Chapter 32 - Schemes for the Camelot, Three Campione Covenant (Patreon)

Codex: Departments of the Illuminati Society - Department of Judgment

The entire Illuminati Society is divided into Thirteen Departments and the Department of Judgment is the 4th in the Departments of the Illuminati Society. Initially, the Department of Judgment was established much later and was only the 6th in the Departments of the Illuminati Society.

Though over time, as the Illuminati Society expanded and grew in numbers, the need for the internal judgment mechanisms and maintenance of order and enforcing rules grew more and more necessary through the decades.

Thus, the Department of Judgment's importance increased tremendously to the point where the Department of Judgment was raised to the 4th Rank amid the internal ranking of the Departments of the Illuminati Society.

The Department of Judgment oversees the enforcement of Laws and the Administration of Justice, the process by which the legal system of a government is executed. 

The Department of Judgment has several Divisions that are overseeing each area on an individual basis. 

1st Division - Division of the General Judge: The Division of the General Judge is the name for the office of the Head of the Department of Judgment. The General Judge serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Illuminati Society. The Department Head holding the position of General Judge also serves as the principal Judgment and Legal advisor within the Executive Board and the Knights of the Round Table. The Division of the General Judge supports the General Judge in running the Department, oversees the work of the other Divisions, and is in charge of the communication and cooperation with other Departments of the Illuminati Society.

2nd Division - Division of the Law Enforcement and Implementation: The Division of the Law Enforcement and Implementation is overseeing one of the most important aspects and roles of the Department of Judgment, which is the enforcement and implementation of Laws that are created by the Executive Board and Knights of the Round Table. In many cases, it's actually the Division of the Law Enforcement and Implementation that is creating the Laws, more precisely the Bureau of the Legislative Affairs that is drafting and creating the Laws based on the orders or recommendations from the Executive Board or Kngijts of the Round Table. Aside from this, the Division of the Law Enforcement and Implementation is also responsible for overseeing how the Laws are enforced across the territory of the Federation, because laws issued by the Illuminati Society are affecting all Supernaturals living in the territory of the Federation.

3rd Division - Division of the Criminal Justice: This Division develops, enforces, and supervises the application of all Criminal laws of the Illuminati Society throughout the territory of the Federation that are applicable to the Supernaturals. Prosecutors of the Division of the Criminal Justice are prosecuting cases and are formulating and implementing criminal enforcement policy. The Department of Criminal Justice is also in charge of judging and sentencing the criminals that are brought to stand in court before the internal Court of the Department of Judgment if their actions didn't warrant a Sealing Designation Edict.

4th Division - Division of the Federal Justice Cooperation: Due to the increased cooperation between the Illuminati Society and Federation, as well as increasing integration between these two subjects, a deeper cooperation between them is necessary, also in the aspect of Legislative Affairs, Justice, and other Legal areas. For this, the Division of the Federal Justice Cooperation was established, and its main and sole purpose is to coordinate activities together with its counterpart organs within the Federation. The Division of the Federal Justice Cooperation is especially active when the Federal Organs are dealing with the Supernatural Criminals that are using Magic or any other means to commit crimes.

5th Division - Division of the Sealing Designation Tribunal: This Division is the most obscure but also the most powerful within the entire Department of Judgment and probably also one of the most important and powerful across the entire Illuminati Society. The Division of the Sealing Designation Tribunal is in charge of judging the people on whom the Sealing Designation Edicts were issued. Even though it's the Department of Policies that is issuing the Sealing Designation Edict, the actual Judgment Part of the Sealing Designation is carried out by the Division of the Sealing Designation Tribunal. The Division of the Sealing Designation Tribunal has only very few members, basically all of its members are Tribunal Judges of the Sealing Designation Tribunal that are carefully selected from the Executive Board and Knights of the Round Table on a rotating yearly basis. Despite this, the Division of the Sealing Designation Tribunal doesn't really have much work, because the cases with the Sealing Designation Edicts are pretty rare across the entire Federation and Sealing Designation Edicts are thus rarely issued.

6th Division - Division of the Justice Management and Finance: This Division of the Department of Judgment is basically the Administration Office for the Department, managing the day-to-day bureaucracy, administration, and also managing the finances that are needed to keep the Department of Judgment running.

7th Division - Division of the Prison Management: The Division of the Prison Management is a division of the Department of Judgment in charge of overseeing and managing all Prisons of the Illuminati Society that provide secure containment, custody, and control of the Society's and Federal Prisoners. The Division of the Prison Management isn't managing a large number of prisons, because the Illuminati Society never really needed a large number of prisons, because the number of prisoners was never large. Still, every single one of the Prisons used by the Illuminati Society is a state-of-the-art prison that is impossible to escape through, especially right now, after the new advanced Magics developed by Campione and Magic Guidance Devices are being incorporated into the prisons.

The Department of Judgment is one of the Departments that is growing at the fastest speed, especially in the past years, due to the continuous integration of the Mundane Side of the World and Moonlit Side of the World.

The current Head of the Department of Judgment and General Judge is George Holton of the Holton Family, one of the longest-standing members and supporters of the Illuminati Society since the establishment of the organization.

- Excerpt from a Book: Introduction to the Departments of the Illuminati Society by Johan Georg Faust, 1st Seat of the Knights of the Round Table and Head of Department of Alchemy of the Illuminati Society.

***

Great Britain, England, Location of the Lostbelt Tomb Camelot, Several Days Later, 10. 3. 2021

Since the figtht between Sasha Dejanstahl Voban and Salvatore Doni, the entire arae aorun the location of the Lostbelt Camelot was unusually silent and quiet. Which was rather unusual, but at least nobody was fighting in the place and creating a mess.

Something that everyone silently learned to appreciate.

Though ocmapred to the conflicts between Marquise and King of Swords, everyone was more focused on the gradual opening of the Tomb, or rahter, Lostbelt Camelot. Not long after the fight between them ended, the people from the Department of Tombs finally arrived, led personally by the Head of the Department, Jullian Miller.

