"All the mana compressors have been placed as you have ordered. We are now waiting for the next set of instructions."

Hemlock appeared emotionless as he sat on his throne and stared ahead.

His attention was drawn to the empty space in front of him, where a black circular sphere was displaying a number of different scenarios simultaneously.

The space around him warped, and he opened his mouth.

"Have you done as I've asked? While you were installing the mana compressors, have you been vigilant for any creatures or animals that may have been hiding nearby?"

"Yes."

A black man with a fierce scar running through his face responded to the question while kneeling on one knee and wearing all black.

"We have, as you've suggested, pretended not to notice them. What should we now do? Should we alter the placement of the mana compressors?"

"No."

Hemlock shook his head.

His gaze began to wander in the direction of the mana compressors that were depicted in the void projections that were in front of him.

"Keep the mana compressors as they are, and don't let the little animals die. Make sure to be oblivious to them."

"As you wish."

The reply came from the individual dressed in all black, and then he vanished from the scene, exiting the grand hall, which was at that time occupied by sixteen different people.

Everyone was looking wearily at Hemlock, whose expression did not change at all despite the extremely solemn and chilly atmosphere that permeated every inch of the hall.

Without waiting for anyone to say anything, Hemlock opened his mouth to speak.

"I'd like an elder to make their way to each of the mana compressors. Alliance members will likely soon make their way to the mana compressors with the intention of destroying them. I would like for you to ambush them when they are least expecting it."

"..."

"..."

His words were met with silence, and the temperature in the room suddenly dropped to an extremely low level.

Hemlock, who had become aware of the palpable lack of conversation in the space, looked around at the various occupants of the room without making a sound.

"...I understand that you are all wary after what happened not too long ago, but I assure you. It will not happen again. Their sacrifices were for a greater cause."

Once again, the hall fell into silence.

Hemlock's eyes sharpened at the sight, and he slowly stood up.

His gaze lingered over each and every one of the figures that were currently seated on their respective thrones, and as it did so, a potent aura started to emerge from his body.

He opened his mouth again.

This time, his tone was a lot more threatening.

"I'll rephrase myself. I will spare your life if you make yourself useful and listen to my orders..."

As his aura continued to expand, the pressure that was already permeating the room started to expand as well, making it increasingly difficult to breathe for those who were present.

"...So long as the Monolith finds you useful, you should anticipate being spared. Mo Jinhao and his companions had long served their cause and were no longer of any use. You can count your blessings in retrospect. I could have chosen any one of you to sacrifice yourself for the cause...but I didn't. Why, you ask?"

Hemlock licked his lips slightly.

"The answer is rather simple. It's because you were lucky enough to still be useful for the cause."

If the tension in the room had been relatively low when they had entered, it was now at an all-time high as absolute silence prevailed throughout the expansive halls of the Monolith.

Fearing that they would incur Hemlock's wrath, no one dared to utter a single word, let alone breathe loudly.

At this very moment, the fate of their lives was in his hands.

They had only recently discovered that the chip that had been implanted in their heads contained a potent explosive device that would kill them instantly.

'I knew that there was something with the chip from the very beginning.'

Clementine Manual, one of the elders of the Monolith, muttered to himself, his gaze coldly lingering over Hemlock's body.

Regarding the chip in their heads, not having it was really not an option for them.

They were instructed by the demons with whom they were contracted to obey Hemlock's every command without uttering a single word about it.

Clearly, this was something that was far beyond their control.

If not even the demons they had contracts with could do anything, it was obvious that someone with an unfathomable amount of power was controlling everything from behind.

The only thing they could do at the moment was lower their heads and follow orders.

...They had no choice but to.

***

"How's it going?"

As soon as I emerged from my own training room, the first thing I did was make my way to Ryan's room, where everyone was congregating and staring at the large screens in the front.

On the screen, there were a number of strange objects that appeared to be funnelling the mana in the air and causing some kind of dense black fog to be released into the atmosphere.

"Looks like you guys have located all of the mana compressors."

Familiar with the objects and was able to recognize them immediately.

"You're finally out."

Ryan unenthusiastically said, his face a couple of inches away from the screens.

"Don't lean in too closely. It's bad for your eyes."

Ava said, standing beside him with an arm outstretched and a couple of birds perched on top.

Ryan turned around and pointed at his eyes.

"It's fine. I've already had surgery on my eyes. They won't get any worse by the blue light."

"...You do you."

Ava rolled her eyes and cocked her head ever-so-slightly as one of the birds moved up her arm and chirped inside her ear.

Her expression quickly changed, and she looked at me.

"Approximately eight mana compressors are concealed within the outskirts of Ashton City, slowly releasing demonic energy into the atmosphere. If this continues, the entire city will become engulfed in demonic energy, and the Monolith's forces will have an advantage when they invade the city."

