Theres no need to worry about them being revived and organizing a counterattack. Theyre gone for good now. I smiled.

Pfft. Jane Ursula suddenly burst out laughing, but quickly controlled herself.

Since she was connected to me through the Soul Brand, she knew everything concerning the Demons.

It was probably hilarious to her.

Okay moving on.

There was an elephant in the room that everyone wasnt willing to address, so I decided to take the reins on that one.

As for the weapon of mass destruction that I used to destroy the Demons, it remains in my possession.

Everyones face stiffened at my mention of the device.

There was no doubt that there would be controversies on whether a single individual could wield so much power.

However, I couldnt let go of potential leverage.

We will all sign an agreement that will make me unable to use the device on you. I will also be giving you all the blueprints, so you can build yours if you wish.

Everyone here was currently bound by a Magic Agreement that made us unable to betray the other.

It wasnt like the Agreement restricted our action, but if any of us was to break the pact, that person would suffer serious damage to their Soul, and everyone else would be alerted of their actions.

A single subversive thought wouldnt hurt the host, but it would still alert us of their animosity.

That way, we could maintain certain levels of trust, transparency, and accountability among one another.

Is that acceptable?

Everyone nodded, but Jane still raised her hand for an objection.

What of the power source you used for your Machine? Is it possible to replicate that? Considering the Devices power is only as good as the Core it is infused with, wouldnt the agreement be redundant if our Machines are not as effective as yours?

My face was calm, but within me, I was grinning.

Why?

It was a pre-planned question.

What sort of gathering among leaders wouldnt have controversy? I had prepared some counters beforehand, so I wouldnt be the only one taking the lead in the meeting.

Youre right. The Core is what defines the output the Machine can deliver. However, there can only be one of such an item.

I explained how rare the core I used was, so everyone could understand that I wasnt hoarding it.

Besides, this leads me to my next point. If we all work together, well be able to get items similar to that Core. By distributing them amongst ourselves, it should even out the balance.

Even in times of peace, it was better to have all parties satisfied with their personal security and resources.

I didnt want anyone to feel like they were missing out on anything.

That way, we would have a more sustainable monolith, rather than a group of disgruntled leaders.

Now, shall we move on to the main matter

Theres something you should all know.

This would be the first time I was telling this to anyone other than Jane and Neron, but I was currently pressed for timeand I needed all hands on deck.

The War we had with the Demons was invited by a third party. They are an Organization shrouded in mystery, and they are certainly very smart and powerfulcapable of being hidden for so long, yet affecting the world in many ways

I had gained the trust of everyone here, so they didnt doubt my words when I explained more about the Organization.

Damien Lawcroft. Legris Damien. The Eastern Kingdom Spies. Their members are widely spread. Its a good thing weve thinned out their connections to the Eastern Kingdom. Well be doing thorough sweeps on the other Nations, just to be sure their influence doesnt sink too deep into our new era.

Fortunately, my audience agreed.

Youre probably wondering how this relates to the subject of the Core I mentioned earlier. Well, that is tied to the objectives of the Organization.

Though it was most likely a means to an end, they were still gathering Arcanas. I couldnt allow them to succeed.

Their objective during the war was to obtain the treasure of the Demons, an Arcana known as [The Devil].

Once I observed the expressions of everyone present, I realized they were finding it hard to grasp the whole logic behind transcendental power being in form of Cards.

May I ask a question? These Arcanas, what is the proof of their existence? Jane, once again, took her queue and asked the question I needed to prompt my next move.

Thats because I have a few in my possession. The Core used for the Device is one of them. I lent three out to certain people I trustone of which is in this room. I looked in the direction of Elrich Lendertwale, who nodded.

He brought out his Arcana, showing everyone the patterned Card.

I gave [The Sun] to Serah as per my promise to make her stronger. She was also whining about how it was unfair that Neron already got one that woman I smiled, shaking my head slightly.

I planned on giving Jane [The Hanged Man] since it was connected to the project we were currently working on.

I just concluded Phase 1, which was why I was a bit late to the meeting.

If everything went wellas soon as possiblewe would have countermeasures for the impending tragedy to come.

So, thats how it is. After explaining for a bit, everyone understood and finally accepted the concept of Arcanas.

There are 22 Arcanas in total, and we only have four in our possession.

If I counted the ones I knew of, the number would rise by twoconsidering my interactions with [The Fool] and [The Devil].

Still, those were currently abstract.

I have no idea how many Arcanas the enemies have been able to gather, but I can surmise they havent completed the whole set.

And I was certain of that because of one reason.

If they have retrieved everything we would be their next targets.

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