Stern practically burst into the underground station. The moment he entered, he saw Ilari still fiddling with those Golems, while Brolin sat leisurely on the sofa, wiping a dagger in his hand.
Suppressing his anger, Stern demanded, "Why did you send Abigail to contact Prometheus so soon? We haven't even drawn up a complete contingency plan! This is far too risky!"
Brolin casually lifted his eyes, his expression unreadable.
"I have my reasons, Rolando. Time waits for no one, and we don't have much left."
"Reasons? What reasons?"
Stern stepped forward and asked urgently, "Those people are all madmen. Working with them can't possibly end well! The purpose of our organization is purification, to eliminate the threat of wizards—not to sit at the same table as an even greater evil!"
His voice echoed across the empty platform, nearly hoarse with desperation.
The Golems that had been dormant in the station seemed to have been startled awake. They all began to move and turned toward Stern.
"Easy, easy, it's all right!" Ilari hurriedly soothed them. "Stern isn't trying to hurt the leader. Just stay put, all right?"
Most of the Golems slowly closed their eyes again.
Brolin let out a cold laugh and slowly rose to his feet.
"Purpose? Evil?"
"Dumbledore and Grindelwald may have already joined forces. Wade Grey could appear with his Golem army at any moment, and the IRS is wiping out all our forces on the outskirts!"
"The organization's very survival is in question, and you're still talking to me about good and evil? Rolando, right now, keeping this organization alive is what matters most!"
"Do you think I don't know that Prometheus is full of madmen? But they have money, resources, and can even influence the IRS's operations! We need that!"
"But..." Stern's face had gone