At the old garden in Laochyro where the emergency summit was held, the appearance of an uninvited guest caught everyone's attention. Moreso, the king of Caprines for he heard the same person call him a fool.
Ision turned to the direction from where the voice came from. But his piercing eyes calmed a bit once he saw that the one who spoke was Silas Sylvanus.
"So you're still alive, old bastard," Ision said.
Most of the rulers didn't know who Silas was. Only Ander, the Panteran king, stared at him with awe.
Vandrad stood up, "Didn't you promise not to disrupt our meeting?"
Silas looked at Vandrad with a weird smile, "Forgive me, friend. I was passing by when I heard King Ision asking to massacre my people. I couldn't help but remind him how a fool he is."
Ision's right-hand man was about to draw his sword but Ision stopped him. Though enraged, he knew that even if the two of them fought Silas, the ending would be the same. With the two of them lying on the ground, lifeless.
"Were you saying that you bear a demon's mark, old man?" Scythas Conium, king of Aakdan with dark purple hair and a bearer of Scorpio's Zeal, said.
"What if I am, brat?"
Scythas's eyebrows twitched. His right hand was also angered behind him but didn't do nor say anything his king didn't command.
The other rulers were glancing at the old man and King Scythas. Who wouldn't if the same old man called a ruler of a kingdom a brat? In addition, only two of the rulers knew the old man.
Vandrad sighed, "Silas, please take your leave," he said.
"Again, forgive me but I wanted to hear what our fool of a king wanted to suggest. To think I used to respect him for being a man of logic, what a disgrace"
Ision was glaring at Silas. The other rulers, except Ander, were also showing hostility to the old man who wasn't giving them the usual respect others would have had they known they were rulers of the twelve kingdoms.
"Don't tell me… Was it your doing, you old bastard?" Ision said.
Silas laughed, "You proved yet again how foolish you've become," he paused, and the smile on his face disappeared. Everyone could feel immense pressure coming from him as if they were trapped and thousands of daggers were pointed at them. Aside from the council members and King Ander, everyone's hands instinctively moved towards the handle of their weapons.
"You think you'd still be breathing had it been me?"
His words and the way he said it sent chills to everyone. The youngest ruler, Queen Runa of Regas and a bearer of Taurus's Zeal, gulped. She was silent from the start since she promised her right hand that she would be, still, she wanted to butt in the conversation even earlier. But now, that thought has vanished. It was the first time Runa ever felt immense fear towards someone, enough to make a blabbermouth like her not want to talk.
Ision couldn't talk back. He knew that the Silas he met thirty years ago was more than capable of killing everyone and leaving no witness.
"Brat king of Aakdan. You also suggested hunting my people in the previous summit," Silas paused then turned to Ision with a smile, "Why don't you ask King Ision how the same conversation ended thirty years ago?"
Except for Ision, king of Caprines and bearer of Capricorn's Zeal, all the other rulers were different from thirty years ago. The same conversation was brought into the summit since although not as much as in the present times, the cases of maddened beasts back then were also on the rise. With no knowledge of how to stop it, some of the rulers back then thought that another incursion of those that have a demon's mark might alleviate their current predicament and also give the people peace of mind thinking that the rulers had come up with a solution.
That was when the unarmed Silas first appeared. Vandrad wasn't the head council member then, but he was already Silas's friend. Silas was in his prime back then, being in his early sixties. The rulers of that time responded with the same hostility as the current ones. One of them, the previous king of Regas, even attacked Silas for not giving them respect. But, he lasted mere seconds before being brought down to the ground with Silas stepping on his head with his right foot. Then, Silas released the same immense pressure, which was even stronger back then. Some of them experienced a tight feeling in their chests. And after that, Silas revealed the Zeal of the Wise Serpent in his right eye glowing so bright like an emerald that engulfed the sun.
The previous king of Regas was known to have never even been brought to his knees, yet the unknown visitor treated him like a mere weak beast. He wasn't gravely injured, but his disbelief made him unable to gather the strength to stand up. Silas's display of power was enough for everyone else to shut up and listen to what he wanted to say.
All Silas said was a warning, "If another incursion ever began, I will hunt all that have agreed with my army and bring your kingdoms down to the ground."
Before his appearance, none of the rulers had any knowledge of the existence of a human far surpassing everyone in power. They knew that the man who gave them a warning had the strength to back it up, and even if the army he talks about didn't exist, all of them felt that he alone could damage a kingdom enough for the neighboring ones to see an opportunity to start a war and conquer them, breaking the fragile era of peace. The rulers who were suggesting an incursion saw no advantage in going against Silas. With that, the topic of doing another incursion was never brought up again. That is, up until the present.
"Silas, will you stop with the hostility? I'm feeling very uncomfortable," Vandrad said.
The old man, Silas, laughed aloud, "Forgive me. I couldn't help myself seeing them still glaring. Young people nowadays sure are different, it makes me want to fight all of them and see if I could bring them all down before I die."
"You were still the same, master," Ander said with a smile.
Everyone turned to him with a confused expression, except Vandrad who knew about the Panteran king being an acquaintance of Silas.
Silas laughed again, "Am I? How is your loser of a father? Is he still grumpy for not being king? Also, didn't I tell you not to call me that, I only taught you a few things," he replied.
Ander chuckled, "He still mentions how he could now win against you. And the knowledge you've shared helped me attain my level."
With a much exaggerated laughter, "I've heard that a lot of times. I got bored winning against him. Don't tell him you have seen me here."
The Panteran king replied with a nod.
"I guess I am done here," Silas looked at Vandrad, "You can now continue with your summit."
As Silas was walking out of the old garden, Ision spoke,
"You know who did it, didn't you?"
Silas stopped in his tracks. He turned to look Ision in the eyes, "I do. And we both know why," he replied.
Ision's fingers dig deeper in his palms. His brows furrowed more and the twitching in his face became more apparent.
"He's my son. You think I'd just brush it off and forget about his murder?"
"He's a slaver, a maker of drugs banned by law. Didn't you have great animosity towards such people? Your son is a criminal deserving of death. Being a son of a king doesn't make him ineligible to pay for his crimes."
Ision slammed the table, chipping away a portion of it, "Nonsense! My child was kind. He would never do what you've said. Your words are purely allegations."
"Oh, foolish king. You know I never tell lies," Silas sighed, "Open your eyes. What do you think your son was doing in a dungeon he's hiding from you? Good deeds?"
The others were unaware of the exact details of how Ision's son was murdered. On the night of his son's death, Ision received information about a large underground dungeon that no one knew the owner of. His knights entered the dungeon while he and a few others remained outside. That was when Ision and the few knights with him saw a group of people exiting from a different entrance far from them and within a wooded area. The last one they saw leaving was a woman with silver hair. Ision commanded his knights to chase after them, but they lost their tracks. And a few minutes later, the knights who had entered the dungeon reported back to him. Informing their king that they'd found his youngest son inside, and he was dead.
"What you said confirms that you know who did it. Tell me."
"I do know. But I won't tell you. Your son deserved his fate. Think of it as my doing. You can challenge me to a fight to the death, I'll allow you to bring as many as a hundred people with you. More, if you want. But know that I won't hold back and kill you all."
Ision didn't say anything back as Silas walked out of the area and similar to thirty years ago, he left a striking impression that none of them will ever forget.