(EVENT) The Annual Guildmaster's Meeting!

[OOC: PLAY BEFORE READING]

Naziel sat listening to the volley of questions being sent up towards the guild masters but Naziel had his own questions as he got too his feet his hair covering his eyes; "If I may... I would like to bring up a subject that I know is sitting at the back of everyones minds... What do we know of the Dragon Acnologia and where is it right now!" Naziel threw his head up showing the determination in his eyes; "It is true that in the recent years we have found many new magics, including more slayer magic! But I'm not even sure how many Dragon Slayers it would take to destroy that monster... I've heard tales of it, legends, but it has proven itself to be more than just myth... Should we not create a plan or team to handle this situation should it ever come around again? None of us here want to lose friends, brothers, sisters, lovers, sons and daughters. So what will we do?" Naziel, the fairy strategist had been waiting for such a time to bring this matter to light, he nodded to Chikane knowing that she would understand his concern to help all guilds to combine their efforts to confront a horror equal to Zeref. He clenched his fists for a moment awaiting an answer.

While Drac was busy finishing eating, Adrien poured a glass of orange juice he was going to bring up to Rin and for himself a glass of red wine which Drac always said he looked like a vampire when drinking the stuff, then the wizard he bumped into who looked similar to him, but with longer hair turned to him "Oh sorry, for being in your way," he said, offering a handshake which Adrien shook firmly before going back to pouring his drinks, "My name is Cyrus Kuma, Lamia Scale's Cloud Make mage, this man here is Sir Kihia Avoa, another of Lamia Scale's mages. Can either of us help you with something?" Adrien shook his head when Cyrus offered to help him in any way "No thank you......I am Adrien Fionn....of Sabertooth.....a blood m-" Adrien was cut off when another explosion went off and he listened to Cyrus who raised his voice sounding very irritated "I've had enough of all this! The meeting is beginning to start, and people are still trying to blow up the guild hall. With all do respect I believe we should give our masters some time to speak before anyone else sets off an explosion. An bead of went down the back of Adrien's head as he watch Cryus getting irritated.

"Everybody please take your seats! The annual guildmaster's meet will begin very soon now that Master Shuhei and Master Zeno have finally decided to make their appearance. You are free to begin asking your questions directed at any one of the guildmasters about any topic and we'll answer to the best of our abilities. You won't get the opportunity to do this again until another year passes, so I suggest you make sure that your curiosity is satisfied before we leave here today" Adrien listed as his guildmaster Zenshin's voice rung through out the hall asking for them to take their seats "Drac lets go." Drac flew onto Adrien's shoulder letting out a small burp as he did before Adrien made his way to the upper level "You all better now?" he asked Drac not wanting for a repeat within the next few minutes "I should be fine for the rest of the evening, don't worry Doom and Jolly won't be bothering us again for tonight." Drac replied as he swallowed the last pit of food he was chewing in his mouth "Glad to hear it buddy." Adrien replied to his partner as he began to walk up the stair he could hear the Q and A had already started but he got distracted with making sure that he would spill the drinks. Once he got to the top he took a sigh of relief seeing there was a significant less amount of people up then there were done on the lower floor, he quickly spotted Rin leaning over on the railing and went over to her as he arrived he caught Rin let out an puff of air "Guess the cat's out of the bag now..."
"Which cat would that be?" Adrien asked Rin holding out her glass of orange juice for her to take as he caught wind of the whispers realising it must be torture for Rin with her enhanced hearing he took out a pair of unopened ear plugs and offered them to her thinking they might help "So did I miss much I wasn't really paying attention, try to make sure I didn't spill any of the drinks." he stated as he leaned against the railing himself now.

"Okay, okay. A few questions were asked so I'll answer them in the order they were asked. First to you there. The guild you're talking about is Tartarus. They are not new, but they are dormant. They attacked Era with Acnologia a while back, but they seem to have disappeared. When they become a problem, I believe we'll know and deal with them then. In regards to the question as to if Lord Frederik can be trusted. I used a spell to determine if he was purely evil or if he could be redeemed. The fact that he's alive proves that he can be trusted and has been absolved of his evil insanity. I've ended his life once and I won't hesitate to do it again if I even have a doubt that he'll perform the same atrocities that got him killed in the first place. And finally the question about Acnologia. This has been a question that I've thought about already, but it's impossible to have a plan. The likelihood of Acnologia returning to ruin another town or city are very slim, it likes to keep to itself in some tall mountain. Why go after it or try to kill it when it just wants to be left alone? But if it did come down to destroy again, we wouldn't be able to stop it. The only possible way is if a powerful make mage used a forbidden spell or if I got together with others that are familiar in sealing spells to create an 'ultimate' one, so to speak. But that would take years of developing. I hate to say it but until then, we are vulnerable to Acnologia's attacks" he said, responding to the questions that have been asked thus far. "I'm sure the other guildmasters have their own take on these matters though, I only speak for myself and my own thoughts"

