In the Underside, tension filled every corridor.
The air vibrated faintly from the mana-powered screens that lined the hall, all tuned to surface-world channels. Every person gathered, mages, soldiers, and refugees alike, was waiting for the sa thing.
The broadcast.
When it finally appeared, a ripple of gasps spread through the crowd.
One of the major broadcasting networks, a station trusted across the entire nation of Alterian, had broken the silence. The screen brightened, and a familiar insignia appeared in the corner.
They were showing it.
The truth.
The footage Alen and his team had risked their lives to record.
At first, there was only the sound of the reporter’s voice and the faint hum of static. Then the images appeared, Alen’s cara view shaking as he walked down the dark hallways of the Cerebus facility. Cells lined both sides. Inside them were gaunt faces, hollow eyes. People who had been used as experints.
Over the footage played Alen’s own narration, recorded after the mission. His voice was steady, but underneath it was restrained anger.
He described what they had seen, how the captives had been drained, experinted on, and left for dead. He explained what the facility’s purpose was, to push the limits of light magic and create soldiers who could not die.
Then ca the supporting evidence, clips gathered by Varkos, statents from multiple guilds.
The video changed scenes: different mages from various regions, each one identifying themselves before admitting their connection to the Cerebus Guild. They explained the orders they had received, to deliver victims, to silence witnesses, to destroy anything that might expose them.
There were even confessions from the Underside. Survivors who had once been enslaved there appeared on cara, faces trembling but voices firm, recounting the experints that had turned their lives into nightmares.
The evidence was overwhelming.
"A large-scale investigation has been ongoing for so ti," the news anchor announced gravely. "Led by a special branch of the Alterian military. For security reasons, the departnt has not been nad, but sources confirm that this task force believes no injustice should go unpunished, even those tied directly to the Grand Magus and the guilds under their control."
Her tone shifted slightly, the tension in her voice betraying how historic this mont was.
"Already, world leaders are demanding answers. What will happen to the Cerebus Guild? And can the Grand Magus, who have ruled Alterian for centuries, still be trusted?"
The mont those words aired, everything changed.
It began as a spark, a single broadcast, but in seconds it beca a chain reaction that spread across the world.
Once one network aired the footage, others followed. They couldn’t afford to stay silent. Competing broadcasters scrambled to confirm the story, each desperate not to be left behind.
No one wanted to be accused of protecting the Guilds.
And as more outlets joined in, it created a shield of safety. The networks reasoned that if they all aired it together, none could be singled out for punishnt.
Within minutes, the story was everywhere.
Ergency broadcasts ran across every channel.
Screens in skyscrapers and city squares displayed the sa footage.
Even the advertising billboards switched to display the words:
"Breaking: Grand Magus Guild Accused of Atrocities."
The internet flooded with reposts, translations, and comntary. Every platform, every city, every person was talking about it.
The once untouchable image of the Grand Magus was cracking before everyone’s eyes.
Safa clasped her hands together as she watched. "What’s going to happen now?" she asked softly. "When news spreads this fast in Pagna, it’s chaos. It usually leads to civil war... or the fall of entire guilds."
Raze didn’t answer imdiately. His sharp eyes were fixed on the screens, reflections of firelight glimring in his pupils.
Then he turned to Alen.
"You’ve been part of the military your whole life," Raze said. "You’ve seen how governnts react when their power is threatened. What do you think cos next?"
Alen’s jaw tightened. "The people will start with protests. They’ll demand justice and answers. Then, in panic, the governnts will rush to issue statents."
He began to pace slowly as he explained, his words heavy and deliberate.
"The Cerebus Guild is closely tied to several major politicians. To save themselves, they’ll cut ties, claim ignorance, maybe even arrest a few lower mbers to look innocent.
"That ans the Cerebus Guild will lose their funding, their privileges, their ability to move freely."
He looked back at the footage. "But don’t mistake this for victory. The Grand Magus still hold enormous influence. They still have allies, armies, and countless citizens who owe them everything."
"So it won’t be enough," Safa murmured.
"No," Alen admitted. "There’ll be outrage for a few weeks, maybe a month. Then the Grand Magus will spin the story. They’ll claim it was one rogue branch, that justice has been served, and people will want to believe it. They’ll want to move on."
He exhaled slowly. "That’s why we can’t stop here."
Raze nodded, his expression calm but resolute. "Then we won’t."
He stepped closer to the table where the crystal screen glowed.
"In that month, while the Cerebus Guild scrambles to defend itself, we’ll strike," Raze said. "We’ll destroy them completely, root and stem. And when that’s done, we go after Gizin."
He turned to the group, his voice rising slightly, carrying through the hall.
"This is the perfect ti. Public opinion is on our side. If we eliminate Gizin while the world’s attention is still on these cris, the Grand Magus won’t be able to twist the truth. They won’t have ti to rebuild their reputation."
Everyone listened in silence. Even those who didn’t know Gizin personally could feel the conviction in Raze’s voice.
He had waited years for this.
The group would remain hidden in the Underside for now, gathering their strength and monitoring how the surface reacted. Reports poured in every hour.
The Cerebus Guild’s movents had slowed dramatically. Their mbers were retreating, gathering in one stronghold, an act born from both fear and desperation.
That ant one thing: they were vulnerable.
"Everyone," Raze said at last, "prepare yourselves. This will be our final push. Once we head back up, we may not even need to hide our faces. The world might finally be ready to see who we really are."
A faint smile ford on his lips.
"The world may even ask us to bring justice, and when it does, we’ll answer."
For a mont, the entire hall fell silent. Then quiet murmurs spread through the crowd, not of fear but of determination.
For the first ti, victory didn’t feel impossible.
As Raze looked at the flickering screens, his hands clenched tightly at his sides.
He could almost see her, his wife, smiling in the reflection.
Gizin.
The man who had taken everything from him.
Now, finally, he was within reach.
And this ti, Raze wouldn’t stop until the world itself saw him fall.
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