Thus, they reached a unanimous decision to dispatch forces to Italy. News that humanity’s heroes had joined hands to rescue the hostages captured by the treacherous Celestial instantly spread across the globe.

Some revered them, and others mocked them. Some took up their swords alongside the Seven Stars, and others shrank back in fear. The waves of turmoil that began in Italy soon engulfed the entire world.

Well, that’s only natural.

Humanity had already lived through one such catastrophic war.

Four years after the first rift opened in the Arctic, humanity’s defenses collapsed without any resistance until Awakeners appeared and pushed the demonic beasts back.

However, intelligent monsters, now called Named monsters, emerged across the world. They formed armies and continued attacking mankind. Luckily, the Awakeners pooled their strength, fought desperately, and eventually won. That brutal struggle became known as the War of the Stars.

Not only Awakeners, but Celestials had joined that battle as well. The war had reached a global scale.

Back then... Ha-Eun lost her eye and leg to the Thousand Curses Dragon.

Humanity had expelled the Named monsters and won the war, but had lost countless precious things. Despair and tragedy overflowed. Even after the war, the people suffered unbearable scars.

To overcome that tragedy, the Seven Stars came into existence. An alliance of Awakeners, who had shown the greatest achievements in the War of the Stars, became humanity’s new hope.

Now, six years later, under the Seven Stars’ leadership, a second War of the Stars would soon begin. This time, however, the enemy was far stronger. They would be fighting a Celestial.

***

A week after the meeting, the Sanctum, normally quiet and sacred like a holy temple, buzzed like a noisy marketplace.

Ten thousand soldiers from the China-Russia Alliance, Awakeners from American guilds drawn by the immense reward money, and countless other Awakeners from around the world had come to join the war.

Battle supplies now crammed the once-beautiful starlight paths, and the Celestials’ temples had become makeshift camps for Awakeners.

From the highest point of the Sanctum, where Vega’s temple stood, Kwon Oh-Jin’s group overlooked the gathering Awakeners.

“Whoa... Just how many people are down there?” Song Ha-Eun gasped and stared at the mass of Awakeners below.

She had seen large crowds before, but never one where every individual bore a Stigma.

“Counting the China-Russia troops, the American guilds, and the Awakeners who arrived after hearing the news... As of today, there are exactly 32,782 Awakeners gathered.” Cassia flipped through some papers.

“Holy crap. Over thirty thousand?”

“The meeting location had to be the Sanctum. Everyone can access a gate leading here no matter where they are in the world.”

Ordinarily, it would’ve been impossible to gather so many Awakeners in just a week. However, preparations for the war advanced much faster than expected since the Celestials had permitted the Sanctum as the gathering point.

“The real operation begins tomorrow. Get plenty of rest while you can, Miss Ha-Eun. Things will get hectic tomorrow,” Cassia said.

“Yeah. I’ll go for a smoke later and then head in. By the way, are we entering through the gate in Rome? I haven’t heard a word about how we’re getting there.”

“To prevent leaks, the entry path will stay disclosed until right before the mission starts.”

“Oooh. Pretty organized for a hastily assembled army.”

“Miss Alina deserves most of the credit. Almost all of tomorrow’s strategy came from her.”

“That makes sense. It’s not like she's the Supreme Commander of the Alliance for nothing.” Song Ha-Eun nodded and stretched before leaving to smoke in a secluded corner.

Meanwhile, Kwon Oh-Jin stepped toward Cassia. “Thank you.”

“Mm? All of a sudden?”

“For gathering all the information we needed for the war in my place.” 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Over the past week, Cassia had used her outstanding information network to act as Kwon Oh-Jin’s eyes and ears. Without her, the preparations would have never gone so smoothly.

“My, my. Isn’t it only natural for a slave to wholly dedicate herself to her master?” Clearly pleased by the compliment, Cassia slid a pair of round spectacles up her nose.

“Where’d you even get those glasses?”

“I briefly stepped out of the Sanctum and bought them. Do they suit me?” Cassia looked up at him with bright, clear eyes.

Even oversized glasses covering half her face couldn’t dull her beauty. If anything, the contrast between her sultry looks and the glasses made her seem like an innocent, charming girl instead. Either way, her beauty remained breathtaking.

