Steel and Mana

Chapter 314 – Realization

Within the Ishillian capital, Pascal was sitting alone in his room, meditating. His aging skin was much smoother; the splotches covering his skin mostly disappeared, turning his ancient visage into that of someone who was only hovering at the edge of becoming... old. Even his hair regrew to be long and lush while his beard recovered a bit of color, darkening from white to grey and, somewhere, even back to black.

"Report." He thought, waiting on the answer from his subordinates, their minds connecting to his at his command, no matter the distance between them.

"We are slowly breaking down the rebels in the eastern province," Kiva spoke first, his thoughts echoing inside Pascal's mind. "Although I wouldn't call the situation finished, the population has been broken in at most places." That part Pascal knew of, as the life force coming from the east, from the old Kingdom of Scorc, helped him regain much of his vitality, even if only temporarily, for a year or two at most. "If Lucca needs support, I can spare the troops."

"That would be appreciated." Lucca joined in on the meeting, manifesting his corporeal form. "The Geth forces are at a breaking point. We haven't clashed since winter began, but if we could hit them now, it would probably give us a chance to capture or kill Emperor Kadosa."

"And get our hand on a God's artifact..." Kiva whispered to himself.

"It wouldn't be that easy," Pascal interjected, finally speaking after summoning his disciples. "Do not underestimate such a thing as the Medallion of Life, or you will fail. Even if it has not shown its power yet, when it needs to, it will."

"It won't save him from defeat," Lucca said after a bit of pause, his words coming from confidence and not just from his pride. "He pushed far enough without gaining anything. He exhausted himself... and down south, the Sar Empire is not in a position to provide its support. If one thing was done well by the treacherous Empress, it was to rope in the Roblesia Kingdom to take action when the opportunity presented itself, exploiting their feud with the Sar Empire."

"It may not save young Kadosa from defeat," Pascal agreed, his voice calm and collected, the opposite of how he had been the last time he called on his disciples. "But it would still save his life. But... enough. Barth, your turn."

"Yes, my Master." He appeared, emerging within his mind, "And I have news to report. I will need Kiva's support, and I am sorry Lucca, but he can't reinforce you at the moment."

"Something happened in the North?" the two disciples asked, making Barth consider his words before speaking. "I thought you sealed them in," Lucca added, furrowing his brows just as Barth opened his mouth.

"They are contained, and they know it. My spies have achieved what Otto's didn't, and I have already had them visit their city, the one they call Avalon." while explaining, most of the information from the letter he received began flowing from his mind into Pascal's and his disciples, sharing what he had learned.

"Who is this Sovereign?" Lucca asked, snapping at the title at once, "Do we have any background information on him? Naming himself something like this is a laughable challenge."

"Probably Mirian's trustee with a useless title." Barth continued confidently, "I do know that they have met multiple times and exchanged information on multiple occasions. Our traitorous Duke Kustov has lately been transferred into this Avalon, probably to take command. I also learned that they plan to break out by establishing contact with Atuvia. Their idea is to pass through their territory and enter Ishillia from the east. If Kiva moves his troops away, we would be caught off-guard."

"That doesn't mean they would win." Kiva snorted, but Lucca understood what Barth meant, speaking with a cold voice.

"Yes, but Barth is right. If they break in, the fire would start again under your feet as these easterners would rise up again, and all of your work would be for nothing. We can't allow that to happen. I can handle the Geth forces; I'll just need to continue grinding them down slowly."

"And I guess I should start preparing, but not too obviously." Kiva shrugged, knowing to not take this lightly, not after Otto's demise.

"The North..." Pascal mumbled, his mind already thinking of many different events, rummaging within his memories. "Do you have a description of this so-called Sovereign?"

"I have. Investigating and interrogating the local minor nobles who are on our side, by their words, this Sovereign was of the Frontier initially, and he was made the Viscount of it under the previous Empress. He has a medium build by the rumors with red–"

"Red hair..." Pascal shuddered, suddenly remembering a young face from so many years ago. "A boy with red hair who..." With a startle, he expelled the others from his mind, his eyes snapping open, his breathing rapid and shallow.

He remembered now. Worse... he remembered scanning him, and he was without magic. He wasn't a mage, not even close, so he dismissed it at once.

"There are no Vasa without magic... they are born with magic in their bones, they can't hide it..." He grunted, trying to regulate his breathing without any success.

No matter how strongly he reminded himself about it, the fact that the boy asked to walk into his library and that he let it happen was now ringing loud, alarming bells in his mind. It was simply funny for him, amusing how a lowly mortal boy was flipping through all of the books he could not understand. After a while, he didn't even try, just letting the pages flash by, searching for images within, gazing at the incomprehensible formations within the ancient tomes.

"Incomprehensible..." Pascal muttered again, his blood freezing in his veins as a terrifying thought came to him.

What if... What if he could understand it? The skull, when was its reaction?! What... what if that boy was indeed a Vasa, simply dormant until...?!

"No! They are dead!" He coughed, wiping his mouth, noticing the bloodstains on the back of his hand.

Yet the thought no longer left him alone. The idea of him allowing a dormant Vasa to waltz into his library and peruse the collection of two thousand years of knowledge... It was making his heart and head ache.

"No... even if he still had some of that accursed blood in him surviving to the present, it was no longer pure; it was not of an actual Vasa's power." Pascal grunted, telling himself, holding his wrist to stop it from shaking, "Yes. It has been distilled for so long that it has lost its magic. And... I will make sure he will die before anything can bring them back!"

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"General." Pion saluted, arriving at the top of the Wall, overlooking the Pass and the battlelines below them. "The new rotation is finished, but we haven't had any wave coming towards us for six days now. Maybe they gave up."

