Chapter 25: Even Stronger Than the Strongest
As Mihayama appeared, the entire hall fell into a profound silence, crushed under the immense pressure radiating from him. Derek, who had been mocking everyone just moments before, fell completely silent. Mihayama took his seat and commanded, "Begin the meeting."
Once the meeting was officially underway, Mihayama withdrew his aura, allowing the suffocating pressure to lift. The other gods visibly relaxed, returning to their usual states. Mihayama then turned to Alan, his voice calm but direct. "Alan, you called this emergency meeting. You even summoned me, which has never happened before. Explain."
Alan rose from his chair, his expression grave and touched with fear. He looked directly at Mihayama. "You know the reason very well, don't you?"
Mihayama's brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Alan's reply was a low, tense question. "You felt it too, didn't you? That terrifying energy."
A shadow of concern crossed Mihayama's face. The others in the room exchanged worried glances. After a heavy pause, Mihayama confirmed, "Yes. I felt that aura as well." He paused, his gaze sweeping the room. "But I don't believe its reach was limited to us. I suspect every being on the planet felt it."
Samantha then spoke up, her delicate features etched with worry. "I felt the presence as well." Liam and Benson gruffly added their confirmation, with Benson stating, "The aura was so terrifying, we believed it was stronger than the strongest person in the world."
Mihayama turned his attention to Emilia. "Miss Astaroth, you are the Saint of Light. Your profession allows you to analyze auras. Can you provide us with details about this one?"
Alan nodded in agreement. "Yes, Emilia. Your abilities can identify an aura's condition and even estimate a level from it. Can you help us?"
Emilia, who had been quiet, finally spoke. "I can, and I already have." Her face tightened, as if burdened by a great trouble. "The results I obtained are... worse than we feared."
Mihayama leaned forward. "How was his aura's condition?"
Emilia's expression saddened. "The aura was saturated with negative emotions."
A wave of shock rippled through the hall. Derek was the first to voice the collective disbelief. "Negative emotions?! Aren't those supposed to make one's aura weaker?"
"Typically, yes," Emilia replied, her voice steady but grim. "Negative emotions usually weaken an aura significantly. But this being's aura... it was strengthened by them." A new, deeper layer of terror settled over the assembled gods.
Samantha asked the next crucial question, her voice barely a whisper. "What types of negative emotions? For an aura to shake the whole world..."
Emilia listed them, each word dropping like a stone. "Fear, regret, anger, rage, distrust... and more." She took a steadying breath. "Furthermore, the aura was one of the rarest types. It was crimson red."
Panic erupted in the hall. Laurelai's voice cut through the noise. "Crimson red? No way! Even the strongest god among us only possesses an orange aura!"
Mihayama's voice was calm but insistent as he asked the final, critical question. "Emilia, what was the Level of this player?"
The other gods began muttering amongst themselves, trying to reassure one another. "Surely his Level can't be that high," one said. "Leveling becomes exponentially more difficult after 100. That's why the strongest person alive is only Level 129."
Emilia waited for the chatter to die down before delivering the line that would shock them all into silence.
"The Level of that being," she said, her voice clear and unwavering, "was 195."
........