When Kurumi and Hu arrived at the assembly grounds for the Great Veil of Shadows Meeting, the tension in the air was almost tangible. The area was packed with cult soldiers. Most of them were very young—some barely more than children. Despite that, the hardness on their faces and the emptiness in their eyes were deeply unsettling. Perhaps they had not yet shed much blood, but the cult had already shaped them into something frightening.

  As Kurumi looked more closely, she noticed that the soldiers were arranged in five distinct rows. The formation felt strange to her. Her unease grew, and she realized Hu had noticed it too.

  Hu spoke in a low but clear voice.

  “There are five separate divisions within the Veil of Shadows. Each division has a leader and a second-in-command. All of them answer directly to the cult leader, Rex.”

  After a brief pause, he added,

  “And… not all of them are trustworthy. Some, like Ayannon, hold their positions only because their interests align with Rex’s. In the end, everyone wants to stop being one of Dravok’s cattle.”

  Kurumi shifted her gaze toward the leaders standing at the front.

  On the far left stood Tora, the First Division Leader. His brown hair swayed in the wind, and his confident, sharp gaze seemed to challenge everything around him. He looked irritated—openly so.

  Kurumi turned to Hu.

  Hu whispered,

  “Tora is a highly skilled close-combat fighter. He’s thirteen. Far stronger than his age would suggest… and Sae’s childhood friend.”

  Kurumi flinched. A childhood friend of Sae’s… didn’t that mean Tora might also be from Dravok?

  As these thoughts swirled in her mind, Chūya, the First Division’s second-in-command, stepped forward from behind Tora and snapped into a ready stance.

  To the right of the First Division stood the Second Division. Their leader, Shira, stood out with her purple hair. She was young, yet she commanded the entire division alone. A faint smile rested on her face. Notably, there was no second-in-command beside her.

  Kurumi looked at Hu with curiosity.

  Hu answered reluctantly,

  “Shira is irresponsible. Her only goal is to have fun. But somehow, she manages to keep her division disciplined.”

  From Hu’s tone, it was clear he didn’t like Shira much. To Kurumi, that contradiction was deeply unsettling.

  Next, the Third Division Leader stepped forward. A green-haired, purple-eyed boy, he looked calm—more familiar than frightening.

  Hu spoke again.

  “This is Shinya. He’s more compliant than the others, but don’t mistake that for weakness.”

  Kurumi suddenly remembered him. He was the boy who had helped her up when she tripped while searching for Sae and Katori. Realizing now that she had fallen so foolishly in front of a division leader made her cheeks burn with embarrassment.

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  Hu stared at her blankly.

  “You’ve spaced out again. Kurumi? Heeey.”

  Before Kurumi could respond, Itadori, the Third Division’s second-in-command, stepped forward. Tall, purple-haired, and sharp-eyed, he looked intimidating just standing there.

  Kurumi turned to Hu.

  “So… no information on him?”

  Hu shrugged.

  “I’m not an encyclopedia.”

  When Ryuga, the Fourth Division Leader, stepped into view, the atmosphere grew even heavier. He was tall and powerfully built. His blond hair and stern expression sent a chill down the spine. Beside him stood Yuta, the second-in-command, his long black hair tied back. One hand hovered near his sheathed sword as he scanned the area with visible irritation.

  Hu exhaled slowly.

  “I don’t know much about them.”

  Finally, the Fifth Division…

  Kurumi felt relieved—she knew Zar and Rya. But something was wrong. There were no leaders standing in front of the Fifth Division soldiers.

  She whispered,

  “Then… where are they?”

  Hu’s face went pale.

  “No way… Rex couldn’t have gone that far.”

  Before Kurumi could make sense of it, Rex appeared atop the high platform. Behind him stood Sae, arms clasped behind his back, standing at attention. Every soldier fell silent.

  Rex’s voice was cold and firm.

  “The reason we have gathered today is the internal conflict within the cult involving Osaki and Zar–Rya, which resulted in Osaki and nearly one thousand of his men being killed. There is no place for civil war within the Veil of Shadows.”

  Hu’s jaw tightened.

  Rex continued,

  “A division leader cannot act against cult law. Internal matters must be reported directly to the leader. Therefore, in the Osaki case, Sae and Hu will receive formal reprimands… while Zar and Rya are stripped of their positions as division leaders.”

  The air froze.

  “The newly appointed Fifth Division Leader will be Kira Juan. Kira, step forward.”

  A man with short gray hair and a scar across his forehead stepped out. He looked physically weak, but the harshness in his face made up for it.

  “I am Kira,” he said. “I will fulfill my duties as Fifth Division Leader to the best of my ability.”

  Hu clenched his teeth.

  “I expected punishment,” he muttered. “But this… this is outright nonsense.”

  Kurumi didn’t know what to say. She agreed with Hu, yet the deaths of a thousand people weighed heavily on her chest.

  Then a voice rose.

  Tora had raised his hand.

  “Oi, Master Rex. If you’re going to make decisions on your own anyway, why did you even choose us as division leaders?”

  Rex narrowed his eyes.

  “Yes, I make the decisions—as the cult leader. And unlike you, I haven’t lost my objectivity.”

  Tora grit his teeth.

  “You didn’t need to throw Zar and Rya away just to put that bastard in charge. We could’ve applied my idea of increasing the number of division leaders. But in the end, you always decide in favor of the strong.”

  His gaze shifted to Sae.

  Rex snapped back angrily,

  “You know very well that isn’t true.”

  Chūya tried to calm Tora, but Tora shoved him aside and turned to Sae.

  “And you… as always, you just stand there silently like a spineless coward, Sae.”

  Whispers spread through the ranks as Tora stormed out of the meeting.

  Hu let out a deep breath.

  “Things are really starting to go bad.”

  Kurumi felt it too.

  The meeting ended. As the soldiers dispersed, Kira watched Sae from afar, a crooked grin on his face.

  Elsewhere, Rya stared at Rex, teeth clenched in fury.

  Kurumi felt it down to her bones:

  Far darker troubles were waiting for her.