Episode 714

Boom!

The grand conference hall of Pannotia Academy opened, and in walked Hades with a sour expression, Arina with a smile, and the dignified Feynan.

Inside, several figures, including Richmond, were already seated.

At the head of the table sat Nigel, with Nabu beside him. Also present were Yellin, the representative of Ishtar; Zeros, the representative of Nirvana; Boris, the director of the Midland Federal Security Bureau; Simon, the prime minister of the Cusco Kingdom; Kay, the leader of the Hunter Guild Alliance; and Daria, the envoy of the Rom Empire’s emperor.

It was a rare sight to see such influential figures from across the continent gathered in one place, yet none seemed particularly fazed by the occasion.

Once Hades, Arina, and Feynan took their seats, Nigel, who had convened the meeting, began to speak slowly.

“Not everyone could make it, but it seems like most of us are here.”

With a nod from Nigel, Nabu snapped his fingers.

A complex mechanical device with intricate circuits appeared on the conference table.

“You all know what this is,” Nigel said, gesturing to the device.

Kay, startled by the device’s appearance, exclaimed, “That’s one of our items from the Gelion Workshop!”

Nabu had revealed a multi-launch device for super-vibration arrows, specifically developed as an anti-Nephilim hunter weapon.

It was an advanced weapon designed to launch super-vibration arrows directly at Nephilim, an improvement over traditional spear-throwing methods.

Feynan nodded in recognition. “Yes, it contains integrated circuits from our company, produced by our subsidiary, Gelion Workshop, and supplied to the Hunter Alliance. It’s a new product, not long on the market… but something seems off. Is it broken?”

Hades, who had been lounging disinterestedly, suddenly perked up and shouted, “Damn it! I worked so hard on those circuits, and someone used it like this? Find out who broke it! I’m not selling to them anymore!”

Despite being a pioneering figure in magical engineering, Hades failed to maintain any semblance of dignity.

Nigel shook his head at Hades’ outburst and addressed the group again.

“We all agreed to produce these magical weapons because they allow anyone to wield magic efficiently, and we invested in them. But as I warned, there’s a significant risk of misuse.”

Feynan nodded in agreement. “Indeed, Nigel, you were concerned these weapons might evolve into instruments of war rather than tools against beasts or Nephilim.”

Hades, puffing on his pipe, propped his feet on the table and interjected, “Oh, come on. I told you before, these can’t be turned into war weapons. I put a lock on the circuits to prevent any modifications.”

Nigel fixed his gaze on Hades, who puffed out his chest defiantly. “What? I swear on my heart, they can’t be modif—”

At that moment, Nabu projected a video onto the conference room wall.

To everyone’s shock, the supposedly unmodifiable weapons had been altered and were being used as weapons of mass destruction.

―Aaaah!

―Help us!

The video showed super-vibration arrows and bombs raining down on hunters inside a dungeon.

“Well… you can’t be 100% sure with magic,” Hades quickly backtracked in the face of evidence.

Nigel sighed softly and continued, “This footage was recovered from the site of a recent collapse in the Argos Mountains dungeon. It was reported as a simple accident, but it was actually a massacre.”

Turning away from the screen, Nigel added, “Frankly, the emergence of weapons of mass destruction is as dangerous as the Celestial War. Metatron tried to end the world instantly with Ragnarok, but these weapons could lead to a prolonged, painful end for all races.”

Kay, visibly unsettled, spoke up, “Wait a minute, Nigel. I agree that modified hunter weapons are dangerous, but isn’t calling it the end of the world a bit much?”

Simon nodded in agreement. “I concur with Kay. While there are risks, these magical engineering weapons have made defending our borders from beasts much easier. Tasks that once required expensive mages can now be handled more efficiently and cheaply.”

The Cusco Kingdom, bordering the jungle in the southern continent, had a long history of artifact use, dating back to when cartels dominated the region. The cartel bosses frequently purchased the latest magical weapons, regardless of cost.

This tradition led the Cusco Kingdom to actively incorporate magical engineering into daily life and national security. The southern continent, in collaboration with the city of the Nagas, was rapidly advancing, with magical engineering machines compensating for labor shortages.

Boris, who had been quietly trimming his nails with a dagger, finally spoke. “I see things differently.”

All eyes turned to Boris as he sheathed his dagger and straightened up. “I understand Nigel’s concerns. Who do you think would be most eager to get their hands on these weapons?”

Daria frowned at Boris’s question. “The former Central Kingdom region. The dissidents hiding there would be the first to seek these weapons. They might already be using them against hunters.”

With the transformation of Midland into a federal republic, the Draker family, once the most powerful, was the first to disappear. Kali changed her surname to Prana, dismantled the Draker family’s emblematic Four Seasons Castle, and forcibly disbanded the family.