Aegiel blanched at that. The Sabertooth Guildmaster killed someone who is currently alive? Necromancy was a dark art; he hoped that the guilds had the sense not to dabble in such things. Looking for some sort of explanation, he turned to Kaseki, "What happened? Did Frederick get revived from the dead somehow?" His voice was almost a whisper so as not to interrupt the larger proceedings.

Zuo frowned as several questions were asked. A few he wasn't sure how to answer but when he spoke up next he did his best to do so. "Aegiel regarding Frederik's being alive. I have heard rumors of Zenshin being capable of "temporarily killing" people. Some form a divine judgement tool that allows him to judge the soul and good intent of a person, if they fail they die, if they pass they are born again. However that is only rumor I would appreciate if Zenshin himself could clarify. If this is true however I think that means good things for our ability to trust Frederick." He paused and looked to Naziel "I do actually have some good news regarding Acnologia. I got a chance to see him first hand at Era. Even gave him a good punch in the gut for old times sake. From this experience I saw that harming him is possible. Difficult but very much possible with existing magics. I have drawn up a design for a potential Acnologia Response Team and protocal that I will be sharing with you all later tonight with this in mind. So rest easy Acnologia is a threat that can be combated- actually no do not rest easy. Be prepared for any hour of any day he could return, but do not fear him as if he was the reaper. He is mortal, finite, limited, and can be defeated. As long as that much is true then with a well prepared plan and strong hearts it can be done." Zuo finished his little speech and he began mentally preparing his pitch for his Response Protocols he mentioned as he was certain someone was going to ask about them any second and he didn't want to slip up when explaining such a vital plan.

Kyll's eyes opened out of shock as she heard Harrigan's name. She looked at Zeno in fear for her life. She knelt her head forward. She gripped her hands together and laced her fingers keeping quiet. So you lived... You actually lived... Kyll thought. Her body started to shiver out of the nervousness and fear. He's coming for me... He's going to take everything away from me, just as I did with him. To make me feel the same pain he did as I left him... As I almost killed him. She then looked over at Aegiel. Death? So Zenshin took his underling's life then revived him... Wait a second. Kyll thought back to how Zeno improved her strengths. She died in his arms before she actually learned her guild spell and acquired her spot as one of Zeno's students. "It's possible to be killed by magic other than dark arts... Only to be revived again." Kyll said to Aegiel. She then focused on the center of the Eclipse Soul table.

The thought of Harrigan's torture agonized in her head. Zeno and Kyll would have to take care of Savage Skull, but she would have to bring more than just her and Zeno after all. Harrigan was a huge threat. Especially with his high amount of knowledge of her and her emotional weaknesses. "I can't..." Kyll whispered to herself so that all of the Eclipse Soul members would hear her murmurs. Her eyes stayed open for a good bit. She couldn't regain her composure. "I can't even imagine... what he would do to me..." Kyll continued to whisper. Her aura of fear suddenly shifted to that of guilt. She unlaced her fingers and put her face over her hands to hide the tears that began to fall out. The fear in her had risen to almost uncontrollable levels. He'll come me for me... Only to kill me... She began to think. Kyll slammed her hands on the table and stood up. "Please... Excuse me.." She walked out of the halls and back into the kitchen closing the doors. She then slid to the wall beside the door and hugged herself tightly leaning forward. Her eyebrows furled over and she grit her teeth. The fear and guilt began to overtake her. Tears began to stream out of her eyes and onto the floors. Her breaths stuttered as she tried to gain her happy composure and disposition, but the thought of Harrigan being alive continued to take over her mind.

Harrigan's torture on Kyll's mind had already started.

