Chapter 717: Swarm (1/2)
Chapter 717 Swarm
“How do you power yourself and all the machines you control?” Ilea asked, destructive mana flowing into the Executioners as she pushed against them with her space manipulation. “We’re getting company,” she said to her allies.
“A majority of keys are present. Information access granted. The power source recovered from Kohr was implemented into the design of the One without Form. Other sources have failed to provide the same stability, reach, and complexity,” the being replied.
“That power source is inside the sphere too?” Ilea asked.
“Indeed, key warden. The entire design has gone through several iterations, the final installation made with knowledge of the source. Extensions have been presented to the key wardens and Guilds, implemented upon approval. I am unstoppable, human,” the being spoke.
Sure. As far as I can tell, I just need another five keys. To open up the core at least. The Source would be inside too but Violence seems more interested in the machines coming our way. Can it not detect anything? She assumed the core wasn’t easy to penetrate with any kind of sight, nor easily destroyed. With extensions added by the machine itself? Probably easier to go for the keys either way. Though I do want to see what kind of machines those twelve Guardians are.
“How far did you get with the Ascended programs? Did the Taleen manage to succeed?” she asked next. The Executioners were getting close now.
“Request denied.”
Feels like I only get information on specific topics. Maybe they were excluded for the key wardens and everything not mentioned is just outright denied with the core directive excuse? I guess physical access is really the only option. Or just straight commands with all twelve keys. The fact that the being had been unclear about that part made her more than a little unsure. But if the dwarves had any kind of idea about what they planned to make, she assumed the physical failsafe would work. Otherwise it’s hammering the sphere with destructive healing until the enchantments give. Or getting Iana and Chris access to the thing. Maybe even the Meadow.
Ilea teleported their group back through the corridor, dozens of Executioners digging down towards them. She stopped in the tunnel as soon as no more machines were directly above them. “Probably better or us to fight down here. They won’t be able to use their numbers,” she said, looking at the others.
Kyrian extended his metal. “We do need at least Some space to fight.”
“Give her a minute,” Fey said.
“The void explosion. Right,” the metal mage answered, standing back.
Ilea smiled. She had stored the keys in her domain, the mental link immediately gone with the action. The fact that this measure had an effect suggested the machine wasn’t deceiving her in some way, the keys still having an effect even after all this time. It had to work. And now she knew the golden sphere was the center of it all. They could actually stop the machines.
White flames erupted along the dug corridor, the thing hardly large enough to fit the Executioners, their void magic now breaking through into the dark and cramped space. The light reflected off her eyes, her weight increasing as she raised her hand.
Bright flames rushed down the tunnel, shields flaring up on the way as the machines rushed towards her, Ilea’s allies standing twenty meters behind her. A charged wave of space magic rushed out next, the burning machines crashing against each other as their momentum was stopped. Burning ashen spears followed, shot into the expanding tunnel, void magic taking chunks of the walls with it.
Ilea repeated the same thing, Embered Heart releasing into the convenient tunnel, the first two Executioners already reduced to their cores. She pushed them back with her space manipulation, the next charged beam of flame and heat detonating the first one, a chain reaction following with two more. “I need more mana, hit me with your spells,” she said to her companions. They exchanged a look before she was engulfed in flame, a powerful curse flowing through her being.
Perfect, she thought with a broad smirk, welcoming the first Executioner that had managed to move past, the dug underground tunnel now expanded into a cave with spherical walls. Her approach wasn’t as effective anymore and she started to see more machines coming in from behind, both through the corridor and digging down into it. A wave of arcane healing washed over the machine in a wave, its piercing rapier slapped aside before she advanced, using the large form of the guardian against the enemies joining it from behind.
Ilea turned back and teleported herself and the others through the tunnel, coming out on the other side a few seconds later while avoiding the incoming machines. Praetorians, flying Destroyers, and hundreds of smaller machines were moving towards their position. “Enjoy yourselves, and do call for me should you find yourselves overwhelmed. We’ll meet again in the same hall we arrived in,” she said, watching as Feyrair charged his heat, white flames moving around his arms as he took in the surrounding army. “I’ll take on the Executioners,” she sent, seeing Kyrian’s armor thicken, his metal flails appearing around him.
