4 hours in, and no one had any thoughts of leaving the hall.
Everything they heard was still getting absorbed in their minds, though their faces remained dazed, sometimes widening in animated shock, and sometimes paling in horror.
This felt like an adventure only told in made-up movies.
No. Before this, they didn't even know that there was a word in their dictionaries called 'Ghosts.'
No. They were truly serious.
There was no word in the dictionary like Ghosts.
It sounded weird in their ears, but after listening to the description of what a ghost was they felt the term was very appropriate.
After the Grandmaster freed up eaten souls from the bellies of the many monsters, pale ghostly images of the dead appeared briefly thanking Dorian before vanishing.
Apart from the terms Monster and creature, they didn't know what other words to describe the many supernatural beings they witnessed.
Movies and many things, in general, don't cover such matters.
Anxiety got the best of these titled, influential men and women, as they subconsciously tapped their heels and leaned forward from time to time on a whirlpool of emotions.
At the end of the tall tale, they took out their hankies and wiped their sweaty foreheads.
The most disturbing thing was the fact that even their shadows following them around wanted them dead.
Many looked at their shadows bitterly, as if wanting to have a conversation with them, saying they were innocent.
Was it their fault they were born human and not a shadow? How can they control their birth? Aren't they hating the wrong people here?
Augh~
Everyone didn't know what to say, hoping they never get trapped in the so-called mirror world and get sucked in.
Wouldn't it just spell bad news for them? They would probably die without a place to bury.
---
"For now, that's all we know," Harry concluded, telling the children to stand behind Julius' team.
"This... This... This... " Dalahali who always had a million words to stay was now very short of words.
His speech was disorderly and his lips quivering as though thawing from freezing.
"So-so-so so what do we do now? We can't possibly let them keep going around like this."
"Yes." A female general exclaimed, bobbing her head like a chicken picking grains. "We all have families, friends and loved ones to protect, so this mustn't be allowed to go on without getting checked."
"Right! From what you've said it seems 90% or even more of the uncountable unsolved high-grade cases are caused by them."
"True. Even the solved ones might have been saved by monsters in disguise pitting innocent humans for the fall. So how can we continue to let this go?"
In the room, everyone was without a doubt shaken to the bone, yet they never lost their sense of reasoning and direction, quickly focusing on the main problem at hand.
"According to you, no mortal weapons can destroy these monsters, meaning our guns and even grenades would do nothing to them… According to the great powerful Grandmaster, the monsters are planning to open their gates into this world to take over?"
Wiggins nodded. "Yes. The frightening thing is that some can destroy an entire country with a flick of their fingers."
What? THAT STRONG?
Bam!
Many slammed their fists on the tables, rising to their feet in fear for humanity's survival.
Everyone's face turned grim as the harsh relay settled in their calculative minds.
If guns, daggers, tasers, grenades and even nuclear blasts could do nothing for these creatures then doesn't this mean humanity has barely any chance to win at all?
"Wait! Hold on! If we can learn the magic skills the great Grandmaster does, don't we have a chance?"
Say no more.
The moment Dorian's clone appeared earlier to save the day, many had already turned to his idols, thinking this must be what it's like when Prince Charming rescues a princess from their trapped tower.
Now they started referring to him as the Great Grandmaster, the one who knows all.
If Dorian wasn't careful, he might have a church of worshiping believers behind him.
No one can understand their awe for him, since they weren't the ones who faced what they just back earlier.
Why don't you try getting almost killed by a monster you know you are helpless against and see how it feels?
So what if the Grandmaster is far younger than they? Many now had filters in their eyes, not even seeing the Grandmaster age anymore.
(^_^)
---
Wiggins nodded in satisfaction, seeing as they reached the same conclusions as he did back then before the Grandmaster left for home.
"You're all correct. Humanity needs enough warriors to fight for the cause. For now, we can inform other nations just yet because they won't believe it at all."
That's true, many thought.
If they were the one, they too would think someone was pranking them or requesting their audience while drunk or on drugs.
