"Did I make a mistake? I became too hasty at the sight of an opportunity. I should've been more careful."
Gabriel lay on his bed, lost in thoughts. He was slightly upset at himself for giving in to his emotions. It was just the first day, and he had already killed Hawrin, creating a turmoil in the entire Academy.
It was partially good since it kept people busy, but because of Roy, everyone knew that the killer was a First Year Student. That once again brought him into the range of fire.
"To get myself out of this turmoil, I'll need to create an even bigger turmoil. Since I've already pushed the schedule ahead, I might as well do it properly."
All the teachers were busy, focusing on the killers. That was good as well. If the Teachers were that busy, he could use them.
He stood up and walked to the mirror before him.
"I'm sure they'll know that Caen and I had some conflict with the group of Yann. I suppose it is time to use Caen. Too bad I need to use him for a distraction. He is a good guy, but if that's what it takes, then that's what shall be..."
******
"Someone from a small town whose family was killed by a Dark Mage. He left the village and came to the Holy City. Since his father was a member of the Holy Church who died fighting a dark Mage, the Church sent him here, and I gave him admission here," Eliana summarized the beginning of the file.
"So you know about his equation with the Dark Mages?" Yoan frowned. "You could've told us that much as we waited for the files to be ready."
"It's better if you all read from the files as this got more details about that incident. I only knew the basics. And even then, I don't think that's the part of his life that should be on focus. Not as if a Dark Mage could enter the city and kill him."
The beginning of the file contained the information about the attack of the Dark Mage on the village, but it didn't mention Gabriel at all.
There was no mention in the file about a young man who was a Mage of Light but somehow ended up becoming a Mage of Darkness. The Holy Church kept that part a secret. They even warned Hawrin against talking about it. It was the same case with Maya.
None of them were to say that a youngster in the village had turned into a Dark Mage after becoming a Mage of Light. That was a dangerous piece of information. The Church of Light represented everything that was Holy!
It represented a purity that couldn't be corrupted by darkness. They were the leaders in the battle against the Darkness. However, if someone was to find out that a Mage of Light had somehow changed into a Mage of Darkness, this could make them confused.
It could send out the wrong signal that the Holy Church of Light wasn't as pure as they claimed to be, which the Church couldn't accept at any cost.
This concern made the Church of Light bury the entire incident as something related to the Dark Mages attacking the town and killing people.
The Church had placed posters of Gabriel in many cities. They had distributed the sketches to all the Branches of the Church of Light. However, all those posters only mentioned that he was a Mage of Darkness. No poster mentioned about his previous identity as the Mage of Light.
The Church also didn't expose the age of Gabriel. They didn't want the world to see that the Mages of Darkness were so talented that they could awaken their element as soon as they turned eighteen. Especially since even in the Church of Light, there wasn't a single person who had awakened their element at such a young age. The only person who did... They embraced darkness instead.
Other than the Head Priests of the Church of Light, no one else knew about the reality of this entire incident, even in the Church of Light. Only the Head Priests knew that a Mage of Light became a Mage of Darkness.
"That's true. A Mage of Darkness can't enter the town... At least not without alerting the Church of Light. And even if they came, infiltrating the Academy is impossible." Lishen agreed. "But we can never ignore the possibility of them hiring someone to do their job for them?"
"I doubt any student of the Academy will work," Yoan scoffed. "The Dark Mages have been completely isolated. If there's a person who is talented enough to enter the Academy, they won't side with the Demons. I'm sure of it."
"What about this incident instead?" Xinci placed her fingers on the third page. "The kid was involved in a fight in the city just yesterday. Two groups of youngsters fought. And some interesting names here as well... A first-year Mage of Light..."
"Caen Ashton," Yoan observed the name as well. He had also noticed it. "Apparently, the fight was between Caen and Yann... Those two families do have some bad blood. It is possible that he..."
Yann was in the House of Flames, which came under Yoan. With this new piece of information, he decided that this was where they should focus on. Just one day before this murder, this conflict happened, and the killer was supposed to be a First Year Mage of Light. This all makes sense. It was too much to be a coincidence.
"Let's ask both the parties directly." Eliana Was about to send someone to call Yann, but she was stopped by Yoan.
"Yann isn't in the academy. He took a couple of days off to go to his family for something."
"I'll send Garrick to bring his brother back. He should know what to say and what not to say. We can't let this information leak to the Raini Family or any Major Family, for that matter. Garrick is clever. He'll understand."
Eliana left the Head Council. The meeting was scheduled for later.
****
Gabriel stood before the Mirror, trying a look through the Ring of Apophis. However, this time, he was selected to be Yann.
"Time to create the biggest fire that the academy has seen..."
He had a plan in his mind... A dangerous plan that could give him what he needed but also risky enough that it could backfire on him. Everything depended on this crazy plan…
