Chapter 298: Applying Input

The tome reflected the same cutthroat, ruthless mindset of its owner. A foreign but elegant leather sheened navy blue, gold trimming the edges. Black gemstones lustered on the surface, and it carried Torix's patented flair. Peering closer, these polished onyxes cast back any light like eyes in the dark. Those reflections followed me as I turned the booklet, following my every move.

It made these bound pages come to life in a bizarre brio. It was as if the book saw the truth of this world and was dying to share it. In that regard, it mimicked its owner. That insight personified in the tome's heft as well; it commanded over twice the size of my own grimoire. Torix would fill out every nook and cranny of every page, no doubt, so it was good he had the extra space.

Inspecting closer, that wasn't the only cool part of it. Tapping the grimoire, a hollow pong emitted from the back of the textbook. Attached along the rear cover, a hollow casing revealed several canisters and cubbyholes. A few chains and metal knobs held them in place, giving it an aged but refined appearance. Beyond those brass pieces, dark, heavy pages filled the back of the tome.

They were made of the same singed metal that made up my own grimoire. Torix would be able to etch out his finished ciphering here and charge them as I did. Standard runes likely carried the same sort of utility, as the text carried the same silver metal running through its spine as mine did. Chrona shared in my wonder, so I gave her a nudge, "Thanks for the help. Torix is going to love this."

She tilted her head, "It does seem suited for him, from the overlong pages to the weighty demeanor." She turned to the entrance of this underground sanctuary, "I am glad to help you how I can, but I must return to my post. My brethren need me above."

"That's all. Good luck."

"You as well."

She flew off before I took the grimoire up past a revolving staircase I made earlier. Walking into Torix's lair, I held the book high. Torix basked in the light of his newfound battery. He already charged his fancy obelisk with the power source and seeing him use it so soon was gratifying. Tapping him on the shoulder, I handed him the tome.

"Finished it."

Torix turned, grumpy from today's frequent disruptions. That cantankerous demeanor turned to stunning surprise as he held up his hands with the grimoire in hand. His fiery eyes flared bright white with surprise,

"Daniel, this...this is incredible. It's eerily beautiful, almost haunting. Ah, the eyes of the gemstones follow. Hah. A nice touch, if I say so myself."

I put my hands on my hips, "Thanks. You're the one who made it look like that, though. For me, I think the metal pages spawned from how my own grimoire was made. Those pages let you etch the cipher and charge them up. They'll float down like glowing lyrics, singeing onto whatever surface they land on."

"I've often wondered how you gained that ability. It's a rather impressive utility to have, undeniably so on more robust materials." Torix turned the volume around, operating the nooks and latches with intrinsic ease, "These will help contain any physical needs for alchemy and the like. Crystallized mana, poisons, hmm, I'll dwell on what to do with these when I have the time."

He pulled it up to give it one last lookover, "It's remarkable, really. Thank you. Thank you so much."

A smile came out of me as I turned a palm to it, "What exactly do you plan on doing with it? Considering your reaction, you must have plans?"

"Hmm, well, there are quite a few uses for grimoires. After all, you can precode spells that would otherwise be overly complex for practical use. I believe that is how the Emperor used so many advanced magics during his time here on Blegara. He had a grimoire stashed out of sight where he kept using spell after spell from it."

"Could he have hired someone to write out the spells in his grimoire then used them without actually understanding the magic?"

"Hmm, it's possible but unlikely. I doubt he managed such a thing. Obolis used those spells without thought, and that shows a deep level of understanding, not only for the runes but also for how the magic works. Considering his age, he's had more than enough time to accrue many of the skills required and whatnot."

"It makes me wonder if he's hiding his potential from us. Either way, I don't think I'll ever get that much use out of a grimoire."

"Perhaps you could explain your reasoning?"

I crossed my arms, "I'm a 'feel' based magician. I use magic like muscle memory, which means I can't manage complex, multilayered spells without practice. By the time I could use sorcery like that, I wouldn't need the grimoire. I could just mold the magic as if it were a part of my body."

