With the Origin of Fate unable to directly deal with the ‘King’ monster, I had to come up with another way to do it. “Although you can’t directly consume its fate, can you alter its fate to lead it to certain doom?” I asked the twins, who looked at each other.
“I mean, we can try? It might use up a lot of our energy, though. Is that alright?” The divine sister asked, to which I nodded my head. Getting rid of this ‘King’ would be the biggest challenge of the entire invasion, especially if it was able to kill Dana.
The sisters looked at one another again, before taking a deep breath and walking into each other. Noticeably, they skipped their usual theatrics, as if understanding the seriousness of the situation. Soon, the Origin of Fate was standing before me, black liquid seeping from her eyes as she smiled. “You never do come to me with easy requests, do you?” She asked, and I shook my head.
“Sorry, but this is a pretty big deal. Can you do it?” When I asked that, the Origin closed her eyes, contemplating the task.
“Not as things stand now. Unless variables are introduced, there is no fate that exists for that monster to be destroyed before its new weapon is completed.” She spoke up with a shake of her head, surprising me.
“None at all? Not even a spontaneous supernova or black hole?” I asked in surprise, and the Origin gave me an amused smile.
“You do not seem to realize the true scale of your foe, Dale.” She spoke gently. “If the star of your Earth were to go supernova inside of its mouth, it might think that it had eaten some spicy food at most. If you were lucky, you could give its tongue a blister like that, before it disregarded the event and moved on. As for a black hole… this is a beast that moves hundreds of light years every hour. It could pass through a black hole, and it might simply get a bruise. You might think that it was so big that its eyes would shine like the sun, but the sun would barely fit in the gaps between its teeth.”
“No, if you want a fate to exist where this creature is slain, it will require something present that can cause it real harm. If you were to randomly fire Avengers into that universe, it would give at least some possibility, but the fate would be so remote that I would have to overdraft myself just to force it to occur.”
I pursed my lips, about to ask if there was nothing that could be done, before the Origin spoke again. “Set your new shadow upon this world. This king of the enemy is so massive, so fast, that its every movement within the void would cause ripples to be seen. Once that is done, you can dispatch a few Avengers, though whether that will be enough I cannot say.”
“You don’t think that even the Avenger could do it?” I asked in shock, and the Origin simply chuckled.
“If the range of the Avenger covers an area where a vital organ passed through, it could cripple the beast. Otherwise, it will be wounded, but it will also become wary, taking the chance to hide and lick its wounds. I will do my part to help your shadow find its trail, but man must play a role for fate to prosper.”
I nodded my head, immediately relaying the orders to Lena. “And, if I may, Dale.” The Origin spoke up, staring at me. “Do not face these monsters as you would those in the past. If you do, you will surely die.”
I couldn’t help but blink, looking at the Origin. “What do you mean?” Granted, I knew that these were stronger than the monsters I was used to facing, but the way she said that made it seem as if there was more to it.
“Even the smallest of these foes can traverse beyond the speeds of light. No matter how fast your reactions may be, if you trust your eyes to fight them, you will be dead before you notice their arrival. You will need to sense them with your divinity, and other exceptional means that do not rely on sight. Furthermore, you will need to use the fullest extent of your own speed. Only then will you be able to avoid a lethal strike.”
Starting to sound a lot like I should avoid entering battle altogether. I thought to myself. I had never really shied away from a fight when it came to me, but there was a limit to what I could do. “It sounds like I’ll need to keep the Speed domain active throughout this invasion, just in case.” I said, to which the Origin agreed.
“That would indeed be wise.” She said, before suddenly pursing her brow.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, and she turned to look off towards the side, her gaze piercing through the void.
“A fate of death is looming over one of your worlds. In under an hour, death will befall Halvar Three, within the Deckan universe. The twin gods stationed there will die first, and all life on that world will cease over the next fifteen minutes.”
My eyes widened, before I blinked in confusion. “Fifteen minutes? Why would it take that long for people to die if one of the world eaters arrived?”
“It’s not the world eater, but the swarm that spawned from it. That swarm is approaching the planet now.”
I gave a firm nod of my head, focusing on sending a message. Udona, I just received reliable information that a swarm of monsters is set to arrive at Halvar Three within the hour. If nothing changes, everyone there will die. Additionally, these monsters can consume their victims while they are alive to take on their characteristics and abilities. It’s imperative that we don’t allow them that chance to evolve.
