At the same time, in the capital city of Kasaka, Kaisan

  Once again, a meeting of the Council of the Eternal Flame was convened.

  This time, the agenda focused on the general events occurring in the southern regions of the country.

  As usual, it was Fintei, the Minister of Defense, who opened the session for which everyone had been summoned.

  “You all know why you’re here, and I know most of you don’t want to be, so let’s get started!

  We already discussed the events in Kurani last time, so we’ll skip that for now since you’ve all done your part there.

  ...

  Let’s move on to the situation in Cruscrax.

  It seems that citizens and soldiers have been disappearing there for some time now.

  This isn’t a situation the army can handle alone.

  What do we do?”

  For a moment, there was silence.

  Then Dracko broke it:

  “I could send a few scholars or even my bodyguard here.

  They could at least figure out what we’re dealing with and perhaps even resolve it.”

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  “That sounds promising!

  Hitto, you should send some doctors along as well, and together with Verbo from the 18th Unit, who is already stationed there, they should be able to handle it.”

  He was pleased to have one task settled.

  Usually, getting the council members to act was a challenge.

  But they understood what was at stake, so their cooperation wasn’t too surprising.

  He shuffled through a stack of papers in front of him until he found what he was looking for.

  “Next, we have news from the factory!

  They report they’re on the verge of a breakthrough.

  In one to two months, they should have a functional prototype ready!”

  The council perked up immediately.

  This project had been a cornerstone of their operations since they took on their current roles.

  In an instant, everyone was visibly elated.

  Fintei allowed them a moment to celebrate before moving on to the final item on the agenda.

  “Finally, we have an incident to address, which occurred at the crossroads north of Kurani.

  It seems Feratu was severely injured by the individual responsible for the Kurani incident!”

  The mood in the room shifted sharply from celebratory to serious.

  “The individual, Kawao, fled north toward Kunkan.

  Feratu reported this just minutes ago.

  Although their communication device was damaged during the fight, they managed to repair it quickly.

  The tower at the crossroads collapsed during their brief battle.

  There were a few injuries, but Feratu suffered the worst of it.”

  “Do we know Kawao’s target yet?”

  “Not yet.

  But judging by his movements so far, he appears to be heading north.”

  “Could he be aiming for the factory?”

  “Or perhaps for us? Kaisan?”

  A burst of loud chatter erupted.

  “SILENCE!!!” Fintei bellowed, restoring order to the room.

  He hated having to raise his voice, but there was no other choice.

  “We know he is currently in Kunkan!

  He was also injured in the fight, so he’ll undoubtedly stay there for some time.

  I say we take this opportunity to deal with him once and for all before he becomes too dangerous!”

  With this decision, the Council of the Eternal Flame set in motion a series of events that would entangle Kawao in significant turmoil in the near future.

  End of Arc 2: Kurani