The silence in the Imperial High Court was not peaceful; it was the vacuum before an explosion. Thousands of eyes were fixed on the center of the arena, where Valeria stood beside the iron chair of Commander Varg.
Highmaster Garius stood ten paces away, his face a mask of frozen horror. He looked at Varg, then at the Black Ledger, and finally at the Royal Vizier in the box above.
"Commander Varg," Valeria said, her voice amplified by the acoustics of the pit. "For the record, state your name and rank."
Varg lifted his head. He looked terrible - gaunt, pale, and shaking from withdrawal of the mana-siphon - but his eyes burned with the specific hatred of a man who had been discarded by his masters.
"Varg," he rasped. "Commander of the Black Legion. Northern Sector."
"And what was your mission in the North, Commander?"
"To secure the mana-mines," Varg said. "To suppress the local beastman population. And to eliminate any witnesses to the Necromancy Project."
A collective gasp rippled through the gallery. Necromancy was a Class-A heresy, punishable by death.
"Lies!" the Royal Vizier shouted from the Emperor's side. He stood up, his purple robes swirling. "This man is a rogue agent! He was discharged for insanity months ago! He is reading a script prepared by this... this exile!"
"Discharged?" Varg laughed, a wet, hacking sound. "I received orders from you last week, Vizier. Written orders. To burn Oakhaven to the ground."
"Show us the orders!" the Vizier demanded. "You cannot, because they do not exist!"
"He doesn't have the orders," Valeria interjected smoothly. "Because he burns them after reading. Standard Guild protocol. However..."
She placed her hand on the Black Ledger.
"The Guild keeps receipts. Because even criminals need to balance their books."
She opened the heavy cover.
"System," Valeria whispered. [Skill: Cryptography. Activate.]
To the crowd, it looked like she was simply reading. To Valeria, the glowing runes on the page rearranged themselves, shifting from a complex cypher into plain Imperial Common.
"Page 44," Valeria read aloud. "Date: The 4th of Winter. Transaction: 50,000 Gold Marks. Recipient: Duke Vespera."
She looked up at the gallery, finding her father in the front row. Duke Vespera slumped in his seat, his face grey.
"Reason:," Valeria continued. "To silence the investigation into the disappearance of Elise Vespera and to transfer legal guardianship of the Oakhaven Annex to the Guild for 'Special Projects'."
The crowd turned on the Duke.
"He sold his daughter?"
"He took bribes to cover up a murder?"
"Father," Valeria said, her voice cutting through the murmurs. "Do you deny this payment? Or shall I ask the Royal Bank to verify the withdrawal from the Vespera accounts? Oh wait... I forgot. Those accounts are currently frozen."
Duke Vespera opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He looked at Isolde, who was staring at him with wide, horrified eyes. He realized he was alone.
"He denies nothing," Valeria said, turning the page. "But the corruption goes higher."
She looked straight at the Royal Vizier.
"Page 89. Date: The Ides of Spring. Transaction: 100,000 Gold Marks. Recipient: The Office of the Royal Vizier."
The Vizier froze.
"Reason:," Valeria read, her voice ringing like a bell. "To issue a Royal Pardon for the illegal experimentation on sentient Hybrids in the Southern Pits. Specifically... the creation of the Chimera Class."
Pandemonium erupted.
The nobles shouted. The merchants screamed. The idea that the Crown's second-in-command was funding monsters was treason of the highest order.
"Enough!" the Vizier roared.
He slammed his staff of office onto the railing. A shockwave of purple magic blasted out, silencing the crowd.
"This is a farce!" the Vizier screamed, his composure shattering. "That book is a forgery! That woman is a traitor! She has brought dangerous beasts into the Emperor's presence!"
He pointed his staff at Kael.
"Guards! Seize them! Kill the Tiger! Kill the Witch!"
The Palace Guards, confused, looked to Lord Commander Titus. Titus did not move. He stood with his arms crossed, watching the Emperor.
But the Vizier wasn't relying on the Palace Guard.
"Order 66!" the Vizier shrieked.
It was a contingency code.
Suddenly, twenty figures in the gallery threw off their cloaks. They weren't nobles. They were Guild Mages, hidden in plain sight.
They raised their hands.
CRACK.
Portals tore open in the air above the arena.
From the rifts, dark shapes fell. Not men. Shadow-Stalkers. Behemoth hounds made of black sludge and bone.
"They are summoning in the Court!" Ignis yelled, raising his staff. "Defensive formation!"
"Protect the Emperor!" Titus bellowed, drawing his greatsword.
But the Guild Mages didn't target the Emperor. They targeted Valeria.
Three Shadow-Stalkers landed in the sand, hissing. They lunged for the witness stand.
"Kael!" Valeria shouted.
She didn't need to shout. The Tiger was already moving.
Kael stepped in front of her. He didn't have his sword; he had left it at the entrance as per protocol. He was unarmed.
But he wasn't defenseless.
"You want a beast?" Kael roared.
He reached out. [Skill: Metal Manipulation.]
