"I thank all of you for coming here in such a short notice," a white-haired and bearded man addressed the other people sitting at a very long dining table. "Let us begin our meeting."

The room was solemn and old, matching the age of the ancient castle. This place was not in any maps, dubbed 'the last bastion of humanity'. Sitting on one of the few truly dead magic spots of the world, the castle was the refuge of the Guild Grandmaster, the supreme leader of the adventurer's guild. The eminent grandmaster, a man in his twilight years but still bursting with vitality was the one that addressed the gathered guild masters and S-rank adventurers. The martial and magical prowess of these twenty or so individuals would be enough to conquer the entire part of the continent dominated by the people races. Unfortunately they can't do anything to the demons because they would die of mana poisoning.

Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Beastkin and a few other races with few members. An elven woman, bright green hair flowing down to her waist stood up and continued.

"A threat had risen in the southeast of the continent, one that could stir ancient evils into motion and destroy humanity. Already three of our guild masters suffered at his hands. Already one of our towns has fallen to its hands. It is just a matter of time before the threat swallows us and consumes our lands in the fires of its malice. We need to act."

A strong, handsome, and muscular man slammed the table.

"Let me and my group go. We can subjugate that creature. Between my sister and I, there is no living creature that won't die."

"This is not the time to be harsh, Gilgamesh. Your sister fought the threat for an entire night, pierced its heart a hundred times and it only bled and laughed. We are unsure if it even has a core to be broken."

"Nonsense," Scoffed the champion. "Even hybrids have cores. I've killed hundreds. Between my sister and I, nothing living cannot die under either of our techniques {Core Breaker} or {Heartseeker Blade}. Since the monster in disguise was tried under hers, it falls under mine. Trolls are diverse, their cores can be shifted around. It varies with the individual. My technique finds it without error."

There were only five people with a sixth tier job in the room. After the youngest one made his point, the elder sitting at the top of the table cleared his throat.

"It is too risky. We've received reports from Barnsley and Strawford. They have seen the lights shining in the dragon valley and the roar of the combat echoing beyond the mountains." The grandmaster's voice trembled when he mentioned the lights. "We know for a fact that the monster made his base at the mouth of the dragon valley. That they were fighting that much means only the vile thing that nests at the other end of the valley is on the move. After all these centuries."

Only a handful of the presents knew the meaning of the lights. But the others were very capable of reading body language.  One woman with revealing clothes and a staff took the floor. "Grandmaster, forgive me for being blunt. Why do you fear the lights?"

The chairman of the meeting fought to keep his emotions in check. He knew very well that his position was being contested, given the stream of failures of his subordinates in the east. He stood up, almost slamming the table with both hands but managing to control himself and gently laying his hands on the cloth.

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"The light that was supposed to be extinct in this world." A woman covered in white robes and clothes from head to feet and a thin veil over her face answered in the grandmaster's place. "The light bearers, servants of the gods, assumed to be extinct in the great war against the betrayer demon king seventy-five centuries ago. We feared it was true when we read Kareena's report, but not it is confirmed."

"Damn, Inanna!" The one bearing the title of 'Seductress Witch' flinched to a side. The two women dressed in polar opposites were side by side. "Stop speaking in riddles. What light bearers?"

"There was a young magician boy nicknamed 'Zarr' in Beowulf's party, Shamhat. His appraisal results showed that he had a tiered race. We knew for a fact he could use several... uncommon magic schools, including light magic. The same magician boy appeared in Mirfield during the winter and he not only was several years older at once but also grew feathered wings. The guild master stationed there tested him clear for both hybridization and demon taint. Our watchers also overheard him being called by his real name, and it is one that goes back ages."

The witch's shoulders dropped. She shook the shoulder of her fellow spellcaster and almost yelled. "Straight to the point, please!"

Innana's eyes rolled behind her veil. "Tiered race, wizard job, not a hybrid, not a demon, a caster of light magic, white feathered wings. What is that kid? The lights over the dragon valley were his doing too."

"A rare kind of bird beast-kin?" Shamhat shrugged.

"No, you moronic witch. That kid is an angel. AN ANGEL!" Inanna broke and yelled. "And worse, he was called Zahariel by Beowulf's party members. To boot he CHRISTENED Beowulf as a Hero after they CLEANSED A DEMON CURSE from the townsfolk in Mirfield. Our men were there, in the room when it happened."

Another guildmaster at the other side of the room reacted poorly at the revelation. He was a magician and a historian "Zahariel of the Nine. The Seventh. Impossible! Records put him as one of the last to die, but why did he return only now, if he did return?"

This time the grandmaster was the one to answer. "We don't know, but we do know that he took the monstrosity's side. If he is the real deal, it means he forsook humanity." His gaze fell on the champion. "This is why we can't be harsh and run to fight him. Besides, there is an important mission for you and your party, Gilgamesh."

"Oh, what is it?" Sneered the warrior.

"A ship is crossing over the ocean. A messenger came on a giant eagle and landed in Scorchport. We are having visitors from the old lands in a few days. I want you to go there and escort them to Heorot. The western towns are not safe. The rebellion is growing in strength. Hrothgar is doing a terrible job suppressing that rabble."

"A ship?" Another guildmaster asked. "It has been two hundred years since the last bunch of fools dared cross the ocean."

"Yes. But this time they are sailing on Rachel's Pride. After all this time the warship awakened."

A relic of a bygone era, something that should not exist in this world. Built at the end of the demon king war by the summoned heroes, a Nevada-class battleship teleported across worlds, salvaged, repaired, retrofitted and enchanted to give sea superiority. It is absurdly stupid. The thing runs on magic stones and the amount of energy to move its tens of thousands of tons can be measured in wyverns killed per minute.

But if you consider that the ancient war ended in a TPK for both sides and it claimed the lives of the princess, both summoned heroes, the entire heavenly host, over half of the nine seraphs, and allegedly the entire pantheon of gods, they were desperate and needed an absurdly stupid weapon.

And the grandmaster should probably have said 'after all this time the warship was finally fueled enough to make the round trip'.

"Beowulf, gather your party and depart to Scorchport. Bring the visitors to me. As for the rest of you, every guildmaster will receive weapons and equipment to counter the hybrid. Act with caution, he is proven to be hostile to the guild. The other two S-rank parties will remain in reserve, here."

The move was obvious. Keep the only S-rank party that was not under his direct influence busy with some VIP, hoard the two loyal ones as bodyguards and make the guildmasters that threaten his position shoulder the burden of dealing with the upstart.

"But..." Some guild master protested.

"This meeting is adjourned. You have your assignments. Leave."