There were disadvantages to the threads.

One such disadvantage was the fact that if one paid close enough attention, they'd be able to tell exactly where they were.

This was especially true when I combined [Hands of Malady] with Etherweave. The moment I combined the two, detecting the threads was almost a certainty. At the very least, to mages. Those that specialized in [Body] were less sensitive to the surrounding mana.

For that reason, I came up with a better way to use them.

"...."

I stared at my hand.

Four threads were hovering. In particular, my attention was on one thread where the very tip of it was purple.

"....Distraction."

Indeed, since it was easier to detect threads that were joined with [Hands of Malady] I used one as a distraction while I connected the other threads around in the meantime.

By the time he had realized that something was wrong, it was already too late.

"....."

Staring at the body lying beneath me, I closed my eyes for a brief moment.

I savored the scene that I had witnessed.

When I did, my entire body shook slightly. My chest felt itchy, and I started to ruffle my hair.

"Haa...."

When I opened my eyes again, the world around me changed a little.

I couldn't quite tell by how much, but it was certainly different. Even so, I couldn't pay much attention to it.

There were things that I needed to do.

Staring at the relic in my possession, I once again took a glance at the thread connected to my feet before donning a new hood and delving deeper into the dungeon.

Killing...

My chest trembled slightly.

"Ah."

There was a lot of killing that I needed to do.

***

A few moments after the team [Julien and his sidekicks] met the hooded figure.

The broadcast for the event was going smoothly. With everyone capable of watching the stream from home or in the stadium, the excitement was at an all-time high.

Everything was going smoothly, until...

"What's going on?"

Some of the viewers noticed that a certain broadcast was shut off.

".....Is it just me or I can't follow [Julien and his sidekicks]?"

While it was impossible for people to individually follow each cadet, since the only people who were granted such privilege were the Chancellors, there were a few exceptions.

The exceptions were the teams that the broadcasters knew could pull large numbers of viewers.

One such team was [Julien and his sidekicks].

Given what had happened beforehand with the interviews, a lot of interest was placed on them. For that reason, they were given a special channel that one could use to follow.

While the broadcast wasn't very interesting due to its slow pace, people still tuned in to watch.

If it wasn't for their skill, then it was for their banter.

Hey, Kiera. Hey, Kiera... Kieraa~

Fuck!!! Shut the fuck up for a second. I'm trying to concentrate over here.

No, but... I've been wondering.

What?

Do you have balls?

....

Especially between Josephine and Kiera who ended up bickering every few minutes. It was entertaining enough to keep the crowd interested.

But...

Fifteen minutes into their dive, their broadcast shut off.

It was a peculiar situation.

One that didn't escape the sight of many viewers who started to complain to both Haven and the broadcasting stations.

"What's going on? Why did the broadcast stop?"

"It was just about to get interesting too!"

"Is it because the viewers were declining? Ah! I was still watching!"

[We're experiencing technical difficulties, causing the broadcast to halt unexpectedly. Our team is actively investigating the issue to restore service. We appreciate your patience during this time.]

Such was the response from the broadcasting station as they contacted Haven for some answers. Unfortunately, the only response they got was a flat 'We don't know'.

In a well-decorated room.

"....We've received another complaint. This time, it's from another Chancellor."

A tall and slender woman with long black hair and glasses approached the man seated behind his desk. He sported a black glove as he nonchalantly flipped through the pages of his book.

Flip

"...."

For a brief moment, silence reigned over the room as the only sound that echoed was the sound of the pages flipped.

But gradually, Atlas lifted his head to reply.

"Tell him we're working on resolving the situation. Some of the recording devices are malfunctioning. I'm sure they'll understand given that several are failing at the same time."

"I already have. They are not satisfied with the response."

"Then you can tell them to come to me personally if they have any problems."

"....Understood."

With a slight bow, the woman left the room.

Atlas fixed his gaze on the door for a few moments, then adjusted his glove before turning to the next page.

Flip

As he did, he casually spoke.

"So there's still no news about Phecda?"

No.

A voice responded from the orb placed beside him.

"...."

Without saying anything, Atlas flipped over to the next page. As his eyes scanned the words on the book he was reading, he took his eyes away from it.

"....So no news."

While it was arranged for Phecda to meet with another member, the disturbance shouldn't have lasted more than several minutes. The plan was for him to resume the broadcast shortly after.

It was for that reason he chose a rather powerful member. To get things done quickly.

By now, his broadcast should've already been fixed.

....And yet, it wasn't.

"Something went wrong."

But where...?

Could it be possible that Phecda got rid of Giel?

"No, that's unlikely..."

Phecda was strong, but Giel was stronger. That being said, it wasn't exactly impossible.

"Perhaps, he decided to not turn on the stream. Hmm, indeed. Since he now has the map and relic, he might not want to be tracked by the recording device. It might look suspicious in the eyes of the audience and her."