If there was a person who knew the most about the Tombs and how to properly obtain their contents, then it was certainly Jullian Miller. Well, for that reason, the Illuminati Society actually ignored a lot of protocols and recruited Miller as the Head of the Department of the Tombs.

He was very knowledgeable about the Tombs and helped to build the entire concept of the Tomb Raiders. 

"Alright, it seems that everybody who should be present is already present, so we can start the meeting."

For the reason of making the final strategy for entering the Tomb, Yakou called for the meeting of the higher-ups within the expedition forces to discuss the final strategy for entering the Tomb that would open.

Even though it was Lostbelt, it was still partially Tomb, so the main floor belonged to the Head of the Department of Tomb, Julian Miller.

"Thank you for the attention."

Julian Miller was a rather young-looking man who wasn't even thirty years old, with short blonde hair and brown eyes. His appearance was like out of a catalog, because there wasn't even a single mistake or imperfection in his suit and appearance.

He was the epitome of punctuality and perfectionism, given a material form. When he was doing something, there was no room for accidents or errors, as everything was happening according to the exact scenario and how it should be.

"According to the gathered information about the Camelot Tomb and peculiarities, the first and most important conclusion that we need to close is how we shall be entering the Tomb itself. Or rather, it would be better said, from which side, because Camelot has several entrances that would open simultaneously."

The first point in the discussion about the Tomb was the process of entering the Tomb, which seemed to be pretty troublesome. It was clear that everyone would want to use the main gates to enter the Tomb.

But the main entrance could be used only by one person or one group, and it was more than evident that all Campiones would want to secure the main gates of the Camelot for themselves.

Which was more than problematic already.

"For this, I think the most viable solution would be if we Campiones use the main gate and enter through it while the forces under our command would use the other entrances to Camelot."

Yakou voiced his opinion as to prevent another battle between the Campiones, he came to the conclusion that the easiest way.

He knew that Voban and Luo Hao wouldn't really care that much, and Gascoigne wouldn't either, as the man was more concerned about finding traces of the Holy Grail than about how his subordinates from the Royal Arsenal entered the Tomb.

So the only variable that remained was Salvatore Doni.

But he guessed that he could utilize the numerical advantage over him.

"If Your Majesty can achieve that, it would be of great help and avoid the bloodshed for the main gate to Camelot."

This was a sentiment on which everyone present agreed, because occupying the main gates of the Camelot would require a lot of power... something that nobody was really willing to invest, because it would be a huge fight, not obligatory, but there was a large chance of a huge fight between the factions.

Which then would result in casualties.

It wasn't really worth it, and the best-case scenario would be that if the main gates to the Camelot were used only by the Campiones.

At the same time, the others would use the other gates leading to Camelot.

There were far more than enough entrances to Camelot.

"What can we expect within Camelot?"

Keira asked because the information about the Tomb was rather scarce, which was something that wasn't sitting well with her. Though in truth, it was something that was deeply disturbing for everyone present, because the lack of information about the Tomb was usually the biggest reason behind the deaths of people entering the Tombs.

It was the general consensus that practically anything could be located within the Tomb.

Everything that ranged from the traps and other nasty surprises to the Divine Beasts that were dwelling in the Tomb.

Nobody ever knew.

In the current age where Mana was scarce in the enviroment and was only recovering, and Phantasmal Beasts were near extinct, the Tobms were the only sources of the Phantasmal Beasts for the people of Terra.

"According to the information provided by His Majesty, everyone should be aware that this is not just an ordinary Tomb, but also something called Lostbelt. According to the history that the Society managed to gather about Camelot, during its peak before the disappearance, Camelot had the biggest population of the Phantasmal Beasts, actually in the entire Terra, so we can safely conclude that those would still be there. Though... there is another unknown..."

He made a pause after which he showcased some papers that were all full of various numbers and other stuff.

"Several centuries have passed since the disappearance of the Camellot, but an unknown time has passed within the Lostbelt itself. Even if the flow of time is the same as here, then it means that the Phantasmal Beasts have lived in an ultra Mana-rich environment for several centuries, without any dangers, and they were consistently procreating. According to the information about the Lostbelt, those places are a living miracle, so there was no scarcity of food or other resources for the Phantasmal Beast. Theoretically, we are basically looking toward the place that is swarming with powerful Phantasmal Beasts, among which some may have well become Divine Beasts."

Divine Beasts were a particular case of pain in the ass. Yakou also agreed with this assessment, because if everything was like Julian Miller stated, then the entire Camelot would be swarming with the Magical Beasts and perhaps even with some Divine Beasts.

Divine Beasts could also be born through worship. When a powerful Magical Beast absorbs a lot of Faith and Worship, it could ascend to the status of a Divine Beast by obtaining Pseudo-Divine Status and Divine Properties.

It was also highly possible that some of the most powerful Magical Beasts within Camelot have already reached the status of the Divine Beast, because they could easily accumulate na dassimile the Power of Faith from the other Magical Beasts.

One needed to know that all Magical Beasts have varying degrees of intelligence, and they worshipped the strong. It was something that was deeply engraved into their fundamental beings and something that was inseparable from their very own existence.

"So the entire Tomb could be basically one huge deathtrap and treasure trove at the same time."

Even though it was an oversimplification, it was indeed the truth... Camelot was both an enormous treasure trove and a death trap in one. The presence of an enormous number of Phantasmal Beasts, while very dangerous and deadly, was every sign that one of them was a treasure. 

Yakou was already calculating how many corpses they could obtain and how many living Magical Beasts they could capture and ship back to the Federation. For the entire world and Moonlit Side of the World, the existence of the Magical Beasts was of paramount importance.

"How many people would be entering the Tomb?"

Yakou asked because the current forces of the Illuminati Society and Federation that were present at the encampment numbered around three hundred. Obviously, not all three hundred of them would be entering the Tomb, because there were too many, and there was a need for some of them to remain here and guard the encampment.