"Ah, yes, I do remember discussing it. We exist on opposing ends of that spectrum, then. I'm very much a thought driven caster. I find my premade spells invaluable for keeping my combat effectiveness high. Otherwise, I am overwhelmed by my contrasting thoughts."

Torix swung a hand, "You know what, I believe your health-oriented magic might explain the more physical aspects of your own casting."

"I think so too, but it's just a guess."

The necromancer cupped his chin in curiosity, "Your guess is as good as mine. It would require research, which is notoriously difficult on your fabric. Few tools can so much as scratch the substance, along with most forces."

He stared down, "And despite acid, heat, elemental forces, anything honestly, I've yet to uncover its composition, atom wise." He looked up and waved his hands, "Ahem, though this debacle is no doubt interesting, I must return my full faculties to work. We are on a war front, after all."

"Eh, it's easy to forget. Cya Torix. Good luck researching."

"And you as well doing whatever it is you do in your free time."

Walking out with a wave, I stepped out of his lair nestled in a cluster of corals. Beyond those renovations, I sent him one of the super golems as both an assistant and a guard. Despite Torix's menacing potential in combat, he could still be killed if someone like Lehesion got his hands on him. Even if it was a bit of overkill, keeping him protected offered us a lot of security. Some might say I was too safe, but if anything, this guardianship was long overdue.

What really drove that point home was having Alpha die in battle. He was a weaker super golem, but his tenacity far exceeded Kessiah's or even Torix's. It put how dangerous this mission was into perspective. Any of us could die at any moment, so preventing an untimely demise stood high on my list of priorities.

Also on my to-do list was giving Amara a suitable reward. She did the most for our guild of anyone over the last few weeks, even more than me...Arguably. Ok, probably. Either way, that kind of talent and loyalty deserved recognition, and I sent her a super golem guard as well. Even more so, I got to plan out a set of armor for her, one unique given her strange combat style.

That reminded me to make Kessiah a set of armor as well. I drafted up plans for both of them, keeping Kessiah's simple and mobile while orienting Amara's for combat. For our medical practitioner, I created mobile hand joints along with general cable mail. This interwoven, thick, and wire-based mesh was supported by struts that would absorb crushing forces.

Along those braces, I installed inserts for the tools I made earlier. Wire thin holsters also allowed her to carry an assortment of other devices if she needed them, like tourniquets or splints. Along the inner arms, crystallized quintessence acted as a power source for the armor. Complementing these fuel hubs, I molded reinforced cufflinks near the ends of joints. A few seconds of carving later and gravitational well generators popped up along the joints of the cable strata.

To personalize the armor a bit more, I placed mind magic links to the wearer along the armor's spine. This gave it a central hub for all the runic formations, and it gave Kessiah a rudimentary collection of my magics. She wasn't going to be making singularities anytime soon, but a weak gravity well or more regeneration was within her grasp. A tailor also handled the clothing and uniform aspects. Otherwise, it'd be a bit...ugly.

I mean, it was like a car frame connected by a lattice of cables. Effective for protection? Oh yeah. Aesthetic? Not in my lifetime, unless fashion really changed soon, which could be the case given how weird fashion could be at times. Anyways, the point is, it bothered me enough to have it tailored. That alone was telling.

Having that handled, I went on to fashioning Amara's armor next. She used her hair as a weapon, one that was tactile and sensory. It gave her a discerning precision that paired well with her natural eldritch brutality. Wanting to accentuate those traits, I got my hands on a tech specialist and engineer - John McSmitty answered my call. Our resident albony professional, he hooked me up with some camera tech for Amara's palm eyes.

I made this adjustment because fighting for her was an unnatural, arduous process. That might be why she was a more docile eldritch than most. I mean, she sliced people apart while having her eyelids touch the action. She compensated via spreading her hair out like little feelers during her forrays, but eyesight was always helpful.

