For the first time, Yuu found himself inside the Libertas war council chamber. It was large and circular in shape. Kyorano sat before him, along with the other three Captains.
"Yuu, do you realize what you've done?" Hitoshi began.
"Yes," Yuu replied, eyes downcast, avoiding their gaze.
"We've lost our element of surprise because of you," Kyorano continued.
"So what do we do with him?" asked Lucas. Yuu couldn't quite tell how old Lucas was—he looked neither young nor old. He had dark brown hair tied in a ponytail and just a hint of a beard.
"Well, we can't just kill him. Otherwise, we're no different from the Kingdom," replied Mercure.The eighth Captain of the old Aegir always wore a strange, unsettling white mask. The edges around his eyes and mouth were painted black, and he changed his hair color every week—today it was blue. He had once said that one of his experiments had gone wrong and left his face permanently disfigured.
Kyorano silenced them. "Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
"I... I don't know what came over me. I just couldn't look away and... and..."
He trailed off, lost for words.
"We could always remove him from the army," Mercure suggested.
Kyorano spat out his cigar. "And what use is a fire Esper mopping floors? He doesn't even control water."
Shinya spoke up: "Kyorano, I know why he did it. That situation reminded him of how his parents died. He didn't want it to happen again."
Kyorano took a moment to think, then turned to the other Captains.
"We need to inform our groups in the other regions that the Kingdom now knows about our Espers. Hitoshi, take care of it."
"Understood," Hitoshi replied, leaving the room.
"As for you, Yuu, I'm choosing to trust you one more time. You and your team are suspended for three weeks. Don't disobey again—or I'll be forced to expel you from Libertas. Remember who saved your life and who gave you your powers."
Yuu nodded silently. When he left the chamber, he went to Shinya. "Thanks... for defending me."
"Don't thank me," she replied coldly, walking away.
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Raxis sat in the Governor's hall brooding over the news that was already on everyone's lips throughout the Kingdom, when Fred entered. "Governor, the General has called an urgent meeting," he announced.
"I'll go at once."
He entered the meeting chamber alone. The room was spacious and majestic, dominated by a large round table at its center. He took his seat, closed the shutters, and activated the hologram embedded in the table. Moments later the images of the other five Governors appeared — and among them, the figure of a young girl. She spoke first: "Finally, we are all here. I believe each of you already knows the reason for this meeting."
"It seems our suspicions were right after all. Libertas discovered a way to create Espers with the machines they stole years ago."
"General, wouldn't it be better to blow these rebels to pieces right away?" Hina proposed. She was now Governor of Era and nicknamed the Mystic Bomb for her devastating ability.
"She has a point," confirmed the Governor of Astalia, Garga, called the Impassable Wall for his enormous size. "These insects have been roaming the Kingdom unchecked for too long, spreading chaos. It's time to crush them with everything we've got!"
"Governor Garga, are you aware of their resources, their means, and the locations of their bases?" asked Dia, Governor of Atlas, nicknamed the Perfect Hacker.
Garga didn't answer.
"If you don't know any of that, you might easily walk into a trap. Unlike you, I know quite a bit about the group operating in my region. Our enemies aren't in a position to challenge us in open war yet — for now they can only resort to guerrilla tactics."
"Ahahah! How delightful! So it's all Raxis's fault after all?" the Governor of Esios burst out laughing.
Raxis couldn't stand her. She was the person he hated most in that room. "Why would it all be my fault, Kana, Princess of Dreams?" Raxis snapped back at the youngest amongst the Governors.
Raxis couldn't bear being disrespected by that nineteen-year-old girl, nor that she sat among the Governors. Kana Yumeko was the daughter of Captain Yumeko, one of the General's closest men and the former Governor of Esios. After his mysterious death, Kana inherited everything — including the title of Governor.
Kana rarely fought; Raxis only knew that she was a psychic Esper.
The Governor of Elbion was the only one who hadn't yet spoken.
The General laughed: "Take a lesson from Goro — now there's a serious man." Goro remained impassive as always. He was a middle-aged man who only spoke when the topic interested him or when the General addressed him.
"Raxis," the girl resumed, showing an image of a boy on the holo, "my faithful Yuki and Aria searched through last year's mission archives and found that this was the child who, according to your report, should have died three years ago. You reported having eliminated the couple who sheltered Hitoshi Nozoi. The child should have died too — instead he's alive, and now we know he's an Esper. Why did you lie to us?"
Kana immediately burst into laughter. "Ahahah! Raxis, did you really think we wouldn't discover your failure? You've fallen so low that even a child managed to fool you."
Raxis had to yield. "It's true, I lied. Nozoi took the boy along with three other children when he fled, but I never imagined the boy would become an Esper."
"Perhaps you don't understand the magnitude of the problem, Raxis. You never think! You don't consider consequences and leave everything to chance. Maybe it's time you retire and give your position to someone younger — someone like me!"
Raxis could no longer hold back: "Damned whore, you'll be dead before you touch my region!"
"How dare you call me that, filthy old man?" the girl retorted, enraged.
The General grinned with amusement. "I'd love to listen to you a bit longer, but I have better things to do at the moment. Raxis, find that boy and eliminate him. Then spread the rumor that some Espers who deserted our army have joined Libertas and that the boy was never an Esper to begin with. Find every witness who saw him and kill them. Let's keep the advantage and destroy these rebels before the people start supporting them. Meeting adjourned."
"Yes, General," Raxis replied.
"I hope you're up to the task, old man. See you soon," Kana laughed as she shut off the hologram.
The General shook his head. "Increase surveillance in your regions. We must block any Libertas movement before they cause serious damage."
"Of course, General," Hina answered promptly.
The others nodded and vanished from the projection, leaving the General alone with Raxis. "You and Kana mustn't sabotage each other," the General warned. "Remember we're all on the same side."
"My lord, I never did anything like that. We've only ever insulted each other — nothing more."
"I'm not speaking of the past, but of the future." The General switched off the holoscreen.
Raxis was furious. "Lightstorm!" he called. "Let's go hunting."
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Kana flushed with fury. She watched the snow fall outside the window. Esios was the northernmost region of Anima, and its castle stood atop a hill overlooking Blanc, the capital. The snow-covered roofs and the surrounding silence gave the place a fairy-tale air.
"How dare you call me that? How!?" she snapped, pacing back and forth across her chambers."I'll make you pay, damned you! I'll take everything from you—you have the word of the Princess of Dreams!"