Chapter 266: Severed hand.

Sabrina stepped in front of her son. "Father," she said desperately, "this cannot be done. I would rather take my chances with the law. Let Elliot be arrested. we can beat the charges. We are more powerful than the Cowells. This is an insult to the Kaelion clan, as grand elder, you can’t stand for it."

Elliot recovered from shock, taking on a cloak of smugness. He gave Mrs. Cowell the middle finger.

Everyone waited for the grand elder to side with Sabrina. Family was family, at the end of the day.

Instead, the old man looked at the ceiling and sighed. "The wish of the Cowell’s is granted."

Sabrina’s eyes filled with sudden terror. Elliot began to tremble violently, the smugness completely draining from his face as reality hit him like a bucket of ice water. "Mother! Help me! Mother, don’t let them!"

Alessa stepped forward with a chill smile. "The two hundred million stones will come directly out of Sabrina’s personal treasury, of course. Alexander, bring us the sharpest sword in the house."

The room went dead silent. It seemed like a joke until Alexander stepped out and returned with a heavy, gleaming broadsword which he placed into the grand elder’s hands.

The grand elder stared down at his grandson. "You have two choices, Elliot. Either you go to the prison for murder, or you pay the blood debt right here."

"If he goes to prison, we make sure it’s a public trial. My son was recording; we have evidence of what happened in that room. Not just to him, but the girl Eliot killed as well." Mrs. Cowell added venomously. "The whole world will watch the great Kaelion family get dragged through the mud. I swear to God that I will ruin you. Maybe your power and influence will save Eliot from a life-or-death sentence, but the Kaelion name will be stained forever."

Sabrina winced. Public humiliation? A permanent stain on the family name she had spent her entire life protecting? She couldn’t allow it. She would rather die than see the Kaelion prestige ruined. She would protect what belonged to her, even if she had to sacrifice a small piece her beloved son. "A finger!" She shouted desperately, holding up her own hand. "Take a finger!" The Somnivores had good medicine that regrow body parts. The finger could always grow back.

Elliot backed away on his hands and knees, staring at his mother in absolute horror. "Mother?! Are you crazy?!"

"I want the whole hand," Mr. Cowell demanded flatly.

"He has the tournament coming up!" Sabrina begged. "He needs his hand to fight!"

Alessa chuckled softly from the corner. "Oh, sweetie, he’s not fighting in the tournament anyway. Maverick was picked for that spot. Derek can be the backup."

The grand elder didn’t say another word. He simply walked over and handed the heavy sword directly to Mr. Cowell, giving him a firm nod.

Sabrina closed her eyes, tears leaking down her face. She looked at her trembling son. "Elliot_ put out your left hand."

"No! No! Stay away from me!" Elliot screamed, scrambling backward like a cornered animal. "Mother, no!"

"Guards!" Sabrina barked, her voice cracking. "Hold him down!"

Four heavy guards rushed forward, pinning the screaming boy to the ground. Mr. Cowell raised the heavy blade, his eyes burning with vengeance, and brought it down in one swift, terrifying stroke.

A blood-curdling scream echoed through the lounge.

The moment the guards let go, Elliot clutched his bleeding wrist, scrambled to his feet, and burst out of the doors like a feral, wounded beast. "I hate you all! I curse this whole family!" he shrieked, his voice fading down the hallway as he raced away, leaving a trail of blood in his path.

"Elliot!" Sabrina sobbed, sprinting out of the room after her son.

Mr. Cowell took off his heavy leather jacket. Bending down without a single word, he carefully wrapped the severed hand inside the leather and tucked it under his arm. "This will be buried in the casket with our son," he said firmly.

Then, he offered a final, cold bow to the grand elder, took his weeping wife by the arm, and walked out of the Kaelion residence, leaving behind a room filled with silence and blood.

The grand elder had a feeling that this was the beginning of a rift between the Cowells and Kaelions.

******

That night in the wild lands, the atmosphere inside the security room was thick with quiet tension. Zyra had gathered the people she trusted most_ the ones she considered the best decision-makers at the valley.

Malia was the last to enter. She slid through the metal door, glanced around at the serious faces, and crossed her arms. "So," Malia said, a playful smirk tugging at her lips, "is this the high council of the Scorpio clan?"

Zyra’s brows rose instantly. "The what?"

"The residents decided it," Malia explained, leaning against the wall. "They’re calling this whole setup the Scorpio clan now. Which makes you the Clan Leader, Zyra."

Before Zyra could even process that, Etania raised her hand. "Hold on. Zyra already has too much weight on her shoulders. She’s the true divine maiden! She has to figure out how to take the sanctum and save the other divine maidens from Trinity’s nasty claws. Being the clan head is way too much work. That job needs to go to someone else."

"I could be a good clan head!" Achilles raised his hand high, grinning like he had just won a prize.

Zyra stared at them, completely lost. "I am not understanding a single thing you guys are talking about!" She waved her hands wildly and shook her head, trying to dispel whatever crazy argument they were about to start. "Stop! We are not dealing with all this gibberish talk right now. We have to talk about the malevolent beasts we encountered at Twigs Blue Crossing."

She looked up at the main console and quietly told Beauty to show the beasts on the screen.

[Yes host.]

The giant wall screens came to life, filling the room with terrifying, dark images of corrupted, snarling beasts. Zyra’s face turned serious. "We have to wipe out the source of these beasts, so this plague doesn’t spread deeper into the wild lands. From the information that I have gathered, these beasts have dark energy stones and once they are consumed by another beast, they automatically become corrupted."

"Oh heavens, that is just horrible!" Malia said.

"And dangerous" Bianca added.

"So, for that reason, we need a team to tackle this problem. I have a different mission, so I won’t be going with the main attack group. We have to choose who will be leading this team on my behalf." Zyra concluded.

The room went dead silent. Everyone traded shocked gazes.

Bianca was the first to speak, raising her hand. "If these malevolent beasts bite people, innocent humans will die. I volunteer to lead the team."

Zyra smiled gently at her. "Thank you, Bianca. That’s very noble of you."

Hunter raised his hand. "I am going where you go."