"Ideally, a hundred... perhaps we can send in more, but considering the nature of the Tomb like this, having more people doesn't always mean that it would yield better results."

Julian Miller wasn't chosen to be the Head of the Department of Tombs only for his vast knowledge of Tombs and the Lore of Tombs, but also because he had personally raided tens of Tombs and served as an advisor to the Tomb Raiding for even more Tombs.

He had both theoretical knowledge and practical experience. 

So someone like him knew that entering the Tomb like this with a high number of people could be and most probably even would be highly detrimental to them. Not only would having a very high number of people easily attract the attention of Magical Beasts and Divine Beasts within the Tomb, but there was also a huge chance that they would be targeted by the Tomb itself.

Every signe Tomb was self-conscious to some degree.

"The main reason behind this is that if we don't include the dangers posed by the Phantasmal Beasts and their possible very high numbers, it would be the Tomb's Consciousness and Self-Defense Mechanisms. Obviously, the Campiones would bear the bulk of the attention from the Tomb Consciousness, but that doesn't mean that the large groups of people would get free tickets to roam through the Tomb as they wished."

Hearing what Julian Miller explained made everyone present ponder over it, especially Keira, because she wanted to send as many troops into the Tomb as possible. She believed that with the numbers on their side, they would be able to reap more benefits from the Tomb, but now, it seemed to be impossible.

Which was rather troubling because the Federation was really betting on the numbers.

Now that they couldn't utilize their numerical advantage was a huge setback in their plans.

The number of the Federation in England was much higher than that of the Lost Domain, the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains, the Knights brought down by the Salvatore Doni, or the ragtag group of the Royal Arsenal.

"Then, 8th Seat Miller would coordinate with Keira on the selection of the people entering the Camelot. Even though the Camelot remains sealed, I can see that the time of opening is now in mere days, so within 12 hours, I want to have a preliminary list of the people that would be entering the Tomb."

Yakou ordered because he knew that Camelot would be opening at any time.

Even though his All-Seeing Polycoria Eyes of God couldn't see through the barriers of Camelot and penetrate through the walls of the white city, he could see that the Tomb was in the process of opening.

And this process would take maximally two or three days, but at the same time, it could also take as low as a few hours... nobody really knew because everything depended on the Camelot itself.

Thus, everything was being accelerated by a tremendous degree, and he gave Julian Miller only twelve hours to create the list of personnel that would be entering the Tomb. 

"It would be done in six."

Julian Miller adjusted his glasses, because he didn't really need that much time to create the lita nd he had already done part of the work even before arriving at the encampment, because the flight was too long and there wasn't much to do.

"Excellent... anything else to report?"

Yakou asked as the meeting was coming to an end, because they had gone through everything during the past hour or so.

There were not many people present at the meeting, as there were only Yakou, Keira, Eve, Julian Miller, some officers of the Sealing Designation Department led by Christopher Reed, and Tomb Raiders that were represented by Richard James Croft, who served as the Deputy Department Head of the Department of Tombs. 

Yakou had some impression of Richard James Croft because the man was initially from the British Empire and was actually one of the members of the British Aristocracy. He was rather famous in the archeologist circles.

He studied archaeology at Oxford University, traveling extensively to further his research, eventually earning his Ph.D and publishing several books. He was quite successful, but his theories often attracted ridicule from detractors.

Not a long time ago, he was recruited by the Illuminati Society, because the Society gave him enough resources and what he wanted to prove his theories. Yakou didn't really care about what the man was constantly spouting, but it was really true that among the Tomb Raiders he was really one of the best ones.

"Actually, yes... There is something that concerns King of Swords... more precisely, his Heirloom Arondight."

When Miller said that, Yakou knew that it would most probably give the King of Swords some kind of advantage when entering Camelot. 

"As everyone knows, Arondight is a holy sword wielded by Lancelot that is the counterpart of King Arthur's Excalibur. It bears a similar design to that of Excalibur, which means that it's highly possible that Camelot would recognize the bearer of the Arondight and give him some unfair advantage when exploring the Tomb... though I don't know how high the possibility is, considering the fact that Camelot is now Lostbelt."

Theoretically, it was uncertain how the status of Lostbelt would affect Camelot, and despite this, help Salvatore Doni, because he was the bearer of the Arondight. Still, this was something that Yakou didn't like that much, and he needed to take this into account in his plans.

'Voban should know this... and perhaps Luo Hao would also figure this out, but despite that, I will need to discuss this topic with them.'

There was no way that he would leave Salvatore Doni with the possibility of having something that could possibly give him free acess to the majority of Camelot. Especially when there were so many things that he wanted to get his hands on.

And he knew that on this one, Sasha Voban would give his all to prevent Doni from obtaining anything useful from the Tomb.

"I will discuss this with our allies and how to deal with this. Even though it's uncertain, we cannot be unprepared for the possibility that our rival has the key that opens the Camelot and gives him partial control over the Tomb."

Yakou planned to discuss this together with Voban and Luo Hao, because it wasn't something that he could or even wanted to decide alone. They were allies, and together they could deal with this much better than if he were dealing with all of this all alone.

Still, it was only their theory that Arondight would act this way and not something that was given or was certainly true. It was only something that they theorized, but it actually had something in it.

In the end, there was a common origin, and Arondight was generally accepted as one of the most powerful Heirlooms that were known across the Terra. Among the Heirlooms of Sword Category, the sword was certainly one of the best ones around, and it was very powerful.

It was still rather mind-boggling that Salvatore Doni managed to obtain something like that because the sword was forged by Lady of the Lake or someone related to her, so theoretically speaking, it shouldn't be that easy even for the Campione to obtain something like that.

'Voban would be pretty easy to talk into because this is a scheme aimed against Doni and Hao won't care that much as long as there is some benefit or entertainment from the entire thing...'

Despite Luo Hao's tough exterior, she actually cared deeply about her disciples and the entire Holy Cult of the Five Mountains, and was rather protective of their interests. She certainly wouldn't like the idea that Salvatore Doni and his Knights could have a pretty unfair advantage when entering Camelot.

