"It would be a shame if I don't."
This sentence startles everyone. Because the mouth the sentence came out from is none other than the indifferent Valkyrie.
"....."
Faze is the one to break the momentary silence.
" I'll be going. I have to prove that I am a better student of Aby. Can't let Irene take all the spotlight"
As he speaks, sharp breaths come out of his nostrils.
"Also will a certain expert marksman be joining the group?" He further presses.
" I honestly don't know. Bruce was great support. But even if he does, he will probably be with Chen." Aby continues.
"I feel so proud that Alia spoke. This is progress."
Irene quickly nods her head.
Aby's terminal rings out.
She picks it up and puts it on speaker. Cyrus's voice can be heard from the other end.
"Come to the guild hall."
Cyrus ends it with that one single sentence. That call has attracted the attention of almost every adventurer in the cafe. Most more or less know that the guild has signed a partnership with the bureau for a mission and put an end to the war once and for all. Aby looks towards her three team members.
"Guess it's time to move"
Aby gets up from her seat, and the rest also follow. Faze checks his terminal as he gets up.
"Checking your bank balance again?" Aby's nose crinkled.
"Do it while we are going down. The bank is in the backside of the building anyways."
All of the group start heading down the building through a glass elevator. The elevator shows a view of the city. The once vibrant streets and buildings are now empty, damaged by the ferocity of battles. Irene mutters something under her breath that is too low to hear.
Ding!
The elevator arrives on the lower floor. The guild hall area is buzzing with adventurers here to listen to the guildmaster's speech. By the time you are there, the speech has already ended, and Diluc is heading back towards the guildmaster's room. He gives you all a subtle look to follow him. Aby takes the lead, passing through adventurers. The group soon arrives in front of the guildmaster's room, and Aby pushes through.
The group enters a huge room, rather simply decorated. There is an ornate desk with various draconic carvings on it, and large cabinets filled with books are behind the desk, along with the guildmaster's seat. Carl and his group are standing in front of the desk at attention while Diluc is talking to them. A huffing sound draws the group's attention to the left corner of the large-sized room. Ignis is in a sitting position on top of a comfortable mat, and the air in front of his nose becomes steamy with each of his breaths.
The door behind creaks open as Abbel enters the room.
"Everyone is here. Wonderful," Diluc gestures to the seats. "Take your seats. There is more information to share."
Carl takes the seat nearest to him, and the rest also walk up to the desk and take their seats.
Diluc stayed silent for a while. And then he began.
"look at this. This is a scene from the 1st level which is the city's forest and water reservoir. Advanced tech is used to sustain plant and animal life underground."
He tapped on a device on his desk and a holographic display suddenly popped out of nowhere.
Inside the screen, there are massive trees, meadows and lakes. And there is blood. A hundred or so members of the public security bureau are fighting some red-skinned and grey-skinned obese creatures. Each of them are about one and a half meters tall with some being as tall as two meters. All of them have ridged horns protruding from their head and their sharp claws are easily discernable.
Carl's face breaks into a grimace.
"How the hell did they sneak in lesser demons without anyone noticing??!"
The bureau members cast arts through their wands and staffs to cut down demons in large numbers. There are rows of dead demons on their front. But more demons keep pouring in and completely encircle them. The first causality begins with a youngster being completely encircled by four demons. A jet black blade cuts off his legs and afterwards he is consumed by abyssal energy. The rest soon start following. Diluc cuts off the play.
"This is what happened to the bureau members who stayed on guard in the lower levels. We are to rescue as many as we can and contact their chief. The city cannot go on like this. Do whatever you need to do and gather here after one hour."