Apex drummed his finger on the table. "You should better keep to your promise or you might never see the light again."

The crypt Master smiled tightly. "Very well. Then the report."

The crypt Master then went on to describe how each of them has progressed. Their flaws and strengths, because eventually, when they hunt a crypt, he usually watches them and takes notes on what to correct or not.

The crypt Master decided to throw a jab because he didn’t know the main reason why they wanted to train those children brutally to Master rank at such a young age, something that is rare.

"Are you sure you can control them when you are done with them? If they gain Master then they’ll be important in the Clan."

Command replied in the same voice he’s been using since. "We have a lot of Masters already. It’s not something new, their journal will only start at the Master rank after all."

Of course, there’s a lot of Master, and that goes on to show the power of the Inferno Legion. But those Master rank Awakeners are also important.

Crypt Master spread his hand. "But in five years they’ll be sixteen and seventeen at most. That will make them important, the potential people will see in them! They will break history! What’s the youngest Master? Twenty-four....!"

"Crypt Master." Apex’s voice is colder than Ice’s, and his face twitched. "Do not overstep and why are you counting your fruits before they ripen?"

Crypt Master smiled but he didn’t reply. There’s some sort of internal conflict going on in the Legion, he was very sure of it now. There must be someone already planning to use the children. Interesting, really interesting. "Apologies."

Kael sighed. "You don’t seem to be giving them.....hard training." He said slowly.

Crypt Master turned to him. "Captain Kael, you have placed the children into my care and I will train them as I see fit, but to answer your questions. Do you know why there’s a big surge of advancement during active war with the monsters?"

He answered his question. "It’s because people fight with their life on the line. They fight, eat, and fight. That’s all they do, but because of that, they grow."

Apex frowned. "I think there are lots of impressive Awakeners during the war because they were able to shine through. Because there’s no place for weaker ones. But how does that translate to your training?"

Crypt Master answered. "All they do is fight and hunt monsters. They might not know it themselves but they’re growing and have mastered the basics that Captain Kael taught them. This Initiate rank is for them to do so, to get the basics right so they can start building as they advance."

Crypt Master gave it a lot of thought previously and he concluded that it’s better to train them this way. It gives them the chance to create a fighting style that works well for them.

But some are bothering the Crypt Master about the training, although they might get a lot of experience fighting monsters. What about other Awakeners? Now that the world has calmed down and very high monsters have claimed territories, humans and monsters have stopped actively fighting.

Both sides now share an uneasy understanding of not interfering in each other’s territory. Now, the force that each Great Clan has cultivated turned inward.

Humans have now recovered somewhat from the previous war; there are enchanted weapons to claim, resources to take, and unoccupied cities to occupy. The struggle for power between the Great powers will soon start.

So his trainees need to have experience fighting other Awakeners.

He has some ideas, but he can’t do anything without approval.

Commander Apex cleared his throat. "Then we will go to the main reason why this meeting is taking place. We have received a direct order from the Leader."

The crypt Master flinched, the Leader of the Inferno Legion? Known as the Inferno King of Doom. Why is the attention of such men turned inward to a small town here? There can only be one reason– The crypt Master himself!

Apex continued. "He has ordered that all the prisoners be killed. They are no longer useful."

During the war, the Inferno Legion discovered an enchanted object but it was the size of a building. That enchanted object was one of the strongest and most powerful they had ever gotten their hands on.

It can bend space and time but only on the inside, and it takes an extraordinary amount of resources to use. The Inferno Legion first used it to transport troops because of its concealing abilities, but as the fight dragged on, the enchanted object called the Ark was damaged and couldn’t move from where it fell.

So, it was decided that the Arc would act as a prison to hold prisoners. Due to the power of the Arc, anyone who enters will have their power reduced as the Arc spirit wishes, so it was the best place to keep the enemies of the Legion.

"All my prisoners?" Crypt Master asked.

Apex looked at him. "The order is for you to dispose of them."

"So if I kill them or not, the Leader just doesn’t want to hear about them ever again?" The crypt Master asked.

"Yes." Apex nodded. "Is that a difficult task?"

Crypt Master’s eyes glinted, and his thoughts spun; what was the Leader planning by not giving a direct order? Oh, this is going to be fun. He never liked any of them to begin with but now.....

Apex continued. "It won’t affect our training, of course; we will still supply you with resources, Spirit of the Arc."

It’s been a while since the Crypt Master heard that name, not since he fell in battle. "I will do as the leader commanded."

"Well then, that ends it," Apex said.

Crypt Master bowed. "As you wish." And with a slight sizzling of light, he was gone.

Apex prolonged the silence for a while before he said. "I never like that Spirit. He’s too smart for his good; if he can last long in the outside world, he would have become a very powerful force to contend with." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Kael shrugged. "There’s a rumor...very not well known that his fall in battle was because he interfered with the politics of the Legion. Influencing the people he transports."

"That so?" Apex didn’t deny it. "Anyway, I don’t like enchanted objects that are strong enough to have spirit. Not to talk of not being able to bond it."

"Will it be okay to leave the Yama team in his hands then?"

"What does it matter? The children will wear the mask and they will obey."