The Summoner And Contractor System 25 The Stipulation Chamber; Great Foes Approach

In absolute silence, the group trailed behind Fen until they reached an exquisitely designed building. Compared to the wooden homes that comprised the village, this building was fortified out of a resilient stone and mused its own beautiful courtyard, the surroundings of which were surmounted with splendid carvings and decor.

Fen hastily led the group through the doors, entering a simple room that was aligned with rows of worn chairs set at a polished table, "Normally, the Stipulation Chamber is closed off unless a meeting is scheduled ahead of time. In this case, there's an emergency which concerns the well-being of the village's entirety; there's no time to lose, so you guys take a seat and I'll call forth the meeting."

Rentaro followed the others to take a seat, watching as Fen approached a small golden bell with a crimson-red ribbon wrapped around it in the corner. Fen calmed himself as he gently struck the bell, releasing a sound that reverberated throughout the entire village.

It was loud, ridiculously loud, any normal person would expect the sound to have the capability of ruthlessly piercing and tearing one's eardrums. Yet, the sound of the bell slowly seemed to form a melody that was gentle on the ears; it brought with it a calm that soothed any and all quaking panic.

The door suddenly opened once again as numerous figures bolted into the room, interrupting the peaceful melody. As the figures slowed their steps, their figures came into Rentaro's view, a few of which he recognized as the Grand Elders: Tuross and Vlita, and the Elders: Fleley, Tlarc, Phans, Quint, and Astrona.

There were about a dozen of others amidst the group who Rentaro couldn't recognize. Their eyes held impending gazes; they seemed as if they were already filled in regarding the meeting's contents. They separated into three different groups, one of seven, one of ten, and one of two.

The group of seven included Tuross and Vlita, Rentaro mused that everyone else in that group was a grand elder as well. The group of ten consisted of Astrona and the other elders, some of which he recognized. Lastly was the group of two; it consisted of Elder Quint and an old man donning a white and black robe, his eyes a muddled grey.

There was soft rambling as the elders spoke among one another, giving their own thoughts on the village's current situation, before the old man seemed to be ready to make a move.

The old man beside Elder Quint stood up, resting his arms on the table in a feeble manner, "Ahem," the room went silent as everyone addressed him with respectful gazes, "Before we jump to any conclusions, I'd like to hear why this meeting was called."

The old man spoke in a tranquil tone, his eyes without the slightest worry, as he directed his gaze towards Fen.

"Of course, Patriarch. Based on his report, Haz led his group into the second forest zone, originally planning on training Icrin and our guest, Rentaro, as appointed by Elder Astrona. It was in the second forest zone where they were attacked by half a dozen of peak Foundation Establish stage three Corpse Soldiers."

"Oh? Corpse Soldiers, you say? And they were at the peak of stage 3...? I see, their controlling techniques have vastly improved from last time if they're willing to send 6 peak stage 3 corpses as a mere test."

Haz spoke up solemnly, "Forgive my interruption, Patriarch, but there was also one Corpse Soldier at Stage 4."

Various responses followed, all tinged with astonishment and questioning.

"A stage 4?"

"Such a level, in the second Forest Zone?"

"Would they actually waste a stage 4 and six peak stage 3 Corpse Soldiers for a mere test?"

"Oh? The situation has truly evolved beyond my initial expectations." An inquisitive glint in the old man's eyes, "As we all know, the first forest zone consists of beasts at Foundation Establishment Stage 1."

"The second forest zone includes beasts at stage 2 and early stage 3. At the third forest zone, there are beasts at the peak of stage 3, 4, and 5. The fourth zone includes peak stage 5, 6, 7, and 8 beasts. Lastly, the fifth zone includes beasts at the peak of stage 8, 9, and half a step into Core Formation."

"Among us, only Elder Quint has broken into Core Formation, where he currently remains at stage 1. As for me, I'm only at the half-step point of entering core formation. Grand Elders, your strength is only between Foundation Establishment stages 8 and 9. As for all of the Elders, their strength is between stages 6 and 8. Stage 5 and below are the general cultivation stages of our village's hunters."

"Based off of the current situation involving Corpse Soldiers, act under the presumption that we are indeed facing another attack from that evil cult. It seems they've found a breakthrough in their research, considering that they can control peak stage 3 beasts with ease and control a stage 4 for a mere test."

"Patriarch Nero, what do you propose we do?" Grand Elder Vlita spoke up, her voice hoa.r.s.e.

"There's nothing we can do at this moment, but prepare for incoming attacks. We'll distribute the proper attire and gear accordingly, increase our recon and patrol, operate our activities on high security alert." The Patriarch, revealed to be named Nero, spoke up.

Among the group of grand elders, an old man stood up with maligning wrath, speaking tautly, "Patriarch Nero, we can't just sit around and wait for their plans to go into action! By then, it will be to late to put up a fight! The best course of action is to lead a strong offense against them immediately!"

"Sit down, Ahan. Do you really suggest that we risk sending our clan members into the depths of the forest at this point in time? Such a move is disadvantageous to our side when they have the ability to control corpses to ambush us with." Grand Elder Tlarc rebuked.

