"Young brats these days," the Elder muttered with the shrimp in his mouth, his tone tinged with amusement.

"Don't you know how to respect an elder?" he continued, rubbing his pure black beard.

"Forgive us, Elder, but we thought you were here to speak with Gaya," Ronald and Raven explained.

"So that's why we tried to stay back," they added, offering their apologies for their earlier actions.

"But Elder, don't you need to accompany the Absolute Beings?" Gaya inquired, seeing that her two friends were in trouble.

"Without their order, I can't do anything," the Elder replied, "even if it means accompanying them."

"And didn't you hear that they said they want to have a private discussion among themselves? Who am I to disobey them?" he added, explaining his position.

"That aside, I have something to ask you," the Elder said to Gaya.

"What is it, Elder?" Gaya asked.

"It's about your blindfold. Are they actually for you because you're blind, or are they there for you to wear like a costume?" the Elder inquired.

"It's actually..." Gaya began to explain but was interrupted by a loud exclamation.

"Elder Khanel!"

With a loud sound, one of the high-ranking priests from the sanctuary rushed toward them. He was clearly out of breath and sweating, indicating he had run for a long time.

Elder Khanel turned his attention to the priest and waited for him to reach him. After the priest arrived and took a moment to catch his breath, he leaned in and whispered something into Khanel's ear.

Upon hearing the message, the Elder's expression changed abruptly. He made sudden, swift movements, rising from his chair, which toppled over with a loud crash. He paid no heed to the fallen chair and hurried toward the door, exiting the dining hall.

In the main hall of the sanctuary, Elder Khanel knelt before the seven towering figures who sat upon thrones like emperors overseeing everything.

Among the seven thrones, Icarus occupied the middle one. To his right sat Tiamat, followed by Ishtar, Acedia, and to his left, there was Preta, Leviathan, and Fafnir.

All of them exuded a dominating presence, except for Leviathan, who was positioned between the two Sins and began to perspire slightly.

[It seems Icarus has figured out that I am lying, but they don't seem to care about my origin as long as I am one of the Seven Sins,] Leviathan mused silently.

He took a deep breath and, after regaining his composure, adjusted his sitting position for comfort.

[but, it seems that my previous thoughts were wrong,] he thought while glancing at Tiamat.

[That is not her clothing; in fact, she isn't wearing anything. The dragon scales are just her skin, but they are sufficient to cover her essential parts.]

["But damn, isn't she the one who governs over the sin of wrath? Yet her appearance is second to Ishtar. No, it's not her appearance, it's her way of behaving,"] he contemplated and came to a conclusion.

"State your name," suddenly, breaking Leviathan's train of thought, Icarus spoke with a deep voice that managed to shake Khanel's heart for a moment, and unsurprisingly, Leviathan's as well.

"My name is Khanel, my Lord," Elder Khanel replied without lifting his head from his kneeling position.

"Tell me, Khanel, do you do anything for us?" Icarus inquired.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Certainly, my Lord. Even if it's within my limitations or not, at your command, I do it without a second thought," Khanel declared, showcasing his unwavering devotion to them.

"Then tell me, who do you think is the strongest among us?" Icarus asked a question that seemed to trouble Elder Khanel.

A long time passed, but an answer to Icarus' question did not emerge from Khanel's lips. Instead, he began to visibly struggle, even maintaining his kneeling position seemed difficult.

Khanel had been racking his brain for an answer, but he couldn't come up with one.

It wasn't the question itself that troubled him, but the subject matter it entailed. Summoning up his courage, he raised his head and cast a quick glance at the seven imposing figures.

However, it was futile. All of them exuded a serious and intimidating aura. The pressure of choosing one and, even if he did, the sheer impossibility of uttering that choice overwhelmed him. As a result, he began to perspire profusely.

"If it's so hard for you to give me an answer, let me give you a little help," Icarus declared, rising from his throne.

Elder Khanel looked toward Icarus with great anticipation, hoping for assistance. However, as time passed, his joyful expression turned into one of sheer terror.

