“Nervous?” A young feminine voice, unsuited for such a solemn event, sounded out in the empty halls of the Alliance Headquarters. A black-haired man looked down at the woman who had interlocked her arms with his and stared deeply into those ruby eyes of hers.

“Of course I am…” Shin answered Kanari, his voice hiding a slight tremor. “It’s the first time that a Spirit Saint had been killed since the warring ages. It’s very possible that the battles from here on out would escalate due to that fact.”

“That’s why the Alliance Head had gathered all of the Spirit Saints here right? To stop them from stepping out of line, potentially foiling our plans?”

“But they’re Spirit Saints… Do you honestly think that they would listen to Senior Raphael’s words?” That was Shin’s primary concern. Spirit Saints were powerful allies to have; however, they could also prove to be a two-edged sword. Due to their immense power and influence, Spirit Saints could do whatever they wished without any recourse. If they wanted to move east, who dared to move west? The only entities that could suppress a Spirit Saint was another powerful Spirit Saint.

“The Spirit Saints from our Lantis Republic should be fine, but my main worry are those from the other two superpowers...”

“Hey, the Himmel Empire’s Spirit Saints are quite unified too, you know?” Kanari protested. After all, the Himmel Empire was still her homeland and the place that she’d grown up in. Compared to the Lantis Republic, Kanari found that her heart leaned a little more towards the gorgeous Empire that she’d come from.

“That’s only because of the Himmel Ancestor, right? From what I understand, Saint Lyndis and Saint Firebird aren’t really on talking terms.”

“... You’ve heard that from Isadore, right?”

“Who else?” Shin chuckled.

“That nosy little ass… Why did he have to snoop around my Master’s private affairs?” Unbecoming of her motherly demeanour, Kanari snorted and cursed her silver-haired childhood friend.

“Haha, don’t blame him. As the Hall of Whispers’ Master, Isadore has to build a great information network. Digging up facts about Spirit Saints just happens to be one of them.”

“Honestly, at this point, I’m not sure if Isadore is the Prince of the Himmle Empire or the Prince of the Lantis Republic...” Kanari sighed. The friendship between Shin and Isadore meant that they trusted one another wholeheartedly. Isadore wouldn’t mind divulging Himmel Empire secrets to Shin, and the same could be said vice versa. Either way, neither of them were interested in delving deep into politics once the Black Masks were eradicated, so it didn’t really matter if they knew all the weaknesses of each nation.

“Ignoring the Himmel Empire, I’d heard that the Kori Federation’s Spirit Saints were also in shambles. Saint Suhavis of the Shaolin Sect was the only true neutral Spirit Saint among them all, and he was the first one to pass…”

“Maybe that’s the reason why the Black Masks targeted Saint Suhavis first. They wanted to destabilise the Kori Federation before attacking the other Spirit Saints.” Kanari shot out a feasible theory.

“Perhaps,” Shin shrugged his shoulders. “No matter what though, we have to figure out ways to vastly improve our overall strength. Now that the Black Masks had shown their hand, I doubt that they would be satisfied with the death of one Spirit Saint.”

On the now fractured planet, there was only one thing that could threaten the Allfather and the Black Masks. And that was the power of the Spirit Saints. Ten years ago, the main reason why the Black Masks were forced to drop down into the abyss was due to the six Spirit Saints that gathered to annihilate them. If the Black Masks wanted to solidify their dominance, the logical progression was to kill off as many Spirit Saints as they could before they escaped from the abyss that the Allfather had put them in.

“Among the Spirit Saints remaining, the three independents are the ones in the most risk. Fortunately, Grandmaster, Senior Thor and Saint Atossa are willing to form a coalition to protect one another.”

Shin wasn’t the youngling that knew nothing when he first came to Imperius Academy. Before the meeting of the Saints even begun, the Prince had private conversations with each one of the independent Spirit Saints separately. Saint Althea was an easy contact since she was Lady Seph’s Master and practically saw Shin as her own grand disciple. Saint Thor had long established a Cikai Mirror connection with Guardian Sword, seeing as to how Shin was his biggest customer. While Saint Atossa was never one to shy away from an exchange of information. Doing his part as a peace arbiter, Shin had convinced the trio to form an alliance immediately, to prevent the Black Masks from reaping their lives away before it was too late.