However, the Draker family’s former elites, who once held the continent’s greatest power, refused to relinquish their past glory. While most Draker knights joined the Midland Federal Knights, some did not.

These dissidents retreated to the former Central Kingdom region, allied with Rom Empire rebels and anti-nonhuman racists, and formed their own hegemony.

Their ultimate goal was to dismantle the Midland Federation and reset the Peacekeeping Alliance, though their true aim was to restore the Draker family to power.

Boris scowled. “If those damn dissidents start using these weapons, it will be catastrophic.”

Kay, well aware of the dissidents’ ruthlessness and persistence, shared Boris’s grave expression. If those weapons fell into their hands, the continent could once again be engulfed in the flames of war.

As the atmosphere grew tense, Hades jumped up and shouted, “Why so serious? If that’s the problem, just stop making the circuits and destroy the existing ones!”

Feynan shook his head at Hades’ suggestion. “Great one, it’s not that simple. The Cusco Kingdom, along with neutral and developing countries, are currently boosting productivity with machines using these circuits. Without them, they’d have to hire expensive mages and procure mana stones, which they can’t afford.”

Hades frowned and resumed puffing on his pipe. “Complicated, complicated. Everything with you humans is always so complicated. Ugh.”

Yellin, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke. “What if we enhance the security on the circuits? That would prevent the creation of weapons of mass destruction.”

Nabu responded, “Hmm, we’ve considered that, but the current situation is puzzling.”

Nabu snapped his fingers again, displaying a video showing the modified weapon’s circuit in detail.

Pointing to the circuit in the video, Nabu said, “I’m no magic expert, but even I can tell this isn’t something that could be tampered with easily.”

Zeros, sitting across from Nabu, nodded in agreement. “The sage is right. I’ve been puzzled by this as well. The security measures Hades implemented aren’t something a human mage could bypass. Honestly, even if we gathered all the mages of Nirvana, I doubt we could modify this device.”

Kay looked perplexed. “Then who on earth managed to modify it? If even the transcendental Nirvana mages can’t do it…”

Hades, with a pipe clenched between his teeth, pondered deeply, his expression grim. Finally, he spoke slowly.

“Damn it… Could it really be what I’m thinking?”

He cast a sidelong glance at Nigel.

Watching her impassive face, Hades let out a heavy sigh before speaking again.

“There’s one bastard. Someone who can be modified. Or maybe I shouldn’t even call it a ‘someone’…”

Hades grimaced as he continued.

“There’s a damn demon out there who can breach my security and tamper with the circuits.”

Xeros, taken aback, asked in disbelief, “What? Are you saying there’s a demon capable of breaking through the security you designed, Lord Hades?”

Hades replied with a reluctant expression. “Damn. I hate to admit it, but I once heard from Elizabeth that there’s a demon who can pull off such a feat.”

Kay, trembling with anger, shouted, “Who is this demon? We need to inform Arataso immediately and request a warrant from the demon realm!”

Hades exhaled a puff of smoke and spoke slowly. “The demon’s name is Astaroth. Unusually for a demon, he’s well-versed in natural sciences, engineering, and magic.”

This meant that Astaroth could bypass Hades’ security not through demonic power, but through sheer knowledge.

At that moment, Arina, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.

“You all know how demons have been illegally infiltrating the physical realm lately.”

Her words cast a serious mood over the room.

Demons, who once brazenly descended into the physical realm only to be swiftly vanquished by transcendents, had found more covert methods of entry. One such method was to inhabit the body of a sacrificial human and be reborn as a baby.

This was impossible under the constraints of karma, but after the Celestial War, it became feasible under certain conditions.

Arina, her usual smile absent, surveyed the room before speaking again.

“After hearing the situation from Nigel, I also suspected that the cunning demon Astaroth might be the cause. So, I tracked his movements.”

She glanced at Nigel before continuing.

“Astaroth managed to evade the guardians’ eyes early on, reincarnating as a human and hiding in the human world. And now, he’s starting to make his move.”

Astaroth was a demon so powerful that he once threatened the positions of the six great lords of the demon realm. With such caution added to his strength, capturing him was no easy task.

But what Arina said next was even more shocking.

“The problem is… we’ve received intelligence that Astaroth’s reincarnation is currently a student at Pannotia Academy.”

The news left everyone in the meeting room stunned.

The idea that a great demon had reincarnated as a human and enrolled in Pannotia Academy, the stronghold of the guardians, was shocking even to the heroes of the Celestial War.

“Professor Richmond.”

Arina called out to Richmond, her smile returning.

Sensing an instinctive fear, Richmond replied in a trembling voice, “Y-yes, Headmistress?”

Everyone in the room, including Arina, turned their attention to Richmond.

“Professor Richmond, please discreetly find the reincarnation of the great demon Astaroth hiding within the academy. I’m counting on you.”

His ominous premonition was right.

Richmond realized he was in deep trouble.