Sartorius sat in silence in the resplendent great hall, a crystal ball placed on the table before him.
Through the crystal sphere, a hazy image could be seen: a mountain forest shrouded in black smoke, meteors streaking across the sky, and falling asteroids bringing forth space Elemental Heroes.
A spaceship powered by the force of light gave chase, bringing with it the Alien of Light. The embodiment of light and the representative of darkness made first contact on Earth, leading to a battle. The result...
Well, the result was clearly rather tragic.
Even Sartorius himself was left speechless by what he saw.
Although this Neo-Spacian was the embodiment of darkness, he hadn't expected its fighting style to be so sinister. Right off the bat, it was a hand-destructive combo, a dangerous move for any unprepared opponent.
But on the flip side, the Alien of Light were surprisingly incompetent.
Their own ace card ended up locking themselves out—how ridiculous.
Sure, the Neo-Spacian Aqua Dolphin's hand-destruction ability was nasty, but it was the self-inflicted side effect of Candelato, the Beast of Light that really sealed the deal. Without its own "help," the Dolphin alone might not have been able to suppress it so completely.
At the end, Sartorius couldn't help but shake his head.
He had glimpsed a fragment of fate, seeing not only the main enemies of their light's wave approaching, but also allies arriving from the stars.
But who could have predicted that the enemy's Dolphin would rampage like a war god, while his own "ally" turned out to be an idiot who helped the opposition?
So, seeing his so-called teammate only made Sartorius feel more pressure, as if he was carrying the team. Not only did he have to face opponents as treacherous as the Dolphin, but he also had to carry a teammate who couldn't use his brain...
"Enough."
The image in the crystal ball faded. Sartorius leaned back in his seat.
No matter. He hadn't expected to rely on allies in his plan anyway.
Through painstaking effort, the Society of Light had grown strong. The wheels of fate were finally turning, and this planet was destined to become spotless and pure.
"Hm?"
Sartorius glanced at a terminal beside the table; its indicator light was blinking.
Even in this age, even a prophet couldn't do without modern technology.
Sartorius answered the call. The image of a young and beautiful woman appeared on the screen.
Sartorius's little sister, Sarina.
"What is it, Sarina?"
"It's still the problem with the Knights of Hanoi," Sarina said calmly. "I just got word that they're probing for our information through various channels.
That Revolver is a troublesome character, and he has some tough subordinates. There's a female duelist named Tania, suspected to be a Duel Monster spirit. Some of our peripheral members have already lost to her."
"Tania…"
Sartorius frowned in thought.
"The one who used to be part of the Shadow Riders?"
"Seems like it. And there are a few other troublesome people," Sarina continued. "Revolver is also on the move. I thought you'd want to know—"
"Not now, Sarina."
Sartorius shook his head, glancing at the now blank crystal ball.
"I have much more important matters to attend to. Revolver has no place in our destiny, not worth my attention. You handle it as you see fit."
"…Alright, I understand."
Sarina's concern wasn't unfounded.
…
The Society of Light wasn't a behemoth like Doma once was, so with Kira and the Knights of Hanoi's resources, digging up information wasn't that hard.
Not to mention, he had the help of some dark web contacts.
Voluntary help, this time.
Kira swore he hadn't forced anyone's hand or beaten any managers senseless this time.
Tania found out that a certain branch of the Society of Light was connected to the local dark web. She tracked down the relevant manager, apparently named Majima. But given the Knights of Hanoi' reputation on the dark web, and lacking Revolver's confidence to brave danger without flinching, she didn't push further and instead reported the intel to Revolver.
Kira praised her efforts and said he'd handle the rest himself, and would let her know if he needed help.
Then he simply called the dark web himself.
"Who is this?"
A hoarse, deep male voice answered.
"Is this Manager Majima of the dark web?" Kira asked politely.
"Yes, who is this?"
"Oh, I'm Revolver from the Knights of Hanoi," Kira replied courteously.
He heard a spitting sound from the other end.
"Revolver… You dare call me!?"
Majima was shocked.
This guy had crashed their dark web operations twice, topping their blacklist. And now he dared to contact him directly?
"Yeah, a friend gave me your number," Kira chuckled. "Don't mind me, just want to make a friend."
"Make a friend…"
Majima was speechless.
He didn't even know where to start complaining.
But he'd heard of this guy's notorious reputation: undefeated since debut, ruthless and savage. Those other managers who'd been visited by him were already cautionary tales.
"Since we're friends, friends should help each other out," Kira laughed. "I'm looking for an organization called the Society of Light. Nothing much, just want to make a new friend.
You know how it is, dueling is all about connections. The more friends, the better."
Majima didn't know why this guy suddenly wanted to "befriend" the Society of Light, but suddenly he felt sorry for them.
"I also heard someone say the Society of Light has a base in your territory, right under your noses?" Kira grinned. "Nothing much, just hoping you'd introduce me to some new friends."
Majima was silent for two seconds.
"No, we don't know where they are."
"Maybe. But since it's in your territory, I figure it won't take you long to find out. So here's the deal: I'll call back in an hour.
I hope you'll have the address by then. Otherwise, I'll have to pay a personal visit."
Majima's eyes bulged.
"Are you threatening me?
Do you know who I am?
Do you know how strong the dark web is? You think I'm afraid of you? You think—"
But before he could finish, the line went dead.
Majima put down the phone, eyes wide, panting in anger.
He was surrounded by underlings.
"Boss?"
One of them asked quietly.
Majima slapped him across the face.
"What are you standing around for? Didn't you hear what he said?"
"Hurry up and find out where that damned Society is hiding!"
All the underlings rushed out the door.