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Neoma wasn\'t surprised when Ruto gathered them in the conference room.

But she was a little disappointed.

[Anyway, by \'us,\' I mean me, Papa Boss, Mama Boss, Nero, Hanna, Duke Exton, and the Griffiths.]

Manu was supposed to join them, but the God of Death had gone back to his "child mode." Hence, the Moon Priest was forced to play babysitter to the baby god.

"As you already know, the First Calamity that will hit the Imperial Capital are the reanimated corpses made with Darkness," Ruto said in a serious voice while standing in front of them like a teacher during a lecture. "These zombies can\'t be purified and killed even if you burn or tear them apart."

"Why is that the case, Ruston Solfrid?" Papa Boss, who was seated in the center, asked. "Why can\'t they be killed?"

"The Darkness that Helstor used to turn corpses into zombies was the same Darkness that created the Absolute Darkness from the Ancient Period, Your Majesty."

Audible gasps filled the room.

Only Neoma and her Papa Boss didn\'t give a big reaction.

Well, her father looked stoic most of the time anyway.

Neoma, on the other hand, realized something.

[Ruto has already dealt with the Calamities in the first timeline.]

"The Ancient Monsters lived during the Ancient Period," Duke Exton said. "Is that the reason why only the Ancient Monsters could kill the reanimated corpses?"

Ohh.

[Duke Exton is on to something.]

"Your Grace is correct," Ruto confirmed while nodding. "During the Ancient Period, right when the world was getting swallowed by the Absolute Darkness, the monsters were forced to evolve since food became scarce during that time. In order to not starve, the monsters had no choice but to eat plants, flowers, and other animals infected with Darkness. That was how they evolved and developed an appetite for Darkness."

Ohh.

Neoma licked her lips, realizing that she was right about her urge to eat the zombie last time.

[If I eat zombies, perhaps I\'ll also develop a stomach capable of digesting that kind of Darkness?]

"It won\'t work, Princess Neoma."

Huh?

Neoma was surprised when Ruto called her out– even addressing her formally in front of all these people– as if he had read her mind. "What won\'t work?"

"Any kind of divine power only serves as fuel for the Absolute Darkness. That\'s exactly why the gods were rendered useless during the Ancient Period," Ruto explained. "Hence, even if you eat the zombies infected by Darkness, you won\'t be able to digest it. Your divine power will only make it grow bigger inside your body until you get poisoned."

Ah, that made sense.

"Neoma, baby," Mama Boss called her in disbelief. "Did you really try to eat the zombie that Nero\'s knights brought here?"

Oops, busted.

"We really can\'t take our eyes off of you even for a second," Papa Boss said while shaking his head. "Neoma, please stop letting your intrusive thoughts win."

"I didn\'t act on my intrusive thoughts, Papa Boss," Neoma said defensively. "That\'s why I didn\'t eat the zombie."

"It was only because we stopped you," Nero said, scoffing. "If we weren\'t there, you would have eaten the reanimated corpse without a second thought."

Hanna didn\'t say anything, but she nodded in agreement with Nero.

Ouch.

[Hanna betrayed me– she abandoned me for her fiancé.]

Neoma cleared her throat and changed the subject. "So, Ruto. How do we use the Ancient Monsters? According to Duke Exton, their family only has fifty Ancient Monsters under their care. Are they enough to get rid of all the reanimated corpses?"

"We\'ll make it work," Ruto said, nodding. "I have a plan."

[As expected of my ex-man.]

"Uhm, Lord Ruto, will your plan revolve around my wife?" Uncle Glenn asked nervously. "I am aware that my wife is going to be the key player this time. However, I\'m worried because my wife is pregnant."

Aunt Brigitte put a hand on top of Uncle Glenn\'s hand. "Honey, I\'ll be fine."

It wasn\'t only Uncle Glenn who looked nervous.

Skylus and Monik, who were usually energetic, were both quiet as if they were trying to read the room.

[They\'re worried about their mommy.]

"Don\'t worry, King Glenn, Queen Brigitte," Ruto said politely, then he turned to Neoma. "Princess Neoma and I will do most of the work. The two of us will lay the foundation for our counterattack."

