Chapter 1616: Argument

Erebus entered the council hall with his usual cold expression and an air of authority surrounding him.

He already knew how the other council members would react when they learned that he had granted the outsiders permission to conduct a thorough search of their city.

They would be furious and might even accuse him of making a reckless decision that could endanger their people. However, the council had already given him the authority to handle matters involving the outsiders and he had no intention of wasting that authority by hesitating when an opportunity presented itself.

He had made his choice based on what he believed was best for Scadri, and now that he had given his permission, there was little the others could do to reverse it.

The six council members were already seated in their respective chairs when Erebus entered.

Their gazes immediately settled on him, the solemn expressions on their faces suggested that they were expecting another disappointing report.

Erebus hadn’t told them what he had discussed with the outsiders, so they assumed that the investigation didn’t give any meaningful results, much like other attempts that had come before it.

After all, they had spent decades searching for a way to lift the curse, and every promising lead had eventually ended in failure. They weren’t expecting anything this time either.

He walked toward the center of the hall and stopped before the long table where the council members sat. For a moment, he studied their faces before finally breaking the silence.

"I’ve made a decision regarding the outsiders and their investigation. I’ve granted them permission to search the city thoroughly."

The hall erupted almost immediately.

"What did you just say?" Aldric demanded, his brows drawing together as he leaned forward in his chair. As the leader of the council, he had always taken the security of Scadri seriously, Erebus’s announcement clearly struck him as an unacceptable breach of their authority. "You allowed them to search the entire city without consulting us first? Have you forgotten what that means? They are outsiders. We know nothing about them, and now you’re letting them wander wherever they please."

"Aldric is right," Theron said. "We agreed to let them investigate the curse, not hand them unrestricted access to our city, letting them see every secret we have."

Maeron shook his head in disbelief and said, "What if they’re not here to help us?"

"And even if they have no such intentions now, we would be giving them the opportunity to change their minds later," Garran added, his expression darkening. "We have survived this long by being careful about whom we trust. Yet you have decided to disregard that caution because a few outsiders claim to have found a possible explanation for the curse."

Aldric’s displeasure only deepened as he listened to the others voice their concerns. He fixed Erebus with a hard stare.

"You acted too rashly. We gave you the authority to deal with these people because we believed you would exercise sound judgment, not because we expected you to make such an important decision on your own. You should have brought this matter before the council before granting them permission!"

Throughout the outburst, Valerian remained silent. Unlike the others he had often supported Erebus’s decisions, even when they involved considerable risks.

He understood why Erebus had taken this step and privately agreed that the outsiders deserved a chance to investigate the curse properly. However, he also recognized that the others were too agitated to consider the matter calmly right now. Erebus allowed them to continue for a while without interrupting. He stood motionless in the center of the hall and listened as their complaints grew repetitive, his expression cold as ever.

He had expected this reaction, that did nothing to change his mind.

When they finally fell silent, Erebus raised his gaze and addressed all six members of the council.

"Have you forgotten the authority you gave me?" he asked. "You agreed that I would handle matters involving the outsiders. You entrusted that responsibility to me, and this is the decision I’ve made. And I have made a decision. Think about what happened during our meeting. We did not tell the outsiders about the monster that threatened our world more than a century ago nor did we explain how her supposed death was followed by the curse. Yet they reached that conclusion themselves after examining the corrupted energy and studying its unusual properties. They suspected that the creature was responsible before I revealed anything about our history."

The council members exchanged uneasy glances.

"If their conclusion is correct, then the curse may be connected to the creature we failed to find after the war," Erebus continued. "We searched for her remains and found nothing. We spent decades trying to lift the curse, and we have made almost no progress. Now, for the first time in years, someone has offered us a possible explanation that fits the evidence. Are we supposed to ignore it just because the people who discovered it came from another world?"

"They could still be mistaken," Theron argued. "A possibility is not proof."

"Of course it isn’t," Erebus replied. "That’s why they need them to investigate further. If we already knew the truth, we wouldn’t need their help in the first place. I believe it gives us a better chance than doing nothing.

"This is our last hope. We are all desperate to free Scadri from the curse. I have no intention of allowing them to do whatever they please without supervision. But I will not throw away our only remaining chance.

"I made this decision because I believe it is the right one. I am certain that we need to give them the opportunity and I will take responsibility for the consequences."

No one said anything. The council members weren’t going to suddenly accept his decision and their expressions still betrayed their reluctance.

However, the shouting had stopped, replaced by a heavy silence as each of them considered what Erebus had said.

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