*****

Clip! Clop!

With heavy footsteps, a man dressed in a grey-colored robe walked steadily. In one of his hands, he held a letter with a sealed mark.

After some time of walking, he entered a hall and gazed ahead. In front of him was a table shaped like a half-circle, elevated higher than the place where the man stood.

"It's the report from the assault," he announced while looking towards a dark corner of the table.

Crek! Crek!

With a sound resembling bones colliding, a skeletal hand emerged from that darkness. This hand was devoid of any flesh or nerves, consisting only of bones.

From the skeletal hand, one finger pointed toward the man. The finger then lifted, and as it did, the letter floated toward the skeletal hand. Afterward, the hand retreated into the darkness, taking the letter with it.

After a few minutes, a cold wind blew from the direction where the skeletal hand had vanished, brushing past the man and sending a shiver down his spine.

"Call Ghakhira," a voice, drained of vitality, emanated from the darkness. After receiving the command, the man hurriedly walked away.

"As the Ascendant Ones said, 'The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting,'" a soft, chilling laughter echoed from the shadows.

*****

"Can't you do that a little bit faster?" Icarus urged while seated in his throne, referring to Elder Khanel cleaning up the floor dirtied by his own vomit.

"Yes, Lord," Elder Khanel hastened his efforts. After completing the cleanup, he approached them and knelt down.

"I think the clue I gave you would be beneficial," Icarus asked Khanel.

"True, Lord. I believe I can now provide you with a proper answer," Khanel replied.

"Then let me ask you again, who do you think is the strongest among us?" Icarus posed the question once more.

"With all due respect, it is none other than you, my Lord," Khanel confidently answered.

"Aren't I?" Icarus chuckled, seemingly satisfied.

Surprisingly, the others in the room didn't seem to react to Icarus's actions.

["Damn, I'm so JEALOUS,"] Leviathan thought, but his thoughts suddenly came to a halt as he realized something strange within himself.

["What the hell, why am I so jealous of him?"] Confusion gripped Leviathan's mind.

["Is it because of my sin? Come to think of it, I didn't feel any surprise from being transferred or inhabiting a monster's body. Instead, it feels more comfortable living like this. Does becoming a Sin Ruler have some psychological effect on me?"] Leviathan contemplated.

He glanced at Khanel, who was once again praising Icarus, and he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of jealousy towards Icarus.

["This is bad. If it continues like this, will I even be myself anymore?"] Leviathan's thoughts spiraled into crisis as he grappled with his inner turmoil.

Meanwhile, Icarus continued to inquire about important matters from Khanel.

According to his information, the power structure of this sanctuary was traditionally divided between two individuals: the Elder Council and the Head Priest.

However, with the emergence of the almighty beings, this hierarchy had expanded to include a third tier, with the Head Priest at the lowest level, followed by the Elder Council, and the highest authority being the Almighty Orders.

"And my Lord, what do we do about this part of the sanctuary? Because this is an integral part of our entire sanctuary, its destruction would result in a significant loss for our forces."

"While we have the resources, such as gold, to build a new sanctuary, the process would be time-consuming."

"We elders convened to discuss this problem but set it aside because it required the consideration of the highest power within the sanctuary, which is you, my Lord," Khanel explained.

"Do you mean that this is only a small part of the whole sanctuary?" the question came from Fafnir.

"Correct, my Lord. This is only a part of our whole sanctuary," Elder Khanel confirmed.

"In fact, our main sanctuary is twelve times larger than this part, my Lord, and it is more than enough to accommodate all of you," Khanel continued.

"Residence," Leviathan's interest was piqued, and he wasn't the only one. All of them turned their attention to Incarus.

Sensing their curiosity, Incarus replied, "We will inform you after we decide what to do with the sanctuary," and added, "You can go now."

However, at that moment, with hesitation, Elder Khanel spoke up, "My Lord, what should be our response to the enemy theocracy that attacked us when we were at our weakest?" he asked.