Lancet lowered his hand slowly, his fingers relaxing by degrees as he steadied his breathing. The silence that followed didn’t feel like completion. It was the silence of people thinking.

He could feel it. Every eye in the room was still on him.

Fuck, it was really overbearing!

Lancet shifted his weight slightly, wanting this to be over fast. He looked toward the King.

Thinking of how to approach this, Lancet thought it was best to keep his posture respectful. It wouldn’t be perfect because he was a little stiff. But that was from the tension, and from wanting to leave but knowing the moment had not yet released him.

"Your Majesty," he said carefully, "if that is all... may I take my leave?"

For a brief second, it seemed like the question might be accepted.

Then one of the administrators cleared his throat.

"Just a moment," the man said.

The words were polite, but they settled heavily into the room.

Lancet felt it immediately. Of course it wasn’t over.

Danistasia’s smile returned to its earlier, measured form, and she stepped forward slightly, folding one arm beneath the other as she regarded him with renewed focus.

"There is still one matter we would like to discuss," she said.

Lancet did not move, but his attention sharpened.

Every time he looked at this woman, he felt chills race down his spine and the air at the back of his neck rise up in fear. He didn’t like being around her at all.

"What matter?" Lancet asked.

"Spectra Hexarra."

Several administrators straightened in their seats. One of them exhaled quietly. Dean Ordenance’s expression darkened, and he turned his gaze slightly away, as though he already knew where this was going.

Danistasia did not look away from Lancet.

"She is not merely a powerful entity," she went on. "She is a villainess. A known threat. And more importantly..." her eyes narrowed just slightly, "...she possesses a Demon Lord."

A few of the administrators nodded, all in agreement to the level of threat Spectra Hexerra was.

"While it is true that her involvement may have aided in saving Hebthej," Danistasia continued, "it is equally true that her presence here introduces a far greater concern."

The room remained still.

Danistasia took another slow step, closing the distance just enough to make the pressure more personal.

Lancet felt cold creeping into his skin.

"With her here," the Headmistress said, "it means that a Demon Lord now exists within our world."

She paused, letting that settle.

"And since she is your Summon," Danistasia added, her voice softer now but far more pointed, "that would mean you are, by extension, in possession of a Demon Lord."

Lancet’s eyes widened a little bit. He had not thought about it like that but it made complete sense.

If Baphomet was Spectra’s Summon, and Spectra was Lancet’s Summon, then for all technicality, Baphomet was Lancet’s Summon.

Lancet’s heart skipped once. ’Did I just unknowingly give myself a galactic entity as a Summon?’

But even as the realization formed, another thought followed immediately behind it.

Did they not know?

Lancet thought, narrowing his eyes slightly. ’Do these people not know that Spectra lost her catalyst?’

They were terrified of Baphomet, completely unaware that the Demon Lord was currently locked away in a lost necklace somewhere in the Dark South, rendering Spectra virtually powerless to summon him.

Lancet certainly wasn’t going to tell them that.

"Spectra is in my Summon Space," he stated firmly, keeping his face perfectly neutral. "And at the moment, I have her completely in check."

That earned him a few looks.

One administrator leaned forward slightly. Another exchanged a glance with someone beside him.

Danistasia’s expression did not change, but her eyes sharpened again.

"That may be true," she said. "At the moment."

There was a quiet emphasis on the last words.

"What of the future?" she asked. "What happens when that changes? What happens when the Mother of Demons decides she no longer wishes to play by your rules and does something catastrophic?"

Lancet pouted and shrugged. "Then I’ll just unsummon her," he said. "Problem solved."

There was a brief pause and a murmur of debate broke out among the administrators.

"The boy does make a point," one said with a loud sigh, adjusting his posture slightly. "No matter how powerful Spectra is, she is still a Summon. She is bound. That places her under his control."

Another administrator nodded slowly. "As long as that remains true, the threat is contained."

Ordenance happily agreed to this with a fast nod.

Danistasia did not immediately respond. She studied Lancet for a moment longer, as though weighing whether his confidence was earned or reckless.

Lancet tried but he quickly lost the staring context with her, looking away from her terrifying cold dark eyes.

Smirking, Danistasia nodded smally.

"Very well," she said. "We will set that aside for now."

That meant there was more. Lancet couldn’t relax just yet.

Danistasia’s gaze shifted slightly, her tone changing just enough to signal the next subject.

"There is one final matter."

The room stilled again.

"The second Demon Head," she said.

That drew the full attention of everyone present.

"For the first time in recorded history," Danistasia continued, "a Demon Invasion manifested with two Demon Heads."

Her eyes remained fixed on Lancet.

"And not only were you aware of this," she said, "you knew exactly where to find it."

The question came without being spoken aloud but Danistasia asked it anyway. "How?"

