Decker and Arion finally arrived at the meeting location—a vast hall dominated by a towering glass ceiling that stretched high above a semi-circular table of polished stone. The hall radiated authority and prestige, a place where the fate of nations could be decided with a few spoken words.
The two men were the last to arrive.
Already seated around the table were the heads of the Five Great Families, each accompanied by a trusted escort standing silently at their side.
"So you've finally decided to show yourself."
The voice belonged to a white-haired woman reclining lazily in her chair. A look of boredom rested upon her elegant features as she idly twirled a golden dagger between her fingers.
Arion smiled and calmly took his seat beside the Head of House Green and the man accompanying him—his son, Ruben.
"I apologize for being late."
The Head of House Green merely glanced at Arion before looking away.
The two men had never enjoyed one another's company. Some would even say they hated each other, and such a claim would not be far from the truth.
Their views on the world differed greatly.
One saw anyone who was not nobility as little more than dirt beneath his feet. The other felt almost nothing toward them at all.
Even after his wife had been killed by a lesser, Lord Green had never sought revenge. He made no effort to improve the lives of the common people as his late wife once had, but neither did he actively seek to oppress them. Instead, he left them to their own affairs and refused to involve himself in their struggles.
Yet despite his indifference, the man possessed a moral compass of sorts.
After all, it had been Lord Green who ended the practice of slave trading within the Second Sector.
To the right of the Head of House Green sat a purple-haired man.
Fors Garnet.
The Head of House Garnet.
Beside him stood his bastard daughter, Feria Young.
Fors was a man consumed by indulgence. Drugs, prostitution, gambling, slavery—few worldly pleasures had escaped his grasp. The number of his acknowledged bastards surpassed even Arion's, which in itself was a remarkable feat.
"Can we begin discussing how to deal with our dilemma?" Fors asked while carefully polishing his monocle with a white cloth.
"Yes, let us begin."
The voice emerged from the shadows.
Decker reacted instantly.
Green particles erupted around his hand as he summoned his emerald blade from within his Celestial Forge. The weapon materialized in a flash of light as his eyes locked onto the figure emerging from the darkness.
A man stepped forward.
His hair was black on top and grey at the sides. A long black trench coat concealed most of his frame, while black leather gloves covered his hands.
Standing silently at his side was a masked man.
"Greetings, Heads of the Great Families," the stranger said, placing his hands behind his back. "My name is Unul, and I am here to negotiate."
Every escort immediately tensed.
No one moved.
No one dared.
It was not because they lacked courage.
It was because they could all feel it.
The man's aura.
The overwhelming pressure emanating from him felt almost unnatural. It was as though death itself had walked into the room and taken human form.
Even Decker found himself swallowing nervously.
"Negotiate?" Arion asked, a smile appearing across his face. "If you are who we think you are, then let me make something perfectly clear."
His smile widened.
"We will not negotiate with the likes of you."
Unul tilted his head slightly.
"Do you truly know who I am?" he asked.
The Heads exchanged brief glances.
They knew he was the leader of the terrorist organization responsible for countless attacks across the nation.
Even though they had never seen his face before, they could sense it.
This man stood at the center of everything.
Fors adjusted his monocle before answering.
"You are the leader of the terrorist group."
The masked man beside Unul chuckled softly, seemingly amused by the response.
Unul took a slow breath.
"Yes, I am the leader of the Clockwork Path."
He paused.
"But I am also the man who destroyed the academy."
His eyes swept across the room.
"And I am the man who killed the Headmaster."
Silence.
A dreadful silence.
Fear spread throughout the hall like poison.
Even the air itself seemed heavier.
Fors was the first to visibly crack.
His hands trembled.
His breathing became uneven.
Of everyone present, he looked the most terrified.
Moments later, he became the first to support negotiation.
The Heads of House White and House Violet soon followed.
Only the Head of House Green remained completely unfazed. Neither he nor his son showed the slightest trace of fear. He simply sat there, listening.
Observing.
Waiting.
Perhaps he wished to hear the man's terms before making his decision. Or perhaps he simply did not care.
Arion, however, was clearly unsettled despite his attempts to hide it.
"What are your terms?" he asked.
Unul immediately turned toward him.
"It's simple."
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"We want your immediate surrender."
The room stiffened.
"We want the land you stole from its people. We want you to leave."
Arion shot to his feet.
His palms slammed against the table with enough force to shake it.
"That's insanity!" he shouted. "You're telling us to abandon our homes? To surrender everything? And if we refuse, what exactly will you do?"
The masked man casually manifested a deck of cards from his Celestial Forge and began shuffling them.
"Tell me," Unul said, "isn't that precisely what your ancestors did?"
His gaze swept across the nobles.
"You took everything from the natives of this land. Their homes. Their futures. Their freedom."
He sighed.
"And now that those people want it back, you complain."
His expression hardened.
"If you reject our terms, then prepare yourselves for war."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
"And understand this."
His voice became cold.
"If war begins, no one will be safe."
His eyes narrowed.
"Not even the children."
The Head of House White frowned.
"And if we refuse, you'll kill us?"
"No."
Unul shook his head.
"I want the world to know why they are fighting."
His gaze darkened.
"They must know that we brought war to their doorstep."
He paused.
"A war that could have been avoided if you had simply left."
Without warning, both Unul and his masked companion began sinking into their own shadows.
No attacks.
No violence.
No further words.
They simply left.
Yet before disappearing completely, Unul glanced toward Decker.
For a brief moment, their eyes met.
Decker felt something in that gaze.
Something unspoken.
Something the man wanted to say but either could not—or refused to.
Then he was gone.
A collective sigh of relief swept through the room.
All except one man.
The Head of House Green remained completely unmoved. After several moments of silence, he finally spoke.
"I am willing to adhere to the man's terms."
The declaration stunned everyone present.
Everyone except Ruben.
"The land belongs to them," Lord Green continued. "We all know this."
His voice remained firm.
"The first Heads seized this land through lies and false promises. Their deceit has finally caught up with us."
He folded his hands together.
"I will not fight a war that will bring death upon the people of the Second Sector."
His words carried conviction.
Not weakness.
Not fear.
Conviction.
He did not wish to see innocent people suffer for the sins of their ancestors.But not everyone shared his perspective. Fors agreed only because he was terrified.
The Heads of House White and House Violet remained uncertain.
And then there was Arion.
Arion laughed.
A loud, confident laugh.
"They want war?" he said.
His grin widened.
"It's almost as if they've forgotten that we possess the strongest warrior this world has ever seen."
His eyes gleamed with absolute certainty.
"Adel Vermillion will win this war for us."
And for the first time since Unul had entered the room, confidence returned to the faces of several nobles.
Because regardless of how terrifying Unul might be...
There was one name that still inspired absolute faith.
Adel Vermillion.