The Author's POV

Rustle—!

Kevin pushed the sheets to the side of the bed before slowly getting out of bed and putting on his clothes. During the time that he spent changing his clothes, he could make out the sound of Emma's faint breathing behind him.

After donning his pants and shirt, he made his way slowly towards the window of the room and stared out at the clear sky.

It was still very early in the morning, and the sun was just beginning its ascent over the horizon; an orange tint covering the lower ends of the world.

All sorts of complicated thoughts flashed across Kevin's mind as he gazed at the sky.

The world…

It was filled with an utter sense of tranquillity and silence.

'If only this can last for longer...'

Kevin was aware that this state of calm wouldn't last for very long and that the world would once again descend into anarchy in a matter of time.

"I guess I should get started."

Taking his eyes away from the horizon, he quickly turned his attention back to Emma and sat down on her desk. Taking out a pen, he began writing on the paper before folding it neatly and placing it in a small envelope that vanished at the flick of his finger.

"That's one done."

The moment the envelope left, he wrote a new one and repeated the same process.

Kevin kept doing the same thing over and over, and it wasn't until he heard Emma's voice that he finally stopped.

"What are you doing?"

Kevin broke into a smile when he felt someone or something gently embrace him from behind.

"I'm only working on a few things. It won't take me long to complete. Just give me an hour."

"Mhm, sure…"

Emma let go of Kevin and headed out of the room.

Crack—!

The instant that she left the room, Kevin's smile vanished, and the pen that he was holding snapped in half.

"…I fucked up."

***

[Day 4]

The streets of Ashton city were bustling with activity as the sun blazed brilliantly in the sky above. Ivana was out and about in the city when her appearance attracted the attention of pedestrians near her.

She was currently concealing her face with a pair of large sunglasses, but the fact that she had long red hair and was tall was not something she could hide. As a result, those who were walking next to her were naturally drawn to her appearance.

'I wonder how long this sight will last.'

Ivana pondered to herself as she came to a stop in front of a massive building that rose up toward the sky.

The joyful expressions on people's faces, the large crowds of people walking around the city without any clue about what was happening...

Ivana was aware that the scene she was seeing would not be preserved for a very long time.

After the election of a new leader for the alliance, which would take place within the next two days, the sirens would be activated, and everyone would in turn be directed toward the bunkers that have been prepared by the Union.

Ivana took off her glasses, showing off her stunning eyes and face. Then, without giving it a second thought, she went ahead and entered the building.

"Let's sort out the situation with my guild first."

As soon as she stepped foot inside the building, virtually everyone's attention was drawn to her, and an eerie silence spread throughout the area.

Ivana raised her eyebrows when she sensed that everyone in the building was staring at her.

"What's wrong? Has everyone forgotten how I look?"

Her voice broke them out of their daze, and everyone finally reacted.

"The Guildmaster is back."

"The Guildmaster!"

Ivana's entrance into the building elicited a range of responses from the individuals on the building's first floor; the majority of those individuals displayed a sense of pleasant surprise as their predominant expression.

There were obviously some people who were unable to hide their displeasure, and despite the fact that they did their best to hide their reactions, Ivana noticed them and made a mental note of them right away.

Nothing could escape her sight.

"Guildmaster! You're finally back!"

A stocky man ran up to her and wiped the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead. He stopped and looked at her as if he had just seen the saviour of the world.

"Thank God you're back! The guild has been in shambles since your departure, and everyone has been wondering when you would return."

The name of the plump man was Chris, and he held the position of Vice-guild Leader of the Red Cross guild, which was the guild that Ivana had founded.

Given her free-spirited personality, tt wasn't out of the ordinary for her to vanish for more than a couple of months to pursue her own interests, leaving Chris to be responsible for all of the guild's responsibilities.

A month of her absence wasn't typically that difficult, but...

She had been missing for over two years!

Ivana had been absent from the guild for over two years! Two fucking years, and it was this absence that contributed to the general chaos that prevailed there as result of her absence. Even though he was capable, Chris wasn't exactly a very powerful person.

He had never been treated with respect and was worn down to the marrow of his bones! He had already planned to resign the following month, but after finally seeing the guild master return, all of those thoughts vanished and he started having second thoughts.

