Chapter 218: Confronting Veyrath

The moment the Alpha disappeared into the trees, that was when they were finally able to get a moment of reprieve.

Like labourers who had finally been freed from hours of backbreaking toil, relief swept over the cohort like showers of rain after a prolonged period of stormy, dark clouds.

"I seriously thought it was going to attack," Vaelorin muttered while placing his Staff by his side. "But thank Aetherium it didn’t."

A palpable sense of relief could be felt from the way the failed Pyromancer spoke. Obviously, the departure of the Alpha was something that had eased the tension weighing heavily upon him.

Meanwhile, Regaleon turned towards him and replied calmly. "Like I said previously, attacking us was not truly its concern. Had it been, then I doubt any of us would even be in one piece by now."

Although it might have seemed that Regaleon was trying to overestimate or overrate the strength of the wolf, no member of the cohort thought he was exaggerating at all.

Despite the motionless manner with which the Alpha had watched them, the aura it radiated alone had been enough to tell them everything they needed to know about the kind of strength and power it possessed.

As a matter of fact, simply standing near it was something that oppressed them, exposing them to that pressure all the more.

"The only objective of the Alpha had been to observe us," Regaleon continued. "And because of that, it had been willing to stay behind to study our capabilities. For that reason, while it might be gone for now, there’s no doubt that we would still encounter it later... Perhaps sooner than we expected."

Regaleon stressed those last words, causing the relaxing atmosphere to suddenly become heavier and more oppressive.

However, Veyrath quickly spoke up.

"Okay, Regaleon. Don’t jinx our victory. Why don’t you just allow us a chance to celebrate and appreciate the fact that we survived that harrowing ordeal?"

Veyrath’s words had barely settled when Caelestra suddenly turned sharply towards him and spoke with a tone of resentment in her voice.

"Yeah... Says the person who had been moments away from selling out one of us to save his own skin."

Caelestra’s voice was filled with grievance, and it was obvious that she was still annoyed by the stunt Veyrath had tried to pull when the Black Stalker was confronting them.

Immediately, the levity that had existed amongst the group vanished as the rest of them began turning towards Veyrath to question him.

The only reason they hadn’t bothered to talk about that stunt earlier was because, the moment the Black Stalker disappeared, they had been left with no choice but to face off against the pack of wolves.

But now that they had managed to overcome that danger, it was time to address that particular matter.

"Right, Veyrath. What you did earlier was uncool. I mean, how could you even try to kick Regaleon to the curb after everything he has done for you..."

Valmyr paused.

"For us."

His bloodied appearance, coupled with the stern and serious expression on his face, made the failed Vanguard appear like some sort of battle-hardened executioner.

The moment Valmyr made that particular reproach, Veyrath suddenly went quiet.

For a guy who was particularly talkative, it was quite odd and strange that when it was time for him to face and dance to the music he had created with his own hands, he was suddenly silent.

Obviously, even he knew the gravity of the action he had committed earlier.

Even he couldn’t deny that, during that moment, he had been selfish. He hadn’t even considered what would ultimately become of Regaleon if the Vael’zhur had succeeded in taking him away.

For that reason, because he was also aware of his own shortcomings and transgressions, Veyrath knew that there were no explanations or reasons he could give that would be able to justify the selfishness of his actions at the time.

However, before the group could continue with their beration and reprimand, Regaleon suddenly spoke up.

"Okay, guys. I appreciate the fact that you are standing up for me, but I also want you to know that it isn’t right to blame Veyrath for something that was totally my fault."

Much less the group, even Veyrath himself was surprised that Regaleon would speak up in his defense.

Although, while they confronted the pack, he had spoken with Regaleon and followed his lead, Veyrath had thought that the only reason Regaleon had decided to accept him then was because of the intensity of the moment.

He had assumed that Regaleon was simply being broad-minded and wasn’t willing to let their internal conflict come between their survival and the need to stand together.

However, it was only now that Veyrath was perhaps realizing that Regaleon wasn’t as petty as he had thought he would be.

And because of that, he felt even more ashamed of his actions.

Meanwhile, the silver-haired Knight didn’t care about the failed Alchemist’s thoughts or mental turmoil.

Instead, he continued speaking, supposedly in Veyrath’s defense.

"You know, if I was in his shoes, I wouldn’t trust myself not to fold as he did. I mean, being selfless is good, but trying to prioritize someone over your own life is something that is a bit hard to do, isn’t it?"

Regaleon asked with a small smile.

"So why don’t we just forget about the past and bury the hatchet?"

Though Regaleon was demanding that the group forgive Veyrath, even if he wasn’t doing so directly, it seemed that Aureleah wasn’t comfortable with his leniency.

Regaleon might be righteous or whatnot because he was a knight or some sort of paragon of chivalry, but Aureleah wasn’t.

And if there was one thing she knew, it was that an eye should be settled for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

Therefore, the moment she heard Regaleon speaking up for Veyrath, the expression on her face immediately showcased her displeasure.

So, the instant Regaleon finished speaking, Aureleah stepped forward.

"Regaleon, while I’m not against you trying to forgive Veyrath, I also think that letting him go without a consequence is a bad idea."

The moment those words were spoken by the silver-haired Assassin, it was as though she had echoed the sentiment of the entire group.

And upon seeing the expressions on their faces, Veyrath knew that his matter wasn’t going to be easy to settle...