The echoing concrete loading bay of the Capital Maglev Terminal was flooded with harsh fluorescent lights as dozens of national news drones hovered in the air.
Nox stood upon the loading platform beside the five hundred secured S-Rank monster cores, flanked by Marshal Sabine and ten elite First Citadel guards.
Across the yellow safety line stood Rector Malrec in person, surrounded by forty fully armed Academy inquisitors wearing gold-plated ceremonial plate armor.
"You have committed grand theft against the state, First Player Nox," Malrec announced, his voice amplified by the hovering broadcast microphones.
"These cores were harvested by my hunters in our sovereign territory to heat civilian homes," Nox responded calmly, meeting Malrec's venomous gaze.
"Under Section Four of the Emergency Defense Protocol, all high-density energy materials belong to the National Academy's research reserve," Malrec declared, unrolling a long parchment writ.
