"Everyone, the ceremony is going to start now. I would like to hear the report on the number of cores each of you obtained between the last ceremony and today."

The strongest of the Apostles, Layla, began to move toward a round altar with a crucible in the middle.

"We'll start with Lord Florian. From him, please continue in clockwise order."

Florian, standing near the chair he was sitting in before, glanced at her. He was seated at her left, suggesting that the reports would end with her own.

"As you wish. As I am starting, I can give a brief explanation of the situation, in case some of you didn't pay attention this year, or recently joined our ranks. If you authorize me to, that is."

This was directed at Kiel and two others that started whistling. Florian waited for Layla to answer before giving his report.

"You can continue, it is good to remind everyone occasionally."

"Thank you, Lady Layla."

Florian walked to his chair and sat down, waiting for everyone to sit. Except Layla, who remained near the altar, everyone sat down.

The Apostle Florian inhaled some fresh air, adjusted the glasses on his nose, and opened his mouth.

"Each year, the Apostles are required to hold a competition of some sort. The goal of this competition is to regulate the number of corrupted to avoid unnecessary damage to our lands, and to gather the cores of said fallen corrupted."

"It is to force everyone to protect their citizens, while being rewarded for their efforts. Perhaps if no reward was obtained for hunting them, no one would deliberately go out of their way to manage their numbers."

Orion began to obtain a few missing pieces of the whole matter.

'I see, the reason there were so many of them near Auro was because the soldiers stayed away from the beastmen. If they had done their work properly, then I wouldn't have had to hunt them down.'

'This is also why I never heard of any such beasts in history, the Apostles regulated them. I'll wait before making any more assumptions, thought.'

Just as he expected, Florian continued his explanation.

"Our competition is terribly unfair for a few of us, since the number of corrupted varies at times. The quantity of precious cores that we get fluctuates greatly, depending on the region you live in."

"For what the cores are needed, it is obvious. You wouldn't be here otherwise. To grind them and absorb their power. The greater the number, the greater the power."

Florian got up from his seat and finished his speech.

"As most of you might have realized, instead of dwindling, the number of corrupted only grows more and more as the year passes. With conditions like this, let's hope everyone got their fair share of cores."

He looked at Layla, who was waiting with a notebook and a pen in her hands.

"As the lord of Albriar, I've collected a hundred and twenty-nine cores."

Many groans were heard from other Apostles. It seemed like this was a significant amount for them to feel jealous about.

"I take note. Florian Delur, a hundred and twenty-nine cores. It is more than last year."

Layla scribbled down the number of cores each member collected on a page with similar writings.

"Next to Florian, Miss Olivia. Don't feel shy about your results, we all know how bad the region you've inherited is."

Orion observed the person called Olivia, who was sitting next to Florian.

'She's rather young, maybe a few years younger than us.'

'Did she inherit the title of Apostle from the previous one in her family? Interesting, I hope I won't have to deal with the children... This might be where I draw the line.'

Children were Orion's weak spot.

The young of many factions were still pure hearted. Forcing them to suffer because of the actions of wicked individuals would leave a bad taste in his mouth. This was why someone younger than him being an Apostle led him to doubt for a moment.

'I thought about it before, but the hunt is only for the wretched humans, allied with Elliott. The ones that do not respect life, the ones that torture others, the ones that take from others without giving back, and most of all... the ones that are taking lives with twisted pleasure.'

Dylan's teachings stayed with him and influenced him, to perfect his sense of justice. He didn't consider himself a hero, nor was he proud of taking another's life.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Instead, all of this was for his parents. For his own twisted vengeance.

If by enforcing justice the life of the remaining factions improved, then he would kill his ego, and complete that mission.

At any cost, even if it means ending the life of young aggressors.

While he focused back on the conversation, the young lady opened her mouth, and spoke with a gentle tone.

"Yes, miss Layla. Everyone might know it already, but my name is Olivia Lakis."

"I have taken my father's place after illness took him away this year. I may be new to the Apostles' ranks, but I wish to be treated the same as my father."

Orion caught an interest in this person, judging her as she spoke.

'She's strong for someone her age. Amelia was around her age when I made her a hunter.'

"For the number of cores I've obtained, as you might have guessed, it is on the low side. As the new Lord of the Noctelagia region, I've obtained ninety-five cores, with sixty-two of them being my father's."

"Oh, you've done well by yourself, this is not a bad achievement to bring for your first ceremony. Olivia Lakis, ninety-five cores. Since there are no records for previous years, congratulations."

"Thank you very much for your kindness."

Olivia slightly bowed, which made Layla smile, noticing the respect she showed her.

"Next to Olivia. Sir Ivan. How was this year's harvesting?"

Switching to the next Apostle, Orion dropped his thoughts on Olivia and looked at the Apostle, Ivan.

'An old man... This one might be an easy target. Still, I shouldn't let his age fool me, he is an Apostle, after all. Their privilege is to use unrivaled magic.'

