Chapter 297: The Council Family, An Ancient Threat

The massive warhammer in Arthur's hands instantly shrank, transforming back into a golden, diamond-shaped artifact. He casually tossed it from one hand to the other before slipping it into his pants pocket, then glanced at Arsher.

"So, we done already?"

Arsher, who had stepped between them just a moment earlier, replied calmly.

"I'd say that's more than enough."

At that very moment, Elyria rushed over to Iron at full speed. Worry was written all over her face as she hurriedly circled the engineer, inspecting him from every angle.

"Iron! Are you okay? You're alright, aren't you?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Iron exhaled heavily, wincing at the lingering pain.

Despite his reassurances, Elyria immediately placed her hands against his chest, releasing a gentle wave of healing magic that began mending his internal bruising within seconds. Meanwhile, Noah calmly lowered his sword.

Arsher strolled past Noah. Pausing for a moment, he placed a hand on Noah's shoulder and gave him a nod.

"You've got excellent speed and reflexes."

Without waiting for a response, Arsher continued toward Iron. Leaning forward slightly, he spoke politely.

"I apologize for what just happened, Iron Everfall..."

He paused briefly before continuing with a faint smile.

"We simply wanted to see for ourselves what you're truly capable of."

Iron tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Yeah... it's fine."

A second later, Arthur bounded up behind him. Grinning broadly, he gave Iron such a hearty slap on the back that the engineer involuntarily lurched forward.

"Yo, Iron! Didn't know you had that kind of strength! I mean, I wasn't even close to using my full power... but damn, you really surprised me."

Arthur gave him another couple of enthusiastic pats on the back before adding:

"We definitely gotta do this again sometime."

Iron shot him a tired, thoroughly unimpressed look.

"Yeah..."

Arsher looked at Iron thoughtfully, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"By the way... you control the laws of physics, don't you?"

Abel was making his way toward them, while Seraphina had appeared behind Noah.

Iron raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Yeah, I do. How'd you figure that out?"

Arsher smiled and stepped closer, lightly poking Iron in the chest with his index finger.

"Because I am physics."

Iron froze, staring at him in disbelief.

At that moment, Abel materialized beside them. He glanced over the group before making an announcement.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Time to head home."

Kai, who had suddenly appeared nearby, let out a disappointed groan.

"Already? We were just getting to the fun part..."

"Lunch is ready," Abel replied calmly.

He snapped his fingers lazily, and the space around them warped, swallowing up the brilliant light of the cosmos.

The world around them changed in an instant. They all materialized on the ground floor of a spacious three-story house. A large rectangular table stood in the middle of the room, covered with an assortment of elegant dishes and cutlery. Everyone quickly took their seats while Abel walked over to the built-in oven, carefully removed a hot dish, and began setting plates in front of everyone.

Iron sat at the table, glancing around in mild confusion as he thought to himself:

What the hell is even going on...?

A few seconds later, the fragrant food had been portioned out. Abel took his seat and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"I think we should start by properly introducing ourselves to the newcomers."

He gestured to his right, nodding toward Nivea.

"Would you mind starting us off?"

Nivea silently rose from her chair.

"I'm Nivea."

She immediately sat back down.

Elyria, who was hovering right above her own chair, gave Nivea a worried look.

At the opposite end of the table, Arthur stood up.

"I'm Arthur Forgan. I hope we all get along and can work together well. Iron, Noah, Elyria."

Iron gave him a reserved nod in response, and Arthur sat back down.

Kai stood up on the left side of the table, looking rather proud of himself. He glanced at Iron and declared, putting emphasis on every word.

"I'm Kai! The strongest and most beautiful being in the entire world!"

He then pointed straight at Iron.

"And I officially challenge you to a fight! How about we do it right now?"

Iron closed his eyes for a moment, looking exhausted, then gave a brief nod.

"Alright... but not now."

Kai's face lit up.

"Great! Then prepare for your inevitable defeat, Iron!"

Quite pleased with himself, he plopped back down into his chair.

Arsher stood up next. Calm and composed, he gave Iron, Noah, and Elyria a gentle look before speaking.

"I'm the Guardian. Or you can simply call me Arsher. I'm one of the oldest members of this Council. If you ever have any questions, Iron, or need help with anything, don't hesitate to come to me."

Iron nodded respectfully.

"Alright, thanks."

Arsher sat down, and Seraphina rose smoothly to her feet. Her dark dress shifted as she moved, and her eyes immediately settled on Noah. She spoke clearly, enunciating every word.

"I am Seraphina Waldstein."

After a brief pause, she inclined her head toward Noah.

"My Lord Noah... if you ever need anything, you can always count on me."