"Alright, if there isn't anything else, everyone can start doing their thing... Only General Clarka and Department Head Rockefeller remain here."

When Yakou addressed Eve and Keira in public, he used their titles rather than calling them by name. Soon enough, everyone who shouldn't have remained here didn't remain here, as only he, Eve, and Keira remained in the room.

"Well now... I just want to tell you that if you encounter life-threatening danger, don't hesitate to use the Seals I gave you... and in the case it's not enough, I have created these things..."

Yaou said as he immediately went to the core of the matter and took out two crystal-like objects that were whole, engraved with countless Kanji Symbols. This was the pinnacle of the Runecraft and Fūinjutsu that he could now do with his current capabilities.

He wasn't going to bet on the accident and thus he basically gave his all to ensure that both Keira and Eve would be protected. Aside from the Divine Authority of the Khvarenah: Halo of the Supreme Ruler that was slumbering in their bodies, he also created this masterpiece.

Spatial Magic was always considered as an untouchable branch of Magic acorss Terra after the last of the Archmages died. Since then, nobody really could or knew how to execute the Spatial Spells...

Yakou was no exception, aside from one small difference.

The Great Declaration of God.

The ultimate ability of the Gugnir.

After experimenting over and over with the Divine Authority of the Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven, he realized that the Divine Spear could actually cut through space itself. Thus, he attempted to imbue this power... power of the Divine Authority of the Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven: Great Declaration of God into a form of crystal that would allow for instantenous teleportation based on the principle of Gungnir that allowed the Divine Spear to cut through the space.

Once that crystal was used, the Fūinjutsu / Runecraft hybrid would activate and initiate the pre-loaded Spatial Teleportation Spell, working based on the Divine Authority of the Gungnir: The Spear of Heaven: Great Declaration of God, which would teleport them away to the safe location.

This was the form of ultimate insurance that even in the case that the power of the Divine Authority of the Khvarenah: Halo of the Supreme Ruler failed to resolve the threat, they could, in the case of the worst scenario, at least escape.

Unfortunately, the method of making those things was extremely costly, because they were utilizing the Mana Crystals, which were exceedingly rare in this era when Mana was scarce across the Terra.

Even the entire Society had only a few in their Vaults, and even those were obtained during the last years since the Mana Levels started rising and were obtained from the Tombs.

Yakou wouldn't bear the thought that they could be in danger, so he gave them these things as a last resort, because Tombs can be generally unpredictable... the Lostbelt even more so than ordinary Tombs.

"Well, hopefully we won't need to use it..."

Both Eve and Keira appreciated the gesture, but they hoped that they wouldn't really need to use the last resort, because it would mean that among all people from the Federation entering the Camelot, only they would survive.

They were aware that Yakou was actually troubled by the fact that they were entering the Tomb, but both of them insisted on coming... and he acknowledged that their presence was actually helped by a huge degree because they could effectively command the troops and made the entire operation much smoother.

Yet he couldn't just forget the possible danger that they could face within the Lostbelt Camelot. In the end, there was an unspoken agreement from his side, even though he wasn't that thrilled by the idea.

So to cover as many variables as possible, he invested no small amount of resources into ensuring their safety in every way. Thus, he went for this method, and at least with this, he could have some peace of mind after they entered Camelot.

"Thank you for the care, my love, but I believe that we will be alright with all the arrangements."

Eve said as she gave Yakou a kiss, because she truly felt that her soon-to-be husband was too overprotective. Not like she didn't enjoy it, because it felt really great to be pampered by the man whom she loved.

Even though Yakou had multiple female partners, he was spending time with each of them, and they were often doing various things together. He even often asked how their day was, and despite the sometimes limited time that they spent together, because everyone had their duties, he was trying to make the best use of every moment that they had together.

This was rather common on Yakou's schedule, because every time he had some free time and wasn't doing anything important, he would always accompany one of his lovers. Be it going on the Relic Appraisal Events and Auctions or Operas with Eve, training with Keira, going shopping with Marie...

The last one was particularly the most annoying thing under the sky, but what he wouldn't do for his love, and Marie knew that going shopping with her was excruciating, so she often rewarded him in some way.

And her rewards were...

Beyond pleasing.

Or he would be going to the lab with Marika and just keep her company... even though it often weirded out people working in HIVE seeing Campione acting as assistant during the research, and the atmosphere was... 

Tesne.

And Marika often enjoyed it very much for two reasons...

Firstly, because Yakou was there with her, and on top of spending time together, they could have sex in work. 

Secondly, she found it entertaining how weirded everyone was and how everyone behaved like they were walking on needles.

"You know that I wouldn't be able to live with it if something happened to you..."

Yakou said after a while, which he admitted was a rare scene of weakness of his... He was very well aware that his relationship with his lovers was actually his only weakness that could be exploited by his enemies...

Aside from his mental state, which wasn't the best, there wasn't much he could do about that... ever since the Breaking Point Event, a few weeks after he became Campione, he had been gradually getting better.

Though he was also aware that some things that were a result of long-term usage of extreme Occlumency and Mind Arts would not be able to return to the optimal state, and he would be left with the consequences for life.

And truthfully, he was rather too lazy to search for a method to mend those things. 

He already learned how to live with his deficiencies because he lived with them for so long that it wasn't that big of a deal anymore.

***

Not Far from the Militech International Encampment, English Countryside, Great Britain

After finishing the meeting with the members of the Society and Federation, Yakou called for the meeting with Luo Hao and Sasha Voban to discuss their plans. He knew that two Campiones didn't really consider acting together within the Lostbelt, but he had to convince them to do so.

Obviously, convincing the two Campiones would be a hassle, but for the greater picture in mind, he had to do so.

Since he called them with urgency, it didn't take long for the two of them to arrive, as they looked at each other with Voban looking at the Martial Ruler before scoffing, and Luo Hao only grinning at the oldest Campione with a chesty grin.

In the end, she stole the spot that the old man also wanted, which was considered a minor victory for her.

