"As for the people affected by the disaster, we must provide comfort and assistance as quickly as possible," the old man declared.
A middle-aged official in his fifties immediately nodded. "Understood."
"Is there any way to suppress or contain this hell dimension?" the old man asked again.
The white-coated elder carefully chose his words before replying, "This is the first recorded case of spatial integration. We have no prior research or theory to draw from."
Everyone in the room frowned.
In other words—there was no solution.
The inability to control the unknown weighed heavily on the room.
Noticing the grim atmosphere, the man in the white coat hurried to add, "However, according to our investigations, the hell dimension has not continued to expand into our world. After the initial wave of hell creatures was eliminated, no further incursions occurred. For the moment, the situation is stable."
He paused, then added gravely, "We speculate that either the hell dimension lacks the ability to continue its invasion… or they are waiting, planning some greater conspiracy. There is also a possibility that something in our world is deterring them—something they fear."
"Something to be afraid of?" The leading elder furrowed his brow. A thought seemed to strike him, and he muttered, "You mean… the Samsara Space?"
"You are very perceptive," the white-coated man affirmed. "Uvall who now dominates the Thousand Lanterns Island summoned hellspawn through items obtained from Samsara Space. This suggests that the hell dimension itself may only be a duplicate world created by Samsara."
He continued, "If we compare dimensions, the Samsara Space clearly operates on a level higher than the hell dimension—perhaps even controlling its very existence. In other words, the hell dimension may be nothing more than a hive cell, with Samsara as the hive itself."
"This, of course, is still a hypothesis from our expert team," he concluded. "It will take time to prove."
The room fell into thoughtful silence. The explanation was unsettling, but disturbingly plausible.
"Then let time prove it," the elder in charge finally said. "In the meantime, stay vigilant. Monitor every change closely, and report at once."
"Understood!"
The white-coated elder bowed slightly and sat back down.
The elder at the head of the table then turned his attention elsewhere. "I heard the real identity of this so-called 'Shura' has been confirmed? Is he truly a high school student?"
The Director of Intelligence immediately stood. "Yes. His real name is Fenric, born in AH Province. He is eighteen years old, just graduated from high school."
"What a prodigy," the old man murmured in admiration.
A murmur of agreement swept the room.
At eighteen, to achieve such feats in the Samsara Space—he was unprecedented. Even those who had once entered the Samsara Tower themselves knew its dangers: a single careless step often meant death.
"Chief, I propose we recruit Shura directly into the military," a general urged. "The nation faces an existential threat. Now, more than ever, we need talents like him."
The old man considered this for a long moment. "But as I recall, this young man has shown no desire to submit to authority. He has refused to join any faction, has he not?"
"That is correct," the Intelligence Director confirmed.
"Then do not force him," the elder said calmly. "He is already under the care of Vivienne, is he not? Let her continue to handle him."
At this, an elderly man with gray hair allowed himself a faint smile—Vivienne's grandfather.
The elder in charge went on, "This boy has deliberately kept a low profile, hiding his true identity. Now that it has been exposed, we must help him. Those who should know will know, but the world at large must not interfere in his life."
The Intelligence Director nodded. "We've already taken measures. Many of Shura's classmates knew the truth, but after the recent incident, most of them perished. We've instructed the survivors not to reveal anything. Online speculation has been strictly controlled as well."
"Good. And his family?"
"Only his father remains alive," the Director replied.
"Assign a team to protect him in secret. Let this child see our goodwill."
"Understood."
—--
Fenric himself remained unaware that his name had already reached the nation's highest halls.
When he checked online discussions, he was surprised to find his exact identity still hidden. Netizens only knew that Shura was a high schooler, but no details had leaked.
"That's strange," Fenric thought. "With so many witnesses last night, my identity should have been completely exposed. Why is no one talking?"
He quickly guessed the reason. "Aurora must have spoken to the network authorities on my behalf. Clever girl."
Fenric smiled faintly. "That does save me a lot of trouble. Otherwise, father and the others would start pestering me with questions again."
He wasn't afraid of being questioned—but dragging ordinary people into the dangers of Samsara would only create headaches.
With that thought dismissed, Fenric turned his attention to the Samsara Forum, searching for information about the fifteenth floor of the Samsara Tower.
Unsurprisingly, most posts were about him—wild speculations about his Devil Fruit ability, his ranking, his future.
One particular thread caught his eye:
"Pray for the Great God Shura to Crush the Foreigners!"
Fenric raised an eyebrow and clicked it open.
The post read:
"The Great God Shura should be challenging the fifteenth floor soon. Starting from that floor, the format changes—all major regions are merged into a single shared dungeon. In other words, foreigners will become his direct rivals!
I beg Lord Shura—don't be merciful. Crush those foreigners, and bring glory to Zone C!"