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nThe head of the family wore a luxurious and decorated suit but had no mask… so we were all ready for the Meeting of Roses.

nFor what seemed to be hours, we walked down this stone spiral staircase that was dimly lit with everlasting red flames.

nThey never went out until we were entirely past them, and the only way I was able to figure this out was because of the sound of a gust of wind-pinching the ends of the torch.

n“Oh yeah, we need codenames, don’t we,” Orme suddenly spoke up after about an hour or two of silence.

n“We do? Then, what should mine be?” I asked the head of the family since I thought it was only proper to ask the big guy himself.

n“I didn’t bring up the topic because I didn’t think it was necessary. You all shouldn’t be talking unless you meet in one of the hallways right after the meeting, but I doubt that will happen because we’re immediately leaving,” The big boss responded.

n“Well, I think it will be cool. So, I guess… I’ll be Spider, and you be Joker because you’re kind of like one in this entire process. An anomaly that shouldn’t really be here,”

n“If you didn’t want me to come, you should’ve just said so,” I responded, but deep down, I didn’t really mind the name.

nIn fact, him being Spider was also part of a plan since some people there… Bella might already know me and has already fallen for my manipulation.

nI’m sure she’ll notice my hair, but the grayish-purple tips have been slowly fading, so it’s a possibility that she might recognize me.

nWho knows, she might’ve been traumatized and completely blanked out the entire process.

nTruly, I was really excited because this was so much juicy information. Just being here would garner me information worth millions of gold coins… not that I was planning on selling it for money, though.

n“Okay, we’re here. Remember the rules,” The big boss said, and as soon as we reached the bottom of the spiral staircase, a gust of wind greeted us.

nFWOOSH

nIt almost pushed me back from how strong it was, and as soon as it began to trail off, a whistle lingered in my ears.

nMy eyes glanced upwards, gazing over my arms that shielded me from the wind.

nIt was a large expansive cavern with stalactites barely hanging from the ceiling, almost as if they were about to fall and pierce straight down the middle.

nThen, right in the center was a large dilapidated stone building that had no roof but hundreds of pillars, creating a semi-wall that shielded it from an outsider.

n“The organizer for this one meeting is the Challac, who is completely neutral as of now, so don’t worry about getting jumped,” The big boss spoke up one last time before we walked up a flight of stone stairs.

nAt the very top was the entrance to the dilapidated building, and a butler with a white mask greeted us kindly.

nFrom what Orme told me, each family had their own respective color for their masks, with the Bonebloom being black, Humblcrest being dark-yellow, Lunascar being dim-pink, Challac being white, Boisgeze being dark-blue, and Wony being a dark-red.

nSo, the butler who gave us a special silver bracelet to wear was part of the Challac family… and holy **, was he strong.

nBut, he wasn’t the strongest as once we all entered the room, I felt a crushing pressure on my spine, but it wasn’t as bad as when the big boss tested me.

nI see… so he was testing whether I could actually keep my consciousness… it wasn’t a test of physical power, but willpower.

nInside the dilapidated building was a large dome-like hall with the ceiling seemingly stretching into the sky.

nA dimensional pocket… those types of skills don’t exist anymore, so I wonder who created this… unless it was created thousands of years ago when those types of users were actually alive.

nI had many questions but shoved them to the back of my mind as the big boss sat at a large round table with six main stone seats.

nBOOM

nThe big boss sat on the seat with so much authority that he created a large gust of wind, but the other five already sitting at the table were seemingly unaffected.

n“You’re late,” A man dressed in flimsy white robes.

nHis skin was a ghostly white, and his eyes were as pale as snow, making me almost think that he was a ghost at first sight.

nSo that’s the leader of the Challac family… he’s strong.

nNo, everybody sitting at the table was strong, and the pressure they mutually emitted molded into one heavy pressure that crushed me from the top-down.

n“I don’t give a **. Let’s start with the meeting….” A man with fiery red hair said, and his coat which seemed to be made with the fur of a lion, shifted on his back.

nHis skin was a light tan, unlike the two attendees behind him… who one, I immediately recognized.

nThat prim posture, hair that seemed to change with a class-up, facial structure, and the upscaled body were just what I expected her to look like… well, the class-up was something out of the prediction, but that’s whatever.

nAnd, the boy from before really was telling the truth as the air around her had taken a one-eighty degree spin.

nBefore she was arrogant, cocky, and extremely annoying, but now she seemed courageous, kind… and almost benevolent.

nIt was a bit hard to believe that it was Bella, but since the meeting continued, I shifted my focus off her and onto the conversation.

n“Alright, we should first discuss the major topic at hand, and then we’ll discuss business later… The war… Who is participating and who is not?” A man with very long, dark blue hair spoke up, and I could immediately tell it was the Boisgeze head.

nThankfully, none of the guys I had meetings with from that family were here, and it was the same for the Lunscar family.

nThe boss there had a buzz cut with pink hair and swirls of white dotted about.

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