When Kai reached the podium to deliver his presentation, as he looked up to face his audience, he instantly felt as though his heart was in his mouth. Sure, the King's words had helped remove any negativity that was clouding him, but it did nothing to allay his anxiety of facing so many important figures in this room.

Mustering his courage, Kai closed his eyes and drew in another deep breath before starting his presentation formal, "Good day, everyone. It's an honour for a junior like me to be speaking in front of so many heroes of our country.

Well, initially I had decided to give a technical brief on the operations of the Chaos Legion, but seeing that the markings on the map are pretty self-explanatory in terms of the intentions of our enemies, I shall be sharing on information not found on this map. First and foremost, I would like to share my experience in fighting one of the 7 Chaos Generals, Amon of Wrath."

Everyone's attention was immediately perked as they were excited to hear how a 17 year old teen who was still considered wet behind the ears could defeat one of the leaders of the Chaos Legion, the very same enemy who had nearly killed the Green King.

Kai continued, "I'm not here to brag how capable I am for defeating someone as powerful as Amon. In fact, as Akame and Adeline here can vouch, Amon was defeated by the combined effort of 4 people."

Redmond who shot a puzzled look immediately, asked, "What're you talking about, my boy? Who's the 4th person? There were only 3 of you fighting Amon then, no?" Kai gave a gentle smile before he replied, "The 4th person was the most unlikely of heroes, Ikari of Casimir, who was the host of Amon and sacrificed his own life to stop Amon."

Everyone in the room muttered excitedly, with many displaying expressions of confusion before Blake silenced the room by stating calmly, "Everyone, let the boy finish his presentation, please. We ought to give him the due respect for being the first person in the world to permanently banish one of the 7 Chaos Generals, something not even one of the 4 Coloured Kings can do, right, Redmond?"

Now, it was Warren's turn to be confused as he asked, "Permanently banish? What do you mean by that, Blake?" Blake smirked as she replied, "Don't ask me for my sources, but I can confirm that there are only 6 Chaos Generals left on this world, with no chance of Amon ever returning to the mortal plane unlike the last time Redmond obliterated him. Now, Kai, why don't you share with us the difference between your approach and Redmond's?"

Everyone's eyes were fixated on Kai as he spoke nervously, "W-Well, this is just a crazy hypothesis of mine but I think you simply can't banish them by overpowering them as the Red King had done, because they'll just return stronger in a matter of time. Of course, power is required to stand toe to toe against them, but more importantly, to truly vanquish them, I think you need to 'enlighten' them, so to speak."

Everyone in the room was stunned speechless before Redmond burst out laughing, "Enlighten them? What're you talking about, boy? You think preaching to them is going to help us defeat the Chaos Legion? That's the most ridiculous joke I've heard in a long time, hahaha!"

To his surprise, Blake, who remained expressionless, replied coldly, "The joke's on you, Redmond, because the boy, your own son, did something you couldn't and you're ridiculing him. Go on, Kai, I'm extremely interested to hear the details of this hypothesis you speak of."

Kai, who felt encouraged by Blake's remarks, continued, "As everyone can see, the 7 Chaos Generals are modelled from the 7 Deadly Sins. Pride. Wrath. Lust. Envy. Greed. Gluttony. Sloth. In my 2 encounters with Amon, on both occasions, he really struck me as the embodiment of rage, his anger insatiable as he leaves behind only destruction in his wake.

This resonates well with his Sin [Vengeance], a much stronger variant of our Enigma Abilities, which allows him to store and reflect all the damage he had received from his opponents back onto them. Receiving damage also builds up his anger, which he can translate into greater mana, so by combining his Sin with his already large mana pool that grows bigger with anger, Amon was indeed an extremely formidable opponent I shouldn't stand a chance against logically.

In fact, the reason why Ikari was chosen to be Amon's next host was because of the immense anger he had felt from the supposed betrayal by his wife and beloved villagers, which was a false construction by the Chaos Legion that goes to show how pervasive their influence can be.

Onto the key point, when I had finally defeated Amon, Ikari, who had regained control over his body, told me that he felt a surreal sense of calm after all his pent-up anger had dissipated. Initially, I didn't read too much into his remark as I was more concerned about hearing his last wishes. However, on hindsight, I realised that Ikari had told me the answer to banishing the Chaos Generals, albeit indirectly.

