Conclusion Of The Discussion

"Yes, after the Umbras have feasted, they would assume the form of the victim they've taken. Any problem with that?"

"No problem. It's only..."

Minwoo seemed to lose his words for a second before looking Mavislin in the eye.

"Only?"

"Well... Won't all the victims be gone but then replaced? If the Umbras take over them, there should not be any reports. Say, except for the mutilated bodies. Within the reports, they aren't forgotten. There should be more reports on random people popping up on the streets."

Mavislin's eyes widened at the Minwoo's explanation. The two of them quickly scanned through the reports. Minwoo then recalculated his domain's population.

"How can we miss such a valuable piece of information?" asked Mavislin.

"How did the Umbras manage to blend in so easily?"

The Valkyrie froze at the realization. The Mages that had disappeared and then reappeared have returned looking and acting like 'human.'

"You'd received the letters from all of the Kings, right? Pass them all to me," ordered Mavislin, extending her hand to Minwoo as she looked through a report.

"Yes, but I'm not sure if there's any valuable information in there," replied Minwoo, giving a few letters to her.

Mavislin read through the letters, making an incomplete conclusion as their information was unfinished. Though they reported on the 'missing' persons or 'mutilated' cases, they did not realize to check the sudden fluctuation within the domains' population.

Only Gab and Minwoo managed to do further digging. Minwoo did find a fluctuation, and more 'people' had appeared within his area. There were a few reports on 'people appearing within the shadows,' but they were not tallying up with the number of accounts.

This was because the cases were on Mages. Humans and Mages within the above-world society still had grudges against each other. But the underworld was the opposite; both areas would collapse without the two.

"Gab mentioned something about the Asian continent. The Umbras did touch onto there but showed no signs of growing. It's stagnant, only having two cases at most. That was in the other letter. What does the one in your hand say?" asked Minwoo.

"He did notice a fluctuation, a major one. Not only that, he had asked to keep the surviving Mages there because North Albion has no Mages currently. Hang on..."

"What's wrong?" asked Minwoo, going closer to the girl.

"The Umbras are a family, more specifically, the name of a family. It's not a type of Shadow, nor one as huge as a tribe. That's what Gab had reported," said Mavislin, pointing to a form of writing Minwoo found foreign.

"You understand that language?" asked Miwnoo, still trying to read the notes.

"It's Tagalog. I've got a nice mate back at the Old Chapel to teach me that language."

"Now, I will write a proper decree to mobilize my assassins. After that, I will settle my domain while I write to the rest of the Kings about my findings. Will the Arks be activated?" asked Minwoo, looking at the Valkyrie for confirmation.

"The Arks won't be activated until I can get the information to the Headmaster. Even if I could, I can not guarantee that the Headmaster would allow the activation," explained Mavislin, with worried eyes.

"Why not? It includes the Mages as well, right?"

"Yes. But if the problem is not as severe, the Headmaster will not activate the Arks," said Mavislin.

Minwoo slammed his fists on the table, causing all the papers to fly.

"But aren't the Arks supposed to protect all Mages?! Are you guys going back on your words?!" shouted Minwoo, angered.

This time, Mavislin threw down her own hands onto the table. In an attempt to restore sanity to the Marquess.

"Listen! I'd say the Headmaster won't be able to activate the Arks. But that doesn't mean I can't, you daft twat," scolded Mavislin, grabbing the Marquess by the collar.

"Aren't the Arks following hierarchy?" asked Minwoo.

The Valkyrie let go of the Marquess' collar, smiling at him. Minwoo, undeniably, was shocked.

"No, you silly thing. The Arks are called that because we don't follow a hierarchy rule. If you want the entire thing activated, you must ask Headmaster. On the other hand, if you only need one of the Five Arks, you'd only need to ask the leader of that Ark."

"Then, may I ask of you, Lady Mavislin Roydon. Would you please help the underworld to rid the world of these Umbras?" asked Minwoo, bowing down to the Valkyrie.

"With the situation being analyzed on hand, I will activate my Ark to aid in the upcoming battle. This problem has been hurting the Mages, so something must be done."

"But, unfortunately, I can only provide offensive support due to my Ark's prime aspect," said Mavislin, giving her hand towards Minwoo's face.