282 Moving Forward
"What have you done?" Argas asked, a frown on his face.
He could hear the robotic voices, but what he wanted to understand were Asher's intentions.
"You don't need to know," Asher said, placing the Card Type Artifact inside his spatial ring.
"Place your artifact and we will leave," Asher instructed, turning towards the elevator.
Argas didn't reply but his mind was already exploring possible advantages to his situation.
As he put his artifact on the cube, he glanced back for a moment.
'Surely if I pressure him a bit, I can free myself,' Argas thought as he picked up his artifact.
He was uncomfortable with his whole career being in Asher's hands.
"I have done what you wanted, now we are even," Argas declared as he entered the lift and looked at Asher.
Asher stared back at Argas.
"We will both preserve each other's secrets," Argas suggested.
"I think you're confused," Asher responded, removing his glasses.
"I am the Heir of the Greville Family," Asher stated.
"Even if I get caught, the worst that would happen is me getting suspended or expelled," Asher continued.
"But do you think it will be the same for you?" Asher challenged, his presence becoming intimidating.
"Can you survive making my family your enemy?" Asher asked, Argas's expression shifting.
The lift arrived at Argas's floor and the doors opened.
"Think carefully. It's you who needs to be careful about your decisions from now on, not me," Asher warned as he stepped out of the lift and headed towards Argas's office, leaving Argas still in the lift.
Argas clenched his fist, understanding his precarious position. Until now, he had controlled others for profit, but now he was the one who needed to follow every order from Asher.
The gap in their statuses was too large, and he knew that making an enemy out of an Elite family was the last thing he wanted.
After all, if Asher were exposed, Argas would be expelled as well since he had allowed Asher into the Data System Room.
The worst punishment Asher could receive was expulsion and public defamation. For Argas, it was different.
Once he was expelled, he would lose the protection of the World Academy, and he would need to find a way to protect himself from the Greville Family if they chose to come after him.
Argas understood the workings of high society well enough to know that even if he was powerful, a person like him had no way of standing against the Greville family.
Inside the office,
"Take it," Asher tossed the ID Bracelet towards Mark, who caught it immediately.
"Where is the Professor?" He asked, confused.
His question was soon answered as Argas entered the office, his face back to normal as he didn't want to antagonize Asher.
Asher entered a room and changed back into his usual uniform, then put on his ID Bracelet.
"Do you need anything else?" Argas asked as soon as Asher came out.
Mark had already been dismissed by Argas, so only the two of them were present in the room.
"Not for now," Asher replied as he walked towards the door and exited the room.
Argas had done enough and Asher didn't need him anymore.
In a few hours, some people had already returned to the World Academy, but most were still out.
All classes were on halt because of the Kalvas Gala, so all students were eagerly waiting for any news popping up.
A group of men, each from a different continent, gathered in a virtual meeting.
"What do you mean you're going to back away now?" one man shouted, but his agitation didn't help his cause.
"It's not us who are on the news right now," another person replied.
"Every single news source has shifted to showcasing your deeds to the public," he added.
"I have contacted a few people to see if anything can be done, but don't expect anything," another person chimed in.
"Dammit," the first man disconnected the call furiously, throwing his device against the wall.
"Where the hell did they get all this information from?" he questioned. Information about his company's stock plummeting and various messages from others irritated him.
It wasn't just him, many economic giants were facing similar backlash. In a normal situation, their money and connections could have limited the damage, but that wasn't the case now.
At the Rothschild Mansion,
"Just declare that we will deal with them publicly," James instructed his butler, who brought him information about all the people currently in the news.
"But doing so might offend some of our supporters," the butler cautioned.
"Right now, what we need to maintain is our reputation and status. These people can be replaced," James responded, glancing at the list.
Similarly, a few other Elite Families were thinking along the same lines.
If Osbert wasn't preoccupied, he would have stopped all the media with his authority as only he knew that all the people currently being targeted were part of his future plans.
James didn't know that by taking this action he was making Asher's job easier as all the Elite Families turned their backs on these people.
But there was another person who knew about this but chose not to intervene.
And that was the head of the Williams Family.
"So, Reece contacted you?" he asked his butler.
"Yes, Young Master was asking if anything could be done to calm down this situation," the butler reported, a smile forming on the face of the head of the Williams Family.
"It seems he's still not ready," he mused.
"Tell him to just watch from the side. We will not be interfering in any of this," he instructed. The butler nodded in response and left the room.
"I wonder who is pulling the strings in all this," he mused, pressing a button to make the information about the project he was working on with Osbert Tarvian visible.
Even though he had collaborated with Osbert, he felt no need to handle things that weren't his responsibility.
He knew how many people were going to jump on this bandwagon and come out on top while the current ones were buried.
And he didn't want Reece to join in either.
"I need to tell that boy not to get too involved this early in all this," he muttered.
Two days went by and there was no news from the SSS Rank Hunters, but reports of explosions and massive mana readings in those areas allowed everyone to know that the fight was still ongoing.
And the Monster Tide hadn't stopped either.
It wouldn't stop as the monsters kept moving away from the presence of the SSS Rank Monster, continuously rushing towards the Border.
Even Halcyon was suffering from a few monsters coming over to their side, but Halcyon and Somaria were the only continents that didn't have to deploy too many resources.
Outside Armax Prison,
A huge tower stood in the middle of an isolated piece of land that was covered with lava and rune traps. The only entry point was a bridge.
"It seems that whoever these guys are, this prison is not their target," Alfred said as he floated in the air alongside Helena.
Their presence was mostly concealed by Helena's ability as they were keeping a vigilant eye on Armax Prison to prevent any untoward incidents.
"Did you contact Sylvie?" Alfred asked Helena.
"She is a smart girl, if she needs me, she will contact me herself," Helena replied.
"Well, you are right," Alfred responded with a smile on his face.
Helena's predictions seemed accurate as Soran remained mostly peaceful. However, the tension was high as many hunters were protecting the children of elite families. This was Greville's family territory, so they were being extra cautious.
"Should we go back?" Elena asked Kevin, who was engrossed in his training.
They had already spent two days outside the World Academy and needed to return soon.
"Yeah, but..." Kevin paused, unable to finish his sentence.
He was still worried about his family's situation; they were currently being targeted more than any other elite family.
Many press conferences were held and broadcasts were made to calm the public down, but the calamities were still ongoing and there was no news about the SSS Rank Hunters. No matter what the officials did, the rumors kept escalating.
"Yeah, let's go back," Kevin said after some thought.
Kevin understood that in his current state, he was of no help to his father. It would be better for him to focus on training.
Raelyn had already advised him not to worry too much, so he decided to take Elena's advice.
"I will tell Ria and Eva to move as well," Elena said, leaving Kevin to train alone for the time being.
She didn't want Kevin to get too distracted with all these things, as their current focus needed to be on getting stronger.
