Three months later... Cruor, The First Vein.
The Blood Arts Academy’s meeting room overlooked the crimson sea through tall, narrow windows... a cool breeze drifted inside, filling the chamber with the sea’s salty scent.
The room resembled a council chamber in an ancient vampire castle... dark wooden panels lined its walls, and silver lamps illuminated the round table while the vaulted ceiling remained lost in shadow.
The Dean silently examined the dimensional documents laid before each delegation at the round table.
About eight were present, each representing an authoritative background in the Boundless Expanse, which in turn signified greater reach within the Chained Universe.
On the right side, an Istrin in gray robes represented the Everwritten Kingdom, whose mastery of Arrays made its royal seal familiar even here.
Beside him sat a Cauldron-Fey woman from the Sovereignty of Seven Hearths, with dark porcelain framing the translucent patches along her throat.
Across the table, a broad Dwarf with silver clasps dividing his long white beard represented the Kingdom of the Eternal Forge.
The Dean recognized the kingdom’s insignia on his chest... countless prized artifacts bore the same mark.
As for the others... some represented mysterious cosmic organizations and Upper Noble Houses.
All in all... each of these eight had immense weight behind them, and if it hadn’t been for this messed-up situation, the Dean and his people would never have hosted such a gathering.
The only representative attending on Levi’s behalf was Nurah, who joined through a dimensional screen occupying her own empty chair.
Nurah waited in silence, listening to their small chit-chat before the meeting started.
The Dean received a brief message and turned toward the entrance.
"Lord Severin, Head of the Bloodtide Nation and House Morcant."
Severin’s aura entered before the doors opened.
The Dean and the others felt the pressure settle against their chests, their own spiritual energy drawing towards it instinctively... even at Tier 7, the Dean needed a moment to steady it.
The conversations around the table died away.
Then the doors opened with a heavy creak, and Severin stepped inside in a dark red coat, his white hair swept back from a sharp widow’s peak.
His pale skin held a faint gray tint, and narrow crimson eyes surveyed the delegates with the calm attention of someone accustomed to making powerful men wait.
He kept his aura restrained as he approached, but the Dean still felt its pressure with every step.
The delegates stood up to greet him.
Severin acknowledged them with a slight smile, exposing the narrow scarlet caps covering his upper fangs... a distinctive adornment that represented the Vallow’s Royal Family.
"Please, be seated."
The Dean stepped aside as Severin took the master chair... then he stood behind him while presenting a dimensional image of the forest above the table.
Camps surrounded the enormous Soulleech Maw, with marked positions showing the latest movements along their defensive line.
"We received your request to deploy additional troops..." Severin said calmly. "Let us hear why you consider them necessary."
"The situation has grown beyond what your nation can handle alone, Lord Severin,"
The Istrin replied, his cosmic voice resonating through the gaps between the dark geometric plates suspended inside his gray robes.
The Dean watched the plates shift around a brilliant blue core... no flesh connected them, only chains of glowing inscriptions that tightened whenever the pieces drifted apart.
Three interlocking plates framed a single eye formed entirely from energy inscriptions... the tiny symbols revolved around a dark pupil, drawing into tighter circles as his gaze settled on Severin.
"Whether any of us welcomes it or not, the Soulleech Summoner has attracted people who will never request an audience... I am not talking about the Bishop’s forces."
He indicated several positions beyond the camps.
"These are only the ones our scouts located... the Bishop’s forces give the others ample opportunity to approach under the disguise of serving him."
"We came through your doors," the Dwarf added with a rough tone, jutting out his bearded chin. "We asked to speak with the boy... we even agreed to contracts protecting him in case he refused our recruitment."
His thick, short finger stopped beside a marked section of ruined forest and tapped it aggressively.
"Those nightcreeps aren’t bound by any such promises... we’ve supplied your defenses and paid for mercenaries, but the danger keeps growing."
"Let us deploy our own powerhouses... and all of this will go away."
The Dean’s frown deepened, but he kept his silence in the presence of Lord Severin.
He knew the situation better than anyone... for three months, the consequences of that rescue refused to leave his Academy or his people in peace.
