Chapter 461: Negotiations with representatives of the Awakened Association.
"Turn down your brightness, firefly, you are not at home!" — threatening words sounded, the walls of the hotel trembled, all the lights went out, and the conference hall was instantly plunged into darkness.
Under the onslaught of the power of darkness, the light gave up and disappeared.
The darkness receded, and Idan's group came to their senses. They immediately turned their attention to Arabel, who had just suppressed the power of Light with her Darkness.
Everyone was amazed by the strength Arabel displayed. Especially Arslan, who couldn't believe that her sister had become even stronger compared to what he had seen two weeks ago. After all, she hadn't used the element of darkness back then.
Then their gaze fell on the people who had gathered inside. There were eleven of them in total. Ten of them were standing in one group, and one was slightly to the side.
Idan asked coldly, looking at the group of ten people. He immediately used his Eye of Identification ability.
"Hmm... four Golden-rank awakened ones, three mortals, two Platinum-rank Beings of Light, and... a Diamond rank," Idan said through a mental link so Arabel could hear his words.
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**Identification:**
Name: Irina (Ingrida)
Race: Lumenary (Fake - Golden Rank) (True - Daimond Rank)
Age: -
Random information: A representative of the Lumenari race, beings of light from the incomplete world of Darkness and Light.
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The last person Idan noticed was a plain-looking girl with short black hair, round glasses, and an association uniform. She behaved modestly and stood behind all the ordinary mortal employees.
Like mortals, the awakened were members of the association. However, two of them, beings of Light, men with long blond hair and wearing white suits, stood out from the general background.
"Are they testing us?" asked Arabel, cautiously watching the only Diamond-ranked being hiding among the mortals.
"Maybe," — Idan replied. "Don't look at her, Belle, don't attract her attention."
"Okay," — Arabel agreed, pretending to study everyone carefully, not just this girl.
"It was just the usual Blessing of the Light," said one of the two men in white suits.
"You must be the Duke of Light Ignis?" he asked, extending his hand in greeting.
"Heh," — Idan grinned, shaking the outstretched hand. "Did you learn this here, or is it also customary in your world to greet with a handshake?"
There was an awkward silence.
Idan and Arabel noticed that no one expressed surprise, and concluded that everyone in the room was aware of the existence of outsiders, including these three mortals from the Association.
"And how should I address you?" asked Idan, without waiting for an answer after shaking hands.
"Lucian," the man introduced himself, then introduced his partner: "And this is Aurel."
This time, Idan did not shake hands with the second, but only nodded.
"I see that everyone standing behind you are employees of the Association," Idan said, looking around the audience again. Then, fixing his gaze on a middle-aged man in a black suit who was standing to the side, he asked: "And who is it?"
Without waiting for Lucian and Aurel to introduce him, the middle-aged man himself came forward.
"Mr. Ignis, my name is Patrick Green. I represent the Government of the Federation at this meeting," the man introduced himself, extending his hand to greet.
"Oh, the government?" said Idan, shaking his hand. "And they only sent you?"
"Cough, cough," Patrick cleared his throat, and then continued: "I'm only here as an observer, not as an interested party."
"Hmm… That's how it is," said Idan.
After the greetings, everyone took their places on both sides of the table.
"Let's get right to the point," Idan suggested and asked bluntly: "For what purpose did you, Beings of Light from the incomplete world of Darkness and Light, come to our world?"
"Mr. Ignis, you must understand that we cannot answer this question," Lucian said with a bright smile. "Also, you can hardly tell us who your so-called King and Queen are, and you won't tell us if Idan Fein and Arabel Morgan are alive."
"You're right, we can't say that, but it was worth a try," Idan shrugged.
"Tell me, Mr. Ignis, for what purpose did you set up this meeting, at the same time abducting one of our people?" asked Lucian, glancing at Alia.
"Well, let's just say that we have already encountered representatives of your world several times, or rather, beings of darkness, and our overall impression of them eventually became not very good," Idan said, looking Lucian in the eyes. "And knowing that you beings of Light are from the same world as the beings of Darkness, we thought that you would not be much different from them, and we wanted to meet and see for ourselves."
"Ho, are you comparing us to these vile creatures?" said Lucian contemptuously.
"What about it? Light and Darkness are two sides of the same coin," Idan said in response.
"It's rude of you, Mr. Ignis, to compare us noble beings with these vile beasts," Aurel said.
"The noble ones? You?" sneered Idan, looking at them with disdain. "Some nobles like you not only exchanged the lives of our compatriots, but also tried to kill them. And some of those they tried to kill are here now."
Lucian and Aurel's eyes narrowed.
"Moreover, one of your Rank 5 Nobles even colluded with the Rank 5 Beings of Darkness, as if they were comrades, and attacked two members of our Guild," Idan's voice became heavy with rage. He still clearly remembered how a Rank 5 Being of Light appeared and attacked Arabel from behind, waiting for the time when they would let their guard down. There was no nobility in it, which these two claimed. "For which they paid with their lives."
"So if you tell me again that you are noble beings, I will personally chop off your head," Idan threatened, his eyes flashing with anger.
Everyone who was on Idan's side was shocked by his anger, except Arabel, who shared his feelings. Her gaze captured every movement in the room, not missing a single detail, ready for anything if the situation got out of control.
The atmosphere in the room became tense. The mortals present on the Association's side couldn't even breathe properly, overcome by the fear that Idan inspired.