Bakell looked at the information about the recommended espers from Ryker's venue displayed in the middle of the circle.
"Only one Black Guard cadet? Ryker, wasn't your venue the one that had the most recruited recommended espers?" she asked.
"It was mine indeed. Four recommended espers were presented at the inauguration, 3 of them were recruited by my scouts," he said matter-of-factly.
"Then what happened to those 3?" Harcrow asked.
"I judged their skills to be lacking for the Black Guard."
"My, I feel bad for those poor kids. Your standards are always so high, Ryker," the woman said.
"I hope you're not implying your standards for entering the Black Guard are lower than mine. Besides, if they are really worthy, they'll find a way."
"Ryker's right, the Black Guard is the New World's damn sword and shield. If we start lowering our standards and allowing f*cking weaklings in just for the sake of protecting their sh*tty worthless feelings, then what would've been the point in creating it in the first place?!" the muscular man exclaimed.
"Cassel is so lively today," Bakell remarked.
"Don't play with me," Cassel said, forcing himself not to scream at her.
"Alright, alright," Bakell giggled.
"We're getting off-topic. Does anyone have anything else to add to their report?" Ryker asked.
The other 4 executioners remained silent.
"Very well, then let's end this meeting. You're free to leave," Ryker said.
One by one, they slightly bowed their heads before their hologram disappeared from the circle, leaving only Leywin and Ryker.
"You wanted to talk to me?" Leywin asked.
"That's right, I couldn't help but notice you called your retainer back from his mission. I should remind you, that missions are not some kind of field trip you can just interrupt at your convenience. The fact that they received orders from the Board when, under normal circumstances, they only receive orders from us, should speak volumes about the importance of their missions."
"Cypher finished his current mission before coming to Sunrise City. I asked him to do so."
"Retainers were not tasked with only one mission, they had a list of objectives they had to complete. The other three retainers are not even halfway through that list. The fact of the matter is, you interfered with Cypher's duties," Ryker said in an intimidating tone. "What were your motives?"
"I called him as an insurance."
Ryker remained silent.
"I believe you remember the incident with Delta last time. You told me I was allowed to deal with him, though I would like to avoid that scenario. Still, Delta's conduct has been getting more concerning and I fear he might try something during the tournament's final phase. It would be very bad if the tournament was left unattended at such an important moment. That's why I called Cypher, so he can manage any problem related to the tournament if I have to deal with Delta," Leywin explained. "After all, you wouldn't want the assassination of a Black Guard operator to become a public matter, right?" a small smirk.
Ryker narrowed his eyes as he held Leywin's gaze without saying a word.
"I'll allow it," he finally spoke. "You might proceed as you better see fit."
Leywin slightly bowed her head. Ryker looked at her one last time before his hologram disappeared.
Leywin walked out of the room, however, just as she stepped into the hallway, she suddenly stopped. A man was standing next to the door and kneeled as soon as Leywin left the room.
He was wearing the Black Guard's uniform and had its characteristic white mask on. While he kneeled, his right fist and knee firmly connected against the hard floor. He looked downward, as he bowed his head.
"Executioner Leywin, all arrangements have been made," he said without raising his gaze. At the same time, a pair of black disks floated toward Leywin.
"You already know what I want you to do."
Cypher nodded.
******
The next morning, a sound coming from his ID card woke up Seth. Still half asleep, he slowly turned around to see the ID card on top of the nightstand displaying a hologram.
He hadn't been able to sleep much so his whole body felt tired and his head cloudy. He rubbed his eyes and sat on the bed.
[Congratulations Seth Bayard! You're among the few participants to make it to the last phase!]
Seth's eyes widened in surprise.
[Your rank is: 127/128
The next phase will start today at 5 pm.
Your first match is scheduled for tomorrow at 8 am in ring D.
A special transport for you is set to leave at 6 am towards the stadium where the final phase will take place.
Your designated waiting room is Room 78]
After reading the instructions, Seth drifted into his own thoughts as he stared blankly at the ground.
Meanwhile, everywhere throughout the HSA tower, the participants received the same message. Those who were disqualified were soon visited by HSA operators who escorted them out of the building. Most of them also received a visit from an HSA scout who informed them of the organization's interest in them, and their desire to recruit them as part of the HSA military.
As soon as the 128 disqualified participants walked out of the building's main entrance they noticed dozens of reporters crowded together beyond the main gate. The moment they saw the participants start leaving the building they rushed to the gate, piling up against it and shouting their questions.
The HSA operators guided them to several buses parked outside the building that would take them to their homes.
As the buses started leaving through the main gate, the reporters kept piling up against them in an attempt to get an answer from one of the participants.