Chapter 97: The Plan

Chapter 97: The Plan



In the aircraft of the Reapers Guild, the low sounds of machinery could constantly be heard. Six individuals were arranged in a circular formation, their faces lit up by the blue glow of the control panel.

A man with styled black hair and sharp green eyes that always had a look of mischief-Kael, the team leader-gave off the aura of a ruthless predator, his gaze intense as he looked

around the group.

His lean, muscular frame was covered in the same black and purple tech suit as the rest of the team. A small smirk spreading on his face.

Beside him was Aria, a dark blue-haired, blue-eyed woman, the team's strategist, with a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue. She was already lost in the holographic display, her fingers moving across the console gracefully.

Opposite Kael sat Kai, the second young master. The way he sat radiated self-assured nonchalance that bordered on outright arrogance.

Rex, a brute of a man, was a towering figure with a shaved head and a muscular build. His deep brown eyes were calm, but his presence alone was intimidating. He sat with his arms crossed, a frown roughing up his already rugged facial features.

Mira, a quick-witted, sharp-tongued woman with blond hair and golden-brown eyes, sat next to Rex, a wide, nearly provocative grin on her face as she listened to a song through headphones, nodding her head repeatedly.

Finally, there was Jin, a silent observer with an emotionless expression, completing the circle. He was the team's sniper. He had medium-length gray hair that fell over his forehead, and his gray eyes were always focused, always calculating. Although Jin was the quietest of the group, when he spoke, everyone listened.

Aria exchanged a look with Kael and nodded.

Kael suddenly spoke in a commanding tone, a smug look on his face. "Alright, everyone, mics off," he said. He didn't want what they were about to discuss to be heard over the live broadcast.Rread latest chapters at novelhall.com

But the cameras had to stay on; that was a necessity, for now at least.

The sound of clicks echoed through the cabin as they obeyed his order. The silence that followed was filled with unspoken thoughts.

"Alright, Reapers, we're back out in the wild again."

"Y-yes, sir," Kai reluctantly said.

"Good, see that wasn't so hard."

Boom!

The sound of a fist slamming into the side of the aircraft could be heard; it belonged to Rex, who was letting out some of his anger at the thought that he, along with the others, were being looked down on. Expected to 'team up' if it turned out Alister was too strong.

"I still get pissed when I hear that crap," Rex muttered, breaking the silence.

"We're pulling out all the stops for some kid who can summon a big lizard?"

"Really? This is just overkill. I could solo that kid. Drake be damned."

Aria rolled her eyes. "Of course you could, Rex. You're the greatest thing since sliced bread. But this isn't a one-man show. It's a coordinated effort."

"Branch master's orders, as I'm sure you know."

Jin, the silent observer, finally spoke, his voice low. "Overconfidence is a dangerous thing. But then again, it's what makes us the Reapers."

"That doesn't mean even we shouldn't use our brains once in a while."

"The branch master said there were some logical inconsistencies with Alister's summonings, hence the need to team up against him if the need arose."

Jin was referring to the videos and union report Liang obtained that displayed Alister summoning, one of the videos from the Union office, and the other two from Alister's training with Yuuto. During both of them, Alister wasn't seen with anything one could consider summoning equipment—not a spell book, the items he bought from the Union office, nothing.

And even tracking his transaction history, there was no indicator of him ever purchasing a summoning conduit since then. How did he summon another dragon without one then?

Then again, there was that peculiar report of him being the one to return with his team from an A-rank dungeon raid, and unlike the rest of them, he had no wounds. Indicating that he either hid the entire time while they fought, which was impossible, or he cleared it single-handedly after they lost consciousness.

This led Liang to conclude that perhaps being an SSS-rank Summoner meant one didn't necessarily rely solely on summoning abilities, nor did it make him dependent on equipment or conduits to summon monsters. Perhaps all Alister did at the Union was to keep this fact hidden from the public.