Grayson could only wait for the rest of his people to assemble in the main hall. As he did so, he ran a quick headcount through both the guild menu and the people he could see. The mysterious voice had announced a second kill, so he wanted to see who was missing. At the same time, he discretely ordered three of his best script mages to try to devise a spell that would let them regain control of their network.
If they did not chase out whatever digital entity had invaded their computer system, it was only a matter of time before said entity gained access to the base’s defenses. Or worse, simply set the base to self-destruct while disabling the teleporters. Thankfully, there was a manual override for the self-destruct, so that was not as much of a problem, so long as the defenses did not fall as well.
After roughly five minutes, everyone had been gathered. Grayson’s brows furrowed as he double-checked his counting, not finding anyone missing. Was the second kill a bluff to catch us off-guard? Or… is there a second killer hidden among them?
Once one accepted the fact that it was possible for their members to be impersonated, it made little difference whether there was one person with this ability or two. Grayson clutched his fists, his eyes glancing towards his inventory, and the secret weapon within. This was something that he had kept secret even from his own guild, ready to spring as a surprise during a decisive moment. However, after learning more about this world, he had become more reluctant to use this item.
Just as he was thinking about that, he felt a wave of pressure spread throughout the base. His eyes went wide, turning towards the hallway. He wasn’t the only one, as the rest of the guild felt that pressure as well. A moment later, they heard the discharge of their turrets actively working to defend the base.
“Everyone, battle mode, now!” Grayson called out in an urgent tone, going through his inventory to equip anti-divinity, anti-spirit, and anti-magic gear. However, as soon as someone began to move towards the hallway, a steel door slammed shut. And then another in a different hallway, and another, until the main hall was completely isolated.
These doors, designed to entrap enemies and funnel them in the event that the base was breached, were now being turned against them. Worse yet, there was a resounding crash in the distance as one of their turrets were destroyed.
The guild leader grit his teeth, waving a hand. “Display battlefield.” This time, the battlefield which was displayed before him was his own base, rather than a group of planets. He could see five enemies positioned in their teleport bay. Zooming in, he could even identify most of them. Scarlet, the Keeper, the elven girl from before, and Tsubaki were all people he was familiar with on some level.
The only one that he was unfamiliar with was the elven girl with silver hair, wearing a full suit of armor. However, as he was thinking about her identity, he saw a silver gateway opening behind Dana. And, once it was opened, more enemies began to step into the base.
Without a doubt, this was the same type of portal that they had already seen in their previous conflict. And given that, it appeared that they were getting ready for the final battle. With the enemy in the teleport bay, we can’t escape to the next base. If Fleece sends us randomly outside, we’ll be scattered and vulnerable. And that’s assuming she has enough energy potions to take care of all of us.
We need a killbox, somewhere that we can funnel them in and take care of them with our advantage in numbers. Grayson studied the base map as he considered where to best place this killbox. Due to the possibility of the base defenses soon being taken over, it couldn’t be somewhere heavily defended with turrets.
At the same time, though, it had to be able to provide them with ample cover. When he considered the requirements, his eyes focused on one room in particular, the dining hall. “Warriors, bust down the western door!”
As he said that, he pointed towards the door in question. There was a moment of confusion, as he was pointing decidedly away from the sounds of battle. Yet, once they came to their senses, these warriors did just that. Hammers and swords crashed against the reinforced door, slowly whittling away its durability.
At the quickest route, we have to break down three more doors before we reach the dining hall… if the digital entity cooperates with the Keeper, they won’t have any trouble getting through the doors. So, we need to lay traps to delay them…
“Everyone, along the western wall! Mages, fill the room with trap spells! Do not coordinate or give any indication of where you are setting the traps or what type they are! Be as chaotic as possible!”
At this point, there was no need to concern themselves with the possibility of a traitor among them. Everyone was together, so if one person attacked the group, they would earn the immediate attention of the rest of the guild. Instead, it was important to leave as little information as possible for the digital entity to send back to the Keeper.
Soon, the door began to give way, the warriors cleaving out a gap big enough for three people to walk through at a time. Seeing this, Grayson let out a small sigh before issuing his next order. “Lightning mages, lead the way! Prepare to destroy any turrets that turn on us, but only if they start to charge! Everyone else, follow them! Continue laying traps behind us as we move!”
I stood within the teleporter room, watching as Dana sent out one hellspawn after another. There was an unusually cold expression on her face as she commanded them to advance. In the distance, I could hear them fighting with the base’s defenses, and knew that they were little more than cannon fodder in this battle.