Stopping that issue in the future, I made a suit that gave her several cameras to view from on her palms. She'd be used to switching viewpoints often since she moved her hands all the time in conversation, and it gave her a 360-degree perspective wherever she went.

Beyond the sight issues, I had the same tailor for Kessiah measure out Amara's proportions and settle on a flexible jumpsuit for her. It would act as the undershirt for the armor laced over her. Otherwise, the armor would rub her skin raw over time. The dimensional fabric was more durable than she was, so that was inevitable. It was better to fix it before it became a problem.

So handling that, John McSmitty interwove the camera's wiring into this jumpsuit with vantage points over her palms. Having an actual reference for the metalwork after, I began my own project of giving her more combat ability. The most important part of that involved her gauntlets, as they protected her eyes and gave her devastating weapons in the form of her claws.

Maximizing that potential, I ended the gauntlet's fingers with long, bladed points riding the top part of her fingertips. That let her handle detail work with the armor on. Thickened palm plates also kept her eyes safe, along with the nerves that traveled to her head from there. The arms and chest plate were simple enough after that, fitted for her using the previous measurements.

The legs followed before I filled in some of the more delicate joint work. While not perfect, I studied a few medieval armor suits to see how they interlocked various armor pieces. I did that because Amara moved strangely in combat. Creepy and menacing, her joints often bent in the wrong direction, meaning she needed tons of flexibility.

This made the resulting plate mail more delicate compared with some of my previous armors. It also enabled Amara to handle detailed work like typing even with it on. For her face, the opposite situation proved helpful; less was more. I gave her a closed helm with one central opening - a thorny maw.

It acted as my own armor did, generating a red haze over the face and biting without mercy. Amara would hopefully appreciate the sentiment because she was still an eldritch. Her body was a weapon, and given my armor's ravenous nature, it suited both her and the metal well.

Unlike the front, the back of the helm was left open, besides a net of tightly interwoven cables. I tied more strands of my fabric from these cords that stretched outwards from the armor like a mane of hair. At the ends of these strands, I implanted a series of tiny, hooked blades, giving each strand slicing potential. If pulled around skin or bone, they'd slice right through with ease. Pulling one back, they were essentially serrated piano wires.

Painful and effective.

All the threads took up the most time, but my Manifold Mind skill was a real lifesaver here. I made many of these wires at once while implanting blades at the same pace. It saved me days of labor, turning a day or two of work into a few hours. That included the cipheric runes, quintessence batteries for the cameras, and the other adjustments.

As I did all that, I made sure to keep one mind large enough to observe my surroundings. I wasn't about to have another meltdown occur under my watch like with the grimoire ritual. Finalizing one segment with a flash-freeze, I stepped back from my work with a grin on my face. Adding to that bit of joy, our tailor brought in Kessiah's armor using a team of omega strain users.

The armor weighed down with too much weight for an individual otherwise. Peering them both beside each other, they were damn fine pieces of smithing. Kessiah's was a fitted leather suit made from eldritch skin of some kind. It smelled like cedar and wine, and the tailor even embroidered it with the medical cross along the back of a jacket he threw in for free.

I'd pay him extra. As for Amara's, it contrasted the homier medical ensemble that Kessiah gained. Our eldritch's armor carried no gaps for eyes or ears, making the head a challenging point to damage. The gauntlets proved thick and durable, many enchantments covering their surface for making them more manageable weight wise.

The cables finished the effect, making her look outright ominous. Being pretty sure they were quality, I still inspected them both just to make sure they were up to snuff.

The Amaranthine Healer(lvl requirement: 10,000) - This unimposing outfit is actually a garb covering a wire lattice and several sets of cuffs underneath. These wires enable strutted durability, even carrying magical siphoning abilities. The cuffs are nigh-invulnerable, both assisting with preventing crushing forces or being useful apparatuses for smashing enemies.