Akryn had sat down not far from Kyll and listened to the meeting so far with a frown. He was glad Scorpion Tail hadn't been brought up really, meant what had happened when he went to get his passport had been an isolated incident. The comments about Acnologia on the other hand truly bothered him. Especially Zuo cii's plan! Thorsfell had taught him well of the many, most legendary dragons, and had warned him properly of the dark dragon. "With respect master Zou, I doubt you truly hurt the dragon. I was not here for the attack, but the fact the monster still roams free after such a battle is a testament to its prowess. I must agree with master Zenshin. The best we can do is put together a long term response and hope for the future. A preparation of arms will doubtfully be effective." he said before noticing Kyll get up and head off towards the Kitchen.


Akryn did not wait fr a response from Zuo or Zenshin. He had said his piece on Acnologia, and though he might be curious about what else would be brought up, Kyll's response to the news about Savage Skull and this....Harrigan fellow, took precedence. He didn't walk into the kitchen, he had more restraint than that. He did knock though softly. "Kyll? Are you ok?" he asked, before then pushing gently on the door to try and go in.

Lance nodded at Zenshin when he answered his question. He glanced at Kyll randomly and saw that she looked scared or worried about something. "hm..." he muttered to himself as he saw Kyll go into the kitchen and close the door. Lance looked down at the ground before sighing and leaving the table to go over to the kitchen where he ran into someone at the door. This man was trying to talk to Kyll so Lance nodded to the guy "Hey... you alright?" he said in a soft voice just like the other guy.

Although Lance didn't know Kyll at all he still cared for some reason.

Kyll opened the kitchen door Akryn stood in and grabbed him pulling him into the kitchen then shut the door just as Lance came up. "I... I-I'm fine. I just needed to grab something else that the waitresses missed." Kyll said as an obvious lie. "It's a personal... and a guild issue.... But I got Akryn in here to help." She said hoping Lance wouldn't worry any longer. Kyll grabbed Akryn by the wrist and stopped in the middle of the cooking area. All of the chefs left. She rubbed her face drying the tears streaming down. "Akryn," she said blinking. Her normal closed eyes demeanor had gone away. "I'll explain when we are done with the meeting, but just..." Kyll paused for a minute. She walked over to the counter and sat on top of it. "Just make me smile again. He's won if I worry myself over him. I need you to get my mind off of him."

At the mentioning of Harrigan, Zeno's eyes instantly shifted to Kyll. As expected, the scene unfolded in shock and panic taking her over. Zeno was highly worried, but remained unaffected in appearance. Zenshin and Zuo had given their opinions on Frederick, Savage Skull, Acnologia and Tartarus. Their answers had been quite diplomatic and soothing. The last thing the guildmasters wanted was panic within the largest and strongest mage community in Earthland.

Zeno stood and claimed his turn to speak. His voice boomed through the large hall.

"The threats we face today are real, as they have always been. Savage Skull has been a plague on society for years. Each time they rose to the surface, we knocked them back down. We have damaged them greatly time and time again, but still they linger, they persist, they come back. This truly is the nature of evil: to oppose the good, to challenge it, to keep the world in balance. We can root them out, but that will only lead to other Dark Guilds taking its place. We would only be changing our enemy's name.

As for Frederick..." Zeno spoke, glancing over at Zenshin. He remembered the Sabertooth guildmaster's hypocrisy, but still respected his decision.

"I have had the chance to kill him twice before when he was the guildmaster of Savage Skull. The first time he was a mere puppet to the Lichborne, I did not think his resolve was strong enough to become the monster we've known him to be. Frankly, I did not think the Lichborne would have let him live. Maybe I just did not give him enough time to kill Frederick. Nevertheless, I spared his life while Zenshin recommended me to do otherwise.

This decision of mine came back with a vengeance much later, as he kidnapped one of my guildmembers and nearly killed her. Then and there, I had the opportunity to slay him again. But you all know what my guild stands for: redemption. If a soul can be saved, I believe that it should. So I let Frederick's fate fall in the hands of Zenshin, who was very much of the opinion to kill the man.

Instead, he spared his life just as I did before. This is a sign to me that Frederick has a soul worth saving and that he will give back to our community, to our society, in return."

Zeno cleared his throat for a brief moment and let the information sink in. His 'speech' was accompanied with explanatory handgestures that carried it to the entire crowd.

"As for Tartarus and Acnologia... I'm afraid our information on this topic is not very clear. I killed the former guildmaster, Warden, who attempted to control the Dragon King. His control was broken, the dragon disappeared and Tartarus vanished into the shadows with it. All we can do is be ready for whatever comes next. That responsibility lies within you. You are the border between balance and chaos,  you are what keeps Fiore, and Earthland, safe. Zenshin is correct, we are vulnerable to them because we do not yet know what their plans are, but like Zuo, I am confident we can overcome any enemy as long as we make sure we are the best we can be.
Even if we have to pay a heavy price in doing so." Zeno said as he finished up his answers.

