"He could be the culprit then, and I think he was also upset because of what you did to Aditya. He didn't show it to the public, but he really didn't like it," Ajit speculated.
"Forget about it first; tell me how many have left our guild," asked Rishi.
"Prepare yourself well from the information I got. Nina, Bhanu, Jay, Vinay, Manu, Chaya, and Aman were given offers, and Jay and Manu informed me about this."
"Who do you believe left the guild?" asked Ajit.
"Jay and Manu are our very trusted people, and the fact that they informed you means they don't plan to betray us." Ajit nodded at Rishi's speculation.
"From the remaining people I know personally, Nina and Vinay, I could be wrong, but I believe they will not leave the guild."
"Now, only three people remain Bhanu, Chaya, and Aman. I am suspicious of these three. What do you say, Ajit? You know them better than I do. Who do you believe will betray us?"
Ajit thought for some time before saying, "Bhanu is a very ambitious person; I don't believe he will think even a second before leaving our guild if he gets a better offer."
"Aman was already dissatisfied with our guild and had no personal connection with our guild. He would certainly leave the guild if he got the chance. As for Chaya, I am not sure about her; she hides everything about him."
They were talking when Rishi heard a knock on his door; he opened the door and saw no one was there. He found a box in front of his door; Rishi picked up the box and came inside.
"What happened, Rishi?" asked Ajit.
"I received a parcel just now," replied Rishi as he started opening it.
"What parcel?"
Wait, I also don't know what's inside it." Rishi opened the parcel and found a letter. 'I AM SORRY I HAVE TO LEAVE YOUR GUILD FOR A BETTER FUTURE; PLEASE FORGIVE ME; I AM RETURNING YOU EVERYTHING YOU GAVE ME.'
Rishi looked at the books and realized that they were what he had given Chaya. This shook Rishi to his core. Even when things were so bad, he wanted to believe in Chaya, as he had trained her for some time.
He laughed like a maniac "Well done Chaya, You really exceeded my expectations. Pray that you don't go against me today; trust me I will make you regret every second."
"What happened, Rishi? Did Chaya leave our guild?" asked Ajit.
"Yes, she sent me a parcel with all the books I shared with her. I really am in a bad mood right now; let's call everyone for an urgent meeting," said Rishi.
"But Rishi, you have to participate in the second round of the duel exam at 4 Pm. How will all members be able to attend this meeting? And booking a venue is also a problem," said Ajit.
"I don't know, just tell everyone that I want them in my apartment at 3:30 Pm," said Rishi in a cold tone.
"As you say then," Ajit hung up and called the other people and informed them a compulsory meeting would be held in Rishi's apartment from 3:30 PM.
Dev was the one who came first; he was in a very bad mood as all three members recruited by him left the guild. He didn't call Rishi because he didn't know what to say, but as a guild leader, he had to take responsibility, so he decided to face Rishi.
He apologized as soon as he met Rishi, with his face down and not making eye contact with him. Rishi held Dev's shoulders and said, "It's not your fault, Dev."
"No, Rishi, as a guild leader, it was my responsibility. It would have never happened if I had won over those three and had a better bond with them," said Dev.
"It's alright, Dev; let's take it as a lesson for the future. For now, there are some cool drinks on the table, have them and cool down; you don't look good with such a sad face," said Rishi before taking a seat on the sofa.
He had chosen his hall for the meeting, and every member came one by one with sober expressions. Dilip was the last one to come; he was yawning while coming. He sat on the sofa with a bored expression when his eyes suddenly fell on the dishes and drinks on the table.
He rubbed his hands together and started devouring them one by one, without caring about others. Everyone saw Dilip happily eating and didn't know what to say. Rishi ignored him and said, "I am sorry to call everyone on such short notice, but this was a serious situation. As most of you may know, there has been an attack on our guild."
Everyone paid attention to Rishi with angry expressions on their faces; even Dilip stopped eating for a while.
"Who attacked our guild, Rishab? Let's go kick their ass," said Lalit.
"It was not a direct attack; they tried to bribe our guild members to leave our guild. The three members that are not present in the meeting have left our guild, which is a very serious issue" Dilip shook his head and started eating again when he heard Rishi.
"But no one came to recruit me," said Lalit with confusion; everyone looked at him as if they were looking at a fool. Each one was waiting for others to give him a reality check.
At last, Ajit explained, "They knew that you are a very loyal member and would not betray our guild."
Lalit laughed a little and said, "You are right, but they should have at least given me a good offer; I would have joined their guild if it was an all-girls guild."
Nina punched Lalit's head and said, "Shut up, idiot, we are discussing an important matter right now. Go and try to fulfill your fantasies somewhere else."
Everyone laughed when they saw this; it lifted the mood a little.
"Dev will make some announcements now," said Rishi as he went back to take his seat.
"Everyone, thank you for believing in our guild. We are in a situation of crisis, but at the end of the day, it is just a small setback on our path to glory. Repeat with me, 'We will rise again,' " said Dev in a confident tone. If others knew that this person, who appeared so confident right now, was so depressed just a few minutes ago, they might not have believed.
"We will rise again," repeated everyone with absolute belief.
"The first announcement I will make is that we will not recruit any new members till the end of this year." Everyone was shocked by this announcement but nodded as they understood it was very important.
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