"Gosh," Neoma said, smirking. "What a unique way to ask me out on a date~"

It was obviously a harmless ~joke.~

But Ruto\'s face suddenly turned red, obviously affected by Neoma\'s flirting.

"Stop flirting," Nero growled, his eyes turned glowing red as he glared at Ruto. "Focus on the meeting, will you?"

Neoma rolled her eyes. "We\'re not flirting. If I used my rizz[1] on Ruto, then Ruto would have run away already."

Nero glared at Neoma. "Shut it."

Neoma just rolled her eyes at her twin brother.

[Nero is not cute today.]

"Nero, Neoma, stop fighting," Papa Boss scolded them. "Ruston Solfrid, continue."

Hmm?

[Papa Boss is being lenient on Ruto?]

Ruto cleared his throat, probably to hide his embarrassment, before he resumed his report. "Prince Nero, I apologize in advance, but I have to make you fight on the front line. To overcome the Calamity, we need your ice phoenix."

"I\'ll be fighting on the front line even if you don\'t ask me to," Nero said, scoffing as he crossed his arms over his chest. Then he furrowed his eyebrows as if he just remembered something that irritated the hell out of him. "Wait. How dare you lead the strategy meeting when you\'re a foreigner? You and your people even turned your back on us once."

Oops.

Everyone just realized that Ruto did take the lead NATURALLY as if it was his rightful place to do so.

And nobody questioned it until Nero did.

[Wow. Commander Yoan slipped out.]

"I know how to overcome the Calamities," Ruto said, using a more polite tone this time. "Please allow me to help."

Nero scoffed, but he didn\'t say anything because he wasn\'t in the position to do so.

"As long as your plan sounds plausible, I don\'t mind if you take the lead, Ruston Solfrid," Papa Boss, the emperor and the person with the highest authority in that room, said firmly. "The Imperial Family is still the one who\'s going to decide whether we follow your plan or not anyway."

Neoma thought her Papa Boss was really acting sus.

Papa Boss was really being nice to Ruto.

[Of course, by Papa Boss\' standards.]

"Ahh!"

"Nooo!"

Everyone turned to Skylus and Monik who suddenly cried.

The children\'s eyes were glowing.

[Ah, they\'re probably getting a vision.]

"The crows are here," Skylus said in a voice that sounded like he was possessed by someone else. "They brought the Necromancer with them…"

Neoma knitted her eyebrows.I think you should take a look at

[Necromancers? The ones who made the zombies?]

"Amber Quinzel…" Monik said, catching everyone\'s attention. "She\'ll be the next victim…"

Neoma gasped out loud.

But before anyone could ask Skylus and Monik questions regarding their visions, the two children already fainted.

Aunt Brigitte immediately caught Skylus while Uncle Glenn caught Monik in time.

"Hanna, Nero," Papa Boss said firmly. "Go and save the duchess."

Without saying a word, Hanna and Nero immediately stood up and bolted out of the room.

In that situation, nobody would think that the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were rude for leaving the room without a word.

Papa Boss then turned to Duke Exton. "Your Grace."

Duke Exton stood up and bowed his head as if he already knew what the emperor would say. "I shall follow the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, and assist them."

After Papa Boss nodded, the old duke bowed and left the room.

Neoma stood up and cracked her knuckles. "Papa Boss, Mama Boss, I\'m just going to check if the crows have already brought the zombies–"

"No," Papa Boss said, cutting her off. "If the crows have already brought hoards of reanimated corpses, I would know. The Paladins and my Soul Beasts are keeping an eye on the Imperial Capital."

"His Majesty is right, Princess Neoma," Ruto said, still addressing her formally. "I also have eyes around the Imperial Capital. However, I failed to consider the nobles\' village among the places to keep an eye on."

"It was our mistake to focus solely on the Imperial Capital and the surrounding villages," Mama Boss said, her voice full of regret. "Who would have thought that they would attack the nobles first?"

"Well, it\'s probably because we collectively thought the nobles can protect themselves since they are Mana users and they have their own armies," Neoma said, then she knitted her eyebrows. "But the Quinzel Estate is like a fortress since they\'re known for their tight security. If the crows were able to waltz their way inside, it can only mean one thing: a high-ranking member of the cult appeared."

