Rhys finally stepped out of the interrogation room and returned to the main hall.Everyone was already waiting for him.The moment he arrived, all eyes turned toward him.Rhys gave a small nod.“We’re ready.”He looked around before continuing.“We’ll question the scout first.”“Daniel comes afterward.”“As for the woman…”“We’ll leave her alone until we’ve decided whether to hand her over or interrogate her ourselves.”Raya quietly nodded.She understood his reasoning.If they questioned Daniel first, their attention would naturally be drawn toward the Bloody Banquet.That would only distract them from gathering information about the Divine Hand Organization as a whole.Tang, as the organization’s intelligence officer, knew the broader picture.Starting with him was the better choice.After what had happened earlier, Raya had no intention of objecting.The trust between her and Rhys had already been damaged enough.She wasn’t about to make things worse.Rhys turned toward Anubis.“Le

“What are your thoughts?” Raya asked.Rhys nodded without hesitation.“That works too.”He leaned back slightly before continuing.“But if we decide to move…”“We should move immediately.”“We capture Devia.”“We get the location of their current headquarters directly from her.”“And the moment we have that information…”“We launch the raid.”He calmly explained his reasoning.“At that point, the information will still be fresh.”“They won’t have enough time to relocate.”“So we actually have a chance of catching them.”He paused briefly.“Of course…”“We can also wait.”“They’ll eventually lower their guard.”“The current disaster changes everything.”“They’ll realize they’re no longer the center of attention.”“Compared to what’s happening now, their schemes are insignificant.”“They won’t make any reckless moves until they’ve finished preparing.”Rhys smiled faintly.“And during that time…”“I’ll become as strong as possible.”“My immediate goal is either summoning my fifth Familia

Rhys turned his attention back to Daniel.His expression remained calm.“Did you participate in the massacre of the Thalverian soldiers alongside those mysterious people?”For the first time since entering the courtroom, Daniel looked genuinely shaken.“…No.”Rhys didn’t answer immediately.Instead, he looked toward the golden scales.They didn’t move.Not even slightly.That answer was true.Rhys nodded to himself before asking another question.“Then tell me this.”“Before joining the Divine Hand Organization…”“Did you ever take part in a massacre together with Alan Varun?”“…No.”Clack.The scales immediately tilted.“…!!!”Raya stared at them in disbelief.Rhys, however, simply smiled.Exactly as he had expected.He had intentionally chosen every word with care.The wording of the Soul Contract mattered.So did the wording of every question asked inside Anubis’ court.By making Alan Varun the focus of the question instead of the mysterious organization…He had managed to expose s

By the time Rhys returned, Wyndia and the others had already completed the first prototype of the Lesser Type.Without wasting any time, Rhys infused the core with a Soul Contract.Everything was finally ready for the first real test.The group gathered in an open area, sitting a safe distance away while Ryan Valentin made the final adjustments to the launching device.After checking every component one last time, Ryan raised a hand.“We’re ready.”Everyone’s attention immediately locked onto the launcher.Ryan pulled the firing rod.The tightly wound string snapped forward with tremendous force, launching the small metal sphere high into the sky.It shot upward like an arrow.As it climbed higher, its speed gradually slowed.By the time it reached the thick blanket of volcanic ash overhead, it had slowed just enough.The sphere stopped within the cloud instead of passing straight through it.At that exact moment…The Soul Contract activated.A burst of Mana exploded from the sphere.

Two days after the supervolcano erupted, the rulers of the four kingdoms gathered once again.The meeting was convened by the Pope.Like King Julian, he had already received reports through Laura. Those reports were enough for him to understand that humanity had reached a turning point.There was no room left for delay.The four sovereigns took their seats.The ruler of the Thalverian Kingdom, Robert, broke the silence first.“What are we supposed to do with all of this?”The Beast King, Balzak, nodded.“He’s right.”“We don’t have the luxury of wasting time on endless discussions.”“We need decisions.”The Pope raised a hand.“Fortunately…”“We already have several solutions.”King Julian gave a slight nod.“Then I’ll begin with the good news.”He looked around the table.“There are three pieces of good news.”He raised a finger.“First…”“We’ve solved the food crisis.”Everyone immediately looked at him.Julian continued.“The solution isn’t perfect.”“But it will prevent complete c