I let Bihena play with Balu for a while as I processed the information that she had given me. There was a lot that I needed to think about in terms of my plan for the invasion. However, I was quite thankful to have come here and gotten this information in the first place. If I was caught completely unprepared against a force of this size, I could have very easily lost one of my primary worlds.
Eventually, I called Balu back, and paid her the points for the information. My brow twitched slightly when she thought that I had only asked for the first tier of information on UpperLevel, but I still paid her appropriately for the one that she gave me. I wasn’t about to rip off a friend just because she had a bad memory. Additionally, Balu allowed me to copy the information sphere and take my copy back with me, which would let me pass it on to the others upon my return.
When I did get back to my Admin Room, Udona and Ashley were both waiting for me with serious expressions. At first, I was worried that something had happened in my absence. After all, I hadn’t paused the world like I usually do when I leave. Instead, I trusted my companions to be able to take care of things without me around for a little while.
“What’s wrong?” I asked the two of them, who simply blinked at the question.
“We should be asking you that.” Udona pointed out. “You just went to learn about the enemy, right? Ryone said our balance dropped by about ten thousand, so did you learn anything important?”
Ahh, so it was that. I nodded my head at that, holding out the information orb that I had purchased from Balu. “Everything you need to know is inside. Make sure that everyone studies this in the next few days, since this will likely not be an easy round. Do your best to coordinate and prepare so that we can suffer minimal casualties. While I was making the copy, I put in my thoughts for a plan.”
“While you all study this, I’m going to get started on my own preparations.” I said, immediately descending down into the world.
Tower sat in his office, clenching his fist as he felt the trace of a new divinity flowing through him. It had been roughly two and a half months since he had met the serpentine god and learned the method for him to gain a new domain. Now, Tower could feel the effects of the new domain flowing within his body.
The Domain that he had acquired after careful consideration was Construction. This would make it vastly easier for him to do things such as creating his dungeon or managing the prisons for his monster gods. At the same time, it was not as all-encompassing as the Creation domain, meaning that his divinity would be more focused and efficient.
Just as he was thinking of going to test out his new domain, the space warped in front of him. Tower’s eyes focused on the golden mist that erupted across the desk from himself, recognizing it as his Mother’s divinity. If she had brought someone to see him, then it was likely to be very important.
His hand lowered, waiting for the mist to clear, before recognizing the figure of the Keeper now seated across from himself. “Sir, to what do I owe this visit?” Tower asked, having never been personally visited by the Keeper before.
“I have a rather large favor to ask of you.” The Keeper said with a faint nod. “One that could inconvenience you quite a lot, but I need to ask for your cooperation.”
Tower’s head tilted slightly, expressing his confusion. “What favor do you ask that would inconvenience me so? Are you wishing me to open my dungeon to the masses of your world?”
“Huh? No, actually, we have something in the works to help your dungeon race. You can look forward to it, though I don’t know exactly when it will happen.” The Keeper took a deep breath before explaining. “In the coming weeks, we are likely going to be facing a powerful enemy. This is the sort of enemy who appears in droves, bringing with them numerous hostile gods.”
“In order to fight them without risking the destruction of my worlds, I need to take something from you. I believe that you refer to him as your ‘End Boss’?”
Tower paused briefly, contemplating that. “I see… you want the power of the God of Endings? It’s true that it will be quite difficult to replace him within my dungeon. Until now, I have kept him purely as a safety precaution, just in case something appeared that I was unable to handle with my other forces. In truth, he is quite troublesome to control, and I have to keep him unconscious at most times to prevent him from using his power. May I ask what it is you wish to do with him?”
“I need to kill him.” The Keeper spoke bluntly, surprising Tower. “If I kill him, I can turn him into an item that represents the purest form of his power. Not simply his domain, but his legend, the essence of his soul.”
“Killing him… that is quite the arduous task that you have assigned yourself. Very well, I assume that you have come prepared to see it through?” While it was difficult for Tower to replace the final boss of his dungeon, that did not necessarily mean that he was in a hurry to do so. If anything, he was thankful to have that troublesome fellow out of his dungeon, as it took far too much of his energy to keep him restrained. He could worry about finding a new final boss when his powers had grown enough to keep a similar being in check.
“That’s right.” The Keeper nodded his head. “I am well aware of how powerful he is, and that is why I am here.”
