Cassie had called out to Mordret.
She was calling out to the others, as well.
In the spacious corridors of Mirage Castle, a fierce battle was only growing more perilous as more and more of its defenders poured inside from the outer walls. Effie and the other prisoners of the Dreamspawn, whom she had freed, were steadily carving a path toward the throne room, where the Gateway was located.
There were close to a hundred of them. Most were seasoned warriors and veterans of the Nightmare Spell... but they were also all in a sorry state, having endured weeks or even months of physical and mental torture. It almost seemed as if it was pure willpower that moved their exhausted bodies instead of physical effort, and that as soon as their willpower reached its limit, they would fall.
They were only able to keep fighting because Saint Athena, Raised by Wolves, led them into battle.
There was nothing lofty or poetic about that statement — she was simply using her Ascended Ability to augment their bodies with a semblance of her own dire strength.
She was also the tip of the spear, serving as both the shield of their advance and a sledgehammer that broke through the hastily assembled battle formations of the enemy.
Effie had finally replenished enough essence to summon her armor, which covered her body like a second layer of skin. She couldn't quite use a spear effectively with one hand, and neither could she hold up a shield... but her Divine spear was missing, anyway, and her body was hardier than any shield could be.
So, Effie summoned a short sword instead. Now, she moved swiftly through a hurricane of steel, abandoning all pretense of defense in favor of pure offense.
Countless blows rained down on her, sliding powerlessly off her armor. Even those attacks that managed to breach or bypass it simply bounced off her impenetrable skin, leaving no mark on it. Every time she lashed back at the thralls of the Dreamspawn, however, someone fell down.
Effie was using that flat side of her sword, not wishing to spill an ocean of blood by cutting her own people down. Her inhuman strength was more than sufficient to topple even battle-hardened Masters in one blow, dazed or unconscious...
But a battle was a battle.
There had never been a real battle where nobody lost their life. And people were losing their lives now, too — more than she cared to count.
'Damn that vile bastard...'
Effie slammed an enemy soldier into the wall, causing him to crumple and fall to the floor like a broken doll. Blood flowed out of his mouth... but he was breathing, at least.
His face was familiar. All their faces were familiar, in fact — Effie had commanded these soldiers in the past, leading them in the elaborate task of protecting the streets of Bastion.
This one seemed to be the last one in this particular chamber. She leaned on the cracked wall, breathing heavily, and raised a hand to wipe the sweat off her brow.
It was only when a dull pain pulsed in her stump that she remembered that her hand was missing. Effie stared at the stump for a few moments, then used her teeth to tighten the leather cord tied around her mangled arm.
"Thane, how is it?"
The sounds of battle still resounded from somewhere far behind them, as well as from the sides. The eccentric Saint appeared by her side out of nowhere, having by some miracle found time to wash his face and tidy up his clothes in the middle of all this chaos.
His voice was tense:
"The rear guard is retreating — there are too many thralls entering through the main gate. We have taken the library, and the eastern service staircase is about to fall into our hands."
Effie remained silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Good. Once we take the staircase, we can pull our people back through the library and make our way to the gallery of the petitioner's path. Attack them from two sides... It's a straight line to the throne room from there."
She pushed herself off the wall and inhaled deeply.
"Come! We must push forward."
The escaped prisoners readied themselves and then advanced into the clangor of steel.
As the battle continued and they drew closer and closer to the throne room, at some point, Effie suddenly heard a voice whispering into her ear:
[Effie...]
She deflected a blow with her sword, sent the enemy flying with a slam of her shoulder, and grinned.
[Cassie? Hell... you are alive, after all. I didn't think I'd ever hear your voice again.]
She lunged forward, enduring a barrage of blows to dismantle the formation of Asterion's thralls. At the same time, she thought:
[Listen, the situation... well, I guess you already know. How are things on your end?]
There was a long pause, and then Cassie's voice resounded again:
[I will explain later. For now, I need your help.]
Effie blocked a devastating blow of an enchanted halberd with her forearm, feeling a pulse of sharp pain radiate from her stump.
She didn't feel too well.
[Really? Ah, damn it. I sort of hoped that you'll help me, instead!]
The edge of her sword cut the shaft of the halberd, and a moment later, the flat of its blade connected with her opponent's helmet. He toppled like a cut tree.
[Still, what do you need me to do? Apart from taking Bastion from the Dreamspawn, that is.]
