At a glance, I could tell that this was a serious matter that required our utmost attention. All the lighting fixtures in the mansion were turned off, and the windows were blocked. When I went through the door of the shed, I saw Paul was guarding it with two C-Rank superhumans near to undergoing a Mana Formation evolution. The security of this place was as strict as that of a maximum security prison.
Sitting at the head seat of the meeting area was Mr. Reed. Sam, Camila, and I were on the left side, and the siblings were near Darion and Sophie on the other side. Mr. Reed raised the amount of seating and set up a bigger and stronger table. The last one was worn down and a bit too small with the recent additions. It was a good choice on Mr. Reed's end.
"I assume you know why I've called you all here on such late notice, yes?" said Mr. Reed
"Must be very important with all the 'security'," Darion muttered.
"I'll ignore that snide remark," Mr. Reed grumbled. "First, I'll tell you of Chen Ling's disposition. Since his unauthorized crossing of the border rendered him an illegal, we had to act swiftly. We also had to keep in kind of his position; a high-ranking superhuman that China probably favored heavily. If they were to find out that Chen Ling was taken into U.S. custody, for whatever reason, then let's just say the outcome wouldn't be pretty."
Camila leaned forward in her seat, frowning. "Let me guess… You had to escort the man back to China secretly so that no traces led back to this country?"
Mr. Reed nodded at Camila's guess. "Perceptive as always, Camila."
"I try to keep myself up to date."
"To summarize, Chen Ling should've arrived back home this morning, and there shouldn't be any traces left that lead back to us, so we dodged that bullet. Next, however, cannot be said the same."
Mr. Reed's face darkened as he tilted his head over at Laila. She noticed this and nodded back, rummaging through her Dimensional Pouch. At her side was the dragon Solgac. The creature was perched atop the table, lying on its belly. I didn't know if it was my imagination, but it seemed like the dragon had gained some pounds. When I first met it back at Tartarus, it was the same size as an adult pug. Now it's the same size as a five-month-old German Shepherd. It is widely accepted that monsters and animals mature much more quickly than humans. However, this rate of growth is still remarkable. Laila must be aware of this. Usually Solgac roosts on her shoulders, yet this time the dragon is mounted on the table.
Laila retrieved a large spiral notebook and cast it to her brother. "I want everyone to skim through these notes quickly as Mr. Reed talks about the bastard Cardinal Nicholas."
The notebook? What could be inside?
As the notebook was being passed around, Mr. Reed spoke up.
"That message I sent you guys this afternoon… This meeting is related to it. Cardinal Nicholas has made his move, and it's one that has me fearful. What Laila had told us about Cardinal Nicholas preparing for war… was right on the money."
"I knew it," Laila scoffed, leaning backward.
Sam handed me the black notebook, and I quickly skimmed through the pages. What I read had me completely baffled. There were endless pages of information regarding Athiens. It was information about the continents, who ruled what land, the history behind it, the sort of creatures and people that occupy the lands...
"Isn't this basically an encyclopedia?" I said out loud.
"That's exactly what it is," said Laila. "It took me three days to conjure this up. I had to dig deep into my brain and pull-out bits and pieces of info I learned during my time at South Osmen. Using the internet, I completed it last night."
"No wonder you look like a zombie," Isaac muttered. Laila rolled her eyes and gave her brother an obscene gesture with her finger.
There was some truth to Isaac's comment. The bags under Laila's eyes had gotten worse, and her eyes had lost some of their luster. Her shoulders were also a lot droopier than usual, like she was carrying a one ton weight on her back. Nonetheless, if a lack of rest is a small price to pay to obtain such valuable knowledge, then why not? I knew bringing these two along was the right idea.
Mr. Reed reached over and picked up the notebook, his eyes roving over the contents. "Impressive work, Laila. You continue to surprise me. Considering the extent of your contribution, perhaps I can provide something extraordinary in return. Is there anything you want?
A dim light had sparked in Laila's eyes. "We can continue this conversation at a better time. I'll hold you on that offer, though. Now, what's this about Cardinal Nicholas making his move."
Mr. Reed smiled and said, "Getting straight to the point, eh? That's what I like to hear. Everyone, take a look at the main monitor."
At his request, everyone turned their heads to a humongous monitor embedded within the wall in front of us. We heard something click, and the monitor blared to life. On the screen was the map of the entire world, though it wasn't the one we're all familiar with. Instead of the usual continents everyone knew, a few more had popped up.
"You're all already aware that these new continents exist, so I won't go over them too much. What I do want to go over is this…"
Another press of a button later, and new information was revealed as graphics. The Ashia continent had a thick arrow pointing over at South America. With a new press, another popped up, this time an arrow from South America to Africa.
"So far, Cardinal Nicholas has traveled to these two continents. Enigma has notified me this morning that Cardinal Nicholas is still within Africa as we speak. From the intel they gathered, Cardinal Nicholas was seen conversing with the population and even shaking hands with prominent leaders of different countries."
"T-Then that would mean he's b-building connections," said Sophie. "Not just a-anyone can shake hands with politicians and leaders."
Glancing over at Sophie, she looked way worse than Laila. Her cheeks were sunken, and the underside of her eyes was black, like she dumped an entire package of eye shadow on them. For Darion, his scowler had gotten deeper, but that's about it. He looked relatively fine. Camila's face glowed, and she gazed at the screen. She showed no signs of discomfort, and her shoulders were straight. The same could be said for Sam, and it's understandable, as he has the most stamina out of everyone here because of his high durability. Usually Sam would have a poker-face whenever I saw him, but these days his face was solemn.