Halvar Three? Let me look… that planet has been put under the jurisdiction of Thessa and Theon Grid. They are some of the oldest gods, and are rather powerful. Are you sure that they will fall so easily?
This information came directly from the Origin of Fate. I told her, to which Udona immediately fell silent.
I understand. I’ll dispatch additional forces immediately. Do you have anyone that you can send?
I thought about that for a moment, before nodding. I do. Priscilla has been training an elite unit of my creation. This will be a good trial run for them. I’ll have her immediately report to you.
Given the timing of this attack, I thought back to what Pierce had said previously. He had told me that the first attack confirmed would be in another thirteen hours. Did it take half a day for us to register that the planet had been destroyed, or was there something else going on?
Priscilla quickly flew towards the Ashtanu palace, with one thousand Holy Knights flying behind her in formation. She arrived to find Udona already waiting, Aurivy standing at her side. “Lady Goddesses, I have come to answer the Keeper’s call.” Priscilla answered, bowing towards the duo.
“Normally, I’d tell you to relax with the formalities, but we’re short on time.” Aurivy said, stepping forward. “I’m going to assume that you were briefed on the mission on the way here.” She said as golden mist began to surround Priscilla and the one thousand Holy Knights.
Priscilla nodded her head firmly. She wasn’t a goddess herself, but she was the Priestess of the Keeper. She had several powers that would allow her to fight at a divine level, or in this case, command such a battle.
When the golden mist rose over her body, she found herself standing high in the sky, floating in the air. A pair of halflings were before her, who she immediately recognized as the Grid siblings. Theon looked to have an arrogant expression, though she could detect the anxiety hidden in his gaze, while Thessa looked relieved at the sight of the Holy Knights.
“Are you our reinforcements?” Thessa asked, looking at Priscilla.
“I am.” Priscilla nodded her head. “I am the Priestess of the Keeper, and these are the Holy Knights that I have been training in his name. Each one can be considered a god, though they do not fear death.”
Thessa nodded her head, staring up at the sky. “I’ve been using my divinity since I heard what was coming. They’ll be here in five minutes. Currently, they are flying on a… the best way to describe it is a giant meatball the size of a small continent, filled with small holes.”
“Have you tried to snipe them from here, since you have seen the enemy?” Priscilla asked, and Thessa gave another nod.
“I did, but I don’t have any arrows that can eliminate them all in one shot. If the ‘ship’ isn’t entirely destroyed, it just comes back together. I think the ship itself might be made up of the bodies of these creatures, or be a separate monster in its own right.”
Priscilla simply nodded her head at that, moving to fly into space with the Holy Knights. Long Ranged Corps, step forward! She commanded mentally, and one hundred Holy Knights broke free of the formation to form a line. Each of these knights had been given abilities that could function at an extreme range.
Targeting Units! Assist the Long Ranged Corps. She said next, and three more knights came forward. These were the knights with the domains of Sight, Discovery, and Tracking. Each of them used their own abilities to lock onto the enemy location, and share that information with the other knights, as well as Priscilla herself.
Priscilla was taken aback when she saw the form of the enemy. Thessa wasn’t joking when she compared it to a meatball, as the entire thing looked like a wadded up ball of flesh. Looking closely, she could see winged creatures flying in and out of its many holes. They were… abominations was the only word that came to mind. They had large, muscular builds covered in fur, like an ape. Wings like those of a bat stretched out from their back for several meters, but… the most horrifying thing was their mouth, which ran vertically along the entire length of their body. It was covered in black teeth, and released a sickening, green glow.
Long Ranged Corps… fire at will. Annihilate the enemy. She commanded, and one hundred abilities were launched. Space distorted, flames erupted, arrows rained from all directions. Each of these abilities were enough to destroy a country. While she would have liked to have made even more powerful attacks for them, she had nowhere to test such destructive forces safely.
After the attacks landed, there was a moment of stillness as Priscilla waited to see the results. Because of the release of divine energy, the Targeting Units had to locate the enemies once again.
Soone, Priscilla saw the writing mass of what remained of that ‘meatball’. There were thousands of monsters still visible, throwing themselves on the wounds that had been inflicted upon it, and seeming to explode in green pus. Wherever these monsters exploded, the living vessel would heal itself.
Eventually, although it had become smaller, and slower, it had been repaired. Priscilla knew that there wasn’t enough time to launch another bombardment, so she issued another order. All units! Prepare for a defensive battle! Do not allow one enemy to breach our line! As she shouted that mental command, she held her arms out to either side, retrieving a pair of blades that shimmered with a golden luster.
