11 The Empire Takes Notice
'THEY DESERVE NO PITY!'
The voice that had accompanied Raven through his childhood rang out at the back of his mind once again.
'Shut up!' He retorted and the voice was silenced. He took a deep breath before walking through the village, casually stepping into houses that were not on fire and going through them. If he saw people hiding, he did not hesitate before blasting them with a wave of black fire. Not even children were spared from his flames. If he let them be, who would take care of them with the adults all dead? He would simply just put them out of their misery now. And besides, he had been a child, and yet, no one had tried to help him.
After an hour of going through the houses that had not been burnt down yet, Raven had gotten a few supplies.
"Soap, some food, decent clothes." Raven took note of the things he was able to find as he put them into a satchel that he had gotten from another village a while back. "A pretty good fetch." He mumbled to himself as he also went through what money he had been able to find.
He stood up and without a glance back, he walked away from the ashes of what had once been a village and into the darkness of night.
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The village that Raven attacked was one that was on the route that led deeper into the White Empire. Because of that, it did not take long for the ruins of the burnt village to be taken note of by one of the passing travelers.
When news spread, a detachment of investigators was sent over to investigate and it did not take long for them to deduce that Dark Magic had a hand in destroying the village.
The news instantly sent the White Empire into an uproar. For a Dark Magic practitioner to burn down an entire village in the White Empire was a direct provocation! It was like spitting on their faces!
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"Dark Magic practitioners that are not under strict surveillance and control cannot be allowed to run rampant within this Empire!" A loud voice boomed in a large hall. The voice came from a tall, well built man with black hair and black eyes. He had a full beard and multiple scars along his face and neck. The golden crown that was studded with many gems on his head made him look more regal and noble in a way that the scars failed to do, however.
Several figures sat around a large round table in the center of the spacious hall, seemingly engaged in a heated conversation.
"You say that like we are not already aware of it, Your Majesty." One of the other people seated at the table sighed. The speaker this time was a man who looked to be in his late twenties. His green hair made him stand out but not too much among the crowd he was currently with. He had black eyes that seemed to radiate some kind of strange aura.
"If you are aware of it, then do something! You are not hailed as the Heroes who ended the Demon King's reign for nothing! Fighting against Dark Magic is what you are good at!" The Emperor bellowed.
"Calm down, Your Majesty! Do not worry, our investigators are already working to track down the culprit. When they are found, they will be taken care of quickly." A third person spoke, this one being a black haired man with his eyes having been damaged from battle. Three horizontal scars ran across the breadth of his face, with one of the scars having sliced through his eyes and blinded him. But the injury did not seem to impair him.
"I want results, not just words. We both know how terrifying Dark Magic can become. Even the few practitioners that we have in the capital have to be restricted and kept under strict surveillance. If we allow this rodent to run amok in the Empire's territory, then the damage they will do will continue to pile up until it comes to bite us in the behind!" The Emperor was not satisfied with what he heard and continued to complain.
"Emperor Lodestar, please be calm. We will deal with the problem before it grows out of hand." A fourth person spoke and everyone paused. The one that had spoken was the least spoken of all the Heroes and was also hailed as the strongest Hero of the White Empire. It was he himself who had beheaded the Demon King in the great battle of the Yale Demon Invasion years ago.
"...Very well, Burns." Emperor Lodestar bit his tongue and sat back, but his eyes were still as sharp as ever. He would wait and see how the Heroes handled the matter before moving his own people to handle the threat. Anything that threatened his Empire had to be squashed and uprooted before it could become a serious problem!
Silence descended on the hall for a time before small discussions rose up between the Six Heroes.
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Raven sighed as he walked out of the river that ran by. He had come across it on his journey and decided to wash away the smell of ashes from his body.
"Ah?!"
A sudden cry alerted Raven and he instantly held up his hand, ready to defend himself from any wild animal. But he was taken aback when he saw a young girl his age covering her eyes as she hastily backed away from the river.
"S-s-s-sorry! I-I didn't k-know someone would be bathing here!" The girl quickly tried to apologize.
"..." Raven simply watched as she eventually turned around and ran away.
