403 Approaching Storm

Before the war against the Blight, the diverse kingdoms in the world were scattered and divided, with battles and wars occurring every day.

New alliances appeared every day, and countries disappeared every year. It was a period of unrest and chaos. Wars between countries, races, and religions were very common.

Back then, people were born to be warriors and die on the battlefield.

But everything changed when the Blight appeared.

In a very short time, the Blight spread like a plague, devouring everything in its way and destroying country after country.

Quickly, it took over a third of the continent. It was so powerful that no god or kingdom could go against it alone.

Due to it, the gods and kings of the different countries and religions were forced to create an alliance. Thus, they forgot everything about their wars and differences and joined hands to combat the disaster known as the Blight.

It was hard and millions of people died, but in the end, the alliance won, securing one hundred years of pace after that.

At a very step prince.

However, the Blight taught a very painful lesson to the rulers of the world.

It taught them that they needed to be ready to face a crisis like that.

Thus, they decided to prepare in case that the Blight resurged or if a calamity of the same magnitude appeared.

Hence, the Calamity Emergency Meeting was created.

The rulers of the different kingdoms and races decided to create a place where they could gather in case that an emergency occurred.

Unfortunately, many rulers lived thousands of kilometers away from other rulers. It was impossible to organize meetings when just traveling to the place of the meeting needed entire days or weeks.

The solution? Magic.

They created a magic array that allowed them to communicate through kilometers of distance. Using projections, it was as though they were talking in person.

After it was created, the distance between countries became unimportant. It was possible to hold a conversation with people living thousands of kilometers away.

Many rulers even became friends thanks to it.

Unfortunately, time helps to forget everything.

Ten years passed, and then twenty, and thirty.

The Blight did not resurge, and no calamity worthy enough to hold the Calamity Emergency Meeting appeared.

Thus, the meeting was left aside, becoming a forgotten tradition.

In the last fifty years, it had not been held even once.

Some of the younger kings did not even know about its existence.

Fortunately, when the Headmistress of Academy City, Wave Golden, convoked a meeting, most of the rulers around the continent participated.

Right now, Wave was exposing the situation to the rulers while Eve supplemented her words occasionally.

However, the atmosphere of the meeting was not very good.

[… Are you telling us that you found traces of the Blight in Academy City, Headmistress Wave?] A projection belonging to an unknown ruler asked with surprise in his voice. [Are you sure?]

"I am." Wave nodded. "I have a specimen with me. If you want, I can show it to you."

[Wait a moment.] Another projection, this time belonging to an old man, spoke up. [Before that, can you tell us how big the area of the infection is?]

Wave was startled before shaking her head. "Fortunately, this specimen did not seem to have the ability to spread the Blight. For some reason, it could consume mana, but it did not seem to be able to reproduce."

A commotion appeared in the meeting. Several projections started to talk one with another, and others sighed in relief.

[What, so it can't spread the Blight.] The old man of before shook his head. [If so, I don't understand why you called us, Miss Wave. I don't think that a monster with the ability to devour mana is enough to organize this meeting.]

Wave frowned.

"King Josuah, it's not a monster, it's the Blight. Moreover, I suspect that someone is experimenting with it. We need to investigate it before it's too late and something incorrigible happens."

[You are the one that doesn't understand, Miss Wave. The Blight is dangerous because it can spread through any living being. If it can't, then there is no need to be alarmed.]

Wave wrinkled her brows. But before she could say anything, the old man sighed and spoke up in a dissatisfied tone.

[I thought that something important had happened, so I attended this meeting. However, it looks like I was just losing my time. Sorry, Miss Wave, I'm too busy to lose my time in something like this, goodbye.]

"Wait a moment, King Josuah! We should–"

*Bss!*

Without waiting for Wave to finish, the old man ceased the transmission.

He was not the only one. Most of the others grumbled softly or shook their heads before leaving as well.

In the end, only the projection belonging to the Church of Fate and the projection of a kind-looking old man remained.

[Miss Wave, our Church of Fate will pay attention to your words. You have our entire support.]

"... Many thanks."

Afterward, the representative of the Church of Fate turned off his projection.

Almost immediately, Wave's expression turned ugly.

"Dammit… What in the hell are they thinking about? Did they forget what happened one hundred years ago!?"

The projection of the kind-looking old man, who was the only one that had not left, chuckled softly.

[Calm down, little Wave. There is no need to get agitated.]

"What do you mean, Grandpa? It's the Blight we are talking about! The Blight!"

[I know. However, no matter how much I want to give you the reason, the truth is that it really was not enough to convene a meeting.]

Wave was startled. She looked at Eve, who was just as startled as her and furrowed her words.

"What do you mean, Grandpa?"

[Simple, little Wave. There are indeed people experimenting with the Blight, but the problem is that the number of people is bigger than you think. I'm sure that at least half of the people in the meeting were conducting similar experiments.]

Wave and Eve were dumbfounded.

[Surprised?] The old man chuckled. [Think about it. The Blight was so powerful that it's normal is some people were greedy about its power. Many of them could not help but crave to make that power theirs.]

"Impossible! It's the Blight! Are they not afraid of something happening!?"

[They are, but they probably think that it's alright as long as they are careful. Plus, the Blight was already defeated once, so I'm sure many of them are confident that even if it resurges, we can defeat it again.]

Wave and Eve were astonished.

Both of them were not expecting something like this. In fact, even Eve, the Saintess of Moonlight Glow, did not know that something like this was happening.

That is normal, though. After all, the beastmen could be considered the only race that was not researching the Blight.

It was not that they did not want, but that they did not have the ability one hundred years ago, and now that they have the ability, there was no place where to get a specimen.

The kind-looking old man chuckled softly when he saw the surprise in Wave and Eve's eyes. Then, he shook his head and sighed.

[It's better if you do not investigate too much about this, little Wave, or you can end offending a lot of people. Actually, I think it's better if you just return home.]

"Grandpa, you know what I think about that. I want to stay in the city."

[Sigh… Child, do you think that I can't see what is happening? I know your situation clearly. That city… It's better if you abandon it.]

Wave fell silent.

She could understand the old man's words, and indeed, the situation of Academy City was pretty bad. To be honest, she did not know how long the city would last.

However, this city was her dream, and she was going to fight for it until the end.

Understanding her thoughts, the old man sighed again and did not insist.

"… Grandpa, can't you help me? With your strength, if you intervene, then perhaps…"

Before Wave could finish talking, the old man shook his head.

[Sorry, child. I can't.]

"But–"

[Indeed, if I intervene, your situation will improve. However, I'm the ruler of the beasts, and I promised not to interfere with the affairs of the other races as long as they left the Beasts' Wilderness alone. I can't help you.]

"… I see…"

[However, let me give you a piece of advice. If you truly want to protect your city, then you need to take the next step. But it will be useless if you become a god. Your only option is to follow the harder path.]

"To become an 'Irregular'…"

[Yes, you need to become an 'Irregular'. However, it's not easy. Even now, I only know of three people that have taken that step, including me.]

Wave nodded silent.

[Think about my words, little Wave. I have to leave now. Remember, if you can't save the city, then just return with us. You are a dragon. Your place is with your family.]

"Thank you, grandpa."

[Take care, child.]

With a gentle smile, the old man turned off his projection, leaving only Wave and Eve behind.

"What are you going to do, Wave?" Eve asked.

Wave fell silent for a moment before putting on an expression of determination.

"Perhaps grandpa is right and many people are experimenting with the Blight secretly. However, at the very least, I won't allow it in my city!"

With an ice-cold gleam in her eyes, Wave snorted.

"I will hunt until the last one of them."