'I might be able to get one kill here, but I would rather not bring attention to me right now. I need to find the worst one of the bunch before acting.'

He wanted to find the most depraved individual around the table. That person would become his very first prey.

"As expected, I would say? I am relatively old, so don't expect a lot from me."

"Representing Kaios, I've obtained eighty-five cores. The desert is not the best of places to hunt for corrupted, as you've realized by now."

Layla nodded, writing it down.

"It is indeed not the best area. I believe the heat makes it impossible to stay too far from the city, which leaves only the extreme cases of attacks near your city, and the strokes of luck during patrols?"

"You know every bit as much as I do, Lady Layla. I have nothing else to report in that case."

She chuckled while reading her notebook.

"I have not managed this reunion for years for nothing, I know most of everyone's region pretty well. Alright, Lord Ivan Borias, eighty-five cores. Slightly less than last year."

Orion frowned at the thought of that many corrupted being hunted down. Still, it was an excellent opportunity to learn about them.

'This is only three of them so far. This might take a while.'

'At least it gives me a general idea of where to find them. The more I learn about each one of the Apostles, the better it will carry on.'

"Kiel, you?"

Layla glanced at the next Apostle, and spoke to him in a cold tone, almost disgusted.

"You can show less distaste, you know? If it works for you, I can lead you to bed so we can make up."

Kiel laughed insanely, while every one avoided looking at him. He looked at Olivia and spoke more callous words.

"If you ask nicely, I can even take you two together, I'm open-minded."

Wincing in disgust, Orion narrowed his sight on the man named Kiel.

'I've identified my first target. This filth is not going out of this room alive.'

In a threatening tone, Layla asked again.

"Kiel, I said it once, don't make me repeat. Number."

Kiel's smile disappeared, and he spat on the floor.

"You stuck up old lady, you've ruined my mood. A hundred and fifty-three. Here, happy?"

"I understand why the lamias are miserable with you nearby."

Florian was the one to provoke him.

The reports on the lamias under Kiel's control were sickening to read through.

Abductions, forced labor, and a multitude of horrendous treatments. He tried to find a way to bring him down, but he couldn't find any besides assassination at this point.

It was easy to manipulate the lamias, since the males were extremely rare and precious to them. One threat to kill them, and the lamias would bow to them to protect their faction.

"You have something agains-"

The words kept floating in his mouth as Florian crossed his arms and cut him off.

"We all have something against it. You're one of the worst around this table. Do you think no one knows about what you're doing?"

Scanning the room, Orion instantly found the ones showing goodwill toward over factions.

'A few of them look annoyed. My choice was right, this man is a plague that needs to be removed. His first impression wasn't good either.'

'Out of the fourteen Apostles, only five seemed to support the Apostle Florian. Those five will await their turn, as they aren't a priority presently.'

Layla scoffed at the conversation while looking at her nails.

"Florian, I'm sorry to cut you in your rage, but we couldn't care less about the lamias right now. Let's proceed to the next Apostle."

A look of pure dejection appeared on his face, as he was hoping Layla would support him, but the reality was different.

She wasn't someone to care for other factions.

"Alright, please excuse me. You can continue."

"After Kiel, we have Lord Neon. How was the frost this year? Did it bother your hunts?"

"Do you care about my region enough to ask, or are you being polite and couldn't care less? Either way, I've hunted two hundred and four cores. The frost around Ryghs is the same each year, there was no problem."

Layla's eye twitched at his comment, but she ignored it. She was more interested in the huge number of cores he managed to obtain.

"I see, Neon Ultis, two hundred and four cores. This is a lot more than last year. This is a first, too. No one ever brought two hundred cores ahead of this meeting."

She hoped for a comment from the man, but he closed his eyes and faked ignorance. So, Layla turned to the next on waiting.

"Lord Kamala, you are next, how many cores have you gathered?"

"Lord of Hocride, Kamala, a hundred and thirty."

"As usual, a woman of few words. Kamala Genathis, a hundred and thirty cores. Almost no change compared to last year."

Orion had nothing to think, as the conversation proceeded rather rapidly at this point.

"Eric, your turn. How much did you obtain?"

"Even though I've encountered some trouble along the way, I managed to bring a hundred and sixteen cores."

"Eric Layman, a hundred and sixteen cores. Alright, with this, we've done half of the reports."

'From what I gathered, the one named Florian, Olivia, Kamala, and Eric are against the lamias' harsh treatments. I'm also interested in the next person, he's the last being against it, and he had a really fierce look, like he was about to jump at that man at any moment.'

The man Orion was speaking about glanced at Layla from his chair, and sighed.

"Lord Kelvin, I know it might be late, but thank you for coming this year, it's a rare occasion to see you, as you don't attend this ceremony often."

Kelvin, arms crossed on the table, barely looked at her before opening his mouth.