Chapter 188: The World Reacts

The Black Moon incident had become the biggest topic in Elyndor, and for most people, the news was a reason to celebrate.

Public screens replayed footage of the enormous black sphere above Marvello, the destruction surrounding Mensus, and the Ashcrofts emerging from the disaster alive.

"That’s Emily Ashcroft! I knew she wasn’t finished!"

Awakeners cheered beneath a screen in a busy plaza, while others argued over which Ashcroft deserved the most credit.

"Reinhard was there too! When those two are involved, something ridiculous always happens!"

"Ridiculous? They survived a Black Moon! That’s legendary!"

"Emily’s the real miracle here. After everything that happened to her, look at her now!"

News commentators were equally enthusiastic. Emily had once been a legendary Awakener before the original Black Moon incident destroyed her future. Seeing her help stop another such phenomenon had thrilled people who had followed her story for years.

"The Ashcrofts’ role in Marvello is drawing attention across Elyndor," one commentator reported. "Although we lack a complete explanation of what happened inside Mensus, the family emerged from a phenomenon that threatened an entire city. Emily Ashcroft’s involvement is especially significant given her history with the original Black Moon incident."

That final detail brought a different reaction from a smaller portion of the audience.

Two years earlier, a Black Moon had appeared above Aurlieus City. Hundreds had died, including fourteen S-Rank Awakeners inside the Lasko Corporation building. Emily had been the only confirmed survivor from that building.

Now, another Black Moon had appeared above Marvello.

Most people regarded Emily’s involvement as remarkable, but a few weren’t willing to celebrate without questions.

"She survived the first incident, and now she’s involved in the second. Doesn’t anyone find that suspicious?"

"Suspicious? She helped stop it!"

"I’m asking how much she knows. Nobody has explained what happened in Aurlieus, and now we’re supposed to accept another incident without asking questions?"

An Awakener nearby shook his head. "People like you will accuse her of anything. She lost years of her life because of what happened in Aurlieus. Now she’s finally back, and you’re still trying to drag her down."

Their argument attracted curious looks, but most people remained focused on the footage. They were far more interested in celebrating the Ashcrofts than entertaining accusations without evidence.

Still, the incident had raised another question. If a Black Moon could appear above Aurlieus and then manifest again in Marvello, could it happen somewhere else?

A few people began discussing whether their own cities could withstand such a disaster. Others wondered how anyone could prepare for a phenomenon that had killed fourteen S-Rank Awakeners inside a single building.

Their concerns were real, but they represented only one part of the public reaction. Across Elyndor, Awakeners celebrated the Ashcrofts, organizations requested reports, and fans shared the news.

For most people, the incident had revealed something worth celebrating.

Emily Ashcroft was back, and her family had once again accomplished what ordinary Awakeners could scarcely imagine.

...

"HAHAHAHA! DID YOU SEE THAT?"

The Nephilim had gathered to watch the reports, and their room was considerably louder than the broadcast.

Rhea Vance sat sideways on a couch with a bag of snacks resting against her stomach. She had already eaten most of them, although she insisted the missing food was the result of poor packaging.

"Look at that! Our handsome consultant is famous again! At this rate, I should start charging people for stories about him."

Mara Veyne gave her a flat look. "You would charge them, tell the story incorrectly, and then charge them again to hear the correction."

"That’s called a premium service."

"That’s called scamming people."

"Only if they don’t enjoy the story."

Seraphine Vale barely looked up from the floating book beside her. "People are more likely to pay for information when they believe it gives them access to something exclusive. Rhea’s idea isn’t entirely unreasonable."

Rhea pointed at her. "See? The smart one understands business."

"I said the idea wasn’t entirely unreasonable. I didn’t say you were capable of executing it."

"Even better! Now I have a business consultant!"

Rika Kurogane snorted as she cleaned her blade. "Forget selling stories. They survived a fight with something that threatened an entire city. I’d like to see what Emily used against it."

"You would like to fight it," Mara corrected.

"If it can be fought, yes."

"And if it can’t?"

"Then I’ll find out why."

Kael Ardent sat quietly near the window, his bell chain resting against his coat. His attention remained fixed on the Black Moon.

"Everyone’s asking how they stopped it," he remarked. "Not many are asking what it was trying to do."

Seraphine glanced toward him. "An important distinction. The footage doesn’t establish the phenomenon’s objective. We shouldn’t assume its appearance and purpose were the same thing."

Adrian Cross looked between them. "Wait. Are we saying it could happen again?"

"That’s what the news is worried about," Mara answered.

