The WORLD ASSOCIATION OF SORCERERS Headquarters, Hazen.

  The meeting room was suspended in a state of hush, save from the sound coming from the centre of the room.

  "After the cataclysmic war between humans and demons many centuries ago, the world divided into regions as we have today, leading to the fall of the monarchy system ruled by the five Royal Houses," Arthur Smith read. He stood beside a wide screen on which graphs, figures, and images were displayed.

  Everyone's gazes focused on the screen, except Alpha, who stared lazily about, yawning aloud, and Blaise Howthorne, whose eyes were glued to his phone.

  "Each region was placed in charge of its own sorcerous activities, with a W.A.S. representative—that is, the Sorcerer-general—in absolute control. And ever since the war, Eldrid has had nine Sorcerer-generals," Arthur continued, tapping the holographic projection. His eyes flicked briefly toward Alpha, who yawned again, unbothered, this time grabbing everyone's attention as they turned to her.

  "Oi, Alpha, why the fuck are you yawning in the middle of the meeting?" Nico accused.

  "Tsk. Dimwit," Alpha hissed. "I'll yawn when I want to," she replied bluntly.

  "Lady Alpha," Peridot cautioned.

  "What! It's my fault now?" Alpha snapped.

  "Now now. Let's try and get along, guys," Sage Harlan said, waving downwards.

  "No one called you into this, ugh!" Nico transferred her aggression at him. "And why the hell is Blaise focused on his damn phone right now?!" She demanded, darting a finger at him.

  "Eh?" Blaise's gaze shot up, noticing the piercing stares on him. "Arr... my bad," he chuckled, scratching the back of his neck.

  "Quiet down, all of you!" Sir Zoldrak cut in as the room fell silent again. 'Sheesh, why can't they ever get along?' he sighed internally.

  "Go on," Sir Zoldrak muttered, signalling to Arthur.

  "Roger," Arthur replied, taking a step forward.

  "The first Sorcerer-general of Eldrid, Sir Reginald Welles, and the head of the Ackerman House at that time, Sir Heinrich Ackerman, led an army of sorcerers in a battle against the demons."

  Images of Sir Reginald Welles and Sir Heinrich Ackerman appeared on the screen.

  "Due to their sheer number, the sorcerers were not able to subdue all the demons. Therefore, the demons were driven into the forest bordering the Eastern and Western Provinces—Blackthorn Forest.

  A seal was placed over this forest to serve as a barrier preventing entry or exit. This barrier protected Eldrians for numerous years until twelve years ago, when the barrier was breached during the regime of former interim Sorcerer-general Sir G.H. Thorne."

  "For some reason, we don't have an image of him," Arthur said as he continued.

  "This breach led to the release of demons into Eldrid and the disastrous devastation caused by the awakening of a special-class demon. This event led to the devastating wipeout of the Ackerman House, leaving only one survivor, and the assassination of the head of the Welles family.

  Sir G.H. Thorne, alongside three other sorcerers—namely the current Sorcerer-general of Eldrid, Sir Zelazny Zoldrak; the former heir to the Welles House, Lady Aurelia Welles; and the former heir to the Ackerman House, Sir Gin Ackerman—were able to put an end to this bloody assault, which came at the cost of their lives, leaving Sir Zoldrak as the only survivor. To this day, we still haven't discovered the cause of the breach."

  "As we speak, the Vesta barrier is on the verge of being breached again," Arthur announced.

  "How do you know that?" Lady Anastasia asked, brushing her hand over her cat's fur.

  "Our surveillance team detected yesterday that the first layer of the barrier has been destroyed," Arthur answered.

  "What?!" Everyone exclaimed.

  "How is that possible?" Nico demanded. "Isn't a key required to breach the barrier?"

  "That's right," Arthur nodded. "However, it seems Glock Harbinger has been able to develop another key."

  "Th-this doesn't make any sense," Sage Harlan exclaimed. "The barrier can only be opened by a single key!"

  "That's what we believed. But we were proven wrong yesterday," Arthur replied. "However, whatever this key is, it doesn't seem to be able to open the second layer, because Glock has demanded the release of the key in our custody," he explained.

  Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

  "How strange," Lady Anastasia muttered, face indifferent as usual. "The Vesta barrier is an illusory sorcery strengthened with a particulate tenzen field and sealing effect. To outsiders, it looks like an infinitely sized plain, however, the plain is only an illusion to hide the true Blackthorn Forest where the demons have been sealed. A key that can break a barrier of that level must be a very powerful one—"

  "There's no way that's possible," Sage Harlan cut in. "I mean—"

  "Silence. I'm still talking!" Lady Anastasia said to Sage, and he instantly kept quiet.

  "Woohoo," Alpha whistled, stifling a chuckle.

  "Tch," Sage clicked his tongue, as he sat down back.

  "As I was saying," Lady Anastasia continued, tone authoritative. "Our first priority should be retrieving the key that Glock Harbinger possesses."

  "That's right," Arthur affirmed. "If Glock Harbinger manages to break the second layer..."

  Nico's and Sage's eyes slowly widened as realization dawned.

  "...it could lead to the repetition of the event from twelve years ago," Arthur said. "And frankly speaking, we do not have enough military power to take on all the demons sealed in that forest. Meaning we have to work together and put away our differences."

  "Damn," Nico muttered.

