Chapter 190 – Old Monsters

[The Tree will entirely encompass the Haven in 8 days. The demons will reach this place in two. That means we need to defend the Haven for 6 days until it's finished.]

Sophia spoke to Dream after calculating the expansion of the Tree's roots and branches. And while it seemed like a short period of time, defending against all the demons for that long would be extremely difficult and could result in even more deaths. 

"That won't do. We need it to move faster. Luckily we have something that'll help, although I didn't think we'd have to use it. Aegis."

"My lord."

"I'm gonna need your help for a bit."

"As you wish."

"Thanks. Now, let's set ourselves up."

Saying that, Dream flew over to the Tree in the middle of the city. The entire thing glowed with thousands of blue lines, as did the entire city around it. It really brightened up the place.

After flying up next to it, Dream placed his hand on the trunk. When he did, the trunk split and opened up, creating a human size hole that led all the way to the center mass of the Tree. Dream entered this hole and closed it behind him, sealing him inside the Tree.

After flying to the center of the Tree that was filled to the brim with solid mana, Dream made himself a seat and got comfortable in the total darkness.

"Alright. Connect to it."

When he gave the order, tendrils of solid mana appeared from the surroundings and shot toward him. Dream didn't block it, and the tendrils went into his chest and toward his soul. The location next to it to be precise, where Aegis's heart was. 

Aegis was prepared and caught the tendrils, taking control and connecting them to his heart. When he did, power gushed out of him without restraint and poured directly into the Tree. This was Dream's plan. He wanted to use Aegis's seemingly unlimited mana and power to hurry the Tree's growth.

And it led to instant results. A few minutes after Aegis connected to the Tree, its growth sped up greatly. After calculating for a bit, Sophia gave her estimation. 

[Now it should only take 4 days for the Tree to finish growing. We'll still have to defend it for two though.]

"Better than 6. It might be doable. We'll just have to make it work."

[Should I call Luna over to help power the enchantments? She's already helped greatly in that regard. It's the reason everything's blue.]

"No, that's fine. I should be able to do it myself. She's better off out there with Scarlet."

[Okay.]

"Now, let's see if we can't push this along more."

Buckling down, Dream proceeded to tap into the Tree's enchantments himself and help drive the growth of the Tree more. Although his help wouldn't do much, it was a way for him to work himself out. He didn't forget how he still wasn't back to S tier stats. 

...........

Meanwhile, as Dream was sitting inside the Tree, Luna and Iris were out and about fighting demons. 

In a large hilly area south of the Enchanted Mountain, the two were battling it out with nearly 60 class 4 demons. The ground and sky were filled with dark red roiling waves of corrosive gas, and it was within this that they fought. 

Inside, Iris was taking and dishing hits to whatever demons that came at her. All of them were apprehensive about attacking her though. Just by being inside her domain of corrosion they could feel energy being sucked out of them and their bodies being eaten away at. And whenever they attacked her, she would attack back with relentless bouts of compressed energy that would eat away at their very soul. They had to give their all to defend against it. 

Worst part was, she attacked seemingly without regard for her own safety. But they could understand why. Not only was her body extremely tough, but she healed unbelievably quickly. And she could dampen their attacks before they even reached her. They were severely disadvantaged just because of her.

That wasn't even counting Luna who went around with a spartan helmet, spear, and shield. Both weapons and armor had been conjured by her and were very powerful. Her defense was much more impenetrable than Iris's, and the demons couldn't get through her shield or body. Even when they had cut her after much effort, it was instantly healed as if it was never there. It was even more ridiculous than Iris's healing. 

Her attacks weren't anything to scoff at either. If they didn't watch themselves, that spear would easily impale them. It was also loaded with complex magic, so if they were hit or stabbed, who knew what might come out of it. One time it might be a freezing spell, another it might be a laceration spell. Not only that, but she could hurl her spear like a bullet. The crazy part was, she could reclaim the spear from anywhere, never at risk of losing it.  

This was actually an ability of hers that came from her [Blessed of the Greeks] title. The title granted her the ability to summon her helmet, shield, and spear. It was different from the ordinary ice weapons she usually made. These were much stronger and seemed to be tied to her soul. She could use her other abilities flawlessly with them, and they granted boosts to her defense, stamina, and attacks. And since they were tied to her soul, they could be summoned and desummoned at will from anywhere, making them very versatile. 

