"DJINNS WITHIN THE TOWER!?" The voice of a man thundered through the dimly lit command room, trembling with rage and disbelief. "HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE!?"
"It wasn't Djinns," a woman replied, her calm tone barely concealing a flicker of unease.
"Blood Fiends are created by a special-type Djinn, codename: Vampire," another man added, precise, measured, each word deliberate.
"NONE OF THAT MATTERS!" The first man slammed his fist against the holographic table. "THE TOWER KILLS ANY DJINN WITHIN A FIFTY-METER RADIUS! HOW COULD THEY EVEN APPEAR INSIDE!?"
Only the cold, ghostly light of three holographic screens illuminated the room. Shadows twisted across the walls as the figures leaned toward the flickering projections. Three of the four were obscured, their identities hidden, faces unreadable. Only one man—the fourth voice—stood physically present.
"I have no clue either," the man said nonchalantly, his calm unnerving in contrast to the panic around him.
"That's not the answer we want from you," the unseen fourth figure said sharply, slicing through the tension.
The man exhaled, slow and deliberate. "I have some news, but… I'm not sure you're going to like it."
"What. Is. It?" The first man leaned forward, desperation tightening his voice.
A weighty silence fell before the woman spoke, her voice low, deliberate. "We discovered the one behind the attack."
"Good news. Who was it?" The fourth voice asked cautiously, a tremor of apprehension threading through each word.
"…The Fourth Djinn King," she stated flatly.
The room fell silent. Even the faint hum of the holographic projectors seemed to hold its breath.
"Is this some kind of joke?" the first man muttered, trembling. "That means that the one behind the attack is—"
"The Scarlet Lord, Absalom," the fourth voice said, calm, measured, unflinching.
The first man let out a long, shuddering sigh. "To think a King would orchestrate this… Oh, Great Lord Leo, grant us strength."
"Does that mean it's strong enough to bypass the tower's defenses?" he asked, trying to regain composure.
"I doubt it," the woman replied, her voice steady. "If that were the case, it wouldn't have sent the Blood Fiends to do its work. It would have done it itself."
The fourth figure nodded, thoughtful. "Then how… how did it manage to get the Blood Fiends inside?"
"The Fourth Lion Order, the Grey Lions, proposed a hypothesis," the woman explained. "Blood Fiends bypass the tower's defenses because the tower doesn't recognize them as Djinns."
"The core, isn't it?" The first man asked, cautious yet probing.
"As expected from him," the third figure muttered. "Once calm, he's quite impressive."
"Exactly," the woman continued. "Humans have hearts, Djinns have cores. The tower attacks any sensed core, destroying it. Blood Fiends, created by Vampire, are infused with life force in an arcane liquid form. They mimic a core, but the tower cannot detect them as Djinns. Another possibility…" She hesitated, glancing at the others. "During a recent Black Lion Order expedition, some refugees may have carried blood linked to Absalom. He could have used it to spawn the Fiends inside the tower."
"This is meaningless now," the first man said, exhaling sharply. "The event has happened. Worrying won't change it. We must decide how to handle the first-floor survivors."
"No need to worry," the third figure said, calm and precise. "Measures have already been taken."
The first floor of Scalae reeked of smoke, ash, and the coppery tang of blood. Survivors huddled in corners, some muttering prayers, others staring blankly, shells of their former selves. The Black Lion Order patrolled methodically, eradicating the remaining Blood Fiends.
In a secluded corner, Adam and Seleph sat tensely, eyes scanning the devastation. Eve lay unconscious, her chest rising and falling shallowly, fragile as porcelain.
"What do we do now?" Seleph's voice cracked under the weight of loss. "Mother Lyvie… Elia… the kids… they're all—"
"That's… a lie, right?" Eve's voice trembled, hope clashing violently with despair.
Adam and Seleph exchanged a glance, the truth heavy between them.
"RIGHT!?" Eve screamed, tears streaking her face. "It was just a dream, right!?"
Adam rose slowly, his eyes cold, unyielding. "It wasn't," he said, voice steady, slicing through the silence. "Mother Lyvie, Elia… all the others… they're gone. Dead."
"ADAM!" Seleph roared, rage and grief blending into raw anguish.
Adam turned, walking deliberately away.
"Where are you going?" Seleph demanded.
"Where I came from," Adam said quietly, almost to himself. "It's what I was meant to do after turning sixteen."
"You're insane!" Seleph exclaimed. "Climbing floors without access is impossible! Elia warned us!"
"I'll steal one," Adam replied, icy calm in his voice.
"You'll be executed if caught," Seleph warned, panic rising.
"I won't get caught," Adam said simply.
He paused. Memories clawed through him—two years ago, the final words of his father:
"Where are we going, Dad?" younger Adam had asked nervously.
"Listen carefully," his father had said, voice sharp and unyielding. "If the first floor is ever breached, return home, head to the mountain behind the house. Alone. Never let anyone discover what you see there. Do you understand?"
"I… understand," the young Adam had replied, shivering with fear and resolve.
Seleph's voice snapped him back to the present. "We'll go with you," he said, determination burning as he steadied Eve, still fragile, almost ghostly.
Adam froze, surprised.
"We can't stay on the first floor now that the orphanage is gone," Seleph said. "We have no home, no protection. We go with you."
"Not happening," Adam said curtly.
Seleph lifted Eve gently, setting her arm over his shoulder. "If you don't take us, I'll stop you."
Adam's eyes narrowed, reading the steel in Seleph's stance. After a tense pause, he relented. "Fine."
"Need help with the access card?" Seleph asked cautiously.
Adam pulled the card from his pocket, smooth and deliberate. "Belonged to my father."
They approached the colossal pillar at Scalae's center. Guards of the White Lion Order were too distracted to notice them. Adam placed the card on the scanner; a soft hum, a click—and the massive double doors slid open, revealing the interior.
"Whooaaa!" Seleph breathed, eyes wide, stunned by the sheer scale of the mechanism.
"Now's not the time," Adam murmured, motioning for them to follow. "I need to become stronger."
The platform rose, doors sliding shut behind them. Adam's gaze lingered on Eve, whispering to herself, fragile and hollow.
"She's in shock," Seleph murmured.
Adam stared at his palm. "I'm barely holding myself together… but this ends now."
The platform slowed as it approached the second floor. Adam's fist clenched, a spark of fury igniting deep within.
The doors parted, revealing two knights. The first, a tall man, lean and muscular, with piercing brown eyes and sharp features; the second, a striking woman with emerald eyes and scarlet hair, every movement sharp and calculated. Both bore the emblem of a roaring white lion.
"What are you kids doing here?" the woman asked, dangerous and amused.
Before Adam could answer, a soft blue patch behind each knight's ear glowed—their comms active, cutting off any attempt to speak. The air thickened, tension crackling.
Adam and Seleph froze. The knights' unblinking gazes were lethal, silent judgments.
Slowly, the woman raised her hand towards the young boy.