This disguises the more advanced aspects of this garb. Along its surface, a forest of runes covers it along every etchable inch. This grants many surprising abilities to the wearer, serving the purpose of an exoskeleton more so than a wire mesh. This armor can move through telepathic signaling, it can generate gravity wells, and it can power magic for a time.

This culminates in an exceptionally advanced yet powerful suit of armor that many would be envious of. Be careful with who you give this to, else they might be attacked.

It was an excellent start to this analysis session, so I turned to the next notification, hoping for a description just as upbeat.

A Monster's Evolution(lvl requirement: 10,000) - This is a work made by the Harbinger of Cataclysm for an eldritch usurper. While usually an offense worthy of exilement, this eldritch usurper has proven useful on occasion, so the powers at be have decided to let this issue go.

For now.

Speaking solely of the armor, it sports smooth, gliding joints along with a maw of steel to reinforce a monster's jaws. It also contains an open-back helm for tentacled heads or some unknown yet equally disgusting attack method. The humanoid features also include claws and a network of cameras for the palms. Once again, this is a strange feature, but it exists, so we're noting it.

Despite these strange choices, the crafting work involved is excellent, so the level requirement is very high. Be careful who you give this armor to, as it may come back to bite you later.

Eh, not quite as positive, but it would do. I grabbed the armor's jaws, moving them up and down. This could actually come to bite me later. Hah. Terrible puns aside, the apparent warnings from Schema fell onto deaf ears. I wasn't scared of Amara anymore, and she'd already done more than enough to prove I could trust her. Though, eating a bunch of people during her escape from Gypsum didn't exactly help with that.

She had a good excuse - desperation. That being said, I didn't want her running rampant in this armor. To help monitor that a little, I took a super golem nearby and gave it the armor. I pointed at the titan,

"Make sure you keep Amara safe and comfortable. And uh, don't let her eat people in a demonic rampage."

"If you will it, then it shall be so, creator."

The golem floated off, light as air from its gravitation magic. I hoped Amara would enjoy the plate mail enough to wear it, but the eldritch were unpredictable with this kind of thing. My cipheric rune charging was one example of that since it seemed pretty benign to me while terrifying to them.

Either way, I finished up my second day here on Blegara with a more realized team of elites. Staring at our city's outer line, the blue core's barrier stretched out beyond our overtaken territory. We needed more ground for expansion since our subdued district already swelled from all the extras I added.

Setting up another quick goal, I empowered my runes and called in some super golems from our forces. Several of them walked beside me as I recruited Krog and a few gialgathens as a cleanup crew. The grizzled general landed beside us minutes later, and he spoke with confidence,

"Ah, guildleader. It's good to see you faring well. That's a mighty force you've amassed. I assume we'll be expanding outward then?"

I stood with twelve or so golems,

"We'll be tearing them down while you guys pick through what remains. After clearing the area out, you'll need to establish points we can use later for resource gathering and safety. Highpoints will be the most useful."

"For the line of sight?"

"That, and I can create bunkers in them like we have with our home base."

"We shall do as you ask. I anticipate we'll be the ones staying there then instead of the humans as well?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"We may escape fire and fury. Humans, all of their ingenuity aside, are slow and frail by comparison. We may survive the onslaughts of our enemy until we've secured this domain utterly, as we intend to."

I shrugged, "Hm, I didn't think about that, but it's a good point. Keep that in mind as we head out."

"Then let us leave this place for another."

Krog flared his wings, as did his squad of gialgathens. The size of those spread limbs took up an enormous amount of space, enough that it intimidated even me. Not to be outdone, I synced up telepathically with each golem one at a time, letting them know what I intended on doing. After a few seconds, I facepalmed.

Linking to them all, I gave them commands. In unison, they replied to my orders without doubt or hesitation. Lining up beside me, their single-mindedness carried savage brutality. There just wasn't any mercy in them. They'd kill until they were killed themselves, and there was no questioning that motive.

That machine-like precision kept them efficient, but it also made me wonder if they'd have nuance. As if answering my internal question, a golem stomped onto a stray saysha beetle roaming through our territory. Its heel soaked up the smeared remains.

