C213 Dream Invitation (2)
I slowly opened my eyes. The antique room scenery disappeared and I found myself under the starless night sky.
The sound of water was heard as I stepped forward. When I looked down, the whole ground was made up of water. It was too dark to know the depth and a faint mist was rising on the surface.
'It reminds me of the Salt Desert.'
Under the surface of the water, where my appearance was reflected like a mirror, colorful star lights were embedded but there was no starlight in the sky above.
'This is the outskirts of the dreams.'
It was the outermost edge of the world, called Dreamland, made up of human dreams and unconsciousness. And these star lights submerged under the surface were all people's dreams.
I walked slowly and whenever I stepped on it, the surface of the water caused a stir and spread like a concentric circle.
The starlight dreams submerged under the water shook wildly at the ripple.
'The meeting place is not far from here.'
It was hard to tell the direction due to the fog-filled road but the ring on my hand made it possible. The emerald light from the ring stretched out and told me the direction.
I walked along the sidewalk of light. It's not that I'm not interested in this space itself, but there's something more important now.
How long did I walk along the light?
The light from the ring stopped before I knew it, the fog in front was lifted and a large door appeared.
'Is this the entrance?'
It was a door made of gray marble and on top of the door was a horned devil's figure, which looked like an entrance to hell.
'I can't believe they carved the devil. I don't know who made it, but it's a bad hobby.'
I approached the door and when I brought the hand with the ring on it, a red light flowed from the devil's eyes above the door and the door opened.
Inside the stone door was a black darkness where nothing could be seen.
I did not rule out the possibility of a trap however that would be significantly lower.
I walked straight into the darkness and when I went inside, the door behind my back closed with a thud.
I heard a noise from somewhere and saw a big table not far away. The noise was from the people sitting there.
"You got caught off guard."
"This time, my research results were stolen, so……What?"
Those who were chatting stopped talking and stared at me as I approached.
It was the same for me because what was placed on the chair was not a human figure, but a form of burning black flames.
'It's completely different from reality because it's just the mind?'
This makes it impossible to distinguish even if I try to see the appearance. On the contrary, is it fortunate for both of us that we won't be caught either.
"Oh Hyo Hyo. Who is it? You approached me without saying a word."
The black flame talked to me. Even though I didn't see him in person, I was able to guess who he was just by his way of speaking.
Victor Dreadful was looking at me now and asking me to identify myself.
'What do I do?'
Should I reveal my name here?
First of all, John Doe from my information is not a very friendly character. From the reactions of other orders, I infer that they are loyal only to Zero Order and have little interest in others.
I naturally sat in an empty seat after making a decision.
"Oh, my. You don't even want to talk, so you seem like John Doe. You're still quiet! Oh Hyo Hyo!"
'……John Doe, you didn't say anything to the same First Orders. Why did you talk to me on the train then? Was it because of your disguise?'
"Look at that. You're the only one pretending to be arrogant and acting cocky again."
At that time, complaints erupted from the black flame sitting in another seat. It seemed to everyone that they were annoyed because they didn't like my arrogant behavior.
Who is it?
"Night Verom, don't be so angry. It's not like he wasn't like this before, right?"
"You crazy psychopath."
"Oh Hyo Hyo. That's too much. I can't believe you didn't call me Doctor. I feel like I'm going to cry!"
"Shut up. Do you think I call you that because I want to? Damn it. I wish it wasn't a curse."
That's Verom?
I remembered Verom, whom I met at the Baltanung factory. A knight who shot a red attack with a black cape flying over a black full plate armor.
The First Order, who even used an old-fashioned way of speaking, uses such harsh words and actions.
'Looking at how he hates the way he talks, is he the real one? The one I saw then must have been drunk for some reason.'
If so, there was a high possibility that the armor he was wearing was special like a cursed item or an ancient relic.
He got his strength from the armor, but he must have been limited by it.
'Are all the First Orders I know of here?'
There were a total of eight seats on the table. Except for the most senior Zero Order seat, the remaining seven seats belong to the First Orders and there were a total of four people sitting at the table, including me.
'Who the hell is that one?'
The flames burning quietly all the time were showing no reaction. Seeing that it didn't even look at other members even when I appeared, it didn't seem to be interested in them.
'It's hard to know who you are if you're quiet like that.'
Then a new First Order arrived at the scene.
"Oh, more than I thought"
The newly arrived flame sat in an empty seat with a friendly tone.
"Did you hear? I heard Esmeralda collapsed."
He naturally brought it up to Verom and Victor.
"The Witch of Fire? That's why she, who would normally have come early, wasn't here."
"Oh, I've heard that for sure. Maybe Zero Order will tell you soon."
"That's unexpected. I didn't think Ms. Esmeralda would be the one to suffer anywhere."
"Well, that's what I think."
The First Order, whose words were so vague, stared at me.
"John Doe. Don't you know since you infiltrated Theon together?"
Naturally, Verom and Vector Dreadful's eyes naturally flew at me. I had already thought about such a question, so I brought up the prepared answer.
"Zero Order will explain it to you. Listen to him."
I naturally passed the issue to Zero Order.
When I said so, they didn't ask any more questions.
'It's quite convenient to sell the name of Zero Order in this area.'
But his eyes were still on me.
'What is it? Is it related to John Doe?'
It's not that I didn't think about naturally mixing words and eliciting information from them.
Like I was trying to dig up information, there was a possibility that my opponent would figure something out from my words.