Tower gave a small nod, standing up from his desk. He lifted a hand, opening a golden portal next to himself. “I shall accompany you, and make sure that he does not awaken before your preparations are completed.”
The Keeper gave a small smile, seeming to appreciate that. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, his body seeming to shimmer with reflective surfaces. Only after he had done so did he walk towards the portal, entering the very core of Tower’s world together with the crystal avatar.
At the center of the world, thousands of chains stretched inwards from every corner of the massive opening, holding the figure of a red-scaled dragon firmly secured and suspended within the air. The dragon’s six wings were wrapped around its body, seeming quite used to the chains holding it in place, and even comfortable in the way that it slept.
If you are going to act, it would be best to do so before it stirs. Tower spoke, transmitting his voice directly to the Keeper in order to avoid waking the slumbering giant
The Keeper glanced around the large cave, seeming to take in the full scale of the creature he was aiming to subdue. Once he was done with that, he nodded his head, clasping his hands together and focusing. Tower could feel the three domains of Illusion, Souls, and Mirrors surging, together with an almost unfathomable amount of divine energy.
The dragon began to shift within the chains, straining against them as a mirror formed beneath it. Who is it, this time? A booming voice entered the minds of Tower and the Keeper, showing that the dragon was awakening. A strong one… you will make a good meal.
“Sorry, but I’m not on the menu.” The Keeper said, bringing his hands apart and causing the mirror beneath the dragon to rapidly expand, soon becoming wider than the massive beast itself. A golden light shone up from the mirror, and the dragon began visibly struggling against the chains.
What? Tower, have you betrayed me? There was clear anger in its tone, and Tower was sure that it would unleash its own divine power. One word from the dragon god, fueled by the force of its divinity, would be enough to destroy the planet that he had built.
Thankfully, he felt the chains going slack, the body of the dragon abruptly disappearing. The Keeper rushed forward, shrinking the mirror and placing his hand on it.
I had to act fast. Cracks were already beginning to form in the mirror, and the dragon was no longer being restrained. Unlike when I had done this to the Mountain King, I didn’t have the time to carefully consider each legend that this dragon possessed. I needed to look at the list and immediately choose the correct one.
My divinity surged to repair the mirror even as the dragon god tried to break out of it, his divinity powerful enough to have pushed my own back, had I not been using my Keeper powers for this. As our powers clashed, I looked over at the list of legends that began to appear.
|
Slumbering Beast Final Boss One Who Speaks the End Devourer of Gods Shackled God Lonely Lord Planet Smasher Suneater |
The list kept going on and on, more legends appearing the longer I looked. There were two that were rather attractive, those being Final Boss and One Who Speaks the End. Final Boss was likely an overall boost of abilities, maybe something that enhanced me in relation to my opposition. If I had more time, I might have chosen Final Boss.
However, the power I came here for was best represented by One Who Speaks the End. Thus, that was the legend I chose. The moment I did so, the dragon began to scream in pain, its soul being ripped from its body. Its divinity flared, pitting everything it had against me.
I grit my teeth, cracks beginning to spread along the surface of the mirror, reappearing as fast as I could seal them. The energy from our collision spread out, and I could feel the world shaking around us.
Eventually, the dragon’s struggles became sluggish, allowing me to press the advantage. Once that was done, it slowly began to fall to the ground, its body dissolving into golden dust that scattered within the mirrored world.
I let out a deep sigh as I shaped the remnant soul into the form of a bracer. It looks like using this power on an energy being pulls them entirely into the mirror world. That’s good to know. When I had done so to the Mountain King, it was only his soul that was pulled in, but this time it was the dragon’s entire body.
Once the bracer had fully taken shape, I withdrew it from the mirror, allowing it to appear on my wrist. The bracer itself was red, covered in a scale pattern and with a black gem decorating it. As I had created this power based on Aki Seppo, I knew that the power of the bracer would be quite wondrous, but I needed to try it out myself.
“Thank you for your assistance, Tower.” I said sincerely, knowing that it would not have been easy to do this without his consent. As I spoke, my mind was probing the bracer, doing my best to understand its basic functions by analyzing its soul while sending a message to Aurivy to take me somewhere where I could test it out.
“Of course, sir.” Tower spoke respectfully, golden mist appearing around my feet once again. It was likely that this would become my new ultimate weapon in the future, depending on the level of its effect.