And that was good because she could get ahead of the 1st Campione in some regard.

"Why did you call us here, brat?"

Voban asked with an irritated tone, but his irritation was more aimed at the Luo Hao who was standing near them than at him. He just ignored his remarks, because Voban was in a rather bad mood lately, due to the clash with Luo Hao, and then because of the interrupted fight with Salvatore Doni.

"Be calm for once, Marquise... I think that Junior Brother wouldn't call us here without a reason, right?"

Luo Hao said as she gave Marquise a look, which he returned with suspicion because he noticed that the two of them were rather close. But that was nothing that interested him, so he waited for the 7th one to explain his intentions.

"I want to tell you something that I discovered about the Tomb that has descended... or rather about the thing that appears like a Tomb, but it's actually pretty far from it in the truest sense of definition of Tomb."

As soon as Yakou said that, both of them narrowed their eyes as they basically motioned him to continue.

"This 'Tomb' is actually a Lostbelt... I presume that neither of you has actually encountered the term, right?"

Even though both Sasah Voban and Luo Hao were the oldest living Campiones, neither of them had encountered the term of Lostbelt, but that was given. In the entire world, probably only he was aware of what the Lostbelt was, though when he said the word "Lostbelt", he noted that Voban's aura flared a bit before returning to normal.

"Generally speaking, Lostbelts are special types of worlds created by powerful existences when someone cuts off the place from the Temporal Axis. Anything can theoretically become a Lostbelt, which is Real and Fantasy at the same time. If one thinks of Temporal Axis as one long scroll, the Lostbelts are like another scroll entirely that was cut from the main scroll and became independent, smaller scrolls on their own. Across reality, Lostbelts are extremely rare, and this is the first time that one has appeared in Terra, albeit in the form of a Tomb. Every single one is created by extremely powerful entities, far above the ceiling of the Campiones or Heretic Gods of Terra, to the point where we are just small, insignificant ants before the creator of the Lostbelt. I don't really know who has created the Lostbelt Camelot, but I can assure you that this incursion into the Camelot would be far more dangerous than any Tomb that has ever appeared in the world."

Yakou just repeated what the Crow has told him about the Lostbelts and the finroamtion actually managed to get to the two most powerful and most arrogant Campioens rather fast because both of them started reconsidering their approach.

Before knowing any of this, both Sasha Voban and Luo Hao actually thought that in the worst-case scenario, this Tomb would only have some Heretic God as the guardian because the most dangerous Tombs that descended into the Terra were like this.

In the worst case, there would be a few additional Divine Beasts, but that would be all.

Hearing what Yakou told them made them stop in their initial plans of charging in with brute force and fighting their way to the Tomb Heart, which was the core area of the Tomb and a place where most of the treasures were usually stored.

Yet now...

It seems that another approach was needed.

Both of them knew that among the Campiones, Tsuchimikaod Yakou was arguably the most knowledgeable one, and his personal strength was also very good. In terms of power, both of them agreed that he was the third strongest and had the potential to actually surpass them, but that last thought was something that neither of them would say out loud.

Only Voban appeared to be in a very deep thought when he heard the explanation about the Lostbelt Camelot.

'The boy is speaking the truth... even my True Body is rather small monkey in front of the big shots that acutally have power to create any Lostbelt... be careful when you are entering, but at the same time, considering the unique nature of the world and the fact that some of Them are overseeing this world, I doubt that the master of the Lostbelt would actually move agaisnt you.'

Within the Voban's Sea of Consciousness, a huge monkey with golden fur and red eyes, wearing ancient Chinese battle armor, sat cross-legged as it smoked a pipe. It was the Divine Sense of the Sun Wukong.

Not the Heretic God Sun Wukong, but actually Sun Wukong of the Little Garden, whose True Body was in the Little Garden and was a True God.

And geniue 3rd-Digit Entity that shook the entire Little Garden when he rampaged through the Celestial Court, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

'So what? Should I work together with them... that would mean splitting the treasures and other things that could be used to increase my strength...'

After Voban slew the Heretic God Sun Wukong, he obtained the partial Legacy of the Monkey King and the Divine Sense that Sun Wukong sent to this Chaotic Origin Dimension, which was also dwelling in the Marquise's Sea of Consciousness.

'Sometimes it's wiser to adapt to the situation... especially when facing an insurmountable mountain that can crush you with a single thought, young Voban. Even though I admit that your species is geniuely fascinating with all the things that they did to you, but... You cannot imagine the horrors of the Lostbelts.'

Sun Wukong spoke gravely because he actually spoke from his own experience.

When he was a young monkey and didn't ascend to the Buddhahood, he once wandered into the rahter particular Dimension in some unknown and long-forgotten Chaotic Origin Dimension in the outskirts of the Great Dark Beyond Realm.

There, beneath some ruins, he discovered a Dimensional Gate, which was actually an entrance to the Lostbelt Plane. At that time, he didn't know what it was, but considering the opportunity, he entered the Dimensional Gate without a second thought.

The Lostbelt that he entered was called "Eternal Ascension Lostbelt", an enormous dimension comparable to that of several average-sized Chaotic Origin Dimensions that were enormously powerful, and even he, with his power as a peak 3rd-Digit Realm, almost died countless times.

Either at the hands of the natives or the beasts that called the place their home. The people in that Lostbelt practiced Dao Path Cultivation, where they utilized the Dao or "Laws of the Realms" as their very own Source.

The creator of that Lostbelt was an immensely powerful person called Old Man Extermination, whose power was so unfathomable that it rivaled even that of the strongest beings under the level of Outer Gods.

And while he admitted that there were tremendous gains in that place, he was also much more mature than he was during the times when he was just a young, willful monkey. 

"Alright... how do you want to cooperate?"

In the end, despite his pride, Voban was very rational and heeded the advice from Sun Wukong because even though he was arrogant about his power, he wasn't suicidal.

Yakou secretly sighed in relief that Voban was convinced in the end to work together, as he then proceeded to explain the details of their plan for the closer cooperation between their factions, and most importantly, between themselves after they entered the Tomb.