If we think about his words clearly, we would realise that calmness is the polar opposite of anger. Therefore, to "enlighten" the Chaos Generals, I postulate that we'll have to make them experience the opposite of the sin they represent. Of course, this is going to be harder for some than others, like Lust for instance. Any other questions at this point of time?"

The entire room remained silent as everybody took a while to absorb the situation before them. After waiting for a while, Kai continued, "Okay, there's one more thing I would like to share that might make you all feel extremely uncomfortable, but I have to say it nonetheless. You can verify the authenticity of my tale with Lady Blake, who I believe would vouch for my story.

The Chaos Legion isn't conducting widespread attacks on the Central Continent for no good reason. Unlike the conventional aims of seizing territories and resources, the Chaos Legion has shown on countless occasions that territory is not one of their priorities, their spoils simply a result of submission from our frightened people.

Instead, the Chaos Legion is making use of the negative emotions bred from their assaults to revive their true master, the God of Chaos and Destruction, Astaroth. Yes, Astaroth's the very same God mentioned in creation tales of this world passed down from generation to generation, though over time, these tales have degenerated into mere myths that people no longer believe, myself included until my recent escapade."

Everyone present in the room was stumped by Kai's revelation before Warren clarified, "Kid, you're referring to the tale of the 2 founding deities, Astaroth of Chaos and Destruction and Amaterasu of Order and Creation, right? You're telling me that that story is all true? Unbelievable…"

Blake interrupted, "It is, Warren. Sorry, my liege, this is also the main reason why I shall not be available to participate in any of our operations against the Chaos Legion. Go on, Kai, share with everyone the mission entrusted upon you by the Goddess herself."

Blake's remark only served to confuse everyone further as Kai nervously elaborated, "Well, this may sound incredulous, but during my battle with Amon, I had a chance encounter with the Goddess of Order and Creation, Amaterasu, who taught me a few things out of this world and helped me defeat Amon.

As she believed that Astaroth is too strong to be stopped by mortal men, as a precaution, if we had failed to stop the Chaos Legion's attempt to revive Astaroth, Goddess Amaterasu wanted me to meet the last remaining deity of this world, the God of Life and Death, Grimm Haven and enlist his help against the upcoming ordeal.

Since the journey to find God Grimm would not be easy, Goddess Amaterasu had promised me that I would be assisted by her informant during the course of my journey, who is none other than Black King Blake herself. We intend to venture to the Dark Continent, where we believe lies our best hope of locating God Grimm."

An awkward silence pervaded the room before the Martial Duke Ken opened his mouth for the first time in the meeting, "That's…an incredible story you've just shared. You're saying that everything performed by the Chaos Legion up till now is for the sake of reviving an ancient God far stronger than the near immortal Chaos Generals? If that's really true, the task of defeating the Chaos Generals has become ever more urgent.

However, as a cynical old man, apart from Black King Blake's word that this is true, I request that you provide more evidence to support your case that deities like Amaterasu and Astaroth are not merely the figments of imagination of mortals. Can you do that?"

After Ken was finished, there was active murmuring all around the room. Julian, one of the twins, whispered, "Wow, Duke Ken has really pinned Kai against the wall now. What can Kai do to prove the existence of deities? That's an impossible task!"

Julia, his sister, replied softly, "Well, all we can do is to have faith in Kai. He's always full of surprises, so let's see what trick he pulls out of his hat this time." Sword Saint Van added, "I'm pretty excited to see how the disciple of the Lightning Saint and biological son of the Red King navigates his way out of this conundrum, let's hope he doesn't disappoint."

To Ken's surprise, Kai remained calm as he flashed a bright smile instead. Kai answered confidently, "Well, I can't prove directly that these two deities exist, since they are technically on different planes of existence from us right now. However, to assure you all that I'm telling the truth, I can demonstrate the knowledge that Goddess Amaterasu had taught me, something I believe is unprecedented in this world. You all can be the judges of this."

Kai began by generating [White Lightning] on his left hand, much to the awe of his audience before generating [Red Lightning] with his right hand. White King Schneider muttered, "Possessing 2 Fusion elements, this kid really is a prodigy. However, the possession of 2 Fusion elements isn't enough to support his claims, since there are quite a handful out there who possess more than one Fusion element as well. What's he going to do?"

Schneider's question was swiftly answered, as Kai placed his hands together, allowing his white electricity to mix with his red electricity before separating his hands. Now, within each of his hands, there were streaks of red and white electricity revolving rapidly around each other, forming an entirely new element.

