"There''s no need to worry about them being revived and organizing a counterattack. They''re gone for good now." I smiled.


    "Pfft." Jane Urs suddenly burst outughing, but quickly controlled herself.


    Since she was connected to me through the Soul Brand, she knew everything concerning the Demons.


    It was probably hrious to her.


    "Okay... moving on."


    There was an elephant in the room that everyone wasn''t willing to address, so I decided to take the reins on that one.


    "As for the weapon of mass destruction that I used to destroy the Demons, it remains in my possession."


    Everyone''s face stiffened at my mention of the device.


    There was no doubt that there would be controversies on whether a single individual could wield so much power.


    However, I couldn''t let go of potential leverage.


    "We will all sign an agreement that will make me unable to use the device on you. I will also be giving you all the blueprints, so you can build yours if you wish."


    Everyone here was currently bound by a Magic Agreement that made us unable to betray the other.


    It wasn''t like the Agreement restricted our action, but if any of us was to break the pact, that person would suffer serious damage to their Soul, and everyone else would be alerted of their actions.


    A single subversive thought wouldn''t hurt the host, but it would still alert us of their animosity.


    That way, we could maintain certain levels of trust, transparency, and ountability among one another.


    "Is that eptable?"


    Everyone nodded, but Jane still raised her hand for an objection.


    "What of the power source you used for your Machine? Is it possible to replicate that? Considering the Device''s power is only as good as the Core it is infused with, wouldn''t the agreement be redundant if our Machines are not as effective as yours?"


    My face was calm, but within me, I was grinning.


    Why?


    It was a pre-nned question.


    What sort of gathering among leaders wouldn''t have controversy? I had prepared some counters beforehand, so I wouldn''t be the only one taking the lead in the meeting.


    "You''re right. The Core is what defines the output the Machine can deliver. However, there can only be one of such an item."


    I exined how rare the core I used was, so everyone could understand that I wasn''t hoarding it.


    "Besides, this leads me to my next point. If we all work together, we''ll be able to get items simr to that Core. By distributing them amongst ourselves, it should even out the bnce."


    Even in times of peace, it was better to have all parties satisfied with their personal security and resources.


    I didn''t want anyone to feel like they were missing out on anything.


    That way, we would have a more sustainable monolith, rather than a group of disgruntled leaders.


    ''Now, shall we move on to the main matter...''


    "There''s something you should all know."


    This would be the first time I was telling this to anyone other than Jane and Neron, but I was currently pressed for time—and I needed all hands on deck.


    "The War we had with the Demons was invited by a third party. They are an Organization shrouded in mystery, and they are certainly very smart and powerful—capable of being hidden for so long, yet affecting the world in many ways..."


    I had gained the trust of everyone here, so they didn''t doubt my words when I exined more about the Organization.


    "Damien Lawcroft. Legris Damien. The Eastern Kingdom Spies. Their members are widely spread. It''s a good thing we''ve thinned out their connections to the Eastern Kingdom. We''ll be doing thorough sweeps on the other Nations, just to be sure their influence doesn''t sink too deep into our new era."


    Fortunately, my audience agreed.


    "You''re probably wondering how this rtes to the subject of the Core I mentioned earlier. Well, that is tied to the objectives of the Organization."


    Though it was most likely a means to an end, they were still gathering Arcanas. I couldn''t allow them to seed.


    "Their objective during the war was to obtain the treasure of the Demons, an Arcana known as [The Devil]."


    Once I observed the expressions of everyone present, I realized they were finding it hard to grasp the whole logic behind transcendental power being in form of Cards.


    "May I ask a question? These Arcanas, what is the proof of their existence?" Jane, once again, took her queue and asked the question I needed to prompt my next move.


    "That''s because I have a few in my possession. The Core used for the Device is one of them. I lent three out to certain people I trust—one of which is in this room." I looked in the direction of Elrich Lendertwale, who nodded.


    He brought out his Arcana, showing everyone the patterned Card.


    ''I gave [The Sun] to Serah as per my promise to make her stronger. She was also whining about how it was unfair that Neron already got one... that woman...'' I smiled, shaking my head slightly.


    I nned on giving Jane [The Hanged Man] since it was connected to the project we were currently working on.


    I just concluded Phase 1, which was why I was a bitte to the meeting.


    If everything went well—as soon as possible—we would have countermeasures for the impending tragedy toe.


    "So, that''s how it is." After exining for a bit, everyone understood and finally epted the concept of Arcanas.


    "There are 22 Arcanas in total, and we only have four in our possession."


    If I counted the ones I knew of, the number would rise by two—considering my interactions with [The Fool] and [The Devil].


    Still, those were currently abstract.


    "I have no idea how many Arcanas the enemies have been able to gather, but I can surmise they haven''tpleted the whole set."


    And I was certain of that because of one reason.


    ''If they have retrieved everything... we would be their next targets.''