The root - Act 2: Part 2

I was thinking of making the whole story available for free but I would need your support in the form of reviews, collection in library and comments for that. Hope you'll respond to it.

“Let them in” the grand door opened and they entered the assembly hall. Despite what the descriptions said about the hall’s grandness, it was actually much smaller.

And instead of the seven pillars they expected to find there, there were only four bodies inside. Not all of the pillars were present here.

“I’m glad the wish granter made it here in time. There was an accident and I’m afraid only a few of the pillars are left now. In fact, only three are left and one of them was just promoted today” the voice echoed in the ears of everyone present.

Pillars had incredible magic resistivity along with inner strength. To take one down would not have been easy. Just how have five of them died in such a short span of time? One could be explained and two-three can be accounted for as a coincidence.

Five was not normal by any chance. But looking at the faces before them, it seemed to be true.

“Is it true Kren? How did it happen?” Xiao was stumped. This put them in a much more difficult position.

“Yes, Council head Morse is right. We’ve had Mira observe their remains. It was the same contamination that killed the first one. What were those idiots thinking when they came in contact with it” Kren said and the woman at his side, Mira nodded to confirm.

Every pillar had a certain responsibility and art that came with their divinity. Miraculously, the pillar of health had died first. Ironic, but it had caused quite a stir in people. And now only the pillar of safety and alchemy were left.

The new pillar was too young to get his element and if his guess was right, it was their client.

“If we can’t get enough manpower to deal with the root, I’m afraid we’ll be compromised. It’ll be best to vacate this place in case a bigger problem develops. Are you sure you are up to the task?” Kei commented and Xiao cursed.

He wanted him to go unnoticed but the teen had already opened his mouth. Kren already had a short temper and being questioned about the safety of his charge stroke all his anger points.

He should have had a long talk with Kei, just what was he doing?

“And who’s the noisy brat? Really, Iussum keeps your pets on a leash” the voice snapped at Xiao. His relationship with Kren was rocky at best. They had only met once or twice through Noah and hence knew next to nothing about each other.

“It’s alright Kren. I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding” a soft voice broke the pair as a hand landed on the angry man’s shoulder.

“Don’t get into this. How could you allow us to be compromised like this?” Kren snapped again, now changing his target to Morse who looked visibly stressed. The poor guy had too much to do as it was and getting snapped at by a junior didn’t feel much better.

“I did my best but we can’t keep your pillars in constant supervision. Besides, we needed to patrol the area with the branch too. There also have been constant raids on the main of our headquarters. Besides, there is paperwork to be filled” the guy complained, his tone filled with the complaint.

“Kren please, we don’t have time” Xiao reminded the arguing pair.

“The young man is right. I’ll go persuade the elders then. After all, saving ordinary people’s life comes first” Morse left, his steps unhurried. There was a certain grace to his step, almost deliberate in nature.

“Rather charming man isn’t he. He really takes the safety issue seriously. He had been running around since the day the branch was first discovered” Mira’s melodic voice flew over to them as she finally opened her mouth.

“A fool that man is. He worked so hard to get his position and now all he does is complain” Kren scoffed as he averted his attention to the company present. “Now what do you suggest. Knowing those fools on the council, no solution will be found soon”

“We’ve called in the abyss. We were planning to use the pillars but looks like it will no longer be possible. The only alternative would be to either overload it or to make a wish. Which would you prefer?” Xiao made the options clear to the pair in front of him.

Quickly, the pair shared a look before turning back toward him.

“Give us a day more. We’ll get to you tomorrow about this topic. There is something fishy going on here with the other pillar's deaths. Just as an assurance, we’ll make a wish in advance and can cancel it in case we come up with anything else” Mira negotiated.

That was a wise decision since there really was no other option here unless they wanted to get other branches and hunters involved.

“I’ll get to it then. Who will make the contract?” Xiao asked the pair. Kren moved a step forward and the deal was sealed.

“We’ll be taking our leave then. Let’s go Kei” They bowed and made their way out. The walk back was a silent one as the pair found nothing to breach the topic in between them.

However, once they reached the room, the silence was broken.

“The current council head, do you know him?” Kei asked in a flat voice. His curiosity was understandable since the figure was famous in their mention of the world.

“He took over almost two hundred years ago and had been a former pillar. He and Kren were from the same generation before the council head died. There was no other candidate at that time and despite his looks, Morse is a good motivator. Noah finds him a problem though since he’s well-liked” Xiao explained in short.

Kei nodded at his words, but instead of looking interested at the answer he looked tense, his hands clenched.