He sat back down and folded his arms, then pensively rubbed his chin with his left hand.

Nikolai let out a small sigh, smiling calmly now. Seeing familiar faces really helped relax him, and the crowd in here was smaller than outside, so everything started to seem... not so bad. Turning back to Akeya after Shuhei's entrance, Nikolai's prepared response was quickly replaced with confusion. Akeya was no longer standing beside him, but instead on the ground. Taking a second to process anything, he knelt beside her, trying to figure out what she was saying. "A-Akeya... Are you alright?" He noticed her slowly changing body, and his mind flashed back to the incident with the dragon that they already had experienced. His previous panic began to return. 'It's alright Nikolai just stay calm and think think think what do you do clearly something has bothered her she's mumbling something I can't make it out exactly "hate ight" Shuhei just sent out a wave of light and she always wears a cloak she must have an aversion to light I just gotta bring her back to her sense simple enough in theory.'

As he was thinking, he realized that the meeting was now starting. This wasn't good, he couldn't let himself or Akeya become a distraction. So far no one had noticed them, and they were by the wall so they weren't likely to be spotted. He wanted to ask a few questions, but for the time being the best idea was to deal with the situation before him. Moving beside Akeya, he tentatively placed a hand on her hands, trying to show her some comfort. He had no idea how to handle the situation exactly, and his increasing panic wasn't helping, but he had to do something. "It-It's alright Akeya, the l-light's faded, s-so just relax... The m-meetings started, s-so when you f-fell better w-we can go g-get our seats.... Al-Alright?" He turned his head to the guild masters, trying to focus on them as much as he could to keep his calm.

Akeya shook her head as Nikolai asked whether she was all right, continuing to babble about how she hated the light. Truth be told, after the initial flash of pain the effects of Shuhei's arrival were already fading away: More troublesome was the shock she felt, as without warning her eyes were exposed to such brilliant light. It made her feel vulnerable, and she hated that. More importantly, now she couldn't shake the feeling that as soon as she were to expose her eyes they would be struck by more light, the thought of which only made her shiver more. She only vaguely noticed that around her all the mages concentrated on the stage, where the Guild Masters had begun the official meeting.

When Nikolai touched her hands Akeya stiffened, then suddenly moved so she was sitting inside Nikolai's shadow. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. Hearing Nikolai say something Akeya tried to calm down enough to listen and respond: Apparently the meeting already started. Akeya shook her head as she tried to stand up, still shivering and moving rather slowly, her hands by now having formed into proper dark dragon claws. What's more, if Nikolai paid enough attention he could see the occasional glitter around Akeya, as if the light was being reflected off a small object, like scales. When she finally opened her mouth to respond her voice was just as shaky as the rest of her was, and lacked her normal dignity: Instead, she sounded more like a girl a couple of years younger than herself.

"I-I.... I'm fine. J-just didn't expect that. Nothing to worry about, I just really don't react well to bright light."

As much as Akeya was trying to reassure Nikolai that by and large she was fine, she couldn't stop shaking, and she couldn't calm down enough to return to her usual self. Taking a deep breath Akeya tried again to talk, looking at Nikolai, although the hood of her cloak was in the way, and Nikolai felt nothing of the focused stare people normally felt when talking to Akeya.

"W-we should focus on listening to the Guild Masters. They might have something to say. Thank you for worrying, but it's nothing really. Just need to recover from the shock, then I'll be fine."

Akeya sounded a bit less unfocused this time, but still not her usual self. She sounded like a girl her age would sound if she wasn't busy being serious all the time. Akeya shook her head again, trying to snap out of it. The pain from the flash of light has already disappeared almost completely, and she's not being attacked by light: It was just Shuhei making a flashy entrance. Still, the idea of exposing her eyes to the light again made Akeya freeze, her shivering increasing slightly.

"A-a-although... Do you have a piece of cloth you could spare?"

