Alina Noxan Eurasia; heir of the Eurasia Grand Agency, with main expertise focusing on Human-Godent Technology.
Yura Alperion; heir of the Alperion Foundation, with main specialization in the field of Neo-Electronics and Portal Technology.
Yuri Belserion; heir of Belserion Intelligence, which specializes in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology and Celestial Systems.
Yuridika Akareon; heir of the Goddess Manufacturer, known as the pioneer of Godent Weapon Technology, as well as Contract-Killing, but only in the world of superhumans.
With the inclusion of these four above-mentioned heirs and their respective corporations, there existed three other similar ones in terms of influence and power, all of which held absolute significance in the present world.
Such as the Gemini Universal Medicine (GUM), known for its Free Health Care worldwide serving ordinary people, and Celestial Medicine, born through countless trials and errors since the arrival of the Goddess.
Then there's the Pandora of the Underground World, the master of Black Market Transactions, no matter how grand or miniscule, allowed by the coexisting corporations. They often serve as the sole mediator when there's a negotiation between two countries, especially something that would be difficult for the public to swallow.
However, similar to how Rodrick Kang of Class 3-C before his demise shouted that an unknown drug discreetly sold by Kendrick Zakir of Class 2-B was sanctioned or tolerated by Pandora, this corporation could be considered to only move for its selfish gains.
Not that the other six were a bit any different.
But the problem was that sometimes, Pandora's decisions would challenge the long-standing Summit Rules built for the sake of themselves.
And finally, if there was an absolute hierarchy in society, not just in the current era but in the old and forgotten ones, just like how animals had in the fauna kingdom, predators and prey, then among them all, the one that could be perceived as the central core of everything…
The Orion World.
With that said, its current heir, whose demeanor depicted that of a naïve-looking adorable girl, was now standing in front of Alina, who surprisingly expressed polite gestures… something that Aeon had not anticipated considering the way she always overbearingly stood in front of both the common and royal folk.
And if there's anything that could describe this person holding a book with one hand…
'She looks like a nerdy librarian.' So Aeon thought.
Until this girl opened her mouth to speak-
"Alina, shall I get over with the execution right away?"
…such words in an innocent, dreamy voice.
But even if this renowned individual was the sole heir of the Orion World, the top of the top, the highest of the highs, Alina still possessed greater authority as the Head Judge of the Summit Grand Court and had the final say regarding any decisions concerning the Summit Rules.
With that said, hearing the librarian-like girl's query, Alina responded accordingly, "Please execute the punishments later, three in the morning, Miss Asahina, if it's no trouble with your prior arrangements, of course."
Asahina Orion, the youngest third-year student of Class 3-A, pouted adorably before saying, "An indeed a quiet time… I like it. But before that, can I ask you for a favor?"
'Huh? A favor?' Alina was momentarily bewildered, hearing such a thing; though her expression remained composed.
Individuals with their grand status were and would never be ordinary and possibly selfless, which meant that a favor between each other, similar to how business people tend to cunningly operate with each other, was synonymous with 'debt.'
And considering the prosperous, seemingly infinite wealth they already possessed, this so-called debt under the pretext of favor would never be anything financial-related.
Alina was cognizant that Asahina was aware of such a fact.
Pondering for a moment, Alina tried to gauge the heir of the Orion World.
However, the latter's face was only equipped with innocent delight, and her shimmering amethyst eyes expressed a level of wonder like how humans of the ancient world used to gaze at the boundless starry sky.
"May I ask… what is it?"
While embracing a medium-sized book with her one hand, Asahina pointed at Aeon's direction and said,
"Him. I want him to accompany me."
"…"
"Sorry…?"
Finally taking a seat in front of the judge's bench, Asahina put the book on her lap.
"I mean what I said. I want him to accompany me during the executions."
Alina fell silent, her thoughts racing.
'Am I missing something here? Why does Aeon seem really popular with girls?'
Looking at her mercenary for a second, Alina was met with his stoic gaze. This professionalism of his, though the usual in her presence, seemed irritable for some reason this time around.
"Ah. Don't be mistaken, Alina. I'm not trying to steal what's yours."
Of course, Asahina was already aware of who Aeon was from the beginning.
"…If it's possible, may I ask you to leave for a moment, Miss Asahina?" Alina stood from her seat, and the subject in question smiled in compliance before taking her strides to leave the spacious courtroom.
Once again, only Alina and Aeon remained in this chilly place of judgment.
***
"Should I put a price in your head, Aeon? I guess I should have done that from the beginning."
Perplexed, Aeon tilted his head to one side, "What do you mean by that? I didn't do anything wrong."
"Well…" Alina approached him, and the latter slightly lowered his gaze to look the former eye to eye.
Thoroughly scrutinizing him, Alina clumsily looked all over his body and smelled him.
"Young Miss, I don't think I'm worth it."
"Right. Joking aside, I'll lend you to Miss Asahina. But I have to advise you since she called it a favor, and that's a good thing for the agency, possibly in the long run. I want you to do everything she says no matter how grave it might be."
Before even Aeon could say a thing or two, Alina continued,
"Yes, even if she tells you to have sex with her."
Her words didn't end there as a significant few pieces of advice entered his ears.
Meanwhile, Aeon attentively listened with a straight face.
***
Several hours passed, and in this early morning of anticipation for those unburdened, the plan to handle the appropriate punishments toward the corresponding transgressors' relatives was already set in motion.
In one of the restricted areas in the academy, limited only to the royal students unless they said so otherwise, particularly in the Central Zone or in the Summit Tower, Tenth Floor, just above the Court of Summit, Alina escorted Asahina and Aeon.
In this tranquil luxurious room's side, a few meters away from the round table, an oval-shaped, dark bluish 'celestial' metal, something that was forged through a mined mineral near the crash site of the Goddess in Antarctica, was neatly positioned.
In the next moment, as if this room had its own administrator, Alina spoke, "Activate the Celestial Warp…"
It was some sort of portal technology invented by the Alperion Foundation.
"…and set the coordinates with these following addresses."
The homes of the students who were already dead were the place of destination, and one could only know what this visit meant for these students' corresponding loved ones.
[ Coordinates have been set. ]
An articulate, female-sounding A.I. voice echoed throughout the Tenth Floor of the Summit Tower, also known as the Hall of Glory.
Crack.
"…"
Woom.
The next thing they knew, a crack gradually appeared in the center of the Celestial Warp, which then expanded to its limited oval perimeters, forming the dark cerulean void of instant and coordinated transportation.
Asahina and Aeon carefully approached the portal. Looking back, the former waved her hand to Alina before leaving with some, casual thought-provoking words,
"May we reach the peak of consciousness."
Alina didn't bother to respond, her pink-roses eyes were fixated on the piece of literature in Asahina's hand instead.
It was one of the published books of her researcher father.
And the last book he had published before the tragic incident in the research facility where Aeon was also stationed.
[ Theory of Celestial Consciousness ]
Research Author:
Raddan Alphzahod Eurasia