Chapter 117 (2/2)

This oddity had made him forget about his wonder and curiosity of the young Magician.

“Tutor,” said Herrera, after a long sigh, “Bale is over there.”

She then pointed towards the dark corner next to a statue. When Anthony looked over, he saw three figures on the wall, all of whom had been restrained by Mana Lock.

Anthony couldn’t see very clearly at first glance, so he approached the figures and squinted his eyes to see better. When he could finally make out the identity of the figures on the wall, he unconsciously drew in a sharp breath.

Among the three, one of them was almost burnt to a crisp, with all the hair on his head charred. His breathing was labored and shallow. He looked terrible indeed, but not nearly as terrible as the other two beside him!

The other two had lost almost all of their flesh and muscle. All they had left was a layer of skin that covered their bones. They looked no different from bare skeletons. One of them had a glowing flame in his eyes like will-o’-wisps. And even though they had been restrained by Mana Lock, Anthony could still sense a faint but piercing cold aura radiating from these two.

“But that’s a Lich!” shouted Anthony. “No, Bale, is that you?”

He knew that something terrible had happened, but he still wasn’t prepared for such a shocking revelation.

Although Bale’s appearance had changed beyond recognition, he was still someone Anthony had known for nearly 40 years, so he immediately recognized the ghoulish figure as his colleague and old friend Bale.

This man moved slightly, then let out a sigh heavy with regret.

“Yes, Anthony,” said Bale. “It’s me.”

As things had progressed to this stage, Bale was now nothing but a heartbroken old man. He was no longer in the frenzied state that he was before.

“What happened?” asked Anthony in a desperate voice. He then walked towards them and pointed his wand at Shade. “Did he trick you?”

Anthony still couldn’t believe that Bale, the Magician he’d known for all these years, would embark on the path of black magic.

“It was my own doing,” said Bale. “My friend, I’m afraid I’ve let you down.”

By now, Bale had already calmed down. Now that things had reached this point, he realized that whatever he’d done was irreversible, and he didn’t even wish to keep on living. What he wanted most right now was a peaceful death.

Anthony sunk into a long silence. After that, he turned to Moira and said, “Moira, tell me what happened.”

Herrera nodded. She then began explaining how she had accidentally sensed the aura of black magic on Darris and got suspicious, so she asked Link to help her investigate them. At last when the truth was discovered, Darris ambushed Link but was defeated by him. She then described how Bale had escaped to the black Mage Tower in Mist Basin and how he was defeated and captured there. She spilled out everything that had transpired, and apart from the exact details of the battles they fought, nothing was left out.

When she was done, Anthony took a long hard look at Link. Herrera had kept her words plain and simple, but the grave danger that they must’ve suffered through was apparent to Anthony. There were some strange points in Herrera’s explanations that he found suspicious as well, though this wasn’t the time to be asking those questions.

“My old friend,” said Anthony as he turned to Bale, “do you have anything to add?”

“I’ve completely failed as a Magician,” said Bale as he shook his head. He seemed dejected and grief-stricken. “I have nothing to say for myself.”

“Darris, what about you?” asked Anthony, turning once again to Bale’s chief disciple.

Darris had been seriously wounded, and now he had to face Anthony’s imposing presence, the situation was almost too much for him that he felt breathless.

“I…I don’t want to die!” he finally said.

Anthony let out a long sigh and went into silence for a long while. He then turned to the remaining five members of the council.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Bale may have chosen the wrong path, but I believe he had not really committed any serious crimes, and his knowledge and wisdom in the fields of magic remain valuable and impressive. I propose to permanently block his Mana and prevent him from ever being able to cast spells again, and to imprison him in the Tower of Azura. (Note: This is the academy’s prison tower for Magicians who committed crimes.) As for Darris, he should be stripped of his magic powers and handed to the River Cove Town court to be tried for his crimes. And as for…him…”

“His name is Shade,” said Herrera. “He’s a Level-5 Necromancer.”

“Yes, the Necromancer Shade,” continued the dean, “As for him, I judge him to be guilty of the cruelest crimes, and I propose the Purge of Fire as his punishment.”

The five Master Magicians then put their heads together and discussed the matter.

Some of them thought Bale’s punishment to be too lenient in light of the clear evidence that proved he had indeed murdered a coachman of the academy. Yet, none of them brought this up because they didn’t want to offend the dean. Bale was, after all, their long-time colleague, and despite all the wrongs he had committed, no one was willing to inflict harsh punishment on him. After much deliberation, the second most powerful Magician of the academy, Grenci, stood up and announced their verdict.

“Sir, we are all in agreement that your proposal was just and wise,” said Grenci.

The matter was of the utmost importance and must only be decided by the highest officials of the academy, so Herrera and Link could only observe on the side and had no right to participate in the decision making. Once the verdict was reached, Bale, Shade and Darris’ fates were then sealed forever, with no possible chance of alteration.

Bale hung his head low and said nothing. No one knew what thoughts were running through his head at that moment. Darris’ eyes were lifeless by then and soon enough, he couldn’t hold out anymore and collapsed to the ground. As for Shade, he was silent throughout the whole incident. He knew that he was finished the second his Flame of the Soul was severely injured, so he had long resigned himself to his fate.

Antony now turned to Herrera and Link and a glimpse of pride cropped up on his usually severe face.

“Both of you,” the dean began, “have risked your lives to expose the darkness that lurked within the academy. And you’ve done it with careful discretion to preserve the good name and reputation of the academy. Your courage and wisdom deserve to be rewarded!”