There was one other ability that she had access to as well, but it was one she hardly ever used. The ability stemmed from her [Blessed of the Moon] title. It was one that, when activated, would grant her sharp increases in overall power. This power would grant her vastly increased regeneration speeds and the usage of a seemingly unlimited amount of icy mana, mana that could be used for extremely powerful spells. 

However, using this ability came at a price. Afterward, she would be greatly weakened since it would put huge strain on her soul. And while there weren't any activation limits to this ability, she knew that if she stubbornly kept it activated for longer than she could handle, it would put her on the verge of death. This was why she basically never used it and instead kept it as a trump card.

Like this, the girls went back and forth with the demons. And while they seemed to have the whole situation under control, they couldn't allow many more class 4's to come over. The demons were just too good at working together, combining skills, and supplementing each other's attacks. They were constantly attacking the girls from all directions, inflicting little injuries that built up over time and drained energy. If they weren't careful, they could still be defeated.

Since they had their teleportation skill though, they were pretty much totally safe. This was also why Iris attacked with such wild abandon. Luna was the same. They put everything on the line and used their skills to their utmost. It was like life or death training for them, just without the fear of death. 

Of course it wasn't just training. The two did their best to cull the number of class 4's as much as they could. They had already killed over a thousand over the past two weeks. Because of that, they had both actually leveled up to level 350. And while their levels started to stagnate around there, the levels of their skills gradually rose instead, continuing their consistent rise in strength. 

............

"Hm? Oh, hi Sophia... 4 days? Okay. So we'll need to defend for two, huh? That'll be difficult. What about Dream?... In the Tree? Alright. I guess we can only have the other class 4's prepare. Get the ones from the Mountain over to the Haven. Let all of them know what's going on. We'll have to work hard to repel so many. There's going to be at least a few hundred class 4 demons... Okay. Thanks."

"...What happened?"

Iris spoke up through their connection after Luna ended her conversation with Sophia. Despite talking though, neither of them were distracted from the fight they were in.

"The Tree is going to take a while before completing its growth around the Haven. We're going to have to defend against the demons for two days."

"Seriously? How are we supposed to survive against the onslaught of that many demons? Especially now that we're going to be sitting ducks."

"...We'll just have to make it work. But we've seen his plans. I think we'll be fine. We can band together all our troops. The people at the Haven are the strongest in the world. We should be able to fend them off for long enough."

"Hmm, maybe. Otherwise the last remnants of life will be totally wiped out. That would kinda suck."

"Let's just do as much as we can before the battle comes. We should also move to the animal continent. We can hunt some class 4's there. That'll lessen their strength come time to fight."

Saying that, Luna activated her skill and Iris tapped into it. The next moment, both of them disappeared into thin air, and the demon's attacks that were flying toward them hit nothing.

..........

From then on, Luna and Iris went around killing off demons that were nearing the Haven. Not only that, but they decided to bring along a squad of class 4's. However, this was when a surprising development occurred. 

Out of all the Empires, there were two class 4's who were probably the most mysterious. They were the 'Old Monsters' that resided at the Spire. Only a select group of people even knew about their existence, and even fewer had ever seen them in person. These people who had actually seen them were the Ancients like the Elf Vythica. It was a testament to how long these old monsters had lived.

Other than that though, the only thing Dream knew about them was that they were a couple. He had never seen them, and there was nothing about the Spire that would point to their existence. Although the other class 4's said that they lived somewhere in the top of the tower, that was only a rumor. 

Either way, even as the world was ending, even as the Spire was overrun and destroyed, these two people had never appeared, and Dream had never gone inquiring about it. He had better things to worry about. 

However, at this time only a day before the demons overran the rest of the world, these two actually appeared. As Luna and Iris were deciding on people to bring with them on their offensive, the old couple actually approached them, totally undetected. It shocked and startled them both.

"Who are you?!"

Iris snarled when the two appeared. The couple didn't look any older than 40 and appeared extremely healthy. The man had a graying beard that went down to his collar and was dressed in some clean white robes. The woman also had some graying hair that created streaks among her otherwise brown hair. She was also dressed in the same white robes. They matched each other well, and they appeared arm in arm.

However, the amiable vibes they gave off did nothing to prevent Iris from lashing out. The two had gotten past their senses, a red flag that Iris instantly deemed enough to target them. 

"We mean no harm, young one. We just want to help."

As he spoke with a deep, aged voice, the man put up a barrier around them. The barrier was enough to completely block Iris's attack that was going to lock them down magically. 

