At the top of the tallest skyscraper on the planet Universidad, which seemed to have been carved from a single titanic piece of obsidian, was the most important meeting room in the entire university and possibly the entire faction. It was the place where the honorable Master-level met with the director and head of the faction.
The room was elegant and minimalist, with a perfectly polished black floor without a single imperfection, engraved with intricate runes that emitted a soft glow, and huge glass windows instead of walls, offering a panoramic view of the entire city.
In the center of the room was a large glass meeting table that appeared almost ethereal, floating in the air without any apparent support, its surface also engraved with runes, surrounded by comfortable and elegant chairs.
On the table, an incredibly detailed holographic map of the galaxy could be seen, capable of displaying every star system, every planet, every fortress, and even every star fleet that the faction controlled. All highlighted with different lights identifying their type.
"What do you want from us, old man?"
Sitting in one of the beautiful chairs, Sigrún asked disinterestedly, looking at a man seated at the head of the table. Despite having the patience of someone in their 50s, his figure was imposing and vital, with eyes that shone with sharp intelligence and an aura that seemed to pulse with pure power, a testament to his legendary-level power.
"Show more respect for the director, Sigrún." A man with long silver hair reprimanded Sigrún in an annoyed voice, to which she immediately responded with even more irritation and evident disdain.
"Shut up, Varrick. No one cares about your shitty opinion."
Upon hearing Sigrún's words, the air around the man began to vibrate terrifyingly as he looked at the blonde-haired Master with rage. She responded in kind, releasing her blue flames that seemed to warp space itself, ready to tear apart the nuisance in front of her.
"Calm down, we're not here to fight."
The ancient voice of the man at the head of the table made the two 'combatants' break their staring contest and calm their mana. They then turned their attention back to the director, though not without first huffing at each other in annoyance.
"Today, I summoned you because things have become somewhat dangerous on the front lines, more specifically, at the Zephyria Border."
"What happened, Director?" Eleonora, who was seated next to Sigrún, asked calmly and elegantly as she looked at the Zephyria Border on the map. The man at the head of the table explained.
"There was an attack by the Virelian, led by a new young general, who managed to damage several fortress planets and left the border in a critical state. However, thanks to the swift reaction of the coalition's army, the advance was halted, and they are now being forced to retreat.
But the damage is quite significant, so to stabilize things, it was agreed that each faction should send three Master-levels to the border to deal with the situation. In our case, we were asked to send the best artisans to the Zephyria Border to repair and build new fortresses as soon as possible, as well as to treat the wounded."
"I'm sorry, but I'm very busy teaching my disciple at the moment. You'll have to settle for the second best." Sigrún replied as she looked with an arrogant smile at Varrick, who just clenched his teeth, refusing to respond to the provocation.
"It's a shame, but I'm afraid this time you'll have to go, Sigrún. Nixor Vrost participated in the attack." the director said, looking at Sigrún with a smile.
"Old man, I already said I'm not going. I have a disciple to teach, I don't care that Nixor is there, there are other fire-affinity Masters, let them handle it." Sigrún stared directly at the director as a suffocating pressure began to fill the room.
"Little Erik, right? Maybe he has a different opinion," the director commented with a somewhat playful tone as he looked at the troublemaker with golden hair.
As soon as the director finished speaking, Sigrún and Eleonora rose from their chairs, releasing a terrifying killing intent as they were enveloped in blue flames and golden lightning respectively. At the same time, terrifying figures began to form behind them.
Behind Sigrún, an incredibly beautiful blue phoenix appeared, exuding a horrifying bloodlust that far surpassed Sigrún's. As for Eleonora, a mighty white tiger with golden stripes appeared behind her, seemingly ready to start a massacre.
Before the spectacle they witnessed, the eight Masters present in the room stood up from their chairs and unleashed their mana at full power. Causing the air and floor to tremble incessantly, as if a terrible apocalyptic calamity was about to unfold.
"I will only say this once, Director: leave Erik out of those deceitful plans you're so fond of, or I assure you, you won't like the consequences."
Ignoring the other Master-levels who seemed ready to attack, Eleonora spoke in a voice that sounded like a call from beyond the grave. Warning the poor souls who dared to offend her that the fate awaiting them was worse than death itself.
"You can be all the legendary-level you want, but I guarantee you won't come out unscathed if we do all possible, so don't even think about messing with my disciple, old man," Sigrún commented solemnly, her tone laden with murderous intent.
"Sigrún, Eleonora, you damn bitches, are you rebelling?!" Varrick exclaimed, full of fury, as he glared at the pair of women before him.