The discussion was rather lengthy because they needed to cover a lot of details, especially solving the problems of the random separation. This was because they were aware that after they entered the Camelot, they would become the prime targets of the Tomb's Consciousness.

They were the strongest and despite the fact that Camelot was Lostbelt, it should still have some sort of consciousness that acted as automatic defense and manager of the entire Tomb.

"Now to the last reason why I want the three of us to cooperate... as you know, King of Swords Salvarore Doni possessed Heirloom sword Arondight... The Department Head of the Department of Tombs noted the possibility that, despite Camelot being Lostbelt, it could still recognize and resonate with the Arondight and gave Doni some advantage when wandering through the Tomb."

As soon as he said that, Voban erupted with enormously powerful uara, because the last thing that he wanted to see in his life was for that Italian brat getting stronger by obtaining the treasures and who knows what in Camelot.

And now, when he learned that this place was actually a Lostbelt, the possibility of something here allowing even Campioens reaching far greater levels of power was viable.

More than viable.

"Calm your nerves, old man... It's only a possibility, not a certainty, but we need to prepare how to deal with it if it becomes true. Right now, both of you should be aware that among the eight Campiones, we three are the only ones that have created some sort of alliance and are basically the dominant faction in the world. Though... Salvarore Doni and Kusanagi Godou have a very good relationship, apparently, so it wouldn't be strange if they allied together considering their aptitude toward me and you..."

Yakou said as he looked at the Voban, whose face frowned when he called him Old Man, but he ignored it because everyone was pondering about something else. What Yakou spoke about was indeed rather problematic from this perspective. 

He, Luo Hao, and Tsuchimikado Yakou, and the factions that they ruled or oversaw, were allied together.

Kusanagi Godou had deep enmity and hatred that was mutual with both Sasha Voban and Tsuchimikado Yakou.

Meanwhile, Voban had the same thing with King of Swrods Salvatore Doni due to various reasons across their history.

And Salvatore Doni actually had a rather negative impression of the Tsuchimikado Yakou and would easily join hands with Kusanagi Godou to fight against him.

Luo Hao was rahter particular case, because she didn't have any enmity towards either Kusanagi Godou or Salvatore Doni, though Yakou knew that the Martial Ruler had a strong distaste towards the 8th Campione due to his behavior and considered him unworthy of the power that he wielded.

After spending some time with Luo Hao and getting to know her, he knew that the woman was as proud as heaven and she was most proud about the power that she obtained through her own hard work and genius.

For Luo Hao, the notification that someone became Campione by sheer accident was something she found distasteful... For Luo Hao, the notion that Campione, who possessed power that was standing at the zenith of Terra, behaved like a small kid and was willingly subjecting himself to the whims and laws of mortals was...

Absolutely disgusting and disgraceful.

The last thing that he wanted was for the other Campiones to create alliances...

Even their own that Yakou had with Voban and Luo Hao was nothing short of a small miracle, selective bribery, and his own cunning and power. And to maintain this presence and trend, one of the things that must be done at all costs was to sabotage others from imitating them.

Even though those were just two Campiones...

But what else?

Perhaps next time they could rope in John Pluto Smith, and it would be three Campiones...

So it was better to destroy these efforts before they could even properly bloom. 

"Even though it's only a possibility, do you have any countermeasure?"

Voban asked even though he seriously doubted that the 7th Campione could come up with one because any direct intervention would cause a huge fight.

"Direct one?... No... but indirect one?... I already have several ones."

Yakou admitted directly that he didn't have one ultimate solution that could prevent Salvatore Doni from using Arondight to resonate with the concept of Camelot to gain some advantage, because that would result in a direct fight.

And Yakou didn't want to have a direct fight with another Campione in the enviroment that was so dangerous, like a Lostbelt. That would be rather too much on him, and he would be putting himself and his forces in great danger.

But indirect ones?

There were plenty of them that he could think of.

"Well... I cannot go into full details, but I can use my own Heirloom to crash into the mechanisms of the Tomb and try to influence the Tomb Consciousness. Even though Camelot has become a Lostbelt, the Tomb Mechanisms should have still remained, and based on my conclusions and research of the Department of Tombs, the Tomb Consciousness is mostly acting like an A.I., so my plan has a great possibility of working."

Evidently, he wouldn't be revealing everything in his cards, because that would be showing his trump cards, and even though he was allied with Voban and Luo Hao, they were not that close.

Even with the evolved and strengthened All-Seeing Polycoria Eyes of God after the evolution caused by the Divine Authority of the Divine All-Seeing Polycoria Eyes of God, he couldn't see through the nature of the Heirloom Crow.

Which only affirmed his suspicion that the Heirloom he bore was far from ordinary, even when compared to the other kinds of Divine Tools he had. Only Eve and Keira were informed of this, so they could take appropriate preparations beforehand.

"Well then, if you are confident in your method, I won't ask further... though, do you have backup plans if that one fails?"

For this one, Voban decided to give Tsuchimikado the benefit of doubt, while Luo Hao only watched from the sides.

Even Luo Hao looked at Yakou with interest when the old man Voban asked this, beucase she was curious awhat he had prepared.

"Yes... I have created Super-Large Fūinjutsu Formation based on the High Energy Mana Compression Array Formation that is placed in my home and at the Headquarters of the Illuminati Society. This Super-Large Fūinjutsu Formation is slightly weaker because it's missing some crucial components and support from the Magic Guindacne Devices, but it's portable and could be activated at any time. Each of us will carry one third of the Super-Large Fūinjutsu Formation, and in the case Salvatore Doni activates the resonance between Arondight and Camelot, we can use the Super-Large Fūinjutsu Formation with our Divine Mana and fuel to suppress the resonance itself. If we can lay down the same Fūinjutsu Seals across Mana Veins in Camelot, we can basically cover the entire Lostbelt in one go and solve this problem."

Yakou explained his secondary plan, which he had created, and even though there were some weaknesses within the Super-Large Fūinjutsu Formation, it was actually a sound and good plan.

