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Chapter 725: Team Leader Seth [4]

It was no secret to everyone present that Carmen Johansberg craved the Guild Master seat. Ever since the Guild Master’s unfortunate passing, he had made his ambition clear, and he had already lured in several Section Chiefs on his side.

There were, of course, others who held the same ambition as him.

But in Carmen’s mind, they weren’t much of a threat to his position. In fact, there was not one single person that he truly believed to be his competition.

‘But just because there aren’t, it doesn’t mean that I should let my guard down.’

Carmen was a thorough person.

He was the type of person who liked to deal with things before they became too troublesome, and in this case, his target was the Containment Department.

It was no secret that they were currently the department with the greatest momentum within the Guild. Although their Section Chief was remarkably passive, that certainly didn’t mean he was without ambition.

In fact, he was very likely a snake waiting for the right moment to strike.

The previous Guild Master didn’t hire normal people, and Carmen understood this all too well.

That’s why he had chosen to target the Containment Department’s greatest weapon.

But—

“I. Do. Not. Want. To.”

Seth’s words echoed across the entire room as the atmosphere froze over.

Take a look at this guy…

Instead of getting angry, the Section Chief almost found this situation to be amusing. In a way, this worked in his favor.

“You don’t want to?”

“Yes, I don’t.”

Seth replied.

“I have a lot of things that I need to handle. I don’t have time to play these types of games.”

“Oh, right…”

Carmen crossed his arms and nodded his head.

“VILE – 1048, right?”

“Yup.”

“Give it up.”

“…..”

Carmen stared flatly in Seth’s direction.

“This isn’t a case you can handle. The BUA has sent countless personnel and even Paragons to investigate it, and yet they’ve found absolutely nothing. It’s been nothing but a colossal waste of time. Give it up and focus your efforts elsewhere.”

A smirk formed on the Section Chief’s face as he spoke. This had been his plan from the start.

He first made the news about Seth’s ambition public, and now he was ordering him to quit.

His reputation was certainly going to take a hit.

“You’ve enjoyed quite the hot streak lately, notwithstanding your recent setback. I understand that you wish to make up for it, but this is not a matter you are capable of resolving. If anything, you’ll only be squandering valuable time that could be better spent advancing the Guild’s interests.”

“…..”

Seth didn’t reply.

He just stared in Carmen’s direction.

Feeling his gaze, the smirk on Carmen’s face grew.

‘I eat too much, right?’

“That’s why I’m ordering you to quit whatever you’re doing, and you focus your attention elsewhere. I’ve already sent over several Gates that you and your team need to clear by the end of the month. If those won’t be completed in time, then I’m afraid that this will be the end of the line between you and the Severed Stars Guild.”

Carmen’s words made the entire room fall silent.

Still, the Section Chief showed no sign of reaction. He wasn’t worried about Seth leaving the Guild. If anything, it was for the best.

He was nothing but a thorn in his side.

Furthermore, he was still signed to a contract with them. He could just sell him to a better Guild and purchase another top prospect.

‘In fact, it’s probably best if we can sell him quickly before his value tanks even further.’

The Malia incident had already given a glimpse to the world that he wasn’t as good as the people made him out to be. If anything, most of it had probably been done by the previous Guild Master, as he had done with Soran in the past.

Thinking about her, the Section Chief’s attention fell on her as he shook his head.

‘Another useless asset.’

The previous Guild Master had been a capable leader, but he had a tendency to overestimate certain individuals. He was the sort who would deliberately fabricate legends to manufacture stars, elevating them far beyond what they truly were. But such stars were inherently fragile, as Soran had so clearly demonstrated, and now Seth was proving it once again.

‘I won’t make the same mistake as the previous Guild Master. I’ll make sure the Guild grows in the right direction.’

“Before any of you say anything, this isn’t something that you can refuse.”

Carment turned to look at the other Section Chiefs.

“We’ve already held an internal vote beforehand, and we all feel the same way. From this moment forth, Team Leader Thorne is to give up on chasing VILE – 1048 and focus his attention on the tasks given at hand.”

Interlocking his hands together, the Section Chief leaned back in his chair.

As he did, his phone rang.

Reaching for it, he looked at the notification on his phone before shifting his attention back to Seth.

His lips curled even higher.

‘You’ve underestimated just how big my appetite is.’

BREAKING — [Seth Thorne Officially Withdraws from VILE-1048 Search]

***

“Why?”

I stared at the Section Chief straight in the face. His face looked even more haggard than before as he sat at his desk, his attention fixed on the papers in front of him.

Scribbling something on them, he didn’t even bother to answer me.

My frown deepened.

Had it been the old me, I would’ve probably flipped the entire table over and done some crazy stuff.

In fact, it was already a miracle that I had yet to do so in the previous meeting.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

I asked again, trying my best to keep myself calm.

I wasn’t all that bothered about what happened in the meeting. Even the news article didn’t rattle me that much. I could always dispute it and say that it was all a lie.

Then again, it was very likely that the public would treat it as me backtracking.

That part didn’t bother me too much.

What really bothered me was something else entirely.

“You’re a Section Chief yourself. In terms of authority, you’re among the most powerful people in the entire Guild. So why, exactly, did you simply stand by and let them do whatever they pleased? None of this makes any sense.”

This was the part that bothered me the most.

The Section Chief’s lack of reaction.

He simply took in everything that was thrown at him without a single complaint.

I knew that he was passive, but not to this extent.

This was disappointing.

“…”

Despite my words, the Section Chief offered no response. He remained utterly absorbed in the papers before him, as though my question had never been asked.

My jaw tightened at the sight, but I just barely held myself back from lashing out as I took a deep breath and turned around.

I needed to cool my head.

At this rate, nothing was going to get done.

It felt as though I was getting pushed around a little too much lately. And I was conscious of it. With the new pills in my system, the voices in my head had cooled down. But at the same time, they had grown even more deranged.

I was passive, not because I was a coward.

I was passive because I was afraid of what I’d do if I let the voices dictate my actions.

‘Right, let’s just bear with it for a little while longer. Let’s handle this without doing anything crazy.’

Just as I reached for the door, the Section Chief’s voice echoed from behind me.

“You should listen to me this once.”

I stopped and turned around. The Section Chief was still not looking at me.

“…Give up on VILE – 1048. It’s not something that you can handle.”

“What?”

My left eye twitched.

“I previously passed it because I needed you out of the Guild, but now that situation has turned out this way, I need you to give it up.”

“What are you talking about? You—”

“You can’t handle it.”

Finally stopping, the Section Chief looked at me straight in the eyes.

“This isn’t an anomaly that you can handle in the present. I don’t want you to have the same ending as Soran.”