The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

King Jaren took his wife's hand and nodded. The family turned to leave.

"Wait!" Zed called from the back. "Dora, please! Can't you help me for the sake of all the favours I have bestowed on you? Just, please, just let me meet Mana and Raven once!" he begged.

Queen Dora looked at King Jaren for confirmation.

"I mean the children no harm, I promise you!" Zed said pleadingly. "You can ask the two little dragons if they sense any malice on my part towards any of you – or towards Mana and Raven!"

"You cursed Ma years ago and you tried to activate that curse just now," Bella pointed out. "How is that not malice?"

"You stole a piece of Mana's soul and kept it with yourself," Jules added. "How is that not malice?"

"That was insurance! I wanted to hedge my risks! You can't blame an old man for covering his own bases, can you? I never intended to harm any of you and right now, I just need some help from Mana and Raven! I can swear a magical oath that I will not harm them!" Zed cried desperately.

A magical oath was a very serious affair. If you made one, and then broke it, you would die immediately.

Queen Dora was conflicted – if her master was willing to swear a magical oath that he would not harm Mana and Raven, surely it should be all right for them to let the two children meet him once? Of course, all of them would accompany the two children and there was no way Queen Dora would let Mana and Raven meet the man alone, not after what she had just learnt. Even though her heart was in shock upon finding out about all the deception and subterfuge on part of her master, the fact remained that he had been of immense help to her in keeping her children safe, and without him, Mana and Jules would not have survived until now, and neither would Queen Dora. So, if nothing else, that gratitude still needed to be paid off.

But not at the cost of the safety of her children, that was for sure.

Seeing that Queen Dora was wavering, the old man immediately pounced upon the opportunity and repeated, "I can swear a magical oath that I will not harm them!" He looked at Queen Dora pleadingly. "That should reassure you that I mean them no harm, right?" he asked.

Queen Dora looked at King Jaren again, and King Jaren fell silent. He didn't want Mana and Raven anywhere near this crafty old man. Ideally, the only person he would be confident about giving tit for tat to this old man Zed would be the other crafty old man of his acquaintance, King Corvus.

Before King Jaren could turn down the old man, though, Jules caught his father's eye and shook his head.

King Jaren smiled slightly and nodded, letting his son take care of the situation.

Jules frowned at the old necromancer in front of them. "Can you also swear a magical oath that you will not allow them to come to harm from others?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at the old man.

The old man fell silent. "That would be a bit too much, wouldn't it?" he muttered finally. "How can I take responsibility for the conduct of other people?"

"Then there is nothing for us to talk about," King Jaren said firmly.

"Goodbye, master," Queen Dora said, and activated the array.

The next instant, they were back in the imperial palace of the Emerald Kingdom.

General Aquila, Rook, Mana and Raven were sitting in the room, playing a board game.

"Oh, you are back?" General Aquila said, looking up.

Then he narrowed his eyes. "Is that old necromancer your master, Dora?" he asked, looking at the old man, behind them.

King Jaren and Queen Dora immediately whipped around, only to find Zed right behind them.

The old man scratched his head sheepishly. "Sorry, I was just too desperate and I latched on," he said. "After all, half the magic on that array of Dora's comes from me."

Queen Dora's eyes flashed angrily. She crushed the array in her hand and destroyed it completely.

Zed shook his head ruefully. "That was a good array," he murmured.

Sensing the hostility written all over King Jaren's handsome face, General Aquila immediately stepped forward and pushed Mana and Raven protectively behind himself.

"Oh, is that little Mana? She's grown up well!" Zed said, trying to peer behind General Aquila and catch Mana's eye.

"Please go back, Zed," King Jaren said quietly. "Whatever else you did, in the end, you still helped my wife and my children, and I do not wish to take action against you." A hint of steel crept into his voice. "However, I will not stand by and let my children face any danger."

The old man sighed. "I don't mean your children any harm, Jaren," he murmured.

Mana stepped out from behind General Aquila, looking at the old man curiously. Raven caught her hand and prevented her from moving any further.

"Did Papa call you Zed?" Mana asked, looking at the old necromancer. "Are you related to Ned?"

Hearing that, Raven, too glanced at the old man curiously.

"They do look rather similar, don't they?" he murmured to Mana.

Ned was the ancient master whose legacy Raven had inherited, and the one who had given Mana the supposedly correct copy of 'The Legend of Mars'.

Zed froze. "You have already met Ned?" he asked in a whisper, narrowing his eyes at Mana and Raven. Then his eyes widened in surprise as he examined the two children.

"You – you inherited his legacy?!" he asked excitedly, pointing his finger at Raven.

"And you, little Mana – he gave you the book?!" Zed asked Mana, whirling around to face her.

Then the old man burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that tears pooled in his eyes.

"I can't believe this," he said hysterically. "Ned actually left his legacy and the book to the two of you…"

No one said a word. King Jaren, General Aquila, Jules and Bella eyed the old man warily.

"Ned was my twin brother," Zed said finally, wiping his tears.

"Oh," Mana said. "So you are the last of the original ancient masters who has been in hiding all these years? How did you end up being Ma's master, then?"

"It's a long story," Zed said with a shrug. "Dora and Jaren can tell you more. But for now, I need help from you, little Mana, and your Raven. Will you come with me?"

"No," King Jaren said firmly before Mana and Raven could say anything.

"Scary old man is not good, Mommy," Azar told Mana from his usual position on King Jaren's shoulder. "Scary old man lied to Grandmama and cursed Grandmama and stole your soul and said that Grandpapa will die!"

Raven's eyes flashed dark and he pulled Mana into his arms protectively. "Stay away from our family," he said quietly, his voice reverberating with power.

Everyone was stunned, including Mana. While most of them were familiar with Raven's previous displays of power, the scale had been rather small compared to the oppressive power that he was radiating right now.

And for Queen Dora and Zed, who had never seen a powerful display of power from a young child like this, they were speechless with shock. The two of them stared at Raven in disbelief.

"What…how…?!" Zed murmured to himself.

Mana caressed Raven's face with gentle fingers. "Calm down, darling," she whispered.

Raven's eyes softened immediately at the sight of his young fiancée, but he didn't withdraw his powerful aura at all.

Mana sighed and laced her fingers with Raven's, and poured her own power into him. She was never going to shy away from supporting Raven, be it in public or in private!

King Jaren and General Aquila shot Mana and Raven an approving glance. Queen Dora's face also morphed from her original shock to a proud expression now.

Jules and Bella looked very proud as well, and the two little dragons wore a smug expression on their chubby little faces.

Zed, on the other hand, was even more shocked than before when he saw Mana's power joining together with Raven's.

"No wonder you two could cast such a powerful rainbow magic net…" Zed murmured. "Little Mana and Raven – do either of you want to learn necromancy? I would be very honoured to take either of you – or, better still, both of you – as my disciple!"

"No," King Jaren, Queen Dora and General Aquila shouted at the same time.

Zed ignored them and fixed his avaricious gaze on Raven and Mana's faces instead. "Come on, think about it, children," he cajoled. "You would have the power of life and death in your own hands…"

Mana laughed. "Seriously, you are talking to Raven about power? Just look at him," she said, her eyes flashing brightly.. "My Raven doesn't need your puny power, old man."