The demon grinned at Cara and the teenager, then turned around and sprinted away. Both of them were confused as to why the demon left when it had such an advantage, but given the situation, they were relieved. Alexander was exhausted from the long siege and almost drained of all his spirit energy, relying mostly on his impressive body cultivation. This was an opportunity for him to retreat. Cara, on the other hand, was now free from distractions and ran towards a corridor leading to the chamber with the node in it. It was defended by zombies, of course, but so long as they were not as difficult to deal with as Pramod, she would end this match in a few minutes.
But while they were celebrating, they did not realize that the reason Pramod left them was because he did not take them too seriously. His real goal was the main Jotun force which was nearby. With his invincibility running out, he found his way to the main force and rammed through all of their attacks to reach the center of their ranks.
Then, he withdrew the cursed Quibly heart and crushed it, releasing black toxic juices and fumes. Then, before his invincibility ran out, Pramod quickly escaped. He did not bother looking back at the effects of the artifact that he used, but he knew it would do sufficient damage.
The Midnight games automatically prevented him from bringing in any artifacts at a level greater than what a Foundation expert could use, so it was not enough to destroy the whole army, but it would do its job. For the first time since the games started, the Empire suffered its first casualty. Then it's second. As the numbers started to climb up, Pramod did not look back. A few minutes later, Cara managed to destroy the node with the help of a few beasts and the match was over. The Empire's doctors ran to diagnose their soldiers, but the damage was terrifying. Those that did not immediately die seemed crippled.
*****
On Earth, yet another council meeting was being held. But this time, instead of an underground bunker, they were holding their meeting in the UN office in Geneva. The holograms did not hide the members' identities, and no one was using voice modulators.
Despite its public location, the meeting was a private one with almost full attendance of the council members. Among the council members, there was a distinction in importance, with five members having greater authority than the rest, but even the lesser members had a voice here. They had to, otherwise how would they fulfill their ambitions.
Currently, they were hearing about the situation in Africa, which was the most stable continent in the world at the moment. The transition of power was as smooth as silk and any opposition had been... diplomatically convinced to change their stance, much to the disappointment of a few warlords.
After this would be Miranda's turn, and everyone was looking forward to the new opportunity she represented. Originally, a lot of members were against her joining the council as she had no real power to bring, but her ingenuity won them over. She could turn any situation to her advantage, and they were now ready to see what advantages she had brought this time.
But the situation suddenly changed when a floating woman appeared in midair. She gave off no aura, so they were not able to tell what level she was at, but getting past so many people and suddenly appearing in front of them was no small feat.
"So this is the Council of New Order," she said with a look of derision. "Such a stupid name, how do you bring yourselves to keep it?"
"Who are you?" one of the holograms suddenly roared. The guards in the room suddenly pointed their guns at her, but then froze. They had lost control of their bodies.
The woman looked at the hologram that screamed at her, then appeared in front of it. She grabbed the hologram by the throat, as if it were a real entity, and lifted it. But somehow, despite how bizarre her actions were, the hologram was lifted into the air, the man clawing at his throat as if to free her hand.
"My name is Fernanda, and I have a message for you all so you better listen silently." She turned to look at the members in the eyes and saw a lot of panic, but she also saw a lot of calm faces.
"My lady, in her everlasting benevolence, has decided not to interfere in your actions. Since you are the people of Earth, and you all want a change in the way things are done, she has allowed you this modicum of control over your fates."
Fernanda's voice was full of disgust and hate, not because her mistress felt that way, but because letting such major changes occur on Earth was a failure on her part. She had looked like a fool in front of her mistress, and wished she could tear the council apart. But of course, she knew better than to do that.
"But there are things you need to understand. The Earth, the moon, the planets that orbit the sun and even the star itself, all of these were a betrothal gift from the young master to the mistress. Since you want change, you can have it. Since you want to reveal cultivators to the public, you may. Since you have ambitions that reach the stars, then reach for them. In how you choose to lead the planet, she will not control you, as she did not control your predecessors.
"But know that everything you do is with the permission of the mistress, and if you cross her line, then a wave of a hand is all it will take to replace you." Fernanda waved her hand and suddenly every member of the council felt themselves choking. The feeling lasted barely a moment, but it was real enough to remember.
"You have one week, you better end your wars within this period. The mistress does not like it when innocents are involved, so don't involve any civilians in the rest of your actions. Settling personal vendettas is acceptable during this period, but there should be no genocide. Remember, the Earth is her gift, so you should not even dream of marring its beauty. Does anyone have any questions?"
Dead silence filled the room as everyone stared at the angry woman. It seemed no one had the courage to do anything else.
Just as she got ready to leave, though, one of the men sitting at the head table stood up.
"Miss Fernanda, it is a pleasure to meet you," the middle-aged man said, his voice as smooth and alluring as a radio show host. "My name is Bernard Brown. I do have some questions, I hope you do not mind answering."
Fernanda glared at him, clearly upset that he spoke up, but she could not continue to ignore her duties.
"I've seen you before, you're that Sam's kid. Sure, ask away."
"Grandchild, actually," he corrected her with a smile, as if he was not admitting to planning parricide. "Thank you for humoring me. Would it be alright if I asked more about this 'mistress'..."
The meeting took a very sharp turn from what everyone had expected.
*****
Back in his room, Lex finalized his expansion plans. With 8,281,530 MP available to him, there were many things he could do now. No longer delaying the matter, Lex spent 5,000,000 MP on increasing the size of the Inn by 500 acres. There were no massive earthquakes or mystical indications. At a moment's notice, the boundary wall of the Inn expanded out and new land filled in the space. If all that land had been added to one corner instead of the boundaries, it would have been more noticeable, but this would do.
Behind the hills upon which stood the meditation hall Lex raised a mountain that could rival Everst, its peak going high up into the clouds. The singular mountain was nothing but one massive, pointy rock so Lex added layers of extremely fertile, volcanic soil. Then came a layer of fresh, powdered snow.
With another wave of his hand, thousands of coniferous trees started sprouting and in the blink of an eye grew. Like Salt Bae, he sprinkled his hands over the projection of the mountain, and various animals fell from the sky and into the new forests, somehow completely unhurt.
He paused, looked at the projection, and suddenly came up with another idea. He cleared one corner of the mountain with a wave of his hand, as if he were photoshopping an image instead of an actual mountain, then dotted it with only a few obstacles. This would be a ski slope.
Turning back to the other parts of the mountain, he carved out some trails for guests to climb. Naturally, he made sure to add some extremely scenic spots for the climbers to rest or camp, and added a fair share of small ledges for lovers to sit on and whisper corny lines to one another. Alright, a part of him was still just thinking of those two teenagers who came to the Inn for a date.
But he was not done. With the trails carved out, he then planned for the adventurous types, who went where no path led. He filled the mountain with secret caves and tunnels. He hid simple and tiny gifts, such as Botlam Dew, a few MI suits and more, in various corners of the mountain in small chests. He would not tell anyone about these and the guests would have to stumble into them.
He spent a good while perfecting the mountain, or Midnight mountain as it would eventually be called, completely unaware that all the guests in the Inn stood and watched in awe as a mountain appeared out of thin air, and then kept changing, as if being played with by a god.