“Try to keep away from that side of things. Leave it to Noah if you can because you’ll just get taken advantage of” Kei was clearly worried about him. Despite not seeing any troubling side of their council, he looked like he knew what was going on inside there.

Xiao didn’t want to think about it too much though and agreeing with Kie won’t hurt. After all, this was his goal too.

“I aim to stay away from that side too. That being said, were you worried about me Kei? That’s too sweet” Xiao teased, leaning toward the teen at his side.

The more he leaned forward the tenser the teen went before he took a step back.

“Stop and take it seriously here. Yes, I’m worried about my friend here. Won’t you be?” It made Xiao stop. What went behind the doors of the council could break a person if they were not careful.

He had seen too many cases and if it was Kei instead of him he would be worried too.

“You’re right. Sorry, but I do try to be careful out there. I don’t like these fools anymore than you do. But if you ever found out something that I should know about, tell me” Xiao confined now back to his calmer self. The humour of before was no longer there.

Kei’s agreement sealed the deal. There was a stretch of silence again. However, this one was more calming as the pair simply enjoys having another person with them.

The night passed in such serenity and the sun once again rose the next day.

But it was not the rays of the sun which work them up, but a loud and shrill female cry. The cry travelled throughout the complex, attracting a heavy group of people outside a room. However, as soon as the crowd had assembled, they dispersed in fright.

“What happened?” Noah arrived first at the scene followed by Xiao and Kei. They could see the door to the room wide open with a female servant kneeling before a fallen body.

A very familiar body and there were two of those bodies.

“The pillars Mira and Kren had been killed. Someone inform the council head. Hurry” there were such shouts all around them but Xiao could no longer look away.

Those people had been alive just yesterday. He had made a contract with them and they had been breathing and living.

And now they were dead.

He knew his breath was getting shorter and this was the beginning of a panic attack but he could not get himself in control. He needed someone to snap him out of it.

“Xiao get yourself together. Kei, touch him, smack him or something. Don’t let him go under” There was a sharp voice very familiar just a distance away and he wanted to reach out for it but he couldn't.

Then there were hands on his shoulder and he was being shaken. His mind swirled for a few seconds before he settled.

When he blinked, he found that he could move. His body was his again.

“Thanks” he called out to Kei who still had his hands on his shoulder. However, before he could get a reply the sound around them grew louder before the call of the council head rang around them.

Dressed in plain robes, the figure from yesterday was here. But he no longer looked perfect, the grace in his steps gone. At his side was a young adult wearing the same robes as the two dead people.

Dark grey hairs swayed and the black eyes of the young man filled with tears and he broke down. However, before he could touch the dead bodies, he was stopped by the council head who shook his head.

“Don’t touch their bodies. I understand your sorrow better than anyone else for they were like my brothers too. But we can’t risk you too for you are the last pillar left to us” the grey-haired man was the duck they had helped attain divinity who was crying his eyes out.

“My brother, My brother” was the only cries he could let out.

“Divine beasts?” Kei asked softly as he took in the man in front of them and Xiao nodded with a navy heart.

“Don’t bring him there Master Moras. Let the Iussum take care of the body or you can get infected too. Please, we’ll take care of the funeral preparations after we deal with what has killed the pillars” Noah took command of the situation, seeing as no one else seemed to act.

“Let the child grieve for his brother. It’s not easy to lose family after all. I’ll take him back while you look into this matter” Moras’ voice was soft and while Xiao agreed, he wanted everyone gone to actually make progress here.

Noah frowned but didn’t stop them as the pair exited. With a fast speed, everyone else excited the scene too till only he and Kie were left. No one wanted to be next after all.

Once that happened, they made their way toward the body. At the first glance, they could see some parts of the body being covered in a blackish crystalline substance. It was especially prominent on the neck and fingers.

“The bodies are contaminated, but it was not the cause of their death” Kei voiced out what he was thinking in his mind. While it rarely happened in higher beings, the chances of contamination were still always present.

“Yes, and from what I can see it was a sudden development but it was not deadly yet. Someone tried to cover their death with this excuse” Xiao further added. Someone had tried to cover something up.

“Who would benefit with this and why now?” Kei asked but deep down both of them knew the answer. It was because the tree branch was about to bloom soon.

Someone wanted to prevent them from stopping it and there was only one group ready to risk it all to get their hand on their samples.

“It must be the hunter's organization. This is a distraction most likely. We need to focus on destroying the root as soon as possible before it blooms” now it was a race against time for them.