Cassie answered quietly.
[I need you to become a conduit of my Will. I need you to do it willingly.]
Effie did not entirely understand what she meant, but if Cassie was asking, it had to be important.
[Sure. I'll be a conduit of your will. Is that all?]
There was a long stretch of silence, and then Cassie's voice resounded again, growing harder to distinguish:
[Be wary of the thing in the throne room...]
Effie cursed under her breath.
"That was not ominous at all."
They made it to the gates of the throne room. The defenders gave them hell in front of them, stalling Effie and the men who followed her — but it was of no use, since they were only meant to be a diversion. The second group of prisoners should have already reached the throne room gallery and was about to make its descent — they were going to attack the last defenders from the rear.
Cassie's warning hinted that things were not going to go according to plan, though.
In the end, Effie had to deal with the final group of thralls herself.
She met a very familiar person there, as well...
Her husband was the one commanding them.
He was putting up one hell of a fight, as well — enough to make a grown woman feel proud of her life choices.
'Honey... I love you. I really do. But we are going to have a very, very long conversation about this when everything is over...'
"Subdue him!"
Her warriors finally overcame the defenders and managed to bring them down them — those of them who were still alive, at least. Her husband, too, was pushed to the ground and tied up.
He looked at her with a desperate expression:
"Effie... don't! Lord Asterion..."
She looked at him for a few moments, then turned away with a pained expression.
'That damn Dreamspawn is going to answer for this...'
"Thane. How long can the rear guard hold out?"
Saint Thane hesitated for a bit, then shook his head.
"Not long."
Effie studied the gate.
The second group should have already passed through them from the other side. The fact that they had not appeared meant that there was something protecting Bastion apart from the thralls she and the prisoners had defeated.
'A Saint? Or something worse?'
Effie took a deep breath.
In truth, she didn't feel too hot. In fact, she was barely standing — her condition had already been dreadful when she escaped from the dungeon, and immediately diving into a fierce battle did not make it any better.
Her soldiers were not the only ones who kept moving on nothing but sheer willpower.
Could she take out a Saint in this condition? The answer was obvious...
She would if she had to.
"Thane..."
Before Effie could finish the sentence, something rolled out slowly of the half-opened gate.
Her expression turned somber.
It was a head... a severed head of one of the prisoners who were supposed to take the throne room.
Effie sighed, then looked at her soldiers.
"Listen up, men! Split into two teams. One team will watch the prisoners, the other will join the rear guard and hold out for as long as they can. Meanwhile, I will pay a visit to the throne room and sort out whoever is waiting for us there. Understood? Go!"
She remained motionless for a few moments, then tightened her tourniquet and walked through the gate.
There...
An older gentleman in neat clothes was sitting on the steps of the throne, surrounded by a horrid mess of severed bodies and spilled blood.
Effie frowned.
"Huh? I know you."
The old man looked at her silently, making her frown deepen.
"Aren't you Sebastian, the old butler of the Valor family?"
The old man smiled.
"Indeed, that is what I am called."
Effie studied him carefully, using her intuition to figure out his Rank and Class. Most Awakened developed a gut feeling for these things over time — if they lived long enough — albeit it was not always precise.
"So what, have you been a hidden Saint all along? Goodness gracious. What a cliche."
The old butler chuckled.
"A Saint? No... not quite."
Effie's expression turned somber. The man was claiming not to be a Saint, and by judging by his tone, he didn't mean that he was a mere Master. He couldn't be a Sovereign, though, which meant...
The old butler nodded.
"I'd have to be a human to be a Saint. But I am not... even though a few parts of me came from humans. Initially, I was a homunculus created by Lord Warden to protect his family — oh, but of course, Young Master Anvil modified me extensively later on."
Effie blinked a few times, then tilted her head a little.
"You're a... Supreme Demon, aren't you? Rather, you are a golem equal in strength to a Supreme Demon."
The homunculus shrugged.
Effie remained silent for a bit, then gritted her teeth and spat:
"Are you kidding me?! Then what the hell were you doing when we were defending Bastion from Mordret?!"
He looked at her with a hint of reproach.
"Even if Lord Warden is gone, my task is to protect the Valor family, Lady Athena. Young Master Mordret is a part of the Valor family, as is Young Lady Morgan. I couldn't intrude on their spat, could I?"
