Chương 320: She Who Leads the New Order

Silence consumed the conference chamber. And yet, despite the stillness, the room felt alive with disbelief. Eyes widened subtly. Fingers tightened against table edges. Several executives exchanged silent glances with unease while others simply stared at Alexandria as though seeing her differently for the first time. Dagon Dreadrose. Even after centuries, the name still carried terror strong enough to suffocate reason itself. The man who had nearly erased humanity.

The man whose madness had drowned entire civilizations in catastrophe. And now, His daughter sat among them. The silence stretched further before Menis finally raised one hand slightly, her dark gaze resting carefully upon Alexandria.

"You…" she began slowly, "…are Dagon's daughter?" Alexandria exhaled quietly through her nose before leaning back into her chair.

"…Yeah." Her silver eyes drifted briefly toward the holographic projection still lingering faintly above the table.

"Thinking about it now," she continued more quietly, "the same force that caused me to lose control of my powers likely affected my father back then too." Her fingers curled slightly.

"It would explain his disappearance after the catastrophe. He nearly destroyed humanity… and then suddenly vanished without a trace." The room remained tense. Then Rose spoke.

"You are correct." Every gaze turned toward her. Rose remained seated calmly at the far end of the chamber, her expression unreadable beneath the cold composure she wore so naturally.

"That is what happened," she admitted.

"Though the exact mechanism behind his corruption remains unclear even now." Alexandria froze. Then power erupted around her body instinctively. The air warped violently as invisible pressure spread outward in crushing waves, distorting gravity and reality alike. Several executives immediately tensed, their instincts screaming danger before Alexandria had even fully risen from her seat.

"You knew?" Her voice came out dangerously quiet.

"You knew my father was driven mad… and you never told me?" Rose stared back without flinching.

"Some truths," she replied calmly, "are better left unknown." Alexandria stepped forward. The floor beneath her cracked.

"Unknown?" The pressure intensified violently. Fragments of glass shattered throughout the chamber as her power bled unconsciously into the surroundings.

"I can make your existence unknown right now." Alexandria now stood directly across from Rose.

"I am the strongest person on this planet right now, Aunt Rose." Her fist tightened.

"So don't ever lie to me about my father again." The pressure spiked harder.

"Or I'll make your entire existence into a forgotten mistake." For several seconds neither woman moved. The tension became unbearable. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Then, Rose chuckled. She tilted her head slightly, staring at Alexandria with an almost amused expression.

"My dear niece," she said softly, "what exactly makes you believe you could handle me?" The chamber fell deathly silent again. Power gathered around both women. Invisible forces collided subtly throughout the room. Then suddenly,"Now, now!" Fe loudly threw both hands into the air.

"That's enough from the two of you. We all know I'm the strongest person here anyway, so let's not get carried away." The atmosphere snapped. An invisible slash tore through the chamber toward Fe's neck. But before it reached him, Space fractured. The attack vanished seamlessly into a distorted gravitational field before the air repaired itself again as though nothing had happened. Tharion slowly lowered his raised hand.

"If you decide to fight us," he said carefully toward Alexandria, "remember that you are outnumbered." His voice remained calm despite the sweat forming along his brow.

"And this is the worst possible time for internal conflict." He glanced around the room.

"They want us divided. We should be standing together." Alexandria stared at him silently for several moments. The fury behind her eyes flickered. Then, slowly, she sat back down. The pressure receded with her. Fe shrugged lazily.

"I still don't understand why everyone got so upset," he muttered.

"I was only stating facts." Alexandria turned toward him coldly.

"Fe." Her smile looked dangerous.

"Do you want to get decapitated or something?" Fe's own expression hardenedbeneath the blindfold.

"If we're settling this," he replied calmly, "then let's do it outside Earth's orbit next time." Alexandria scoffed.

"Why? Because it benefits you?" She leaned back in her chair.

"No thanks. I'm perfectly comfortable crushing you right here if necessary." Several executives groaned quietly. Rose simply sighed.

