SYSTEM ASCENSION

Guards were stationed at every corner of the palace, their stance rigid and inflexible. They weren’t ordinary guards. They were called the "Salvador wing", an elite group of B rank raiders and above members, stationed to guard the emperor’s abode.

Their posture didn’t flatter, nor did their eye droop, but they didn’t notice when a mid aged man slipped in. He vaulted over the fences and landed gracefully inside the courtyard.

He slipped behind a pillar and glanced around.

"Seven guards... not a problem."

In a blink, he crossed the courtyard and slipped into a hallway, closing the door silently behind him.

"Too easy."

From where he stood, he could hear Indistinct chatter, indicating that a meeting had long been going on.

He stepped closer, and stopped few feet away from the opening.

"I’ll just stay here and—"

"Rowen."

He flinched. That voice was familiar. He has been caught.

"Come here."

He chuckled nervously, and slipped out, scratching the back of his head. Around the table, the Salvador Empire top families were seated. And at the edge, was the emperor. One seat was empty. It should have been his.

They all turned their piercing gaze to him.

"Greet...ings." Rowen muttered.

"Come closer." The emperor spoke again.

He took a step closer and laughed awkwardly. "Haha...I have been found out. As expected from the emperor, you noticed my presence right aw—"

"Where are you coming from?"

Rowen smile cracked. He paused a while and laughed louder. "You won’t believe what happened."

This time, he could sense the anger radiating off all the people seated.

"And what happened?" The emperor calmly pressed.

"It was a S class danger level, your majesty."

A collective hitch followed. They snapped their eyes to him.

The emperor shifted slowly.

"Is it the Black-eyed or the Torzi? Outside invasion? S rank portal?"

Rowen cleared his throat.

"Your highness... it’s, neither."

They all released a breath.

"Null outbreak?" The emperor pressed.

Rowen stepped closer, and placed his hands on the table.

"My adopted daughter,"

All their gazes darkened at once.

The emperor’s finger twitched at the side.

"Rowen..."

"Yes your highness?"

"Which adopted daughter?"

"Number fifteen, your highness." He replied with all seriousness.

"So," the emperor leaned forward, daring to guess. "She got tore apart by a Null?"

"She..."

They all held their breaths.

"She wouldn’t let me leave, so I petted her to sleep first."

"..."

"..."

Awkward silence + seriousness.

OUTSIDE:

Guard one: "Yunno, I felt like someone slipped past us a moment ago."

Guard two: "what? Haha. There is no way anyone —"

The sudden explosion shook the palace, and took half of the courtyard with it.

Rowen was sent flying so far he crashed into the palace gates.

FIVE MINUTES LATER:

"I apologize." Rowen muttered, on his knee, beside the chair he was supposed to sit on.

The emperor rubbed his chin for a while.

"You’re sentence to cleaning the sewer for a month."

"Your highness...."

"Shut up."

"...yes."

The emperor turned his attention away from Rowen.

"You didn’t have to kick him so hard, Tell."

Tell, black hair trimmed to a inch, sat still, hands folded neatly on the table, like he didn’t just ruined someone’s face with a kick. He looked like he belonged in a portrait rather than a crisis meeting.

The leading family head. Tell Merrin. S rank.

Joe, a middle aged blonde man, leaned back, one arm draped lazily over his chair, fingers tapping a slow, impatient rhythm. His expression bothered on boredom. "If Tell didn’t kick him. I will."

Second leading family head. Joe Winger. S rank.

Anny had her legs crossed, silver hair spilling across her face, one heel dangling idly from her foot. She wasn’t hiding her annoyance. Not even a little. "He was supposed to be here first."

Lady of the third leading family. Anny Grater. S rank.

Joran’s gaze moved from person to person, saying nothing, brown eyes narrowed.

Fourth leading family head. Joran Zaela. A rank.

Hinger coughed, her melodic voice easing the tension. "Let’s just put it all behind us."

Fifth leading family. Hinger Harmony. A rank.

Rowen bowed his head.

"I apologize."

Rowen Ringoff. Ringoff acedemy Headmaster. S rank.

Rowen got up, and took his seat.

"So what where we talking about?"

"The unsolved case of children disappearance, three years ago." Anny spoke, hands folded across her chest.

The tension in the room dropped significantly.

No one uttered another word for the next few seconds.

Rowen eye scanned the map. Many place were circled out. Places were children had gone missing on a single morning.

"We were able to count about ten thousand children missing from Salvador empire," Hinger spoke. "Especially the orphanage home."

"Same day. No destination in sight," Joe exhaled. "A blinding light took them, they say."

"We’re losing the trust of the people," Joran spoke. "Afterall, we haven’t located any of the missing children, except those that came back by themselves a week ago."

Rowen glanced over.

"Their datas?"

Anny handed him a file on the children that returned after three years unknown.

"And their testimonies?"

"None," she sighed. "They all have different experiences. Some said they had no memories, some said they felt like they were asleep all those years, and some said nothing."

"Basically," Tell muttered. "No lead."

"We should address this issue from the start," Rowen dropped the file. "Fifteen years ago, thousand of people were taken. Age range, twenty-five to forty. No clue. Few survivors. We dismissed it as a mass monsters attack. Ten years ago, another barge. Age ranging from twenty to thirty. A natural disaster perhaps."

They all cleared their throat.

He glanced at the file on the table.

"And three years ago, another barge. Age ranging from thirteen to twenty. Basically children."

"What’s next, toddlers? We’ll be wiped out at this rate." Joe frowned.

Rowen flipped the page. "Your son came back alive. What did he say?"

Joe almost scoffed. "He distant himself from his family and just stay coped up in the attic all day."

"As I thought, all the people who came back have no valuable explanation. We might as well give up on asking them."

"So what do we do?" Hinger asked.

Rowen simply shrugged.

"Keep searching or keep asking the survivors."

"No lead, even after all years of searching..." Joran muttered.

The emperor finally spoke.

"Here are my orders. House Grater and House Harmony."

"Yes, your highness." Both ladies rose up.

"Plant a watch on all the survivors of this third barge. Their attitudes and oddities after they returned. I want all, reported back to me."

"We’ll carry out your orders!" They chorused.

"House Merrin, Winger and Zaela."

"Yes your highness." They rose.

"Find all the second barge survivors."

"We’ll carry out your orders."

The emperor stilled for a moment. Then, he spoke.

"Find the first barge Rowen."

"That’d be hard. They were barely up to five."

"That’s why I’m sending you Rowen."

Rowen sighed.

"You’re basically saying I’m a mole rat."

He stood up.

"I’ll carry out your orders...if!—"

"If?"

"I don’t have to clean the sewer for a month."

"You’ll clean the sewer for two months Rowen."

"Nooooo!"

"Before that," the emperor raised his hand. "Go to the town of Mispi, and find out what is going on."

Rowen blinked.

"Mispi? What happened?"

"While there is an alarming rate of Nulls, there are rumours of a young boy wiping them out."

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