Meeting among the captains
The Captains' Meeting:
In the Magic Knights headquarters, nine people sat around a long table. They were the captains of the nine squads of the Magic Knights. None of the captains except Yami and William knew the reason behind the meeting.
All the captains were seen doing various things while waiting. Fuegoleon was sharing his experience regarding the work of a captain with Rill, who had become a captain a few months ago. Nozel had his eyes closed, trying hard not to listen to anyone's blabbering. Dorothy was asleep as always, and Charlotte was taking a few glances at Yami when he wasn't looking. Jack was telling something to Yami, who was sharpening his sword, though it was doubtful if Yami was even listening. Gueldre was calculating how much profit he had made recently. Lastly, William was watching everyone with fascination.
Although Rill hadn't taken his mana reinforcement to grand master level, his unique magic and attack power, together with his records, were enough to make him a captain. If that wasn't enough, the Wizard King was pressured by the King to make him a captain. Although the Wizard King is the head of the Magic Knights, the royal houses, especially the Kira house, have a lot of power in the decision-making of the Magic Knights. Almost all the captains believed that the captain of the Purple Orca became captain through underhanded methods.
Rill was considered one of the youngest captains in history, becoming a captain at the age of 18. Unlike Yami, whose magic is purely attack-based, Rill's magic is very versatile. A magic that can make everything within Rill's imagination real is not simple. But all the captains were unsatisfied with the childish behavior of Rill. People like Yami and Jack don't interfere too much, while Nozel doesn't care unless it involves him.
Footsteps reached everyone's ears, and all of them stopped what they were doing. Even Dorothy opened her eyes. Two people entered the room as every captain stood from their seat and greeted them. They were the Wizard King Julius and his assistant Marx.
Julius returned the greeting and told them to sit down. The meeting started with every captain giving information on major happenings or development plans.
"The main reason behind today's meeting is regarding something Yami's squad found." Julius looked towards Marx, who nodded and started a projection on which a strange machine was described.
"This device can absorb people's mana and vitality. Moreover, it was found that it decreases the rate of mana regeneration by a lot for a period of time. In the recent mission, the Black Bulls figured out the reason behind the disappearance of people from a village."
He described all the findings and finally ended with the report of the suicide. Gueldre criticized the Black Bulls for not capturing them alive, but Yami didn't bat an eye at him.
Nozel looked at the report and thought, 'It was Yami who recruited the four-leaf grimoire wielder. If he managed to change the Black Bulls a little, I might think of sending Noelle there.'
Yami felt a gaze and looked towards Nozel, who quickly retracted his gaze. "Why is the silver head staring at me like I kidnapped his pet?" he thought. "Well, whatever. The sooner the meeting ends, the sooner I can go home and take a dump."
Julius continued, "I want all the captains to investigate this matter further and make sure to find the true goal of the cult. That's it for today. Dismissed!"
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Midnight:
In the captain's room of the Golden Dawn base, William Vangeance was sitting on his chair. He removed his mask as his hair started growing longer with his scar completely gone.
Soon, a black portal opened near him, into which he dropped a letter.
On the other side of the portal, a curly ashen-haired man with two long scars on his face opened the letter. In front of him stood a group of people with their eyes closed while their mana was being drained. He looked towards his partners and announced, "There is news of Licht-sama," attracting everyone's attention.
"What is it, Valtos?"
"We have to lay low for a while as the captains got informed about our work. There is no change in the plan for collecting rumors about the beasts."
---
William looked at a piece of paper and thought, "Undine is out of bounds, the location of the earth spirit is unknown. The fire spirit, water spirit, and lightning spirit are obtainable, but the location is a problem. Time to contact the underworld… those greedy humans would do anything for money and fame, forgetting their moral values… Humans have always been like this…"
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Somewhere in the Grand Magic Zone:
A few cracks could be seen on a big rock. The cracks kept intensifying every minute and finally all the cracks joined together, forming a giant hole in the rock. The pitch-black entrance released wild mana around it, making plants that were never seen before grow around it.
In the Witch Forest, the Witch Queen opened her eyes and muttered, "So the time has finally arrived."