The blood rushed from Aegiel's face as not one, but two of his peers heard his question and gave a response, one of whom was his Guildmaster. He gulped. The old man had sharp ears. As did the waitress/mage, who he watched disappear through a side door after sparing him a response. He frowned,  I hope I didn't do anything to upset her... His worry evaporated as two mages followed her out, evidently to provide some sort of comfort. Aegiel stared down at his hands, mulling over Master Zuo's words in his mind.  So it's not Necromancy, then. That's a relief. Aegiel decided to put his faith in Zenshin and leave the matter at that. After all, he joined his guild in order to build trust, didn't he? His efforts would be wasted if he didn't put at least that much trust in a well-respected Guildmaster. The hall was mostly quiet as the Guildmasters answered question after question, but Aegiel felt uneasy. Something wasn't right. His eyes watered, and his stomach rumbled ominously. So it was the food, Aegiel thought, relieved. He excused himself from the table and headed to the nearest restroom, stomach grumbling the whole way there. I totally thought I was gonna be something big. Something...important. He hesitated. Then the Fatewalker's angry stomach heaved, and Aegiel sprinted as gracefully as he could into the closest stall, praying he wasn't too late.

Naziel sat at the table dissatisfied with his former Guild master's approach to the problem. "So he'd rather just brush it under the mat and accept that we can't do anything... That's why I left your guild..." Naziel thought to himself as he felt anger grow in his chest. It was then that he caught the most familiar scent, it was his partner Victoria who had re-joined Fairy Tail and also was one of the team members of Maelstrom Spark.

Naziel got to his feet and walked over and tapped her lightly on the shoulder with a grin;" Hey! You're a but late but I saved you a seat, the master has just started." He smiled brightly as he put his arm around Victoria to whisper in her ear; "Sorry this seems so informal but Viola was here... They nearly captured her but Heero helped her escape... Don't mention your past here okay? Fairy Tail won't let you be taken by that bastard Zenshin." Naziel smiled as he removed his arm and pulled out her seat for her before seeing her seated then taking his seat next to her.

Kihia only replied to his question with saying that there was too much to explain. Naraca would have asked, yet as he looked around he saw that the meeting was about to begin. The place seemed to be returning to normal, and with the meeting starting there wouldn't be any real time to have a big discussion about what happened prior to his arrival. So upon everyone taking there seats he followed, sitting next to Kihia who on Kihia's other side was Cyrus.

All the Guild Masters spoke of issues concerning dark guilds and possible leads on the activity's of dark guilds, basically just a Q&A of what bad guys were doing these days. It was pretty routine, one could call this like a UN meeting. The big man had only recently joined Lamia Scale, and was still very new in his magic, so he didn't have any questions he could ask. Not that he didn't want to, but rather that there was nothing worth bringing to everyone's attention.

As he sat and listened, he took as much in as he could, understanding the value of learning about these political matters as he was a Wizard himself.

His eye's narrowed with a sharp turn as his ears caught the words of Cyrus talking about Kihia's arm, telling him he'd have to explain it.

"Hey!" Naraca called out, leaning over Kihia and reaching his arm over to Cyrus and lightly, but firmly smacking his shoulder.
"You mind your own business, Kihia doesn't have to explain anything to you" He reinforced boldly to Cyrus. Defending his comrade and brother in arms about the Ice Boy's arm. Kihia's arm was deeply personal to him, and thus Naraca was more then happy to defend him and his rights to not talk about it. Talen did the same thing briefly he remembered, and it was just as uncalled for.

Afterwards he shot a quick glance at Kihia and nodded, showing he had his back.

Akryn allowed Kyll a moment of silence before stuffing his hands in his pockets and walking over to the counter she was leaning on, to turn around and place his rump against the edge, looking up at the ceiling pensively. "Ya know something Kyll. When I came down from the mountains for the first time, you were one of the first people I had ever seen in nearly two decades. At that time I thought you and Alye were......strange. Very strange. And I have learned that my assumptions at the time were not incorrect, you are by most standards, a bit of an odd ball. But you are also my friend. My best friend I would say. You're my family, and Thorsfell used to say family came first. Even when everyone else has abandoned you and walked away, you got your family. And whats funny is, usually, family aint what you are born with. Its what you grow to love and truly care for, the people you would die for, and worse, kill for, with no hesitation. You are my family Kyll."
he said, pulling a hand out of his pocket to reach over and gently grasp kyll's shoulder. "And I don't care who this Harrigan guy is. I don't care how strong he might think he is, or how hard I gotta train. He aint never gonna get to you again. Not in one piece anyway. I give you my word, as the son of Thorsfell."

