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North Area, Outer Gate [54545]
Salamandra — a community that ruled this region, founded on draconic bloodlines and tracing its lineage back to the Stellar Sea Dragon King, Seikairyuuou.
"Acting Leader!"
At noon, an armored lizardman sprinted into Salamandra's main headquarters, clutching a letter. He burst into the council hall shouting as he ran.
"What's got you so worked up?" A young man with short dark red hair, bronze skin, and a pair of black dragon horns jutting from his forehead looked up, clearly displeased.
This was Mandora Doltrake— the descendant of the Stellar Sea Dragon King, and Salamandra's acting leader while the true leader was still a child.
"A… a letter…"
Mandora frowned. "A letter? Take a breath and speak properly."
The lizardman sucked in several deep breaths, then nervously held out the envelope. "An invitation from Arcadia!"
Mandora hesitated. "That community? The one that fell so low they became nameless?" He reached for the envelope, but something made him pause mid-motion.
"…What did you just say?"
The lizardman blinked. "An invitation from Arcadia!! Is there something wrong?"
"Arcadia… you're telling me that name can be spoken again?"
Mandora's expression shifted sharply. He ripped open the envelope and scanned the contents, his face changing several times.
After a long silence, he exhaled deeply.
"A new leader… Arcadia actually revived in a situation like that. This is…"
A miracle. There was no other word.
Communities robbed of their name and flag by a Demon Lord almost never returned. In all of Salamandra's long history, Mandora recalled fewer than three cases.
Three recoveries… out of more than one hundred million recorded fallen communities.
One in ten million odds. Calling it a miracle was putting it lightly.
Mandora read the invitation several more times. He stared at the name on it — Ryo Yagami — and clenched his teeth.
"I was careless… I didn't think a community in that state could produce a successor this strong."
Just four months ago, Salamandra had been a member of Arcadia's Grand Alliance, holding three permanent seats in the assembly.
In other words, only four months ago, Salamandra and Arcadia had been close allies.
Then… half a year ago, Arcadia's downfall. Their flag stolen. Their name stripped away.
Mandora had spent two months deliberating after the disaster before making the decision to break the alliance and pull Salamandra out of the federation.
Four months later, Arcadia somehow revived.
"Ryo Yagami… I remember he was one of the Canaria's rescued patients… so he's an adult now. Maybe he survived simply because he never officially joined?"
He stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening. "Wait. A person Canaria brought back?"
Could it be… Ryo was a contingency Canaria left behind after foreseeing Arcadia's destruction?
"That must be it."
"Two hundred years ago, after that War, the alliance's losses were massive. There's no way Canaria wouldn't have predicted the risk of collapse."
"She was the lower layers' most acclaimed Gift Game solver. Unbeatable at Gift games. As if someone like her wouldn't notice the warning signs."
"If that's the case, then leaving behind a hidden trump card before defeat would make perfect sense."
"This Yagami must be the successor Canaria quietly nurtured all these years, kept hidden until the moment crisis was inevitable. And in the end… her prediction came true."
"That's how Arcadia revived only half a year after being annihilated by a Demon Lord and losing its name…"
A shiver ran through Mandora's whole body, chilling him to the bone.
If Canaria foresaw Arcadia's fall… then did she foresee Salamandra's betrayal?
After all, once Arcadia collapsed, the communities most likely to inherit their remnants were former allies like Salamandra. There was no way Canaria wouldn't know that.
Of course she knew.
Cold sweat streamed down Mandora's face.
Throughout history, people have always hated traitors more than enemies. And Mandora had been among the first to abandon Arcadia — a vanguard of betrayal.
There was no chance Arcadia didn't know. And there was no way Canaria, of all people, wouldn't know.
So what was the real purpose of this invitation…? Mandora's hands began to tremble around the letter.
"Is this a trap? Would Arcadia attack us?"
Hmm... Would they attack? Mandora wondered.
No, probably not. Salamandra betrayed the alliance, yes, but they didn't seize any of Arcadia's assets.
Back then, they were too terrified of the Demon Lord who obliterated Arcadia to even consider stealing anything. But would that be enough to keep Salamandra safe?
A successor who reclaimed Arcadia's flag and name in under six months…
Would someone like that have no hard feelings?
Half a year ago, even in a weakened state, Arcadia still had at least five four-digit members at headquarters. Their leader, Koumei Kasukabe, was close to three digits.
Yet even so, a mysterious Demon Lord wiped them out overnight. Everyone vanished except the children.
A Demon Lord capable of that…What level of existence was he?
If Ryo reclaimed the flag from someone like that…
Four-digit… maybe stronger… Can't be three-digit, right? This was the lower layers after all...
But at least he must be more powerful than Koumei Kasukabe...
Mandora swallowed hard.
"Only a monster like that could take back a flag with the name on it. Only beings like that would Canaria trust as Arcadia's final safeguard…"
He muttered to himself, and his expression grew more and more bitter.
"I really picked the wrong side…"
He glanced at the invitation again, staring at the date for a long while.
Finally, he let out a deep sigh. "Pass down my order."
"Yes, sir!"
"Notify our leader, Sandora. Six days from now, we head to the East Area to attend the debut match of Arcadia's leader, Mr. Ryo Yagami."
"Yes, sir!"
Mandora tightened his grip on the letter, his emotions a tangled mess.
.
.
.