The Grand Elder, Ahan, started in anger, but mostly desperation, "You-"

Patriarch Nero's voice interrupted, "SILENT! Ahan, you're not the only one who felt the pain of losing loved ones to their siege. This d.a.m.nable cult, it has caused all of us pain, be it our hunters, children, everyone in our clan. We've all experienced the pain and sorrow they caused. Don't let your emotions fuel your irrationality, don't let your emotions be the fabrication of more sorrow."

Grand Elder Ahan looked down in shame, "Patriarch, I..."

Patriarch Nero sighed in emotion, "Ai. There's no need to apologize, Ahan. Despite our age, all of us are just a bunch of emotional old fogies in in the end."

"I guess you're right, Patriarch." Grand Elder Ahan mused a bitter smile.

The patriarch continued, "Haha. I'm sure everyone here understands what must be done. Every second matters, let's get moving along now. Quint, Astrona, you two come with me for a quick chat?"

"I wouldn't dare to decline, would I?" Elder Quint smiled.

Astrona agreed before glancing towards Icrin, "Hah. The time of peace is short-lived. Icrin, Rentaro, you two return home now. Your training trip was cut short, but hopefully you managed to learn a bit. Even the slightest bit of experience is better than nothing, after all."

"Yes, Gramps!" Icrin hugged Elder Astrona before running off, Rentaro following closely behind him.

Elder Astrona turned, "Haz, thanks for taking them out with you. Hopefully they didn't cause you much trouble."

"Everything went fine, Elder Astrona." Haz nodded in respect.

"That's good. All of you know that our coming days won't be easy, prepare yourselves mentally and physically in the meantime." Elder Astrona spoke, his eyes elsewhere, before joining Patriarch Nero and Elder Quint.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Together, the duo of Rentaro and Icrin returned home. Before returning to the village, Rentaro had Kyon and Roy enter the system's spatial pocket for summons. Naturally, the duo could see and hear everything going on from Rentaro's perspective thanks to their soul contract and their distance not being far apart.

Thanks to the spatial pocket belonging to the system, and the system being binded to Rentaro's soul, even when they entered the spatial pocket they weren't considered far from Rentaro. Thus, he decided it would be best for the two of them to stay within the spatial pocket, especially Kyon, as to avoid any excess questioning from the elders in the current time of emergency.

Rentaro, still bothered by the emergency everyone was worried and preparing for, "Icrin?"

Icrin, his thoughts elsewhere, "Hmm? What's up?"

"This, "evil cult," could you tell me a bit about them? And, what happened exactly happened with them?"

Icrin's body trembled slightly, "The evil cult, they refer to themselves as the 'Apotheosis of Lineage,' and their research is along the lines of human modification and control."

Rentaro asked further, "The 'Apotheosis of Lineage?' What do you mean by human modification and control?"

Icrin responded once again, though his words were m.u.f.fled over his heavy breathing and forced out, as if he were choking and striving for breath, "Bloodline mutations, extraction and implantation of foreign organs, all sorts of brutal experiments...."

Rentaro panicked in reaction to Icrin's current state, especially after seeing his glistening eyes, "Huh?! I- Icrin? I- Sorry, I- I didn't mean to upset you..."

Rentaro's words snapped Icrin back from his memories. Icrin wiped the tears away from his reddened eyes, flas.h.i.+ng a wry smile, "Uh? Oh, no, it's fine... Actually, Gramps told me I should let everything out eventually; holding in all my emotions would only cause me more pain and problems in the long run."

Rentaro agreed with Icrin's words, thus encouraging him to continue, "You said it yourself, the two of us are sworn brothers. I'll listen to anything you have to say, so don't hold anything back."

Icrin sniffled slightly, "Uh-hm! As you know, our village is a clan in and of itself. However, our clan isn't of normal humans, nor is it a Beast clan - our clan is a Demon clan!"

Icrin paused, looking at Rentaro closely, as if expecting something...

"Sooo~, do you plan on continuing, or...?" Rentaro mused with interest, a small smile forming on his face.

"Huh, Oh yeah. Just thought you'd show some emotion - like surprise, shock, anything for that matter. Though, this works too, I guess. Anyways, everything happened around two years ago, when the cult first made their appearance."

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Icrin continued, still shaken as he recalled his memories, "They seemed like ordinary people at first, a group simply traveling past our village as they moved on to their own destination. Rather than continuing past our village however, the group stopped and an elderly man, who appeared to be their leader, requested to have a discussion with our Patriarch regarding a trade between them."

As Icrin went to continue, Haz's voice interrupted, "We didn't mean to eavesdrop, Icrin, but why not start your story a bit earlier? As for us listening in, you've listened to plenty of our stories, no? This is simple repayment"

Behind Haz were the entourage of Ichi, s.h.i.+n, Phu, and Tsyun, each smiling in agreement as they made themselves at home.

Icrin snarked, "Hmph! I never gave any of you permission to enter my home! But fine: It all started 14 years ago, with the birth of the chosen child-"

Everyone went wide-eyed, astonished by Icrin's shameless att.i.tude.