Adrian’s expression tightened. "And if it happens here, what are we supposed to do? We can fight Awakeners and monsters, but that thing—"

He stopped, unable to finish.

Rika rested her blade across her knees. "We find out what it can do, then deal with it."

"That’s not a plan," Adrian protested.

"It’s the beginning of one."

"A very short beginning."

Rhea tossed a snack into her mouth. "Relax, Adrian. If a Black Moon appears above us, we’ll run straight to Reinhard and ask him to deal with it."

Mara rubbed her forehead. "Please don’t make that our official emergency plan."

"Why not? He’s good at solving problems."

"He’s also good at finding problems nobody knew existed."

"Even better! We won’t have to look for them!"

Mara looked as though she regretted becoming the team’s responsible member.

Then Seraphine suddenly raised a finger.

"Oh, right! The others are coming back soon! I bet they’ll be jealous when they find out we weren’t just managed by Reinhard, but actually went on missions with the Ashcrofts! And we even went on a mission to deal with a Calamity!"

Rhea sat upright. "You’re right! We went on missions with them before this became the biggest story in Elyndor. Do you realize how much that’s worth? I can practically hear the money arriving."

"You cannot sell your association with them," Mara said.

"Not with that attitude."

Adrian looked a little less worried. "Do you think the others will believe us?"

"They’ll believe us," Kael replied. "Then they’ll ask us to repeat everything and whether we left anything out."

Rika sheathed her blade. "Let them ask. I’ll tell them the interesting parts."

"You mean the fighting," Seraphine said.

"Obviously."

Rhea grinned. "I’ll tell them about the food."

Mara stared at her. "What food?"

"The food I ate during the missions."

"You complained about the food during every mission."

"And yet I survived. That’s a story worth telling."

Adrian laughed. "I think they’ll want to hear how Reinhard managed us. He always seemed to know what we were going to do before we did it."

Seraphine nodded. "His instructions forced us to reconsider how we used our abilities."

Rika chuckled. "He told me to strike from the same side three times. I thought he was insulting me."

"You did think he was insulting you," Mara reminded her.

"Then it worked."

"After you stopped arguing."

Rika grinned. "It worked."

Kael looked toward the screen again. "The missions were dangerous, but we learned things we wouldn’t have learned by staying here."

Adrian nodded. "And we made it back together."

For a moment, the room grew quieter. Their excitement wasn’t only about having an impressive story to tell. They had worked beside the Ashcrofts, trusted one another in dangerous situations, and returned with memories they valued.

Then Rhea raised her nearly empty snack bag.

"To our next mission! May it be less dangerous, more profitable, and provide better food!"

"Those are three separate requests," Seraphine observed.

"Then I’ll make three wishes."

Mara sighed. "Can we wait until we know what the next mission is before planning how to profit from it?"

"No," Rhea replied cheerfully.

Rika stood. "I’m going to train."

Seraphine closed her floating book, Kael rose without another word, and Adrian began checking his equipment straps out of habit.

Mara watched them disperse, then looked at Rhea, who was already searching her pockets for another snack.

"At least one of you is predictable."

Rhea flashed her a half-grin. "Thank you. I work hard at it."

...

Lucien stared at the television before his shoulders began shaking. He bent forward, clutching his stomach as laughter escaped him.

"He can’t stay out of trouble for one month!"

Archon, seated nearby, slowly turned her head.

"Every time I think he’s finally going to have a normal period, something ridiculous happens," Lucien continued. "Now he’s involved in another Calamity-level incident! He reminds me of you."

Archon rolled her eyes. "Shut up. It wasn’t my fault those pests kept chasing me."

"Of course it wasn’t. They just happened to find you wherever you went."

"They were persistent."

"You destroyed three of their bases."

"They were in my way."

"And the fourth?"

"They were also in my way."

Lucien laughed so hard he had to lean back and take a breath.

...

At the hospital, Cassian stared at the television with the weary expression of a man who had begun to regret knowing certain people.

One of the nurses checking his condition stopped beside the bed.

"Wait. Isn’t this the group you know?"

Cassian glanced at the screen. "Yes."

The nurse looked at him, then back at the screen. "How?"

"What do you mean, how?"

"How does someone you know keep getting involved in events like this?"

A second nurse joined the conversation. "First there’s one incident, then another. Now they’re dealing with something that nearly swallowed an entire city. Are you sure you aren’t secretly involved in whatever they’re doing?"

Cassian stared at her.

"I was recovering in a hospital. How would I be involved?"

"That’s what we’re asking!"

...

Inside the Baal Family’s headquarters, nobody was laughing.

