Chapter 112: The examination is over.
Gramm interlaced his fingers and rested them on the desk, without sparing so much as a glance for the envelope placed before him.
It was San who picked it up, opened it, and skimmed through its contents.
His eyes widened for the briefest instant before he gave Gramm a simple nod.
Sirius had remained standing the entire time, motionless, rigid as a statue carved from stone.
He had expected Gramm to speak.
Instead, the director merely stared at him.
The silence stretched, heavy and oppressive, thick enough to weigh on the lungs.
Each passing second felt heavier than the last, as though time itself had slowed to observe the outcome.
After a short hesitation, Sirius resigned himself to breaking the muteness.
" The second trial consisted of stopping the attack on the duchy. As for the means and methods you would employ... you gave us complete freedom."
He paused, carefully watching Gramm’s face for any sign, any flicker.
There was none.
" Those were your words. And regarding the eleven promoted candidates..."
He inhaled slowly.
" ...our directives were clear: ensure that no candidate died during the trial, while also making certain that the majority succeeded."
Gramm did not move.
Not even a blink.
The silence forced Sirius to continue.
" Forty thousand candidates chose to proceed with the second trial, despite the obvious risk of death. And yet..."
His voice hardened.
" ...the majority of them quickly demonstrated behavior incompatible with what is expected of an enforcer."
A bead of sweat slid down his temple.
" Some fled at the first sign of difficulty. Others proved incapable of cooperation, or endangered the lives of their comrades, pushing harassment and internal conflict beyond acceptable limits. And some... simply revealed no aptitude that could be exploited by the Order."
He took a moment to breathe, feeling a dull pressure accumulate in his chest, as though an invisible weight were slowly pressing inward.
" As responsible enforcers, we therefore made a decision. Those candidates were disqualified from the examination."
Gramm’s gaze remained unshaken, impenetrable.
" They were unworthy of being considered true candidates. Consequently..."
Sirius clenched his fist slightly.
" ...only a few hundred were deemed worthy to continue the second trial."
A brief silence followed.
" None of them died."
He lifted his head.
" As for their presence on that list... each of them, in one way or another, demonstrated a potential capable of impressing the bureau to which they had applied."
San watched Sirius closely.
Gramm, however, still said nothing.
The discomfort deepened, coiling tighter with every heartbeat.
" The candidates for the Chancellery successfully managed the relocation of refugees, negotiated with an independent nation, and brought it to sign an agreement incorporating the principles of the Order."
Sirius continued more quickly now, as though trying to regain control of the room, of himself.
" Those assigned to Internal Affairs maintained order among civilian populations and ensured their protection against smugglers."
He was about to continue when, for the first time, Gramm’s voice rose.
" Enough."
The word fell like a guillotine blade.
" Did they... yes or no... stop the attack on the duchy?"
The pressure became crushing.
Sirius felt as though the air had been sucked from his lungs.
His legs nearly gave way, but he held firm, teeth clenched.
" Yes."
He drew in a deep breath.
" You will do it."
Gramm tilted his head slightly.
A barely perceptible smirk stretched his lips.
" Me?"
He paused.
" And what, exactly, would I do?"
Sirius gathered what little clarity he had left.
" The purpose of the examination was to select individuals capable of serving the Order. Those individuals have now been identified."
His voice trembled faintly.
" Continuing the trial serves no further purpose. As the one responsible for these new recruits, you will not allow them to die before their potential becomes... something more than mere potential."
Silence.
Then Gramm stood.
He placed a hand on Sirius’s shoulder.
" Mission accomplished."
The world wavered.
Sirius collapsed to the floor, his body wracked by uncontrollable tremors, as though he had narrowly escaped certain death.
Without sparing him a glance, Gramm snapped his fingers.
Golden flames enveloped Sirius, lifting him gently into the air.
" Allow me to show you what I expect from you."
---
When Sirius regained consciousness, the present swallowed him whole.
Before Iris and the candidates, three incandescent orbs were already hurtling forward.
Death was inevitable.
But just before impact, the world froze.
Gramm appeared with a sharp crack, like reality breaking under his arrival.
The spheres were dispersed, reduced to nothingness.
Yorb’s many eyes widened.
He felt no threat.
And yet...
With another snap of his fingers, golden flames surged forth and pulled Sirius back to his side.
Gramm’s silhouette was projected onto the base’s main screen.
" The examination is officially over. Congratulations to all those who have been selected."
Cries of joy erupted.
Some candidates jumped in place, euphoric, convinced they had succeeded... without yet understanding that they were not among the chosen.
---
Gramm then turned toward the calamities.
" You are not worthy of being struck down by my hand."
He paused.
" But consider this a reward."
He murmured:
" << Rain of Fire >> "
---
The sky ignited.
Golden flames spread across the entirety of the duchy, reaching even its most distant borders.
Miles away, those standing at the frontier lifted their eyes in wonder.
Renard felt his insides twist.
Such a quantity of ether...
" Is this... the power of the Order?" he whispered, eyes wide.
---
Kori, for his part, remained unyielding.
His voice carried to all the enforcers under his command.
" Our role no longer matters. The director of the Bureau of Archives and Exploration is handling this personally."
Though outwardly impassive, he could not help but feel a spark of curiosity.
( " To what percentage of his power will he go to annihilate this entire duchy?" )
A sigh.
" Well... how could I possibly know."
---
The rain fell.
It was not a violent downpour, but a slow, peaceful descent of millions billions of tiny golden sparks, each no larger than the flame of a lighter.
They drifted down from the cloud of fire with hypnotic grace, a spectacle both breathtaking and terrifying in its polychromatic beauty.
The first spark touched a minor calamity.
No screams.
No struggle.
Just flames.
And ashes.
The soft, continuous crackling of the rain of fire became the soundtrack of a methodical, total annihilation.
Sirius watched hell burn itself away.
" Annihilated..." he murmured.
