Chapter 98 The Capital

<Himeko POV>

A phoenix was flying through the sky and on its back could be seen a woman. She had red flaming hair and instead of her traditional outfit she wore more formal clothes.

Himeko wore a completely red admiral outfit with a small phoenix symbol on her chest representing her family.

'Tch, why did I have to be summoned now? I have 2 girls at home that need to be looked after and the church all of a sudden wants to see me.' Himeko sat cross legged with her arms crossed while she complained about being summoned out.

'No matter, I had to go to the capital anyway since there seems to be some cult secretly operating under everybody's noses.' Himeko let out a sigh as her plans had been pushed back but she was still a little suspicious of the church's sudden call.

'We don't usually have this kind of meeting with all the clans, kings and queens of Elysium unless it's an emergency.' Himeko was a little confused as it seemed too convenient for the church to be holding a mass meeting but Himeko dismissed this as just a coincidence.

'I should still keep my guard up anyway as my relationship with them is horrible.' Himeko was a little torn however since it was a general meeting, Himeko was not too worried about getting in a fight but was not stupid enough to not prepare herself.

The phoenix continued to soar through the sky till eventually the capital could be seen in view.

4 major skyscrapers making a square could be seen in the middle of the city, there was also a floating platform in the middle of the 4 buildings.

The rest of the buildings resembled modern day apartments but to Himeko they looked like strange boxes and she found them rather odd. Surprisingly there were no walls around the city and as such seemed completely open but upon closer inspection a magic barrier of sorts could be seen around the entire capital.

'Ever since this new pope got into power he has made these strange but useful inventions. He has a great mind but something about him is just odd.' Himeko was not accustomed to the new look of the capital and found the tastes of the pope to be quite peculiar.

Himeko had reached the barrier and was able to easily pass through upon activating a stone that had a magical sigil on it.

Himeko flew above the city with many gazing upon her in amazement. She continued to fly to the middle till eventually landing on the floating plate where a massive white round table could be seen.

There were at least 12 other people at the table looking at Himeko as she arrived.

'Fuck, with all this white I'm going to get blinded, it feels like I'm constantly getting blasted in the eyes.' Himeko covered her eyes with her arm as the pure white platform acted like a flashbang because of the sun.

Himeko continued to walk to her allocated seat which was signified by a small red marking on the back of the white chair.

Himeko sat down next to a man in green admiral clothes and a woman who wore a blue version. All the people around the table all wore similar admiral clothes but in different colors representing their element.

When Himeko sat down the girl in blue whispered in her ear.

"Hey, do you have any idea what this meeting is for Himeko?" The girl slightly leaned in and covered her mouth slightly.

The girl had long dark blue hair and eyes, she had a petite figure and had an air of clumsiness to her.

"Your guess is as good as mine Jane, but you should know I rather despise this place." Himeko would rather not be here and avoid getting involved in their affairs but she was forced to otherwise she would not have her own city.

"Well I thought I would try anyway, bu-" Jane's words were cut off by the sound of walking since the only person to not arrive yet was the pope and everyone knew that the person arriving was him.

Jane quickly straightened up in her seat as well as everyone else sitting in the round table. The footsteps echoed out till a man in a white hoodie and jeans could be seen descending from the sky. He walked on light foot holds created by him till he reached the platform and arrived next to his seat.

He pulled back his hoodie and the light reflected off his blonde hair making it almost hard to look at without getting blinded. He had sharp blood red eyes paired along his sharp jaw, he analyzed the table and saw that everyone had arrived.

He took in a deep breath and put his hands together before he started to speak.

"I am sorry for the short notice call but it was urgent that I deliver this news to you directly." This caused everyone to stress out as clearly this was not good news and it most likely was a danger to their nation.

"There have been reports of the Fox realm organizing a mass attack on our borders." His words caused an outrage around the table.

"How can this be, we have not fought with the other territories for thousands of years since the dungeons arose, why the sudden attack and where is the proof!" A man in brown admiral clothes spoke up first slamming his fist in the table creating a small crack.

Without saying a word the blonde man snapped his fingers and a light projection appeared in the middle of the table.

Images of beastkin could be seen, seemingly preparing for war in large groups, the images caused more people to speak up.

