The massive doors of the Grand Hall groaned shut behind them like the jaws of some ancient beast. Mika flinched at the echo; Lucien straightened instinctively; Kuro didn't react at all, gaze drifting across the hall as if memorizing every corner.
The room was vast—vaulted ceilings, banners of different guild divisions, and a long crescent-shaped table where eight high-ranking officers sat. The Guildmaster sat at the center: stern, silver-haired, armored even indoors.
Several unfamiliar mages and fighters watched the trio enter.
Lucien whispered under his breath, "Okay. No pressure. Just the most elite people in the guild staring right at us."
Mika leaned toward him. "Please stop talking."
"Right, right. Sorry."
They approached the center of the hall where a circular sigil brightened beneath their steps—an evaluation circle.
The Guildmaster spoke first, voice deep and cold enough to silence every whisper:
"Team Fourteen… step forward."
They did.
"You were sent to investigate the phenomena beneath the ruins."
Mika cleared his throat. "Uh—yes, sir. We made contact with a hostile entity, survived, and returned with what we could."
Lucien nodded vigorously beside him. "We gathered physical samples, recorded environmental changes, tracked magical fluctuations—"
Kuro cut in flatly, "It wanted to kill us."
A murmur spread across the table.
One of the officers—a hawk-eyed woman in red—leaned forward."Describe the entity."
Mika opened his notes. "Shadowy. Intelligent. Mocking, actually. And definitely connected to the anomaly we've been tracking for weeks."
Kuro added, "Its magic is old. Familiar in a way I can't fully explain. It recognized something about me."
That caused more whispering.
Lucien swallowed. "It nearly swallowed Mika whole."
Mika snapped, "Lucien!"
"What? It's true."
The Guildmaster raised a hand and the room returned to silence instantly.
"You three have faced danger previously handled only by upper-rank teams. And you emerge not broken, but with useful intelligence. Impressive."
Lucien brightened slightly.
Mika exhaled a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
Kuro remained unreadable.
The Guildmaster continued:
"And yet—your report is incomplete."
Mika froze. "Incomplete… how?"
The Guildmaster's eyes narrowed."There is something you are not telling us."
Lucien tensed.Mika's heart dropped.Kuro… tilted his head, expression faintly curious, as if he wanted to know what they weren't telling the guild too.
The Guildmaster stood.
"We will discuss this privately."
A wave of magic rolled across the room, and everyone except the three of them vanished behind a veil of silence.
The Guildmaster stepped forward.
"All three of you… follow."
His tone left no room for question.
Mika's stomach twisted.Lucien grew pale.Kuro walked as if this was all very normal.
They followed him into a smaller chamber—dimly lit, sealed, only a single table and a large crystalline orb pulsing faintly.
The Guildmaster turned to them.
"Now… speak freely. What aren't you reporting?"
Mika glanced at Lucien.Lucien glanced back.Kuro stared straight ahead.
A long, suffocating silence stretched—
—until Mika finally said:
"…It's complicated, sir."
The orb brightened ominously.