Lancet felt the pressure return, sharper than before. He had expected this; sooner or later. That kind of thing was a big deal and any kingdom in the new Earth would like to know.

Not just to sacrifice curiosity but to possibly use it in case two Heads arose once again in the future.

Lancet kept his expression neutral, though his thoughts moved quickly. This was not something he could explain without revealing far too much, and revealing too much here would be far worse than saying nothing at all.

"I just knew," he said.

The words sounded simple, almost too simple, but he did not elaborate immediately.

The room did not accept that answer.

"How does one simply know the location of a Demon Head?" one administrator asked.

Another leaned forward. "You’re asking us to believe that you stumbled upon it through instinct?"

Danistasia watched him closely. "Well?"

Lancet let out a slow breath.

"It’s not something I can explain properly," he said. "From the moment I saw the town map, I could feel it. I could read it. It’s like..." he paused briefly, searching for words that would sound believable without being revealing, "...like I can sense the structure of it. The way it moves. Where it builds."

A few of them exchanged looks.

"That sounds like a Skill," someone muttered.

"Or a specialized perception ability," another added.

"What classification would that even fall under?" a third asked quietly.

Danistasia did not speak over them. She simply watched Lancet, her eyes studying every detail of his expression, searching for cracks.

"And you cannot explain it further?" she asked.

Lancet shook his head. "No. I just... know when I see it."

"A sixth sense?" an older administrator scoffed. "Preposterous! You expect us to believe that a First Year student possesses a spatial awareness greater than our high magitech radars?"

"I’m telling you the truth," Lancet insisted, raising his hands slightly. "You can interrogate me all day, but I don’t know how to explain a feeling. It just happened."

That quieted the room again.

Dean Ordenance used that opportunity to speak, his voice low. "It is not impossible."

Danistasia looked at Lancet while staying silent for a moment longer, then she inclined her head slightly, as though deciding that pressing further would not yield anything useful.

"That is true, Ordenace," she said. "It is not impossible."

Lancet couldn’t handle her gaze anymore so he took that as his opening.

"Is that all?" he asked. "I really need to get back. My friends are still celebrating."

There was silence again, a tiny shift in the atmosphere.

King Romsgard studied the boy’s face for a long, heavy moment. Then, the Sovereign’s hard expression cracked into a warm, paternal smile.

"Of course, Lancet," the King said graciously. "We have kept you long enough. Once again, you have the deepest thanks of Aethelgard for your efforts in saving Hebthej. Go. Enjoy your victory."

Lancet bowed deeply to the King. "Thank you, your Majesty." He gave a polite nod of goodbye to the rest of the room, and quickly turned on his heel.

The Brigadiers opened the doors, and Lancet slipped out, eager to put as much distance between himself and that room as physically possible.

Inside, silence settled once more.

For several seconds, no one spoke.

The administrators remained seated, their expressions thoughtful, their eyes drifting toward one another in quiet exchange.

Dean Ordenance stood still, his grip firm on his staff as he watched the Headmistress and the King.

Danistasia remained where she was, her gaze fixed on the door as though she could still see Lancet through it.

Then she turned slightly toward the King.

"What do you think?" she asked.

Romsgard leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled together, his eyes distant as he considered what he had just witnessed.

"He’s lying," the King said at last.

Ordenance slightly pushed off the wall, quick to defend Lancet. "Lying, sire?"

"Not entirely," Romsgard added. "But most of what he said consists of half-truths."

Danistasia’s lips curved like she wanted to laugh. "As expected," she said. "Awakeners rarely reveal the full extent of their abilities. It is in our nature to withhold."

Romsgard hummed in agreement.

"But how intriguing," he continued, his gaze sharpening slightly. "A boy from the slums... now wielding power like that."

He paused, then added, "And more than that... a Demon Lord."

The room grew quiet again.

"One of the very beings responsible for bringing ruin across worlds," Romsgard said. "And it now rests within his grasp."

He exhaled slowly.

"The Royal Seers did well to find him," the King went on. "It would have been... unfortunate if he had awakened on his own, beyond our sight. He might have gone rogue. And that power would have remained unchecked."

Everyone in the room seemed to agree with that.

Danistasia inclined her head slightly.

King Romsgard looked up, and his gaze moved between her and Ordenance.

"Keep an eye on him," he said. "Both of you."

There was no room for interpretation in his tone.

"You’re to report anything unusual. Anything out of place." He rested back into his chair. "The funding from the kingdoms, especially mine, exists for matters such as this."

Danistasia placed a hand over her heart, her icy smile widening into something predatory and absolute. "You will not be disappointed," she said.

Beside her, Dean Ordenance gripped his cane tightly and bowed with respect and solemn agreement.