If Elder Alpha and the others truly cared about Frost, if they sincerely considered him one of their own, then at least one of them would have said, with patience and a kind expression:
"Stop here, Frost. You can only probe so far — any further and you'll be in over your head. The waters here run too deep for you to navigate."
But the elders had no such patience anymore. The mere mention of the word Odin was enough to touch their rawest nerves.
Inside the Cerulean Hall, which was normally awash in a pure, deep blue, a suffocating blackness now cloaked the space, the only glow emanating from the virtual holograms scattered across the marble round table.
And seated around that table were no longer white-robed elders. Each of them was clad in black and wore a leather mask.
The masks had long, beak-like protrusions at the mouth, much like the plague doctors of medieval Europe, who stuffed the beak with herbs to ward off the stench of corpses and disease.
Wearing these ancient masks signified a shift in identity.
As the lights from the holograms grew brighter, one empty seat after another became occupied by virtual figures — all in identical bird-beak masks, revealing nothing of their true faces, and addressing one another by codenames in a ritual steeped in secrecy.
For these were the members of the Sanctum Medicae Society.
The Society's members spanned the globe — some from ancient hybrid families like Gattuso and Chen, some from oligarchs commanding vast political, commercial, or military-industrial resources, some individuals of incredible power and alchemical mastery… even nonhuman dragons like Odin.
In short, the Society was full of elites.
Compared to the dazzling surface world, they were kings of the deep, weaving a dark web beneath the waters to gather power, influence, and resources.
Even the Secret Party, the largest force in the hybrid world, knew nothing of their existence. Even the external intelligence network they'd built, the Hunter's Net, remained opaque to Norma, the Secret Party's vaunted super-AI.
Those few who'd learned of them through special brokers called them "the dark kings who rule the shadow world."
Now, the meeting's initiator — Elder Alpha, behind his mask — asked:
"Why is Odin absent?"
Clearly, two seats here were empty — one for Odin, one for the Chen family.
Someone answered in his stead: "He's dealing with some… trouble from 'Freya.'"
Freya was both the Chen family's experiment codename and their codename within the Society.
Alpha's voice turned sharp and cold, nothing like a kindly elder: "Oh, let me guess… the trouble's gotten so big, he's had to clean up 'Freya' himself?"
The other members stirred uneasily. They were aware of the Freya project, but clearly didn't yet grasp the current crisis.
Alpha, feigning helpfulness, revealed: "The Freya experiment's been exposed — attracting the Secret Party and countless local families… Let me guess. When Odin finishes cleaning up Freya and the mess…"
"We'll be the ones who have to swallow the bitter fruit of his recklessness?"
An uproar rose at the table, lively chatter bubbling as the Society's internal power struggles played out — it was rare to see such open confrontation.
Some eyes glimmered with schadenfreude, almost saying, "Haven't had enough? Go on, fight harder…" — the fewer members left standing, the better.
For the Society was anything but united; it was riven by factions.
The man who'd responded earlier — clearly of Odin's faction — retorted:
"You're twisting things. None of your people were even involved — it was only to get close to a marriage prospect. With your capabilities, shaking off the Secret Party's nuisance should be nothing."
"Ha! The marriage is one thing, but if your project blows back on us, don't think it's so easy to fix."
"What, not satisfied with that little girl? She's the most perfect Freya product yet."
Alpha laughed bitterly: "Perfect? You dare call No.3 perfect when you gave us a copy, not the original?"
"Fool! You who weren't part of the Freya project can't understand the danger and value of Zero. You think Odin deployed himself just for—"
"Enough!"
A sudden, monstrous voice cut through them all, like some abyssal creature's roar, silencing the room.
It came from the furthest seat — yet none dared ignore him. From the mask's eyeholes, a golden light flared, seeming to pierce through the holograms and strike fear into them all.
His codename was Leviathan — in the Bible, God's sixth-day creation of the land beast Behemoth and the sea monster Leviathan. Leviathan: King of the sea…
That is, the ruler of water, the King of the Ocean and Water.
Two or three years ago, Odin had used the Hunter's Net under the ID Prince to lure the Secret Party into searching the Greenland Sea for a dragon embryo. In that carefully laid trap, the dragon revived, annihilating nearly the entire elite Execution force sent.
And the Society gained this "Leviathan"… or rather, yet another exalted Dragon King.
Leviathan spoke coldly: "Your bickering is pointless. Since No.3 took the bloodline drug, she's no longer 'perfect.' Any mishaps don't matter — and Alpha, you never valued copies anyway."
Alpha snorted, and fell silent. "Then let Odin clean up, and we'll discuss the aftermath of Freya later."
It seemed the farce was over — no one doubted Odin could resolve the situation.
Yet Leviathan's next words chilled them:
"No. Odin has failed. He was killed by a human on the spot… and will need a long slumber to revive."
"What?!" "Killed?!" "By a mere hybrid?!"
The table erupted in disbelief and outrage.
"Silence! You disgrace yourselves with such noise… Don't underestimate that human. The shadow behind him is not so simple."
Leviathan gazed with disgust at the humans' panic. Truly, humans were far more fragile than dragons.
"Odin… my brother, managed to send me only one message before falling —"
'There are two players on the board.'
"In other words, we are no longer the only ones manipulating this 'world' like a chessboard. Today's move was just their first — a test, a show of strength."
"Prepare yourselves, everyone. The storm is coming."
—
'It is we of the Sanctum Medicae Society who shall embrace the new era.'
'The Secret Party is bloated and propped up solely by Ange.'
'The Shenzhou families are nothing but house dogs!'
'Westminster and the Solomon Templars? Just small fry.'
'Where the hell did this Emiya Shirou even come from?'
(End of Chapter)
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