Awakening of the Arcane Overlord

Zevan did not know what was transpiring around him. He did not know how he had stunned the crowd into silence. So, he kept his eyes closed. 

However, the others were not as oblivious as he was. The crowd stared at him silently, especially the six other men who had opened their eyes once the spell had been successful.

While the imposter's lips curled up into a thoughtful smirk, the others, however, looked at him in horror. They were terrified to find Zevan in place of Minister Barnaby while the man lay dead beside him. 

It was not difficult for them to comprehend what had happened. The break in the link before it rejoined - it was Zevan who had contributed to the success of the spell.

Elion closed his eyes tight in distress. They could hide the truth as much as they wanted, but it was bound to present itself before everyone one day. However, he had never expected it to happen like this, on this unfortunate day.

'Zevan, we cannot hide your truth anymore,' he thought and sighed in defeat.

Meanwhile, the four kings had similar expressions of astonishment. Zevan had given them a shock, one they were bound to take a lot of time to recover from. How powerful was he in that he contributed to the Soul Avenge Spell and helped them cast it successfully?

"Zevan..." King Harold was the first to snap out of his surprise and he approached Zevan, his mind filled with a lot of questions.

Hearing his name being called, Zevan's eyes fluttered open and he looked around in confusion. 

'Was the spell a success? Did we succeed?' he wondered, his brows contorting into a frown. He looked at the others questioningly before settling his eyes on his Master. 

When Zevan saw his Master's defeated expression, his frown deepened and a sense of foreboding filled him. 'Did we fail to cast the spell? Is Master perturbed for this reason? But..'

"Your Majesty, since the spell was a success, we should first focus on our task at hand. We can talk about other things later." Elion stepped forward and obstructed King Harold's path.

King Harold questioning Zevan was inevitable. But Elion hoped to delay it as much as possible.

"Yes, King Harold. We should focus on the crucial matter first," Darcy agreed, giving Zevan an unfathomable look.

This time, Zevan did not misunderstand. He perceived what had happened and why everyone was looking at him strangely as if he had grown a hundred heads.

Zevan never intended to attract attention. He was satisfied being the prince's right hand and providing assistance when required. But now, he could not hide any longer.

With the enemy lurking in the dark, he could not remain hidden forever. He had to come forward and face the world in his entirety. His people deserved to know who he was and what he was capable of.

Since the truth was out, Zevan did not panic and decided to face the world head-on. Darting a look of assurance at his Master who was trying hard to ward off the inevitable confrontation for some time, he made up his mind to come clean once they were done.

Zevan remained silent. He did not offer any explanation or speak anything about himself or his astonishing powers. A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes when he recalled what his Master had said moments ago. 

The Soul Avenge Spell was a success?

'Did we really succeed? Did we cast the spell? Or am I hallucinating?' Zevan wondered and ran his gaze around, looking for someone to ask about it. 

Unknowingly, his eyes met the imposter's, who was smiling at him with a mysterious expression. His eyes twinkled wickedly, and Zevan felt his body turning cold while his hair stood on end. There was something odd in the way the imposter was looking at him and Zevan became vigilant at once.

Glaring at him in warning, he crouched beside Minister Barnaby.

"Let me handle him, Zevan." The kingdom priest arrived and started chanting the spell while the others lowered their heads in respect. A few seconds later, Minister Barnaby's body combusted into ash.

Harold was dispirited to see one of his men die before him once again. However, the situation was better than he had expected. 

At one point in time, Harold had given up hope of survival. When the link broke in the midst of the spell, he was certain they would fail and had braced himself for death. Who knew that Zevan would save them all and even help them with the spell?

Once again, Harold's gaze returned to Zevan. But he did not approach him anymore. Elion was right. There were other important matters to handle first.

"Let me call one of the men." Harold took it upon himself to summon his men. Taking in a deep breath, he started chanting the man's name. But there was no response from his soul. He could not find him at all.

Confused, he tried a few more times. But in vain. The man's soul did not respond to him at all.

Harold felt something amiss. But he could not deduce what.

"Your Majesty, let us try calling the others," Elion suggested and Harold nodded as he switched to another man.

However, they failed to summon the soul once again and this continued for a long time. Even when they switched to another person, there was no response whatsoever. A strong sense of dread filled them and as time passed, it only became more.

'Why are they not responding to us? Was the spell successful or were they mistaken?' Zevan thought to himself, perplexed by the turn of events. He did not know much about the spell. So, he could not confirm whether they were successful at casting it or not.

"Your Majesty, what is happening?" Minister Chauncey trembled in fright. The situation was unexpected and he could not help but think the worst.

Not just him, the four kings too had similar thoughts and their expressions turned serious. Although they hid their apprehensions and fright, that did not mean they were not scared. They were, more than anyone could imagine. 

Harold had tried to summon the souls of all the people who had died at the hands of the evil. But none of the souls responded. None.

Harold's arms dropped while his face went pale when the last person's soul he had tried to summon did not respond as well.

Uneasiness and tension settled over everyone and their bodies turned cold. This was not what they had been looking for. 

Zevan pursed his lips as he took in everyone's perturbed and terrified expressions. Clenching his fists tight, he looked at the imposter again and this time, when he saw the man's victorious smile, realization dawned upon him.

Zevan understood why the man had actively participated in the spell. The imposter had kept his promise. He did not hinder the spell at all and even helped them cast it successfully for he knew... he knew that they would not be able to summon any soul.

A strange thought sprang in his mind suddenly and Zevan's eyes widened, his heart skipping a beat at the possibility. 

Did he...Did the Lord of the Dark destroy all the souls?