"Won't the Tomb Consciousness and Defense Mechanisms stop us?"

This time, it was Luo Hao who asked because this was the most glaring weakness of his backup plan.

"Most probably not. You need to realize that we are not using the Super-Large Fūinjutsu Formation to target the Tomb Consciousness directly, but rather using it to target only the possible resonance between the Arondight and Camelot, and the Formation would activate only when the resonance itself happens. Tomb Mechanisms are acting in a set of patterns, and as long as the attacks or threats are not aimed at it, the Mechanisms won't activate."

Yakou said this because the information came from the groundbreaking research of the Tomb Raider, Flynn Carsen. He was a particular Tomb Raider who was a completely mundane person without any connection to Supernatural, but by accident, he entered Tomb.

And by an even more serious accident, he managed to clear the Tomb without activating any of its traps or defense mechanisms. After he had exited the Tomb, he was immediately apprehended by the Enforcers of the Sealing Designation Department and brought to the Society.

There, he was interrogated before he was recruited by the Department of Tombs as a member and Tomb Raider. He was also given many resources and some Genetic Strengthening Serums to compensate for the fact that he was just an ordinary human.

But within the Department of Tombs, he was regarded as the most successful Tomb Raider and Archaeologist who made one of the most groundbreaking research into the Tombs because he managed to identify the Tomb Defense Mechanisms and created a perfect way to clear the Tomb without alerting the Tomb Consciousness.

Of course... not every Tomb could be cleared this way, but his knowledge and research could be applied to all Tombs to lower the casualty rate and success rate of the Tomb clearing, which was something that had never been done before.

"Then I believe that we have an agreement."

Voban and Luo Hao agreed to their plan after Yakou explained the final details, and then they proceeded with the material preparations and the division of the Super-Large Fūinjutsu Formation and Fūinjutsu Seals they would use in Camelot in times of emergency.

***

Lostbelt Camelot, Several Hours Later

The enormous white city with its breathtaking fantasy metropolis built around an immense white citadel that dominated the entire skyline suddenly started glowing. 

Literally, it started releasing blinding white light because the entire Tomb was in the process of awakening and opening. This commotion attracted the attention of practically everyone who was in the vicinity of the Camelot.

Once it started, the five Campiones that were present all rushed to the main gates of Camelot, because there was an agreement between them that all five of them would use the main gate and their forces would use the other secondary entrances to the Tomb.

This proposal was something that Sasha Voban, Luo Hao, and Tsuchimimkaod Yakou proposed as one, while Alexander Gascoigne didn't really care that much, and Salvatore Doni thought that the three of them were scheming something.

At the same time, it was also pretty unusual to see Campiones being allied with each other, and it wasn't really sitting well with anyone who looked at it. Salvatore Doni himself didn't really care that much about it, because it wasn't related to the sword, so it wasn't his problem. 

But Alexander Gascoigne was rather different in this area.

Even though Black Prince Alec pursued the goal of finding the Holy Grail, he was also aware that the closer relationship between Sasha Voban, Luo Hao, and Tsuchimikado Yakou wasn't something that would end well for the rest of the world.

He could see that the Federation, Huaxia Republic, and the Lost Domain were also getting closer and closer, which would soon be enough to result in complete domination of the entire world by these factions.

In the era where the Mana was returning to the world en masse, this wasn't good news at all for the rest of the world, because he could see that they would have enough power to monopolize all the best resources across the entire world.

Gascoigne already predicted that sooner or later, these three factions would establish some sort of alliance or perhaps even confederation or something like that, which would later be joined by the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire...

That way they would control the majority of the world's resources and become the largest faction in the world... if one counted the rahter good relationship toward the Yehudim Magic Association and House of Wisdom...

It was rather unfortunate that he himself had a rather bad relationship with the Middle East, and the same could be said of the entire British Empire, since Great Britain attempted to invade the Middle East.

Great Britain fought several wars against the coalition of Israel and the Iron Sultanate for fifteen years. And whilst they won the first Desert War in 1902, the subsequent Desert Wars in 1907 and the final 3rd Desert War in 1912 were tremendous disasters for the entire Empire, causing enormous losses.

Suddenly, an enormous tremor ran through the ground, as the main gates of Camelot started slowly opening. Every single one of the Campiones readied their weapons, because nobody really knew what would be behind the gates, and some of them even stuck together.

Yakou looked at the opening gates of the Holy City of Camelot with the All-Seeing Polycoria Eyes of God, and now that the Tomb has opened, he could finally use his eyes to see behind the white walls of the Holy City.

And certainly as was predicted, he could see there literal hordes of the Magical Beasts and other creatures that seemed to have their own little heaven. Even from a distance, he could feel the overbearing levels of Mana that were far higher than anything that was on Terra. 

'Be ready and activate the Fūinjutsu Seal after you enter the Tomb... it should be able to help us to find each other's location even if we get separated upon entering the Lostbelt.'

It took rather a lot of work to convince both Luo Hao and Sasha Voban to work together and initially, both of them were rather reluctant to do so... only after he explained to them what the Lostbelts actually were and how much troublesome the Lostbelts could be did Luo Hao and Sasha Voban agree to work together upon entering the Tomb.

Neither of them actually knew what Camelot really was, and among all the gathered Campiones, only Yakou knew that this wasn't just an ordinary Tomb but rather a Lostbelt, which meant that the danger level in there was much higher.

And they, as Campiones, would bear the burn of that danger the most. If they cooperated, they could obtain far more from the Tomb than if each of them acted individually... 

Not to mention the basis of their cooperation was built on the fact that everyone wanted to obtain different things from Camelot, and neither of them was interested in the same objects...

Yakou was here primarily for the Heritage of Merlin Ambrosius, who was the last Archmage of Terra, and he possessed an extensive laboratory in Camelot. Obtaining the Legacy of the Archmage preceded everything else, because this could very well be the last known legacy of the Archmage in the entirety of the Terra.

