The unrest in the capital was over, but it left many problems. The most serious was Captain Fuegoleon Vermilion's critical injuries; he remained unconscious.
Fortunately, only Ladros had caused the unrest, and he was quickly defeated by Drake and Asta.
They learned from the captured Eye of the Midnight Sun members that the organization was responsible for the attack.
The award ceremony meant that elite members from each squad quickly responded, minimizing the damage. Although the elites were teleported outside the city, they returned promptly, preventing the Eye of the Midnight Sun's reinforcements from eliminating the injured Fuegoleon and Drake.
Asta, Noelle, and Leobert fought to protect them before the Magic Knights returned.
While Rades wasn't captured, Yuno and Charmy Pappitson captured an Eye of the Midnight Sun member. Charmy had secretly followed Drake, Asta, and Noelle to the capital for food and, during the chaos, ended up in the kitchen where she defeated a member attacking civilians.
Drake's report, upon waking, confirmed that the Eye of the Midnight Sun's target was the magic stone on the necklace Fuegoleon always wore. This was confirmed by Wizard King Julius Novachrono.
Julius, responsible for protecting the Clover Kingdom, hadn't appeared during the unrest because he'd gone to the Eye of the Midnight Sun's base. He'd sensed something, perhaps after the Sosshi Village incident.
Julius was exceptionally skilled; he found and eliminated the Eye of the Midnight Sun members. Asta described Julius decimating them in a few breaths.
Only when the Eye of the Midnight Sun's leader, Patri, arrived did he rescue some members and escape with a stone tablet found by Julius. Julius rescued Asta and captured a prisoner.
Drake's report caused a major shock; the injured Fuegoleon's appearance was identical to Captain Vangeance's masked face. Few others would match that description.
Drake implied that Vangeance was the attacker and the Eye of the Midnight Sun's leader. Drake hadn't seen Patri use Vangeance's face to shake Fuegoleon, but he wanted to disrupt Patri's plan.
Would anyone believe a new Black Bull recruit accusing the Golden Dawn's captain of leading a rebellion? Who was more credible was obvious.
Some believed Patri, to distract Fuegoleon, had disguised himself as Vangeance, framing him.
Others, more cynical, believed Drake was acting out of jealousy, his accusations a malicious smear. They even suspected Drake had injured Fuegoleon and was a traitor.
This idea was popular, especially within the Golden Dawn. They ignored the inconsistencies: how would Drake know Vangeance's face? Why did Drake defeat Ladros? Why would the Eye of the Midnight Sun try to kill Drake?
They chose to believe the Black Bull commoner over their esteemed captain.
If not for the Wizard King, they might have executed the injured Drake.
No one believed Vangeance and Patri were the same person; their magic and Grimoires were different.
Drake had anticipated this. He'd only revealed what he'd witnessed. Using Asta's Demon-slayer Sword, they unlocked the prisoners' memories, proving Vangeance's innocence.
The Purple Orca captain had colluded with the Eye of the Midnight Sun, trading the mages guarding the capital's barrier for valuable magical tools, allowing the Eye of the Midnight Sun to infiltrate the capital.
In the original timeline, the Wizard King only had Asta unlock the prisoners' memories during a later meeting.
Due to Drake's report, the Wizard King summoned Asta earlier.
Drake knew the mage responsible for reading memories had been replaced by one of the Dark Triad—the false Ryha. Ryha's magic allowed her to mimic any magic she'd seen.
Using transformation and illusion magic, Ryha presented altered information. The information about the magic stone, the Eye of the Midnight Sun's goals, and the Purple Orca captain's treachery was true. But Rhya concealed Patri's identity.
Rhya didn't frame Drake. Patri, residing within Vangeance, understood the Wizard King and Yami. Accusing Drake might make them doubt the other information.
Drake's goal was achieved; the Wizard King and Yami now suspected Vangeance. Vangeance's absence from the award ceremony was suspicious.
Vangeance didn't defend himself, perhaps wanting to be exposed, ending his internal conflict.
Others saw it as Vangeance being above such accusations or being magnanimous.
The unrest subsided, but underlying tensions remained. Drake, recovered, disappeared; only Yami knew his whereabouts.
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