Chapter 588
“Bang!” The pair wooden door with meticulous and subtly sumptuous patterns engraved on both sides and a pair of enchanted silver metal handles to a spacious round meeting room with a roundtable inside and a dome magically enhanced to display the 3-dimensional holographic image of a slowly spinning earth was pushed open, rather forcefully but not violently, and Josephine Wong came in with Glenda Grimes, Blue and Professor Barnes alongside her.
“Liaison Josephine Wong, this is a meeting of the Security Council with the Eastern liaisons, you have no business here.” The middle aged man standing by the roundtable facing the door, who was also the chairman of the Security Council, greeted Josephine Wong with a heavy frown, his voice shaking and his eyes narrowed: “Please, unless you have some urgent business that requires the council’s attention, leave, as your intrusion is highly unprofessional and not appreciated.”
“My apologies Mr. Chairman, but this is going to be everyone’s business.” Josephine Wong took out a crystal orb and tossed it in the air. The orb flow towards the center of the roundtable, then grew in size and started glowing in the kind of red light one could see from alarms and police cars: “We have a serious situation with the Hellinger Castle, and as you can see, the fate detection Array in the Grant Academy just sounded an alarm. We have a reason to believe that a group of Defilers will be on their way”
“Ms. Wong, I understand your urgency.” A middle aged woman who was also standing when Josephine Wong and the crew came in shook her head: “But we are just discussing about the critically underfunded attempts at developing the Eastern branches of the Division, we could not afford to lose more control over the area to the unqualified - ”
“I’m sorry, but that kind of development would take months and years of effort. And we only have less than two days of time to prepare for this.” Josephine Wong immediately cut the middle aged woman off: “And I am formally making a direct request to the Security Council to mobilize and deploy the fast reaction forces.”
“And what is the emergency that you deem warrants such a request in such a manner?” A young looking warrior wearing a suit of dark green armor asked: “And what do the alarms from this so-called ‘Fate Detector Array’ mean to us and the council?”
“The array used deep and powerful magic to tap into the flow of time and space of the world around the academy, and it will sound the alarm if the trend and the general direction of events put the academy’s safety and/or existence in jeopardy.” Professor Barnes answered: “The Division had on more than one occasion rented time and usage of it to serve as a tool of detection and divination.”
“I am in support of this mobilization request.” Just this moment, a female mage wearing a long white silk dress and a thin and exquisite translucent light pink diadem said: “I just received signal from my observatory, they were detecting some seriously disturbing signs in the environmental energy fields in some realms as well, most of which originated from the - the general coordinates of the Hellinger Castle.”
“What kind of signs are we talking about?” The Chairman of the Security Council asked.
“Abnormal burst of energy, energy signals indicating instability in time and space, and even signs of elemental energy itself being tainted and withering, something one could only observe when - ”
“When Godfalls happen.” Josephine Wong and the female mage said at the same time.
“Doesn't the Grant Academy have an expert on this? Should we consult him?” The middle aged woman smiled and said: “What’s his name? Professor Matkinson? We should schedule a consultation and get back to the developmental issue we as the official governmental body is facing - ”
“Professor Atkinson is on an excavation and research trip into the Elemental Realms.” Glenda Grimes said: “He’s not going to have time to answer or help during a call this urgent.”
“Well then, I do think it’s better to be cautious - ”
“I am in favor as well.” The young looking warrior in a suit of dark green armor was looking at an artifact that looked like a palm-sized pocket watch: “My watchers observed the same kind of disturbances, though they have yet to pinpoint the origins of these disturbances.”
“Wait wait wait, how about we dial it down a little?” Another middle aged man, who was in a luxurious looking white cloak with golden linings: “These are only signs of some kind of trouble, okay? They’re not clear evidence that we ARE INDEED facing any clear and impending danger, and mobilizing the fast reaction forces is no joke, especially when we are so understaffed and have piles of incidents and disasters in our plate - ”
“This is a clear danger, we were there in the Hellinger Castle, and we witnessed it. Someone tried to use an undeservingly powerful artifact, and a tear in the world was created, which would be the passageway for the Defilers to come over to our world. We know that at least one Defiler had come here before, and even if it’s a slight indication that they may come again, we have to treat it with the utmost caution and preparedness.” Josephine Wong looked around the room and said: “And a fast reaction force will not be enough, we are pleading to everyone here and in the Division, that we must prepare our forces.”
“I on behalf of the Headmasters of the Grant Academy am here to vouch for Ms. Wong’s account, and to inform the esteemed council that we will be lending a hand to Ms. Wong’s efforts.” Professor Barnes stepped up and gave the room a gesture of greeting by placing his right hand on his left chest and bowed.
“What about Principal Hawke?” The Chairman of the Security Council asked.
“He is suspended and under investigation for his negligence in handling the event of circulation of contaminated materials. All three Headmasters and the vice principal have assumed his duty for the time being.”
“The council will need time to decide.” The Chairman went silent for a brief moment, then said: “Council members, I propose an immediate meeting and a quick vote on the authorization of this mobilization request. Liaison Wong, please excuse us.”