Some types of power were about perception. Whoever or whatever you perceived as having dominion over you would have power over you, no matter if that was a factual truth. For instance, a dog wouldn't defy the one holding its collar if it had been trained to obey, no matter if circumstances made it harmless for the animal to do so.
Thus, any organization needed to portray itself as well as possible. It was a matter of survival. Some kingdoms bowed to empires yet needed to make their populace understand they were the local rulers. That could be achieved through multiple means, the easiest of which was through demonstrations of violence and authority, closely followed by architecture.
Vallesh had been built to awe and entice.
The United Research Institute sent a single message: power.
The colossal bastion fort stuck out in the desert like a mirage. Its white and silvery metal walls were thick, enchanted, and hundreds of yards high, each displaying the League's golden coat of arms. Equally enchanted turrets, cannons, railguns, man-sized crystal pyramids, and tiny slits for mages to cast spells from littered the surface. Each of the pentagonal structure's walls had more weapons than an entire army might wield.
A dozen yards above the walls floated countless reverse pyramids, big and small. They were beam weapons. They were pointed in all directions, ready to attack an approaching foe or even shoot down incoming attacks.
Above those came dozens of hovercars, then attack helicopters, then a few jet fighters, all ready to react to any threat. If an enemy could counter one of the tools of war, the Institute had others prepared to make up for it. The hovercars weren't meant for transport like the ones Arthur had seen in North Lake. Instead, they were much more heavily armored and enchanted, and carried more weapons, from missiles to turrets to cannons to beam weapons.
Speaking of missiles, there were plenty of launchers on the other side of the walls, too, both mobile and permanent. They could deliver projectiles of all sizes.
Hundreds of five-yard-wide spheres of metal and glass floated and flew everywhere above and around the Institute. Each was manned by a single person. They weren't armored beyond whatever enchantment they had, mere scouts, sentries that would never miss anyone approaching.
Lastly, hundreds of armored level 10 awakeners stood above and inside the walls, especially surrounding the place's entrance. The fifty-yard-long tunnel wasn't small, as thirty hovercars could simultaneously go through its rectangular shape, but it wasn't as massive as the rest of the fortifications.
While the walls were fifty yards thick, some places had corridors and were more vulnerable than others. Still, Arthur could feel there was, at most, a single corridor on any floor. Any attack would have to go through at least forty yards of metal.
The entrance tunnel had a dozen thick hatches that could be quickly closed. It was also filled with weapons, especially the automated turrets and the pyramid-shaped energy beam shooters, on top of whatever offensive enchantment they had that could be triggered on demand. There were no fewer than three checkpoints in the tunnels with weaker metal barriers that rose from the ground, and trying to fly above the walls would see any unauthorized person immediately tagged as an enemy and attacked.
While it might look at first glance as if the place's troops were on high alert, the Tome of Laws had explained this was the Institute's routine defense. They did not want anyone to think they could invade the dungeon it protected. At least, not unless the invader was willing to pay the price.
"Wow," Sophie breathed as soon as they laid eyes on the structure.
Arthur agreed with her sentiment for more reasons than aesthetics. The Tome hadn't explained how the place was a spectacle of magitech under the hood. He felt an incredibly complex web of mercury "wires" and highly advanced computers connected to everything. Moreover, even the personnel ready to forward commands and control the troops was a logistics marvel, as were the high amounts of well-preserved ammunition ready to be used at any moment. Everyone wore wireless earbuds that should not work in such a high-density mana zone. Yet, they did work because the entire fortress was filled with tiny metal tablets that replicated the wireless signal up to a dozen feet. The flying troops still had to use light signals, though.
A single command from someone in charge, and in mere seconds, death would be raining on any enemy.
The prince had never seen so much potential for destruction in a single place. Feeling all the death in the intent of that many weapons and enchantments for the first time took his breath away for a few seconds.
This single fortress was enough for anyone to understand why the Free Fate Movement dreaded attacking the League...
...and voidsteel explained why they thought they might have a chance.
The League had been wise enough to compartmentalize the walls' enchantments. That way, a single voidsteel projectile couldn't unmake everything. Yet, a rain of voidsteel shards could render everything useless. It only took a single touch. Size didn't matter.
Then again, the structure was also filled with heat enchantments that automatically reacted to voidsteel. If his Mana Sight could see the lack of mana in a place, the proper enchantments should also be able to do so, and he had once entertained the idea that magitech could be developed to somehow detect and react to the alloy. After his enlightenment in the forest, he had been sure it was technically possible, but not whether anyone had discovered the means. He no longer had any doubt. Thanks to his Sage's Eyes, he knew what some individual runes did just from looking at them and could link some meanings together.
Fate, that place was such a wonder.
