Chapter 203: The Key to Dispersing the Fog

As he followed Sebastian up the stairs toward the living room, Shaan couldn’t calm his thoughts. Sebastian’s earlier words kept echoing in his mind. He still didn’t understand what Sebastian meant when he said the meeting wasn’t going as smoothly as expected.

’What exactly is happening in—’

A loud slam from the living room suddenly made Shaan stop in his tracks. His eyes narrowed. The atmosphere inside clearly felt tense. They had probably already started discussing a plan to retake Twilight Sanctum. Without wasting another second, Shaan quickened his pace toward the living room. He wanted to see the situation for himself.

"Kael, I already told you," Dr. Marshal said, shaking his head firmly. "Defeating the Resistance won’t be as easy as you think. We can’t charge at them without a proper plan."

"Ehm... I agree." Miss Daisy nodded from her seat. "We’re heavily outnumbered. Only a handful of Daemonists remain, and we need to consider every possibility carefully."

"No. You’re all wrong." Sir Kael immediately rejected their arguments. "I only need one target—the Resistance leader. If we eliminate their leader, that damned organization will fall apart on its own."

"Ehm... but how can we possibly find the Resistance leader’s location under these circumstances?" Miss Daisy asked. "We barely know what’s happening inside the Sanctum right now."

Sir Kael simply laughed. "Relax. I’ve already taken care of everything." He tapped his chest confidently. "Earlier, I sent several of our remaining Daemonists to scout the area. They managed to locate the Resistance leader near the cathedral. More importantly, he appeared to be alone."

A confident grin spread across his face. "This is the perfect opportunity to strike. If we attack the Resistance leader now, I’m certain we’ll succeed. I do not doubt it."

Dr. Marshal fell silent for a moment as he considered Kael’s proposal.

"To be honest, that isn’t a bad idea—"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sir Kael abruptly rose from his chair, confidence radiating from every movement. "We need to act now. We can’t allow those parasites to take over Twilight Sanctum."

"B-But are you sure that plan will actually work, Sir Kael?" Miss Daisy asked as she cleared her throat. "Can our remaining forces really defeat the Resistance leader?"

Sir Kael immediately turned his sharp gaze toward her and let out a mocking laugh.

"Heh? What exactly are you implying?" He folded his arms across his chest. "Do you dare doubt my strength?"

"Ehm... n-no, that’s not what I meant. Please don’t misunderstand me." Miss Daisy immediately shook her head, her face turning pale. "I-I’m not questioning your strength, Sir Kael. It’s just that... I’m not convinced the Resistance leader is truly alone. He could be doing this on purpose and trying to lure us into a trap."

"...."

"I agree with Miss Daisy," Dr. Marshal said as he gently stroked his chin. "That has all the signs of a trap. A Resistance leader wouldn’t wander around alone without protection." He leaned forward slightly. "I’m certain other Resistance members are hiding nearby. They’re probably using the pink fog to conceal their presence."

’I agree. I completely agree with Miss Daisy and Dr. Marshal.’

The room fell silent for several moments. Then Sebastian quietly called out to Dr. Marshal. Everyone in the room immediately turned toward the doorway and looked at the two of them.

"Oh... thank goodness. It looks like you’re feeling better now." Dr. Marshal smiled at Shaan before shifting his gaze toward Sebastian. "Thank you, Sebastian. Without your help, the Resistance might have captured Shaan by now."

"I’m glad I could help, Dr. Marshal." Sebastian lowered his head respectfully. "And please accept my apologies for interrupting this important meeting."

"Um... It’s absolutely fine." Miss Daisy shook her head quickly. "None of us is bothered at all."

"Earlier, the two of us overheard the discussion from the meeting that was taking place. I quite agree with what Dr. Marshall said." Sebastian’s expression was filled with conviction. "The presence of the pink fog is very disruptive and restricts our movement. We must eliminate this fog first so we can more easily defeat the Resistance leader."

Shaan nodded in agreement. "Right. The Resistance is also using their experimental dark creatures and hiding those terrifying beings within this pink fog," he explained. "These experimental creatures are powerful, and as long as this pink fog remains, their presence poses an additional threat to us because they can attack us at any time."