"If the beasts can understand the concept of retreat... But..." Oleg answered, letting a long breath out, watching it form a white cloud before his face. "I say, instead of that, it will be a big one coming. This is just the calm before the storm."

"I thought of the same." Pion agreed, nodding and moving his head from the mechs in the valley up to the Camelot, hovering right above the castle. "Still, I have to say, if I were a beast and I would feel the Camelot's presence, I would not even try."

"Because you have a brain." Oleg chuckled, looking at him with one eye. "These beasts... I am not so sure about it."

"Something is approaching." echoed Duke Kustov's voice from Oleg's helmet, making the two men suddenly stiffen. "Make it two... four... nine targets. All with strong magical fluctuations."

"Well..." the general shrugged, picking the helmet off his waist and unhooking it with a straightforward sweep of his hand. "It is time for the main event, it seems."

"Nine, huh?" Pion whistled, doing the same, placing his helmet on his head, the tattoo on his wrist synchronizing him with its functions at once. "Let them come. We will stop them all."

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As if heralding their arrival, the wind began picking up in the Pass while the clouds above them obscured the winter sunlight. Snow began swirling in great, chaotic spirals, obscuring the horizon in a veil of white as if directed by magic to hide the incoming monsters. Yet, thanks to the Camelot and its sensors, they were noticed before even getting close to the already-prepared army of Avalon.

"Eyes on the front!" Captain Huth barked at his men, his voice booming through the comm channels of the ground troops, expecting not to fight the behemoths but to welcome anything they may throw at them, like the spider-like creature a few years back. Finally, from the cover of wind and snow, nine towering creatures emerged from the magical blizzard, their silhouettes dark and rough, their bodies covered in thick-looking, blackened scales.

The monsters moved with an unsettling steadiness, without showing any fear that an animal would when facing off against danger, their strides staying long and deliberate. Their thick, sinewy tails lashed behind them, sweeping up plumes of snow as they advanced, the only part of their bodies betraying the possible excitement they may have felt. Their elongated heads jutted forward on thick necks, with irregular rows of teeth protruding from their wide, gaping maws, like a mix between a crocodile and a bird.

"How tall are they?" muttered one of the rookies, standing behind the Rook, looking forward between his thick legs. His voice cracked as he stared at the largest among them, a beast whose head easily cleared the tallest pine trees that clung to the mountainside.

"Between eight and sixteen meters," Huth, his captain, replied, his tone grim after scanning the appearing enemy. "This is the first time that these types of bastards have come in this many numbers, but we faced bigger ones."

"And they all died," Pion's voice came through the open channels. "Listen well! The howitzers will open the battle, Rook; you are on defensive duty. The Lion and Princess will take the two ones at the front; those may have a big enough core to be of use to us."

"Roger." came the simple answer from everyone in one voice.

"As for the others... obliterate them." Oleg finished the orders, directing the battle from the Wall.

"Targets in range," reported one of the officers aboard the Camelot, making Kustov hold onto the wheel of the airship, feeling excitement and pride swell in him.

"Wait." He ordered, watching the magnified image of the nine monsters. "Wait for the howitzer's bombardment. We will pick our targets when they are confused and make sure to hit your marks!"

Before Avalon could open fire, though, the lead creature threw its head back and let out a deep, resonant roar that rippled through the Pass like an avalanche. The sound shattered the snowy storm behind them, and with it came a charge. A tide of smaller, one to three-meter-high, speeding two-legged lizards rushed past their feet, heading towards the ground troops.

"Incoming!" the ground forces' captains yelled as Avalon's army formed up, seeing the incoming surge that they were used to dealing with this winter.

Then came the explosion. The cannons on the Wall and the howitzers behind the army began roaring, bombarding the enemy wave, wiping out dozens with one shot before they could even get close. Yet their numbers were greater than any similar wave before them, reaching the black wall of soldiers, only to be skewed and cut into two with suddenly glowing, burning, or electrified weapons. Their swords, blades made of the biggest beasts they had ever faced, were now cleaving through these dinosaur-like creatures with ease.

Seeing the horde being massacred, four of the nine monsters, all between ten to twelve meters tall, raised their heads towards the sky as they let loose arcing fireballs, heading towards the ground troops.

"Now, those may also have cores for future mechs..." Yuri chuckled to herself, licking her lips.

"Shields!" Kalash called and activated the one in his Lion's left hand, while the Rook did the same with his own mech, covering a much larger area.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

None of the monsters' attacks reached the army. Above them, as if hitting a glass dome, the attacks splattered harmlessly, exploding like fireworks, illuminating the battle below and the massacre the Avalonian soldiers were dishing out onto the smaller demons who managed to survive the bombardment, reaching their defensive lines.

Seeing it fail, the nine finally began moving, rushing forth to strike their enemy with no thought of backing down or fleeing. It was then when the Camelot's cannons came to life, firing and bombarding not the head of the attack, the tallest beasts, but the ones in the back. The moment its multiple cannons boomed their deadly songs, the two furthest beasts exploded, their bodies torn to shreds by the concentrated fire of Avalon's flying fortress.

The others were not in any better shape. The two leading beasts found themselves facing the Lion and the Princess, aiming to bring them down quickly and cleanly. They looked at them not as something to fear but as two walking gifts that would further benefit Avalon.

As for the five remaining creatures, they ran, literally, into the same problem their minions did. What welcomed them were the Rook's cannons and the howitzers fire, constantly bombarding them. Even if the nine beasts could think, it was too late to realize they were no longer the predators. They were the prey... And Avalon was here to harvest them, down to their bones and cores.