When the meeting first started, Yoonhwan didnât think the meeting would go well.
The and [Rupture] were sworn enemies.
Former Captains of Rupture had killed many Generals and even Lords at times. Why would these Lords want to talk with Rupture then?
Yoonhwanâs concerns grew to the peak once he faced the dark-caped man.
âThey are the Lords!â
It was as if the meeting room itself was becoming dark. As Yoonhwan faced the dark manâs eyes, he felt chilled to the bones because of his fears.
Talking with them? It was impossible. They were here to fight a war.
Yoonhwan was sure of it and didnât realize that his hand had moved over to his sword. However, the Lord seemed to be interested in Yoonhwan who was not backing down at his presence. More powerful energy was about to be unleashed butâŠ
âThatâs enough, Darkness.â
A voice stopped him and the Lord of Darkness Gerome smiled.
âItâs been a long time since I saw you, Ruptureâs slut.â
âI see that you still are as vulgar as ever,â Mirel snapped coldly. Yoonhwan was shocked. It seemed like these two had met before. Gerome glanced over at Yoonhwan and Seoyul standing at the corner of the room and asked, âWho are they? New Captains?â
âNo. They are secretaries. They will be recording the meeting.â
âI see. I thought they were too weak to be Captains.â
Yoonhwan bit his lips. It was true. He was barely withstanding the energy that the Lord was unleashing.
People started sitting down within the meeting room. From the center seat to the left were Ruptureâs 3rd, 4th, and 5th Captains, and to the right were the four Lords of the .
Yoonhwan checked their names.
1st region. Lord of Forest, Illiones.
2nd region. Lord of Destruction. Siegfried.
4th region. Lord of Dragons. Varkant.
9th region. Lord of Darkness. Gerome (Leader).
âFour? I thought there were 11?â
Yoonhwan was wondering why, but Gerome began speaking.
âA while ago, I sent out my boys to find you Ruptures at the . I didnât know you hid yourselves within already.â
âItâs been a long time since we moved. You were too slow,â Imai snapped at Gerome coldly and silence fell. Their eyes met, and they were each checking anotherâs power. Yoonhwan realized that it was a battle of world power.
It was Varkant who broke the silence.
âWhereâs the sickle girl? I need to teach her a lesson.â
His voice was so calm that it was hard to believe that he had been challenging the others with his powers. Yoonhwan realized the Lords had gotten the upper hand from the fight. Imai frowned and said, ââŠSickle? Are you talking about Surha?â
âI heard sheâs the one who killed the former Lord of Dragons. He was a fool though. A Commander becoming a Lord? Pfft.â
Varkant, who was a half-dragon and half-human, scoffed. He had become a Lord about 400 years ago. Kashim answered, âSurha has left Rupture.â
âReally? Thatâs a shame.â
Varkant seemed to be very disappointed. Maybe he really was here to fight Surha.
âThey are all terrifying. Were these the ones I tried to fight?â
Yoonhwan couldnât even guess who powerful his Captains were, but he had a rough guess through the rumors he heard. And from the rumors, Imai was the strongest, then Kashim, and then Mirel. Kashimâs world power was rumored to be at about 3 million, so the other Captains should have been close to that.
âThen, just how powerful are they?â
The Captains didnât seem to be comfortable and it was likely that the meeting would lean in favor of the Lords. Yoonhwan felt like it was hard for him to breathe after the Captains had failed to overpower the Lords with their world power. Gerome looked at each Captain and asked, âOh, and where is Myad?â
ââŠYou should not call that name so easily.â
âIf he doesnât come, there is no meeting.â
âThe master gave us permission for this meeting.â
âHAH! Nonsense,â Gerome scoffed. âYou all have no right to hold this meeting.â
And at that moment, everyone flinched. Even Kashim and Imai became pale from the terror. Geromeâs world power began to explode and Kashim gasped, ââŠSo, thatâs why the war stopped. You have been hiding your powers.â
âI had planned to reveal it⊠but not this soon. Thanks to the weird one who made a mess at .â
ââŠYou are talking about the General Massacre.â
General Massacre?
Yoonhwan did not know what that was, and he just jotted it down in his notes. Gerome nodded.
âYes. I had empty spots for my Commanders, and these hyenas began rushing in.â
Gerome then glanced over at the three Lords next to him and smiled. His vicious smile even made the Lords look away. Yoonhwan then realized that Gerome was the strongest of all the Lords.
âIt took some time to âpersuadeâ them. I mean, we didnât even have the [Fruits] and these fools were coming at me like crazy. Wasnât it, Siegfried?â
âOh, uh- y-yeah. Iâm sorry about what happened then.â Siegfried answered frantically. It was terrifying world power.
âWho can fight him? Can Master? Or one of the 8 Gods of ?â
Yoonhwan wasnât sure.
âSo, whereâs Myad?â
âHeâs not coming, Gerome. Heâs not here.â
âWhere did he go? Was he too scared to come?â
Mirel then became infuriated.
âShut up. Itâs not like all of you are here either. If all of 11 came, Myad would have come. But just four? We are the ones who are offended by this rudeness.â
Yoonhwan became terrified. Speaking so fiercely against that terrifying Lord? Would it not anger Gerome? However, Geromeâs expression turned awkward.
âThat I can explain. We were planning to come. All 11 of us.â
âExplain? And what will that be?â
âDonât play games, girl. You all must know.â
Mirel then closed her mouth. She blinked for a few seconds and spoke.
âSo, Catastrophe did not let you guys pass easily.â
Catastrophe. The Gatekeeper blocking the way from to , and one of Three Ancient Gods. Gerome gritted his teeth.
âNo. He didnât even plan to let us pass. Why did you not tell us before?â
âWe didnât think that he would try to stop you. Catastrophe normally doesnât care about letting the Lords passing through.â
âDonât lie. Thereâs no way that you all did not know.â
ââŠSo did you fight Catastrophe head-on?â
Gerome became silent, but it was not hard to guess why.
âFive out of eleven died. And two were too injured to come with us.â