At 10:00 AM the next day, in the Special Communication Room of the Knox City Pioneer Covenant Association.
“The communication circuit is normal, and the correction parameters are without deviation. Can you hear me, Eve?”
“I hear you clearly, Archbishop.”
Eve, who had reverted to her human form, sat upright in the primary seat of the Special Communication Room and nodded. Behind her, Ingram stood like a fortress in his heavy armor.
On either side of the long table sat Lobelia, wearing her intricate red robes with a complex expression, and Gray, who was in casual clothes and appeared somewhat distracted.
Gray withdrew his gaze from the clouds outside the window, slowly scanning the others present.
The branch president, who had been busy fawning over Eve, had already been asked to leave by Ingram. At this moment, only the former members of the Dawn Blade remained in the secret room.
A Shield Guard, a Warrior, a Priest, and the First Mage.
They were missing their scout, their second mage, their sniper, and their captain.
‘To think that half the team has gathered at once…’
Gray felt somewhat dazed.
After the Broken Sword Incident three years ago, the Captain had gone missing, and the Dawn Blade had fallen apart.
He had once thought he would never see everyone sitting together like this again in his lifetime.
After all, the Dawn Blade was not a group of geniuses from some official organization.
It was essentially held together by the legendary personal charisma of that Captain.
This was why, after she vanished in that mysterious labyrinth, the team that was once at the height of its fame had disbanded so quickly.
“It has been a long time, Nathan, Cardinal Lobelia… and Mr. Gray.”
The magic screen lit up, and a kind-faced, white-haired elderly man appeared in the image.
The Saint Knight and the Cardinal present, both of whom were loyal to the Church, respectfully bowed their heads to the Archbishop.
Gray followed Lobelia’s example, standing up and pressing his right hand to his chest as he bowed.
“There is no need to be so formal.”
The old man waved his hand, smiling like a grandfather next door.
“You are all outstanding figures among the younger generation of Heroes and, more importantly, heroes of the Empire. If this old body of mine allowed it, it should be me bowing to you instead.”
To Gray’s surprise, this Archbishop seemed very easygoing, completely different from the previous Archbishop he remembered the team killing, who had been known for his arrogance and greed.
But he did not dare to underestimate the old man.
It was said that in his youth, this man was a super-powerhouse who could charge into heretic strongholds with a Light Energy Battle-axe to guide solar bombardments.
“Archbishop, this gathering… calling together the remnants of the Dawn Blade probably isn’t as simple as giving us a few compliments, is it?”
Eve cleared her throat, drawing the Archbishop’s attention to her.
Ingram could see that Eve was trying hard to control her emotions.
After becoming a Saint, she had matured significantly; she was no longer that little girl who would throw a tantrum because the Captain gave her one less piece of candy out of fear of cavities.
However, when she mentioned the name “Dawn Blade,” the young woman’s voice still trembled noticeably, to the point that the word “remnants” sounded a bit choked.
Ingram took a step forward, hoping to offer Eve some comfort.
Truthfully, how could he not miss those days himself?
A group of idealistic young people gathered under the leadership of a genius, conquering labyrinths that were supposedly unconquerable and defeating bosses that were supposedly unbeatable…
The Saint Knight could not deny that the purest and happiest times of his life were the years he spent as the Shield Guard for the Dawn Blade.
“Naturally not.”
The old man on the screen cleared his throat and picked up several heavy investigation reports from the table in front of him.
The seal of the Crimson Rose was clearly visible through the paper on the screen.
“Based on the investigation by Cardinal Lobelia and Saint Knight Nathan, as well as urgent reports from Church informants in various regions… the College of Cardinals has no choice but to propose a terrifying hypothesis.”
The Archbishop sighed, his cloudy gaze slowly sweeping over the four people in the meeting room.
“The Demon Race may be plotting a comeback from the labyrinths.”
“What?!”
Gray stood up abruptly, his chair making a harsh scraping sound.
“Do you mean an invasion of this continent?!”
Eve also gasped and covered her mouth.
Lobelia and Ingram, however, did not react much.
The two exchanged a look, seemingly having expected this.
The white-haired old man nodded slowly and heavily.
According to his explanation, six months ago, someone observed a member of the Demon Race appearing outside a labyrinth for the first time in history.
Over the following month, similar incidents occurred across the Kala Continent.
Initially, the Church treated these series of events as negligence on the part of adventurers.
After all, it wasn’t as if there hadn’t been Heroes in the past who tried to get rich by breeding Slimes to sell their mucus as adult toys, only to end up with an accidental overpopulation.
However, as the Demon Race appeared outside the labyrinths more frequently, the Church had to take the matter seriously.
They eventually named such incidents the “Emergence.”
Ingram was one of the Saint Knights ordered to leave the Temple in the Imperial Capital to investigate these Emergence events.
What made the Church even more nervous was the “demons using scrolls” incident reported by Gray and Lobelia about half a month ago.
In the eyes of both the Hero Association high-ranking officials and the Church’s College of Cardinals, this marked the beginning of the Demon Race organizing and learning human technology on a large scale to prepare for a counterattack against the human world.
“The Military Department recently redeployed the Second Group Army from the defensive line at the edge of the southern desert back into the Union territories. The elites of the Fourth Group Army, responsible for deterring the west coast, have also just returned to the Imperial Capital for a routine rotation…”
“Does the Military Department already have a plan?”
Eve asked with a frown, but Gray shook his head.
“It seems more like a defensive posture made out of some sort of instinct.”
The elderly man on the screen nodded approvingly, indicating that the College of Cardinals shared that thought.
According to their informants, the pro-war faction currently leading the Military Department was still focused on deterring the Khanate in the southern desert and keeping an eye on the Church.
They were only performing some surveillance of the Demon Race due to pressure from the Noble Union.
“In that case, Lord Archbishop, what do you need us to do as Heroes?”
Lobelia spoke up at the appropriate time, interrupting the old man’s somewhat long-winded narrative.
To her, all she needed to do now was perform well in front of this Archbishop.
She had indeed heard that this newly appointed Archbishop was famous within the Church for his exaggerated, and perhaps even cowardly, kindness.
‘Hah, the old Lobelia who would risk her life for things like justice, bonds, or faith is dead. Now, I only need to think about seizing enough benefits for myself.’
Within the Noble Union, only interests were eternal.
This was a truth Lobelia realized after the Dawn Blade was broken.
Strength?
Being respected?
What was the use of those?
On the day the Captain disappeared and they sent out a distress signal, not a single team or faction had reached out a helping hand.
“Ah, thank you for the reminder, Cardinal Lobelia. The Church has gathered you here because we hope you can complete a great mission.”
The Archbishop cleared his throat, and a certain light called hope erupted in his cloudy eyes.
“We hope that you can reform a team, go deep into the Third Labyrinth that has just completely opened, and take the initiative to kill a Great Demon.”
“The guardian of the Third Labyrinth, one of the Calamity Pillars — the Great Demon of Greed.”
As soon as those words were spoken, the meeting room fell into a dead silence.
Taking the initiative to attack the depths of a labyrinth to completely kill a Calamity Pillar?!
This was an adventurous move that had never occurred in human history.
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