After the office door closed, Ackerman collapsed into his chair as if all strength had left him. Only then did his thick legs begin trembling uncontrollably.
Sifa's gaze earlier had not exactly been cold, yet it carried a terrifying pressure, as though it could grind his soul into dust.
At this point, Ackerman no longer doubted that the young Major was a Demigod.
"Demigods really are terrifying."
He took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead with trembling hands. Recalling what had just happened, Ackerman felt a wave of lingering fear.
He had actually threatened a Demigod!
Thinking back on it now, it had been like dancing on a knife's edge, walking a tightrope over a cliff.
He was certain that even if that Major had killed him, Black Sails would merely pretend nothing had happened.
Between a Demigod and an experienced Sequence 6 Beyonder, anyone above would know which one mattered more.
Moreover, the document Sifa had seen earlier had not been issued by Black Sails headquarters at all. Ackerman had drafted it himself: a consent form to relinquish all of the Explorer's resources.
After receiving Sifa's report, the Colonel had been blinded by greed and forged a consent form. He had stamped it with the seal of Black Sails' Southern Continent branch, intending to trick the Major into signing it.
As long as Sifa agreed to relinquish the Explorer's resources, he would have room to maneuver. He would send his nephew, who had just joined Black Sails, aboard the Explorer as its captain.
In Ackerman's plans, with two Sequence 5s and several Middle Sequence Beyonders, his nephew would soar to greatness. Through those ties, Ackerman himself would rise to a higher position.
But he had not expected the Major to be not only calm, but