Nikos Papadopoulos finished his speech and looked self-satisfied as he cast a victorious glance at his ideological rival. It seemed that this pompous individual had just earned more points in his favor.

After a few minutes, the speaker requested silence, and the murmurs in the hall gradually quieted down.

“I understand that many of you may already be inclined to choose one of the projects, but before we proceed to the vote, I would like to conduct a trial, pitting the two approaches against each other to determine which proves more advantageous. What do the project leaders think about this? Arnold Schwarzkopf, you have the floor.”

Finally, I heard the name of my main competitor. Yesterday, he managed to cover everything without introducing himself.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen. I think a simple duel will clarify everything. And to be fair, I suggest putting two groups of opponents against each other, each with the same production cost.” - With these words, Arnold smirked at me.

“What do you have to say about this proposal, Samael Tamuz?”

“I’m afraid that if we maintain such a ratio, we would have to face one and a half robots for every million of my soldiers. After all, vritas can create their bodies literally from dirt. They don’t need expensive factories, transportation, or skilled personnel. Life can sustain itself.” - I returned the disdainful smirk to the local terminator. – “However, I agree to a slight handicap on my part. My team of eight vritras against eight hundred terminators. I’m sure the final score will be eight hundred to zero.”

Schwarzkopf turned red with anger and seemed ready to throw a punch, but he managed to compose himself after a few seconds and even forced a crooked smile.

“Wonderful! No one twisted your arm. My institute has enough prototypes to start this laughable contest.”

“Don’t worry about that.” - The speaker interjected. – “We’ve already delivered all the research stations to orbit around the planet. The competition will begin on the military range in two hours. Will you be able to provide your participants by then?” - He addressed me.

“Of course. My bodyguards will handle this simple task.”

All present turned their gaze to my eight minions, who were successfully pretending to be furniture near the entrance to the presidium.

The meeting ended, and I was escorted to a separate room. To my surprise, Papadopoulos was already waiting for me there.

“Mr. Nikos, what a pleasant surprise.” - I greeted him.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Samael. I have little time, so I’ll be brief. Do you still remember our conversation from three years ago?”

“Of course. I understand that the current sentiments in the Council are a result of your hard work. I can grant you immortality at any time, after which you can repeat the process with any of your supporters.”

Papadopoulos’s eyes gleamed dangerously.

“Can you do it right now?”

“I can. But I would recommend that you first take care of properly disposing of your old body and securing the materials for creating a new one.”

“Yes, you’re right.” - The schemer calmed down. – “Can you provide me with equipment that I can use for the conversion myself?”

“Equipment? I’ll need to think about it.”

I considered how to organize such a feat. The main problem was extracting the soul from the body and embedding it into a crystal. Without proper control, it was quite possible to 'resurrect' the wrong entity, which would be quite unfortunate. Finally, I formed a design in my mind that, through a fusion of magic and technology, could perform the function of a 'gutting device' but would be compact enough.

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“I need a disposable item. Some electronic device weighing a couple of kilograms.”

Nikos paused for a second, then addressed his guards.

“Bring the microwave from the break room.”

Five minutes later, I received the specified item. It had only a small amount of the silicon I needed, so I had to 'consume' a computer monitor as well. To avoid alarming the people around me with the literal consumption of technology, I simply absorbed it into my body, where it was disintegrated into atoms by the spell systems supporting my existence. After that, I spent about ten minutes synthesizing the required device and embedding the necessary spells into it.

Finally, I extracted a wide metal cylinder from my abdomen, somewhat resembling a large plate about ten centimeters thick. In the center of this device, a crystal of souls glowed faintly.

“Lie on your back, place it on your chest with the crystal facing up, and keep your hand on the crystal for one minute. There should be enough building material for the new body nearby. You will obtain the organic matter from your own body, so you will need additional silicon and aluminum. The crystal synthesis program and the human conversion spell are already embedded in the future vessel of your soul.”

“Thank you.” - Papadopoulos reached out with trembling hands to take the device eagerly. A predatory expression appeared on the face of the Council member. – “I believe that after the conversion of my supporters, the Council will face a terrorist attack by vampires, after which your project will be unanimously accepted.”

“Good luck.” - I nodded, watching the quickly departing future Council speaker. He didn’t even look back, rushing forward with the persistence of a locomotive. Heh, it looks like my victory is a foregone conclusion. All that’s left is to crush the opponent into the dirt, and I can bask in the glory.

The military base greeted us with uneven gray walls, devoid of any decoration. Apparently, the building had been constructed just a few hours earlier. This was evident from the portable tactical complex displaying the map of the training ground. Through the window, one could see rows of humanoid robots neatly lined up. Another handful of these tin cans, painted in a slightly different color, were inside the building, serving as bodyguards for my opponent. It seemed that he, too, had faced some resistance in the form of assassination attempts.

Besides us, the room also held military representatives who would monitor the progress of the confrontation. The Council observed us remotely, not bothering to get off their comfortable chairs. A middle-aged man in a medal-adorned uniform approached and began the briefing.

“So, Arnold Schwarzkopf, Samael Tamuz, everything is ready for the trials. You will need to deploy your forces to the designated points on the map, after which I will give the command to start the battle. You may use any weaponry and tactics. The training ground will be covered by a powerful force field, so you don’t need to worry about collateral damage. The barrier can withstand even a hundred-megaton nuclear explosion. Unfortunately, it poorly transmits electromagnetic radiation, so it can be considered a night fight. We will be monitoring the situation using remote observation tools. However, as you understand, these tools may be destroyed by stray fire. The most reliable means of observation is the spatial scanner. But it can only provide tactical information, not imagery. This is a battle to the death, so the use of waiting and ambush tactics should be limited. Any combat unit can remain camouflaged for no more than two minutes at a time, after which there must be a one-minute break. The objective for both sides is to reach this circle, one hundred meters in diameter, and then destroy any opponents inside. If a combat unit can enter the circle but does not do so, it will be considered out of the fight. If a soldier enters the circle but exits for more than ten seconds, they will also be deemed defeated. If I tell you that someone is out of the fight, you must order that unit to cease attack and retreat beyond the circle. Any questions?

I glanced at my opponent.

“What constitutes a sign that the opponent is unable to continue the fight?” - He asked.

“Absence of active offensive activity for two minutes.”

“No more questions.”

The general looked at me.

“They just need to go and destroy anything that looks like a robot. What questions could there be? It’s a five-minute task.”

The military man nodded and gave the command to deploy the troops. Arnold began fiddling with some wrist gadget, which presumably allowed him to control the robots. I, on the other hand, connected with my team via telepathic communication. Within ten minutes, all preparations were complete, and a hemisphere of darkness rose above the training ground.

One of the officers approached us to give a brief explanation.

“This force field is called the Shield of Darkness. Its darkening function is a method of protection against light-based damaging factors, such as during a nuclear explosion or laser radiation. Since it’s daytime, the sunlight activates this function of the barrier, concealing the happenings from us. At night, however, it is almost transparent, allowing us to observe events in the optical range.

“Ten seconds to readiness.” - Announced the voice of the operator managing the tactical complex.

I watched the screen with interest while simultaneously receiving information from my troops through the telepathic channel. The barrier did not affect the effectiveness of this communication method.

Oak gave the command, and his entire group dashed forward. The surrounding area was shrouded in impenetrable darkness, but a very small amount of light still penetrated the dome, allowing their super-sensitive eyes to provide a reasonably clear picture. The terrain was rugged. Bushes and trees interspersed with deep craters with molten edges and small hills with steep slopes.