"...It should be our third meeting, actually."
Aya Tokoyogi glanced at Eric before stating indifferently:
"I look forward to a fourth."
Immediately, the room fell into eerie silence.
Not only because she had confirmed her identity, but also due to the thinly veiled threat in her cold words.
Faced with a Demigod, no one dared speak up.
Especially after the frozen metropolis incident just two days prior that had left three Tokyo wards encased in ice.
While they remained silent, Luo Shu showed no intention of stopping.
"I heard this meeting was convened because the Union suspects the SDS's research capabilities and wishes to dispatch scientists to jointly study the Witch of the Notaria captured by my Hidden Management Department."
With these words, Luo Shu smiled at the ambassadors of the Five Great Powers:
"I consider this an excellent proposal. Hence, I've brought the packaged Witch of the Notaria as a gift for your research."
Dead silence followed.
No one took his words at face value, nor did they think he was joking.
They strongly suspected Luo Shu might be releasing the witch to let the Union capture her themselves, with five ambassadors' lives as the likely price.
Yet they still underestimated Luo Shu.
Seated on his frozen chair, he snapped his fingers. At that moment, Serafall, on Luo Shu's left, slightly raised her arm, and a massive ice cube measuring 4 metres in diameter materialised out of thin air in the conference hall.
Within that enormous block of ice, a vaguely visible hunched figure caused all personnel to freeze in shock.
Until the English ambassador, Anthony, couldn't help but cry out:
"Mother?"
Anthony's exclamation made all Union personnel present pale dramatically.
Hadn't Ambassador Anthony's mother supposedly passed away last month? And been cremated too.
Had they not only dug up her ashes but somehow reconstructed her?
At this point, Luo Shu raised an index finger to his lips and said:
"Now now, Mr Ambassador, let's not go claiming random relatives, hmm?"
"The person currently frozen here is actually a witch from the Secretariat that our SDS went through great pains to capture!"
"Making such baseless familial claims could lead to... complications."
"You bastard!!" Anthony slammed the table as he stood, glaring furiously at Luo Shu. "Are you trying to make an enemy of the entire United Kingdom?"
"I must respectfully disagree with that statement."
Unfazed by Anthony's outburst, Luo Shu smiled coldly:
"Or perhaps I should ask Mr Anthony a question."
Luo Shu asked meaningfully at this moment:
"Would the Union oppose me for the sake of your mother?"
Anthony trembled, maintaining his table-slamming posture as he fell into silence.
Gritting his teeth, he suppressed his rage and killing intent as he said:
"You're challenging the will of the Union!"
Luo Shu took a handkerchief from his pocket, wiping his hands with this gift meticulously woven by Kisara:
"Don't overestimate yourself. You don't represent the Union."
"The British Union has 128 ambassadors – far more common than a Demigod like me."
As he spoke, Luo Shu finished wiping his hands, put away the handkerchief and smiled:
"Moreover, according to my hometown's customs, Ambassador Anthony's mother was 93, wasn't she? That counts as a joyous funeral!"
"Not inviting me for an extra drink is one thing, but why lose your temper at me?"
"You!!" Anthony clutched his chest, panting heavily, while his gaze involuntarily drifted towards Li Yizhou.
Suddenly implicated, Li Yizhou's expression also turned awkward.
While a 93-year-old's passing would indeed be considered a joyous funeral in China, restoring the cremated corpse and delivering it packed in ice could hardly be called joyous.
Moreover, this atmosphere where violence could erupt at any second wasn't what Li Yizhou wanted, so he attempted mediation:
"Let's all calm down! Everything can be discussed!"
Hearing this, Luo Shu took out his phone, checked the time showing 9:35, raised an eyebrow slightly before looking up at everyone with a smile:
"I think there's actually no need for further discussion."
Li Yizhou froze. Before he could react, a hunched-over military attaché rushed to his side.
After whispering a few words into Li Yizhou's ear, the latter's complexion instantly changed.
As his expression shifted, military attachés from various Union nations received similar messages, their faces paling as they rushed forward.
Watching this, Luo Shu raised an eyebrow with a hint of surprise:
"It seems everyone is quite punctual."
...
Washington DC, American Union.
Crimson flames illuminated the night sky.
Amid blaring sirens, fully armed soldiers watched in terror as a man with flowing hair stood amidst the ocean of fire.
Hao Asakura ignored these insects, his gaze drifting towards the distant White House, his vision seemingly piercing through walls to see the ashen-faced old man inside:
"Too insignificant."
Flames surged, swallowing Hao Asakura's figure within the towering inferno.
...
London, British Union. Buckingham Palace.
MI6 agents watched nervously as the white-haired woman sitting before the Queen casually ate from Her Majesty's afternoon tea set, not daring to move.
"Is the dessert to your liking?" The elderly Queen smiled warmly, showing no signs of being under duress.
Edelweiss glanced up at her before replying:
"Not as good as last time."
The Queen chuckled merrily: "Then it seems I'll have to dismiss some chefs."
The agents below trembled as if their mothers had just died.
...
Beijing, Chinese Union.
Origami Tobiichi stood before the massive Forbidden City gates, gazing up at the dazzling national flag.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
A white-haired old Taoist priest in Taoist robes appeared unnoticed behind Origami Tobiichi, chuckling as he said:
Hearing this, Origami turned her head to glance at him but remained silent.
The old priest cheerfully continued:
"Pity you arrived late. Otherwise, you could've witnessed the flag-raising ceremony. I hear many young couples specially come to see that spectacle these days."
Origami's eyes brightened. She took out a notebook to jot this down before turning to ask the priest:
"Besides here, what other dating spots would you recommend?"
The priest's mouth twitched.
"You're actually planning to come again?" he said helplessly.
Each visit meant he'd have to accompany her - what a hassle!
He instantly regretted speaking up...
...
Russian Union, the Space Agency.
The director stared at the instruments displaying the falling meteorites, his scalp crawling as he roared:
"Have you identified where these damn meteors are coming from?!"
"Report - no targets detected!" a staff member answered.
The director slapped him in fury. "Keep searching! Fail again and I'll feed you to the bears!"
...
Above Russian airspace, in outer space.
Mukuro Hoshimiya, her golden hair shining, raised her hand as multiple spatial portals materialised behind her.
"Heave-ho~"
With a wave of her small hand, meteorites poured from the portals before streaking downward, wreathed in crimson flames.
After dropping dozens, Mukuro muttered:
"Surely they'll notice this many?"
"If not... I'll just drop another batch..."
The girl's thoughts were innocent, but the consequences for the Russians below seemed far from pleasant.
...
Paris, French Union.
One after another, lust-driven men sank into black-red shadows, their life force completely drained.
Amid hundreds of rippling shadows, an alluring figure in a gothic black-red lace dress strolled through Parisian alleys.
A French Union Security Directorate agent, witnessing this, radioed his superior:
"Boss, shouldn't we intervene? Over 1000 dead already..."
A cold voice crackled back:
"Just third-world refugees. Let her kill as many as she wants - just keep her away from government buildings."
"Understood, Agent 005? Maintain position. Say nothing. Await the Prime Minister's orders!"
"...Roger, boss."
The agent hung up, closing his eyes as another group of drunken third-world men approached the beautiful girl.
Screams soon followed.
Having finished her meal, Kurumi Tokisaki glanced toward the agent's position with a faint smile before vanishing into the shadows.
Dawn seemed a long way off...