Amon would not let anyone without proper qualifications advance.
Because of that, the Upper Ten had remained unchanged for countless years. Amon stayed at Eleven... but his true power was unknown to most.
Especially since he too shared an ability with Agaroth .. just like the others.
"Speaking of Amon... he’ll be coming to Earth soon as well. And with that, we will end this conflict once and for all."
Wesker nodded, the plan confirmed once more.
"From this point onward, the extermination of the Shadow Sect .. and the remnants of Nameless .. will begin. Our mission is to kill them all, especially Saint Gehrman... and retrieve Frey Starlight to bring him back with us to Helmund."
Wesker spoke, repeating the objective of the coming assault.
A full-scale strike meant to annihilate their enemies.
Zibar fully agreed with the plan .. for it would put an end to the conflict on Earth once and for all.
"We will attack Frey Starlight with our full strength. When he collapses, the Shadow Sect will have no choice but to move in order to save him. If we destroy them all, Gehrman himself will be forced to come out... and that will be the end of him."
Wesker, the Fourth Seat.
Zibar, the Tenth.
The resurrected monster... Abraham Starlight.
The Corpse-Manipulator... Thanatos, Geppetto.
The coming raid was destined to be catastrophic.
Their target was Frey .. and anyone standing behind him.
"Let us begin, then... the extermination."
With the Fourth Seat’s command, that pack of monsters launched themselves toward Frey... who was still searching for his sister on the other side of the world.
...
...
...
Back on the Empire’s side ..
Frey Starlight had reached the temple—the place he had spent so many years within.
There, he found a most unexpected figure awaiting him.
Maika Starlight, Carmen’s long-lost son who had vanished from sight for a very long time.
Following him, the two of them descended into the deepest depths of the temple.
There, they reached a vast chamber that resembled an arena .. separated from their side by a wide glass wall.
The moment they arrived, Frey stopped dead in place .. because he finally found what he had been searching for.
Inside the arena... two women were lying unconscious at its center.
The first was a young woman in her early twenties .. Ada Starlight.
And the other was none other than Carmen Starlight.
Both were asleep. Neither bore a single wound or visible harm.
Seeing them, Frey froze for a moment before taking a step forward, ready to rush toward them ..
—but Maika, standing at his side, immediately stopped him.
"If I were you... I wouldn’t take a single step closer, Frey Starlight."
Hearing that, Frey halted.
Not because Maika stopped him .. but because Nameless had warned him of something strange.
Slowly turning toward Maika, Frey’s eyes glowed with a terrifying light as killing intent seeped into the air.
"What did you do?"
He asked in a cold tone, stabbing into Maika like daggers.
Without realizing it, Maika took a step back, sweat dripping down his face under the crushing killing intent.
He forced himself to maintain a smile... though he was barely holding himself together before the man who had already slaughtered hundreds of thousands.
He knew well that the person standing before him could kill him in the blink of an eye, without even noticing he had done it. So he tried to remain steady .. barely.
Meanwhile, Frey was trying to understand the current situation.
Ada and Carmen looked unharmed... yet both their names were glowing red inside his system interface.
Which meant only one thing .. something was wrong. And he intended to learn the truth from Maika.
The latter exhaled, and his body began to faintly radiate aura ..
Only for a destructive surge of dark, stellar aura to crush him instantly, imprisoning him from every direction.
Maika froze in place, surrounded by the vibrations of Black Hole Aura only millimeters from his skin.
"Choose your next move carefully. It may very well be your last."
Frey warned with fading patience.
Maika clenched his fist.
"You really are a monster... just as they described you."
He answered, before letting out a short laugh.
At that moment, his aura swelled, forming a strange construct behind his back.
The construct grew and grew until it shaped itself into a giant black scale with two pans.
On each side, a cluster of aura hovered .. one small and weak, the other large and powerful.
Each cluster was connected by threads of energy to a particular person.
The small cluster’s threads extended toward Ada; the large one connected to Carmen.
Upon seeing that, Frey’s expression darkened instantly.
"What does this mean?"
Hearing that, Maika’s smile widened even further.
"How about we play a little game, Lord Starlight?"
He stepped forward slowly and cautiously, the scale floating behind him in the air.
"A game where we gamble with people’s souls."
He pointed toward the other side of the glass wall.
"Look there. Do you know what lies on the other side? Your sister... along with a filthy whore who doesn’t deserve to live."
He said, his words dripping with hatred—especially the last part.
"As you can see, I’ve tied the souls of both Ada Starlight and Carmen to this device... the Scale."
"It’s a marvelous tool .. it allowed us to create this entire performance!"
Maika shouted, voice rising, while Frey’s expression continued to darken.
"What in hell are you babbling about?"
"N-no, Frey Starlight, I wouldn’t recommend attacking me now. Things will not end in a way that pleases you."
Maika spoke quickly, realizing Frey was seconds away from ripping him apart.
"As I mentioned... this Scale allows me to bind souls to it, and pass judgment upon them accurately and fairly. That arena behind the glass has become a courtroom..."
"The defendants are Carmen Starlight and Ada Starlight.
The trial will only end once one of them is condemned.
The guilty one... will die.
And the winner... will live.
Simple, isn’t it?" Maika said with a deranged laugh before explaining the rules in detail.