"W-what...?"

"You want to step down...?"

The candidates were shocked to their cores just like the members who, however, just looked at Olivia in disbelief.

"I will hereby announce that Elsa will be your next captain." Olivia stated calmly, ignoring the commotion she had caused.

"Wait...! Tell us your reasoning!" Elsa protested, slamming the table in the process.

"My reasoning? It’s because you’re the strongest after me and when it matters the most, you can make the right decisions."

"T-that’s not what I meant! Why are you stepping down?!"

"..."

Olivia stared at Elsa blankly for one second.

"I’m joining Mika’s cause." she replied.

"Huh? You want to join a group that isn’t officially created yet...?"

Elsa was flabbergasted like the others.

"E-excuse me, but could it be that you see potential in joining him...?" Eliza chimed in nervously.

"I get what happened yesterday but is it really enough to get convinced?" Loram wondered airheadedly.

"If you really get it, then you wouldn’t ask that question of yours." Lereon said piercingly.

"..."

Loram glared at Lereon shortly.

"Enough, everyone."

Olivia stood up.

"My decision is made. I will leave the Grand Order once Mika returns from his mission."

"Mission...?" Elsa wondered.

"Yes, you could call it a test if you want to. I sent him out to subjugate a certain demon in order to see if it’s really worth it to join his side."

Of course, Olivia heard about his achievements in Grat and she also knew what it was like fighting against and with him. However, she still sent him on that quest so that she could see how he would handle an official quest on his own and in his current mental state.

She was sure that he would successfully take down the demon but she wanted to be sure that he would not make a mess and destroy his surroundings or accidentally kill innocent people during the fight.

"Aside from his unbelievable strength, I still haven’t a full grasp on him but I know for certain that he knows things we don’t." Olivia stated tensely and nervously.

She shortly glanced at the candidates.

"Sorry but could you please leave us alone?" she said apologetically.

The candidates instantly understood the seriousness of the topic and that it was most likely classified information. Thus, they obediently left the room.

"What’s the matter?" Eliza wondered tensely.

"Mika Elbar... He knows the secret behind the appearances of demons." she added sternly.

"?!"

Since the invasion of demons, humanity tried to find the reason behind their appearances but even to this date, they were not successful.

However, Mika got his hands on that information when he cornered Xander in the Great Jungle.

"..."

No one dared to interrupt her nor did anyone dare to make even the slightest sound as Olivia began to repeat Mika’s words from last night.

The Demon Transfer.

It was widely known that there existed 66 relics with logic-breaking abilities. However, what the humans did not know was that there was an additional relic. The so-called 67th relic.

Said relic was hidden from history and mankind and was passed down from and to certain individuals.

With that relic, one was able to create a gate that could connect both the human and demon realms with each other. That way, demons could cross realms and get into the human realm. However, it was apparently not possible for the wielder or humans to cross realms.

Furthermore, depending on the demon that would use the gate, a certain amount of magic energy was needed. Thus, the wielder had to either use their own magic energy or that of other people.

But due to the danger of getting completely sucked dry, the wielder would usually use other people as the source.

The wielder of the 67th relic would, therefore, use magic tools to steal and store the magic energy of other people, even if it meant killing them or putting them in critical states in that process.

"..."

Olivia stared at her comrades after she briefly explained the Demon Transfer.

"Olivia, can I ask you how that boy came to know about it...?" Zhen asked as if he had a headache.

"He found Xander Maystra, a potential culprit of the invasion in Loogam, not too long ago. After putting him in a tough situation, Xander began to tell everything." Olivia responded.

"Xander Maystra...!" Lereon grumbled quietly and frustratedly.

"Based on that information, we can pretty much confirm that Xander was involved in the incident in Loogam. Was he the wielder of that relic?" Elsa said pensively.

"No. In the end, he didn’t spill the beans about the true mastermind, however, he confessed all his deeds."

Xander admitted that he was the cause for the deaths of roughly half of the then-second-years during a trip. He also tried to kill Lily during the tournament if it was not for his defeat by Mika’s hands.

He did all that just to gather magic energy for the mastermind.

"According to Xander, there was a hidden space beneath the arena during the Loogam tournament. In that room was apparently a magic tool which would gradually suck the magic from the participants."

"Tch. So that explains the mystery behind the yearly fatigue of the participants." Elsa clicked her tongue.

If one would assume that Xander had accomplices, then it would also explain the deaths outside the participants.

"So what happened to that Xander then? Is he dead?" Loram asked.

"I don’t know. Mika didn’t tell me that."

Olivia could not be honest. Especially, when Mika said that he finished his business with Xander quickly so that he could rush to the other demon in the area. Because of the rush, Mika decided not to ask him anything concerning the mastermind yet.

But a part of him did not really care that much about the mastermind as he was blinded by his wrath at that moment.

"I see... But magic tools, huh...?" Elsa muttered.

"If magic tools are involved, then there’s a person we should target." Zhen remarked.

"Don’t worry about that. I’ve already ordered Wendy and Zack to go after that person." Olivia said.

The person they were tasked to interrogate was none other than Hecto Togin, the engineering genius who innovated new and groundbreaking magic tools.

Elsa leaned back on her chair and sagged down while sighing.

"Jeez... There’s too much to digest right now..." she lamented.

Not only was she named the next captain but she and the others from the Grand Order learned about the secret behind the appearance of demons and the cause for the invasion in Loogam.

"Elsa. I will leave the Grand Order in your hands now. Do not disappoint them and me, okay?" Olivia joked with a soft smile.

"..."

A vein was about to burst on Elsa’s forehead but she took a deep breath so that she would not explode.

"Whatever." she mumbled, averting her gaze with a pout from Olivia.

"..."

With her smile still on her face, Olivia was the first one to head to the door.

"Oh, by the way... I forgot to tell you that you may have to find another candidate for the position of the lightning mage." she stated clumsily.

"Wait, what...?!"

Elsa jumped out of her seat.

"See you around then!" Olivia carefreely bid farewell as she waved her hand at them.

It was set.

Olivia would join Mika’s new squad that would focus on actively eliminating threats and demons around the world.

"In hindsight, that doesn’t sound so bad." Olivia muttered with a slight huff.

In that squad, she could go wild the way she wanted with no one restricting her. For a battle-maniac like her, that squad was the right place for her.

She was the first one to join him, however, Mika already made up his mind on whom he would ask next.

Ophelia Ross, a fellow lightning mage who possessed a relic and the Rostanta blood and therefore, was able to stand toe-to-toe with demons in a physical fight. She may be still rough around the edges but he hoped that Olivia would train and help her to control that blood of hers.

Then, there were four other candidates, whom Mika did not mention in front of Olivia.

Belian Ziva, someone who not only wielded a strong relic but also had the thirst to kill every demon.

Sara Tiam, someone who also wielded a strong relic and was labeled a sword prodigy, whose swordsmanship even overshadowed Mika’s.

Sylvia Pyril, someone whose magic potential could even exceed that of a Grand Order member.

And Lily Hayth, someone who may be still lacking in strength overall but had tremendous potential mostly due to her relic.

These four were his friends his age and given some time, those four could be good fits for his squad.

That squad may not represent every magic attribute that existed in the world, however, the squad consisted of the strongest Mika knew at the moment.

And he was certain that his squad could outdo the Grand Order.