“Keeper, I have a report.” Blank’s voice could be heard emerging from the speakers nearby. “The enemy party is retreating to an advantageous position, and scattering traps to delay you along the way.” I could tell that there was something else Blank wanted to mention, but he was holding himself back from saying it.
I could easily find out what that was later. For now, it was more important to take care of the problems at hand. “We’ll let the spirits rush ahead to handle the traps and defenses. Once we encounter the enemy, you should retreat to the main world. Dana, can you bring the portal with us?”
Dana turned to look at me, nodding her head. With that, the five of us began to advance, making sure to not be in the way of the steady stream of spirits. It would seem that their base defenses are actually fairly impressive, as it took on average ten of Dana’s troops to destroy a single turret.
“My Keeper, I ask that you allow us to handle the fighting here.” Tsubaki said in a respectful tone while walking alongside me. “As you said, we can retreat to your position if we are facing danger, but that is only in the event that you yourself are not too busy to protect us. Furthermore, your safety is–.”
I cut her off by raising a hand, shaking my head. “I’ll stay at the rear and provide support fire.” I knew what she wanted to say. If anything were to happen to me, this entire battle would be pointless. However, I couldn’t just sit out of it, either. The Keeper was both the greatest strength of a world as well as its greatest weakness.
Tsubaki smiled, nodding her head at my answer. A bit of tension seemed to leave her body, knowing that I wasn’t going to put myself in needless danger. That thought, however, was cut off by the sounds of numerous explosions in the distance.
My lips curled as I guessed what that meant. Dana’s army had found the traps. I glanced around thoughtfully as we continued advancing, taking note of the busted turrets protruding from the walls and ceilings with scraps of metal hanging off of them. Once the invasion was over, I was definitely going to have Ashley and Tubrock look through these bases. We might even be able to salvage some new technology.
Soon, we reached the main hall, and I saw the torn gate on the far side. It was only now that I noticed that those gates had been closed in the first place, as Blank had no doubt been opening them for us long before it became an issue. “Have they reached their destination yet, Blank?”
“They have just arrived at what appears to be a cafeteria. The spiritual forces are close to their position, and they are currently attempting to fortify themselves. Shall I take my leave, then?”
I nodded in response. If they were going to the cafeteria, then I already knew my way from when I scanned the base previously. Blank would no longer be able to provide significant support, and would only be in danger if they managed to figure out how to target him. As such, it was better to let him go back first.
As I was thinking that, I felt something… rather surprising. A surge of divine energy from up ahead. This wasn’t the power of their priestess, I was sure of that. This surge of energy felt closer to someone ascending to divinity for the first time. An idea that was accompanied by an echoing voice.
“I pledge myself to conquer!” This was without a doubt the voice of their leader, the one that had been at the front of their march earlier. Had he been waiting for the right moment to ascend? More importantly… did their ascension method not require the heart-wrenching pain of remolding their body and soul?
I suddenly felt the urge to beat someone up, if that were the case… though, I can’t imagine it being so without other restrictions being forced on them. Either way, it was clear now that we would be dealing with two gods instead of just one. And one of them would be something akin to a God of Conquest.
“Not good.” Dana’s face scrunched up in annoyance, causing me to look over towards her in surprise. “My soldiers are being taken over by another power, and are fighting each other.” Without hesitation, she cut off the portal following behind us as the wave of divinity fell on us once again.
Those spirits that Dana had brought over, which had previously been charging forward to fight the enemy, suddenly turned and began charging at us instead. For a moment, I myself felt an unnaturally violent impulse, before it was purged by my own divinity. Looking at the group that had come with me, I let out a silent sigh of relief.
Tsubaki and I were both gods, able to naturally resist this compulsion. Likewise, Dana and Leowynn are bound to our spirits, and share a measure of divinity that can protect them. And finally, the one that I was briefly worried about most, Scarlet. It was only after I saw her calm expression that I realized she had protection as well, due to her status as a demigoddess.
Thankfully I didn’t bring Thelsa or anyone else, or they might have already turned on us… I muttered to myself as Dana stepped forward, a furious expression on her face.
“Those are mine.” She growled out, silver mist spreading out from her body. A bestial roar echoed from her small frame, before the mist spread out to attach itself to the charging spirits. Those spirits caught in the mist let out pitiful screams, before their bodies were suddenly shattered.
Note to self, don’t piss off the tiny elf. She can get scary when she wants to.
