Chapter 295

"The sun's already set, what's this all about?"

Venum Thesaurus, the 8th Battalion Commander of the Central Branch, entered the small conference room with a swaggering gait. As he was even taller than the Commander, those gathered inside started to rise from their seats, thinking their leader who had summoned them had arrived, but stopped short.

"It must be about the peninsula matter. You weren't planning to leave work on time at a time like this, were you?"

Noel Presentia, the 11th Battalion Commander who had arrived at some unknown time, grabbed Venum's shoulder tightly with a fresh smile. Venum roughly shook off his shoulder as if to say 'don't touch me' and glared at him with an unwelcoming expression.

"Don't act like we're close."

Beyond Noel, who shrugged and entered first, removing his hand, Meterion came into Venum's view, sitting with his arms crossed and eyes tightly closed.

Meterion had already shed his combat uniform and changed into a snow-white dress uniform. Venum deliberately passed in front of him, checked his face, and casually remarked:

"Did you get some special treatment? Rivera's dark circles were down to her chin, but you look good."

"Thesaurus, are you crazy? Why are you picking a fight with someone who just came back from a hard time?"

Verity Sharma, the 5th Battalion Commander sitting next to Meterion, yelled at Venum. Meterion furrowed his brow and half-opened his eyes but didn't add anything since someone else was already scolding Venum. He just closed his eyes again, making a show of being tired.

Although the number of people was still small as not everyone had gathered yet, the atmosphere in the conference room became noticeably unsettled with Venum's arrival. Andreas, the 4th Battalion Commander who had hurriedly returned on his way home and was fixing his loosened tie, muttered as he saw the dark shadow flickering at Venum's feet:

"That guy, he's especially troublesome today."

"Looks like the nasty seven-year-old came out today."

Maria Angel, the 9th Battalion Commander with a friendly smile, answered Andreas's muttering, saying she liked the rare liveliness.

The 8th Battalion Commander, Venum Thesaurus, could handle shadows, or more accurately, it was right to say he had become one with several shadows. The shadows that lingered at his feet each had different genders, ages, and personalities, and Venum's tone and behavior would change depending on which shadow took the lead at any given time.

However, since he couldn't control this at will, it sometimes appeared to others as an inconvenient ability where he occasionally lost his sense of self. But Venum could also partially control darkness, which was a higher concept than shadows, and he had a secret technique of absorbing wandering shadows to discover information or secrets.

The downside was that many of the shadows mixed in would spread rumors or lies, lowering their reliability... Anyway, seeing that Venum was particularly talkative today, it seemed that a meddlesome shadow seeking attention had taken the lead.

Meanwhile, the conference room door opened and closed several times as other battalion commanders arrived one after another. When Delua, who was said to have dark circles down to her chin, appeared, unlike with Meterion, most gave a light applause to show appreciation for her hard work.

Despite being soaked in fatigue, she expressed gratitude for the welcome, greeted her long-unseen colleagues one by one, and then took a seat. Deputy Commander Shorendo casually approached Delua and asked discreetly:

"Battalion Commander Rivera, do you know why the Commander called us to gather?"

"Huh? Well, I haven't heard anything specific other than the personal order... Maybe it's for a briefing on the peninsula situation?"

"Hmm... I suppose that must be it?"

Shorendo nodded in agreement and once again encouraged Delua, saying she had worked hard. But after returning to his seat, he somehow looked full of questions. It wasn't the first time they had gathered at such a late hour, but it was strange that only battalion commander-level officers were summoned, excluding those who were usually the main attendees of important meetings, such as deputy commanders and adjutants.

Even so, the summoned individuals continued to arrive, and soon there was barely a minute left until the assembly time. Everyone had gathered in one place, except for two battalion commanders who had expressed difficulty in attending due to being in other regions, the 2nd Battalion Commander Loren Opience who had spread the summons order, and Commander Agrizendro himself. It was the highest attendance among recent meetings.

As the Commander usually appeared 5 minutes before the start of a meeting, the battalion commanders occasionally checked their watches while waiting for Hugo, who had not yet shown himself. Nevertheless, no one grumbled about being called out suddenly at such a late hour. The fact that the person who was likely the most exhausted on the day of returning from the subjugation had issued the summons order meant it was an extremely important matter.

Because of this, some had agreed beforehand to give a cheer when the Commander-in-Chief entered, regardless of the reason for the summons. And just then, as if the tail of the last person to enter was long, the familiar voices of two people could be heard from afar through the slightly open conference room door.

As the voices became clearer, some pushed back their chairs and stood up. Just as they were about to clap their hands, raising their palms under Deputy Commander Shorendo's lead.

However, the conversation heard from beyond the door somehow sounded more ominous than expected.

"Wait, Hugo. It's not certain yet, so don't push too hard."

"Not certain? Do you know what almost happened because of this?"

Following Loren's urgent restraint, unlike her usual self, Hugo's angry retort echoed through the corridor. Those gathered in the conference room sensed something was off and rolled their eyes left and right. About 5 seconds later, the heavy soundproof door burst open.