Aside from that, he was also interested in some Heirlooms, but only in those which could be used by some of his lovers, left to his descendants, or be used by the core personnel of the Illuminati Society. 

Luo Hao, on the other hand, was interested in practically everything that was related to the Chi, Spiria or Martial Arts... even though he doubted that there would be a lot of things like that, it was impossible to exclude, and still, there was a good chance that there would be suitable Relics and Heirlooms for the Martial Artists of the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains.

Meanwhile, Voban was tagged primarily because the old man was searching for something that would allow him to fully break the limits of the Campione Level. This wasn't anything unusual from him and was rather standart behavior... though Yakou also knew that he wouldn't say no to the Holy Grail or Excalibur if they were indeed located within Camelot.

Something that Yakou rather doubted.

In the historical records, it was confirmed that when King Arthur was dying, he returned Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake, a being that was rumored to be far stronger than any Campione or Heretic God that lived in a plane adjacent to the Terra and only showed herself a few times in the entire history of the world.

And the Holy Grail wasn't in Camelot; that much was given, but it was evident that some clues to its location could be found here.

So there was little space for the friction or conflict of interest if it came to that.

On top of that, Yakou also proposed that if a situation arose in which all of them were interested in the same thing, they should wait until the Tomb closed and they left, as only then would they discuss it and decide who would obtain what.

'Are you sure that this thing would work? This King doesn't want to bet on these Magical contraptions...'

As Camelot was opening, Luo Hao, Sasha Voban, and Tsuchimikado Yakou were connected via the Telepathic Spell Yakou created with the Fūinjutsu, so they could remain in contact even when they entered the Tomb and were separated.

Creation of these Fūinjutsu Seals that he was using, together with the other Campiones, took him a rather considerable amount of effort and resources. Though he also made many similar Fūinjutsu Seals for the forces of the Illuminati Society and some for the forces of the Lost Domain and the Holy Cult of the Five Mountains.

On top of that, Keira and Eve were both imbued with some part of his Divine Powers. Well, Yakou even went as far as to imbue both of them with his strongest and most powerful Divine Authority of the Khvarenah: Halo of the Supreme Ruler in the case that they encountered a too-powerful enemy. 

And due to the countless Fūinjutsu Seals on their bodies, they could even control the said Divine Authority to some degree, and the Fūinjutsu Seals ensured that it had some replenishing effect.

Which emant that as long as the seed of the Divine Authority of the Khvarenah: Halo of the Supreme Ruler in't completely depleted and destroyed, it could recover by soem degree... obviosut this doesn't mean that the bit of Divine Authority of the Khvarenah: Halo of the Supreme Ruler that is on their bodies is infinite, but it would last far longer if used correctly and with enough reason.

Thanks to the Fūinjutsu Seals that could ensure communication, even the forces of the Society, Lost Domain, and Holy Cult could communicate across the entire city. Of course, this was only under the premise that the Tomb, its Consciousness, or the Master and Creator of the Lostbelt won't be jamming all kinds of communication.

'Of course it would work... I spent several days creating these Seals and as long as we don't face direct suppression from the Tomb itself or the creator of the Lostbelt, then the Fūinjutsu Seals would be working as intended.'

Yakou answered, because if there was one person who was always skeptical about Magic and its creation, then it was Luo Hao... though sometimes he thought that the 2nd Campione was too lost...

For example, he found out that she firmly believes the decline of civilization began with the invention of the steam locomotive. This was rather mind-boggling itself, but that was how she was... and she was also extremely terrible with modern technology, because she couldn't use basically anything.

Since he fought against Luo Hao some time ago in the Gobi Desert, the two of them have remained in contact, despite the difficulties in maintaining contact. They bonded rather well during the fight, and Yakou even obtained her methods on the Transition Chi-based Martial Arts to Mana-based Martial Arts.

Still... the communication part was rather problematic, because Luo Hao didn't want to use phones or anything... Yakou even sent her a custom-made Magic Guidance Smartphone that was straight from the genius of the Militech Magic Engineers in cooperation with the Society, but...

It failed because she couldn't get past the phone's opening and unlocking the screen.

In the end, the phone ended up being smashed in her hands.

But that didn't really stop Yakou, because he personally created the device for her that would react with her Mana and act only on her voice command, as it had an in-built A.I., so she could use it just with the voice commands.

Fortunately, that one solution worked rather well.

As they were telepathically talking, the Caemlot finished opening up as all five Campiones that had gathered in the place rushed to the Tomb while their forces that used various secondary gates to enter the Holy City.

***

Not Far From the Camelot, English Countryside, Great Britain

"So it begins..."

Athena muttered as she observed the Lostbelt Camelot, which had been fully opened, while contemplating what to do. On one side, she wanted to enter immediately, while on the other side, she knew that the moment she entered, she would be the biggest target.

Her strength has already reached the mid ranks of the 4th-Digit Level, and no matter what method of cocnealement she employed, it was guaranteed to fail in front of the master of the Lostbelt, who was for sure lurking in the darkness of the Lostbelt.

The Tombs always targeted the strongest individuals that entered the domain with the most fervor and power... if she entered the Tomb as she was...

Considering the power of the Lostbelt, it was really possible that she could perish there, because the Tomb could detect not only that she was in the mid ranks of the 4th-Digit Level, but also that she was the Avatar of the geniue 3rd-Digit Entity from the Little Garden.

In the end, it wasn't ordinary Tomb that were descending in Terra in great numbers, but a Lostbelt.

"I will wait for a bit before they trigger the defense mechanism and are noticed by the remaining Tomb Consciousness before sneaking in."

She really wanted to enter the Lostbelt to obtain some of its greatest treasures, but as a wise Goddess, she knew it wasn't the right time. Thus, she planned until the five Campiones completely attracted the attention of the remaining Tomb Consciousness and were its prime target.

Afterward, she would use the strongest methods to suppress her power and concealment and sneak into the Tomb to see what was inside and obtain the treasures.

Becoming the ultimate winner like mantis stalking a cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.