Liam stood still among the gathered figures, but his mind was anything but.
Questions flooded in.
Paradox…
Who are they?
The name alone carried weight—far more than anything he had heard before.
And those killings—
His grip tightened slightly at his side.
Jake Umbra…
A student.
From the academy.
Someone his age.
"…Was he connected to all this?"
The thought unsettled him more than he expected.
This wasn't some distant conflict between nobles and kingdoms anymore.
It had already reached them.
His gaze shifted.
Slowly—
Toward Sylvia.
His aunt stood beside him, her usual confident composure nowhere to be seen.
Her expression—
Had changed.
Pale.
Subtly—
But unmistakably.
Liam's eyes narrowed.
She knows something.
That reaction wasn't fear alone.
It was recognition.
…Who are they?
The question lingered in his mind.
Heavy.
___
The meeting was nearing its end.
Tension still lingered in the chamber—
Thick.
Unsettled.
Then—
A presence appeared.
No sound.
No warning.
Just—
There.
At the center of the red carpet stood a little girl.
Small.
Still.
Every eye in the chamber locked onto her instantly.
Liam blinked.
…A child?
Confusion flickered across his face.
How did she even get in here?
This was the royal chamber.
Guarded.
Sealed.
Impossible to breach.
One of the royal guards stepped forward, his voice sharp.
"Hey! How did you get in he—"
He never finished.
His head—
Exploded.
A wet, violent burst.
Silence.
Absolute.
No one moved for a split second.
Liam's pupils shrank.
"…What?"
The first to react—
Fiona Emberheart.
Flames surged instantly, molten fire erupting around the chamber entrances, sealing them off.
"Block the exits!" she commanded.
But then—
A voice.
Light.
Playful.
"Oh my~ I don't think that's necessary, Emberheart."
All eyes snapped back.
The girl… twitched.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
Her body twisted grotesquely.
Bones cracking.
Form stretching—
Until—
Something else stood there.
Tall.
Distorted.
A clown.
A grin carved too wide across its face.
Eyes gleaming with a sharp, unnatural red.
"Heya~ everyone!!"
Its voice echoed, layered, wrong.
"How are y—"
It never finished.
A flash.
A blur.
Steel sang.
In the next instant—
Its body was reduced to pieces.
Countless fragments scattering across the floor.
Xenovar stood where he had been seated.
Now upright.
His presence overwhelming.
In his hand—
The sword Victoria.
Radiating immense power.
William stepped forward beside him, his own blade—Ciphrus—drawn, his eyes cold.
"Xeno."
His voice was calm.
"That's not his real body."
The scattered pieces—
Moved.
Twitching.
Crawling.
Reforming.
Flesh reconnecting.
Bone reshaping.
Until—
Jester stood there once more.
Unharmed.
Unbothered.
His grin widened.
"Aw~"
He tilted his head slightly.
"I just wanted to have a chat with you all."
Jester's grin widened as his gaze settled on the throne.
"Xenovar~"
His tone was light.
Mocking.
"I'm sure you're really angry with me for killing your brother…"
A pause.
Then—
He laughed softly.
"…but come on~~ he was entertaining."
That was it.
The breaking point.
Xenovar's killing intent exploded outward.
Invisible—
Yet crushing.
It flooded the entire chamber… then spread beyond it.
Through the palace.
Out into the city.
Outside—
The gathered crowd froze.
"What the hell is going on inside?!"
"Why does it feel like this—?!"
Panic rippled through them.
Back inside—
Even the strongest present felt it.
That pressure.
That rage.
Xenovar's voice came out cold.
Sharp enough to cut.
"Fiona."
A single word.
She understood instantly.
"Can you track his real body?"
Fiona's eyes ignited, flames flickering within her irises as mana surged.
She began tracing.
Searching.
Scanning—
Then—
Her expression tightened.
"…No."
A pause.
"…It's like he isn't even on this planet."
Her gaze sharpened.
"He's not on Earth."
A clap echoed.
Slow.
Mocking.
"Bingo!!"
Jester beamed, clearly delighted.
"You're absolutely right, Lady Emberheart~"
He placed a hand over his chest theatrically.
"My main body is currently far, far away from here."
Berus Nova stepped forward, his Spear of Judgement resting firmly in his grasp.
His voice carried authority.
"What is your purpose here… you vile creature?"
Jester's eyes narrowed slightly—
But his grin never faded.
"My purpose?"
He tilted his head.
Then—
His expression twisted.
Excitement.
Madness.
"Well… I just came to inform you all of something very important~"
A pause.
He giggled.
Soft.
Unstable.
"After twenty years…"
His voice dropped.
"…we've finally decided to return."
Silence.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
Then—
He spread his arms wide.
"So next year…"
A grin stretched impossibly wide across his face.
"…is going to be a wonderful surprise~"
William stepped forward, eyes narrowed.
"…What 'surprise' are you talking about?"
Jester looked at him—
Then smiled.
Wide.
Unstable.
"Ohh, I know you're all curious…"
He placed a finger over his lips.
"But where's the fun in telling you everything?"
A small pause.
Then—
His grin twisted further.
"…Tsk. Your reactions are really boring."
He sighed dramatically.
"Fine~ I'll give you a hint."
The room stilled.
Every ear listening.
"Tell me…"
He began pacing slowly across the red carpet.
"…the dungeons scattered across your world…"
A glance around the chamber.
"You've all been curious about them, haven't you?"
"Even after the Voidborn disappeared…"
"…why do these random dungeons still appear out of nowhere?"
Silence.
No one answered.
Jester stopped.
Turned.
Faced them all.
"Now—"
His voice dropped.
"…what if I told you…"
A pause.
Long enough to suffocate the room.
"…that your precious hero—Arthur Veridian…"
A few eyes widened.
"…never actually eradicated those monsters?"
Another step forward.
"…what if I told you that he instead made a contract with the Goddess of Death and had them banished"
"To another dimension."
The air froze.
Liam's breath caught.
Jester's eyes gleamed with madness.
"And what if…"
He spread his arms slightly.
"…those same creatures…"
"…found their way back?"
A soft giggle escaped him.
"…what do you think would happen then?"
Silence fell.
Heavier than before.
Because this time—
It wasn't just a threat.
It was a warning..
Everyone in the chamber understood it instantly.
This wasn't just a threat—
It was catastrophe.
Eyes narrowed across the room.
Expressions hardened.
If those creatures truly returned—
Cities wouldn't just fall.
They would be erased.
Entire regions wiped from existence.
Millions… would perish.
The weight of that realization settled heavily on every single person present.
Even the strongest among them—
Even those who had stood on battlefields for decades—
Who have experienced fighting these creatures in dungeons.
felt unease..