I stood at the gates of my palace, looking up at the summer blue sky, letting out a long breath. I knew that long days were going to be ahead of me for multiple reasons. One of them was that I would have to convince the others to agree to a joint military operation.

“They are arriving soon,” Mikan said as she arrived, walking up next to me. “The first delegation will reach the gates in ten minutes, I think.”

“Are they still looking around as if it is their first time coming to my city?” I chuckled, shaking my head and looking at Yuri, who was standing on my other side. “Everything in place?”

“Yep!” She confirmed stretching and yawning. “Arthur and Leyla are already in the reception hall. They’re nervous even if they are trying not to show it.”

“Well, they, especially Arthur, should already be used to it. This time, I intend to let him do some of the talking. It's better to start acquainting him with the others.”

“Even if nervous, he is ready,” Mikan smiled, brushing a curl of her hair behind her ear. “And we did teach them well.”

True. Everything was set inside the palace and in my plans, too. While I was out studying and blowing a monster up, they visited Mirian and called upon another summit. To my surprise, something that I guessed would take months, if not more, to organize was done in just a week or two. And it was them who chose my city as the host for it.

It's not that I would complain; it was very convenient not having to travel and bother with security and whatnot. Maybe that is also why they chose Avalon again… They knew this place was probably the safest choice. It also gave my people another reason to have a summer festival… for good measure.

They had lined the main avenue from the rail station to the palace gates, knowing full well how to advertise themselves by now. They prepared multiple posters, put them up around the city, and were also handing out fliers. Some went even further, and their children offered samples from whatever they were selling. Of course, not directly to the rulers of other countries, but to the members of their entourage and guards.

“No wonder they move slowly…” I muttered, making Yuri chuckle.

“I think I saw multiple Atuvians amongst the crowd, too, doing the same.” Mikan giggled just the same. “They licensed our printing machines and took up on the way of our advertisements.”

“I know!” I shrugged, shaking my head, “Alvor has been pestering me to allow him to use Avalon’s name when establishing his newspaper business in their city. He wants a direct line so he can get the same news as fast as possible. Anyway… Let’s focus on the main thing and make sure they are cooperating. What about Morgan and Galahad?”

“They are with Luna,” Yuri answered, “They are tasked with making sure everything runs smoothly in the background. And Galahad keeps Princess Fila entertained. She has been… surprisingly talkative when she is with him.”

“So I heard…” I hummed, scratching my chin, “Oh well, as long as Mirian doesn’t worry where her daughter is, I don’t mind. Galahad is not like me in every regard…” I mumbled, reaching out, tapping both of their bottoms, making Mikan jump, while Yuri simply grinned.

“Leon…” Mikki moaned, blushing, “They are already here!”

“I know,” I whispered, pulling my hands away and clasping them behind my back. "It was for my own good, to ease my nervousness.”

“Should–“ Yuri tried saying something, but Mikan shot her a type of glare that made her stop mid-sentence. “Damn…” She added in a quiet voice, “Sometimes you can look at us like Sasha…”

Letting her comment fly, I watched the arriving ‘caravan.’ It was Attila from Geth who was the first to step forward, wearing a simple yet elegant white shirt and pants in the summer heat. Albert, who returned to being nothing but a general, was at his side, of course. So far, looking at him, the young emperor held himself taller now, no longer the uncertain ruler who was thrust into his position out of the blue. His eyes found mine very quickly, and I returned his gaze with a silent nod. He looked… much better.

It wasn’t surprising that our relationship as countries was pretty good. Mikan even mediated between Geth and Ishillia and managed to open them up a little and establish joint operations, mostly centered around expanding the railways. It was a start and a good sign for the future. Moving my eyes,

Queen Nuen Roblesia IX walked in next. She was clad in velvet and fur, flanked by her husband and an entourage of designers and scholars... And… One of my people? She was already chatting with Dia, one of Avalon’s celebrities before she even reached the gate. She was already swamped with requests to paint them, and I could guess that Nuen was doing her best to put herself ahead of everyone else on the waiting list.

While the others began filing in, I caught the eye of the Emperor of Sar.

Ahnud was flanked by a set of his own advisors. His face was calm and straightforward, and I noticed that he wasn’t distancing himself from Attila, walking up next to him as they entered. I wouldn’t say that their relationship was wholly fixed, but it was back to a friendly basis already.

I began greeting them one by one as they reached me, shaking hands and inviting them inside the palace, as usual.

“Is Fila here?” Mirian asked when she shook my hand, making sure the others heard her. Of course, she was doing it to make everyone realize she was pushing for… well, relations. Even if covertly. “I haven’t seen her for weeks since she has been stuck with your Galahad. I hope she is not yet tainted!” Okay… maybe not so covertly.

“Please,” I moaned, pinching the ridge of my nose, “You do know that Galahad is not like that. But yes, she is here, with my son.”

She was about to say something, but then came the surprise, which made my eyes enlarge a little.

“Oh yeah,” she whispered, stepping away, “It surprised us too.”

It was the Theocracy coming in last… but it was not Damar who came up to me, bowing towards me. Instead, it was a tall, middle-aged man with short brown hair and a face that did not look like a shriveled raisin. Looking at him, his robes were less ornate than Damar’s, maybe trying to show a little bit of restraint this time around.