"Alexandria." Her tone shifted slightly.

"You seem far more stressed than necessary." She folded her hands together.

"Is this because of Barbatos?" Alexandria visibly flinched. It lasted less than a second. But everyone noticed.

"Well obviously," she answered quickly while avoiding eye contact.

"He was our strongest combatant. Now he's disappeared during the Fourth Trial and might not come back for years… if he comes back at all." Rose smiled.

"Oh," she said knowingly.

"So the two of you liked each other." The room collectively froze. Several executives and roses turned toward Alexandria with expressions ranging from disbelief to amusement. Alexandria nearly stood from her chair again.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Why would I ever be in a relationship with him?!" Rose's smile widened mischievously.

"I don't know," she replied innocently.

"Maybe because he's the only person capable of surviving your power… and you're the only person capable of surviving his." A few people coughed awkwardly. Others outright stared. Rose tilted her head.

"But perhaps I misunderstood." She waved dismissively.

"If I'm wrong, then there's no reason to get so defensive." Alexandria looked moments away from causing another dimensional collapse. Thankfully, Rose moved on before things escalated again. Her expression slowly lost its teasing edge. Then she closed her eyes briefly and exhaled.

"… We'll discuss everything properly once the others arrive." The room settled into silence again. Over the next hour, more executives and Roses gradually entered the chamber after finishing containment operations across the planet. Each arrival brought fresh exhaustion. Fresh injuries. Fresh reports of devastation. Among them were several figures whose appearances alone carried stories of unimaginable suffering. Anabelle arrived first.

The Rose of Misfortune now existed within the body of a porcelain doll, the cruel price she had paid for surviving her Fourth Trial. Her artificial limbs moved with eerie elegance as Jericho guided her gently toward a seat, the armored man remaining close beside her protectively. Then came Wendigo. Or rather, What remained of him. Once a simple deer spirit tied to nature itself, his Fourth Trial had twisted him into something monstrous.

Towering antlers stretched toward the ceiling while patches of fur and exposed bone covered his massive humanoid frame. And yet despite his terrifying appearance, His eyes remained strangely gentle. Reports from South America had already spread throughout the organization. Together with Evelyn, he had stopped one of the strongest Spawn manifestations seen during the catastrophe: a colossal Blight resembling a miniature sun descending over the rainforest itself. It had rained fire and ash across entire continents.

Wendigo's forests had restrained it long enough for Evelyn's shadows to consume the creature completely before it could ignite the atmosphere itself. Then came Ariel. Radiance. Others followed shortly afterward until finally every remaining Rose and executive had gathered within the chamber. The atmosphere became suffocating. Rose slowly stood from her chair. The room quieted. She looked around carefully, confirming no one else remained absent before finally speaking.

"Roses. Executives." Her voice echoed softly through the chamber.

"I'm sure all of you understand the severity of our current situation." The holographic world map expanded behind her automatically. Dimensional fractures glowed across nearly every continent.

"The New Order has launched its first direct large-scale attack since the incident involving Dagon Dreadrose." Several newer executives exchanged uneasy looks. Others remained completely still. Rose continued.

"They were responsible for driving Dagon into madness." The room erupted. Shock spread across nearly every face. But Rose raised one hand for silence.

"And because of this attack," she said carefully, "I believe it is finally time for complete honesty." Her eyes lowered briefly.

"The machine responsible for destroying the Pendragon Dynasty…" She paused.

"…was recovered by me long ago." Pure disbelief spread through the chamber.

"That very machine," she continued, "saved the students during yesterday's catastrophe before both it and the children were teleported to an unknown location." The tension thickened. Yet Rose wasn't finished. Her expression slowly darkened.

"But that is not the true issue." Silence returned. Rose drew a slow breath. Then finally,"I know who leads the New Order." No one moved. No one breathed. Rose lifted her gaze. And for the first time since the meeting began, True emotion appeared within her eyes.

"…It is my twin sister." The room stared at her in stunned silence. Rose's voice lowered almost to a whisper.

"Nebula."