Yeah, they weren't the negotiating types.

They'd be useful here, though. I leaned down, signaling them to leave. We gravitationally leaped through the air before diving past the first forcefield made by Torix. The water surrounded me like a chilly wind. Water waved above, the ocean never settling down. Breathing water in, fractured scents wafted through my nose. It was mostly clear but with a hint of a chemical aftertaste.

That was thanks to the Hybrids. Moving on, I partitioned out a few minds for various tasks. Having each anima handle certain aspects of my fighting would make more use of my abilities. The first of those consciousnesses was a wielder of Event Horizon. They'd whip it over weaker enemies and clusters of Hybridization.

Another of my minds would wield my elemental furnace, churning out its energy. Yet another psyche would handle where I moved in battle. At the center, I operated all of my skills as a captain of a ship. Every piece came together with a primary commander staffing it all.

Even the golems were a part of this. They moved with me, listening to my orders quick as my limbs did. Oddly enough, they became parts of my body, living extensions of what I could do. I didn't even have to voice my commands with language. If I so much as directed intent at them, then the golems interpreted that motive into action. Peering at a disgusting monster? A golem would smash it. A blighted one needed to be pulled down? No problem, several golems used gravity wells to press it downward.

In the end, the golem's conformity inspired yet another avenue for expanding my potential. If I could gain enough mental strength, I could wield an entire army in sync. No matter how strong Lehesion was, he wouldn't be able to outmuscle that. Even Schema's fleets or a Spatial Fortress would struggle against something that united yet individually powerful.

And I couldn't know when Lehesion would show up. I only knew he'd come in force. Either way, I put that next step on the back burner. The super golems and I went forward into Hybridized territory. Corals and seaside sprawled out below us, Hybrid forces interspersed between Vagni and twisted Leviathans. Elysium forces amassed outside our blue core's barrier, several ships and clustered enemies rallying together.

To the Hybrids within our dominion, my golems went forward and destroyed. To those outside our barrier, I raised a hand. Endless torrents of mana channeled through my palm while my primary mind converted the raw energy into deadly potential. An outpour of gravity wells spiked throughout the enemy forces. They collapsed into singularities.

Darkness consumed them. Like eclipses under the ocean, these umbral spheres swallowed entire ships at a time. Fueling their resulting implosion, the matter converted into energy and rippled outwards in mass. Calamitous outputs of kinetic power ripped soldiers into gelatinized blobs of red, orange, and gray. Matter melted. Defiance died.

The overwhelming onslaught left nothing alive. These physical forces I generated exceeded what the Hybrids were built to handle. Stringing those shockwaves sideways, I moved an arm to aim this bombardment. In seconds, what was once a fleet was a vast wasteland of minced rubble and sliced fragments. Of what, I could no longer tell.

Steel juggernauts dotting the sky pulped like paper mache. City eating horrors disintegrated into outright voids before the surrounding water flooded the emptied space. Everywhere else caved from the nearby brunt of it all, leaving the city shaken but not quite shattered. I lowered my hand, staring at my palm with a bit of surprise.

I'd improved pretty quickly up to this point, but this defied all conventions. The ease at which I destroyed, well, it was beyond my comprehension. It was like I couldn't get used to the power jumps anymore because I didn't really know where my limits were right now. I was breaching into territories I hadn't imagined crossing, and I didn't do so in tiny steps. I leaped into this chasm, and I couldn't see the bottom of it any longer.

Catching up from behind, Krog and his soldiers flew up towards me but maintained distance,

"You...you did that, guildleader?"

I nodded. Krog shouted at his troops telepathically, "To fight a deity, you must bring a deity." Krog turned to his brethren, "And we've one, haven't we?"

I made a fist, "Naw. I'm just someone powerful. You'd be amazed at what you guys could do as well. With a bit of effort, of course."

