The Devil's Cursed Witch

The King's Palace, Council Hall

Upon confirming the possibility of Morpheus' survival, a council meeting had been arranged the very next day, not only to discuss the incident during the day of mourning but also the matters of imposing punishment to those involved.

Not only were the members of the council present to attend the council meeting, even a handful of the high-ranking elders of their clans also came, insisting to involve themselves in today's proceedings.

White Tiger Logan was with Draven in his study before the council meeting.

Logan was merely the son of the Leader of the White Tiger Clan, and though he was the Vice Commander of Warriors and the current Acting Commander, his role involved fieldwork, merely receiving instructions from Draven's aides or the Chief of the Shapeshifters on normal days. As the person in charge of the investigation of Morpheus' murder, Logan's presence in the meeting was necessary.

The two men walked towards the council hall.

"You can guess what issues would be raised in the meeting," Logan said.

"Hmm," was all the red-eyed man replied.

"Seems like you don't plan on having your mate attend this meeting."

"I do not want her stressed when she is yet to completely recover," Draven answered. "Today, there would be questions raised against her and her powers."

"Your mate's powers, to be honest, indeed pose a danger," Logan admitted. "Though that cannot be denied, I just hope their demands won't be extreme."

Draven simply nodded as he was aware of it as well.

When Draven entered that huge circular council hall, thirteen of the fourteen members of the council bowed to him, along with the rest. The Head of the Witches, Cornelia Grimm, was unable to attend, so one of the senior witches came in her stead.

Aside from Logan, there were also two unusual guests present in today's meeting— Black Witch Zelda and Thala Grimsbane, who were both parties involved in the meeting's main agenda.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Draven sat on his throne without a change in his expression.

As usual, the High Elder of the Moon Elf Clan, Halifax, started the meeting. He asked the Acting Commander, Logan, to narrate the most important points as well as the results of his investigation.

After Logan did his part, Halifax spoke, "Your Majesty, though your people are overjoyed to know that Commander Morpheus has not left us and we still have a hope to get him back, it is only right and proper that we punish the culprit, as well as the accomplices, of this incident."

Everyone agreed to this and Halifax continued.

"I represent all the council members to have Divine Fox Isa be punished severely for her crime of attempted murder."

Upon hearing those words, Draven raised his hand and declared, "Divine Fox Isa not only aimed to harm the mate of the King, but also caused life-threatening injuries to the Commander of the Warriors. Her malicious actions also caused the unnecessary deaths of three of her clan members. She will get what she rightfully deserves.

"Heed my orders! The moment she regains consciousness and her life is found no longer in danger, one of her tails must be removed!"

"What?" the Divine Fox clan leader, Ailwin, exclaimed in shock. "Your Majesty—"

"I am not done yet," Draven interrupted him coldly. "After cutting her second tail, the palace will have her healed again, and her third tail shall be removed as well."

"Your Majesty, that child, she won't survive it," Ailwin explained as if he himself could feel the pain of cutting the tail. "Commander Morpheus can still survive. Please show some mercy on her. She was raised under your care. How can you be cruel to her?"

"A sinner is a sinner; my role as King is to enact impartial judgment to my subjects," Draven remarked without a single fluctuation of emotion. "The fact that I did not sentence her to immediate death is already me being considerate of your clan's painstaking care. Do not test the limits of my patience, Lord of the Divine Foxes."

"Your Majesty…"

"The decision has been made," Draven declared. "Once she loses all her tails and still survives, she won't be allowed to cultivate and would do manual labor in the service of the feathered races as repentance."

The council members unanimously agreed with this decision. The Lord of the Divine Fox Clan had to accept the decision as well, though unwillingly. He could only blame Isa for her mistakes.

Once the first item on the agenda was taken care of, Halifax moved to the next one.

"Your Majesty, due to these incidents, there have been countless reports of acts of violence in the territory of the shapeshifters. To be exact, the members of the Divine Fox Clan are being targeted not only by the angry mobs from the feathered races, but also the young warriors who idolize the Commander. If it's not taken care of soon, this internal conflict may spread towards the other territories. On the last incident report submitted by Acting Commander Logan, the casualties of both sides already totaled in the hundreds. We seek you to look into this matter."

Halifax handed the report to Erlos, who then handed it to Draven. The King then called out Ailwin and Agraleus. "I order both of you to take control over the members of your clan. Punish those at fault and do not let this matter escalate."

"Your Majesty, reason does not work against conflicts that originate from faith, especially not against beastmen who are ruled by their nature," Agraleus explained. "The one who almost killed the spiritual pillar of the warriors is a direct descendant of the Divine Fox Clan. The warriors seek retribution. The foxes also won't allow themselves to passively defend without attacking back. Unless you or the Commander personally steps in, the disorder will only worsen."

Draven was aware of it as well. Several similar incidents like this had occurred in the past, where clans would fight and disrupt public peace. He was the one to forcefully make the arrogant races coexist with peace. "The peace of this kingdom is maintained not only by me but the council as well. If both clans fail to control their people, then I would have to step in to show who is superior in this kingdom and I believe no one would like to see the truth."

If Black Dragon stepped in, then there was no chance for anyone to stand in front of him.

"We will try to take care of it, Your Majesty," Agraleus said.

"We will try to take care of it, Your Majesty," Ailwin repeated.

The other council members offered to send some of their warriors to help pacify the situation as well.

"The third issue, the humans have taken advantage of the day of mourning and tried to sneak in," Halifax informed.

Logan was the one to explain it. "The humans attacked the fortress, taking advantage of our inner turmoil upon finding out the Commander's situation. They infected four warriors using a new concoction of poison before retreating. I had taken care of it, Your Majesty, and sent the poison sample to be studied by the witches. My concern is that we do not know how many humans attempted to enter, and if all of them truly retreated. If they left behind humans who could study the terrain, there is a possibility that their next attack would yield more casualties."

"Bring me the result from the witches once they are done with their analysis. We can talk about the new arrangement to tighten the kingdom's security in my study."

"I received your orders, Your Majesty."