The room was tense as the council gathered, but they no longer wore their usual calm demeanors.

Sweat ran down their faces. An impromptu meeting had been called after Ronald’s incident, and none of them could refuse the summons.

The notice had made one thing very clear: anyone who failed to attend would be treated as Ronald’s accomplice.

"This is ridiculous. Since when did the Association start threatening us? How dare they lump us together with that brat?" The old man, Martin muttered, his face filled with displeasure as he finally broke the awkward silence that had long since been in the room.

"Indeed! If we let this slide, who knows what else they’d use to threaten us? Eric should apologise after this meeting. And why are we even waiting for him?" The lady said, her confidence returning as she heard someone else voice their displeasure.

Neither of them could admit their involvement. As long as they stood together and pushed back hard enough, Eric would eventually yield.

At least...

That was what they believed.

If they brought up their displeasure, they were certain they would be able to push Eric to do as they pleased.

’Let’s see if he’ll still keep pushing this useless narrative if we push back at him.. Eric definitely doesn’t want any trouble with us"

"I think you all are making a fuss, if you didn’t do anything then you shouldn’t be worried about a meeting" Larry said, lounging lazily into the chair, his legs on the table, he had a comic cover open in front of him as he read the content with delight.

"You—"

"Hey! Now can we all relax, I didn’t call a meeting for us to argue, did I?" Eric’s voice rang through the room as he walked inside, his right hand was wrapped in wool and hung over his neck.

However, his presences still carried weight as he stepped into the room.

There was an unusually bright smile on his face as he came into the room, and the council members quickly noticed it.

’I don’t like the smile on his face... Just what is he thinking?’ the old man thought, his face scrunched up as he looked at Eric.

’It doesn’t matter. Pressure him before he pushes this meeting too far. Zan should’ve cleaned the facility by now... After today, this whole matter will disappear.’ The man thought as he threw Eric a fierce glare.

"What’s the meaning of this nonsense Eric!" He roared, his eyes flaring with anger as he spoke, "How could you pull us out here with a threat?! Since when has that become the modus operandi for the association. That is not how we arrange our meetings" the man said firmly.

"I agree, that is uncalled for and inappropriate. We’ll need an apology for that. The association is going overboard these days. Do we need to remind you that the council still has its right?" The lady snapped, shooting him a sharp glare.

Eric let out a loud chuckle, causing the two councilors to flinch.

’Why’s he laughing?’ they thought, an uneasy feeling crawling up within them.

"Please councillors, Don’t try to rephrase my words, I remember explicitly stating in my message that you can decide not to come and I said that is only if you had no hands in the impure project that Ronald was doing, else you would face legal punishments for not coming" Eric said his gaze sharpening as he glared back at the councillors, causing them to flinch under his sharp gaze.

"That said, your attendance wasn’t necessary, unless you’ve had a hand in this" Eric added with a chuckle. Despite his hearty laughter, they could tell that he wasn’t joking around today.

’He feels different today... What’s changed...?’ The old man thought his wrinkled hands wrapping tightly around the head of his walking cane as cold sweat dropped down his face. He swallowed nervously, then glanced at the lady that had been supporting him.

They exchanged a brief glance.

"These meetings are usually attended by all members of the house.. So what are you trying to imply?" Martin pressed.

But Eric only gave a casual shrug, "Then that’s only good for us, since we’ll all get to know who the culprits are today"

As his words landed, Eric noticed several expressions change. Some of the councillors shifted with unease, and he couldn’t help the smile tugging by the side of his mouth.

’I don’t know how Phantom managed to get so much information in such a short time, but with this, I’ll finally be able to put an end to these old brats.’

Usually, he always tried to avoid going head on with the councillors, since they always covered their tracks well, but today was different, he’d finally gotten all the information he needed to put them down.

And while all of them weren’t listed, taking down two or more councillors would ultimately reduced their influence on the association and allowed more flexibility.

’I wouldn’t have gotten all this information without Phantom, I wonder how he got them...’ Eric thought as he sat down comfortably at the head of the table, admiring the scrunched faces of the old councillors.

He’d never felt more satisfied.

"Dana, please bring the folders" He said, casually stretching out his hands, Dana walked up with a smile on her face as she placed the wrapped folder in front of Eric.

Eric casually picked up the folder with one hand, "This file here holds information on all those who participated or assisted Ronald in any way with the Plague X experiment. I’ll ask one final time, if you had a hand in this speak up now, your punishment will be lighter"

’There’s no way he’d have any crucial information and even if he does, it won’t be significant enough to do anything’ The old man thought, closing his eyes as he calmed himself.

He’d made sure to clear out his name from any of the experiments that had been done and managed to keep it completely anonymous so it wouldn’t be linked back to him.

Seeing no reply from any member of the table, Eric casually dropped the file on the table, their eyes following his every move as he did.

"The experiment was carried out in Kevenhoff city and was approved by three council members"

’That’s the only thing he could find... I’m sure there’s nothing else’ The old man thought peeping at the file as Eric flipped through.

"Ronald of course was heading this experiment and his two accomplices were Sir Martin And Miss Bathilda"

His eyes lit up as he heard his name, "Such Insolence! Who would dare put my name in such a file?! What proof do you have to back such claims?!" The old man roared.

’Even if he somehow found out, if they don’t have concrete evidence then there’s no way they’ll be able to arrest me!’ He thought confidently.

"The association has grown wings and I think it’s time we did something about it, councillors we can’t let this slide. Today it’s me. Tomorrow it’ll be one of you." He said glancing at the others who nodded with him.

"Oh Sir Martin Don’t be in such a rush, we have more than enough proof" Eric said a wide grin cutting across his face.