The four executives gathered around a conference table to review the reports from Marvello. The Black Moon’s influence had weakened, Mensus had collapsed, and the Ashcrofts had survived. Worse, the incident had attracted widespread attention.

Aldric Voss, the family’s senior strategist, stood beside the table. His silver-streaked hair and tightly folded arms revealed his irritation.

"The operation failed to eliminate the Ashcrofts. They survived, and their reputation has grown further. Strategically, we’ve strengthened a potential enemy."

Across from him, Mirelle Dain adjusted her black gloves. The pale, silver-haired research director had spent hours reviewing the collected data.

"Not everything was lost. The readings obtained during the incident are valuable."

"Valuable enough to justify the attention we’ve attracted?" asked Garran Holt, the broad military commander with a scar running along his jaw. "We deployed forces and failed to remove the target. If the Ashcrofts retaliate, we’ll have to deal with them directly."

Ilyas Renn, the family’s political strategist, offered a thin smile.

"The arrest warrant has complicated matters for them. We can still limit the assistance other organizations are willing to provide, but the outcome is less favorable than anticipated."

The discussion grew tense until a calm voice interrupted them.

"Who says it was a failure?"

Everyone turned toward the entrance.

A man in a black suit stood in the doorway. His face was concealed by a black mask shaped like a diamond, its smooth surface revealing nothing of the person beneath it.

A black-and-white sword rested on his back. Whenever someone tried to focus on its outline, the weapon seemed to blur, as though it couldn’t remain entirely fixed in ordinary space.

Master Xanxus, the leader of the Baal Family, had arrived.

The executives straightened immediately.

"Master Xanxus," Aldric said. "We were reviewing the operation’s outcome."

"I heard."

Xanxus approached the table without hurrying.

One executive gathered enough courage to speak. "The Black Moon was stopped, Mensus was destroyed, and the Ashcrofts survived. We failed to eliminate the threat we intended to remove."

Xanxus stopped beside the table.

"The operation was a success."

The executives stared at him.

Mirelle looked down at the reports, her gloved fingers moving through the recorded Mana fluctuations and measurements taken during the Black Moon’s manifestation.

"Master Xanxus... can you explain what you mean?"

"We have confirmed how to recreate the Black Moon and bring it into reality whenever we choose."

For several seconds, nobody responded.

Garran straightened. "Recreate it?"

"The conditions have been confirmed. We understand the mechanism well enough to reproduce the phenomenon."

Mirelle pulled one report toward herself. Her eyes moved across the measurements before stopping at a section she had examined several times.

The pattern was there. The final stage of the manifestation had confirmed the relationship they had been trying to establish. The Black Moon’s collapse hadn’t erased what they had learned. The data remained intact, and the experiment had provided the missing confirmation.

"Even after what happened in Marvello?" she asked.

"Especially after what happened in Marvello."

Xanxus rested one hand on the table.

"We now know what it can accomplish, even when its influence lasts only three hours. The damage, the population’s response, and the way the phenomenon interacted with its surroundings have provided valuable information."

He paused.

"We can reproduce the phenomenon. The experiment has given us what we needed. Everything is proceeding perfectly."

The executives exchanged looks as the meaning sank in. The Ashcrofts might have stopped the Black Moon, but the incident had provided the Baal Family with the information required to reproduce it. The destruction of Mensus and the failure to eliminate their enemies were secondary to that achievement.

Aldric’s frustration gave way to excitement. Mirelle let out a disbelieving laugh, Garran’s scowl disappeared, and Ilyas leaned back in his chair.

Then the room erupted.

Executives rose from their seats, some pounding the table while others exchanged triumphant looks. The operation they had considered a failure had delivered something far more valuable than a single victory over the Ashcrofts.

Xanxus ignored their celebration and turned toward the exit.

"Prepare the Kill Squad."

The cheering faltered.

Ilyas looked toward him. "Oh? Are we planning to capture the Ashcrofts?"

Xanxus stopped at the doorway.

"No."

He turned his masked face slightly toward the room.

"They will kill her when given the chance."

The executives fell silent. Even Garran looked toward Xanxus with uncertainty.

"Master Xanxus," Aldric began carefully, "if the objective is to eliminate the Ashcrofts, should we consider the possibility of retaliation from the organizations now paying attention to them?"

Xanxus didn’t answer immediately. His black-and-white sword blurred against his back, its outline briefly losing its shape before returning to normal.

"Then make certain they don’t get the chance to interfere."

He walked away.

Nobody attempted to stop him.

Behind him, the executives remained silent for several seconds before Aldric began issuing orders.

The Ashcrofts had stopped the Black Moon.

Now the Baal Family was preparing to kill them.