Finally, with the most important issue already concluded, the members decided to close the meeting with certain small talk.
Not everyone could engage in such trivialities, though.
The First Seat excused himself and went for his usual walk. The Third Seat swiftly left to attend to a research she had abandoned for the meeting.
Time was running out, and she had to do everything she possibly could. Thus, Karlia exited the hall.
"I'll be leaving now. I have some important matters to attend to." Beruel murmured, almost distracted by something.
"Hm? You don't look like yourself, Beruel. Sure you're okay?"
The Fairy King glared at the one who spoke and narrowed his gaze.
"It's none of your business. I'll take care of it myself." With this final statement, his hologram flickered and he vanished within moments.
"Looks like we're the only ones left" Kido playfully looked across the table and noticed the few others who were still there—though not for long.
They were; Stefan, Legris, Kido, the Cult Leader, and his female pet.
"I'd like to discuss some things with you, Legris. Do you think we could rendezvous together?" The young Fifth Seat glanced in the direction of Legris Damien.
The older man didn't seem too surprised by this question, and he responded positively.
"You know where to find me, yes?"
"Yes. We'll see each other soon." Stefan said, before wishing everyone farewell and disconnecting.
"Got any idea what he wants to say to you?" Kido asked the smiling Legris Damien.
The latter simply shrugged, displaying nothing short of a carefree attitude.
"Don't know. I hope it's fun, though." With this statement, Legris disconnected from the meeting as well.
The only one left was Kido and the upper echelon.
"What will you do now?" The Cult Leader asked him.
For a moment, Kido sat in silence, rubbing his bare chin in consideration. Once a few seconds passed, he jumped to his feet and donned his cheerful smile.
"Hmmm… I believe it's time to nip my family problems in the bud."
"It's about time." The Leader answered.
"Yeah. I mean, we're already close to endgame. We don't need anything else sticking out. Besides, Kuzon has an Arcana."
The Cult Leader sighed, rising to his feet as the lady beside him gave him some space and prepared for his departure.
"There's a reason we haven't bothered with him yet. There's no real need to obtain his Arcana. Still… it would be interesting to have it, at the very least."
"Welp, bonus point to me, then."
"Just ensure you keep in touch. All members will be called back to the headquarters once the time is at hand."
Kido nodded at the Cult Leader's words, and the latter walked away from the hall—his pretty white maiden trailing behind him.
"She's cute." Kido murmured, taking one final look around before opening a golden portal in front of him.
"Alright. I should have some fun first." Upon saying this, Kido vanished into his swirling distortion of space.
The entire meeting area thus became devoid of life and personage.
*
*
*
Beruel sighed as he opened his eyes.
His surroundings were dark, and his body was hardly visible due to the darkness that surrounded him.
In this vast, empty space that seemed to contain only him and his massive throne, he gave a tired expression.
Projecting himself to attend the Nether Cult's meeting was something he didn't quite enjoy since it disconnected him from every other occurrence happening around him.
In essence, he was quite vulnerable in this state
Fortunately, his security systems could sense anything he might be missing, and they relayed the information to him later on.
And this was the very reason why he swiftly left the Nether Cult's gathering despite an issue he had wanted to raise.
'The systems picked up something…' His thoughts trailed as he narrowed his eyes.
In one blink, several System Windows appeared in front of him.
[SYSTEM ALERT]
<Intruder Detected>
[SYSTEM ALERT]
<Two Intruders Detected>
[SYSTEM ALERT]
<Powerful Beings Closing In>
[SYSTEM ALERT]
<Aether Signature Detected>
[SYSTEM ALERT]
<Arcana Signature Detected>
Beruel's tired eyes went through every single information before him, and realized just how serious the situation was.
"Run facials." His voice echoed throughout the dark hall.
A large screen appeared in the air, and the two persons who had intruded into his secret base came into view.
"Those two? I should have known. Though it's a surprise they managed to decrypt it all in time…"
Beruel was fascinated, but also very annoyed. How did he not notice them coming a mile away? Or how did they track him down without his being informed?
'They were recognized by the system as formidable. As bothersome as this is, I can't underestimate them…'
The Fairy King closed all the glowing windows that manifested before him—with the exception of one.
[SYSTEM COMMAND CENTER]
~Please Input Your Command~
<Input Here>
"Activate security measures by extrapolating their danger levels and appropriately devising the proper algorithm to eliminate the threat."
[SYSTEM COMMAND RESPONSE]
<Understood>
The System Window fizzled out the moment the command was made, leaving Beruel all alone once more.
A number of thoughts plagued his mind, but he chose not to overthink anything this time.
'No one has ever figured out my location before. Even the Cult…'
The fact that these pests were able to find his fortress and dared infiltrate it proved how incredibly intelligent they were.
"The Midas child… he's the culprit behind this. Damn Kido's blood."
Thanks to the incompetence of the other Cult Members, his agenda had been pushed back. He didn't like the fact that they had to wait either.
Needless to say, Beruel was in a terrible mood.
"A Midas boy and a human girl. What an imbalanced matchup." He chuckled a little.
The security systems were activated, and sooner or later, the two would be flushed out. Sure, he knew the boy was especially dangerous—all things considered.
'He killed members of the Cult, and I have yet to see the limits of his power.'
However, the only reason he was formidable was because Beruel was yet to decipher his abilities.
"Display complete footage and commence analysis."
A large screen appeared in the room, showing just about everything that would be going down henceforth.
'I'll see with my very eyes how powerful you are….Midas boy."