Redmond was first to gasp, "This…how are you able to combine the powers of your mother, a Sylph, and mine together? Your existence as a quarter demon, quarter human and half Sylph is already a miracle which I chose to believe was a rare occurrence, but this? You got to explain yourself!"

Blake smiled as she mumbled to herself, "Now I understand why Lady Amaterasu refers to him as her little miracle. I'm no longer surprised that a kid like him could banish a Chaos General, his potential is near limitless at this rate. A talent truly worth grooming."

When the excitement in the room had finally settled, Kai continued, "This is the new power that I had obtained in my fight against Amon, I call it [Vermillion Spark]. It's made out of Lightning magic, Sylph Light magic and demonic energy.

Yes, normally, Sylph Light magic and demonic energy are completely antagonistic to each other and would destroy each other when combined. However, I've learnt how to circumvent this from Goddess Amaterasu herself, whose secret I'm afraid I've to maintain. Duke Ken, is this enough evidence in your eyes?"

Duke Ken nodded as he replied with a warm smile, "That's more than sufficient, my dear boy. The future generation really is scary, the reputation of the Rising 8 is really nothing to be scoffed at, hohoho."

General Hargreaves, who had remained quiet for a surprisingly long time, interrupted, "Kai, are you done with your presentation? Time's getting a little tight after all, since we still have the final and most important segment to discuss."

Kai extinguished his [Vermillion Spark] before stuttering bashfully, "Y-Yes, I'm done, General Hargreaves. Please proceed, sir." Kai then quickly packed his things before he vacated the podium, allowing General Hargreaves to take his place.

General Hargreaves cleared his throat before announcing, "Well, that certainly was a very interesting presentation from our young lad Kai. To sum up the first 3 presentations, basically, we now ought to have a clear idea as to the respective situations in each of the 4 Kingdoms with regard to the Chaos Legion.

Kai has also kindly taught us how to deal with the Chaos Generals, though the method has yet to be fully confirmed. Finally, we're all made aware of the true threat behind the Chaos Legion, fictitious as it sounds, the God of Chaos and Destruction, Astaroth. Now, it's time to discuss our plans for the future against the Chaos Legion. If you would please, King Stormfury."

General Hargreaves stood to the side as King Stormfury took his place before the podium, announcing, "Thank you all for your valuable input thus far. Now, barring the additional information regarding the God of Chaos and Destruction that Kai had just shared, the generals and I have already come to an agreement on our next course of action against the Chaos Legion.

The Nirvanian Army would continue to hold their ground against the advances of the Chaos Legion, but defence is not an effective solution against our enemy who are getting closer to our doorstep with every passing minute.

Instead, now that we've obtained intelligence on the locations of our enemy headquarters all over the Central Continent, Nirvania, together with our allies, would launch precise strikes against these bases, which are likely to be well-protected with the presence of the Chaos Generals.

From the map, we've been entrusted to destroy the bases of Lust and Gluttony, since these 2 bases are responsible for all the attacks in Nirvania. Miran would handle Sloth, the Sylph Kingdom Envy and finally Cameron would take care of Greed. As the headquarters of the Chaos General of Pride remains unknown, we've decided to keep a spare force on standby which would be ready to act when the forces of Pride reveal themselves.

Destroying these bases and defeating the Chaos Generals remain our most feasible solution thus far. As our Army is no longer able to spare much men to assist in our counterattack operations with their focus on defending, hence, I intend to recruit adventurers and martial artists from the Adventurers' Association and the Martial Arts Federation respectively for these operations.

Now, I shall open the floor to discussion on the following question; who shall be in charge of the operations against Lust and Gluttony respectively, on top of our support to Cameron? Everyone, please feel free to share your opinion for our consideration."

Blood Baron Marcus spoke first, "In my opinion, I feel strongly that with the exception of Black King Blake who has been assigned a mission along with Kai and his friends, the rest of the 4 Coloured Kings should remain here in Nirvana as the standby force. This is because assuming that our enemies have obtained intelligence from the 3rd Holy War 2 years ago, the strengths of the other members of the 10 Saints had probably been well documented, myself included.

Given that the forces of Pride are highly likely to be the elite forces of our enemy, we cannot afford to let our enemies obtain further intel on our top brass who we intend to pit against Pride. On the other hand, it's safe to send the rest of the 10 Saints out to battle against the forces of Lust and Gluttony, since their abilities had probably already been documented, resulting in no loss of crucial intel on our part. What do you all think?"