The same went for the Spirit Saints in the Lantis Republic. Shin’s relationship with the Saint of Time, Longyu Tian, was better than ever. They’d routinely cultivate together and even exchanged ideas on what should be done for the future of the Lantis Republic. His relationship with the other Spirit Saints wasn’t all that bad either. If Shin were to suggest something, the other Spirit Saints would most definitely take it into account.

And with that, the only problems were Spirit Saints that Shin couldn’t contact.

“Attacking the Black Masks using the power of the Spirit Saints would most likely be our next course of action… However, is it really possible to bring those egos together without any conflict?” Shin thought out loud as he stared ardently down the corridor. At any given moment, the doors of the chambers would swing open, and the Spirit Saints would come marching out. If they had jovial faces, good. However, if they were despondent…

“Hah… We may need to find other ways to increase our overall power. Relying on the Spirit Saints might be asking for a miracle.”

“Guardian Sword is plenty strong,” Kanari leaned her head on Shin’s shoulder, flashing a brilliant smile. “Also, you should have faith in the Alliance Head and the rest of the Spirit Saints you’ve contacted. I’m certain that they would move the other barnacles to your plan.”

“I sure hope so...”

The next few minutes were as gruelling as can be. After the first fifteen minutes, Shin had thought that perhaps it was a good sign. Maybe they were discussing the relevant details regarding Shin’s plan?

Thirty minutes passed, still no signs of movement. Heck, there were even thunderous bellows pulsating out from the doors, causing Shin to anxiously bite on his nails. Something that he hadn’t done since he was a child.

Forty-five minutes… Still silence. Not a single soul had emerged from the doors, and there was no sign of any commotion, which made Shin’s imagination run wild. Was it good news? Or was it bad news?

Minutes soon turned into hours and eventually… Three full hours had passed since Raphael had walked through those doors. No one knew what the outcome of the meeting was and everyone was on the edge of their seats while waiting for the doors to open. Shin was unable to bear it anymore and paced up and down the hall. The Spirit Saints had to be agreeable… They had to be willing to sacrifice for Shin’s plan to work, otherwise…

Eeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkkkk!!!

Finally, the fateful sound echoed out. The doors of the chambers creaked open, forcing everyone to turn their attention to the room. The familiar silhouettes emerged, most of them wearing sombre expressions. None of them were grinning from ear to ear, but at least none of them had angered frowns. Well, Saint Temujin Khan was a man who seemed angry all the time, so no one could really tell what emotions were housed under that stoic face.

“So you’re Shin Iofiel, the Prince of Water...” Speaking of which, Saint Temujin walked towards the Shin with his chin tucked high.

“Yes, Saint Temujin.”

Never one to disrespect a senior, Shin instantly showed his respect. Kanari did a similar bow, just with a little more grace. The Spirit Saint observed the pair for a full five seconds before leaving them with the cryptic words: “... Good on you.”

“T-thank you?” Shin was understandably confused, but Saint Temujin didn’t bother to extensively explain. Walking off in the other direction, the man quickly disappeared from everyone’s view.

Oddly enough, the other Spirit Saints did the same. They didn’t care for whatever refreshments the Alliance Headquarters had. The independent three didn’t even bother to greet Shin and flew up high into the skies. The Himmel Empire’s Spirit Saints shot Shin and Kanari a warm smile before doing the exact same thing. The Kori Federation’s powerhouses were a little more varied. Saint Temujin and Lyndis flew away instantly, but Saint Geom took some time to at least say a few words to Shin before leaving.

Only the Lantis Republic had left Saint Longyu Tian behind, while the other three sped eastwards back to their homeland.

Once everything had passed, Longyu Tian led Shin and Kanari into the chambers, where Raphael sat silently with his head thrown back on his chair. Just like the Spirit Saints before him, Raphael’s face was unreadable. The conversation could have gone extremely well or failed miserably. Therefore, Shin went for the most direct approach.

“Senior Raphael… How did it go?”

The Alliance Head raised his brows at the sudden question and gently levelled his head. He observed Shin’s shaking hands with great amusement and even had the impish thought to delay the conversation. However, in the end, the man acquiesced and gave out a simple V sign.

“Total victory! All of the Spirit Saints in the world have now joined the Alliance!”