Arthur and the others departed a mere day after their arrival, the moment their medics stabilized the wounded sufficiently for transport.
At first, the Dean assumed that their hospitality or capability to protect them was being questioned.
But Nurah told him that their departure was a must to avoid creating any more unnecessary trouble for them.
He assumed she meant the surviving assailant and whoever stood behind the attack on Idriss.
In his eyes, they were already fighting an invasion... another enemy seeking revenge didn’t explain the urgency with which they gathered everyone and left.
But barely a minute after the Dean sent Severin a report showing the Soulleech Maw and its aetheric flames, he received a single order in response.
"Maintain the watch... and try your best to seal the news from leaking... I am coming to the Academy to oversee this matter myself."
After his lord arrived and explained the hidden ancient origin of the Soulleech Maw and its aether flames, he realized at last what Nurah meant by ’trouble’.
Levi wasn’t any normal guest... he was a hot potato that many powerful authorities’ backgrounds were seeking him!
As expected, not even three days passed before the first requests for attendance arrived at his office.
Some bore seals the Dean recognized at once... others left him to consult the Academy’s records before he understood who sought an audience.
All of them expressed concern for the young Soulleech Maw Summoner, offered assistance, and requested the opportunity to discuss his future.
Rejecting them all without cause would offend powers that approached their nation respectfully... their interest in recruiting Levi gave him no reason to treat them as enemies.
With Severin’s approval, he welcomed them.
Soon, the Academy’s guest quarters filled with representatives, many famous enough to attract attention wherever they went.
Meanwhile, the Bishop of the Eternal Empire occupying their continent made his own move.
Nightcrawlers advanced toward the forest, seeking to claim the territory surrounding Levi’s Dominion and turn it into a Nest.
Naturally, the Vallow had no intention of surrendering Levi or breaking their promise to protect him.
No matter how many powerful backgrounds sought him across the universe, he remained their guest... and they took that responsibility seriously.
Thus, within mere days, guarding the Spiritual Tree’s territory became a small war.
The Vallow drove the attackers back, only to face another assault along a different approach. Trees fell, defensive positions changed hands, and the Dean assigned instructors to battlefield duty instead of their classrooms.
Even many students volunteered for duty to earn Academy Points to improve their living conditions and pay for lessons.
Just when the Dean thought the situation wasn’t going to get any messier, the visiting delegations offered to fund and equip the defense!
The Everwritten Kingdom’s Array specialists reinforced the camps with barriers and detection Arrays, making it harder for enemies to approach unnoticed... while the Dwarves supplied artifacts and replaced weapons damaged in the fighting.
The Cauldron-Fey provided medicine for the wounded, and several delegations hired mercenary squads to reinforce the forest’s perimeter.
Severin approved that assistance, but withheld permission for the delegations to deploy their own military forces.
With their assistance, the Bishop’s forces were pushed back, and so was the encroaching darkness they brought with them to fend off the sunlight.
The Dean knew why the Bishop kept his empire’s troops out of the fighting... deploying them to seize new territory outside sanctioned raids would break the treaty with Cruor’s Saviors. Instead, he sent unaffiliated nightcrawlers and denied responsibility for their attacks.
This weakened their invasion immensely, turning the war into three months of nonstop skirmishes across hundreds of kilometers around the Soulleech Maw Tree.
Lord Severin and the Dean might have welcomed the relief, but they understood what these contributions meant.
Those hoping to recruit Levi needed him alive and free to consider their offers... protecting him also gave them something favorable to mention when that conversation finally happened.
And through all of this mess, the Soulleech Maw remained above the forest... indifferent to the people bleeding over the ground around it.
"Miss Nurah, may you please talk some sense into them?" The Alchemist sighed as she turned to Nurah’s screen. "We are seekers of truth, not barbarians... all we want is to ensure the safety of your friend, considering his immense significance in the advancement of arcane knowledge."
Before Nurah could respond, the Alchemist continued... this time her tone was solemn.
"And believe me, within that forest, there are some unaffiliated Tier 7 and Tier 8 monsters hiding in the shadows... awaiting the day he comes out... whether alive or as a corpse."