Noah pointedly turned away without even sparing her a glance, pretending she wasn't there. Seraphina then returned to her seat.

Abel, who had been watching the whole exchange, let out a quiet sigh and shook his head, muttering under his breath.

"Well... Arsher's the only one who managed a proper introduction."

Abel rose to his full height and spoke calmly.

"And as for me, I'm Abel, the founder and creator of this Council. As Arsher rightly pointed out, you can rely on him whenever you need help. But if something comes up that he can't handle, or he's unavailable, my door is always open."

With that, Abel returned to his seat.

Kai didn't bother waiting for permission. He immediately grabbed his fork and dug in. Abel frowned slightly at his lack of manners, a flicker of irritation crossing his eyes. But after taking a deep breath, he silently picked up his own spoon and began eating as well.

Kai had barely swallowed a bite of meat when he started waving his hands around, arguing loudly with Arsher with his mouth full. In the middle of his animated gestures, he swung his arm a little too hard, sending a piece of toasted bread flying straight toward Abel. It struck his glass with a sharp clink.

An ominous silence fell over the table.

Abel slowly set down his spoon. His eyes flashed with such a cold glare that the air around him seemed to drop a few degrees. He slowly turned toward Kai, enunciating every word.

"Kai... is your problem a lack of coordination or basic manners? Throw food at me one more time, and I'll personally make you eat this table. Legs and all."

Kai immediately shrank back, all his arrogance gone in an instant. He began waving his hands apologetically.

"Sorry!"

Abel let out a heavy sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose, then returned to his meal.

After a while, Arsher began calmly discussing some fine adjustments to the spatial barriers with Abel, while Iron quietly chatted with Noah and Elyria.

Iron eyed the shared plate of appetizers suspiciously.

"I hope there's no poison in this..." he whispered.

"Of course there's no poison! Come on, eat!" Elyria assured him, already taking a second spoonful.

Noah sat with a stony expression, doing his best to ignore Seraphina. She sat in the chair beside him with her hands folded in her lap, staring at him relentlessly. Every movement she made was perfectly controlled, yet her eyes remained fixed solely on her "Lord." Noah's cheek twitched nervously as he pretended to study the pattern on the wall.

A few minutes later, Iron finished eating and pushed his empty plate aside. The brief lull in the conversation finally gave him a chance to ask the question that had been on his mind ever since he arrived.

"So... why did you invite me here? And what is your Council called?"

Abel slowly set down his glass of water and replied calmly.

"Well, we don't actually have an official name. Among ourselves, though, we usually just call this... family."

He paused for a moment, letting his words settle before continuing.

"As for why we invited you here... as I mentioned in my letter, our world is facing a global catastrophe. If we fail to prevent it, the changes will become irreversible."

As Abel spoke, Iron absently rocked back in his chair, having noticed a small bowl of sweets at the edge of the table. He pulled it closer, deftly unwrapped a piece of candy, and popped it into his mouth while continuing to listen.

"In a few days, perhaps weeks or even months..." Abel let out a heavy sigh. "The True Overlord will awaken."

Iron's head shot up.

"The True Overlord?"

"The True Overlord, the True Lord, Chaos, the Dark Demiurge... call him whatever you like. It doesn't change anything," Abel replied with a shrug.

"Seriously? There's no exact date for when he'll awaken?!" Iron interrupted, frowning.

"Unfortunately, we still have no way of knowing exactly when," Abel said, shaking his head. "The seal is so weak now that it could collapse at any moment, even today. That's precisely why we brought you here: to join forces and destroy him."

Iron narrowed his eyes skeptically as he chewed on his candy.

"...Can't you just restore the seal?"

Before Abel could answer, Arsher cut in sharply.

"No."

Iron looked at Arsher in confusion before turning back to Abel, waiting for an explanation. Abel let out a heavy sigh and folded his hands on the table.

"Hundreds of millions of years have passed since he first awakened in our world," Abel began, his voice calm and devoid of emotion. "He's currently imprisoned deep within a pocket dimension outside of time and space. But even in captivity, he continues to grow stronger, learning more about himself and the world as a whole."

Abel paused briefly, glancing at Arsher.

"The seal holding him back was designed to contain an older version of the Overlord. The fact that it's weakening so rapidly is a clear indication of just how much stronger he's become. The old seal won't work anymore. We simply can't restore it or create a new one until we fully understand the extent of his current power."

Iron silently nodded, taking in what he'd heard, but then frowned even more deeply. He looked around at the Council members seated at the table, his gaze lingering on Noah and Elyria, who was hovering beside him, before pointing at them.