Calyx.

That sorcerer claiming to be Trevor\'s brother.

Regina Crowell.

Those were the three people that Neoma thought of first.

"As expected, I should go and follow them," Neoma said. "My hands are itching to commit violence against the crows today."

Her parents frowned, but they didn\'t oppose this time.

"Neoma, please stay," Ruto said, addressing her casually this time. "I need you here."

"Okay, fine, if you insist," Neoma said, sitting down because her knees buckled when she heard Ruto say he needed her. "Gosh, I\'m so in demand."

***

[I WONDER if Nero and Hanna managed to save Duchess Amber.]

Neoma\'s head was aching from the long and detailed "assignment" that Ruto had given her while they were having a meeting in her office, but she still managed to space out.

[If something bad happens to Duchess Amber, Hanna and Duke Rufus will lose it…]

"Neoma, are you listening?"

"No," Neoma said in response to Ruto\'s question. "Anyway, I\'m curious about something."

"What is it?"

"You\'ve already experienced the Calamities in the first timeline, didn\'t you?"

"That\'s right," Ruto said while nodding. "What about it?"

"I recently gained the ability to see other people\'s weaknesses," she confessed to him. "But when I saw the zombie, I didn\'t see its weakness. So, I\'ve come to the conclusion that I haven\'t fought zombies in the first timeline since I don\'t know how to kill them."

When she calmed down, she finally accepted the fact that she knew how to kill the people that she had killed in the first timeline.

It was a hard pill to swallow, but she had to.

"If we had already experienced the Calamities, why don\'t I remember it?" Neoma asked curiously. "Did I not fight them before?"

"The First Calamity hit the world while you were still \'dead.\'"

"Before you revived me?"

Ruto nodded his head. "You were revived when the Second Calamity happened."

Hmm.

Neoma was curious, but she killed that curiosity right away.

[I have a feeling I shouldn\'t ask anything else if I don\'t want to lose my mind yet.]

Moreover, she was still worried about something else.

"I see. Cool then," Neoma said, then she quickly changed the topic. "Ruto, we\'ve already covered most of the things we need to do. Can I go now?"

"You don\'t have to leave if you just want to follow Prince Nero and Princess Hanna," Ruto said, then he looked up at her. "They\'re already back."

Tsk.

Her competitiveness was once again challenged when Ruto had beat her to it again.

[Why does he always notice things first before I do?]

"It\'s not because I\'m stronger than you," Ruto said as if he could read her mind. "It\'s just because you let the little things distract you. If you focus on your surroundings, you\'ll notice even the sound of the falling leaves."

"That sounds stressful."

"Well, it won\'t bother you once you get used to it."

"I don\'t want to get used to uncomfortable things," Neoma said, then she raised an eyebrow at Ruto. "You just have to stick to me then and tell me the things I don\'t notice right away."

Yes, she was using her rizz on Ruto.

And it was effective.

Ruto\'s face turned red as he avoided her gaze.

"Gosh, why is it working?" Neoma complained lightly. "I thought you no longer have positive feelings for me, Ruto? What\'s this then? You\'re obviously crushing on me so hard right now."

"Calm down, Neoma–"

Ruto wasn\'t able to finish what he was saying when the door suddenly burst open.

Then Hanna, who was crying silently, entered the room with her shoulders slouched.

Obviously, something bad happened to Duchess Amber Quinzel.

Neoma immediately stood up and walked towards the Crown Princess. "Hanna, what exactly happened to your mother?" She held Hanna\'s shaking shoulders. "Tell me and we\'ll figure it out together."

"Please help me, Neoma," Hanna begged her in a cracked voice, her expression helpless and desperate. Then Hanna pressed her forehead on Neoma\'s shoulder as she sobbed harder. "Please…"

[Hanna… is begging me to help her while crying?]

Ah.

Neoma\'s heart broke for Hanna as the realization hit her.

[The war has already begun, and we\'ve taken the first hit pretty hard.]

***

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[1] G00gle meaning of \'rizz\': a slang term often used to describe someone\'s ability to flirt and be charming, especially for their verbal communication while pursuing a romantic interest.