Redmond replied, "I'm sorry, Marcus, but I have to refuse your offer. I intend to accompany my son to the Dark Continent after all. That place is extremely dangerous and Clan Vizard would be their best guides to locate God Grimm there. Sorry once again."

Schneider and Warren nodded in agreement to Marcus' proposal before Marcus resumed, "Alright then, the standby force would just constitute the White and Green Kings. Okay, onto the main topic, is there anyone who wants to volunteer to lead the operation against Lust? Gluttony? Oh, and before I forget, who wants to lead the small team to assist Cameron in ousting the Blood Moon Clan?"

Sword Saint Van swiftly answered, "I would like to recommend myself and my 2 aides for the job in Cameron. We've trained together as a trio after all, and are used to small-scale operations. Please give me this chance to redeem myself for my failure during the 3rd Holy War. You guys alright with this, Julian, Julia?"

Julia replied, "We're cool with anything, Lord Van. Besides, it'll be nice to visit another country for a change, right, brother?" Julian nodded excitedly as he added, "It'll be a good training experience for all of us, before Master William starts to nag at us for letting rust settle on our swords."

Van chuckled in response to Julian's remark as Marcus continued, "Okay, Lord Van would be in charge of the mission in Cameron then. How about the rest? Any other volunteers to take charge of the operations against Lust and Gluttony? I don't think you guys would like it if you had to be selected against your will."

A childish voice rang, "G.E.M.S would like to volunteer to lead the operation against the Chaos General of Lust. We'll enlist the help of Saint Cross as well as other interested adventurers in our endeavour."

Marcus turned towards the Child Saint Sariel and replied, "Thank you for your assistance, Lady Sariel, with the combined influence of G.E.M.S and Saint Cross, it would be a lot easier to rally adventurers from the Adventurers' Association to participate in our operations."

Martial Duke Ken scratched his head and sighed, "Since the Adventurers' Association will be taking on the forces of Lust, it leaves the Martial Arts Federation to handle the forces of Gluttony, it seems. Very well, I'll take charge of the operation against the Chaos General of Gluttony in that case."

General Hargreaves clasped his hands together as he announced, "Then it's settled. Here are the rough designations as of now. Black King Blake and Red King Redmond are tasked to accompany Kai to the Dark Continent as a precautionary measure in the event that we fail to stop the Chaos Legion from reviving their master, the God of Chaos and Destruction, Astaroth.

White King Schneider, Green King Warren and Lightning Saint Ray are to remain on standby to support any faction that requires assistance, most notably against the forces of Pride that had yet to reveal themselves.

Sword Saint Van would spearhead our support to Cameron, assisting the Cameron Royal Family in negating the threat posed by the infamous Blood Moon Clan led by the insurgent Kenzo. Blood Baron Marcus would remain here in Nirvana to assist King Stormfury and me in our coordination efforts with men on the ground, and in worst case, join the standby force.

Child Saint Sariel is in charge of leading the adventurers to assault the base of the Chaos General of Lust, while Martial Duke Ken and the Martial Arts Federation would do likewise against the Chaos General of Gluttony. Are there any further questions? If not, King Stormfury, would you like to conclude the Convention of the Saints with some closing remarks?"

King Stormfury said in a calm and soothing voice, "My fellow Nirvanians, the road ahead is going to be extremely arduous and dangerous. However, even when it seems that all hope is lost, I pray that you all would find the strength within your hearts to search for the light amidst the darkness, with full knowledge that you're fighting for a just cause where surrender is no longer an option. I wish you all the best in your respective operations and I'll continue to pray for everyone's safety."

The King's closing address was met with rapturous applause before the King took his leave with General Hargreaves. Subsequently, everyone began to make their way out of the conference room, leaving behind Kai, Adeline, Akame and Blake. Blake asked, "Now what, hotshot? Do you think you're ready for the Dark Continent?"

Kai replied stoically, "No…I'm still not prepared. Furthermore, there are some matters I would like to settle before I leave for the Dark Continent, like visiting my Master, Ray, to check on his condition. We still have a little time, right?"

Blake responded matter-of-factly, "Yes, I would say about 2 weeks, though you shouldn't neglect physical training in this period of time. As Redmond can testify, the Dark Continent is going to be very challenging physically, so I suggest settling your personal matters as soon as possible to maximise the time available for training."

Kai nodded silently in agreement as he stared into the horizon, his heart burdened with yet another responsibility that he's compelled to fulfil, for the sake of his family and friends…