“Yeah. They suit you.”

“Hehe, I thought so.” Cassia smiled and slowly inched toward Kwon Oh-Jin.

With her hands neatly folded in front of her, she tilted her head slightly toward him. If she had a tail, it would have been wagging furiously.

By now, Kwon Oh-Jin had grown used to giving these kinds of rewards. Without a word, he reached out and gently patted her head. Her soft platinum-blonde hair, like melted gold, brushed against his fingers.

“Hehe.” Cassia smiled with a silly, blissful expression.

“Tsk. You’re practically a pet at this point. If you actually had a tail, I bet you’d be wagging it nonstop.” Isabella clicked her tongue and narrowed her eyes in clear disapproval of her sister’s behavior.

Cassia turned toward her with a sly smile. “Oh my, wouldn’t it be better to be a loyal, adorable puppy than a useless leech who’s done nothing all week?”

“W-What did you just say?”

“Am I wrong?”

“Ugh...”

Being called a useless leech stabbed Isabella like a dagger because it was partly true. Over the past week, she had barely contributed to preparing for the war.

Normally, gathering information would have been Isabella’s role, but her sources had always come from the Colgrande Family. It would take time for any of that power to recover since Mobius had crushed Italy, the very root of her family.

At the very least, her experience leading multiple factions could still prove useful for strategy and planning. However, with a genius like Alina Vladimir around, Isabella couldn’t even step in. After all, leading an army required an entirely different skill set than running a noble family.

In other words, Isabella was left with no duties or tasks. She had no real place within the gathered forces.

“S-So what, are you saying I’m like Ha-Eun unnie?!” Isabella shouted furiously.

Song Ha-Eun, who had been smoking over in the corner, grumbled to herself. “Why am I catching strays now...” She lowered her head gloomily.

“Haha. You’re right. You’re exactly like Miss Ha-Eun right now.”

“H-How could you say something so cruel to your own sister?!”

To compare her with Song Ha-Eun, who spent most of her days lying on the couch doing nothing and pestering Kwon Oh-Jin to do this or that... Isabella couldn’t stand it.

“Hey, guys, I’m still right here...” Song Ha-Eun raised her hand timidly, trying to remind them of her existence.

The argument between Isabella and Cassia had already grown too heated to stop.

“Well, hasn’t it already been proven?” Cassia pressed on. “You’re nothing without the Colgrande Family.”

“The nature of my Stigma limits what I can do! What, was I supposed to make vampires and send them into enemy territory?”

“Oh dear, that’s quite the excuse. You could just admit it’s because you’re weak.”

“T-That’s...”

“And didn’t you go see Taiyi a few days ago, saying you’d help with coming up with a strategy? Only to come back after doing nothing?”

“H-How did you even know that?!”

Isabella had gone to see Alina Vladimir, hoping to be useful somehow, only to be politely turned away. It was the same story even when she tried turning to Kwon Oh-Jin. He had been busy acting as the Regressor alongside Vega and meeting various Celestials. Isabella simply couldn’t do much.

“Hehe. Why not just admit it already?” With a victorious smile, Cassia crossed her arms.

“A-Admit what?”

“That during all the preparations, you did absolutely nothing and just sat around the temple like an unemployed freeloader.”

“U-Ugh!” Isabella wanted to deny it, but it was unfortunately true.

“And let’s not forget,” Cassia continued mercilessly, “This whole war started because Lord Oh-Jin was kind enough to listen to your childish whining. He’s risking his life, and pretending to be a Regressor all for you.”

“T-That’s...”

“Aaah, must be nice to be you, Bella! You don’t lift a finger, and your dear man still risks everything just to make you happy.”

“S-Shut up!!” Isabella trembled, her eyes brimming with tears.

With a cold smile, Cassia delivered the final blow. “Maybe you should stop being my sister and become Miss Ha-Eun’s instead. You two seem to have more in common.”

With that last strike, Isabella was finished.

“H-How could you...!” Isabella collapsed to her knees, utterly defeated.

Song Ha-Eun, watching from nearby, muttered, “I’m still right here, you know...”

With her face pressed between her knees in a squatting position, Song Ha-Eun traced the temple floor with her half-smoked cigarette.

Kwon Oh-Jin crouched down beside her and gently patted her shoulder.