- Sebastian -

  The thud of the fist hitting the table reverberated in the feren, drawing the attention of all the generals present. The soft lighting reflected off the metallic walls, casting tense shadows over austere faces. Sebastian rarely lost his posure, but the situation demanded an exception. ing from an arrogant young desdant of one of the Great Houses, such behavior was uable.

  "Immediate expulsion," Sebastian growled through ched teeth, his gaze fixed on the holographic proje floating above the table. "I will not accept someone like that entering a Ranger Division. That's my vote, and even if I lose this vote, he will still be banned from the Yellow Division."

  The five had been gathered at NEA headquarters to discuss alents and possibly begin the evaluation process of the third stage, as well as to discuss potential allocations among the divisions. However, while they were holding the meeting, images from Arena 12 were shown to the group.

  The enerals exged gnces, nodding in silent agreement. They all uood the gravity of the situation. Mordred's behavior was not just reckless; it was monstrous. He had just assassinated an NEA pilot during the exam. He could have used his powers to incapacitate or paralyze the mecha, but instead, he tore the mae apart with such force that there was no ce to save the pilot.

  "Remember, he is one of the main Heirs and is supposed to pete for the Emperor's position; this could destroy your career," Camille remihem.

  She was one of the calmest generals in the meeting. It wasn't unon for her to handle such situations; being the General of the Pink Division, she had developed the ability to calcute the value of each person's life within aion to achieve maximum efficy.

  With her long silver hair casg over her pink armor, she seemed to many a symbol of innoce, but to those who knew her, she might be the most feared general among the five.

  "I agree with Sebastian; it's impossible to accept such behavior," Quinn supported her colleague. However, Sebastiahat this was a bad sign. Being one of the most impulsive among the five, it indicated that he might lose that argument.

  Sebastian turo Jason, seeking approval. Jason was reing in his chair, eyes closed. The General of the Bck Division looked as if he had been sculpted from stone, with muscles visible eveh his armor, which was as bck as his skin.

  Like the others in the room, his expression showed disgust at what had happened; however, he preferred not to voice his thoughts.

  Before Jason o speak, Wiz interrupted the exge between the generals. "At this moment, we should be evaluating the talents approved from the first exam, not discussing a situation like this," decred the general of the Blue Division, his eyes shining with a mix of wisdom and impatience.

  "But what we do?" Sebastian inquired, still boiling inside.

  "You're uimating the Emperor if you think he hasn't already been informed about the i. Undoubtedly, he has eyes and ears on the exam," Wiz ented.

  The fenerals turheir attention to Wiz, reizing that he was the most experienced among them. Siletled in the room as they pondered his words.

  Sebastian took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, ahe matter aside, at least for now. He khat hasty decisions could have disastrous sequences.

  The meeting room at the top of NEA's tral Tower offered a stunning panoramic view of futuristic Miami. The intelligent gss windows dispyed a vibraropolis, where drones crossed the skies in orderly routes, and advertising holograms projected intense colors through the urban haze. Sebastian diverted his gaze to the bright ads, trying to push the i still on his mind away.

  "Who else caught your attention?" Camille asked, breaking the tense silehat hung in the room.

  "We had a Nameless in Area 23. He seemed quite iing to me," Wiz ented, adjusting his gsses.

  "But he would have lost if the match had tinued," Jason recalled, his deep voice resonating in the room. His arms crossed over the bck armhlighted his imposing posture.

  "Even so, luck is an important attribute in the field," Wiz replied with a slight smile.

  Sebastian noticed Camille's face harden upon hearing their exge. The Ranger khat Camille's niece had lost the arena to this boy, which had made her furious a few hours earlier.

  The final ses of the arena reappeared on the tral hologram, aian recalled the young petitor. He turo Quinn, who had seemed oblivious to the discussion until then. "Wasn't he on that rescue mission you carried out?"

  Snapping out of her thoughts, Quinn looked more closely at Oliver's face projected on the hologram. "Oh! Yes, he was. He was one of the three we rescued from the Orks."

  "That's a great sign. He's lucky to have e out alive. But not only that, he survived six months of torture; if his brain hadn't turo jelly in that time, he might have enough grit to be a Ranger," Sebastian ented.

  "Alright, who would like to have this talent?" Jason asked, casting an inquisitive look at the others.

  Only Wiz aian raised their hands.

  The record was immediately added to the system. If the boy mao advan the following two stages, they would prioritize him to be allocated to the Blue Division or the Yellow Division. He would still have bargaining power or could argue to join another division, but for those tot would already be avaible.

  The images on the hologram ged to another arena winner, but none of them had time to watch the rec to the end. The door of the meeting room slid silently open, revealing another partit.

  A man in white armor entered, walking slowly to the head of the table. Though less orhaher generals', his armor emanated an aura of power and authority. The smooth, gleaming ptes reflected the ambient light, and a small medal hanging on his chest demonstrated his position above even his fellow generals.

  His graying hair, perfectly slicked back, matched his serious face. His peing eyes sed the room, briefly fixing each perso as if evaluating every detail and movement before he settled into the chair.

  Sebastian had seen him only a few times. However, the Ranger knew he didn't o speak; his presence was a statement in itself.

  "Stewart, it's good to see you again. It's been a while since you've been in a sele," Wiz ented with a cordial smile.

  "Yes. It's good to see you're well, Wiz," Stewart replied with a slight nod.

  Wiz seemed to be the only one fortable in the presence of the Sixth General, dressed in immacute white armor. The others shifted discreetly in their chairs, each trying to find a more appropriate posture in the face of the ued appearance.

  "Are you going to seleeone for your division?" Wiz asked, curious.

  "Yes, but not only that," Stewart expined. "I also came t a message from the Emperor."

  The five generals slightly raised their eyebrows, surprised by the speed of the decision.

  "Mordred Lot will not be prevented from entering the Ranger divisions," Stewart decred bluntly.

  Sebastia an urge to protest, but the words died in his throat uewart's pierg gaze.

  "However, there will be a punishment. He will not be able to be part of the Red Division," Stewart added, finalizing the verdict with a definitive tone.

  "Is the Emperor sure about this? It will undermine Mordred's political power; this could cause problems in the Senate," Wiz questioned, a look of crossing his face.

  "Yes. If there's any questioning from Great House Lot, they discuss it directly with Great House Meridius," Stewart responded.

  Sebastian uood the political game in progress. House Meridius was the Emperor's former house. The emperor could not e from his lineage since he had bee to occupy the throherefore, they would o support another house. If Mordred tried to cause any problems, House Meridius could easily support one of his oppos.

  Even so, Mordred would suffer a slight political blow, possibly being one of the few heirs uo ehe Red Division. It was rare to find people like John York, who chose to join other divisions even while being heirs of a Great House.

  The Yeller was not satisfied but khat at least there would be some sequence, and the heir would not e out pletely unscathed, however small his punishment might be.

  "Alright," Wiz firmed, trying to return to the main subject. "You said you were going to seleeone for your division; does that mean you found a new Unique Z-Crystal?"

  Stewart nodded. "We found one on Olympus and ahat the Heir of the Yorks found on Marea Alpha. We are still iating with him the possibility of acquiring the Z-Crystal, but we have at least one spot in my division."

  Wiz nodded excitedly; Sebastian knew how thrilled the Blue Ranger was at the possibility of researg one of those rare crystals.

  "Alright. Who's ?”

  GCLopes