Considering the risk of having my identity suspected it was the best choice to keep quiet. I had to avoid being caught lying as much as I could.
'When I look at Zero Order, I think he already knows that I'm a different guy.'
Hasn't he told that to the other First Orders yet?
'Still, it's weird not to tell the executives. I just don't know what's on his mind.'
For now, I decided to put off concerns related to Zero Order. It was impossible to judge his innermost thoughts, but it was my priority to immediately identify the First Orders gathered here.
As I remained silent, the chatty First Order continued his conversation with Victor.
"Have you heard of recent news? I heard that the Holy Land of Bretus is moving again. Recently, the paladins have been mobilized."
"Oh, I heard that, too. I can't believe a place that's been quiet for 20 years is suddenly moving. Is there a bad sign?"
"Because the appearance frequency of the cryptids has increased these days. The King of Beasts appeared in Leathervelk, one of the great cities of the Exilion Empire."
"You mean the Beast of Gévaudan? I heard it, too. That's too bad. I wanted to see the magnificent figure with my eyes. It's so sad that it was subjugated because I wanted to dissect that great cryptid and put it in a formalin bottle."
"Well, you said he was subjugated, but considering that there were no bodies left, I think he might have run away but it's fascinating. No matter how big Leathervelk is, there's no place for that giant monster to hide. Maybe it went down in the underground water system."
The main talker was the unknown First Order. He made all kinds of topics so that he could say he knew everything.
Beyond the simple world situation, to trivial things such as who did what, where, and what veins were discovered in which area.
'You are well-informed and know a lot about the world situation. If you're in charge of intelligence, do you belong to a state agency? He might be infiltrating the intelligence agency or something.'
But I don't think he just came here because he is smart. At least when it comes to force, his ability must not be inferior to the other orders.
"So, Nikolai, do you have any particularly interesting news these days?"
I didn't miss the name Victor spoke like he was passing by.
Is his name Nikolai?
To be called that name by the same First Order within the organization means that it is at least a name directly related to one's status.
'The First Orders, including myself, are a total of five people. Considering Esmeralda's vacancy, is there only one left?'
As I was thinking, the last First Order just arrived.
"You are still the same. Those who talked are still talking, and those who were quiet are still quiet."
From the thin, high-pitched voice I realized it was a woman.
I wonder if there was something that made me feel bad when I saw that there were thorns in her words and actions or it could have been her usual personality.
I didn't react because I had an intuition that she would bother me if I was noticed.
The First Order that came last asked in a curt tone.
"So, what about Zero Order? He's not here yet?"
"Zero Order will be here soon. And Miss Bentmin is the latest among us."
"Loud, mad scientist. Don't call me by name. Just hearing it gives me goosebumps."
The First Order, called Bentmin, verbally abused Victor.
"Oh Hyo Hyo. You're a feisty person. Isn't it time for us to get along?"
"I'd rather hug a maggot than get along with a guy like you."
She seemed quite disgusted by him.
Indeed, Victor Dreadful does human experiments as if he were eating, and his appearance is also unfavorable. He's a person who you can't get along with in the common sense. Verom also seems to hate to hear him talk.
'Looking at Victor's behavior, he doesn't seem to care what others say. So he doesn't even care about what others think of him.'
Victor Dreadful is an innate psychopath who lacks morality and empathy and is doing a human experiment like it's nothing.
'But the last member's name is Bentmin.'
There was an indescribable antique in her annoying way of speaking. Unlike other informal First Orders, I felt it in her unique accent.
She's from a good family but I don't think the Black Dawn Society is a place for aristocrats to come in.
Sedina, who is from a giant merchant family, has been discriminated against within the organization just because her family lives well but this First Order is from a noble family?
I need to remember.
"What about Esmeralda? I know she's not usually this late."
"Oh Hyo-hyo. Bentmin, haven't you heard the news? Miss Esmeralda can't come anymore."
"What? That Esmeralda was eliminated?"
"I heard so. I thought it was something to know, but you didn't know it, which is surprising!"
"Noisy. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not that bright about the situation outside in the first place?"
As they were talking I felt a vibration that shook the black space itself and the noisy First Orders closed their mouths as someone was approaching from beyond the darkness.
'He's here.'
Zero Order, the leader of the Black Dawn Society, and in fact the protagonist of this place.
The First Orders were nervous at his appearance.
"Everyone came well without being late."
Unlike the First Orders that existed in the form of flames, Zero Order took the shape of a normal human being. He wore a white mask over his face and wore black clothes.
The mask looked like the devil that I saw at the marble door when I entered here.
There was another person next to Zero Order, and he was wearing a hoodie, so it seemed difficult to know his gender, let alone his age.
'Who is it? Given that he is not seated, he should not be a First Order, is he Zero a subordinate?'
Did he sense my gaze?
The deputy raised his head slightly and I could feel the darkness in the hood staring at me.
"You are here Mr. Zero Order."
It was then that the flame, which had been silent and silent so far, opened its mouth.
His voice was polite and respectful and also filled with enthusiasm to the extent that it was surprising that he had kept his mouth shut so far.
"Yes, it's been a while Leslie."
Zero Order naturally sat in his chair and glanced around and his gaze lingered once on Esmeralda's empty seat.
"Everyone seems to be doing well. Even though it's an irregular meeting, no one is missing. Now, let's start the meeting."
And finally, his gaze was on me.
"The first topic is……How to fill the vacant First Order position. Let's start with that."