Faced with his brother-in-law's question, Tarnished gave an unexpected answer:
"I've decided to suspend our pursuit of Miquella. We'll leave him alone for now and focus our strength on resolving our internal problems."
Everyone was stunned.
The air in the conference room seemed to freeze for a few seconds, then erupted like a boiling pot.
"What?" Morgott was the first to jump up. "You were the loudest one before, going on about how Miquella was our greatest threat and how we had to finish him while he was down. Now that we've finally cornered him, you're telling me we're calling it off?"
Jerren looked constipated too. "Tarnished, are you kidding us? Every single person here was talked into fighting Miquella by you. And now you, the one who started all this, are the first to quit?"
Tanith went straight on the offensive. "Have you lost your mind, Tarnished? Who stops fighting halfway through a war?"
Seeing everyone getting worked up, Tarnished hurriedly waved his hands. "Stop, stop, stop. Let me finish."
He cleared his throat. "I know what you're thinking. But you need to understand that Miquella now isn't the same as Miquella before."
"Not the same?" Messmer frowned. "How? He's become a god, so he's harder to deal with?"
"No." Ranni answered for Tarnished, a hint of understanding in her voice. "He means Miquella has lost his bewitching power."
"Exactly." Tarnished gave Ranni an appreciative look and received an eye roll in return.
Unbothered, Tarnished smiled and explained to everyone, "What was the most terrifying thing about Miquella? His bewitchment. Whenever and wherever he wanted, he could control anyone, make you willingly die for him, and leave you unable to even think of resisting. That's why I chased him so relentlessly and wanted him gone."
He paused and spread