They listened close, giving quick nods and intent stares. My golems acting as a cleanup crew for me, and I massacred the enemy forces bunching up near our borders. By the time I obliterated the majority of the gathering foes, they had retreated away from us. Turns out that even the brainless felt fear, and these Hybrids were no exception. I wasn't one to let the monsters escape, however.

We chased the monsters down and culled them. Once our position was solidified and secure, we helped our teams and gialgathens move into the secured landing zones. Torix's water barrier shifted further out, giving us more air space to work with. We moved tainted sands and corrupted stones from the premise, returning Blegara to its natural beauty.

At the same time, our guild worked towards expanding the Vagni's purpose here. We wanted them to stay busy outside of farming, and they carried a strange but fascinating culture with them. That came with an aesthetic of their own, along with a way of doing things. Maintaining that would be key to keeping them content in the future.

To ensure their place, I commissioned thousands of artworks and buildings how they usually made them. I also had several city planners who worked in Mt. Verner help ease the process along. We'd need a denser, more compacted capital than Saphigia once was. For that purpose, I had these civil engineers map out roads and other details.

This kept everything contained, practical, and elegant. All of this was paid using the guild's funds, which pumped out a steady flow of credits. Even if the Vagni didn't fully understand what the credits meant, they could equate it to food and housing. That was more than enough.

It gave us a solid base to work with by the end of the day. Extending beyond the blue core would be difficult, however. The ships Elysium used could maintain excellent range while still firing annihilating weaponry. To exposed targets, that meant instant evaporation. Considering our guild's numbers, we couldn't afford to lose anyone like that.

So that's where the golems came in. With everything consolidated and protected by the blue core's barrier, they were free to extend outward. To get that process moving along, I took to the seas and left them awash with the dead. Figuratively, of course. I didn't actually leave corpses.

Between Event Horizon, my armor's draining, and the singularities' evaporating effects, I left a trail behind me ringing with stillness. The quiet in those places seemed louder than most echoing booms or numbing explosions because of where we were. This was a front line. Noise ebbed and flowed at all moments, even through the water. It was often loud enough that I felt it more in my bones than my ears.

Yet when I passed, that noise ceased, and silence lingered.

I didn't intend on leaving the situation so barren for long, however. After dispatching Elysium's armadas, I spent my time crafting new golems. These outdid even my second models, using my more highly leveled blood and body as the primary improvement source. Though the assault models took precedent, I still introduced a few innovations during this time. The most important one was conscripting a new model from Ophelia - the constructors.

I wish I could say the idea for these golems hit me from my own ingenuity, but that wasn't the case. They came from necessity and from leaning on Elysium's methods for managing settlements. The rebels used the twisted Leviathans as road makers who kept the waters safe. On land, Hybrids served this purpose. We needed something similar to replace their benefits and then some. Otherwise, we'd be dismantling a society and replacing it with chaos.

I wouldn't sleep at night if that was the case, though I didn't often choose sleep anyways. The point is, the constructors acted as my own take on the Leviathan/Hybrid role. This new model emphasized city building, maintenance, and protection. In fact, one of them outdid ten of my assault golems for those specific tasks. That opened up the fighter models to focus on fighting instead.

We made this adjustment so quickly because the only change was mental, not physical. All of the golems came equipped with many skills and abilities already—more than they needed, in fact. An example was how they could construct matter from mana as I did. They simply preferred destroying enemies and getting rid of Hybridization. On the other hand, these constructors loved making buildings, drafting plans, and working with engineers.

That's where my production process came in handy. I could just adjust the runic configuration I charged in my grimoire, and the resulting golems were entirely unique. The previous ones enjoyed destruction while these prospered in peace and prosperity. Serving two different purposes allowed the giants to specialize in their given roles. It also meant I didn't need to help so much with planning either. They did all this while letting the Vagni do their thing.

By the time the week passed on Blegara, I had manufactured thirty of these constructor models along with another one hundred assault models. This made us a powerful, militant force throughout Saphigia, extending our grasp well beyond the blue core's shielding. With my support, the golems, gialgathens, and omega divisions expanded outwards, clearing swaths of Saphigia.

