The familiar scene eased much of the anxiety in the hearts of the Divine Attendants. Kadela had once again convened the puppeteer meeting, which meant the situation at the Mage Tower was under control.
Until they heard a strange female voice announce an unexpected bad news to them, "Kadela is already dead."
This voice emanated from the chairman puppet.
Sitting at the most important position, its face showed no expression.
They quickly realized the seriousness of the matter might be beyond their imagination—the possibility of someone other than Kadela convening the puppeteer meeting meant only one thing: Kadela was not only dead but had been robbed of his knowledge and power.
This was a magic unique to Kadela, a domain magic composed by him.
This reminded the Divine Attendants of a terrifying name.
Soon after, the chairman puppet confirmed their suspicions, "Rowena, that’s my name."
The existence mentioned by Silver Fox, suspected of being an Old Gods projection!
"...What do you want us for?"
In fact, Rowena couldn’t distinguish who was who at all; the only Round Table Knight she recognized, Palansi, had already been murdered by Kadela. But this wouldn’t hinder her next actions, "I am here to dissolve the Divine Attendants."
"What did you say...?"
"Kadela is dead, this organization, is no longer needed."
"Please don’t say that, Ms. Rowena."
A gentle voice emanated from within the puppet, thick and low, sounding somewhat familiar, "I’ve always been watching you all, including everything happening in the Mage Tower. Kadela... brought about his own destruction."
Whose general is this?
Rowena glanced at the puppet at the end of the row. She initially planned to dissolve the Divine Attendants with a tough attitude, without providing any explanation to them, as she wasn’t seen as a benevolent person in their eyes, and further explanation would only be viewed as lies and conspiracy.
How come someone is speaking for her?
"I am Palansi, we met in the Imperial Capital."
The meeting erupted in chaos; the puppets turned towards the voice, where indeed there was Palansi’s seat.
According to the rules of the puppeteer meeting, even if someone among them died, the corresponding puppet would not be retrieved. The next new member would inherit the sacrifice’s position.
"I indeed died, but circumstances allowed me to regain my life."
Palansi stated, "Sorry, although now I can explain the situation to you all at the first instance, my soul was severely damaged and I lost my physique, so I could only observe how things developed from the sidelines. Everyone, I can vouch for Mr. Ethan and Ms. Rowena with my character; they are far from being the villains you perceive them to be; in fact... the one who murdered me was Kadela; he had already lost his mind."
The reconvened puppeteer meeting finally allowed Palansi to speak. Thɪs chapter is updated by Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
For a straightforward man, he nearly suffocated from holding back.
He detailed the occurrences of that night to the crowd, including how a puppet manipulated by Kadela found him, hoping he’d drug the other side.
He also refused to collaborate with the other Divine Attendants, resulting in a failed negotiation followed by murder to eliminate evidence.
"How do I know if what you say is true or a collusioned scheme?"
Someone raised a question.
Though they understood Palansi’s character, all the mentioned details withstand scrutiny, but these events occurred too abruptly, leaving them unprepared to accept the changes.
Rowena also chimed in, "We cannot achieve mutual trust, thus dissolving the Divine Attendants is a favorable decision for both parties."
The meeting fell into silence.
Each member pondered this proposal seriously.
However, the ensuing question left them bewildered, if the Divine Attendants were dissolved, where would they go?
They abandoned their names, identities, and everything else to gather here, turned into not quite human or ghost-like soul states, with time passing by, civilization evolving, the place called "home" had long vanished.
This time, Palansi did not oppose Rowena’s suggestion; as a member of the Divine Attendants, he understood their current thoughts, "How about visiting the Empire? If you witnessed the changes in the Empire nowadays, you might have different thoughts."