Kill the Sun

"Please, continue," Julian said with a happy smile.

Mundus looked back at Julian.

"Kugelblitz's progress is slow, and Anatomy intends to capitalize on that. If they won't grab the Specter, we will," he said.

"Nevertheless, the Specter has proven that it can rival a level six Extractor, which makes it very dangerous. Without more information, we also won't risk a confrontation."

"That's where Dark Dream comes into play," Mundus said before he turned to look at Nick.

"There has been no reliable method to lure the Specter's minions out. Kugelblitz has not managed to create one."

"It seems like the only way to get a minion is you."

Mundus looked into Nick's eyes, which looked back.

"Do you have a way to attract more minions?" he asked.

Naturally, Nick and Julian knew that this was a tricky question.

After all, this most likely concerned Envy.

If Nick said that the Specter was interested in him, Mundus would grow interested.

Why would a level six or level seven Specter be interested in a Veteran?

And if even such a strong Specter wanted something from Nick, maybe they would also be interested in acquiring this mysterious thing.

But if they said that they didn't have a way to lure the Specter out, things could also turn ugly.

For one, Mundus could become suspicious.

What did Dark Dream need to hide so badly that they even refused an opportunity to earn several Specters?

Or maybe Mundus believed them, in which case he would drop the matter and leave.

Everything was risky.

"Yes," Nick said.

Mundus' eyes slightly narrowed.

"Would you be interested in selling this method to us?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," Nick said, refusing the offer.

"Even for three Adults?" Mundus asked.

Julian chuckled.

"Drop it, Mundus," he said casually. "We're not selling."

"Only renting."

The room fell into silence.

"What a shame," Mundus said after a while.

"But I'm still interested in your offer to rent said method," Mundus said. "What are the expected results?"

Julian leaned back, showing that he wasn't going to be the one who would answer the question, which made Mundus look at Nick.

In Mundus' mind, he remembered how the previous CEO, one of Vernon's progenies, had valued this rookie Extractor with the strange name, Nick Nick.

He had put a lot of value on Nick, and now, even a Specialist like Julian put a lot of value on Nick.

Mundus could tell that Julian's confidence in Nick was so high that he even allowed Nick to speak for Dark Dream in the majority of cases.

Julian was so confident in Nick that he even let Nick attend the big yearly meeting as Dark Dream's sole representative.

There might be some actual value to the Extractor called Nick Nick.

Nick furrowed his brows as he prepared his answer.

"We can't be entirely sure," Nick said. "There are a lot of things to consider. The biggest factor of uncertainty is the Specter's intelligence. It has shown that it has a high level of intelligence, which makes it difficult to anticipate its actions."

Nick remained silent for a couple of seconds.

How would that mysterious Specter in the north act?

If it truly was one of Envy's servants, it would most likely try to get Nick as soon as it got an opportunity.

If Envy found out that it didn't do its best to capture Nick, it would kill the Specter.

However, just straight-up charging into the city was obviously too dangerous.

Otherwise, it would have already done so.

So, it needed to capture Nick without attacking the city.

The first time, it had sent a couple of Experts and a Specialist.

The second time, it had sent two Specialists.

But now, with several Specialists and Experts captured, it knew that the humans to its south were on high alert.

Sending its minions towards the south was extremely dangerous now.

The most intelligent course of action was to not send any minions and only strike when the humans felt safe enough to approach the sea.

There would need to be an irresistible incentive for the Specter to risk more of its minions.

Would Nick be that incentive?

Maybe.

Nick put himself in the shoes of the Specter to the north.

Most likely, the Specter was a Demon.

If it were a Fallen, it would be much more aggressive.

If the Specter attacked, it might lose even more of its minions.

And based on what Nick could see, this was a Specter that put great value on its minions.

Most likely, this was a Specter similar to the Parasite.

If someone killed all of the Parasite's minions, it would lose a devastating amount of Zephyx.

Every minion represented an investment.

Losing two Specialists was already a big blow to the Specter.

If it lost another two, the humans might gain the confidence to truly invade.

That would most likely prove to be extremely risky.

But on the other hand, if the Specter didn't try to catch Nick at such an opportune moment and Envy found out, it might actually die.

When it came to having Specters as servants, being true to one's words was the most important.

If Envy just kept threatening all its minions with their lives without actually going through with the threat, no one would listen to Envy anymore.

Envy had to kill problematic servants.

Because of that, the Specter to the north would genuinely be risking its life if it decided against attacking.

This was problematic, and Nick could imagine the pressure the Specter was under.

'What would I do in this situation?' Nick thought.

Nick thought about this for a couple of seconds.

Eventually, he took a deep breath.

"Most likely," he answered. "The Specter will attack with its full or close to its full force."

"Alternatively, nothing will happen."

"I don't think there is a between."

"It's either all or nothing."

Nick looked at Mundus.

"The Specter's minions are the people who have gone missing in the past, I have heard," Nick said.

Mundus didn't refute that statement.

"And since at least one Hero has vanished in the past, at least two Heroes will attack."

"The Hero that has vanished and the Specter itself, which should be a Demon. If there is another Hero minion, that one will most likely also show up."

"That's what I think will happen," Nick said.

Mundus, the only Hero of Anatomy, looked at Nick with a neutral expression.