Still, there was no perfect defense against treachery. Enough infiltrated people with voidsteel in spatial storage could do a lot of damage. It was imperative to filter those people from the troops manning the place.
If all that failed... Well, that's why the walls were so thick and the entrance relatively small. Ground troops could still fight for a while. And there was only so much voidsteel to shoot before every shard was melted away by firemancers or support tools and instantly disappeared into thin air.
And yet.
And yet, none of that was enough to stop Graham.
Even if every single weapon targeted the grand knight, he would prevail. Arthur estimated that no enchantment should have more power than he would expect from the average level 35 awakener of his time. He only had his spells and his people's skills to use as reference—and what he got from the individual runes and mana moving about when using his Sage's Eyes on them—but he doubted his guess was too far off.
Being capable of such enchantments was impressive. Moreover, magitech had the added advantage of drawing from the laws of physics and the wonders of technology for an extra punch. For instance, he had read about the theory for railguns, but here, he saw such weapons for the first time. Still, there was a limit to how much that could accomplish. Strong awakeners had been irreplaceable in the past, and they clearly still were.
When awakeners fought, quality mattered more than quantity. Sure, a higher number of weak attacks wasn't useless, but none of those attacks could even go through Graham's armor. At least, not at first. Graham couldn't stand before those walls of doom forever because any enchantment consumed its runes to sustain itself and would eventually stop working. But even then, it should take weeks at those attacks' power level, and he didn't need to stand there anyway. He just needed to survive the first few salvos as he approached the enemy.
The thing was, the League probably didn't know that. Not entirely. Arthur was sure of that because seeing this place finally let him understand some of the League's actions.
Some types of power were about perception, which could work even against the supposedly stronger party. The visual of this fortress was impressive. Perhaps Joint Command had been beguiled by its own hubris.
Arthur didn't have such misgivings. When he looked at the fort, he saw a wonderful, finely crafted, incredibly shiny toy. And like any toy, he could easily crush it. He could render all magitech weaponry within his domain useless and kill people without ever using any intent strings. He could defend himself with domain and mana, and while his robe wasn't as defensively good as a grand knight's armor, it should be able to deal with some attacks here and there.
If anything, this splendid sight only made him extra aware of his actual power. In this high-mana region, he would only be defeated if he messed up and let voidsteel pierce his body.
Speaking of voidsteel, the past days had been filled with Sophie and reading. He had always had something more important to do than conduct a simple but crucial test, but he couldn't delay it anymore. He pulled over to the side of the road and took the case with the Equalizer sword.
"Archie?" Sophie asked, worried.
"I need to test something," the price replied. "Pull my arm away at once if I can't do it for some reason."
Arthur had yet to change his clothes, which he meant as a statement of how he didn't fear the League. It also made it more convenient to touch the Equalizer's scabbard voidsteel with the very tip of his finger. He was already pulling his arm back even before he touched the dark alloy.
Touching voidsteel instantly halved an awakener's stats. The prince felt it at once. His body got weaker, and his thoughts became harder. There was suddenly too much mana in his body, and the surplus simply left him. Things controlled by his traits, like his thinking speed or lifespan, weren't affected, but his ability to form logical conclusions or regenerate suffered. Intelligence was the worst, as he suddenly didn't have enough space in his mind for all his knowledge, and he felt like his brain wanted to explode. It was made worse because all his passive spells immediately dissipated, including the one that had replaced the Expanded Memory skill.
There were there reasons he didn't become a babbling buffoon there and then.
First, he found that his traits weren't affected by the alloy. Second, neither were his domains. Third, he used his life authority to improve his mind.
It was dangerous to mess with his brain like that, but the sudden crisis gave him no choice. Arthur willed his brain to be better at holding information. His 60% life comprehension prevented him from losing knowledge or having a stroke. The knowledge he used for that went beyond what he had once thought possible with pure biology. It was almost arcane.
Once he stopped touching the alloy, he was quick to prehend his body and use mana to reform his skills, as his stats didn't immediately return when he pulled his finger back. They would recover slowly throughout the following few minutes. He didn't need his passive spells to survive but saw no reason to risk more than the bare minimum in this test.
After his intelligence, the worst part had been his domains' loss of range, which was connected to his intent string's reach, which in turn took advantage of some passive spells. Still, he could deal with it even if it happened mid-battle. He only had to be ready to use his life domain on himself.
The experiment ended up as a partial success. The prince had thought his passive spells would keep going despite him touching voidsteel but had been wrong on that. On the other hand, he had been right in his firm belief that he would be able to keep using his domain. Without almost absolute certainty of that, he wouldn't have attempted it.
There had been a real danger of him dying or suffering irreversible brain damage, but he needed to find out now how the alloy would affect him, not in the middle of a battle. If he was so easily defeated, it was best to find out about it now, for his and his people's benefit. They also had to know how far they could trust him in combat.
