"Hero Kael, please do tell,
In what way does my Maul look like a Corrupted Beast to you?"
Rowan questioned out loud, and Kael turned silent.
Once again, he stared at Maul's Stats and realized something.
Unlike the corrupted beasts he had seen in Estwyn, this one hadn't lost all his intelligence. Yes, there was a significant drop in his intelligence and charisma, but it wasn't close to zero.
Not only that, Kael also noticed that other than Mana, the rest of his stats didn't change much either.
The Beast was carefully experimented on instead of being outright corrupted.
When he thought about that possibility, Kael's expression changed.
He, however, wasn't given the time to think of such matters, as suddenly, Tower Head Selene, representing the Xenthalor Empire, appeared next to Rowan and stared at the King.
"King Alden, what is the meaning of this?"
At that question, Alden narrowed his eyes.
"Hero Kael only came to this world two weeks ago. He doesn't even understand what corrupted beasts are, yet he still claims that a Xenthalor Mage is Corrupted?
Do you truly want us to believe that the Hero came to this conclusion on his own?
Or was he perhaps manipulated into thinking that Xenthalor was the enemy all along?"
"The Hero said that he saw it with his own eyes."
As a prince, he couldn't allow someone to slander the King.
"You should know by now, the Hero has special eyes."
"Those special eyes are clearly wrong here.
Or are you also implying that my Empire's Mage is corrupted?"
Selene questioned, and this time, Edric turned silent.
Even a child could see that it was not a Corrupted Beast.
Corrupted Beasts are known for their violent nature and their craving for death and destruction.
And Maul stopped the moment his enemies were incapacitated—something no Corrupted Beast could possibly do, especially when he stood right in front of an unconscious beast and had all the power and opportunity to get rid of it right this instant.
Not to mention he couldn't sense the Power of Corruption that one usually senses from Corrupted Beasts.
Let alone him, even Pope Altheran, who was sensitive to that energy because of his connection to Lord Feraos, didn't seem to have noticed anything.
Edric knew that Beast wasn't corrupted.
Then why was Hero Kael acting ?
He didn't know, and right now, it didn't matter.
"I am not implying anything. As you mentioned, the Hero just came here. He is still naïve. His ability must not be working correctly, or maybe it is incapable of correctly assessing Mythical Ranked Beasts.
I request Lady Selene to drop this matter."
Edric spoke calmly, defending both his Kingdom and Kael.
Kael, who heard his words, lowered his head.
Was his system truly wrong?
Even he was having second thoughts.
After all, that beast truly didn't look corrupted.
'Father, that thing is corrupted. You are not wrong.'
Igni declared confidently.
'I sense the same energy from them as I did from the Beasts we fought before, just that that energy is hidden deep within it, making it impossible for humans to sense it.'
Kael narrowed his eyes at those words.
'Do you think… they corrupted him that way on purpose?'
He questioned carefully.
If this was true, then his previous theory about this beast being a result of an experiment would also be true.
This would mean that Rowan experimented with the Power of Corruption.
Something that… he shouldn't even be having access to.
'That is a possibility.'
Igni nodded, and Kael's expression turned solemn.
He felt like he was unraveling something he shouldn't have.
Rowan was one of the corrupted, one of the enemies. While this in itself wasn't a big deal since Kael knew there were traitors in Drakthar too,
He didn't like how aggressively Selene was defending him…
It was almost as if… the entire Xenthalor Empire was involved in this.
'I need to find out.'
Kael thought inwardly.
He clenched his fists in frustration.
He knew next to nothing about Corruption and Corrupted Beasts. Neither did he seem to have any more power here since Edric and Selene were involved.
[Are you sure he is Corrupted?]
Suddenly, Kael heard a voice in his head.
It was Elira, who had finally returned to her senses.
It happened a little too quickly for her to react. A few moments ago, she was grinning at how she would win while attacking Arthur. Then suddenly, darkness enveloped her, blocking all her senses.
Then, some strange visions started appearing in her mind, but before she could even understand what they were, everything returned to normal, and she realized she and her bond were pulled by a Flaming Chain.
She turned towards Kael, wanting to question him, but then, she heard those agonizing screams coming out of the Dome she was just pulled out of.
She wanted to express her gratitude but then she realized that her Magma was in there.
She turned around, wanting to jump in and protect her Bond but then the Dome disappeared, and her eyes fell on Magma, who had just passed out, without any injuries.
Rowan then countered Kael's accusations and defended himself. Even Selene joined in and directly placed the blame on the Drakthar Kingdom, making the Crown Prince take a stand, and before she knew it,
Everyone somewhat dismissed Kael's words as the discussions continued.
Well, everyone but her.
Elira still trusted Kael.
[Are you absolutely sure you aren't mistaken?]
She questioned, and Kael, who looked at his instructor, nodded with a solemn look on his face.
Even if he didn't trust his system, he blindly trusted his Igni.
And the instant Elira saw his confidence,
"I felt something odd when I was inside that domain too. I have reasons to believe that Beast is Corrupted."
Wanting to stand by her student's side.