The underground scene displayed on the light screen brought immense shock to everyone attending the meeting.
Not only the Elder Council members, but also the Tide members. They too seemed to be seeing such detailed footage for the first time, and the surprise on their faces came entirely from the heart.
What Mu had previously mentioned—the calamity Steel City had suffered centuries ago, its fall into the Void-Reality Crevice, the Divine Artifact discovered underground, and the Mysterious Creature now found beneath the city—made it difficult not to wonder whether the three were connected in some special way.
Elizabeth did not beat around the bush and directly posed this question to Ausia.
It was also what nearly every participant in the council cared about.
Under Elizabeth's gaze, Ausia gave a slight shake of her head and answered without hesitation. "I don't know."
"You don't know?" Elizabeth's voice rose slightly.
"Based on the information we currently possess, there must be a connection between the two," Ausia patiently explained, paying no mind to Elizabeth's attitude. "But what that connection is, and why that Divine Artifact appeared beneath Steel City, I do not know."
Her expression was earnest, with no sign of falsehood.
Elizabeth lightly tapped her fingers against the table, producing sounds like a heartbeat.
She seemed to be considering something.
Before long, she looked up again, the deep-blue Soul Fire gazing at Ausia. "I want to know exactly how much related information you still possess."
Ausia fell silent for a moment, weighing her options inwardly.
In truth, the meeting had already developed far beyond what she had planned. It had become more like an... interrogation.
Well, perhaps that was not quite the right way to put it.
What had begun as an equal exchange between both sides had turned into a one-sided