As a contest of stares and murderous intentions ensued, which the eight Masters seemed to be losing, the director silently observed the bird behind Sigrún, which was the main reason the eight Master-levels were losing the battle of willpower. After all, that single bird exuded such an overwhelming and terrifying bloodlust that it overshadowed everyone present while staring directly at the director.
Under the weight of such a titanic pressure, the director's back was drenched in cold sweat. After all, he could genuinely feel death emanating from that bird and knew that the only reason he was still alive was because it didn't want to reveal its true identity without a good reason. However, he was also completely certain that it would kill him without hesitation the moment he threatened that boy, Erik.
(What could that boy have to make such a monstrosity back him?)
"Calm down, I don't know what you mean by my deceitful plans, but rest assured it was just a random comment; I have no intention of interacting with little Erik." the director said in a calm tone, while, as always, trying to play innocent with a jovial smile on his face.
Although the director's words made Sigrún and Eleonora roll their eyes, they also caused the tension in the room to ease, as the spirits began to dissipate. However, just before Ignis disappeared entirely, she gave the director one last look that almost made him jump, though he restrained himself to avoid losing his prestige and making a fool of himself.
"Director, something like this cannot be allowed; this is a clear act of insubordination." A beautiful woman with a fiery appearance, with deep red hair and amber eyes, commented angrily as she looked at the director, who nodded in agreement before responding with a smile.
"You're right, Thalia, and as punishment, Sigrún and Eleonora will be fined one million max-purity magic crystals, and I sentence them to go to the Zephyria Border with Thalia as commander."
Eleonora and Sigrún's gazes turned dangerous again at the director's announcement, but his next words significantly calmed them.
"You will be at the border for only five years, after which you will be replaced by the next group. During that time, I forbid anyone present from interacting with or conflicting with the disciple Erik."
Seeing that the pair of troublemakers didn't seem inclined to cause any more commotion and were sitting back down, everyone else did the same, as Eleonora once again addressed the director.
"Director, I request that at least one of us stay behind. In return, we can trade places every five years until the problem is resolved, and we can even accept up to three commissions from the Order without charging."
"That would be another viable option, Eleonora, but you're both really needed there. Most of the communication and alert systems were destroyed, so we urgently need to redeploy our surveillance system. Additionally, the Virelian attacked using a deadly poison that is unknown to us until now, so we need a field agent capable of creating an antidote as soon as possible."
"So, you wanted us from the start, didn't you, old man?" Sigrún remarked irritably, crossing her arms, to which the director nodded while responding in a somewhat more serious tone.
"The truth is, yes, you two are the best for the job, and it's a really complicated situation. That new Virelian general is cunning and ruthless, with no qualms about using anything that gives him an advantage, so we need to take him down as soon as possible. But since he has Nixor Vrost as a bodyguard, it will be difficult. That's why I hope, with Thalia's help, you can corner him and clear the way to deal with that general."
"I'll agree on one condition: if we finish the task early, we'll be replaced and allowed to return." Eleonora added after letting out a defeated sigh, to which the director nodded after thinking it over for a moment.
"Hmmm, that doesn't sound bad. I agree with that."
…
…
…
Already late at night, Sigrún and Eleonora left the meeting after organizing the minor details of their deployment to the border. They quickly teleported to Sigrún's mansion to meet with Erik, but when they arrived, they found something strange—Erik wasn't at the mansion. This alarmed them a bit, as it was the first time it had happened. Without wasting any time, Eleonora pulled out a crystal tablet and quickly called Erik.
Not long after, a hologram with the call icon and an audio visualizer in the form of bars appeared from Eleonora's tablet, followed by Erik's confused voice.
"... Hello?"
"Erik, it's Eleonora. Where are you?" Although somewhat relieved to hear Erik's voice, Eleonora quickly asked, to which the boy responded in a cheerful and somewhat curious tone.
"Oh, hi, Master! I'm glad you're out early, and these cards are amazing—they even work for calls. Oh, and I'm in the arcane library."
"Erik, we didn't get out early; it's already nighttime," Eleonora replied with an ironic smile on her face, which caused Erik to respond in slight surprise.
"Really? But it looks like the sun is out."
"If you're in the VIP room, what you see through the window is just an image. If you want to see the real outside, you need to press the button near the entrance," Eleonora explained, amused, as the image of the starry-haired young man looking around in surprise formed in her mind.
"Wow, you're right, Master! These artifacts are awesome. Do you know how to make them?" Erik's response came soon after, sounding curious and interested, to which Eleonora quickly replied.
"Yes, I know how to make them. There are also a couple of classes that teach how to do it, but let's talk about that later. Stay there; we're arriving now."
"Alright."