"True. If we can dispel this fog, we can pinpoint the exact location of the test subjects Shaan mentioned earlier." Sebastian looked at the three faction leaders standing before him. "We’ll be able to focus our strength better to defeat the Resistance’s leader."

’Interesting, it seems Sebastian has a rather critical mindset.’ Shaan fell silent for a moment, listening to Sebastian’s words. ’The twilight codex secretary sure is a clever one.’

"Ehm... It’s completely fine." Miss Daisy quickly shook her head. "None of us feels bothered at all."

"Earlier, Shaan and I overheard part of your discussion." Sebastian stepped forward, confidence filling his expression. "And I agree with Dr. Marshal’s assessment."

He glanced around the room before continuing.

"The pink fog severely limits our movement and visibility. We need to remove it first before we attempt to defeat the Resistance leader."

Shaan nodded in agreement.

"That’s right. The Resistance is also using experimental dark creatures and hiding them inside the fog," he explained. "Those test subjects are extremely dangerous. As long as the pink fog remains, they’ll continue posing a major threat because they can attack us at any moment."

"Exactly." Sebastian folded his arms. "If we remove the fog, we’ll be able to pinpoint the locations of those experimental creatures Shaan mentioned."

He then looked toward the three faction leaders seated before him.

"Once we eliminate that obstacle, we can use our forces far more efficiently against the Resistance leader."

’Interesting... Sebastian has a surprisingly analytical way of thinking.’ Shaan listened quietly as Sebastian spoke. ’No wonder he serves as the Science Faction’s secretary. He’s much sharper than I realized.’

Sir Kael immediately furrowed his thick brows and turned toward Sebastian. "Then answer me this. How exactly do you plan to get rid of the pink fog?"

"Honestly... I haven’t thought that far ahead yet, Sir Kael." Sebastian scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I was thinking... maybe we could use something to clear away the fog."

"Rain." Shaan suddenly snapped his fingers, confidence shining across his face."What if we use rain? I’m sure it could—"

"Rain?" Sir Kael crossed his arms and shook his head. "Listen to me, boy. The weather in Twilight Sanctum doesn’t work like the weather in the human world. Rain rarely falls here. We can count the number of rainstorms on one hand, and nobody can predict when they’ll arrive." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and tried to keep his frustration under control. "Honestly, I never expected your idea to be even worse than—"

"Ehm... actually, I think it’s a good idea."

Miss Daisy suddenly cut him off, and silence immediately swept through the room. "Artificial rain. We can create artificial rain and use it to clear away the pink fog."

Sir Kael blinked in surprise."I have no idea what you’re talking about, Miss Daisy."

"Ehm... We can create artificial rain with alchemical salt."

"Al-Alchemical salt?"

"That’s right, Sir Kael. Alchemical salt can be formulated to induce rain through a process known as cloud seeding," Miss Khaya explained briefly. "By using the necessary materials and adding some ingredients with a catalytic effect (anti-fog effect), this should work." Miss Daisy turned her attention to Dr. Marshal. "What do you think, Dr. Marshal?"

"But cloud seeding isn’t easy because we have to spread the salt around the Twilight Sanctum to speed up the results."

"Hmm... what you’re saying is correct, Dr. Marshal. Therefore, we’ll look for a location high enough to spread it from."

"What about the watchtower?" Sebastian snapped his fingers. "I’m sure we can spread it from up there."

"Hmm... Yeah, yeah, that’s possible. That method should work."

"Genius." Dr. Marshal clapped his hands, a look of joy on his face. "Very genius, Miss Daisy."

"I-it’s nothing, Dr. Marshal." Miss Daisy’s face flushed instantly. "I-I was just sharing my opinion."

"Hmm... It seems like that method makes sense, too." Sir Kael nodded.

"It’s just... there’s one problem."

"What’s the problem, Miss Daisy?" Shaan looked curious.

"I’m still a little short on the catalyst needed to make alchemical salt. I’ve stored it in my storage room, and someone needs to go get it."