Guild Wars

Sometimes, life was a bitch.

This was one of those times.

The clan that had already breathed a sigh of relief that the best-case scenario had occurred was once again plunged into conflict as the best-case scenario turned into a worst-case one effortlessly.

Currently, the entire clan was within the meeting hall, and the atmosphere was extremely heated. In truth, everyone else had cold and grim looks on their faces while all the heat came solely from one person.

Dominic did not stand on the dais, nor did he lower his voice or hold his words back. He stood right in the center of the meeting hall, where those who came to supplicate usually stood and glanced through the crowd with such hatred and fire that others could only lower their heads.

"This is my so-called family, the ones I share blood ties with. Perfectly willing and able to sacrifice one child to save another because of benefits." Dominic spoke calmly, his bloodshot eyes hiding all the hatred and anger he held at this moment.

"Even in the animal kingdom, most species linked by familial bonds are not willing to toy with their young. They may fight and compete as adults, but young are usually off-limits, especially within the same local family."

"Yet, a noble clan descended from the great Lucifer are no better than such animals, able to sacrifice one of their own for benefits! How amazing!"

Many faces of the elders and other clan upper echelon became ugly. After all, who liked being called worse than a beast to their face, especially when they had an elevated view of themselves?

"Enough, Dominic. Insulting us here will not change what happened, and we should be looking for solutions to this problem rather than fighting among ourselves!" one particular female elder stood up and stated with dissatisfaction on her face.

However, her expression became slightly worried when Dominic turned his bloodshot eyes to her and regarded her silently for a few seconds. Then, in a very bizarre fashion, he smiled.

"You're right, Elder Valentina. Pursuing faults would be wrong of me, especially when the decision was forced onto me, and I was quite literally imprisoned to make it happen. Not only that, the problem is one that has no cure, short of reversing time and preventing it from ever occurring."

"How dare I come here and seek justice? Aren't I a bit too narrow-minded?" Dominic eventually paused and sized the red-faced elder who felt ashamed by his obviously sarcastic words.

"Hey, Elder Valentina, I heard your daughter has recently given birth to a lovely baby boy for your side branch. How about you bring him here so I cripple him? If you allow me to cripple that child in front of you, I will drop this matter and never bring it up again." Dominic suddenly said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Immediately, the faces of everyone changed greatly. The current Dominic had too much clout and power in the clan, and with the recent mess up, many heads would roll if he truly decided to see this matter to the end.

As such, many eyes glinted with interest, feeling that if they could sacrifice an infant from a competing side branch like this and also resolve this matter, it would be like killing two birds with one stone.

Immediately, Elder Valentina saw the expression of her compatriots and understood the intense danger she and her line were in at this moment. "What?! How could you suggest such a thing?! Absolutely not!"

"Hmm, hold on Valentina, it is not without merit and it is not for you to decide. This matter affects the entire clan, and should be taken into discussion and voting." Elder Giovanni stood up and shook his head, saying with a smile.

He was usually the one that competed with Valentina's branch the most, and upon seeing this chance to cause trouble, how could he not come out to muddy the waters? What made Valentina panic was that the other elders were nodding along in agreement, truly ready to discuss butchering her granddaughter!

Seeing this, her heart sank and she felt a surge of disappointment and alienation. These were her family members? She literally grew up playing with Giovanni and the other current generation elders, causing trouble together across Italy in their prime, being closer than even friends.

When had the clan turned into something like this? Was this also how Dominic felt when he was forced to watch his daughter be used for the 'clan's benefits'?

"Enough!"

A powerful voice lasted through the chamber and caused everyone to be subtly suppressed, going silent. Finally, Dante, who had been watching and listening in silence, had spoken up.

He glanced at the elders one by one with intensity, forcing them to lower their eyes with shame. He then glanced at Dominic who was sneering with disdain, happy at showing the clan their true face that he had only seen for himself recently.

Dominic had grown up privileged, so nothing had ever gone wrong for him, but this recent happening was a wake-up call. What Dominic couldn't help but wonder was; just how many of the less important clan members had been slighted by the clan in similar or worse ways but had suppressed it within because they did not dare to speak?

Even he, who had the capital and the guts to make noise, did not fully expect to obtain a resolution that would satisfy him, how much more such people.

Dante stood up and walked down from the patriarch seat, walking across the hall to stand right before Dominic. The crowd couldn't help but be mesmerized at how similar the two brothers were in terms of height, looks, and even demeanor.

Those in the meeting like Fyre who had grown up with them and knew their history could not help but reminisce of the old days when these two brothers were closer than two opposite magnets, basically inseparable.

Now, looking at them like this, one could feel the metaphorical distance between them despite them standing literally right in front of each other. No matter which side they were on, those in the seats could not help but ask themselves how things had reached this stage.

Dante stood before Dominic silently for a while before sighing and lowering himself to his knees, shocking everyone in the room into silence, even Dominic. Dante resolutely bowed and kowtowed, toward Dominic.

"Brother, I understand your anger. This event was started because of my son, and I, as his father, will bear all the consequences for him. Please allow me to atone for what happened to my niece." Dante spoke sincerely and honestly.

Dominic was silent before shaking his head and taking a step back. "Elder brother… I respect you, but I also disdain you. In life, some things cannot be fixed just by saying sorry, and sometimes, atonement is not enough to wash away the harm that has been caused."

Dominic turned around and began to leave the room, leaving a confused bunch of elders as well as a dismayed Dante who raised his head up from the marble floor to regard his younger brother.

"From now on, I am resigning from the position of instructor of the Horned Demon Inheritance. I will abstain from all clan duties and silently raise my daughter in the back of the clan."

Dominic paused and then half-turned his head to regard everyone, sweeping the place with his killing intent.

"No one, and I repeat, no one, should disturb us. You've all done enough harm as it is."

Dominic walked out, and the entire meeting room seemed to lighten immediately without his fury seething through the air. Many elders inadvertently released sighs of relief before catching themselves in shame, but they couldn't help it.

Among them, if a powerhouse like Dominic went crazy, there were very few people who could either match him to suppress him. If he had exploded, and he seemed always on the edge of doing so, who knew how many lives would have been lost this day?

Meanwhile, Dante was completely silent as he remained kneeling for a while and then stood up. His expression became colder when he faced the crowd and moved back into his patriarch seat.

With a wave of his hands, he let the clan matters continue, but anyone could notice that from that day, Dante had been far less amiable toward the various side branches compared to before.

True to his word, Dominic receded from clan matters henceforth and began minding his own business while refusing to pay attention to anyone else. The only one who could get to see him briefly was Fyre, and that was only for business purposes.

Everything seemed like it would die down and resolve itself, though a slight rift had formed among the upper echelons of the clan. However, time and time again, it was said that if something could go wrong, it would go wrong.

In this case, it was the fact that the Pangu Lineage launched a sudden attack on the Lucifer and Amaterasu lineages.