“Things are more dire than we feared,” Iluna announced as the meeting commenced.

  Everyone around the table nodded to Iluna’s words, including Henry, who was seated just beside the Priestess herself. Iora, the personal guard and sister to Iluna, was seated on the other side. Leon and Mika were present, along with representatives from the other three tribes and their respective guards. There were quite a lot of familiar faces who had all gathered at such short notice. The representatives of the Zevas were the two brothers. They were just about to leave when the grave news reached them. So, they decided to stay for a while longer. Everyone was here, except for the princess, who was excluded on the behest of Mika.

  “As you all may have already heard, the corruption that ruined the Argon Kingdom had reached the edge of Ulrum’s borders, or at least at the bare hinges. It is the same corruption that turned the kingdom’s machine against its own masters. Now, the animals and beasts of the forest have become victims. In these short three days alone, we have taken down tens of them; each was closer to the borders.”

  “How strong were these corrupted beasts and animals?” asked Lilim, the representative of the Augru Tribe and also its warchief. She had no guards, but she was accompanied by her sister, Eria.

  Henry couldn’t help but steal gnces at Eria. She was the first person he had made contact with ever since he was reincarnated. Eria returned the gesture gleefully in the same subtle manner.

  “They were only as strong as a hobgoblin, initially,” answered Leon. “In the next few days, we were fighting orcs, figuratively speaking. In recent days, they were as strong as trolls. As durable as they are too. We cut off their limbs, but they still moved. Only by cutting off their heads did they finally stop moving. But even then, the trouble persisted. Their carcasses were problematic.”

  “Were the carcasses a medium of the corruption’s propagation?” asked Rinea, the princess of the Kivu Tribe.

  Henry was most surprised by Rinea, who seemed to have grown a great deal, physically and mentally, even though it had only been a few months at best. He remembered her as a spoiled girl who looked no older than an elementary student. But now, she looked like a middle schooler, and her temperament was vastly different. She no longer acted entitled or carefree. She had elegance and discipline, a far cry from the Rinea Henry knew. However, he could still feel the fondness she held for him. She would smile a little whenever she gnced at him. “They sure grow fast.”

  “They were,” Iluna affirmed. “We couldn’t just leave their carcasses be after we dealt with them. We have to destroy them. With the help of Lord Henry, that much was easy. His fire easily reduces all these problems to nothing. I shudder to imagine what everything would be like if we didn’t have his assistance.”

  Although Iluna’s remark about his contribution was no exaggeration, Henry still didn’t feel comfortable getting praised to this extent. He had repeatedly told them to treat him as a friend, but they only continued to revere him as their guardian deity.

  “Our scouts had surveyed the area,” Iluna continued. “Their estimates were not very… hopeful and auspicious. If we don’t do something, Ulrum would truly be affected.”

  “What will you have us do?” asked Damien. “I hope you haven’t forgotten about the circumstances of the Zevas.”

  “We haven’t, Lord Damien.”

  “Just Damien will be enough, Your Grace.”

  “Then Iluna will do just fine, Damien. Now, as I was saying, we haven’t forgotten about your circumstances. The purpose of this meeting is to avoid any misunderstandings that we may have in the future, should we resort to some desperate measures, desperate measures that may seem like an act of transgression. Also, I hope that any one of you here may be able to shed some light on this conundrum.”

  “Why can’t we just go straight for the source?” Lilim proposed. “Destroy the root of the problem, and then we can take our time in taking care of the remnants. Otherwise, we can keep fending off this corruption repeatedly, and the end will never be in sight.”

  “We have considered that option,” said Iluna.

  “Then, what’s holding you back?” Lilim questioned. “With Lord Henry here, I’m sure razing that nation to the ground would be nothing but a breeze to him.”

  “His ability to do just that is undeniable,” Mika said. “But there’s just one big problem with that method.”

  “Which is?”

  “It will reveal the existence of Lord Henry to the world. The consequences of that revetion would be far more problematic than our current conundrum. To us, Lord Henry is our guardian. He isn’t our king or sovereign, but a friend to our home. However, the rest of the world would not see it that way. They will see a nation possessing possibly the strongest weapon in the world. How do you reckon the world would react with that kind of mindset?”

  “If we don’t smother the fire now, it will grow too big to be smothered. If that happens, we wouldn’t need to care about how the world would react, because we will all be dead or worse.”

  “I agree with Advisor Mika,” said Soren. "If the existence of Lord Henry is exposed, we will be facing a threat far greater than this corruption. We will be facing the entire world. Dragons, once the most powerful race in the world, are believed to be extinct. The world will not just be idle once they learned that a dragon still lives. They will covet Lord Henry’s power. They will covet Ulrum’s resources and faculties.”

  “The alternative is idolence and idleness,” Rinea retorted. “Do you suggest we just sit around and wait for your impending death or ruin?”

  Henry frowned at Rinea’s words. She was yet a woman, but her words resounded with much maturity. Henry was truly taken aback by her growth. He could only wonder what had transpired in the short amount of time since they hadn’t seen each other.

  “Lord Henry should not fear the world’s attention and greed. The world should fear Lord Henry’s wrath and annoyance should they come pestering him. Who knows? Maybe they would have more sense than greed if they got wind of Lord Henry’s destructive capabilities. I understand Lord Henry is a kind god.”

