"You two are reacting like it's the end of the world," Alex said as he slapped Andrei on his back, bringing him back to reality.
"Do you see me panicking, feeling helpless, anxious, or being angry at you because your presence invited this trouble,"
"If it is not already obvious, the answer is NO," Alex said, his voice calm and collected.
"Brother, But we are the reason you are facing this terrible situation," Andrei said, his shaky voice barely a whisper.
"You gave us a new life, one we could never have dreamed of. You made us your family, and in return, we brought the enemy, the worst kind, into your life."
"Only if you have not chosen us, only if you did not invite us into your life, only if- - -," Andrei said, his voice cracking as tears brimmed in his eyes.
Andrei was not the brightest mind in the room, but even he was not dumb enough to think that they could go against a government in the real world, let alone people who controlled the government.
Andrei knew that even though Zero could protect everyone linked to Alex, there were limits to that protection since Zero would not be protecting friends of friends.
Even if their enemies were not ruthless and wantonly killed people, they could cripple their lives by interfering in their business, their relations, social and real life, and so on, until they got what they wanted.
Alex did not hold information back on Magnus because he wished for it to be the driving force that would push them to grow stronger.
Alex also did not want them to learn the truth from someone else and get manipulated into making a stupid decision, thinking that it was the only option to save him.
"It's unfortunate that you guys were being monitored, and your real-life identities are exposed, but it does not affect us since our families have protection from Zero, so at the moment, he has little to nothing on us,"
"In the best case, we will make a deal with Magnus, and in the worst case, we can gain protection from Zero and make a deal with some other more reasonable power,"
"So don't beat yourself with the pathetic reason that only if I did not have chosen you, then I would not be facing any issue," Alex said, his eyes shifting between his two brothers, his voice steady and confident, unruffled by the ordeal.
"I was a man with big ambitions, not because I wanted to be praised as a hero, have my name known to everyone, become wealthy, or become the greatest player."
"No, it was because I knew too damm much about the horrors that would plague the Ancient world, and now even the Erath, to simply do nothing, to just live a life of anonymity."
"So, even if I did not choose you, I would still have found myself in a similar if not a much more terrible situation because sooner or later, the people in power would have come looking for me because they would never allow another power, let alone a single individual to wield power that could affect them,"
"Magnus seems to have a plan that requires the influence of the Domain Ruler, and that might buy us a few months to a few years of peace before their patience runs dry and they truly come for us,"
"There are fewer than twenty Fourth Rank individuals, and if we can reach the Fourth Rank, the negotiations for a deal will go very differently," Alex said, his voice steady and determined.
----------------
"On the Other Side of the World"
Magnus sat in a sparsely furnished minimalist room except for a VR capsule resembling a dark coffin in one corner.
Large glass windows offered a breathtaking view of a pristine beach and the vast blue ocean beyond. Standing before him was a holographic projection of a striking woman with ashy silver hair and piercing silver eyes.
"So, did everything go as you hoped?" The female asked, her voice smooth and melodic.
"There were a few surprises, but everything went as planned," Magnus replied, continuing after a brief pause.
"I expected the organization to either use the government to save Venedikt and keep their hands clean or destroy the Ivanovich family themselves to send a message to me."
"But I was not expecting them to have already prepared to remain anonymous, even if one of their valuable members found themselves in a perilous situation," Magnus said as he chuckled softly, shaking his head.
"So, you're saying it wasn't them who destroyed the Ivanovich corporation?" Evangeline said, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"No, that was my doing," Magnus admitted. "The organization gave away the method for creating Mystium Ore to Zero in exchange for protection for several individuals, including the two brothers," Magnus said, a smile tugged at his lips as he recalled the turn of events.
"For Zero to accept that deal, it must mean that creating Mystium Ore isn't too difficult, either because the ingredients are readily available or it doesn't require a King-grade Blacksmith to forge," Evangeline said, familiar with the working of Zero.
"It's both, as neither does it require rare ingredients nor a King-grade master blacksmith," Magnus said, chuckling softly.
"Your purpose was to make your presence known, so things did go as planned, but I was hoping we could discover who is backing the organization," Evangeline said, sounding slightly disappointed.
"It doesn't matter who the backer is because once the third and final stage begins, the Domain Ruler will be the man everyone wants to stay in grace with, and he will not be controlled by anyone," Magnus replied, his tone growing serious.
"Then we proceed as planned?" Evangeline nodded thoughtfully, the light in her silver eyes flickering with understanding.
"Yes, we proceed as planned," Magnus said, his gaze turning to the vast ocean outside, the reflection of his unknown plans flickering in his eyes.