Effie stared at the golem in disbelief, reminding herself that the thing in front of her was not technically alive... or even sentient, let alone sapient. It was merely a masterful imitation of a living being, only slightly different from the Echoes the Spellsmiths of Clan Valor used to create. In fact, even if it was more powerful, it was in many senses more primitive than those Echoes.
If there was a conflict between reality and the tenets imbued into its enchantments by Warden of Valor, it could not think of a way to resolve it. So it could do nothing while Mordret and Morgan were trying to kill each other.
Glancing at the gruesome carpet of severed bodies littering the floor, Effie inhaled deeply.
"Now... let's be reasonable, old man. Let's talk it out. You say that your task is to protect the Valor family, right? Then why are you are you helping Asterion destroy it?"
The old butler smiled.
"Lord Asterion only means well. Lord Asterion will save Valor... Young Master and Young Lady will be safe under the benevolent care of Lord Asterion. He is a benefactor of the Valor family."
Effie studied him for a few long moments, then let out a tired sigh.
"You know what? Fuck being reasonable. Being reasonable has never worked out well for me, anyway."
She rolled her shoulders and pointed to a golden weapon lying on the stone steps near the homunculus.
"That's my spear, bastard."
A wolfish grin twisted her bloodied lips.
"I suggest you hand it over yourself..."
Chapter 2990
A terrible pain pierced Cassie's empty eye socket as she aimed her gaze at the Hunger Domain.
The great army of humanity had already become caught in the web of her Aspect — the Awakened, the Masters, the Saints... even their Supreme ruler himself. All of them were marked by her power, with no hope of escape.
And so...
Cassie looked upon the world with a million eyes.
She felt the wind caress her myriad faces.
She heard a myriad of noises and smelled a myriad of scents.
But, above it all...
She sensed a vast galaxy of memories. A whole universe was hidden here, on the Chained Isles, contained within the minds of mortal men and women who had come here to wage war.
These memories were her target.
Cassie reached into the memories of Asterion's thralls, beginning to erase those of them that contained him or the mention of his name from their contaminated minds — just like she had done to Yutra and other patients of the quarantine facility, only on a much grander scale.
The great army of the Hunger Domain represented the core of his power, and she could reach it due to how close the soldiers were to her. She shared the senses of a soldier, and then marked everyone whom the soldier perceived; then, she marked everyone whom those people perceived, as well.
Just like that, the entire army became entangled in the web of her Aspect at a terrifying speed. The strain on Cassie was tremendous, but well within what her Supreme mind could handle.
She concentrated on the memories of a few key individuals, while at the same time attacking the memories of everyone else. As long as the Mad Prince lasted long enough against Asterion, she was going to cleanse them of all of the insidious hex.
But that alone was not enough.
She needed to erase him from the minds of all people, everywhere — and reaching countless humans all across the vast expanse of the Dream Realm, as well as on the other side of the real boundary in the waking world, was not an easy task even for her.
It was partially possible because Cassie was sharing the senses of Asterion himself, and Asterion was connected to all his thralls — just like Sunny was connected to his shades. Cassie found that she could follow that connection to the enthralled people no matter where or how far they were, but it was a slow and inefficient process.
She had to contend against Asterion's fearsome mental defenses to access it, after all.
So, she needed something else... something more. She needed someone to serve as a conduit of her Will, helping it spread in places far removed from the Chained Isles. One of these people was Effie, who was currently fighting to retake Bastion — one of the major population centers of humanity, and one connected to most Citadel Cities in the East as well.
With Effie's help, Cassie's powers washed over Bastion like a ghostly tide. But she needed more...
She needed Jet and Kai.
'Where are they?'
Cassie activated the marks she had left on them once, wanting to experience the world from their point of view.
..There was no dungeon full of prisoners in the Jade Palace, so Jet and Kai could not recruit a small army of driven subordinates to take over Ravenheart. However, if anything, their situation was far better than Effie's.
That was because they were together, and neither of them had been driven to the threshold of death by starvation. Kai was missing his tongue, but he still had both hands — Jet, meanwhile, was at the absolute peak of her strength.
They also had a powerful Supreme Devil keeping them company...
So, their journey to the Gateway of the Jade Palace had gone smoothly.
Until they reached the great hall where the Gateway was located, that was.