"I patrol the borders on a regular basis, how have I not seen a large force near our borders!" A woman in black and blue clothes voiced her rebuttal to the pope.

Himeko instantly became suspicious and as everyone was looking at the images, she noticed that the pope had a smile, her theories about the cult strengthened as clearly there was something more to this and the pope had to be involved.

The pope's red eyes locked onto Himeko's, causing her to shiver from the amount of pressure the pope suddenly directed at her.

Cold sweat started to run down Himeko's face, and she quickly looked away from the pope causing the pressure to go away.

'Shit, there is something definitely going on and I don't know if I will be able to find out in time.' Himeko thought of Shaman and Elysia since the fox realm was their homeland.

"Now, now, I will answer your questions later but this is only the beginning and this might not be an attack on us but something greater we are unaware of, I just wanted you all to be aware of the circumstances that we may find ourselves in, in the near future." The pope's words caused everyone to calm down a little.

"I know we have had a rather mutual understanding with the fox realm but it seems like they are preparing for something that may be worse than the dungeons." The pope stood up from his seat and walked around the table.

"We know that they possess the most powerful people of the continent but that does not mean we are weak in comparison. Since we know that they are preparing for something we need to investigate the intentions of the fox realm and figure out if they are a threat." The man continued to walk around the table slowly.

"Why not just ask them and if they want a fight give it to them, I'm sure I will be able to crush them with a mere stomp." a man with massive muscles in dark red and brown clothes spoke up, itching for a fight.

"Don't be stupid, if we do that than Elfhiem will become our enemy and they are the last people I want to anger at the moment." irritation could be heard in his voice causing the man to stand down.

"Anyway the point of this meeting was for you to prepare for a possible war or something greater and if you can find out any information about the fox realm or the army that is developing. I want you to report back to me as soon as you find any information with these talismans." The pope let talismans fall out of his sleeves and used light to carry them to each person.

The talisman was also unique as it was covered in different runes and symbols making it almost impossible to read the contents of it.

"We will be on standby and continue like normal as if nothing has happened but prepare for the worst, I will have my people do some investigation within the fox realm itself since none of us are able to enter unless you have special permission from the royal family." Everyone nodded as getting in the fox realm was indeed a hassle and letting the pope do it made it easier on them.

"This is not an immediate problem but I want you to keep this in the back of your mind and I will call for you all again once things start to escalate." The pope had returned to his seat giving everyone time to think.

'This has to be all a set up and artificially made up, don't they know that the royal family is currently imprisoned or has the news been hidden from everyone? Is this just an excuse to seize control over a territory?' More questions popped in Himeko's mind and she was about to speak up but before she could a whisper could be heard.

"You say anything and your head will be rolling along the table, now play along sweetie and just keep your mouth shut if you don't want to die." The pope's voice rang out in Himeko's ear causing her to freeze again.

Himeko was terrified as she was unable to sense the magic and if she had spoken up she truly believed she would have lost her head in that moment.

'I need to go back home as quickly as I can and tell Shaman her parents are in danger of being killed.' Although they were in a barrier and could possibly be dead, Himeko believed that they were still alive and there was a high chance that the barrier was also a setup by the pope.

"You may leave now, there is no rush but please make an effort as information is critical and if you have any more questions please come see me at the cathedral down below." The pope quickly disappeared in a bolt of light leaving the 13 people alone.

Himeko had sat in silence as people started to leave and pay a visit to the pope or go back to their respective cities. Many of the people had a dissatisfied look with the news while the others kept their neutral look.

"Well Himeko I'm off, if I'm going to be honest I don't really care for this ordeal but orders are orders." Jane spoke to Himeko before walking off.

"Cya later Jane and good luck." Himeko waved and Jane waved back as she jumped off the platform.

Himeko however froze once again as she noticed a small black mist next to her and before she could react the pope's voice rang out.

"If you care for your safety, come visit me after I attend to everyone." The black mist disappeared and once again Himeko had no idea what to do and all she really could do was comply.

'I should have known this was a setup, but how am I meant to fight one of the most powerful people on the continent?' Himeko was dreading her circumstances and it seemed like her plans back at home had to be put on hold for now.