"What?" Aria said.

James pointed at the screen. "The goblins didn’t just get smarter. Someone or something is controlling them. The coordination, the targeting, the timing of the ogres—it’s too deliberate."

Kael rewound the footage and played it again at half speed. This time, James pointed out the moments where the goblins moved in unison without any visible communication. The way they ignored easier targets to focus the priest. The way the ogres entered at the exact worst moments for the team.

Finn watched the replay and his expression darkened. "You’re saying there’s a commander?"

"Or a spell," James said. "Something that’s directing them."

The room went quiet again.

Finn leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair.

"If dark magic is involved, we’d normally need a priest," he said. "Someone with purification skills or divine magic to counter it."

Kael nodded. "A priest could resist curses, cleanse corruption, or protect the team from mental effects if the goblins are being influenced."

Elliot looked nervous. "Can we hire one?"

"It’ll be difficult," Finn said. "Priests are rare among Challengers and guilds pay heavily to recruit or reserve them. Any priest strong enough for Floor 9 is likely already contracted, protected, or too expensive to borrow. And even if we could find one, there’s no guarantee they’d agree to enter a floor that just killed a guild-backed team."

Aria frowned. "So we’re stuck?"

James pointed back at the footage.

"Didn’t the priest with that team die too?"

The room went quiet.

James continued. "The problem isn’t just that we need a priest. The goblins targeted the priest first. They fought like they knew exactly who to remove. A priest might help, but a priest alone won’t solve the problem if the enemies are smart enough to kill him before he can do anything."

Kael replayed the footage one more time and slowly nodded. "The targeting pattern is too deliberate. They sacrificed goblins to get through to him."

Finn stared at the screen and didn’t argue.

After reviewing the footage twice more, Finn leaned back and made his decision.

"The safest choice is to sit Floor 9 out for now," he said. "We wait until another team clears it and shares reliable information. Going in blind after watching three teams die would be reckless."

Aria didn’t like waiting but even she didn’t immediately argue this time.

Elliot looked relieved by the suggestion.

Kael said, "Waiting is logical. We don’t have the resources to counter dark magic and we don’t have a priest."

James stayed quiet for a moment.

Then he said, "We should try it."

Everyone looked at him.

Finn raised an eyebrow. "You serious?"

"Yeah," James said.

"We just watched a guild team die even with a priest," Finn said. "What makes you think we can do better?"

James met his eyes. "Because I can get something that’ll help."

"What kind of something?" Kael asked.

James smiled slightly. "Do you remember the circlet the TRB was talking about after Floor 5?"

Finn stared at him. "The Apostle’s Radiant Circlet?"

"Yeah."

"That’s licensed to European guilds for millions of Tower Credits," Finn said. "How the hell are you planning to get it?"

James didn’t explain fully. He only said, "Give me today. By tomorrow’s meeting, everyone should be ready to clear Floor 9."

Finn studied him for a long moment. His expression was skeptical but he didn’t outright refuse.

"Alright," Finn finally said. "Tomorrow. We meet here fully prepared. If you can actually get that circlet, we’ll try Floor 9. If not, we wait."

The others were uneasy but they accepted it.

The meeting ended.

James left the Hale Estate and went straight to the TRB building in central Dublin.

The place was busy because of the Floor 9 disaster. Staff members moved quickly through the lobby with folders and tablets in hand. Phones rang at multiple desks. Screens mounted to the walls showed news updates, Tower statistics, and red warning banners about high-risk floors.

James entered calmly and walked to the reception desk.

The receptionist looked up from her computer. She was professional but cautious when she saw a Challenger approaching without an appointment.

"Can I help you?" she asked.

James said simply, "I want to meet the chairman."

The receptionist paused. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No."

"May I ask the reason for the meeting?"

James said, "Tell him James the Necromancer is here to see him."

The receptionist went still.

She looked at him again, properly this time. The name clearly meant something but she still had to follow procedure.

She picked up the telephone on her desk and dialed the chairman’s office. The line connected after two rings.

"This is reception," she said. "James the Necromancer is here requesting to see the chairman."

There was a pause on the other end.

Then the assistant’s voice came through, sharp and immediate.

"Send him up right now."

The receptionist’s face changed. She realized this wasn’t an ordinary Challenger trying to force a meeting.

She put the phone down and stood. "I apologize for keeping you waiting, Mr. Ganner. I’ll take you up myself."

Her tone became much more respectful.

The receptionist led James to the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.

As they rose, she glanced at him more than once but didn’t ask questions. James watched the floor numbers climb on the digital display.

He thought about Floor 9, the dead priest, the three ogres, and the circlet that changed everything after Floor 5.

He didn’t know whether the chairman would agree to lend it for a single floor attempt. But he knew the TRB needed Floor 9 cleared as badly as he needed the item.

Three teams had already died. The TRB was getting pressure from guilds, Challengers, and the government to figure out what made Floor 9 different. If James could clear it using the circlet, the TRB would have their answer and James would have his breakthrough.

The elevator slowed and stopped.

The doors opened on the chairman’s floor.

The chairman’s assistant was already waiting in the hallway. She stepped forward immediately and welcomed James with professional urgency.

"Mr. Ganner," she said. "The chairman is expecting you. Please follow me."