  "This will require our immediate action, because as of now, we've detected the presence of two upper-class demons in Eldrid."

  "Shit. Glock has begun to make his move," Sage gritted his teeth.

  "Apparently, both signals were detected in Azura, which is mostly under Van Ackerman's guild jurisdiction," Arthur said.

  'Thinking of it, Van Ackerman hasn't arrived yet,' Peridot thought, looking about.

  "Van?" Nico muttered in shock.

  "Big bro," Alpha whispered.

  'The heck. Two upper-classes? That's so small compared to the amount of demons my guild can take on that I consider it insulting. After all, we've defeated over one hundred mid-class demons in just one night,' Sage convinced himself, nodding proudly.

  (A/N: reference from chapter 18.5)

  Murmurings filled the air.

  "We do not have enough time anymore," Sir Zoldrak announced. "We have to act fast."

  ...

  W.A.S Surveillance Headquarters.

  The ten-storeyed skyscraper sat behind the main W.A.S building. It served as the centre of navigation, that is, detecting demonic activities and gauging anti-tenzen.

  Inside the building, and at the uppermost floor were numerous personnels clad in formal wears, each seated before a monitor screen, eyes focused.

  "Scanning for anti-tenzen anomalies!" A man announced. His monitor screen displayed a radar.

  "Tenzen signature is currently static!" Another worker said. "However," she licked her lips as her expression tensed.

  "It seems like the tenzometer is detecting strange aggressions."

  ...

  Noise and chattering filled the air surrounding the Headquarters.

  At the entrance, people tried to force their way into the building, but security tapes with the words DO NOT CROSS written on them were laced around the entrance, with six security guards keeping watch.

  "Good morning, Eldrid," a reporter among the crowd greeted. She stood before a cameraman, back facing the W.A.S. HQ building.

  "Reporting live from Hazen. Our top story this morning: following the declaration of war against Eldrid by first-tier Sorcerer Glock Harbinger, the Sorcerer-general of Eldrid's Sorcerers' Association has announced the immediate assembly of all sorcerers ranked from fifth tier to first tier. The emergency meeting is currently underway."

  The air was drenched with tension, as ominous winds blew against the anxious crowd's faces.

  Beside the street was a glass building restaurant. Unlike the atmosphere surrounding the W.A.S. HQ a few blocks ahead, the street was silent, with almost no one in sight. A car drove past the restaurant, punctuating the calm.

  The restaurant was almost empty, but at a corner sat two people.

  "Doesn't seem like Van Ackerman's arrived yet," Glock Harbinger said, staring outside the glass.

  "Doesn't that make our plan easier?" Terror replied. He was seated opposite Glock. "I mean, Van Ackerman's the only one who could serve as a deterrent."

  They were the only ones inside the restaurant.

  "Hmm, that's right," Glock mumbled. "However, I've this feeling Van Ackerman might be delaying his arrival for a reason," he said.

  "Or possibly," Glock muttered, turning to Terror, eyes slitting ominously. "He's already arrived."

  "What're you insinuating?" Terror asked, expression turning serious.

  "Haha. It's just my intuition," Glock chuckled, waving it away.

  Terror's gaze softened. "Since he isn't around yet, isn't now the best time to attack the headquarters?" he asked.

  "You're ninety-nine point nine percent right," Glock said and smiled. "But don't you think you're forgetting something?" His gaze narrowed.

  "That zero with the special blood."

  "Oh, the kid?" Terror muttered.

  "That's right," Glock nodded. "Waiting a little will enable us to kill two birds with one stone."

  "What's the use of his blood when we're already this close to having the true key?" Terror said.

  "In truth, the kid's blood is no longer required," Glock replied. "However, as they say, you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket."

  “Also, that kid's blood possesses enough effect to shatter a generational barrier. Ain’t that crazy?” Glock smirked.

  Terror’s fingers drummed lightly on the table. “Meaning if we can obtain that blood, then we’ll become invincible. You've really thought everything out, haven't you?" Terror muttered.

  "Leave it to me," Glock replied as he winked. "I've already laid down all the groundwork. Penetrating into the headquarters was very easy, especially when I've once lived a lifetime as the Sorcerer-general." He grinned.

  "Hello, sir." A voice cut into their discussion.

  "Hmm?" Glock turned, locking onto the waiter.

  "Y-you haven't ordered anything for about thirty minutes, so I wanted to know if all was well," the waiter asked courteously.

  "Ah..." Glock mouthed, rising to his feet. "We're about to leave anyway," he said, smiling as Terror stood up.

  "Wha?" The waiter gasped as he locked onto Terror's face. 'What kind of face tattoo is that?' he exclaimed internally, stepping backwards.

  "Any problem?" Glock asked, tapping him.

  "Ah... uh... no," the waiter stammered, jolting back to reality.

  "Good, then," Glock replied, turning to leave as he and Terror walked out of the building.

  "Agh... ugh..." The waiter fell to the ground, exhaling heavily as sweat poured down his face. "I thought I was gonna die."

  He swiftly rose to his feet. "Man, I've had enough of this! I'm resigning!" he exclaimed, walking into another room.

  ...

  "Haha. You needed to see the look on his face when he saw you," Glock muttered, chuckling as they walked down the street, reaching the W.A.S. Headquarters.

  "Now..." His lips curled into a scary grin.

  "Let us begin."