"We tried to bring balance to the universe, so we placed our hopes in Queen Tomitaili. But the Eroans' dream empire collapsed even faster than we had imagined. And while helping Queen Tomitaili, we suffered heavy losses and ended up completely at odds with the Dawn Dragon and the Rainbow Rose." At this, Past Duke's voice finally took on a hint of emotion.
"Everyone, this is indeed the worst-case scenario. But even the worst-case scenario was within our expectations. The organization must pay a price for the universe to have a future for us."
The room fell silent again. A few minutes later, Lady Present asked in a heckling tone, "But what does the organization's future, or the universe's future, have to do with our present?"
"We are about to sacrifice this Void City, the forty thousand mercenaries and one million combat robots in this fortress, and, of course, most of the wealth and knowledge we accumulated in the nearly thousand years since the fall of the Ero Empire. The Empire and the Alliance need these sacrifices to earn enough in return for joining this battle. They'll be able to use our flesh and blood to appease their followers."
Miss Magician sighed with the weariness of an old soul, as if her entire worldview had been shaken. She covered her delicate face. "There's a rumor going around that our World Serpent is nothing more than the Rainbow Rose's black glove. I thought it was just a rumor, but who would've guessed that this so-called rumor would turn out to be way ahead of the truth?"
"You should look at it this way, little girl. People grow through this kind of blow. You have to see life for what it is, and still keep loving it," Lady Present said in the