"Hmm… hello to everyone present here. I want to make one thing clear," Kai said as he stepped forward.
"Respected Guild Masters of the Sanctifiers and the Warriors, this situation between you two is far more complicated than it seems. We are getting dragged into your conflict, and we would appreciate it if you took your war somewhere else instead of turning our kingdom into a battlefield."
"Oh? Of course it's you, Kai," Aanya replied. "The smooth talker. The mastermind behind the Archives. Yeah, right — we totally believe you. Don't act like you don't know what's going on."
"One moment," Rhea interrupted. "You can't talk like that. On what basis are you accusing us? To be clear, we have nothing to do with this. And Kai is right — don't pretend this war just happened by accident."
Before Aanya could respond, the massive doors of the hall burst open.
"Oh no… this is bad," Alex muttered. "This just got a lot worse."
Heavy footsteps echoed through the chamber as several figures entered.
"So this is where everyone's hiding," a loud voice rang out. "On the day of the Vampire Island opening, you choose to start a war? Are you all out of your minds?"
It was Igris — the Guild Master of the Pirates.
(The Pirates were one of the wealthiest and most powerful guilds in the world, holding firm control over the Asian servers.)
After his outburst, the hall fell into an uneasy silence. Even Alex and Kai were caught off guard.
Rhea was the first to speak.
"Sir Igris, it's an honor to see you. This is just a misunderstanding. There's really nothing to worry about—"
Igris burst into laughter. "You called me sir? That's new. Last time, you were calling me an asshole. What changed?"
"Can you be serious for once?" Rhea snapped. "You're a guild master, not a clown."
"Hey! What's wrong with me?" Alex protested. "Why am I the one getting roasted here?"
"I'm not talking about your in-game character, Alex," Rhea said, rubbing her forehead. "Why do I always end up babysitting idiots…"
"Oh, come on," Kai said calmly. "Let's not ignore the elephant in the room. We all know why we're here."
"Oh! Kai! You're here too?" Igris laughed. "Didn't see you earlier. Exams over already?"
"Yeah," Kai replied. "Barely survived physics, but I clutched math in the end. Balanced it out."
"Lucky bastard," Igris said. "I failed math. Got a re-exam in fifteen days."
"What the hell is wrong with you people?!" Aanya shouted. "My church was destroyed and you're talking about exams?!"
"Hey, don't be jealous," Kai replied with a grin. "I can help you study next time."
"Enough," a cold voice cut through the room.
Everyone fell silent.
"Igris, you should have handled this mess, but you're just making it more unbearable. You two, stop fighting over your personal problems. We are here to discuss the reason behind this war. The developers have decided to resolve this as soon as possible.
So, we will hold a court meeting in the Main Guild Hall. All members must be present. We will take a one-hour break — eat lunch, or go die somewhere, I don't care. The meeting will begin at 1:00 PM and continue until 7:00 PM. If we fail to reach a conclusion, the meeting will continue tomorrow. The Island opening is at 8:00 PM, and we will be present there. I don't want any mess."
Ciling, the Guild Master of the Ghosts, said sharply.
Before anyone could react, he disappeared as if he had never been there.
After him, everyone slowly left the castle.