"Hmm..."

While I was listening to her report, the brows between my eyes began to furrow slightly.

'This is getting troublesome'

The fact that contractees were able to simultaneously wield demonic energy and mana was the primary factor that made them so scary to face.

The spread of demonic energy into the atmosphere would give the forces of the Monolith a significant boost in strength, which would put the alliance in a disadvantageous position.

"We need to get rid of the compressors as soon as possible. If they stay, it is highly likely that they will cause trouble further down the lines."

It was a stroke of good fortune that, with Ryan and Ava's assistance, I had eyes over the majority of the human domain.

Because they were both working for me, I was able to keep an eye on everything at all times, and as a result, I knew the exact location of each mana compressor.

"Are you suggesting that we get ready? I'm sure Liam would love to have a go."

Leopold, who had been silent up until this point, finally opened his mouth.

He was sitting on the sofa at the end of the room with his legs crossed.

"I'm not saying this for his sake, but for Hein's sake. I haven't seen that guy without a black eye ever since we returned from Immorra. I'm sort of feeling for him."

"...And whose fault do you think this is?"

Ava's brow raised, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes.

"You have no right to talk when you're one of the reasons why he is in the state that he is."

"Keum...I stopped...I stopped..."

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Leopold looked away from Ava.

The sight caused me to shake my head, and just as I was about to say something, Ryan's voice reverberated through the room.

"I'd hold off on the operation for now. I have a bad feeling about this."

"What do you mean?"

I turned to look at Ryan, and I moved a little bit closer to him.

I observed Ryan's expression, which revealed that he was currently frowning deeply as he stared intently at the screens in front of him.

More specifically, the area around the mana compressors.

"Things seem to be a little bit too easy. Take a look at the screens."

He pointed at the screens with his finger.

"As you probably already know, we are currently observing the movements of the Monolith through the cameras installed in the animals that Ava controls. Although I don't believe the Monolith will care much about a few rats and birds scurrying about, the fact that none of them did anything or even noticed the animals despite being in such a restricted area is somewhat suspicious..."

"Hmm...you have a point."

I rubbed the bottom of my chin, deeply contemplating over Ryan's words.

Indeed, if things were as Ryan said, then the situation was certainly suspicious. Was the Monolith perhaps trying to set up a trap?

Creating the illusion that they were unaware that we were watching them and then luring us into the area before springing an ambush on us with a powerful force?

If that were really the case, then it would be extremely dangerous.

There was just one thing that made me question whether this was really the case.

My head turned to face Ava's direction.

"How many people are aware of your abilities? Apart from Issanor, I don't think anyone should be aware of your new skills, right?"

"Apart from you guys, no one else should know."

Ava answered, her voice exuding confidence.

I shifted my attention back to the monitors and mumbled.

"...Then maybe we're just overthinking things?"

"I hope so."

Ryan replied, reclining in his chair and closing his eyes.

Opening them up again, he mumbled.

"It might just be me overthinking things, but I don't want to take any risks. If things truly turned out to be this way, then I fear that..."

Everyone in the room understood what Ryan was trying to convey even before he finished his sentence, and the atmosphere quickly became tense as a result.

"You guys don't have to worry too much."

I patted Ryan's chair, looking at everyone in the room.

With the edges of my lips curling slightly, my voice softened.

"We won't personally be going to the mana compressors. As I've said before, we won't move for at least a couple more months."

I removed my hand from the chair's top before making my way out of the room.

"Ryan, go tell this information to Kevin. Tell him about your findings, and also tell him about this being a possible trap."

"...Are you sure?"

"Yeah, our job is to just stay put for now. Like I've said before, enjoy your time with your family while it lasts."

I reached out and grabbed the door handle, and then I carefully retracted it.

"Keep up the good work."

Clank―!

The door behind me closed, and my feet came to a sudden stop.

Standing a few centimetres from the door, I raised my hand and smiled bitterly while staring at it.

'If not for the fact that I'm in no state to fight, I would've certainly loved to go directly.'

What the others did not know was that my strength had dropped all the way from <SS-> rank to <S> in the previous month as I attempted to adapt to the demonic blood within my body.

Obviously, this was not permanent, as I had sealed off portions of my body to prevent myself from going insane from the demonic blood that was running rampant inside of my body.

I could unseal the seals whenever I wanted, but I couldn't guarantee my own sanity if that were to happen.

This was why I needed to wait three months before moving.

"Haa...maybe, I was a bit too impulsive with my decision."

I silently shook my head before heading back to the training room.

For now, all I could do was train and try my best to control the demonic blood inside of my body.

It was all I could do at this moment...