Kaseki got up. He got bored of sitting as well as the whole event ideal. Kaseki could feel a strange thing build up within him. "I must be hungry. He made his way to the remains of the desert table. "Now why am I here? I'm sure there was a reason I was invited. Was I invited? Actually... was anyone invited?" Kaseki pondered the thought. He saw a half stepped on piece of cake and he put it on a broken plate. "Now, if this was of urgency, wouldn't they hold this meeting in private? Why invite the members? Why not just the aces?" Kaseki picked up a discarded fork and impaled his fragment of cake. "No, that can't be it. The dragon, this meeting... something... something is amiss."

Kaseki grabbed the arm of a passing waiter. "Excuse me, have you killed anyone before?" He returned a disgusted look on his face and proceeded to bring the dishes to the kitchen. Kaseki lifted the small chocolate filled treat to his lips. "Now if a war begins, will I have to kill someone? What if we opened up a portal to an alternate world of zombies and... and dragons! He swallowed the piece of cake and began to load another part of his treat to his dirty fork. ...Or or... what if he fought an alternate reality of... OURSELVES?! The thought of me... Wielding fire! Oooh! Or me, a evil villain who terrorizes the land! Of how it would be a great story! Oh how I would love to meet a Kaseki that kills the great heroes! A strong Kaseki!!" Kaseki paused and realized what he had said out loud. His thoughts had wondered from one to another and led him to declare an outburst about killing citizens of Fiore, or at least, that's what anyone would think he said.

"Oh god... I'm so about to get in trouble. I hope no one heard me..."

It seemed that his decision to give Frederik a last chance was a rather controversial one, which was understandable. What wasn't understandable was that the guildmaster of Blue Pegasus was demanding answers and getting emotional over past crimes committed by Zenshin's darkest guild member. He remained calm. Shuhei didn't drop any questions that he didn't already think of an answer for beforehand. Zenshin turned his head to the guildmaster and gave him the answers he seemed to want. "What gives me the right to judge him? I don't think you've realized this yet, but I'm probably the only one here that can truly judge a person's capability for redemption. Zuo put it perfectly. The fact that Frederik is alive is proof that he can make up for what he's done. If you were so hellbent on avenging your fallen guild members and devastated guild hall, maybe you should have bothered to hunt down Frederik and killed him yourself before I got to him. You should have stopped his rampage before me if you truly felt upset by his crimes. But you didn't. The fastest man alive couldn't be bothered. And YOU mark MY words Shuhei. IF I even have a doubt that he's stepped back to into the shadows, I will deal with him again. Should you so much as TOUCH my guild members there will be hell to pay." he said, warning the leader of Blue Pegasus to stay away from Frederik in particular and that he would handle it. If the White Mage really thought that Zenshin would just let him threaten his guild members, no matter what they've done in the past, he definitely had another thing coming. I wonder if Zeno gets this much heat since pretty much all of his guild members have done something particularly awful to end up there

Leonard simply sat in his chair as he watched and hear events unfold. Apparently another threat arose in Fiore during his absence. Though a part of him said that it was good he wasn't there, for he heard the challenge the mages fought in Era. The apocalyptic dragon that he fears the most; Acnologia. And all the while they were discussing the matter, he had been silent. Stunned that the dragon come down once again. Numerous images flashed in his mind regarding his little accident when he was young, training under his master that gave him Dragonbane. Until suddenly Acnologia came down. He could still remember the look on those hallow empty eyes. While his master did the best he could holding it off and Leonard standing still afraid. Leonard tried his best to shake it of and return to reality. Telling himself that it's all over and the beast is no more again. Fortunately he succeeded and his attention returned in time to hear that they should simply be prepared. And as he heard it, he looked down in despair murmuring to himself You can never prepare for him

It was at this moment that the matter regarding Frederick began to heat up. And as before, he sat there stunned listening while the current guild masters argue among themselves regarding the insanity or the warranty of Zenshin's decision. In truth, there was a part of Leonard that wished Fred could be saved. For during the times that he had been with the Dark Mage, the Darkness he felt was passive. As if he was simply a man who had lost all hope and that Zenshin only gave him hope. But he remembered ever atrocity Fred has done and can't force himself to believe that was the case. It was at this moment that Leonard was becoming restless. He wanted to stand up and shout out to the meeting. But he didn't want to create such a scene in a time like this. He tried to shift his eyes elsewhere and everywhere. He really couldn't take it, little by little his actions are becoming erratic like fiddling with his hands and cracking his knuckles. He had only hoped he won't be noticed, until he bumped Rita in the back. Great... Now he will be noticed. "Oh... Sorry." he said.

