"It's not often I see you this nervous," Merlin said as she glanced at the silver-haired man standing off to the side, his back resting against the wall.

Arthur exhaled softly. "A summon from the Archon isn't exactly common either."

"I never thought I would actually see the man," Lancelot admitted with a sigh, "not even after all these years working for the Great Hall."

Lancelot was the disciple of one of the three Saints—the Sword Saint—yet he had never once met the Archon.

Guinevere offered Arthur a gentle smile. "I believe he's here to finally acknowledge your efforts, Arthur."

Lancelot scoffed. "What a lovely way to delude yourself."

The dark-haired woman shot him a glare, though it did nothing to faze him.

"Is this really about the incident?" Mordred asked from the bench beside Merlin, worry threading his tone.

"Of course. There's no doubt about it," Galahad replied, her expression steady. "The competition was canceled on his command."

"He returned because of what happened," Morgana added. "Naturally this meeting concerns the incident."

Tension settled thickly over the hallway as the seven of them sat buried in their own thoughts, constructing assumption after assumption about what awaited them inside.

It wasn't long before someone arrived. "You are all requested inside."

Arthur rose first, the others following behind him.

The conference room wasn't unfamiliar to any of them, but the atmosphere inside pressed against their nerves like a heavy weight.

At the far end of the long table, a man stood with his back to the group, thick arms clasped behind him, unmoving and silent.

Arthur and the others took their seats.

Across from them sat the four senior council members, including Domella.

Even the council members looked uneasy in the presence of the man who had founded the Great Hall two centuries ago.

The strongest man on the continent— the strongest Saint alive.

Arthur's gaze lingered on the figure he had admired his entire life, the man who had shaped his path.

Everyone in the room respected him for their own reasons.

After a long silence, the man finally spoke. "You must be wondering why I appeared so suddenly." His voice was hoarse, roughened by age.

No one dared respond.

He didn't make them wait. "I have made a decision that must be executed immediately—otherwise this world may fall into an uproar very soon."

A shiver of unease rippled across the room. When the Archon spoke of danger, it was never trivial. He was likely the oldest living being on the planet, a man who had survived more calamities than any of them could imagine.

Domella spoke first. "What kind of uproar? Are we facing another powerful Devil like the one from two years ago?"

The incident, later named the Bleeding Moon, had occurred when a Monarch-rank Devil emerged and slaughtered countless civilians before the Archon personally intervened and subdued the threat.

That had been the last time Arthur and the others saw him. His appearance usually heralded catastrophe.

His sudden return now left everyone on edge.

At last, the old man turned around.

Thin age lines cut across his weathered face. His white hair was roughly combed back. His left eye remained closed—a wound from long ago. His right eye, cold and piercing blue, swept across them.

His presence alone was suffocating, even though they knew he wasn't attempting to intimidate anyone.

"Something far more dangerous is approaching," he said, breaking the silence.

His finger brushed against the claw mark along his chin—left by the Monarch two years prior.

Merlin shifted uncomfortably. "You're scaring me, old man. What's approaching?"

The Archon didn't answer her. Instead, he turned to one of the council members. "How many Dark Sinks have appeared in the past fifteen days?"

Dark Sinks—puddles of Mirk, Devil's blood—manifest in the mortal realm and serve as passageways for Hell's creatures to enter the living world.

Startled at being addressed directly, the council member still responded quickly. "Two hundred across the continent, sir."

The Archon hummed. "And were all of them subdued?"

"Yes, sir," he said with a nod. "Though we were short on manpower, we managed to seal every Sink before any Devils harmed civilians."

A thin, wry smile tugged at the Archon's lips. "You struggled with only two hundred. What will you do when more than two thousand Sinks appear on the same day?"

The room plunged into a heavy, suffocating silence.

Galahad felt a bead of sweat slide down her back as she asked, "Sir Victor… is that really true?"

The Archon—Victor Ardenfell—answered with a grim edge to his voice, "Do you think I traveled halfway across the world just to make a joke?"

Galahad swallowed hard.

Worry etched itself clearly across everyone's faces.

Depending on the size and location of a Sink, dozens of Devils could appear at once.

And it wasn't just their destruction that terrified people—their collective presence polluted the air. Anyone with barely enough aether to survive could suffocate simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The idea of more than a thousand Sinks appearing simultaneously… it was nothing short of catastrophic.

Merlin finally spoke. "How certain are you, Sir Victor? I mean—how did you sense this change?"

If there was anyone in the room bold enough to question the Archon, it was Merlin.

She never hesitated when curiosity struck, and now was no exception. She looked more intrigued than frightened.

Victor ran a callused hand through his hair. "Something has shifted… something has awakened. I can't explain it myself, but this presence—whatever it is—it's going to draw attention from those blood-skinned bastards."

Domella's brows rose.

Was this the same presence she had sensed from Island Beta—the one that had slain the Devil and shattered the barrier?

It was possible.

Finally, Arthur, who had remained silent until now, spoke up. "What must we do to protect our people, sir?"

Rather than wasting time trying to pinpoint the cause, Arthur chose to focus on the immediate threat.

For him, the safety of the innocent came first.

Victor remained silent for a few moments before he finally said, "Young ones…we don't have any choice but to bring them to the field."

Domella asked, "You mean academy students?"

The oldest one nodded, "It's time you remove the safety net and let them take on the real threat with their lives on the line."

Those words settled on the room like a log on their shoulders, heavy and uncomfortable.

While not all of them were averse to let the students take risk, which possibly can endanger their life, they certainly were worried what their parents would say

It was not an assessment or contest but a complete change of the system.

Everyone could feel it.

This world was soon going to face a lot of changes.

°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading. I have a rough draft of all the info, I will probably upload a well-structured chapter that would include all the important information.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.