Meanwhile, far away from the regions where the disappearances were occurring, a meeting involving the highest authorities of the Anomaly Hunter Unit was currently underway.
The atmosphere inside the conference hall was noticeably heavier than usual as report after report continued arriving from various regions of the Realm, each one carrying news that nobody present wanted to read and yet could no longer afford to ignore.
Seated around the massive circular table were the three individuals jointly responsible for overseeing the operation.
A representative from the Heavenly Realm.
A representative from the Abyssal Realm.
And a representative from the Transcendent Circle.
Under normal circumstances, simply placing those three in the same room would have been enough to start a deadly fight.
After all, the Heavenly Realm and Abyssal Realm had spent countless years fighting each other, while the Transcendent Circle had never fully aligned itself with either side.
Many of the people serving under them today would likely be trying to kill one another once the Immortal Battlefield opened.
For now, however, they had no choice but to cooperate.
The appearance of an Anomaly was not a matter concerning a single race or mortals.
It concerned the entire Universe ecosystem.
The silver-haired Angel, who was currently maintaining a humanoid form, slowly placed another report onto the table before lifting her gaze toward the other two representatives.
"I think we have reached the point where continuing to discuss the disappearances themselves has become meaningless. Whether we like it or not, our people are vanishing one after another, our investigation has failed to produce even a single useful lead, and every meeting we hold ends with us repeating the same conclusions while accomplishing absolutely nothing."
Although her voice remained calm and composed, the irritation hidden beneath it was obvious to everyone present.
The representative from the Transcendent Circle nodded in agreement, his face noticeably darker than before, while the exhaustion from dealing with this matter for days without progress was plainly visible in his expression as he spoke.
"I agree. What I simply cannot comprehend is how they are disappearing without leaving behind even the slightest trace. We have inspected every reported location countless times, yet not a single Mana signature remains behind, nor have we discovered any signs of battle, spatial disturbances, concealed formations, or even traces of illusionary techniques."
"We even distributed tracking artifacts to every combat unit after the first wave of disappearances, yet those artifacts have produced absolutely nothing, as though the people carrying them had simply vanished from existence."
The Devil, who was seated opposite the two representatives, lazily leaned back in his chair while absentmindedly rotating a crystal pen between his fingers, his relaxed demeanor standing in stark contrast to the increasingly tense atmosphere filling the room.
Out of everyone present, he appeared to be the least concerned.
Or perhaps...
He simply didn’t care about the deaths.
"From the very beginning, I opposed the decision to deploy weaker forces in such large numbers, yet both of you insisted that overwhelming manpower would eventually produce results. Now look at the outcome."
"Hundreds of Demi-Gods and Abyssal Kings have disappeared, while Saints and Demon Kings continue vanishing one after another, yet not a single team led by a Celestial, Abyssal God, or God Rank existence has suffered the same fate."
"Doesn’t that alone tell you something? Unfortunately, the Mortal Realm simply doesn’t possess enough God Rank experts to deploy them on such a large scale, otherwise this entire operation should have been carried out by God Rank and above from the very beginning."
Hearing the Devil openly ridicule the operation, the Transcendent unconsciously clenched his fists beneath the table, barely restraining the anger rising within him.
After all, compared to others, the losses on the Mortal Races side was tremendous.
Before the situation could escalate into another meaningless argument, the Angel calmly intervened.
"Although I find myself reluctant to admit it, I agree with his conclusion."
Her fingers gently tapped against the stack of reports before continuing.
"The current death toll has already surpassed 1800 Saints and Demon Kings, while the number of fallen Demi-Gods and Abyssal Kings has exceeded 1300. Yet despite losses on such a scale, not a single individual above those ranks has disappeared."
"That alone suggests whoever is responsible is deliberately avoiding direct confrontation with God Rank experts, either because they lack the confidence to eliminate one without exposing themselves or because doing so would inevitably create enough commotion to reveal their existence."
The Devil slowly smiled.
"Perhaps."
His crimson eyes gradually narrowed.
"Or perhaps all of you are approaching this from the wrong direction."
The Angel immediately looked toward him.
"What exactly are you implying?"
The Devil stopped rotating the crystal pen before gently placing it upon the table.
"Do you remember the strength displayed by that anomalous bastard in the Endless Ocean? Yes, he managed to contend against a Celestial Rank opponent, but only because the Vampire Lord was treating the battle like a game and had absolutely no intention of killing him."
"Based on everything we witnessed that day, I estimate his true combat strength to be somewhere around the Early God Rank at most. If that estimate is correct, then does it not strike either of you as rather strange that someone with only Early God Rank strength has somehow managed to make hundreds of powerful cultivators disappear without leaving behind even the slightest trace?"
The Transcendent immediately shook his head.
"I cannot agree with that conclusion. There were numerous incidents that occurred almost simultaneously across different regions of the Realm, many of which are separated by distances so vast that even Celestial Rank experts require time to travel between them."
"Under those circumstances, how can you confidently conclude that all of these incidents were orchestrated by a single individual? Aren’t you giving the Anomaly far more credit than the evidence actually supports?"
The Devil neither denied nor accepted those words, instead allowing a faint smile to remain on his face as he slowly leaned back into his chair, his crimson eyes calmly observing the Transcendent before finally speaking again.