They established high points, erecting bunkers beneath these undersea hills. We worked the Vagni hard in the meantime, paying them well to build back up their capital to its former glory and then some. During this span, Elysium raided many times. Each passing day, they sent larger numbers of troops, Hybrids, blighted ones, Leviathans, and vessels.

I massacred them all.

They couldn't dent us. The blue core's shielding stopped even antimatter blasts, and I could charge it in seconds. While doing so, I siphoned singularities over fleets at a rapid pace. I was a null void to their forces, a wall that couldn't be outdone. Any number of ordinary troops were nothing, and they would need to tear this planet apart to get us off it. That wasn't an option since they wanted this world so badly.

Still, they sent more and more with stronger and stronger enemies within. They kept their twisted Sentinels in reserve since their dimensional attacks proved ineffective against me. Everything else they had, they threw at us. Despite that relentless offensive, I found time to build between the episodes.

I grew efficient. I worked in the open, maintaining good sight of the area. We got several scouts inspecting the horizons at all times, along with gialgathens above water. This kept our lines of communication tight, so reacting quickly was a given. These efforts from us kept casualties to a minimum.

That was the best way of handling Elysium's generic strategies: kill without being killed. We couldn't afford to trade soldiers. We had to create a sustainable system for dispatching their endless waves of Hybrids and vessels. If we did that, they wouldn't be able to whittle us down.

That's what we set up in a week: a dozen vantage points with excellent visibility, a growing cityscape run by constructors, and roaming golem guards that cleared areas out.

By the time my stay here was up, I left behind an expanding settlement that already paid dividends to the guild. It would take an eternity before I actually made money from this place, but that wasn't the point. The gialgathens established a place to grow, the Vagni retained some semblance of purpose, and we held the line against Elysium. These weren't the best task forces that Elysium had to offer, but our defense illustrated an ability to stop their mundane offensives.

They'd yet to send their ultimate devastator, and I wasn't sure I was ready.

Preparing full-proof measures against that golden gialgathen would have to wait until after I stopped Plazia Ruhl for Obolis. I'd be getting a few more elemental furnaces and other resources from him, and it might not take all that long either. I didn't want to underestimate a Ruhl, but they wouldn't survive an outpour of singularities. Nothing could, outside of an Old One or Lehesion. Or any of the other hidden powers that the Overseer mentioned during our talk.

I shivered for a second. I needed to stay on guard. Overwhelming or not, getting overconfident would be the end of me. Those thoughts lingered in my mind as I sent a notice to Helios. I needed his warping to get me to the ahcorus's homeworld. While there, he'd be by my side 24/7 in case I needed to be sent back here at a moment's notice.

Poor guy. Anyways, while waiting on him, I opened my messenger and let Florence, Other Hod, Amara, and Althea know to meet me here too.

Torix and Kessiah were too vital for our stay here, and they'd have an evacuation plan if Lehesion landed while I was gone. I worried about the golden gialgathen arriving and destroying all of this, but I set those anxieties aside. We'd need to fight him at some point, and if we did, I'd figure out just how far away I currently was.

Or even how ahead.

I held onto that inkling of confidence as I gazed at the seascape. I filled with pride, finding a line of our territory. Where we landed, homes came up, Vagni schooled near, and golem protectors kept all of it safe. Outside that line, it was abject chaos with Vagni struggling to survive and horrors roaming the hills. It was one thing to destroy something and leave nothing behind. It was another task to replace havoc with prosperity. It was a fulfilling struggle, one I enjoyed.

Interrupting that bit of serenity, portals opened above our domain. It was another raid like the ones we'd stopped so far. In retaliation, mana gushed through runic configurations over my skin, and I oozed unstable flows of power. Reaching up a hand, I pointed at each of these warps and detonated the areas behind them.

