My Goblin System : Levelling up with my SSS Class Devouring skill

Chapter 538: Chapter 538

A long silence.

"That meets the threshold," Satou said.

"Yes," Loki said. "It does."

—-----------

Lyra spoke quietly from the reading bench.

"If Chronus has moved his entire population to an unmapped location," she said, "and if his city being empty was a requirement rather than a side effecht — there are three logical purposes." She held up one finger. "He moved them to safety before doing something destructive to his own territory. Something he didn’t want his people caught in." Second finger. "He moved them because he needs that number of people for something that requires population — rituals, temporal operations, a large-scale magical working that needs living participants." Third finger. "He moved them to a staging location. Building toward something. Preparing a force in a place no one is watching."

She lowered her hand.

"All three interpretations are serious," she said. "The third one is the most dangerous."

Satou looked at her. "Because if he’s staging a force in an unmapped location—"

"Then he’s not recovering," Lyra said. "He’s been assembling. For three months. In a place no one is watching, with eighty thousand people who are loyal to the Second Seat demon lord, and enough time to have done almost anything." She met Satou’s eyes. "And we only found out because Loki noticed the border patrols stopped."

A silence that had weight in it.

"Invoke it, Loki," Satou said.

A pause.

"You’re certain," Loki said.

"If I’m wrong," Satou said, "I’ve been part of a Grand Summons that turns out to be unnecessary and the council is annoyed. If you’re wrong, same outcome." He held the stone. "If we’re right—"

"Then every demon lord in the realm needs to be in the same room," Loki finished.

"Yes."

Another pause — longer this time. Satou recognized it as Loki thinking, not performing thought.

"There’s something else you should know," Loki said. "About how the council will receive this. About what invoking the Grand Summons means specifically for you."

"Tell me."

"You will be expected to speak," Loki said. "Not as a new lord deferring to senior seats. As a seat holder with direct evidence — the soul-bond, the directional reading, the connection to the event that triggered whatever Chronus is doing." He paused. "The council will want to hear from you personally. Some of them will test you. Some will challenge your right to be in that room at all. A few will be actively hostile."

"But most of them aren’t Chronus’s allies," Satou said.

"Most of them are self-interested," Loki corrected. "Which is better than hostile and worse than allied. If you can make their self-interest align with the response you’re arguing for, they’ll support it." He paused. "Which is where I come in. I’ve been navigating this council for a long time. Let me prepare you for what you’ll walk into."

"When does the summons go out?"

"Tonight," Loki said. "Once invoked, lords have seventy-two hours to respond. Council convenes three days from now." A pause. "There will be no graceful way to do this, Satou. Invoking the Grand Summons announces to every demon lord simultaneously that something significant has happened. The moment I invoke it, Chronus will know we’ve found his empty city. If he wasn’t already moving toward his objective, he’ll accelerate."

"You think he’s already moving," Satou said.

"I think a demon lord who planned this carefully didn’t leave an eighty-thousand-person gap in his territory by accident," Loki said. "He knew Cassius’s reconnaissance capabilities. He knew we’d find the empty city eventually. He left it empty on purpose — either because he didn’t care that we’d find it, or because he wanted us to find it at a specific moment."

The command post was very quiet.

"He wanted us to find it," Lyra said, not looking up from the folio. "He’s directing our attention." She paused. "The question is toward what."

A silence that stretched for long enough that Jessica appeared in the doorway — she’d been in the adjacent room and had clearly heard enough to know something significant was happening.

She looked at Satou. He gave her a small nod — not dismissive, just: this is serious, give me a moment.

She stayed at the door. Watching.

"Loki," Satou said. "The other demon lords who will be summoned. Tell me which ones I need to understand before walking into that room."

"Malakor," Loki said immediately. "First Seat. Frost and death. Ancient in a way that makes Chronus look young. He enforced council law in the Arena when Chronus tried to interfere in your duel — he’s not your enemy, but he’s not your ally either. He values law above everything else. If you speak clearly, with evidence, and don’t overreach in your claims, he’ll listen."

"Who else?"

"Volcanus. Fire. Third Seat. Straightforward — he respects power demonstrated, not claimed. He’ll assess you based on what you’ve survived and what you’ve done." A pause. "He knows about the Ancient God. He was... impressed, from what I understand. In the way that Volcanus expresses impression, which mostly looks like not immediately dismissing you."

"Seraphina is Fourth Seat—" Satou started.

"Yes," Loki confirmed. "She’s yours — she’ll support you without hesitation. That’s one reliable vote before the room even opens." A pause that carried significance. "Chronus was Tenth Seat. There is no Tenth Seat currently. It’s vacant. Which is its own kind of problem for council composition, but that’s a political detail for later."

"Who’s hostile to me specifically?"

A pause.

"Grimfang," Loki said. "Eighth Seat. He views new demon lords as threats to established hierarchy until they prove otherwise. He was the most vocal about questioning your right to a seat after the arena. He won’t attack you directly in council — the Grand Summons protocols prevent that — but he’ll challenge your evidence, your interpretation, your standing to present the information." A pause. "He can be managed. He respects directness. Don’t soften the account to be diplomatic. Give him the raw facts."

"Anyone else?"

"Nyxara is unpredictable," Loki said. "Shadow and void. Ninth Seat. She doesn’t take sides — she evaluates situations based on her own calculations and supports whatever she believes serves the realm’s long-term stability.