Johannes Volkner bid farewell to feelings of safety. Regardless of entering the Distortion, Flash of Inspiration was warning him before he even reached the point that the briefing meeting was being held. For a brief moment, he considered his options. He could go through with it anyways, of course, and risk incredible dangers, but wasn't that just going against the exact thing Flash of Inspiration was warning him for? It was possible that the Distortion itself would be rigged to kill them before they could properly enter. The second option, then, was to attempt to get out of entering the Distortion. Given that they would be entering it same-day, leaving the team and forcing them to bring someone else in wasn't something easily done. The only option that could potentially work was to intentionally wound himself, either directly or through enticing someone else to wound him. Of course, given the surveillance on all of the Callers, he'd need to do the latter, and in a way that was convincing...

  He couldn't help but let out a sigh as he realized that it was impossible. The only person he would be able to convince to harm him in such a way was Joan, and he would rather not risk the chance she would instantly kill him instead of simply wounding him. Besides, even if he left, that wouldn't make the Distortion less dangerous. If anything, the lack of someone who was already aware of the danger might increase the danger for those who remained inside of it. He could very well die if he entered, but the same went for everyone else who stepped foot into the Distortion. Entering the briefing room, he sat down next to Suzuka, who'd already picked herself out a seat. He gave her a slight smile, and glanced around as the briefing room quickly filled up.

  Joan and Quinta arrived next, and Joan waited for Quinta to take a seat, before sitting damn near as far from him as she could. Soon after, Aylin and Martin had joined in, sitting beside each other and idly chatting about one of their 'siblings'. Johannes could only suppose that meant another of the human vessel projects. And lastly, Wilhelm entered, seemingly haggard and out of his element. Johannes couldn't help but feel that something was wrong when he saw that. Wilhelm, of all people, was the one who should be the least exhausted, physically and mentally, so why was he like this? Either way, Daedalus and the Director soon entered, and notably, so did Thoth. One sat to each side of the Director, and Johannes found himself wondering once more who 'Thoth' really was. They weren't a Spirit, and there wasn't some crazy divine aura about the woman, was she a mage who chose a God's name as a nickname? His thoughts were cut off by the Director's speech.

  "Right, all of the required attendants are present. Do note that there will be one more Caller and Spirit joining you on entrance to the Distortion. In any case, many of you are already aware from the last Briefing, either from being present or from having seen the recorded footage, but the goal is to find a particular 'plug' which resonates with and holds an obscene amount of magical energy within it, somewhere in the Distorted time and place. In this case, you all will be heading to the Joseon Empire - That is, to Korea."

  As if at once, everyone looked around at each other. Korea wasn't exactly well known politically, outside of pop-culture, or magically, and as such was a bit of a dead zone in most people's knowledge. They knew it existed, but none among them could say anything about Korean history or mythology, and that meant that it was a potential source of problems already. Johannes couldn't help but wonder if that might be part of the warning that Flash of Inspiration was imparting on him. Still, after a brief second of several people gasping, the Director continued onwards.

  "The Joseon Dynasty in the year 1720 was a tumultuous place. While it's officially a 'stable' political situation, in truth, there are multiple covert attempts at rebellion from rival political factions. This is because the recently-deceased King of Joseon, Sukjong, had courted multiple different political groups corresponding to the various important clans of Korea. His son, Gyeongjong, should be the next in line to the throne. The first thing to keep in mind that it is possible that either the up and coming King has the plug, or perhaps one of the several rebellions waiting for a chance to spring up. In other words, both your allies and your enemies are currently unknown, so you will all need to tread with caution. Additionally... Our observation staff, under Thoth's lead, have noticed discrepancies within the Distortion. We are not the only ones tampering with them."

  Everyone tensed up at that. The first to break the resulting silence was Wilhelm, shaking his head. "Do we know how it's being tampered with? Is it some bending of the Distorted time?"

  Rather than responding, the Director simply looked over, her inhuman, yellow eyes moving to Thoth as a smirk came to her face. With an annoyed glance back, Thoth began speaking.

  "Worse. The signatures of several Spirits, seemingly connected to a Caller and yet completely unconnected to the point the Caller hasn't appeared within the Distortion themselves, have appeared. It's hard to track any specific placement within the Distortion, but it's clear that the extra signatures are coming from this one, which is why we have picked it out for the next plan of attack, despite the fact that it has a much higher magical energy value, and thus likely mission difficulty, than many of the others."

  The Director continued on from Thoth's point. "Additionally, there is one signature there that seems to be an... Anomaly. It is neither a human mage, nor a Spirit of any kind. Not a mythological Spirit of a human or beast, a guardian spirit, or a nature spirit. There is the chance that it is some form of godly being, as it seems to radiate the barest traces of Divinity. If you encounter this signature's bearer, assess the situation carefully, and do not cross it lightly. The gods are not to be trifled with."

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  This time, it was Johannes who interjected, leaning forward slightly on that note before the silence could even settle in. "Director, should we find this divine signature gains access to the plug, what do we do? We can only avoid crossing it so long as it does not intersect directly with the path to claim the plug."

