Light's voice came from the screen again, same steady tone as before. "We will move to the next matter. The creature breaches happening this month. The Association sent reports. Five cities might be hit."
Forge folded his arms. "We can't save all five."
Winter answered first, her words cold and straight. "Ninghai City has strong infrastructure. If we support them, they will recover fast. Saving them brings no loss."
Storm frowned. "Yuecheng… that city is a mess. Their walls are old, their Hunters slow. Even if we help, they'll crumble again next month."
Blood tapped his finger lightly. "But Yuecheng has rare crystals underground. The creatures bring them up when they break through. The markets pay high for those."
Crown nodded slowly. "Then letting Yuecheng fall once will not hurt. It might even benefit the Association's supply chain."
Gloom spoke softly, almost fading into the room's air. "If Yuecheng falls, the refugees will run to nearby towns. That will increase pressure there."
Judgement's voice came deep and slow. "Pressure is acceptable if the gain is greater."
Ember leaned forward slightly. "Baihe City is stable. They cleaned two breaches last year without needing us. They can handle this one."
Fang spoke in a firm tone. "Then we keep forces away from Baihe. No need to waste our strength."
Winter's cold voice cut in again. "Qingyuan City… that one has a child with an awakened bloodline. Strong potential."
Storm raised an eyebrow. "You want to save one kid and let the rest suffer?"
Winter didn't blink. "Potential matters."
Void gave a soft chuckle, his leg still on the table. "Qingyuan is fun when creatures show up. I don't mind dropping a shadow there."
Crown replied calmly, "Saving Qingyuan benefits us long-term."
Light listened to all of them, then spoke once more. "Ninghai and Qingyuan will be protected. Baihe handles itself. Yuecheng will be left to fall."
His voice stayed even, but the choice he spoke carried weight like a stone dropping onto still water.
Blood nodded. "I will inform the Association through the usual channels."
Judgement added, his tone heavy, "Record the decision."
Winter closed her eyes for a moment. "Move to the next agenda."
The meeting kept moving after that. One topic after another came across the table, and none of them hesitated.
Every agenda was about cities, people, disasters, the rise of creatures, the fall of towns—they talked about all of it like routine work.
Light kept bringing up one matter after another, and they handled each one with the same cold way of thinking. They didn't hesitate.
They didn't worry. Whenever a new issue came up, they cut through it fast, looking only at what helped them grow stronger.
If something gave profit or pushed their power higher, they agreed without pause. If something brought too much trouble or wasted effort, they threw it aside like broken scrap, not even bothering to think twice.
Human lives were just pieces in front of them.
If a city falling gave them rare items, they let it fall.
If saving a place helped them grow stronger later, they saved it.
Every decision came down to benefits stacked on benefits, like building a tall tower out of stones and ignoring the ground beneath.
Light shifted slightly on the screen as he brought up the next point on their list.
The others leaned back into their usual focus, treating it like any other matter they had gone through today. No one showed any change in expression; to them, it was just another small issue waiting to be checked off.
A few tapped the table or adjusted their masks. It was clear they were tired of the meeting.
Light spoke slower this time. His tone sounded more serious than before. "Winter… the matter regarding Shen Yan."
Winter, who had stayed calm through every topic until now, shifted her hands on her lap. Her fingers tightened a little, a small movement she usually never made in these meetings.
"I passed the task to Mei Lin," she said. Her voice tried to stay steady, but it didn't hold the same cold firmness she always carried. "It was a simple job. An F-rank with a weak bloodline. Not worth handling myself."
No one disagreed. None of them thought Shen Yan mattered.
Trash bloodline.
F-rank.
Nothing more.
Light didn't respond immediately, and that silence was heavier than any shout.
Then his voice came through, slower than before. "Winter… you passed the task to Mei Lin. Fine. Then tell me—what is the result? Is he dead or not?"
Winter's fingers tightened again on her lap. She kept her head straight, but her voice carried a small strain. "Mei Lin sent a group after him. Rookies at first." She paused, her gaze dropping a little. "They didn't return."
Light's mask didn't move, but his voice grew sharper. "And after that?"
Winter spoke again, her tone losing more of its usual firmness. "She sent another group. Then another. No word came back from any of them."
The other Seats turned their attention to her fully now.
Winter continued, her voice low. "None returned. No bodies. No reports. Nothing at all."
Storm leaned forward, irritation in her tone. "All of them vanished? Even the later ones?"
Winter gave a faint nod. "Every single one."
Gloom spoke quietly. "You lost contact with all of them… completely."
Winter didn't answer right away. Her grip tightened again. She had never come into a meeting without answers. She always brought clean, cold results. But now she looked like someone walking through a fog with no path ahead.
Light finally spoke.
And when he did, the calm in his voice was gone.
"What do you mean… you lost all of them?"
He didn't raise his voice, but everyone felt how serious it was.
Even Void, who had been careless the whole meeting, lowered his leg from the table slowly.
Winter straightened, trying to hold her usual cold posture, but her words still had a small tremble hidden deep inside. "There were no signs. No blood. No fight. No bodies. Mei Lin's scout searched for two days. There was nothing to find."
Crown stopped tapping the table, his hand going still. "How is this possible? Shen Yan is just an F-rank boy. He shouldn't be able to erase even one of them, let alone all. Someone else must be involved."
None of them believed Shen Yan could wipe out every assassin they sent. An F-rank boy with a weak bloodline shouldn't have been able to take down even a rookie cleanly. In their eyes, his strength wasn't worth mentioning.
That left only one idea hanging over the chamber—
someone else had stepped in and erased everything without leaving so much as a footprint behind.