Chapter 18: The conference of the emperors
The Emperors are those who have mastered their respective attributes, and the Grand Emperor is one who has mastered all attributes and been recognized by the seven Emperors—Fire Emperor, Water Emperor, Lightning Emperor, Earth Emperor, Wind Emperor, Light Emperor, and Dark Emperor—to lead them.
The Eight Emperors Meeting is a monthly gathering where the seven Emperors and the Grand Emperor convene at World Government headquarters.
—7:15 PM—
Seven Emperors were already seated around the circular table in the Eight Emperors Meeting room, the conference room dedicated to these gatherings.
All wore hooded cloaks, their faces hidden beneath the hoods. The cloak colors were red, blue, yellow, brown, green, white, and black. They were just waiting for the Grand Emperor in the silver cloak to arrive.
The seven Emperors chatted amicably.
"The Grand Emperor's gonna show up ten minutes early like always, right?"
The Lightning Emperor in the yellow cloak muttered. This was a habit—a somewhat drawn-out way of speaking.
"The Grand Emperor does have a punctual side. At least, that's how the Grand Emperor appears in that role."
The Light Emperor in the white cloak, who always spoke formally, analyzed calmly. The Light Emperor was the highest level-headed among the seven Emperors.
"Hey, Fire Emperor. What's the Grand Emperor like normally? You two are friends outside of just being Emperors, right?"
The Lightning Emperor asked the Fire Emperor in the red cloak.
"I'm curious too!"
"So am I!"
The close pair—the Water Emperor in blue and the Wind Emperor in green—agreed with the Lightning Emperor. Despite having completely different personalities, the gentle Water Emperor and the bright energetic Wind Emperor seemed to get along well.
"..."
The taciturn Dark Emperor in the black cloak remained silent but appeared interested, staring intently at the Fire Emperor. The Dark Emperor basically never spoke. You had to understand what the Dark Emperor wanted from actions alone. The Fire Emperor, who generally disliked troublesome things, sighed and then spoke.
"The Grand Emperor certainly does have a punctual side. For example, waking up at the same time every day. Additionally, spending about an hour training every morning after waking up."
The Emperors were impressed—truly befitting the Grand Emperor. They all respected the Grand Emperor. Though they didn't know the Grand Emperor's face, name, or age, their loyalty was unwavering.
"Never satisfied with his current self, always striving higher. The Grand Emperor is truly a remarkable person."
The Earth Emperor, the eldest among them, spoke words of admiration in a low, hoarse voice. The Earth Emperor alone was known by face and name to everyone. Not just to the Emperors here—even ordinary citizens knew the Earth Emperor's face and name.
The Earth Emperor glanced at the clock. As if following that lead, the other Emperors also checked the time. Immediately, the relaxed atmosphere shifted to something serious.
Realizing from the clock that the Grand Emperor's arrival was near, the seven Emperors began moving about busily all at once.
The Light Emperor poured tea, the Dark Emperor and Earth Emperor gripped the door handles on either side, the Water Emperor and Fire Emperor stood before the door, and the Lightning Emperor and Wind Emperor positioned themselves on either side of the Grand Emperor's ornate armchair at the head of the table, pulling the chair back slightly.
The clock's long hand pointed to four. At that signal, the Dark Emperor and Earth Emperor opened the doors. The Grand Emperor in the silver cloak stood before the entrance, radiating the commanding presence befitting that position.
—7:20 PM—
Right on time as always.
The Emperors bowed respectfully.
"Welcome, Grand Emperor."
The Fire Emperor and Water Emperor greeted the Grand Emperor.
"Thank you for the reception."
The Grand Emperor smiled slightly beneath his hood.
"Grand Emperor, please, this way."
The Fire Emperor guided the Grand Emperor to the chair. When the Grand Emperor stood before the chair, the Lightning Emperor and Wind Emperor pushed it forward, seating the Grand Emperor.
Seeing this, the Light Emperor offered tea.
"Please, Grand Emperor."
"Thank you."
The Grand Emperor enjoyed the aroma briefly, then took a small sip.
"Delicious as always."
"I'm honored by your praise."
The Light Emperor smiled happily beneath the white hood.
"Please, everyone take your seats. Let's begin the meeting."
At the Grand Emperor's words, everyone sat down.
"We will now commence the Eight Emperors Meeting. Today's first agenda item concerns recent monster behavior."
The Wind Emperor and Lightning Emperor's expressions shifted slightly. Something had occurred to them.
"It seems some of you have relevant experiences. Wind Emperor, Lightning Emperor, could you share what happened?"
"Yes."
Everyone listened as the two responded.
"Today I took an SS-rank request. Should've been nothing special... but the job description said to eliminate a combined total of ten thousand Hard Grocks and Golems. When I actually got to the site, there were a hundred thousand of them. I'd never seen such a massive horde before."
"A hundred thousand?!"
The Earth Emperor cried out in shock.
Hard Grocks and Golems were lower-class monsters—individually they'd be D-rank requests. Ten thousand would make it an SS-rank request. But ten times that—a hundred thousand—would make it an SSS-rank request.
If anyone other than an Emperor had taken this job, they'd be dead by now. After all, only the seven Emperors, the king, and five other powerhouses held SSS rank.
Next, the Lightning Emperor began speaking.
"My request was SSS-rank. Today I brought Squad Three from my guild Melancholy of the Dark Night to help build up the members' skills. It was supposed to be eliminating thirty Aqua Dragons... but Aqua Dragons don't have flocking behavior in the first place."
"Aqua Dragons forming flocks..."
"Unbelievable..."
The Light Emperor and Water Emperor muttered in amazement.
Aqua Dragons were upper-class monsters—eliminating just one was an AAA-rank request. Generally, few dragon species had flocking behavior, and Aqua Dragons were no exception.
Yet these Aqua Dragons had formed a flock.
After listening to both accounts, the Grand Emperor, who had been looking down in thought, suddenly raised his head.
"Then I'll report as well. This evening, I took five requests. One SS-rank, one EX-rank, and three SSS-rank requests. The first was an SSS-rank job to eliminate fifty Sparn Dragons. But Sparn Dragons don't have flocking behavior. Next was the EX-rank request to eliminate thirty Diamond Dragons, but they don't flock either."
The Grand Emperor reported matter-of-factly.
"Even Sparn Dragons and Diamond Dragons..."
The Lightning Emperor looked down in thought, but not being the intellectual type, nothing came to mind. The Lightning Emperor looked up at the Grand Emperor.
The other Emperors also focused on the Grand Emperor.
"I investigated before coming here... It seems that recently, like with the Wind Emperor's case, the actual number of monsters has been higher than what's written in the request forms. Also... I found that monsters that should act alone and don't have flocking behavior have been forming groups."
The Emperors held their breath. If this was really happening—
"There have been... casualties... and deaths."
The Grand Emperor's tone dropped even lower than during the previous discussion. The Grand Emperor clenched hands tightly, as if enduring something.
Regret swirled in the Grand Emperor's heart—the anguish of being unable to save everyone.
"To prevent further casualties, we'll implement countermeasures and investigate the cause of these anomalies. Specifically, as countermeasures: anyone SS-rank or below taking requests must work in groups of three or more, take requests at least one rank below their own level, or work with someone at least one rank above the request level. As for investigation, we have no leads yet, so for now it'll be individual research."
At the Grand Emperor's voice, heavy with sorrow, the Emperors nodded and voiced their agreement.
"Let's move to the next agenda item—"
And so the night wore on.
At this time, no one could have predicted it.
That a battle for humanity's survival was about to begin.
And this was merely the prologue to that war—