'Looks like it's time to get serious.'
I was currently standing within the large meeting hall, facing the seated and standing members of the board. Kuzon, Aloe, Ciara, and Edward were behind me, and everyone else was looking at us from an audience perspective.
According to Aloe's short message to me, she had already briefed everyone on what happened to us—how we got separated to different worlds, how we found one another, and how we were able to return to this reality.
She had done all of this while the rest of us were too occupied to take on the role.
For that alone, I was most grateful.
'However, now it's time for me to take charge once again…' It seemed a little awkward since, biologically speaking, I was the youngest in the room.
Even Asa that was just a kid when I last saw him was now an adult, older than me by a few years.
However, despite the age gap and internal awkwardness I felt, I was still met with the respectful expression of my audience.
Perhaps, even to the most fundamental level, they knew that my age meant nothing.
It also helped that I was the leader of the Alliance.
As such, it was time for me to take on my mantle and speak to the eager ears awaiting my address.
"As you are all aware, our opponent is Legris Damien. He is the architect of our current situation, and also someone who needs to be stopped before he attains his goals." I began, my voice calm and steady.
"I have devised a plan to take him down for good. It's still uncertain where he currently is, but I have a good idea about what he wants, which will inevitably translate to his goals. If we can understand his desires, we should be able to predict his behaviour and destination, thus tracking him down."
For a moment, silence pervaded the hall. I could tell everyone was absorbing the contents of everything I had just said. The current plans we were making had the highest scale in terms of implication and danger.
"What exactly does Legris want?" Someone finally raised a question.
It was Beruel. His concerned eyes met mine, and I could tell that he was among those who felt this threat the most. As somene who had worked with Legris in the same Nether Cult, he must have felt something was off about Legris too.
Now that things had unraveled to this extent, Beruel—and pretty much the rest of us—could now feel the extent of his threat.
"I can only chalk it up to one thing: POWER."
Everything he had done thus far, all the calculations I had made, everything I spoke to Neron about, and the deliberations made internally… everything led me to that conclusion.
"I have no idea to what end he desires this power, but it can't be good."
Legris was a man who would do anything to achieve his goals. He was a nuisance for Neron, just as he was a nuisance to me. Extremely intelligent, crafty, and covert.
"That slimy bastard has to be stopped once and for all." I declared, and based on the expressions of my audience, they agreed with me.
"How do you plan on tracking him down, though? We have had no luck these ten years." Jane spoke this time, her tone cautious as it was intrigued.
She probably thought I had devised an exceptional means or Magic Technology to achieve that goal.
Well, she was wrong.
"I reckon Legris will target locations with high concentrations of power, and by mapping out irregular patterns, or areas where detection fails, we can narrow down the range a little." I would require Jane's assistance for this, or perhaps Ana.
I was sure they had detection devices, but now that we understood Legris' goals, we could specialize the equipment to function the way we desired.
Hence, a more effective means of targeting Legris.
"We shouldn't overlook Ciel. She was Legris. I never thought those two would team up…" Beruel spoke up once more, stroking his chin slightly.
Of course, I hadn't forgotten about Ciel.
"She most likely desires the return of the Nether. That's probably the reason she partnered up with Legris. That further proves my conclusion that Legris is after power." I responded to Beruel, and then proceeded to address everyone generally.
"The fact that the Nether hasn't been brought back yet means one of two things. Either Legris doesn't have enough power to bring the Nether back, or Ciel believes he doesn't yet possess enough power to do so."
The first possibility relied on Legris' current weakness, and how Neron had shaved off a considerable amount of his power, while the second relied on Legris' sly nature and how unpredictable he could be.
"I doubt the latter is plausible, all things considered, so I submit that the former is more likely."
Legris didn't have enough power to free the Nether. As long as that remained a factor, Ciel would accompany him and they would work together until he was able to bring that horrid entity into existence.
'The fact that he's willing to go that far means he doesn't care about what happens to existence. That means his goals are… argh, Legris, what could you be up to?'
The more I thought about it… about him… the more his goals seemed too absurd.
"In any case, he could be using Ciel for her abilities, and then dispose of her once her use has expired. We should also consider a possibility that he has enough power to bring the Nether into existence, just so we're not caught off guard."
Everyone nodded at my words, and I nodded back.
"As you are all aware, Neron swapped out our world with a similar one. This was done to protect us from Legris, which means Legris' last known location has to be the replica world that Neron swapped ours with."
Of course, there was no guarantee he would still be there since he had [The World].
Still, since that would be his last known location, it was a good idea to begin our search from that empty world and work our way around from there.
"As such, I will require an elite team to accompany me… so we can track Legris Damien and defeat him, once and for all."
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[A/N]
The curtains slowly rise as we draw nearer to the intense struggle to find and stop the malefactor.
Thanks for reading.