As things stood, he was confident only a sneak attack posed any danger, and he probably wouldn't be rendered useless even with voidsteel inside his body.
But he was far from unbeatable, and he'd better keep that in mind.
He looked at Sophie, who was staring concernedly at him, and smiled. He was at his most vulnerable while he slept, but he trusted her. She needed to know about it, though, to avoid ever killing him by mistake while he rested. A prank using voidsteel sounded as impossible as it would be moronic, but he had been trained never to leave things to chance.
"Done," he said as he stored the case with the scabbard back into his spatial storage. "Let us just wait for my stats to return so we can visit the Institute. Tamara, Graham, I need you to deafen yourselves to my next words." He felt them do so at once, though the currently dutifully defiant grand knight didn't need to. Then, the prince approached Sophie's ear and whispered, "Voidsteel doesn't deny all of my magic, only most of it, but I'll die if it touches me while I'm unconscious." He was an ascender, but such weakness was unique to him.
Sophie's eyes widened, and he winked at her before gesturing for Graham and Tamara to restore their hearing.
"You were right, Tamara," Arthur said. "I was being too petty by hiding my level and power from the League. I think a demonstration is in order."
The prince expected the maid to try to talk sense into him, but she only chuckled. He expected Sophie to fear for his life, but while she became worried, she was also excited. He expected Graham to prioritize his liege's safety, but interest surfaced through the knight's emotional troubles.
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Arthur laughed to himself. His worries had been misplaced. Tamara saw him as some finely crafted genetically engineered living weapon. Sophie was proving herself to be an adrenaline addict. And Graham would want nothing more than to distract himself with a fight.
Fate, these people would probably follow him to certain death with a smile on their faces.
It also helped that they had spent ten years in a dungeon. Arthur didn't just see a toy that could be easily crushed; he saw a toy that defied him. And in a dungeon, all opposition was to be squelched at once.
He said, "I was going to tell you to stand back, but it looks like I would need to tie you down to keep you from the festivities." Graham didn't even need to obey him, either.
They didn't reply. There was no need to. It would also be very rude to admit they would disregard him.
"Tamara, go tell them I demand entry. Don't ask for it; be forceful." That was petty, but after all the tests the League had offered him, it was time for him to test them back. "I want them to resist even if they don't want to for the mere fact that we're challenging their authority—"
Before he could continue with his glorious battle plans, one of the manned metal and glass balls approached and spoke through external speakers: "High Lord Boria and associates, the United Research Institute welcomes you. Do you need assistance with your vehicle?"
The four people in the car deflated at those words.
It was still Arthur's right to test the League, but attacking them after they offered help like this and had already extended their hospitality would be too rude. The level 5 awakener in the flying ball wasn't exactly polite, but his tone was just a non-nonsense one usually found among soldiers, not offensive. Insisting on his plans after this would go beyond pettiness into almost criminal territory.
The prince sighed. "We're fine, just talking," he replied with a conversational voice, confident the spherical vehicle had ways to heighten his voice. "Can you lead us to the guest quarters?"
"One moment." Lights flashed in the sphere, then in one of the multiple light towers above the walls, before the pilot replied, "Yes. Follow me." It turned and floated away.
"Well," Arthur said as he turned the car on. "I'm sure we'll get a chance to fight eventually." He followed the soldier.
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Arthur woke up feeling exhausted. He knew he should've saved his strength for the dungeon delve, but he had also sworn to himself to make this night memorable for Sophie. She deserved it.
Memorable didn't even begin to describe their night. The pure bliss in Sophie's face and brain when she went to sleep in complete exhaustion—she was an awakener!—attested to that. Her smile of sheer joy when he woke her up now was further evidence.
"Fate," she whispered. "Was that real?"
Arthur chuckled. "Do you think a dream can be that good?"
"Fate, no. No." Sophie sighed. "I didn't think anything could ever be that good. I mean, I hoped. I asked for it. But I never knew."
The prince laughed again. There was a unique flavor of pride in making your lover this happy. He would never get tired of it. In fact, he liked it even more than the physical sensations that had been equally mind-blowing for him. Not that he would be willing to let go of the physical pleasure, of course. He wasn't that selfless.
"Now we know," he said. "And I promise to endeavor with equivalent effort when we return."
Sophie immediately stood up and righteously declared, "What are we waiting for?! We have a dungeon to kill! The world depends on us!"
Arthur laughed once more and used his life domain to grab her body and lay her back down. He hadn't vocally told her what his domain was, but after he used it to improve her stats, there was no longer a need to hide it from her when they were alone. Also, he loved the surprise, wonder, and pride she felt when he flexed his powers on her.
He got on top of her and kissed her lips. "It's still eight AM, and I can walk very fast," he whispered, looking into her eyes. "That gives us fifty-nine minutes until the nine AM deadline I gave the League."
