Whitesky, Chalicegate, Chainkeepers Operations Room.

With a cigarette in his hand, Misha looked tiredly around the table with a twitching eyebrow.

He was almost out of the gate but then was pulled back, as apparently General Cross had something very important to say.

It pissed him off.

"What's going on? Does anyone know?"

Sophia asked people around the table.

There were only four of them here currently—her, Misha, Melia, and Jaquel—and none of them knew what was happening.

"It sounded serious."

Jaquel said with his arms crossed.

"Serious? Bullsh—"

Before Misha could finish his words, the door of the operations room slammed open, and General Cross walked in with a clipboard in hand.

In black suits, several members of the Magisterial Yard also joined and took their seats around the table.

"…"

And lastly, a tall red-haired man, with skin as white as snow, walked in and pulled out a chair from under the table before sitting down.

He was wearing a long coat that had intricate silver embroidery lining the cuffs and collar, and there was also a revolver holster attached to his belt.

"The men from Magisterial Yard and the representative of the Guild, Mikael Macabre of the Third Seat of the Human Council, have joined us today."

General Cross said from the head of the table.

'…Magisterial Yard and Mikael Macabre? He is Divine Ranker and widely considered the third strongest Earthling in the world. What has happened that they've come here?'

Melia wondered in shock.

"Late last night, the spies of humankind discovered the World Tree burning. Its branches were charred, and its leaves blackened. It had been burned down to the ground."

General Cross said with a serious look.

The four Chainkeepers looked surprised, as they were aware of the current war that was happening between Realm Elves and Rav'akari.

It had been a long war—over three years already—and they thought it would last another three years without any trouble.

'Realm Elves was doing a good job in holding back Rav'akari's assault. They were even pushing them back for a while. I thought it had been in stalemate for about eight months. What happened?'

Melia was full of questions.

"Siege of the World Tree has been mainly led by Savage Mercy. It looked like they had had enough of the slow progress.

"And thus, earlier this week, Malignant Benevolence and Wrathful Patience rode to the frontlines of the war and began their assault.

"Realm Elves held for about a day, which was impressive already, but couldn't hold back three World Bosses at the same time.

"We have reason to believe that they have the Queen of the World Tree held captive in Sefirah Zero."

General Cross said with a serious look.

It was really serious news, and Chainkeepers looked grim as if they were also preparing for battle.

"As you all know, there are four chains that are holding Chalicegate shut. With those four chains, this gate will never open.

"The Wretched One and Her Rav'akari had been working tirelessly in the Realm Between. They've been recruiting creatures from our worst nightmares.

"The only way that those creatures can leave the Realm Between is through the gateways, and Chalicegate is the biggest gateway.

"Some of those creatures are so big that Chalicegate is the only way. It's also the only way for the Wretched One to arrive at Whitesky.

"Through Chalicegate, they can also send their entire army to attack Whitesky, and this city would be overrun in minutes.

"We know that they've been attempting to break these chains for a while now, but to no avail.

"The chains were created by four rulers of primordial races—Queen of the World Tree, Queen of the Night, King of the Green Swamp, and King of the Wild Hunt.

"They have now captured the Queen of the World Tree. They will torture her in every way possible until she breaks her chain."

General Cross said, pointed out the window at one of the four chains wrapped around the Chalicegate, and then continued.

"They will break her. So, we can already say goodbye to one of those chains. There will be three remaining.

"We already offered help to the Queen of the World Tree. She refused. We sent letters to other rulers of the primordial races, and they also refused.

"In the Third Aeon, humans went to war with the Gods of the Garden and wreaked havoc across the Realm Between.

"Primordial races ended in crossfire because of us, humans, and they've not forgotten, so they will keep refusing our help."

General Cross said.

"What will we do… General?"

Jaquel asked.

In that moment, Mikael Macabre stood up. With his handsome face, he opened his mouth and started talking.

"…There are several ways to break the chain. To force the Queen of the World Tree to break it, or simply kill her.

"I am sure they will try breaking it without killing her first. If she, somehow, doesn't break, they will kill her, and the chain will break.

"Thus, we Guild are planning a risky expedition to Sefirah Zero to rescue her. It's… a suicidal mission. But we can't stand still and do nothing.

"If we somehow rescue her, we're taking her to Earth. They cannot touch her there, and thus, Chalicegate will be safe."

The Chainkeepers listened. They could barely believe it. It was lunacy.

"Can't we just… go to other Queen, and Kings to convince them to go to Earth with us? I am sure they will know the urgency now that Queen of the World Tree got captured!"

Sophia said in panic.

"…They won't trust us humans. If we rescue the Queen of the World Tree, I think she will listen to us and will come to Earth with us.

"Other rulers still have their own people to think about. We cannot migrate so many of them, and I don't think any of the rulers will abandon their people.

"Queen of the World Tree's people… the Realm Elves have all died. She is the only Realm Elf left in the whole universe."

General Cross said.

"…When is this expedition taking place?"

Melia asked curiously.

"…There is no starting date currently. We have spies keeping an eye on Sefirah Zero, and it will take some time for Savage Mercy to deliver her there.

"We will have to find people willing to go there. It's a stealth mission, so Stealth Pathway users are a priority for now."

Mikael said.

The rest of the table turned silent. Magisterial Yard didn't speak a word. They all knew that this expedition was going to end in failure.

There was probably less than a one percent chance of success. But they had to try anyway.