"So, war really is inevitable, huh?" I grumbled, folding my arms.
"Which is why we strike first," said Laila. All heads turned to her once more, and she abruptly stood up.
"There's a reason I've done this research, and it's all related to stopping Cardinal Nicholas. Remember at our last meeting I had an idea? Well, listen up."
Laila shuffled to the other end of the table, opposite of Mr. Reed and rested her arms on the table, staring us down.
"Since Cardinal Nicholas has sent his archbishops across the world, it's highly likely their job is to convert those to his cause. With that in mind, I propose that Mr. Reed send us on a mission to these foreign lands and convince the locals to side with the humans."
Camila was the first to speak up. "When you mean foreign lands, do you mean the land previously from Athiens?"
Laila nodded and said, "Yeah. I think it'd be beneficial to have the athios on our side instead of our enemies. Since we live on the same planet now, it makes sense to befriend them."
"And what makes you think they will listen to humans? We don't necessarily have a substantial track record with them. Convincing them will be a tough job to accomplish."
"I'll have to agree with Camila here," Darion interjected. "If I were the athios and my species are telling me a war is brewing against another, I'd be more inclined to join my own."
"Which is all the more reason to interfere," Laila growled. She was probably getting frustrated with these two.
Mr. Reed glared at the two superhumans. Darion's brow furrowed, and Camila simply shrugged her shoulders. Just what is up with those two today? They seem a bit more hostile…
Laila ignored the two and continued. "As I was saying, we should interfere. I say we split into groups and convince the leaders of Athiens to join us instead. If we tell them if Cardinal Nicholas' true goal, they'll most likely side with humans. Siding with us may deter a war from happening. If Cardinal Nicholas had no troops or resources for combat, then no war would happen. I say it's a solid plan."
Laila sure has put a lot of thought into this. For someone so young to be thinking about preventing a war from occurring… It's quite sad, honestly. She is taken away to an alien world which is full of peril, and once she returns to Earth, she discovers monsters are here too. Furthermore, she is getting ready for a conflict that might take place in the impending future. Frankly, her life has gone into a downward spiral, and it only seems to get worse.
Isaac rested his hand on his palms and sighed. "It's a brilliant plan, Laila, but aren't you forgetting something? What about the stages? Pretty sure the next one is in a couple of days."
At Isaac's questions, a few heads nodded. It was a great question that needed addressing to, but I'm sure we all know the answer to it.
"We'll start after the Second Stage, right?" I piped up.
"Correct," said Laila. "We can't risk starting the mission right before the Second Stage. It might screw our plans up if we aren't careful. Though I would've loved to enact this a couple of days ago, I needed to write what I knew so far. I felt as if sharing the information Isaac and I gathered in Athiens would be beneficial to Mr. Reed. I owed Joel that much."
Owed me? She must be referring to what I asked of her back in the Labyrinth. It's wonderful that she hadn't forgotten.
"Since it seems like none of you have objections to the plan, I would like to proceed. Mr. Reed, does that remote have a laser pointer or something?"
Mr. Reed slid the black remote across the table. The contraption landed gently in Laila's hand. She pointed the remote at the main monitor and hovered a red laser at the Ashia continent.
"The Ashia continent is the second biggest continent, right behind The Forbidden Area. It consists of the Elven Forest, Dwarven Kingdom, and other kingdoms. I want one group to convince the elves and dwarves to sign a treaty with us. Another will convince Noblela and the surrounding countries to join along. Any volunteers?"
Sophie eagerly raised her hand. "I'll head to the Elven Forest! I always wanted to see an elf up close!"
Darion lifted his hand with minimal enthusiasm. "I'll join Sophie. I want to see what kind of gear the dwarves have cooked up."
Laila smiled at the two and said, "Great. As for the other-"
"I'll take on the role of convincing Noblela and the others. I can accomplish this feat on my own."
The one who offered to take on that mission was Camila. Her glossy face was slightly curved in a sly smirk.
My brow furrowed at Camila's odd bravado. "It'd be best to have a partner alongside you, Camila. So, I'll be joining you."
"…How thoughtful of you!"
Though it was for a moment, I could've sworn I saw a flash of annoyance in her eyes. The smile Camila so often issued was warm and gentle, but all I sensed was anger. Was this just my imagination? I don't remember getting on the woman's nerves or have done such wrong…
"Next, I need a group to head to Bellagros. I'm sure the warriors of Bellagros will be helpful to us in the future. The only ones left who have yet to choose a group are Isaac and Sam, so I'll leave this job to you two."
"Fine with me," said Isaac. Sam gave Laila a curt nod and stared at the screen.
…I don't know how to feel about sending Sam off in this type of condition. Will he really be alright? Sam may be a superhuman, but he still lost an arm and an eye. I'm not saying he's useless, far from it. I'm just worried he might slip up and that could cost him his life. This might just be me worrying too much. If Sam tells us he's fine, then we'll just have to trust him. Forcing him to step back when he chose this path would disregard his wishes.
Mr. Reed, who had been listening intently this whole time, finally spoke up. Everyone except Laila has been assigned. What will you be doing?"
Laila faced the screen and pointed the laser near Antarctica. "Me and Sol will go to South Osmen. After all the information I've gathered in the First Stage, there's something I need to confirm. I'm hoping the answers I seek lie with the Grand Elder."
Mr. Reed raised one of his eyebrows, his eyes sparkling with interest. "And that would be?"
Laila turned around and tossed the remote back to Mr. Reed. She sauntered over to Solgac and rubbed its nape.
"It's time I figured out where the demons of this time period are hiding. I have a feeling they'll know the proper way of killing a god."