“Sovereign, let me introduce myself. I am Cardinal Lubek,” he said, shaking my hand. “High Cardinal Damar sends his regrets for not being able to come personally. A sudden… Illness prevents his travel.”

Illness. Yes. I’m sure… And I almost said it out loud. Luckily, I caught myself in time… So, instead, I just smiled at him.

“Then Avalon welcomes you in his stead, Cardinal Lubek. Please consider yourself among friends. We are of the same Union now, after all.”

I made sure to hold that handshake a little longer and to lean in and clasp his shoulder as I turned and led everyone inside. I could see the flickers of recognition among the others, Attila’s slight frown of interest, Ahnud’s narrowed eyes, and Nuen’s faint smirk. I think the latter knew better than everyone else what was happening within the Theocracy. But they all understood the message.

This man was not Damar, and that made all the difference. Even though I never once made any announcements denouncing the Theocracy, the fact that I never once reached out to them was already telling. While my ministers made sure we had some kind of relationship with every Union member, our only relationship with the Theocracy was through the extension of the railways. Nothing else. We even stopped importing sap to make rubber and began doing it through Geth.

It took a bit of time… but it seems that profit still takes the crown from faith, and here they were—without their High Cardinal, who fell sick. Sure, sure.

Inside my palace, the elongated, central table we prepared had little nameplates to signal who should sit where. Arthur and Leyla were seated at the center, and Mikan and Yuri were beside them. I chose to stand for the first round of continued greetings, walking between the remaining guests of their entourage and exchanging a quick hug with Elliot before it was time to start the talks.

“While you all enjoy some refreshments,” I pointed at the tables while Luna and multiple other maids walked in, putting cold drinks and some snacks down, “Let me start while I summon this meeting.”

And with that… I put down the projector before me, and the whole room went silent.

“As you can see,” I continued, breaking the deathly stillness, “We have encountered flying beasts.”

“Where?!” President Dai of Scroc asked, his voice going an octave higher.

“The landscape doesn’t seem familiar.” Elliot murmured, examining what was visible in the image, “Is this from Markoth? What happened? Did they come through… In the summer?”

His question was like a cold bucket of water, making multiple of the others shiver, but I didn’t let their imagination run wild.

“No, they did not come through the summer… But they bred in our land.” I shrugged, as that part was not as good news as they thought it was. “Which is, believe it or not, worse.”

“…”

“So, this is not from Markoth?” Old Huren asked, reaching for his drink, which, of course, was alcohol-free. I made sure of that.

“It is further east, from where the third Pass of our world is located,” I explained calmly. “The image you see here was personally recorded by me as I led the Camelot out on a scouting mission. We also found this.”

With that, I showed them the image of the crater, how it initially looked, the massive monster that had them inside its body… and then the aftermath of its destruction, leaving out the part as to how it was killed. Not that they would ask for details, as the images themselves were shocking enough.

“Here is the problem…” I began, my voice calm but commanding, “While my Avalon can hold this part of the mountains, we still have two holes that were not plugged in. I made contact with the Khulman Empire, and my third child, Lancelot, is currently on a diplomatic mission there. If everything goes well, Markoth’s Pass will be plugged in by winter, and we will have adequate forces to defend it.”

“That leaves us with one hole remaining…” Mirian mumbled, her brows furrowed. “What do we know of it?”

“Nothing.” I shook my head, making the others look at each other, “We didn’t get far, and honestly speaking, I expect the worst.” With that, I glanced at Arthur, nodding my head, and he stood up to take over.

“We have been studying the monsters.” He began, his voice shaky at first but quickly finding its strength. “We had confirmed a few facts by now. First, they eat CC. Secondly, they can sense it and are drawn to it. We now know that they breed and make nests in CC mines. Until it is depleted, they do not move on, but once it's gone…”

“They migrate…” Nuen whispered in a quiet horror.

“They do.” Arthur nodded, “No matter how we look at it, our continent is infected. They got through, not just small ones, hordes that come and hunt like any wild animal. The big ones… they are the type of monsters that managed to come through and make their home here. If we don’t do anything, maybe in a few decades or centuries, they will take over this part of the world too.”

“Are we sure of that?” Ahnud asked, his brows furrowed, but he didn’t ask it to contend with us; he was simply… scared. I could tell.

“I am,” Arthur answered firmly, “Because there is a chance this is intentional.”

“What do you mean?” Cardinal Lubek asked, his fingers holding onto the edge of the table until they turned white.

“Before we made contact with these flying creatures… We went to the other side.” Arthur continued, switching to the last image of the creatures we saw and the projected image of a massive…Vasa. “We don’t know if there is a connection yet. But as you can see… There is a chance that these monsters are controlled.”

“The Vasas…” Mirian inhaled, her voice sharp and sounding like pulling a blade from its scabbard.

“As Arthur said,” I took over, nodding for him to sit down, “We simply don’t know. But if they are controlled, we can’t rely on the fact that they are animalistic and dumb. We may very well be in the middle of a planned invasion. Whatever the case is, we need to respond to this threat. So, this is why I called this summit!” I straightened my back, looking at them one by one, “We must act… and act now.”