  Henry restrained himself from rolling his eyes.

  “But the world should not take his kindness and leniency for granted. We have been patient enough. The Argon Kingdom’s ruin is a result of its own greed. Lord Henry is simply going to clean up their mess. We are doing the right thing here. We shouldn’t be fearing the consequences of doing the right thing. Moreover, the more people learn of Lord Henry’s greatness, the better.”

  Henry could only smile wryly as all the eyes stared at him for his input.

  “Your reverence for Lord Henry is clear, Princess Rinea,” said Mika, diverting attention back to him. “I appreciate your insight on this matter. However, the corruption is not our only concern here. There’s another significant factor to consider.”

  Henry raised an eyebrow at Mika. He was not informed about this second item on the itinerary of this meeting. He looked around and saw that everyone else was just as taken aback, even Iluna.

  “Which is?” Soren inquired with a face tinged with unease.

  “The vampires and their lord, Vishara. She’s the ancestor of the Zevas.”

  The two Zevas in the room stirred in their seats, gncing around the room as if searching for any prosecuting or condemning gazes.

  “So this is why he has the princess excluded,” Henry thought.

  Iluna was gring at her advisor. “Mika, we talked about this.”

  “We have, Your Eminence. Forgive my transgression. I will accept the punishment ter, for now, let me speak. I don’t believe it’s in our best interest to further dey this subject.”

  Iluna had her objections, but she relented and gave Mika the room, though her gre stayed on him.

  “Before I proceed, is there anyone here who’s in the dark about Vishara?”

  No one shook their head.

  “We are well aware of her existence and her intentions as you have told us in your past letters,” said Lilim.

  “Then, you already know she sought vengeance against those who betrayed her and wronged her. The Argon Kingdom, in which the royal family were the descendants of one of her betrayers, had already met its end. There are still others out there, descendants of her betrayers. She intends to eliminate them all. Now, considering that she’s the ancestor of a tribe in Ulrum, no doubt a faction out there would y the bme on us. Coupled with the existence of Lord Henry known to the world, the foreseeable future will be a trying and toilsome one.”

  “The Kivu Tribe is well aware of this foreseeable conundrum,” said Rinea. “What is your question?”

  “Lord Henry has also Her Emminence, that Vishara had asked him to join him. By extension, she’s asking us. Where do we stand on this? We must make our stance clear.”

  “Isn’t the answer already clear?” Damien scoffed. “She’s our enemy.”

  “She’s your ancestor.”

  “And she’s doing nothing to help her descendants. She has brought nothing but problems to Ulrum.”

  “So, if Vishara personally comes to you with a gracious offer of joining her cause, in exchange for her power and dominance, you won’t accept?”

  Damien fell silent.

  Mika looked at the other two representatives.

  “What’s that look for?” asked Lilim.

  “Will you accept?” Mika challenged.

  “No,” answered Lilim. “Of course, we won’t. Why would we? What are you insinuating?”

  “Each of the tribes had its own quandary or plight. The Augru Cn has the Scorching Sands to worry about. Last I heard, it was expanding. In a few tens of years, it would start affecting the Augrus’ nds.”

  “And what? You think Vishara can help solve that problem and that’s why there’s a possibility that the Augrus might join her cause?”

  “You won’t necessarily join her cause. At the very least, it would be some kind of an alliance.”

  Lilim smmed the table and rose to her feet. “Is that all you have to say, Lavan?”

  “No, that isn’t all. I still have plenty of things to say.” Mika’s gaze turned to Rinea. “The Kivus’ nds stretched far to the east until a gorge, if I recall correctly. What was the gorge called again?”

  “The Hell Gate,” answered Rinea. “Which is safely sealed and guarded.”

  Now, Henry felt out of pce. He felt ashamed to be here. He had no idea about any of this, but here he was, the supposed overlord of Ulrum. He prayed that they wouldn’t look to him for answers.

  “The seal is cracking, is it not?”

  Rinea smiled, but there was no light in her eyes. She rose gently from her seat. “Your Eminence, I have tolerated this insult long enough. For the respect that I have for you and Lord Henry, I shall take my leave now without any fuss.” Without waiting for a response, Rinea left the room with her guard, Vira.

  “The threat of the corruption is very real,” said Lilim. “But clearly, that’s not what his meeting is for. Your Eminence, Lord Henry, we will be taking our leave now.” With that, the Augrus were out of the room.

  Soren and Damien remained. They made no attempt to leave or even rise from their seats.

  “Are you two not leaving?” Iluna asked.

  The brothers exchanged gnces. They looked conflicted. Their mouths were open, but they struggled to say the words.

  Henry frowned. He came upon a realisation. “Vishara, she had already contacted you, didn’t she?”

  “What?” This time, it was Leon who rose from his seat in a fit. “You don’t see it fit to tell us this first thing? Do you mean to accept her offer?”

  “Leon, quiet,” Henry requested, but to everyone else, it was a command that couldn’t be disobeyed.

  Leon could only sat back down quietly.

  “When did she ask you? It couldn’t have been before you came to us.”

  “Yes, it couldn’t have been. She came to us, just two nights ago.”

  “...Daughter of a bastard,” Henry muttered.