SSS Awakening: Creating Primordial Beasts To Be My Summons-Chapter 34: Prelude of the Stream

The briefing chamber of the Spire’s high officials was suffocatingly silent, the air thick with a sterile tension.

Dim light filtered through the tinted walls, casting muted shadows across the three figures within.

Moments ago, they had addressed the City—announcing a lie that strange objects had begun spreading in the aftermath of the explosion.

As Cohen had said, the Outliers had absorbed them, and people were to avoid them as they were now deemed forbidden.

The announcement had not gone well.

The public’s trust in the guild had taken another hit.

Why now? Why not earlier?

Ironically, the fear surrounding the Outliers had dulled.

People now understood the truth... Anyone could become a victim.

One of the officials named Nue finally broke the quiet.

"Although we’ve taken another hit, this development works in our favor," Nue said calmly.

"A new variable has been introduced. They’ll be forced to rethink everything."

He leaned back slightly.

"And the boy... he’s drawn attention to that energy. Vanguard’s Outliers won’t trust them as easily now."

A second voice interjected from the periphery—it was Farid.

"We might have a problem though. This boy has the blueprints to start a faction that goes against us. And the way he’s growing, he can be a threat if we don’t handle him soon."

A dry scoff echoed from the first official.

"The faction would have been a problem—if darker times weren’t approaching. If he develops a faction, we still have superior knowledge and power. They’ll rely on us at the end. As for him being a threat to us due to his growing power, we’ll handle him after we’re done with Vanguard."

A woman named Azina said, her voice sharp:

"Nue is right. Let’s focus on Vanguard and that other guild. Vanguard should be busy reorganizing now–giving us the perfect window to strike. We can even make it like the attack was aimed at stronger monsters that are migrating."

Nue, the first official, explained his predictions.

"Tomorrow, Cohen should reveal the specific location of the Wild. The Outliers will definitely go there and some Awakened too.

"The day after, more people will be interested and the people’s attention will be drawn there. Vanguard will also be threatened by the Spire’s sudden increase in power. They’ll be left confused by the spiraling situation.

"That’s when we attack. The day after tomorrow."

Azina nodded. "That’s the reasonable date."

The two turned to Farid.

Farid released a deep sigh.

"I’m but a weak man who can only follow the strong. Let’s do this."

Azina and Nue smiled at the tall old man.

The meeting was over.

- - - - -

Elsewhere, the atmosphere was far less controlled, thick with a jagged tension.

It was a small room that was dim, the air heavy.

The two leaders of the Vanguard operation spoke across a table.

"The boy handled it before things went out of control!"

The voice was sharp, laced with an irritation that verged on rage.

"I knew that boy was going to be a variable," another said.

"They have successfully closed our angle," the first muttered. "Most of the Outliers won’t touch the enhancement now. What do we do now?"

"We have to use the release; it’s inevitable at this stage," the other said. "Two nights from now, we will attack."

The first nodded seriously.

"A punishment for using the release is better than a punishment for failing! They should blame the damned boy for this!"

Vanguard had set their date, unbeknownst to Heavenly Spire who didn’t know of their ability to release monsters.

- - - - -

Farahd was in the wild, donning a complete black outfit that concealed his appearance.

He held a phone, already on a call with Farid.

"Farahd, you may proceed," the old man’s voice sounded.

Without hesitation, he tossed a wrapped object into the darkness.

It landed deep within and he watched.

Inside that cave, a short man with brown hair and orange eyes donned a robe, looking at the wrapped item with a touch light.

Upon closer inspection, a dark liquid seeped through the wrapping.

Blood.

The short man jumped back in fear, his gaze looking up at the dark depths.

He felt the presence of someone deeper within the cave. The only reason he remained was that he sensed no killing intent.

Feeling the gaze, Farahd said, "I’m giving you and Ophelius the opportunity to run from here..." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The short man didn’t think twice, he ran in the opposite direction of the cave entrance.

"I knew it! That fool went and got himself caught! Thank goodness I prepared an escape route!"

On a wall of the cave was a special gate he had bought for when he needed to escape.

He ran into it, the gate closing and exploding behind him.

Farahd laughed at the cowardice of the man, informing his father of the development.

- - - - -

Indra emerged from a gate that opened amidst tightly packed trees.

’I must not miss this opportunity to officially join the Red.

’Since things have spiraled this far, I’ll have to use the backup plan.’

It was time to use Stein.

Those ones in Vanguard didn’t know the potential of Stein like Indra, who was a Red Enthusiast.

’Tsk. Now, I need to get something to use to win Stein over to my side. Thankfully, the entire Ophelius doesn’t need to move with me for this so I can be undetected.’

Although it was more costly than his original plan, Indra had no choice.

- - - - -

Farid was currently back in his office in his secret base, linked to a network of communication.

"So he didn’t approach Vanguard. I guess they aren’t working together."

He had carried that plan to put Ophelius outside the equation, so they wouldn’t team up with Vanguard and be an unexpected variable.

Farid held a note he wrote and planned to tell Vanguard that night.

[Heavenly Spire are aware of your location and will start gathering their people at *** tomorrow. But this will give you the opportunity to attack through the *** of the city. Do with this information as you will.]

"This is the work of more than a year of manipulation."

Farid knew Vanguard would agree. Simply because, ever since the moment they chose to leave Central and aimed to control a part of Heavenly Spire, he had been aware.

And throughout that period, he had been manipulating everyone’s awareness of the situation.

Every move, every misunderstanding—carefully planted.

This was only possible because of his Talent.

Absolute Territory.

His years in the Null Dungeon weren’t without a reward.

Smiling subtly, he set out to visit Vanguard’s officials.