The Sixth Calamity was called the Calamity of Abominations, as Rafael read the names of each of these Abominations or "Groups of Abominations." A smile formed on his lips as he saw that Esmer had named the strange monster dressed as a butler "The Gourmet."
Besides the names, there were details about their strengths, weaknesses, and the special ability they had to always resurrect 7 days after their deaths within Stygai, very similar to the Reaper's "Immortal" ability.
Rafael placed the paper on the table after saving a copy in the system library, then looked and gestured for Omar to be next.
"First of all, we contacted the Garden of Beasts about Old Daran… Master Genesis claimed they have no connection to Master Daran and didn't even know he was still alive…"
"Hehe"
Jack smiled sarcastically; after all, it was obvious they wouldn't admit it openly after the peace agreement.
Omar continued:
"Resurrection seems to be the Serpent Man's main ability, so it's quite obvious he's not dead yet. I followed protocol and placed a generous bounty on his head. I also want to ask the Order Leader to use Master Assassin Ezio to hunt down Daran and Poison Soul."
"Go ahead and pass the mission on to Master Ezio; he owes me a contract." Rafael nodded.
"Finally, we confirmed with the Shadow Men tribe that the Master of Plague is also dead. The Garden of Beasts requested our cooperation in sending people to try and find her and Jhon's bodies, and they asked us to act quickly by attacking the Towers of the deceased Masters Baron Bones and Master Blood Armor," Omar concluded.
Rafael agreed to the arrangements and then looked at Aisha.
Aisha, noticing his gaze, continued… She began by elaborating on the attack on the Tower of the deceased enemy's Masters, saying that the Commercial and Aristocratic Alliances were unaware that their Masters were being controlled…
"Both Alliances offered resources to help in the invasion and extermination of the two organizations. The same happened with the Shadow Society and the Horadrim Alliance, which also had one of their Masters controlled by the vile Necromancer."
The man in the wheelchair, who was Auron, Ted's brother, spoke:
"Master Liana and I will participate in the attack, leading the apprentices of the Order and the Adventurers' Alliance, so you don't need to worry about this minor matter."
Even in his wheelchair, no one underestimated his power; after all, this man was the only Necromancer in the entire Order of Sages, and he had paid a high price to acquire this power, losing the ability to walk after the failed experiment that gave him the Soul Affinity. Omar and Katya were the only ones who understood the man's determination and sacrifices, since he had done this to try to bring his loved one back to life…*[1]
The last two to give a report were Jack and a spirit of white light, which was a magical projection belonging to Natasha. The talented Master Umbromancer was still trapped in the Castle of Sages and could only participate in this meeting from a distance.
Jack recounted details of his fight and the information he obtained by interrogating Kalindor's soul. Most of it matched the information already obtained through letters sent by the Dragonstone spies. He was also in charge of searching for Jhon's body and cooperating with the Garden of Beasts on this dangerous mission.
Natasha reported that the Castle of the Sages still maintained protection against the monsters of Stygai. This led Rafael to question whether the black stones collected in Asshai and used in the castle's construction were the reason why the Shadow Souls and the Undead didn't attack the place…
After reflecting for a while, Rafael warned Natasha:
"We can't rely solely on these defenses. I'll send one of my clones to replenish the Castle with magical resources to energize a powerful barrier in case one of these Abominations attacks the place."
"As you wish, Leader." The spirit of light bowed to Rafael before asking another question:
"Both the tunnel and the mine have been deactivated. Do we really need to keep the castle?"
"I didn't want to have to bear the costs either, but until this Calamity is over, we don't have an easy way to evacuate the apprentices and civilian workers…"
Everyone who had the same doubt as Natasha nodded in understanding. Maintaining the Castle in these precarious conditions would be very costly and yield zero profit, but Rafael still did it just for the well-being of some workers and apprentices…
"Speaking of which, what about the last Caravan that was on its way to Yi Ti?"
"It was wiped out. Yun Hai and Yun Zhe are the only survivors. They only managed to survive because they crossed the Shadow Mountains, escaping the reach of the Calamity. I have already arranged for the victims' families to be compensated. The Yun brothers are now unable to return to Asshai as well, so we cannot count on their help." Aisha answered in detail and even added further answers, showing extreme care with all the details of this matter, especially regarding the compensation for the victims.
The Yun brothers were Masters who had become Half-Demons, so Rafael lamented not being able to count on them now…
"And what about the efforts to stop the Abomination Calamity?"
Jack made a strange expression and reported:
"The Horadrim Alliance and the Shadow Society were about to assemble an Abomination Extermination team, and an additional team to investigate Stygai, until they were interrupted by all the Temples…"
Rafael frowned. The temples had never helped in any of the previous Calamities, but now they were readily and proactively promoting themselves to solve the problem?
"Strange…"
All the Sages present had already been informed by Rafael and knew about the true origins of these "Gods," so they nodded in agreement with the strangeness of the situation.
Aisha, Katya, and Auron were confused because everyone's expressions had become somber. Until Omar explained that the gods of Asshai were not of this world, and their objectives were unclear…
This was like a bombshell for the newcomers, and they remained silent for a long time…
"Jack, don't waste too much time looking for Jhon. And start investigating the origin of this Calamity secretly. While you're at it, keep an eye on the Master Priests and Popes who go to Stygai…"
"Leave it to me!"
Ultimately, Rafael, Natasha, and Jack were the only ones with the necessary skills to move safely during this new Calamity.
Rafael then concluded the meeting by giving a few more minor orders and asking Omar and Katya to try to join the Abomination hunting party, but without putting themselves at risk. He then gave Zaya some further instructions on how the Order should handle other minor matters…
In the end, he promised that he would help anyone who needed to leave Asshai after he had made a full recovery…
Rafael then waited for Zaya outside the meeting room, and together they went to visit Liza. After all, his race change had failed terribly, and he was the Order's best Blood Magic expert.
After he helped Liza and spoke with a certain guest who had arrived at his tower, Rafael would sleep again for a long time to stabilize his own hasty race change. After that, he too would leave Asshai…
****
Special thanks to the Patreons:
Sage's Supporter: Jan, Vinnie, frimorigo, Parsa, Scott Robertson, Pato Senalima, Lily Monarch, and Adriele Rodrigues!
Magic Apprentice: Axel Bour, Gabriele Sulpizio, Takatchi, mandeep singh, Austin, Kobe Robertson, Paul Gaslac, Niteo akuma, 704Corleon, Rodrigo, WhoisMitch, Leery Falcon, Grave Walker, adam, Evil King, and Emotional!
Senior Magic Apprentice: Cole Bromley, Avacus, and TabbyRabbit!
[1] Master Liana is the female Necromancer who appeared in the Adventurers' Alliance chapters. She became Auron's master by the Order's request after he got the soul affinity...