Black Church Headquarters

Commander John walked silently inside the meeting room.

It was a vast, grand chamber, far larger and more opulent than any other within the headquarters. Tall alcoves lined the walls, each carved from pale stone and decorated with intricate engravings. Large windows permitted streams of soft, golden light to illuminate the hall. The floor was patterned with pale circular designs set against a deep, dark background, forming a striking contrast that emphasized the room’s solemnity.

In the middle of the room was a large circular table, and many individuals who were commanders of the Black Church, responsible for causing trouble and increasing influence in various kingdoms. They were sitting calmly, waiting for the leader. Commander John did not say anything and took his seat.

"Good, you all have arrived," a deep voice reverberated throughout the hall.

Everyone hearing the tone instantly straightened up, and when their eyes fell on the young man who was walking toward the table with his hands behind his back, they showed looks of respect, fear, and awe in their eyes. They watched as he calmly took a seat and then looked at the commanders.

"I am here to announce a few things. First of all, operations in the Kingdoms will be indefinitely suspended," the Boss said in a calm tone, and those who heard his words felt as if they had been struck by a nuclear explosion.

They had spent years consolidating the influence of the Black Church in the Kingdoms, and now the leader was telling them to suspend their actions, which was absurd. Some of them were about to protest, but the Leader cut them off and said, "We are going to gather all of our forces and start a direct invasion of the Kingdoms."

If they were surprised by his previous words, then now these words sounded like something straight out of a dream. Some of them had gleams in their eyes, while others were curious about his drastic action

.

"Boss, if I may, can we know the reason for this drastic action?" one of the Commanders raised his hand and asked in a cautious tone.

"The reason is this... the mana sensors detected this," the leader said as a hologram appeared in front of them.

[Mana Density Increased: 61%]

[Secondary World Evolution Countdown: 14 days]

Everyone who saw this had their pupils constrict, and their scalps tingled as they read.

Bang

Suddenly, one of the commanders could no longer keep his composure and banged on the table and stood up, glaring at the text.

"Boss, wasn’t the Secondary World Evolution supposed to come a couple of years later? How did it reduce to mere days?" the commander asked in a tone of disbelief.

The Boss narrowed his eyes at the commander, and everyone immediately broke out in cold sweat. John, sitting silently, thought, ’This guy is insane... how dare he shout in the Great Lord’s presence?’

But before he could utter another word, an invisible force wrapped around his body like a vice. The commander’s eyes widened as he was lifted off the floor, limbs dangling helplessly.

"Great One, forgive me! Great One, please—have mercy!"

He screamed, his voice cracking in desperation. All dignity vanished. His life was in the Boss’s hands—literally. And he knew well that the Boss could erase him anytime he wished.

"Trash."

"AAAAAHHHHH-!!"

The commander’s scream rattled the chamber as his entire body twisted unnaturally. Bones snapped like dry branches. His right arm bent backward at a grotesque angle before tearing off completely, ripped from its socket. Blood splattered across the polished floor.

Before he could process the pain, his body was violently flung backward—

BOOOOM!

He crashed into the wall with a thunderous impact, stone cracking around his enormous frame.

The commander spat a mouthful of blood. His ears and eyes were bleeding. He looked at the floor, instinctively reaching with his right arm—only to realize it was gone, a jagged stump dripping blood.

He immediately forced himself into a deep bow, his forehead slamming against the floor repeatedly.

"Great One! Forgive this lowly creature for its mistake!"

Bam!

Bam!

Bam!

He kept bowing again and again, humiliation long forgotten—only fear remained.

"Ugh. Annoying. Shut up, you useless insect."

The leader muttered, clearly irritated by the noise.

He looked around the room. Each commander sat trembling, sweat dripping down their backs. Their expressions were twisted with a mix of awe and paralyzing fear.

"Alright. This is your last warning, and it applies to all of you. Do not raise your voice like this mutt in front of me ever again... and someone take him away and heal him."

The leader waved his hand as two soldiers standing nearby grabbed him and took him away, not before the commander expressed his gratitude.

"Thank you for your mercy, Great One."

"Hmph, sit down. I will let this slide," the Boss said in a dangerous tone.

"I presume you all understand the significance of this event," the Boss said nonchalantly, as if he had not almost killed his subordinate, and everyone’s expressions immediately turned serious upon hearing his words.

The first evolution was when this planet was invaded by mana for the first time, and everyone gained miraculous abilities. The era of countries shifted back to the era of Kingdoms, as a single person could easily overpower an army, and new kingdoms were formed by Warlocks.

The second evolution they were talking about was when the mana density would increase by 1000%, and the ceiling of power would rise.

"The researchers have predicted that this time the monsters and various plants will increase in strength again. As you know, they are inherently more powerful than humans. The researchers have predicted that this time it will be an all-out Apocalypse. Unlike the last time, humans will have difficulty surviving this time, and some kingdoms might fall under the monsters," the leader said calmly, as he was not bothered by the plight of humans.

Many of the commanders who heard this, like the leader, showed no concern, but instead had glints in their eyes.

"Leader, doesn’t this mean that while they fight, we can take this opportunity and conquer them?" Commander John said.

He could already imagine the ambitious nobles who would suddenly become stronger and overconfident would no longer want to remain subordinates and would rebel against the crown and start their own kingdoms. This would weaken the Kingdoms.

He thought about the Kingdom of Eindrik, which he was in charge of, that was already on the verge of rebellion due to the King lacking heirs and distant relatives already fighting among themselves from the shadows for the crown. This would accelerate the rebellion.

"Yes. This is the reason we are pulling out of the Kingdoms, and then we will gather our army and launch an attack on the Kingdom of Nexur, one of the three largest Kingdoms. The royal family is not united, so it will be easy for the Black Church to take it over."

"Go prepare everything on your side."

The leader said as his eyes swept over the high-ranking members.

"Yes, Boss," everyone stood up and gave a salute as they left.