As soon as Isabel appeared, the ether around us began to ripple ominously.
[Met him. Met him. Met him. Met him. Met him. Met him. Met him. Met him. Met him. Met him. Met him. Met him. Met him. Met him.]
[Carl Marcus…]
[Don't come… Don't… KYAAAAH──]
But those swirling ethers stopped short of reaching me.
They halted, as if confronted by something terrifying.
It seemed to be a response to when I had previously obliterated Isabel's ether using the Experimental Round GHOST-157.
["…Commander."]
Esther could only watch in silence, unable to say anything else.
It couldn't be helped.
Regardless of Esther's own will, there was now a deep rift between me and the Shadow Order.
"Carl Marcus, it's been a while."
Isabel looked at me.
Her eyes were a mix of conflicting emotions—so much so that even I, simply observing, could sense the confusion.
"Did you come here to see me?"
"I did. For a lot of reasons."
Her voice turned colder, and anger slowly began to creep into her tone.
"Did you think you'd get away with repeatedly interfering in our plans?"
Ether began to stir around her.
"Carl Marcus, why have you been disrupting our efforts?"
"Because I had to."
"I knew you'd say that. But if that's all the reason you had for thwarting our lifelong ambition, then you will have to pay the price."
The chilling resonance of her warning was followed by a violent tremor from the ether around us.
It felt fundamentally different from the ether that had flinched earlier.
[HOW DARE YOU────]
[Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die. Die…]
[Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus. Carl Marcus.]
But I wasn't about to buckle under threats like these.
"Can you do it?"
Sure, if it came to a head-on fight, I'd lose a hundred out of a hundred times.
But I had the Anti-Ether Experimental Round, GHOST-157.
If Isabel ever figured it out, she might find a countermeasure—but I was confident I could subdue her before that.
"..."
Isabel didn't move recklessly.
Maybe she remembered the shell's destructive power from last time.
Or maybe she knew a battle wasn't in her best interest right now—if she'd come for a fight, she wouldn't have come alone.
So, this was a meeting for talks.
"…Fine. If you're bluffing, then I'll admit it's a pretty effective bluff."
With that, the ether that had looked ready to consume me faded away.
[Crrrrrkkkk─────]
The tension eased.
This was no longer a table for violence or coercion.
At least, not overtly.
She could still use the Shadow Order to apply more pressure if she wanted—but the fact that she came alone told me she wasn't here for that.
'And besides, she wouldn't want others hearing this conversation anyway.'
So far, things were going according to expectation.
The real game started now.
The negotiation.
"Why did you interfere with our plan? Carl Marcus, we were so close. If you hadn't meddled, it would've been completed. Explain yourself—or we won't sit idly by."
"That plan was doomed to fail anyway."
"You think you can brush this off with that nonsense? Don't kid yourself. Explain. Why can't we fulfill our ambition?"
"I never said it couldn't be fulfilled. I said that day's plan would've failed."
Could the Shadow Order's—or Isabel's—ambition actually come true?
Honestly, I wasn't sure.
But one thing was certain: even if they had seized the White Line that day, they wouldn't have reached their goal.
"…How do you even know about our ambition? Even Esther wouldn't know what I truly want."
She was right.
The Shadow Order's ambition and Isabel's personal ambition might seem aligned, but they weren't the same.
The Order's goal of claiming Ark was just a step in Isabel's deeper ambition.
"Wouldn't you like to know."
"…Who are you, really?"
A chilling edge crept into her voice.
Esther, startled, manifested herself and trembled slightly.
["Commander…"]
"Esther. Even you can't stay quiet about this. What is Carl Marcus? You must know something. Tell me."
["…I really don't know."]
Isabel froze.
She hadn't expected that answer.
"…So even you are abandoning me, Esther."
["No, it's not that! I swear I have no idea what this monster really is!"]
"…Don't lie to me."
Esther opened her mouth to say something—but then just bowed her head.
"Carl Marcus. What are you? How do you know so much about me?"
"I'm just me."
"…Don't be ridiculous. A mere outsider couldn't possibly know all this."