There, Jet slowed down, an uneasy expression appearing on her face. Fiend froze in the spot and grew tense, as well — Kai was the last to sense something, frowning with a somber glint in his tired eyes.
In front of them, the gate leading to the great hall was partially open, bright light pouring out of it.
A sense of chilling, oppressive cold permeated the air.
Fiend raised one of his steel hands and looked at it in discomfort. A thin layer of frost was forming on the surface of the black metal, sapping the warmth from it. The infernal flames burning in his eyes seemed to dim.
Jet and Kai glanced at each other, then carefully moved forward.
As they crept closer to the gate, a gust of frigid wind washed over them, making Kai shiver. A deep sound reached them a few moments later...
It was as if something enormous was breathing, there in the Gateway Hall.
Jet, who had just returned from the frozen wastelands west of Ravenheart, looked ahead with a hint of grim wariness in her icy blue eyes.
Eventually, they reached the gate and looked inside.
And then, Jet took an involuntary step back.
"By the dead gods... what did that madman do?"
Her voice was a barely audible whisper. There, in front of them, a vast hall was illuminated by bright light pouring through colossal windows. There was something lying on the stone floor in front of the Gateway...
It was a jade board with black squares carved into its surface and a single white figure resting in the middle of the black field.
It was Ariel's Game. Only...
The second of the remaining figures was missing.
Instead, an enormous, radiant white dragon was curled around the Gateway, its head resting on the floor. It seemed to be
sleeping — and yet, Jet felt a terror as she had never felt it before after throwing a single glance at the magnificent, abominable beast.
Knowing not to look directly at great and awful beings of the Dream Realm, Jet tore her gaze away and looked at Kai with an odd mix of grim apprehension and dismay in her eyes.
She knew what the creature was, of course... it was one of the two white figures that had remained sealed within Ariel's Game.
That dragon was a Cursed Devil — a fallen god of the ancient past.
Jet tried to force out a smile.
"Was Sunny right about you? Damn it, Kai... why is there always a dragon anywhere you go?"
He looked at her somberly, unable to respond.
Jet sighed, then shook her head.
"Listen, I have a very high opinion of our abilities. But we are not defeating a Cursed Devil. We won't even be able to scratch its scales. So..."
She hesitated.
"I don't even understand why the Dreamspawn did not take this thing with him to the war, considering that he had managed to enthrall it. Then again... perhaps he can't really control it that well. But he probably really, really wants to eat this dragon after he's done devouring humanity. This is... his dessert, I think."
Jet wanted to say something else to Kai, but at that moment, both of them froze. Because Cassie's voice resounded in their heads.
Jet cursed under her breath.
"It is nice to hear from you, Cassie... but taking the Jade Palace might prove a problem."
The two of them remained silent, looking at each other with grim expressions.
What Cassie was asking of them was vital — it was the best chance to defeat Asterion they could receive, and most likely would ever be able to receive. And considering that failing to get rid of Asterion meant the end of everything, the stakes were as high as they could get.
However, everything came crashing down in the face of reality.
Neither Jet nor Kai was strong enough to face a Cursed being in battle, and even with their own Supreme Devil, the chances of defeating the loathsome dragon were so slim that they might as well have been zero. That was what Jet thought...
But before she could express her opinion, Kai had already turned away and walked through the gate of the Gateway Hall.
His figure blurred, and a moment later, a magnificent dragon with scales the color of midnight sky stepped onto the stone floor of the vast hall. He was visibly smaller than the ancient creature slumbering in its depths, but still enormous, dwarfing Jet with his size.
The black dragon opened his mouth...
And let out a deafening, defiant, thunderous roar.
"What are you doing?! Damn it!"
Jet turned into mist, hiding behind the wing of the opened gate.
Deep in the brightly lit hall, the Cursed Devil opened one enormous eye, looking at the source of disturbance with an eerie, alien madness burning in the depths of his bestial pupils.
The tyrannical cold suddenly grew a dozen times more oppressive, so much so that even Jet felt it despite her ghostly form. Kai peered down at the dragon calmly... Then opened his wings and soared into the air.
His graceful figure smashed through the enormous round window of the Gateway Hall, rising into the snowy sky in a storm of crystal shards.
A moment later, surrounded by a hurricane of snow and indescribable dread, the White Dragon gave chase.
And a moment after that, Jet and Fiend were left alone in the great hall of the Jade Palace, still shivering from the deadly cold.