Isn't that the only explanation for why grown men and women would request a national security meeting to talk about monsters hiding underneath tenor beds or closets in the middle of the night?
(_-_)
What do they look like? 5?
No! Even a 5-year-old knows such things don't exist.
It has been beaten into society so much that even 3 year old children don't get scared in the dark.
"Yup. No one will believe us." Dalahali stated. "Plus, we can't inform other nations just yet since the enemy might be kicking among them too."
Harry nodded, inwardly concluding that Dalahali wasn't so useless after all.
At least, his brain was now functioning right and was back online.
'...' [Dalahali].
Was he being looked down on again?
Dalahali felt weirded out by Harry's gaze but shrugged it off as other important matters flooded his brain.
.
"If the enemy is with them, how do we get them to know what we know without alerting the enemy?"
"Dalahali's question poses another major concern. From what I've heard, I can conclude that time is the only thing we don't have excess of."
"Yes. If there are monsters that can take us down with a flick of their finger, then we need to start training a large group of exorcists now!"
Many nodded. "That's right. This place called the underworld has monsters who have lived for millions of years. Some have even lived before the beginning of our world. So just imagine how powerful they will be?"
"Yes. Luckily, the Grandmaster has a way of making the first batches of students in his academy level up fast for the battle. It's because of this that we have some confidence in winning, but only if we start now." Berry added.
Well, <some> is better than none. Even though they still weren't sure humanity would stand a chance at winning, it was better to try than not try at all.
Who knows... perhaps their luck might just turn out for the better since the Grandmaster was by their side.
From the short time they knew the Grandmaster, they understood that although he was silent he hated losing.
The Grandmaster was in this for the winning.
Thus, if they did as instructed and played their cards right, humanity would be saved.
But how do they gather not just their forces but get the other nations to send forces of their own too?
Rudolf, the outdoor live streamer, who has always been silent at the back, opened his lips calmly.
"If I'm not mistaken, The Golden Military Tournament is supposed to be hosted here and is just around the corner, right?"
Eh? Everyone stared at Rudolf in shock. "How did you know this?"
"My dad used to be a powerful soldier before he got crippled with a bullet to his leg."
"Kid, what's his name?"
"Lark Strongton."
"What? Dalahali and many others felt a thunderous explosion in their hearts, looking at the kid who had strikingly similar features to his old man.
No wonder they thought he looked familiar.
Lark Stronghold was one of the well-known Special Soldiers who accomplished amazing feats like dealing with terrorists, drug smugglers and even going undercover in many deadly operations.
If not for his unfortunate accident, he would've still been in the military, maybe sitting right next to them after several rounds of promotion.
Hey... that's good.
The guy now had a brilliant son that took many of his admirable traits.
"No wonder I got a call from your dad asking me to join in on the search." Berry blurted.
He was wondering why Lark who hang called him for ages, suddenly rang his phone during that time.
Coincidentally, Wiggins had already walked him 30 minutes before Lark, so he was already on his way to Investigate the matter anyway.
.
"The kid is right. Since we are holding the tournament in our Vardos country, we can have everyone, including the many leaders, head to the testing ground and take the entrance Examinations into the academy.
It was devious but what could they do?
They felt that was one of the fastest ways to get the word out.
They too will prepare several teams under their forces and brigades to take the test.
As for the monsters lurking among the group, the grandmaster had already said that once in the testing grounds, any monsters would be dealt with.
So what should they worry about? All they had to do was keep their mouths shut, not alert the enemy and lead everyone there.
Many also thought of bringing their wives, parents and elders too.
If the war was upon them, shouldn't it be better for their family to learn how to protect themselves?
"Everyone should bear in mind that not everyone can become an exorcist. The selection process is rigorous, so I suggest we bring as many people as possible."
Apart from the Grandmaster's group, they have no way of knowing the innate abilities everyone has.
Who is to know who gets accepted and who doesn't?
Wiggins feared the acceptance percentage would be too low.
He even felt it might be lower than 1% and this wasn't good either!
Like so, a great plan was forged, with everyone leaving the room, swearing never to speak of this matter until it was time for testing!
(*^*)
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om