Isabel wasn't budging.
Thankfully, I had the perfect excuse for this sort of moment.
"The voices of the souls told me."
"…What?"
"That's all there is to it."
She looked stunned.
A short silence passed—one that felt eternal—before her lips moved again.
"…Fine. Let's say I buy that. But then how did you know about the sail in the White Line? Did those 'voices of the souls' tell you that too?"
"I saw it."
"…You saw it? Where?"
"Where do you think?"
The sail was essential for Isabel's dream to come true.
And yet it wasn't in the White Line.
I'd confirmed that fact with my own eyes—dozens of times.
"I don't believe you."
"Believe what you want. But you'll bear the consequences of that choice."
"Tch… After everything you've done, you've got the nerve to say that?"
Isabel shook her head in disbelief.
But everything I said was true.
"Carl Marcus, if I let you go now, you'll just keep interfering with our ambition. Won't you?"
"We'll see."
"…What's that supposed to mean?"
Isabel looked exasperated now.
But again, I was just stating facts.
"I have no intention of interfering with the Shadow Order's ambition."
Of course, I absolutely intended to interfere.
But it was better to keep things vague for now.
Besides, the Order's ambition wasn't entirely incompatible with mine.
If properly managed, they could achieve their goal without splitting Ark in two.
'Of course, that makes things a lot harder—but I'd rather use the Order than fight them.'
They were powerful enough to split Ark—and thus incredibly dangerous.
But if their strength could be directed elsewhere, it could help preserve Ark.
"…You talk a good game. But your actions don't match your words."
"Only on the surface."
"Always with the wordplay."
"But if you truly wanted to stop me, you wouldn't have come alone. You're no different—you say one thing and do another."
"…Tch."
The diplomatic pleasantries were over.
Only raw honesty remained.
"Don't you have something to say to me?"
"Something to say? Me?"
"Yeah. Otherwise, why come find me?"
Her gaze met mine.
For a moment, I felt like I was staring into a whirlpool of chaos—emotions I couldn't even begin to understand.
"Why do you think that?"
"Isn't that why?"
Our conversation looped in meaningless circles for a while.
"I have nothing to say."
"Really?"
"I said no."
"I doubt that."
I could guess what she wanted to say.
But for some reason, she wasn't saying it.
"Seems like you need more time."
"…No, I've had enough. That's all I have to say."
Isabel's lips parted slowly.
"Carl Marcus."
It seemed she had made up her mind.
She extended a hand toward me.
"Come with us."
* * *
The Line Assembly.
In that tense chamber, Nikolai Ivanov sat in his seat, scanning the others in attendance.
The governors of each Line.
High-ranking military officers charged with protecting the frontlines—and Ark itself.
And… members of noble families, including the Tripathi.
Gulp—
He swallowed hard.
A misstep today could end with him being dragged away by White Line's inspection bureau.
"..."
As more delegates filled the chamber, a thought gripped Nikolai:
'Maybe I should've just stuck with the Navy Line… Even if it meant war, I might've lasted longer. But if this goes badly, I'll be gone without a fight.'
'That's…'
Ark had no kings—but if it did, one figure might qualify.
The El family.
When Faust El appeared, the room's mood changed instantly.
"I, Faust El, will preside over today's proceedings. Please take your seats."
Faust spoke.
"Four days ago, while Ark was in turmoil, the White Line was attacked. The invaders were stopped at White Road but escaped. However, thanks to Colonel Melissa's testimony, one identity was confirmed, and verification at the scene is complete."
With each word from Faust El, Nikolai's heartbeat pounded louder.
'Please, please…'
Faust El continued.
"The suspect has been identified as Sophia Belov of the Navy Line, currently at large."
Then Faust turned toward Nikolai.
"Nikolai Ivanov, Mayor of the Navy Line—please step forward."
As his name was called, it felt like Nikolai's heart stopped.
Like he was walking to his execution.
And maybe he was.
But just then—
"Hold on."
Ganesha Tripathi.
The young representative of the Tripathi family stood to defend the Navy Line.