and pressed down on everyone in the hall! Riyala grunted slightly from the side as she took a step back, and Jason calmly put a hand on her upper arm to steady her! Rak’hael glared at Farlow.
"You dare to speak of our Lord so casually. Is there something you would like to say to me, King Farlow?"
Farlow’s calm expression was unchanged, and he simply stared right into Rak’hael’s eyes unflinchingly! Farlow and Rak’hael were the two strongest members of the council, other than the head of the council himself, so no one could really get between them when they were at odds like this! But no one really wanted to interfere at all! Hesabeth had a smile on her face as she watched the scene play out like a movie, and Val’kat was busy glaring down at Jason without bothering to watch the two fighting. But before things could get out of hand, the purple mist hovering over the First seat in the council spoke up in a calming voice.
"Let us keep to the objective of the day rather than deviating. Jason Marc has been registered as a member of the human race of Earth, and therefore, the identity of his father or the Essence of magic within him holds no weight in this hearing. And as for his Enigma status, we have been keeping tabs on his growth, and he has been branded as only an Orange Class Enigma for now. We have no right to intervene until his status grows to Black. Now, return to the matter at hand."
And that was the end of it. The entire hall seemed to accept the words of the First Seat as the law, and they all calmed their nerves as they returned to the matter at hand. It was a little amusing to see so many powerful people listening to the words of a mere purple mist, and Jason couldn’t help but wonder how powerful the real C’thlyanu was!
Someone cleared their throat, and Jason turned to look at Hesabeth with a curious expression. Hesabeth gave Jason an amused smile, and she put her fan down before speaking gently.
"I have a question for you, Jason Marc of Earth. You’ve stated multiple times that the Sovereign was responsible for the misdeeds carried out by Radagan on your world. Who then would you say is responsible for the actions carried out by Earth on Radagan? You launched a large-scale attack against them, did you not?"
Jason frowned slightly, and Riyala spoke up from beside him before he could reply.
"The people of Earth only attacked Radagan in retaliation for the initial attack by the Sovereign. The treaty states multiple times that a world is allowed retaliation in the event it is threatened by another world."
Hesabeth smiled as she levelled Riyala with a condescending gaze.
"The treaty states that a world is allowed to ’defend’ itself in the event of an attack from another world. I would argue that what the people of Earth carried out on Radagan was more than just in defence of themselves. How much of Earth did you say was destroyed in that initial attack? One city? With only a few thousand lives being lost. And in exchange, how much of Radagan was destroyed? I believe the reports said that there was so much damage done to Radagan that even to this day, the repairs are still being carried out, and the bodies that were recovered from the battle were piled so high that they could be mistaken for a hill from a distance. You dare to refer to such a terrible massacre as a mere act of ’defence’?"
Riyala stood her ground and answered simply.
"Yes, I do. What the people of Earth did would indeed be a massacre towards any other world, but on Radagan, it was perfectly within reason. They acted in order to ensure the Sovereign could no longer harm their world with another attack. The scale of damage to the world might’ve been different, but there is no doubt that they did what they did in defence of themselves."
Hesabeth raised her fan royally and pointed it at Riyala.
"Or, a more reasonable explanation would be that they sought to disrupt the political landscape of Radagan and remove the Sovereign from his throne. A warning attack would have sufficed to show the Sovereign that they were not to be trifled with, but they took things too far and killed the ruling power of a world for their own benefit. That is in violation of multiple articles of the treaty."
"The treaty did not give a basic description of what the term ’defence’ refers to in this context. Their actions were carried out to prevent any further attacks from a foreign power, and they did not seek to gain any political ground from their actions. I believe that classifies as a form of defence."
This time, surprisingly, it was Farlow who spoke up in their defence.