"I am not giving the Anomaly too much credit. If anything, I believe all of us have been underestimating him from the very beginning, because every single time we believed we had reached a reasonable conclusion regarding his capabilities, he has done something completely outside our expectations."
His fingers lightly tapped against the crystal table as his voice remained as calm as ever.
"You are correct that the disappearances occurred across vast distances and within incredibly short intervals, making it unreasonable to conclude that a single individual physically traveled between every location. However, I find it equally unreasonable to believe that several unrelated individuals just happened to begin targeting the Anomaly Hunters immediately after our operation was established."
Before the Transcendent could respond, the Angel slowly raised her hand, bringing the argument to a halt before it could drift any further away from the actual problem.
"It doesn’t matter whether the one responsible is the Anomaly himself, a hidden organization working alongside him, or an entirely different force taking advantage of the current chaos. What matters is that our operation is steadily losing effectiveness, while our casualties continue increasing with every passing day."
Her golden eyes slowly swept across the room.
"I received a reply from the Heavenly Realm shortly before this meeting began."
Both representatives immediately shifted their attention toward her.
"The higher-ups have acknowledged the current situation, but they have refused my request to deploy additional Celestial Rank personnel. Their reasoning is simple. Until we determine who is responsible for these disappearances and how they are being carried out, blindly sending stronger personnel into the operation serves no purpose other than increasing the potential losses."
The Transcendent let out a long sigh before rubbing his forehead.
"The reply from the Transcendent Circle wasn’t much different. They have authorized additional resources, artifacts, and personnel, but the request to mobilize more God Rank experts was rejected for almost the exact same reason. According to the Elders, committing too many high-ranking cultivators without understanding our opponent’s methods would only create unnecessary risks."
The Devil smiled faintly.
"It seems the Abyssal Realm is the only one whose response differs slightly."
The Angel narrowed her eyes.
"What did they say?"
The Devil slowly intertwined his fingers before answering.
"They rejected my request as well."
A trace of surprise appeared on the Transcendent’s face.
"They rejected it?"
"They rejected sending additional forces."
The Devil corrected him.
"But they approved something else."
Both representatives quietly waited for him to continue.
"My Lord gave me full authority to modify this operation however I see fit, provided I do not directly violate the original agreement between our three organizations."
The Transcendent immediately frowned.
"And what exactly are you planning to change?"
The Devil’s smile gradually widened, though this time there wasn’t the slightest trace of mockery within it.
"If our opponent has spent the past several days reacting to every move we make, then perhaps it is time we stop behaving like hunters and start behaving like prey."
The Transcendent looked at him in confusion.
"I don’t follow."
The Devil slowly stood up before walking toward the enormous map suspended in the middle of the conference hall, his gaze moving across the countless marked regions where disappearances had already occurred.
"We have spent days sending people into the field while hoping that someone would eventually discover the Anomaly, yet we have never once stopped to consider the opposite possibility."
His finger slowly traced one of the marked routes.
"What if someone has been patiently waiting for us to send those people?"
Silence immediately filled the room.
The Devil continued before either of them could interrupt.
"I intend to create an opportunity that is simply too valuable to ignore. We will publicly deploy various small elite combat unit to attract attention, while secretly ensuring that every member of that unit is being watched by hidden God Rank experts and a Celestial Rank expert from beginning to end."
"Using concealment artifacts, hiding would not be a problem."
The Transcendent immediately understood what the Devil was suggesting.
"You intend to use them as bait."
"I intend to force whoever has been hiding in the shadows to make a choice."
The Devil calmly nodded.
"If nobody appears, we lose nothing except a few days of preparation. However, if someone does make a move, then regardless of whether it is the Anomaly, one of his allies, or an entirely unrelated force, we will finally obtain the lead that has eluded us for the past several days."
The Transcendent remained silent for several moments, carefully considering every possible outcome before finally nodding in agreement.
"I don’t like using our own people as bait, but given the current situation, I cannot think of a better alternative. However, this operation must remain known only to the three of us and the personnel directly participating in it. The fewer people who know about it, the lower the chances of information leaking before the trap is sprung."
The Angel slowly nodded.
"I agree. We will not report the details of this operation to any regional headquarters, nor will it be recorded within the Anomaly Hunter network. The selected personnel will only receive their orders immediately before deployment, and the entire operation will be carried out independently from every existing communication channel."
The Devil’s smile deepened slightly.
"Good. If someone truly has their eyes fixed upon our movements, then this will be the first piece of information they won’t be able to obtain through ordinary means."
The Transcendent slowly rose from his chair.
"Then it is decided. I will personally select the God Rank personnel from the Transcendent Circle, while both of you do the same from your respective factions. If this trap fails, we lose nothing more than a few days. But if it succeeds..."
His eyes gradually turned cold.
"...then for the first time since this operation began, we will finally be the ones waiting for our enemy instead of the other way around."
The Angel gathered the reports scattered across the table before quietly standing as well.
"Let’s hope whoever has been hiding in the shadows decides to take the bait."
The Devil let out a faint laugh as he turned toward the conference hall’s exit.
"Oh, I sincerely hope they do."
A subtle smile slowly spread across his face.
"Because the moment they reveal themselves..."
"...the hunt will truly begin."
Thus, without anyone realizing, a trap carefully designed to lure out the one responsible for the disappearances was quietly set into motion.
****