Before they could shut, building facilities, out bays, and carriers crumbled. They caught us at the wrong time, and I didn't have to react. I was right here, killing some time before Helios arrived. As the albony did, he gawked at the carnage. They couldn't even escape their portals before being slaughtered.

My mind partitioned, letting me turn to Helios while still handling the assailants,

"You ready to leave? We'll be rounding up a few other members of my guild before we leave, like Hod and Althea. We'll need their stealth abilities."

Helios fumbled his initial words, trying not to stare at the singularities, "I-I am. I've also completed the warping lessons you'll need." He composed himself, "Let's hope you show promise in the field. It appears you'll still serve a purpose regardless."

The last portal from Elysium closed, its inside gutted by another cataclysmic explosion. I nodded, "I'd hope so. Come on, let's go."

We took one step before yet another portal opened in the distance. I rolled my eyes before reaching up a hand. Seconds passed, yet no singularity formed over the area. I stared at my hand, wondering if it was broken before I lifted my eyes. This portal bordered gold, its rim engorged with an enormous deluge of energy.

There was only one who carried this kind of energy. Lehesion arrived.

From that warp, halcyon claws pulled apart dimensions, shearing space-time. Eyes emboldened with knowledge beyond their years surveyed our stronghold before a massive pair of jaws opened. From the enormous maw, a burst of noble, telepathic laughter poured out. The behemoth gazed at what I built with disdain.

Lehesion snickered, "So, this is all you've constructed. It's quite quaint and simple when compared with Elysium's grandeur."

With confidence, I shouted, "Elysium is a kingdom built on corpses."

My words contrasted my inner thoughts. A chill ran down my spine as I doubted myself. This was it. I had to perform. If I didn't, a massive portion of my guildsmen would die. My stomach sank. My face numbed. With a quick mental slap, I put that fear and pressure behind me, using it to spur me forward. Feeling returned along with my strength.

I took no chances, sending a message to our guild, one premade for this situation. People began evacuations as Lehesion pulled his entire form from his portal. The beast radiated majesty, the bright, energized armor both blinding and bold. He needed no air, having withstood space and cataclysms alike. He required no food, his body generating endless energy already.

That behemoth's form stared down at me, his eyes narrowed to slits,

"You speak as if the creation of a kingdom may be done without death. Even this tiny domain of yours rests on bodies. My domain is simply superior. The carcasses you've created are mere mounds by comparison to mine, and your piles disappear under the shadow of the mountains I've made. That darkness exposes the distance between you and I."

He spread his wings while dampening his lustrous glow. He covered my entire line of sight in his dusk, Lehesion's shadow looming across a portion of my city. My knees wanted to wobble under pressure, and Lehesion grinned,

"That distance between us, you are too blind to see it. Beneath these wings, you are an insect under the mercy of a coming storm."

I took a moment, remembering what happened to Springfield. Yawm destroyed it utterly, leaving nearly no one alive. I was helpless then. I was no longer helpless now, and I wouldn't be stalling with a conversation either. Tohtella or another Adair could arrest control of Lehesion at any moment, and he'd blast everything I built to pieces.

That wasn't an option. I'd be keeping this frog dragon busy this time, so busy he'd be unable to even unsettle some sand. I leaned over, my armor's maw growing monstrous and my metal skin rippling like a pool of dark mercury. I expanded Event Horizon over Lehesion, and the giant winced.

My form shivered as my armor hungered for his energy-laden flesh. The supergolems near me filed into ranks, each of them unspeaking and unmoving. They felt no fear, only bloodthirst. I channeled that within myself, allowing my ascendant mana to bend my mind. That part of me was a monster, and I unleashed it now.

Gripping my fingers to fists, I seethed,

"You believe I'm an insect? No. I am living metal, denser than stone and harder than steel. You so much as touch my domain, and you will suffer."

A crack showed under Lehesion's confidence, "And what could you do to me if I destroyed this little lot of land?"

"I will burrow under your skin and eat you alive."