Iris frowned at that. While she hadn't been trying to kill them, the barrier showed her how powerful they were. The barrier itself was made of something similar to solid mana, and she could barely eat away at it. The control of the mana within was also astonishing. The only other person she had seen this kind of control from was Dream.

"...Calm down Iris."

Luna spoke as she looked the two up and down. At the same time, she was notifying Dream of the new development. 

When Dream heard about the new people, he was also surprised. Nobody could just sneak up on the girls like that unless they were on his level of power, especially now that they had become so much stronger. 

And knowing they were that powerful, he had to take them seriously. He quickly stood up from within the Tree and walked to the outer trunk, creating a hole and looking out from it.

When he emerged, his eyes instantly fell on the couple. The couple seemed to sense his gaze as well, and they looked back at him. 

When they looked into each other's eyes, their influences were quickly unleashed and clashed. The mana in-between them roiled around unstably, alerting everyone in the center of the city. 

"What's that?!"

"H-have the demons come?! Are we under attack?!"

"It might just be a fight! Where are the immortal guards?!"

Everyone shouted as the two figures had an invisible battle. However, after a bit, Dream smiled and brought out an object. It was a handgun, and it looked identical to a 1911 pistol, just quite a bit bigger than a normal 1911. 

Dream aimed the gun at the man who he was staring down with. He pulled the trigger. 

*BANG*

An explosion rang out as a pillar of plasma left the barrel of the gun, leaving behind a streak of purple. This was instantaneous though, and before the man could even react, the projectile that came out of the gun landed on the barrier. 

*Shatter!*

The bullet hit the barrier, and the next moment, the barrier buckled. The bullet didn't come out unscathed though. Upon impact, the bullet deployed its function, disintegrating into millions of nanites. 

"Hmm."

Finally a bit flustered, the man activated his magic once again to counteract the nanites. Although he couldn't directly detect them or destroy them, his dense mana was able to protect his body and counter the effects of the nanites that were attempting to scatter and disperse his mana.

After a few seconds, the man sighed. It took him that long to completely counter the nanites. However, he knew that this was only a small attack from Dream. To take a few seconds to counter it was sub-par. Lots could happen in a few seconds, and considering Dream was literally gushing with unheard-of amounts of power, he was able to quickly come to a conclusion. 

'I wouldn't necessarily be able to beat this kid.'

Shaking his head, the man retracted his influence, as did Dream.

"Dream, right?"

"Yea."

"Great. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Marlow, and this is my missus, Efari."

"Pleased to meet you, Dream."

The man, Marlow, slightly bowed and the woman, Efari, curtsied. Dream looked at them for a second before speaking.

"A couple. Very powerful. Never seen you before. Magic skills. Can I assume you're the 'old monsters' from the Spire?"

"Huhu, I guess that name really did stick. Yes, we come from the Spire. We have been secluded for many years, but the time has come to be secluded no longer."

"And here I thought you guys were just legends. Hell of a time to show up. But better late than never I guess."

"Indeed. We've seen what you plan to do, and we want to help."

"...That's fine. Take these bracelets and listen to those two. I've got things to do."

Tossing out a pair of bracelets, Dream turned around and headed back through the hole, sealing himself in the Tree once more. Marlow's face twitched a bit at the casual brushoff, but he just sighed after a bit. He of all people knew how daunting the task that Dream was carrying out was. Him and his wife. They were both masters of magic, but the entirety of the Haven shocked them both. Especially the Tree. To use it the way he was was insane, but if he wanted to succeed, he would need to concentrate. So, they just left it be.

Turning around, the couple faced Luna and Iris once more. Iris was looking at them with hostile intents though.

"Fight me, old man."

"Fight you? Hey, wait."

"Fight me!"

Without warning, Iris suddenly charged Marlow in her fox form, firing corrosive red beams with a strong desire to battle. Hastily, the man threw up his barrier once more and defended with magic, separating from Efari in the process.

Luna and Efari watched then duke it out for a bit before facing each other. When Efari saw the glint in Luna's eyes though, she smiled a bit and asked.

"Do you, perhaps, wish to fight me too?"

"...I'm not as brash as her."

"I understand. Come on then. It's been a while since I've had a good fight."

"Mm. We should go outside though. Iris! Take it outside!"

"In a minute!"

"...Let's go."

Calmly, both women flew up and out of the Haven. Iris and Marlow also made their way up, continuing their fight in the process.

And thus concluded the appearance of the 'Old Monsters'.