That was a possible explanation for the situation.

Of course, it was just one that Atlas thought on the fly. Who knew what the real answer was?

".....Phecda aside, is everything proceeding smoothly?"

Yes, for now, there are no irregularities. Delilah has made her move. She's currently being contained by the Seat below the Genesis.

"Ah, Aziel."

Within the Inverted Sky there were High-Seats and Low-

Seats.

Low-Seats were generally individuals who had the capabilities of becoming a High-Seat. To become a High-Seat, one had to either defeat a High-Seat or become their disciple, eventually taking over their position.

Aziel was the disciple of the Seat of Genesis.

For that reason, his name within the organization was the 'Seat below the Genesis'.

In Atlas's case, he was the Seat of Dawn.

Unlike the Seat of Genesis, he had no disciple or someone he had decided to take over his mantle. There had yet to be someone who could catch his interest.

That being said, no one was interested in taking over his seat through challenge. His power... It was just that dettering.

Fip

He flipped to the next page of his book.

"....How long do you think he'll be able to hold on? Even though it's his specialty, Delilah isn't someone that he'll be able to contain for long."

Our estimates are about five hours. Taking into account the fact that she doesn't want to escalate the situation given the large number of audiences and guests, she'll most likely hold back a little. Three hours have already passed. He should be nearing his limit.

"Five hours? That's better than I expected... I guess I can understand why he's a potential High Seat. But even so, this is longer than I thought. Even I don't have the confidence to hold that woman for that long."

There's no need to worry about that. The Seat below the Genisis isn't the only one we have sent.

"Oh, is that so...?"

Well, that made a lot more sense.

"Th-"

Hm....?

A sudden sound disrupted Atlas's words as he looked at the orb.

"Is something wrong?"

.....Yes.

The reply came after a few seconds.

Just as Atalas was about to ask what had happened, the voice beat him to it.

There has been no movement from several members for the past few hours. Something happened.

***

"Huu... Haaa..."

Hours into their search for Julien, Kiera, Josephine, Luxon, and Anders were on their last breaths as they turned another corner of the Labyrinth. For how long had they been running?

"H-how long do we need to keep running for...?"

"Ha, fuck. I don't know...! I'm just following the fucking thread. Ah fuck!"

Cursing out loud, Kiera wanted to smack Josephine in the head but found herself unable to do much more besides cursing.

She was exhausted.

It wasn't just her, everyone was exhausted. They had been running for as long as they could remember, and just when she thought they were near to finding him, they would be disappointed to see that he was still nowhere in sight.

".....Conserve... Haa... energy bullshit."

At the rate they were going, they probably wouldn't have any energy to even touch the boss.

"Bullshit...!"

Though she complained a lot, Kiera continued to follow the thread.

For some reason, she believed that Julien was waiting for them. It was a crazy thought. One that she beat herself up for the entire time.

"Haa..."

They had just turned a corner and were about to head deeper when all of a sudden, they stopped.

"Haa... Haaa..."

A figure stood in the middle of the corridor.

He was a familiar figure

"You..."

The figure that they had been chasing after since the very start.

"F-finally..."

Josephine exclaimed while leaning against the wall, exhausted.

"You're okay...?"

"What happened... to you...?"

As the other questioned, he remained still. In Kiera's eyes, he seemed a little off. Setting aside the fact that he was by himself with no hooded figure in sight, his expression was also a little off.

'No, it's not his expression.'

It was his eyes.

They kept flickering. And just subtly, Kiera could also see his expression changing.

'What sort of...'

Kiera couldn't explain it, but it was creepy. Staring at him, she felt every hair on her body stand.

'Why...?'

Why did the scene feel so familiar?

This wasn't the first time she had seen him do something like this. In fact, this was the second time.

And seeing it once again sent shivers down her spine.

'....Why does it look like he's a completely different person?'

From Kiera's perspective, from his demeanor to his gaze and expressions, it seemed as though a complete stranger stood before her. One that was the furthest thing from the Julien she was aware of.

Blinking, his expression changed again.

So did his demenour.

"....."

Yet again, Kiera saw a different person.

He blinked again.

His expression changed again. And so did his demeanor.

Three blinks, three people.

"Crazy."

No, creepy

"Julien...?"

This all eventually stopped until Josephine called out for him. Blinking again, he turned his head and Kiera met his gaze.

Yet again, Kiera found herself unable to associate the Julien she knew with the one that stood in front of her.

Before her stood a stranger she knew nothing about.

However, that quickly changed after he blinked again, and his gaze returned to the one she was familiar with.

".....You guys are here."

His voice came out rather hoarse.

However, as if noticing this, he massaged his throat before looking into the distance.

"We don't have much time. We should go."

"Uh...?"

"What? What do you mean we should go?"

At Josephine's and Luxon's stunned voices, Julien looked at them briefly before massaging his neck.

"The boss. We're near."