Zodiac Circle

Chapter 30: The Truth

"W-What do you mean, 'sealed away'?!" Tamie was shocked.

"Erik von Drachen belonged to the Crimson Flame Order," Byakuya explained. "He was a cruel assassin and the leader of the Dragon Flame Group. He went on a rampage because of his ambitions. The five Bearers sealed him away, putting on the joint Blast of Judgment spell. If you saw him now, that means the seal has somehow leaked. Erik had illusionary powers since he was a Fire sign, so he can create Illusionary Clones. If you've met him, that means he targets you. I don't know why, though. That's a problem."

"W-What are you saying?" Tamie could hardly come to her senses. "The Zariel archives tell that Erik is the current Sun Celestial Lord. He can't possibly be sealed away!" 

Byakuya got more confused. He furrowed his brow.

"Then, I guess, someone has been falsifying the archives, because the current Sun Celestial Lord..." He pulled a golden-chained necklace from behind his black kimono on his chest. A Sun medallion with a red gem in its center glittered. "As I've told you, Erik's greatest powers are illusions. If you saw such a medallion on him, it's likely that it was illusionary as well."

"No way!" Tamie fell to her knees. She put her head in her hands. "No way! This is all so messed up!"

People in the streets looked at them in surprise and continued their way. Byakuya noticed there were many people around. He grabbed Tamie's hand. The latter gasped and looked up at him in fright - what did he want?!

"Listen to me carefully!" Byakuya said, "If Erik ever breaks the seal, he's going to take his revenge on your order, the Zodiac Council, and all the Celestial Lords. He's a berserker and must be stopped. So hear me, tell everything to your Magister once you get back in your Order building! Then, meet up with the Silver Venus Lord, Georg Braun! He is the only Bearer who has participated in sealing Erik and survived. I think other things you'll figure out on your own." 

He was going to leave when Tamie grabbed his hand and cried:

"Wait! You can't just declare something so creepy out of the blue and leave me alone on a dark night! I'm scared!"

"I'm not exactly a person you can depend on..."

"I don't even know whom I can trust anymore!"

"Can you trust a person who wears their Order ring on their left hand?"

Tamie blinked at such a weird question. Byakuya showed her his ring. He wore it on his left hand. It was a golden ring, with a red dragon depiction. Tamie wanted to ask what he meant, but when she caught sight of the red dragon on the ring, Edmund's words popped up in her mind:

"Zodiac Masters once knew such a person, who was a lefty and was willing to wear the ring on his left hand, and the Magister consented. However, that person, after six years of loyalty to his order, massacred the whole order and fled."

Tamie gulped, taking a step back.

"Y-You mean..."

"Oh, so you know!" Byakuya said. "I figured as much. What happened to the Crimson Flame is a well-known fact. But there was more to it! I too belonged to the Dragon Flame Group, yet I never obeyed the orders. I was raised according to the Blade Warrior Code of Kenshin since my deep childhood. I knew one should not spill the blood of the unarmed. However, our Magister Merlinn Goldreich and the Dragon Flame Group leader Erik von Drachen always demanded to assassinate people of high stance, some of whom weren't even Zodiac Masters. People counted me as a betrayer of the Order, so Merlinn commanded Erik and his brother Jan to kill me - their cousin. They were going to do it, for they too thought I was not only a betrayer of the Order but the whole von Drachen clan. We battled. During our rampage, we accidentally burned the whole Order building to ashes and so only we three survived. I fled, and since then acquired that foolish sobriquet which suits me not so much. All I did was defend myself against my mad cousins, who held a grudge against the world for annihilating the von Drachen Clan, our family... but that is another story. The von Drachen posed a great danger to society due to its numerous Dragon Leo members, so they had to be dealt with, or so people thought. Merlinn Goldreich was the one who put an end to our clan. Yet, my cousins couldn't realise it and served him loyally, while I couldn't stand it. 

"Our past is messed up, but what we did cannot be undone. All that can be done now is not let Erik escape from his prison because if our clash happens once more, it will turn into a disaster. As for Jan, he's dead, as far as I know, but he too might be lurking here and there since he was the Bearer of the Soul and could make Ghost Clones of himself. One of his clones might still be free, even when he is no more. His will to unseal his brother and take revenge is just that powerful.

"I told you all I could, Tamie Wingfield. Judging by your surname, you must be the sister of the Moon Lord, and as I see, you are a Libra." He looked at her brass-chained necklace. "The only way for Jan to open up Erik's seal is to use his Bearer powers, which his clone cannot do alone unless he's got a body. As you are a Libra, and, as Nick Wingfield's sister, I assume you're just as powerful, it is no wonder why Erik has been targeting you. Jan wants to take over your body, as it seems. All I can say is - be careful! Take care now!" 

He disappeared in a bolt of light. Tamie could barely stand on her feet. He said a bunch of creepy things and just vanished?!

"Tamie! There you are!" 

The girls ran up to her from behind her. They were happy to have finally found her. Tamie fell unconscious in their arms. She fainted from the many crazy things she had just seen and heard.