The next day, the conference room had a notably different atmosphere. Unlike previous meetings where trusted captains accompanied the executives, this time it was just the executives themselves.
This was mostly done on account of the recent information leaks and spy problems. The number of executives present was also smaller than before. Luna had died after being exposed as a spy, and Vex was still recovering.
The executives present were: Marcus, Victoria, Elaine, Iris, Ember, Draven, Orion, Knox, Zara, and Cipher.
Ember stood, her expression serious as she delivered her report. "The attack resulted in significant structural damage to the west wing. We lost twenty two personnel, with thirty-three injured. The Immortal King’s forces breached our outer defenses within minutes. If not for the acting chairman’s quick intervention...We would have lost much more."
As she finished, Draven slammed his hand on the table. "This is exactly why we need to take the fight to him! We can’t keep sitting here waiting for the next attack. We need to track down the Immortal King and annihilate him before these problems persist."
Orion leaned back in his chair, his expression calm but his tone sharp. "Haven’t you learned anything from the previous attack? Or have you already forgotten what happened when we attacked the Church? We almost lost the chairman because we rushed in without proper preparation."
"That was different - " Draven started.
"Different how?" Orion interrupted. "We were overconfident then, and you’re being overconfident now. We need to reinforce our defenses first. Strengthen our position."
"Strengthen our position?" Draven’s voice rose. "So we can wait around for him to pick us off one by one? Every day we wait, he grows stronger while we cower behind our walls!"
"It’s not cowering, it’s strategy - "
"Strategy? Your strategy almost got us all killed!"
"My strategy?" Orion’s calm facade cracked. "I suggested we reinforce defenses before the Church attack. You and the others voted to push forward anyway. Don’t blame me for your mistakes."
The two continued going back and forth, their voices growing louder, giving the others no room to weigh in. The tension in the room escalated with each exchange.
Finally, the chairman raised his hand.
The room fell silent immediately.
Marcus looked between the two of them. "You both have good points," he said evenly. He then turned to Cipher. "What are your thoughts?"
Cipher nodded, understanding the chairman was giving him a chance to make his earlier proposal. "I can see the benefits of both arguments," he began. "Draven’s right that we can’t afford to be passive forever. But Orion’s also right that rushing in without preparation is what got us into trouble before."
Orion smiled slightly while Draven deflated in his seat.
"That said, I still think we should hold off on attacking for now," Cipher continued.
He looked around the room, meeting each executive’s eyes. "It’s not that we’re afraid of the Immortal King. When he shows up, we can bet on beating him - we’ve done it before. The problem is that every time he comes, he takes a piece of the Association with him. Personnel, resources, morale... it’s just not sustainable. The Association isn’t made up of just us strong people."
The others nodded as they listened, the logic resonating with them.
"We need to hold off until we find a way to deal with his endless revival first," Cipher said. "But you don’t need to worry." He turned to look at Iris. "Iris and I have already come up with a hypothesis on how to solve this problem, as well as other issues currently troubling the Association."
He gestured to her, and she stood up.
Iris adjusted her glasses. "Based on our analysis of mana flow patterns and the inverse correlation between ambient thaumaturgic fields and localized reality anchoring, we can theoretically create a bounded suppression matrix that generates a null-magic zone through harmonic interference of - "
Cipher waved for her to stop, standing up. "Ahem. Basically," he said, taking over, "what she’s saying is that we can develop anti-magic equipment."
Everyone nodded in understanding.
"With this equipment," Cipher explained, "not only can the Immortal King not teleport directly into the Association buildings when we’re off guard, but we can also use it to lay a trap. It’s one of my hypotheses about killing the Immortal King permanently. If we corner him, then set up an anti-magic barrier around him, and kill him inside that barrier... can his revival magic still work?"
The others nodded, following his reasoning.
"Anyway, this is just a hypothesis, and I don’t know if it will really work," Cipher admitted. "That being said, I still think it’s worth a try."
The chairman looked around at the others. "What do you guys think?"
"I’m okay with that," Orion said, nodding approvingly.
"I suppose it’s something," Draven said, though his tone suggested he wasn’t entirely satisfied.
The others all voted in agreement with Cipher’s idea.
...
The chairman leaned forward, his expression turning serious. "Now, we need to address Luna’s position. With her dead, we have an executive role that needs to be filled."
Cipher straightened in his seat. "I’d like to propose Selene from my team. Not only is she extremely strong - just a step below B-rank - she’s also extremely competent in administrative work."
The chairman nodded thoughtfully. He knew Selene well. She was one of the best rising rookies, which is why he’d been fine with letting her guard Cipher before. He didn’t doubt that she was competent, but... "Since she’s now your subordinate, it could lead to conflicts of interest. An executive needs to be independent, able to make decisions without being influenced by their previous loyalties or obligations."
He paused, then continued. "I agree with your assessment of Selene’s abilities. But if she’s to be promoted, she’d have to leave your branch. We can’t have an executive who’s still tied to another executive’s command structure. It compromises the balance of power and decision-making we need at this level."
Cipher nodded. That sounded reasonable. Although he hated to lose someone as competent as Selene, there was nothing he could do about it. Just as he was about to agree, the chairman spoke up.
"But..." he began, a smile spreading across his face as he looked at Cipher. "There is another way."
Cipher’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Why do I get the feeling that something bad is about to happen?"