Kyll smiled and leaned on Akryn. "You make it so hard to hold in secrets from you, Akryn." Kyll blinked. Her glowing green eyes softened as she wiped a tear away. "Though we were arranged, we were in love. Yet I left him, because of my nosebleeds at the time." Kyll sighed as her eyelids began to shut. "He was everything to me, but then... My mother made that wish out of anger. She wanted me to be free from the life of nobility and politics. So... I left... with a tear and blood stained note. Telling him that all I felt for him was a lie." Kyll put a hand on the back of her neck to feel her Eclipse Soul tattoo. "So he left to find me when rumors of my whereabouts were revealed. He found me. But.... I.... Attacked him. It wasn't me." Kyll's eyebrows furled showing a saddened look. "It was the queen... Zenshin revealed that to me. Master Einrich, my mentor, reestablished the seal that Harrigan had broke. Anyway... I thought I killed him. I mean I killed a lot of people that day. I admit, that I have transgressions before, but this one... What I have done that day is my ultimate sin. I don't even think Master Einrich has told Master Zeno about this." She looked forward as her eyes thinned back to their closed eyes nature. "Many friends died that day.... And now... Harrigan's alive. I mean I knew he was, but I didn't want to believe that, but Zenshin confirmed it." She looked at Akryn and then at the ground giving a small 'heh.' "He's not going to be forgiving. He will take everything away from me... And if he wins." Kyll shivered.

Then she over heard Shuhei's tirade. This was no good. "That master from Blue Pegasus just insulted everything we stand for. Frederick does deserve that treatment though... To his face. Not behind his back." Kyll stood up and took her chef's coat and hat off. Her black suit was low cut in the back revealing the two scars from her last battle with her wish faery. She walked up to a cabinet and put on her blue and white sleeveless kimono top. She then wrapped her obi around her waist. She opened the kitchen door and walked out. Her eyes opened in fury as the candles went out. All of the waitresses and waiters immediately lit the candles again. Kyll glared in Shuhei's direction. How dare you... She thought. You insulted the meaning of our guild. Kyll's glare remained as she took her seat again. This time dressed in her usual outfit. Kyll kept her mouth shut tight and looked in Zeno's direction again. I never knew Blue Pegasus's master was so passionate about his anger. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "If you hadn't spent so much time plotting your revenge, I wouldn't have been in danger." Kyll said thinking aloud. She immediately blushed and put a hand over her mouth. Sorry Master, I sort of let that one slid.

Zeno leaned and turned his head to hear what Cordelia had to say. The Flame God Slayer had been standing guard loyally this entire time. Zeno had noticed her before and was pleased to see her take this meeting seriously. After all, if there was ever a good time to strike and wipe out as many legal mages as possible, it would be now. As necessary as the annual meeting was, it was definitely not safe.

Perhaps they should have used mind or lacrima projections instead.

Cordelia whispered a rumour into his ear that Warden fathered a child in Savage Skull. It was a rumour after all, so this was definitely not the time to address such a thing to the crowd. However, its magnitude should it be true was large enough for Zeno to grant it his attention.

"When was this child born supposedly?" He asked her, but was then interrupted by an outburst from Shuhei.

It was entirely reasonable. The Lichborne had wiped out Blue Pegasus before, Shuhei's former guildmaster and the rest of the members with it. Frederik had been the main accomplice in reviving the monster, but if it hadn't been Frederik, it would have been someone else. This much was certain. Though, if Shuhei would have taken it upon himself to hunt down Frederik for his sins and involvement in the BP massacre, Zeno would not have objected in the least.
In the end, it was the Lichborne who had slaughtered Blue Pegasus, after Shuhei had carried the Lich's sword to his guildmaster for safekeeping.

Yet, here we are. Each of us guilty of decisions and indecisions that have cost us dearly.

Zeno kept his posture, he had glanced over at the two other guildmasters arguing, but had not given any reaction. This matter was between Zenshin and Shuhei now, if they wanted to point fingers at each other and throw blame and responsibility back and forth, so be it. Zeno wasn't going to play that game.

He knew that Frederik simply would not be able to make a wrong turn without paying the highest price. If he was truly on the path of redemption, then every life he can save in the process is a step further into the light.

The Shadow Savior knew this more than anyone else.