The iron chair Varg was sitting in shuddered. The metal liquified. It flowed off Varg (who scrambled away) and flew into Kael's hands, hardening instantly into a massive, jagged tower shield.
The first Stalker slammed into the shield. CLANG.
Kael didn't budge. He braced his legs, his golden armor shining.
"Silas! Flank!" Kael ordered.
Silas, moving like a blur of grey leather, leaped over Kael's shoulder. He drew his twin short swords. He landed on the Stalker's back, driving the blades into its neck. The creature screeched and dissolved into sludge.
"Caspian! Lucian!" Valeria directed. "The gallery! Stop the Mages!"
Lucian spread his wings. He shot straight up, a streak of red and gold. He pulled his bow, firing arrows mid-flight. Thwip. Thwip. Two Mages in the balcony screamed as arrows pinned their hands to their staffs.
Caspian didn't fly. He grabbed the decorative water pitchers from the prosecutor's table. He threw the water into the air, seizing control of it. The liquid formed into razor-sharp discs. He hurled them into the stands, slicing through the magic circles the Mages were weaving.
The Court was a warzone. Nobles were scrambling over seats to escape.
"Garius!" Valeria shouted, scanning the chaos.
The Highmaster was running. He was sprinting toward the exit, abandoning his Vizier, his honor, and his Guild.
"Oh no you don't," Valeria growled.
She grabbed the Black Ledger. It was heavy.
She wound up and threw it.
Valeria's physical stats were low, but her aim - honed by years of shelving books on high ladders - was impeccable.
The heavy tome sailed through the air. It struck Garius in the back of the knees.
The Highmaster stumbled and fell face-first into the sand.
Before he could rise, a heavy boot landed on his back.
It wasn't Kael. It wasn't Titus.
It was Duke Vespera.
Her father stood over the fallen Highmaster, his face red with exertion and rage. He had jumped down from the first row.
"You ruined me!" Duke Vespera screamed, abandoning all dignity. He grabbed a discarded spear from the sand and held it to Garius's throat. "You took my gold! You took my name! And you left me with nothing!"
"Father, get down!" Valeria yelled.
A Shadow-Stalker was behind him. It raised a claw to strike.
Vespera was too focused on his revenge. He didn't see it.
FLASH.
A beam of pure white light incinerated the Stalker's head.
Valeria turned.
Emperor Aurelius was standing in the Royal Box. He had extended one hand. Smoke curled from his fingertips.
The bored mask was gone. The Emperor looked furious.
"Enough," Aurelius said.
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a weight that pressed down on every soul in the room.
He jumped.
It was a fifty-foot drop from the Royal Box to the arena floor.
"Your Majesty!" Titus screamed.
Aurelius didn't splatter. He landed on his feet, the marble floor cracking beneath him.
He stood up. He began to grow.
The golden robes tore at the shoulders. His jaw elongated. A mane of shimmering, sunlight-colored fur erupted from his neck. He grew to eight feet tall, a hybrid of man and Lion, radiating an aura of terrifying majesty.
[Target: Emperor Aurelius.]
[Species: Star-Lion (Alpha).]
[Level: ???]
The Vizier, who was chanting a new spell, froze.
"A... a beast?" the Vizier stammered. "The Emperor is a beast?"
Aurelius looked up at the Vizier.
"I am not a beast," Aurelius roared, the sound shaking the dust from the ceiling. "I am the King!"
He leaped. He cleared the twenty feet to the balcony in a single bound. He grabbed the Vizier by the throat.
"You brought assassins into my house," Aurelius snarled, lifting the man off the ground. "You threatened my guests. And you bored me."
He threw the Vizier.
The corrupt official flew across the arena, crashing into the stone wall opposite. He slid down, unconscious.
The remaining Guild Mages looked at the giant Lion-Man standing in the balcony. They looked at the Golden Tiger guarding the girl in the pit. They looked at the angry mob of nobles who were realizing the Guild had just tried to kill their Emperor.
They dropped their staffs.
"Surrender!" Titus bellowed, his men finally securing the room. "Drop your weapons!"
The silence returned. But this time, it was the silence of awe.
Aurelius jumped back down to the arena floor. He shrunk, his fur receding, until he was human again - though shirtless and barefoot.
He walked over to Valeria. Kael tensed, but Valeria put a hand on his arm.
Aurelius looked at the Black Ledger lying in the sand next to the pinned Garius.
He picked it up.
"Well," the Emperor said, dusting off the cover. "That was dramatic."
He looked at Garius, who was trembling under Duke Vespera's spear.
"Highmaster Garius," Aurelius said. "I believe you have an appointment with the executioner."
He turned to the crowd, his voice projecting without magic.
"The Beast Taming Guild is hereby disbanded. Their charters are revoked. Their assets are seized."
He looked at Valeria.
"And as for the accuser..."
He smiled, a sharp, dangerous smile that showed he still had fangs.
"I believe we owe her a reward."
Valeria curtsied, her heart pounding so hard she thought it would burst.
"Justice is its own reward, Your Majesty," she lied.
"Don't be boring," Aurelius said. "Come to my study. We have maps to redraw."