...Maybe, just maybe things were going to get better now.

"Stop complaining."

Ivana shot Chris a glare before brushing her hair behind her ear and looking around the place. Crossing her arms together, she tapped on the upper side of her right arm.

"I'm finally back from my hunt, where I was able to acquire numerous valuable items. During my absence, it seems that the guild has not been doing so well. I'm a little disappointed, but I knew your capabilities were limited from the moment I took you in."

Ivan lowered her head and gazed at Chris while reassuring him.

"Don't worry. I won't be leaving any time so—"

She cut off her sentence abruptly as a white letter materialized in front of her, floating before her eyes, startling the people in the lobby.

"What's this?"

Ivana's brows furrowed the moment she saw the letter, and as she reached out to grab it, a curious expression appeared on her face.

After opening it and reading through its contents, she suddenly raised both of her eyebrows, and it wasn't long before a dangerous smile appeared on her face.

"Interesting."

Ivana made a motion with her hand, and the letter caught fire in midair.

Without looking at Chris, she vanished from her spot. Not before saying a couple of more words.

"I take it back; I'll be back later."

"Wait..what, no!"

Chris's face turned white, and he kneeled down on the ground in front of where she previously stood. His countenance was etched with a look of utter despondency as he tapped onto his clothes.

'…My resignation letter…where is it?'

***

Starlight Guild, Jin's office.

Jin was seated at his usual desk, compiling the documents that his grandfather had assigned to him.

Since his return from Immorra, which came about as a result of him wanting to run away from his grandfather's blind date arrangements, he had been blindsided by a truckload of work that came as a result of his grandfather's ire.

The only thing that had been able to appease his grandfather's wrath was the news that he had advanced to the S rank. His grandfather's anger was then channelled toward his father, who, unfortunately, ended up playing the role of the scapegoat.

The sound of Jin's pen scribbling echoed in the room, and his eyes began to wander across the many papers that were in front of him.

He let out a long sigh when he noticed the stack of papers on his desk.

"I should've never have come back…"

He had a great deal of pleasure engaging in combat with the demons that lived in Immorra, in spite of its dangers. That was a great deal more entertaining than whatever it was that he was doing at the moment.

"Hm?"

Jin was startled when a letter materialized out of nowhere in front of him, and his brows briefly jumped.

He reached out with his hand to take hold of the letter, and then he opened it.

His expression gradually changed as he read the letter, and he reclined in his chair. Covering his eyes with his arm, he murmured.

"This is crazy…"

***

Certain letters resembling those received by Ivana and Jin began to appear in front of individuals throughout the human domain. All of whom wielded considerable power within the domain of humans.

Donna, Monica, Douglas, Maximum… No one was exempt, as everyone received the same white letter.

When they each read the letter, they showed a variety of responses, but in general, none of them seemed to be displeased with whatever was written in the letter.

Inside a white room that was covered in darkness.

Ren sat in the middle of the room with his legs crossed, sweat dripping down his back, and his hair drenched to the fullest extent possible.

His diaphragm was constantly moving in an ascending and descending motion with each breath he took.

At first glance, it did not appear as though there was anything wrong with Ren; however, when a white letter that had a tinge of golden colour appeared in front of him, lighting the area around him, his features became more distinguishable.

There were black veins visible all over his face, black scales on his arms that were slowly building over his skin, and two small husks that were beginning to form on the top of his head.

Ren looked like a far cry from how he normally looked.

"What's this?"

At the very moment that the letter materialized in front of Ren, the scales that covered his body vanished, along with the husk and the veins.

Within the space of a few seconds, he looked exactly the same as he normally did, with the exception of his complexion, which was extremely pale.

"Haaa…haaa…"

His breathing was laborious and he was resting on the ground on all four.

It took him at least five minutes to regain his composure before he turned his attention back to the letter that had suddenly materialized in front of him.

He grabbed onto the letter and opened it.

[You know what to do.]

The letter was only five words long, but Ren knew exactly who had written it, and his brows furrowed in annoyance as he read it.

"…Fine."

Ren crumpled the letter in his hand before discarding it and grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat from his body.

After that, he sat back down on the ground and murmured to himself while keeping both of his legs crossed.

"Monarch's Indifference."