Asahi's actions were not spontaneous... alright, there was a slight rush of hot blood to his head, but the decision to let everything unfold today had been sufficiently well-considered.
Once the scope of Cursed Children intake increased, he and the children would fall into the crosshairs of the government and major organizations. After all, humanity's current territory wasn't much, and the Tokyo Area only had that much surface area. If he expanded his reach, detection was only a matter of time.
Asahi did not dare to underestimate the information network and control capabilities of the ruling class.
If things followed the normal course, it would play out like this: The upper echelon would first be aggressive, then drag things out, and finally resort to negotiation and compromise—that's in the best-case scenario where he could hold his ground.
However, during that process, variables were highly likely to occur. Therefore, Asahi adopted a different path. He would push himself directly onto the negotiating table, and only then reveal the power and potential of his faction, such as the steel automatic robots, and the Gastrea Virus Inhibitors.
The robots could become a key resource for both combat and production. Since the Gastrea War, the remnants of humanity had lost not only territory and population, but even past technology and achievements had been crushed into dust by the Gastrea. Thus, the upper echelon would clearly want to obtain this technology.
As for the Gastrea Virus Inhibitors, they were even more critical. Because the IISO monopolized this drug, Cursed Children, Civil Security, and the government were completely dependent on this organization. Now that this exclusive commodity had appeared in another organization, the implications were self-evident.
It might sound like he was pushing his organization into a dangerous position, but the most dangerous place was actually the safest. The rulers would clearly see the enormous potential and benefits his organization held, and thus would not easily interfere with it. Asahi himself would be the one to bear all the pressure, because as soon as he was overthrown, all the benefits would fall to them. Therefore, they had no reason to harm "their interests."
A relatively comprehensive strategy, as long as he could stand firm, he would almost always be in an unbeatable position.
Asahi sat alone at the table, casually resting his chin on his hand.
"I only came here today to make an announcement, and you all better not interfere."
"The consequences... this entire Tokyo cannot bear them."
He spoke coldly, but his words were sharp and decisive.
A blatant and naked threat.
Seitenshi frowned. Although Asahi's approach seemed a bit naive and direct, the five pieces of the Level 4 Gastrea corpses behind him were the clearest proof. Seitenshi was not a strategist, but she knew well that killing such an individual would still require Civil Security to pay a price, even sacrifices were not uncommon.
That Level 4 Gastrea, terrifying as it was, was killed in one blow. Even more terrifying was that this person killed it and brought it here from the dangerous area outside the Monoliths.
But Seitenshi pretended to be deep in thought; clearly, this was still not enough for her to compromise.
Although Seitenshi also wished to save the Cursed Children and give them a real life, she could not simply comply with Asahi, even if his actions aligned with her own intentions.
Because she was the leader of Tokyo.
He knew this, and so:
"Children here, are you willing to follow me?"
He stood up from the chair, spreading his arms wide.
"Come to my kingdom, a place where you can eat well and sleep peacefully, a place where no one is sent to the battlefield to fight to the death just to serve those who trample over their heads."
"Come now, come under the protection of the Silver King."
Asahi extended his hand. He could clearly see that at least half of the Initiators in the room hesitated, clearly tempted.
It might be because they didn't want to risk their lives fighting until death, or because they were mistreated by their Promoters. In short, these were all natural reactions.
The remaining Promoter and Initiator pairs were also within Asahi's sights. Among them, there might be people who genuinely wanted to change the status quo of the Cursed Children, or at least had enough integrity to treat a marginalized group well. These were all targets he could potentially draw in.
However, despite his appealing invitation, no Initiator stepped forward.
Suddenly, one Initiator's expression abruptly became resolute. The girl bravely took a step forward, but before she could proceed, she was restrained by the arm of the Promoter next to her.
"Where do you think you're going..."
This Promoter suddenly stiffened, his face turning frighteningly pale. And not just him, all the Promoters in the conference room displayed various expressions, but without exception, they were all as if paralyzed.
In that moment, the usually unassuming Silver King transformed, like a fierce tiger that had unsheathed its claws. A terrifying aura erupted, engulfing the entire room and turning it into a slaughterhouse. Perhaps because the display of power was too great, the Silver King in their sight began to warp, seemingly transforming into a bottomless abyss that twisted and crushed the souls of everyone.
Kagetane, standing to the side, also lost his playful composure; that chilling aura targeted him as well.
Even Seitenshi, behind the screen, changed her expression. Despite the distance, she still felt as if a claw was about to squeeze the life out of her.
Asahi's voice slowly echoed, like a movement from hell.
"Didn't I tell you?"
"You all better not interfere. The consequences are too heavy for you to bear."
"Therefore, die."
As the word 'die' ended, he extended his Dragon Claw. In the eyes of those targeted by Asahi, they only saw the image of a massive claw enveloping everything, along with their entire lives flashing before their eyes.
This single strike, save for not using his Silver Flame or his superposition ability, was the highest-level attack Asahi could unleash in this state. It was a nearly perfect application of Willpower to crush the opponent's spiritual resistance, combined with absolute suppressive power. He was confident that, extrapolating from the average power of this world, there wouldn't be many existences that could withstand it without dying.
Of course, he wouldn't kill all the Promoters here.