"Alright, let's say I believe you. But why me, specifically?" Genuine confusion colored his voice. "Just look at them. Why not Noah? Why not Elyria? They're obviously much stronger than me in every way."

Abel gave him a faint smile and gently shook his head.

"It's simple, Iron. Your magic is identical in nature to Arsher's. The main reason I brought you here was so you could learn from him and develop control over your abilities. Besides..." He paused briefly. "I was also hoping you'd learn some of my technology, since we'll need it in the coming war against the Overlord. And he's not the only threat we'll be facing."

Iron raised his eyebrows at the mention of technology.

"Technology?"

"That's right," Abel nodded. "I'm interested in that field myself. And I know you share that interest."

A look of genuine confusion crossed Iron's face. He narrowed his eyes at Abel.

"Wait a second... how the hell do you know so much about me?"

Abel leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ever since you joined the Order."

Iron's eyes widened in shock. Whatever politeness he'd been trying to maintain vanished instantly. He leaned forward, fixing Abel with a furious, distrustful stare.

"What the hell do you know about the Order?! Are you the one who created it? Its leader?! Who the fuck are you?!"

Abel shook his head, remaining completely composed.

"No. I have nothing to do with that organization. I simply... watched. Every step you took. Every choice you made."

Iron clicked his tongue in contempt and clenched his fists.

"And if you'd been watching me this whole fucking time, why the hell didn't you bring me here sooner?! Why wait so long?!"

Abel met his gaze without a trace of sympathy, answering coldly and directly.

"If I'd taken you away from there any earlier, Iron, you would never have known what real pain was. Or what it felt like to lose the people closest to you."

While their tense conversation unfolded, Kai was loudly arguing with Arsher about something at the other end of the table. Seraphina remained fixated on Noah, who was busy yelling at Elyria.

Noticing the noise around the table growing louder again, Abel let out a heavy sigh. He rose from his chair and gestured toward the kitchen, inviting Iron to follow him.

They walked through an arched doorway and into the spacious kitchen. Abel casually made his way to the sink, turned on the faucet, rolled up his sleeves, and began washing the dishes left over from breakfast.

Iron remained standing nearby, feeling a little out of place as he silently watched Abel work.

After a brief silence, Abel placed a clean plate on the drying cloth and spoke.

"I'll admit... I made a mistake. I focused too much on you and lost sight of everyone else. I should've invited Noah and Elyria to join the Council from the start. They deserve a place here, too."

Iron shook his head, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"And why are you telling me this?"

"Because..." Abel paused briefly. "Would you mind if they officially joined the Council as well?"

Iron shrugged, looking completely indifferent.

"I don't care. If you want to invite them, ask them yourself, not me. I'm not here to make decisions for them."

Abel gave him a faint smile.

"Fair enough."

Iron looked away, letting his gaze wander around the kitchen. His eyes eventually drifted toward the open space where the dining table was still visible.

Abel followed his gaze, then asked thoughtfully, "Hey... would you like to get your natural hair color back?"

Iron's head shot up in surprise.

"What are you talking about?"

Abel nodded toward his head.

"Well, as far as I remember, your hair was originally dark."

Iron raised a hand and touched a strand of his now-white hair. He paused for a moment and let out a heavy sigh before the corners of his mouth lifted into a brief smirk.

"Uh... sure."

Abel washed the last of the dishes, carefully set the sponge on the edge of the sink, and dried his hands with a towel.

"Come with me," he said quietly, heading toward a door at the far end of the spacious kitchen.

Iron followed him. They passed through several large rooms before turning right into a small, separate room.

As they walked, Abel glanced at Iron's right hand and shook his head, his voice carrying a hint of genuine respect.

"Well, damn... Honestly, I didn't expect you to be able to replace your prosthetic with a real arm all on your own."

Iron slowed his pace slightly, idly examining his fingers.

"It wasn't that hard. The hardest part was just enduring the pain."

They reached the far end of the room, where faint seams in the floor revealed the outline of a hidden hatch. Abel crouched down, gripped the built-in handles, and pulled the hatch upward. Beneath it lay a wide opening leading into a dark underground level, with a spiral staircase descending into the depths.

As he started down the stairs, Abel glanced back at Iron curiously.

"By the way, how do you even know all this stuff? When I first took notice of you, you were only about fifteen, right? An ordinary fifteen-year-old simply couldn't have had that kind of knowledge."

Iron paused for a moment, weighing whether he should reveal the truth about his origins just yet.

By the time they had both reached the bottom and stepped onto the metal floor, Iron finally spoke.

"I'll tell you about it... a little later."

Abel nodded without pressing him.

"Alright. Whenever you're ready."

They continued down the dimly lit corridor at a steady pace.