"Attention, the founding leader of Inquisiderian, Lenard Trismegistus"

As the voices of the two Cracklers guarding the entrance to the hall echoed, the footsteps of the leader of Inquisiderian could be heard shortly thereafter.

Lenard entered with his usual solemnity, and almost everyone present bowed, but Van Mither merely smiled without rising from his iron seat.

Van Mither’s attitude was that of someone looking at an equal, not a superior, and this outraged the founders, who, out of respect for the leader, refrained from causing a scene.

Lenard, with the upper half of his face covered by the silver mask, didn’t even look at Van; he simply walked over to his golden seat and sat down.

For Lenard Trismegistus, Van’s attitude came as no great surprise, since Samsart Detali himself had described Van Mither’s personality to him on several occasions.

Since, at that time, the primary concerns were the war in which the empire was embroiled against the Presial Kingdom and the dangerous rise of the Sevec Marquisate—led by the demon Mart Sevec—the initial topics discussed at the meeting focused largely on these two issues.

"The Empire is powerful, and the Emperor is strong, but he’s too cautious. If he were to get directly involved in the war, we could weaken the Demon Republic even further," said Ivan Biretel, speaking through his holographic image with a hint of displeasure.

"Cautious or cowardly? Many are already asking themselves that," said Van in an intriguing and mischievous tone.

There was silence, because even though Inquisiderian was an autonomous group, that didn’t mean it wasn’t still part of the Empire.

Lenard listened calmly, but he couldn’t help but recall the words of his late disciple.

...

Some time ago.

Walking around the Gothic castle.

"Master, if I ever die, I want you to give my disciple a chance."

"Samsart, don’t you always complain about your disloyal disciple? Why do you want me to give him a chance like that?"

"He—if it is him—we will be able to defeat the demons; he has the ability and talent to do so."

"And then?" asked Lenard in a deep tone.

Samsart Detali, his face weathered by age, merely sighed and replied:

"Master, if it’s you, I know you’ll be able to handle him."

...

In the present.

"Your Excellency, Founding Leader, I have asked this before, but I wish to ask it again. Should we allow the Sevec Marquisate to achieve its goal?" asked Samuel Desrial, who at that moment was merely a projected holographic image.

"Yes. After that, we will incite the remaining Cudernic to pressure their allies on the Demon Republic Council, and then there will be war in the demonic realm," said Lenard Trismegistus.

Van Mither listened with a certain boredom as the meeting progressed; during a lull, he said:

"What if we incite Princess Alice to commit suicide?" 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Van looked directly at the founder, Meristia Zazareth, whom they knew as "the sorceress of the mind and illusions."

Van Mither had already worked with her several times. She was the one who finished breaking the minds of those demons loyal to their kind.

She said nothing, only looked at the founding leader.

In the end, no matter how despicable the proposal might have been, when it comes to power, there are only useful proposals or useless ones; for that reason, all the founders remained silent, waiting for Lenard Trismegistus to speak.

"We won’t rule out this idea; it might come in handy at the right moment," said Lenard.

Everyone knew that the princess had become a burden to the Emperor, but if she died, everyone in the empire would blame the demons, and it would be seen as an act of disloyalty and weakness on the Emperor’s part if he failed to take action to destroy the demons responsible for his daughter’s death.

At that moment, Lenard Trismegistus looked at Van Mither, who gazed back at the founding leader with a malicious, smug smile.

When the meeting came to an end, all the founders withdrew.

Outside, guarding the doors to the hall, stood the two Cracklers.

"Grand Master, is there anything you need?" Van asked in a relaxed tone.

Lenard Trismegistus conjured a golden, shimmering magic potion into his hand.

The potion levitated until it reached Van’s hands.

"An Ancient-Rank Advancement Potion. Did you brew this yourself, Grand Master?" Van asked curiously as he examined the beautiful vessel containing the potion.

"That’s right. Meditate calmly after drinking it, and with it you’ll reach at least the ’Middle Level’ of the seventh mana circle."

Lenard remained seated in his golden seat.

"Can I examine it before drinking it?" Although Van’s question was asked in a relaxed tone, it wasn’t just a major breach of respect, it was also a sign of just how cautious he was.

"Once you open the vial, the potion will lose its effect within an hour. Don’t waste it—your master set this potion aside so that one day it would be yours," Lenard said solemnly.

"I’ll keep that in mind," Van smiled faintly.

Lenard stood up and left the room.

"I can’t even begin to estimate his power; this is going to be fun," Van Mither thought once Lenard was gone.

...

In the Kingdom of Presial, people were afraid.

Everyone knew that as the days went by, the Kingdom of Presial’s army had been gradually growing weaker.

The people were also concerned that the prince was a heretic; although the Presial Kingdom had its own gods, demons were also regarded as malevolent beings that brought misfortune. And from this discontent, small groups of ignorant and easily manipulated people began to emerge, led from the shadows by spies of the Empire.

King Sition was well aware of the anxiety and insecurity his subjects were experiencing, but at that moment, he could only leave the matter in the hands of those who governed the various territories within his kingdom, since he had to focus all his attention on the powerful enemy threatening his borders.