She raised her hand as six portals formed around them, a few hundred arcane arrows striking them simultaneously. None of them hit their targets. Ilea saw the exploding carnage around them through her dominion.
“This is insane. Good luck,” Kyrian said and vanished.
Fey just hissed, giving her a joyous look before he spread his arms, welcoming the next barrage of spells, Ilea already back in the tunnel.
Ashen limbs spread out, heavy steps resounding as she ran, heat gathered in her core. Her wings pushed her forward, only just managing to accelerate her a little. The Primordial Arbiter is here, motherfuckers.
Ilea impacted the first Executioner, its blade melted away under a cone of heat. Its shield cracked, charged punches stripping away the steel, every machine in the way covered in white flame. She closed her hand when the core became visible, its shield cracking under the charged space magic before the void expanded, leaving eight more enemies without shields, and Ilea with reduced layers of her mantle. Hmm, yes. Mana.
She didn’t stop, moving forward into the burning tunnel, entirely lost in the fight. Two minutes passed, eighteen Executioners destroyed and her enhanced precognition activating once, one of them nearly blowing up her brain. She had her mantle broken through several times but no attack destroyed more than a mere third of her body. The void cannons were effective, especially without her defenses up. But all it meant to her was more mana, energy she could put into her expensive charged spells. So far it seemed the One without Form didn’t understand her absorption. A purely physical approach would’ve likely pushed her back already.
Friend?
The Fae’s voice sounded slightly concerned.
Ilea vanished, teleporting through the tunnel and towards the mark. She found the creature two seconds later inside of a Taleen home, surrounded by Centurions striking against an invisible shield of space magic. Burning ashen limbs cut through them in the blink of an eye, chunks of metal flung aside as she teleported the creature onto her shoulder, healing arcane mana flowing into it.
Appreciate, it said and hugged her armored cheek.
“Sure, little one,” Ilea sent and patted its head, bringing it to another hiding spot before she left again. Her weight lessened as her wings moved her up. It looked like entire sections of the city were on the move now, streams of machines following a bright spot of fast moving white fire, beams cutting through dozens of beings as the elf flew through the tight city streets. In another section Ilea could see a maelstrom of guardians going in and out of a large magical circle, a cylinder of bright green light emanating from the curse mage’s creation. Metal was flung aside as Kyrian moved his flails through the air, each weapon the weight and size of a small car. An appropriate blender for the job at hand.
Both of her allies had to avoid the continuous barrage of arcane arrows, many of them manifesting only just before they struck them. Ilea formed two ashen copies, commanding them to help in case any of them were in serious danger. She saw the first Executioners come out of the building their group had used to dig down initially. Ignoring them, her charged wings brought her to the high cavern walls around the city. Her burning form impacted a Hunter Praetorian with a crash, her spells preventing her from being dazed from the impact, her shock absorption protecting her organs. The enemy shield was broken through instead, the steel form inside crumpled against her resilient and armored body. The following explosion fueled her with more magic.
Ilea saw a large portion of the Hunters aiming at her but she didn’t stop, the arrows starting to impact her in explosions of blue light when the next enemy fell, bits and pieces of steel falling down towards the distant ground, the arcane sphere emanating from its destroyed core failing to catch her flying form. She moved through the retreating masses, far too fast for them to flee. Teleporting along the wall, she set machines on fire, her beams cutting through their shields and armor with ease, her strikes shattering their defenses as her mantle continuously regenerated.
She had to stop when the Executioners reached her once again, teleporting past them as they attempted to surround her flying form. She had no trouble facing them inside of a tunnel but with enough open space, their coordination became deadly. She teleported a few times, landing on one of the destroyers with high velocity, her horned skull cutting through the metal carapace before she broke out on the other side. Her eyes narrowed on the massive golden sphere, the One without Form.
A platform surrounded its entire circumference. Distant Taleen machines stood on top of it in regular intervals. Twelve in total. They remained motionless as she approached, some armed with weapons, others without.