Chapter 302: Divine Maiden Must fall.

Zyra chewed anxiously on the inside of her cheek, her mind racing back through time for any clues that could be stored within her mind. In her past life, there had been no such plane crush. But maybe, the grand elder had died in a different way.

From what she could recall, in that life, by the time she died, Trinity was a terrifying force. She was considered the most powerful person in the world, an existence so vast and cold that her very spoken word became absolute law across every nation.

This was because things had changed after the plague; it had showed the greatness of the Soul maidens. It had increased the reliance of humans on them and pushed Trinity to the top in a way like never before.

At the time of her death, Zyra clearly recalled that the new world no longer treated Trinity like a human being. They worshiped her like a living, breathing god. She sat high above her worshipers on a throne in the Sanctum, casually wiping out entire clans, and erasing blood lines simply because someone dared to question her supreme authority.

Zyra had not planned to involve herself in those battles, but things were now different. If Trinity was left to grow even stronger, then surviving her wrath wasn’t just going to be difficult_ it was going to be an absolute nightmare. The woman would not tolerate the presence of someone like her that was a threat to her authority by bonding with more than two half-life beasts.

If she found out the Soul maidens who had gone on the run had come to her, Trinity would label her a criminal. Her death would be worse than it had been in her past life. Zyra had already figured that she had been a victim of Trinity in her past life too.

There was no way she would have been killed and humiliated publicly without the Divine Soul maiden signing off on it.

Zyra looked up at the Grand Elder, her eyes dark with concern. "Trinity is a monster that is only going to get even worse. We have to take her out."

Bianca snapped her fingers, nodding so hard her earrings jingled. "Finally! I’ve been saying this exact same thing for the longest time, but did anyone listen to me? No! They just called me blasphemous."

She took a deep breath, looking around the room to make sure she had everyone’s absolute attention before sharing information in a conspiratorial whisper. "I found out something disgusting," Bianca said, "The Sanctum is working directly with the Black Flower Guild. They’re sending innocent young Soul maidens beyond the Veil_ girls who haven’t even finished basic martial training! And do you know why? Just so the Guild can use them as distractions or sacrifices while their people steal from the Somnivores."

A collective gasp echoed through the room. Jaw after jaw dropped.

Achilles stared at his sister, his usual calm demeanor completely shattering. "Wait_ Bianca, is this the reason you ran off back then?"

Bianca nodded grimly. "It’s one of them, yes."

Zyra gasped. "Is that why Little Mai was being sent beyond the veil!" The thought was truly sickening.

Hunter let out a dry, disbelieving chuckle. He rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head. "Man_ very few things my mother does manage to shock me these days, but this? This takes the cake." He leaned over the table, staring at Bianca. "What do you mean ’steal’? What are they actually doing over there?"

"It’s an organized operation," Bianca explained, shaking her head. "The Black Flower Guild has different sects within their camp. On the surface, they cross beyond the Veil under the pretext of ’hunting for Resonance stones’ or ’salvaging unclaimed old tech from the old world.’ Standard hunter business, right?

But they meet up with teams of Soul maidens sent by the sanctum, somewhere beyond the veil. While one group fends off the Somnivore knights, a hidden strike team sneaks deeper into actual Somnivore territories_ places like Wisteria and Hopshire and many others to loot and kill, like bandits."

The Grand Elder let out a long, heavy sigh. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking like he had just developed the mother of all headaches.

"No wonder_" the old man muttered, his voice full of sudden, painful realization. "No wonder your mother’s guild rose quickly through the ranks and always has high-grade tech blueprints to sell to Apex! I thought they just had incredible luck in the ruins!"

"It gets worse," Bianca added, slamming her palm onto the wooden table. "They don’t just steal tech. They steal medicine and herbs too which they hand directly over to the Sanctum. Oh, and high-level beasts and eggs as well. It’s a full-blown joint venture between the two camps!"

Achilles leaned forward, his expression turning deadly serious. "If the veil falls and the Somnivores cross, they won’t just annihilate the Black Flower Guild. They will march straight to Apex and level it to the ground. I am sure they are keeping a list of what technology has been stolen. Whoever is manufacturing it is in grave danger."

Zyra let out a sharp, sarcastic laugh. "Oh, you think they’ll stop to ask for which guild was involved? The Somnivores won’t care which group of humans stole their shiny toys! To them, we’re all just two-legged thieves. They will come for every single one of us!"

"Exactly," Bianca said, looking around the circle. "What Etania has been preaching all along is true. The Soul Maidens are nothing more than pawns and sacrificial lambs to Trinity. We have to save them all."

Achilles rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Speaking of internal drama_ my informants mentioned that the Divine Maiden and Sabrina haven’t been on good terms lately. They’re practically at each other’s throats in the dark but outside, they could be best friends." He shrugged. "Honestly, I didn’t give a damn about their petty squabbles before. But now? We can use that crack in their armor."

"I will not spare Trinity," the Grand Elder barked suddenly, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white. His beard trembled with rage. "We have to take her out first, cripple the Johnson clan and then we can deal with Sabrina."

The room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence as the old man’s pain hung in the air.

Then, Zyra stared blankly at the floor and unconsciously muttered her thought out loud. "I will give the Divine maiden a taste of what she gave me."

The room went dead silent.

Every single head snapped toward her. Hunter blinked. Achilles paused mid-breath. Even the Grand Elder opened his eyes, looking at her in total confusion. The atmosphere shifted instantly from serious war council to awkward gossip circle, everyone staring at the young woman and silently asking the exact same question: What on earth did the Divine Maiden do to YOU?