  A dark expression settled across her face as his words spewed from his lips, and he realized he'd committed a bit of a taboo. She'd avoided mentioning that, likely for the sake of morale... And he'd just said it in front of everyone. Yet, he had to know! A divine presence, coupled with the constant warnings from Flash of Inspiration, had him worrying more and more about a potential worst-case scenario.

  "Should the plug end up in divine hands, you will need to strike as a group, preferably by ambushing the presence and using your superior numbers in order to take the plug from it. In a direct fight, even with a numerical advantage... You will have almost no chance of success fighting a divinity. The gap between a Spirit and even a weak, fledgling god in a non-Spirit format is massive. I will reiterate, put this in all of your minds. If the divinity at play manages to gain the plug, do not attempt to fight it. Retreat, regroup, and then ambush it until you can snatch the plug from its grasp."

  Sure enough, those words did nothing for the morale of the group. It was the worst case scenario, and certainly far from a guarantee, but even knowing that such an impossible scenario was within the capabilities of this Distortion... It was only natural for everyone to start having second thoughts. Joan sighed as discontent murmurs continued from most of the Callers present, before slamming her hand on the table hard enough to crack it.

  "Look, are all of you supposed to be fighting men, or milkmaids? If you have issues with risks in a mission you knew would be dangerous, do yourself a favor and walk out the air lock, single file."

  Yoshinaka stamped down the sheath of his sword against the floor. "Enough, woman. It is only human to have fear in front of the wrath of gods. If you have such an issue with showcases unbefitting of your courage, I suggest you 'do yourself a favor', and valiantly lead the charge."

  Johannes couldn't see his face under his Menpō, but his tone of voice was more than enough. It was clear that if Joan spoke again, the two would be at each other's throats in moments. The Director was about to speak, but given Joan's distaste of authoritarian meddling, he had a feeling she would only make it worse inadvertently, rather than calm the conflict. Instead, he suddenly stood up, not making an impact by sound but by visual cue in both of their peripheral visions.

  "That's enough, we won't get anything done fighting here. We've got most of our introductory information. Director, how long do we have until we head into the Distortion? One hour? Three?" His gaze focused on the Director as he forced the conversation to change flow. If he had just told them off, both of them would light him up, but by shifting the topic to the Director, she could move them to a more important and constructive course of speech. He couldn't help but notice what seemed to be the slightest traces of a smile on Daedalus's face as he did it... Thankfully, the Director took the verbal fastball he pitched her without issue.

  "Only thirty minutes. If you have any remaining preparations you wish to get ready before you enter the Distortion, I expect it to be done quickly and precisely. The new signatures have vastly accelerated our normal time constraints, and I won't be having anyone slow us down. Now, Callers and Spirits... Dismissed."

  The first one to leave was Joan, with Quinta quickly rushing after her. Yet, Johannes could see a movement of her head, and Quinta stopped in his tracks. Perhaps she'd simply looked at him? Still, as people slowly filed out of the room, Johannes and Suzuka were some of the last ones.

  "Sooo, Johan~! When did you get that like, totally cool backbone~? I wouldn't mind if you were a bit more like that sometimes, you know?" By the time they'd so much as exited the room, she was already teasing him... Still, he found himself smiling gently at the return to form.

  "It's a trick I picked up on my own. Do you mind helping me get my armor on, Suzuka? We do need to work quickly to be ready in time."

  The way her eyes sparkled told him everything, even before she spoke up with somewhat flustered words. By the time they reached the workshops and she helped him with donning the armor, which he'd considered naming by now, that sparkle had completely vanished at the realization he already had the undersuit layers on, and there was little to no intimacy to be had in the action. Still, she seemed happy enough just to be included in his suiting up, and helped without complaint. Soon enough, he'd led her to the exit gate in his full kit, Beissende Hunde at his side and the armor over his entire body.

  Alongside those present at the briefing - sans Daedalus, Thoth, and the Director - there were two newcomers to the group, the ones the Director had mentioned earlier during the briefing. A woman who seemed to be in her mid-30s, with long blonde hair, and wearing a thin, plated armor that looked almost like a sleeker and more futuristic version of what a knight might wear in the 1400s. What truly grasped Johannes's attention, though, and clearly the attention of a few others, such as Wilhelm and Joan, was her sword. A bastard sword with a long, two handed grip, and holding multiple storage gems of various types and makes throughout the handle. That was eye-catching enough, but it was the metaphysical traits that made every hair on the back of his neck stand up. The blade itself felt wrong, as if it was flooded with black magics of foundations he could only guess. Regardless of which magics were used in its creation, it was a dark thing that was not to be trifled with, and he could understand why she and her Spirit had not been invited to the briefing.

  As for the Spirit beside her, he was a short man wearing ornate, blue and purple robes depicting a dragon. He had a small ponytail, and thick eyebrows that made him seem powerful and masculine, despite his small stature. At his sides were two swords. At his right, a somewhat typical off-hand weapon in the form of a wakizashi. But at his left side, was a massive sword far too large for even a taller man to use in one hand. In its wood scabbard, Johannes couldn't help but think that it looked less like a bladed weapon someone would wield, and more like a washing pole one would stand up for a clothes line.