Oblivion's Heir: Rise of the Sovereign - Chapter 35: Framed

Chapter 35: Framed

Everyone’s gaze shifted in the direction of the voice.

Kael and Owen stood on the second floor of a half-destroyed house, and Owen’s hands weren’t empty.

He held his class-provided shield in his hands, which was long enough to cover him from head to toe for protection. His condition didn’t appear to be better than Ren’s or Luna’s, as evidenced by his damaged tunic and minor gashes.

But Kael looked completely fine.

Ren realised that Luna might see him differently if he couldn’t explain himself quickly enough, and seeing Kael and Owen, he was relieved, as he wasn’t sure if he could take down Derek. He was utterly exhausted.

Though he could have still revealed his strength if things came to worst, but then it would have turned a lot messier.

Derek knew that he wouldn’t be a match against Kael, let alone all of them if everything went south. And trusting Ren was a gamble he couldn’t take when they hadn’t even talked much to know about each other.

A plan.

That was what he needed.

And it didn’t give him a second further for his shrewd brain to immediately form a rough plan of buying some time.

Not giving Ren a chance to talk, Derek started explaining how he and Luna were attacked by an agile, wolf-like vermyrex. Derek didn’t even try to weave a story mixed with lies and truths, he knew Kael enough to know that it wouldn’t take him long to sense something amiss.

And there was no point for him to lie as the events that could implicate his actions happened at the last which he had already started to work for.

A sliver of darkness wobbled and detached from Derek’s own shadow and crept towards Luna slowly, making sure that no one, not even Luna herself noticed it.

It jumped from one shadow to another, which were created from the rubble of the destroyed houses around them, while Derek conversed with Kael and Owen.

Ren held his tongue, as he himself wanted to know what had happened with Kael, and Ren could still justify himself without worrying about being painted as the offender later as Luna, the possible victim, herself was present there.

And Luna felt a weight lift from her as she saw that Kael and Owen had come, and slowly, the anger in her chest wanted to scream at them, but she held herself. Her damaged vocal cords might become truly permanent and prevent her from speaking in the future, something she couldn’t risk. So she let him explain, but she wasn’t sure about Ren.

If she framed Derek and supported Ren, she was sure Ren would take the lead to prevent implicating himself. But if she framed both, there was a very high chance that Ren and Derek would protect each other which would make Kael unable to take any action.

And the second case was a lot more likely to happen after she had heard Ren asking what was in it for him to keep his mouth shut.

Meanwhile, the small shadow finally reached Luna, crept on her clothes, and finally reached her neck.

And then, Luna heard a soft whisper out of nowhere.

“… and that’s when I used my ability to strangle the wolf, but due to its last struggle, I was thrown three streets away and by the time I returned, I found Ren trying to force himself upon Luna.”

Ren’s eyes widened in surprise and he looked at Derek as if he were an idiot.

Kael himself was surprised by what he heard, and to confirm himself, he turned towards Luna and stepped closer to her while Owen followed him from behind, keeping a close eye on Ren.

“Is what Derek said true, Luna?” Kael asked in a gentle voice, his heart aching slightly seeing her battered.

Luna went silent for a moment, increasing Derek’s heartbeat.

He quickly manipulated another shadow beneath himself, ready to enter and make a run for it.

“…yes.” She dropped her head and muttered in a low voice.

Derek exhaled as his panic slowly subsided.

Kael’s gaze hardened as he turned towards Ren. Owen’s grip tightened on his shield which he had kept active after learning a lesson from the last surprise attack.

“What do you have to say in your defense?”

Kael spoke with a tense expression on his face, and he wanted to burn the kid in front of him into ashes but he knew he had to give him a chance, even though the victim and the witness themselves blamed him.

Ren stood stunned, completely bewildered. His eyes fixed on Luna, who kept her head low.

She felt a pang of guilt for framing Ren while leaving Derek, the main perpetrator, completely fine but when she remembered Ren’s words, her guilt died down her throat, she hardened her resolve and blamed everything on Ren by agreeing to Derek’s words.

“Why?” Ren spoke in a hard voice.

He knew he couldn’t do anything, regret washed over him that he didn’t speak or interrupt Derek earlier due to his own cautious and slightly calculative nature, not knowing that he was against someone more cunning than a fox itself.

It didn’t take long for Ren to understand that he couldn’t prove himself innocent as the victim herself had framed him.

The thought of escape surfaced in Ren’s mind. But he also understood the physical state he was in wouldn’t let him escape.

His brain raced as he thought of using his strength to escape, but seeing Owen’s shield and remembering how he had used it all the way to the outer region, he gritted his teeth and… accepted it.

“Yes, I did it.” Although he said that, Ren hadn’t given up, it was far from it.

Derek himself knew that this thing was far from over, but unknowingly, a lot of things had gone according to his plan.

’That petty guy would be even more delighted to see Ren framed and punished right before his eyes, and I save myself from getting accused too. Its just… how would I handle things with her from now on?’

Kael contemplated as his eyes flickered towards Luna.