Bang–!

A loud noise rang out as the door collided with the wall. Simultaneously, a chilling cold brought by the Commander spread throughout the conference room. The atmosphere froze in an instant, and Hugo's gaze quickly scanned the gathered battalion commanders as he appeared.

His blue eyes were terribly bleak and ominous, as if ready to grab and punish someone. The hands of the battalion commanders who were about to applaud instinctively lowered.

Only Shorendo, looking around with a bewildered face, cautiously offered a word:

"Um, Commander. You've worked hard–"

Loren, who appeared next, frowned and shook her head vigorously as if to say not to say anything. Because of this, Shorendo's weak voice quickly died out, and the other battalion commanders also all fell silent.

Meterion, who had been sitting alone indifferently, unfolded his arms and slowly stood up when the situation unfolded differently from what he had expected. Hugo walked towards the head seat, meeting the eyes of each battalion commander with a fierce gaze. The sound of his military boots crossing the quiet conference room seemed unusually loud.

Eventually, when everyone's attention was focused on one point, Hugo held out the handcuffs he had brought without preamble.

"Do you know what this is?"

The mana-restraining handcuffs dangled and swayed left and right, reflecting the light from the ceiling. Everyone knew it was handcuffs, but the Commander surely wasn't asking expecting such an obvious answer.

As the atmosphere suggested that saying the wrong thing could lead to big trouble, everyone remained silent, passing the responsibility to answer to one another.

Even Shorendo, who was usually smooth-talking, couldn't easily open his mouth at this moment. He only mouthed to Loren, who stood beside Hugo, asking what was going on.

However, Loren also remained silent with a complicated expression. As a result, an uncomfortable silence continued for 10 seconds, and Hugo lightly shook what he was holding in his hand and then abruptly threw it forward. Although he clearly threw it lightly, the result was not light.

There was a clear mark where the corner had hit the large table. The heavy handcuffs and chain made a clattering noise as they rolled to the center of the table and came to a stop.

"..."

"..."

Some shoulders flinched at the loud noise, and everyone's eyes widened at the Commander's behavior, which they had never seen before.

The silence that soon fell was incomparably bleaker than before. Amidst this, Hugo quietly opened his mouth.

"Answer me. Why are old-style mana-restraining handcuffs here?"

It didn't take long for the battalion commanders to react after hearing the word 'old-style'. As murmurs followed, Hugo let out a small sigh and spoke to the gathering with sharp eyes:

"The person who wore these old-style handcuffs was Leonardo Blaine, who went on the expedition to the peninsula. He had to endure a difficult time throughout the subjugation due to side effects he himself didn't understand, and because of that, he had to be under close watch by the commanders, including myself. You all know well why without me having to say it. Battalion commander-level officers should know that old-style handcuffs cause serious control instability problems."

"..."

"Then you should also understand what it means for these handcuffs to be here."

Hugo, who had been speaking calmly, bit his lip tightly and lowered his head for a moment. Soon, he slowly closed and opened his eyes, and raised his voice in a rare display:

"Because of this, one person was almost buried alive! Because of someone's intention or mistake, an innocent person almost became a murderer!"

His anger, which he could barely suppress, leaked through his clenched teeth. The intense cold seemed to devour the surrounding oxygen, making it hard for the battalion commanders to breathe.

"If Leonardo Blaine hadn't been an exceptional control ability user, the chance of an accident occurring because of this would have been 100%. In the peninsula, which was already full of danger, we couldn't trust our allies, and he had to fight in a situation where he couldn't even trust himself–"

"..."

"Didn't we agree that the responsibility for the armory and equipment management rooms would rotate among the battalion commanders to eliminate corruption and irregularities? So how did this happen? Do I really have to suspect and monitor my subordinates one by one?"

Among the half-lowered white uniforms, Hugo's navy blue combat uniform, stained with the hardships of the past, stood out uniquely. Hugo looked around with a cold gaze at his subordinates who couldn't utter a single word, whether from shock or guilt.

As Loren, who had been watching, worriedly placed her hand gently on his shoulder out of concern. Hugo glanced back briefly, realizing he had become overly excited, and let out a small sigh. Eventually, he furrowed his brow, squeezed his eyes shut, and then opened them.

"Those who were in charge of the equipment management room right before the expedition, and those who have visited the manufacturing facility within the last three months, all step forward."

He ordered the battalion commanders in an even colder voice. As the chilling voice spread, the battalion commanders looked around, checking each other's reactions.

Soon after a moment of silence, three people who had been distributed far apart each took a step forward. Everyone's eyes focused on them, and the three walked steadily to the front.

The 11th Battalion Commander Noel Presentia, who bowed his head as if ready to accept any criticism. The 8th Battalion Commander Venum Thesaurus, who clicked his tongue, uncomfortable with this atmosphere. And the 3rd Battalion Commander Meterion Clinder, who also looked annoyed that the situation had come to this, stood in order before the head seat.