"Make it fifty-nine minutes and thirty seconds, and we have a deal, milord."
The prince smiled dangerously. "Is that a challenge I hear in your voice, milady?"
Her smile could've outshone the sun. "Yes, milord. Yes, it is."
Sophie lost her challenge, but both won in the end.
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There was a wide clearing behind the Institute's massive walls, then a multitude of hexagonal metal buildings laid into organized rows. Some of them were for military use, but most were for research. While entry into the dungeon was strictly limited, the place had become a pole of all kinds of awakener research.
A few buildings also had tiny apartments for people to live in. The site was not meant to be luxurious. Entertainment was to be had in the closest city, fifty kilometers away. Only a few dinners were allowed in the Institute, and none sold alcoholic beverages, nor was it allowed in the premises. Whoever was in that place was there to do research or protect it, nothing else, and the League wouldn't suffer from distracted people in such an important location.
Arthur and the others had been led to three such apartments. The one he was in with Sophie had a slightly larger bedroom with a double bed and two wardrobes. On top of that, it had a small living room with a table and two armchairs, and a bathroom that was little more than a toilet, a shower, and a sink.
That said, there was no lack of convenient magitech gadgets.
The temperature was controlled by an integrated circuit with a few temperature regulators, similar to the ones in the League branch he had visited. The one-inch cubes were spread throughout the house, but unlike in the branch, a dial on the wall controlled their temperature without the need to swap them for others with a different temperature.
The bedroom and living room had wide, thin televisions with music channels of all genres, one with internal news that kept rolling up, and another with the Institute introduction that kept playing in a loop. Sophie had found she also liked synthwave and metal, the latter of which Arthur found very inspiring for the type of sex she liked.
The TVs could be controlled with a remote, which also allowed the user to easily dim down the windows and roll down the curtains. The table had a telephone and a small book with multiple useful numbers. The wardrobes would iron out any clothes placed inside, and each had an imbued storage safe with instructions on how to set a new password. The armchairs and bed massaged and vibrated, the lights could also be controlled with dials, and a wooden freezer in the living room allowed for cold storage.
The toilet had a warm seat, the shower's water temperature was easily and instantly controlled through another dial, and the shower delivered soap or water at a button press. In fact, a big panel on the shower wall allowed one to select between twelve types of shampoo and three different soaps for all kinds of hair and skin.
Enchantment-wise, that apartment was fit for kings.
Yet, the last guide that had led them to that place had been apologetic about providing them such subpar accommodations.
"I'm very sorry," the young woman in the League's white uniform had said. "This time of the year is usually slow, so we took the chance to renovate most old apartments. The new ones are all occupied. We only left a dozen old ones untouched, just in case. Fate, I feel so embarrassed. To think even someone from Joint Command might sleep in a place like this! I can't even remember the last time I pressed an analog button! I'm so, so sorry."
The digital buttons she preferred were everywhere in the Institute. For instance, they controlled elevators, and on top of the actual button was a small display indicating the floor the elevator was on. Arthur had also seen people using screens to talk to each other, a kind of telephone that also sent and showed images. In fact, everything seemed to have a screen and be controlled by light touches. The attendant even carried a digital tablet with a checklist she was following and many pictures she showed Arthur and the others while introducing the Institute.
The tablet had been interesting because it showed that while advanced magitech seemed to drip down quickly in the Institute, there were still limits.
"Official Institute use only," she had said when Arthur asked about buying a tablet for himself. "New tech. Expensive and not very trustworthy." As if on cue, the screen had suddenly turned blue, and she had to reset the device.
As he stepped out of his room with Sophie the following morning, the same girl in her early twenties awaited them.
"Joint Command is ready to meet you, High Lord Boria," she said, looking dreamy at Arthur.
Nora van Dijk had fallen for Arthur at first sight but was timid, and her reactions amused Sophie, who was merciless—and, honestly, kind of a bitch—to the girl.
"Please, Archie," Sophie pleaded with a childish voice while rubbing her eyes. "Just let me sleep a few minutes. Look at these dark circles! Everyone will know you abused my body over and over again all night. I'm dehydrated!"
Nora blushed. The prince pitied the girl to a point, but he loved Sophie and her antics more. "Nonsense," he said with faux severity. "Awakeners can't dehydrate. We already proved that when we spent those two days in a hotel room."
"Fate!" Sophie replied in fake exasperation. "I was always against harems, but I'm starting to think I need you to find a second wife. Maybe a third one. You're insatiable."
The prince looked at her genuinely wide-eyed. Everything he saw and felt indicated she was not lying. "What?" he deadpanned.
Sophie smirked with a gotcha face. "I've been thinking, you know? I'll die before you, and I'm not altruistic enough to let you pick any random woman after I pass. I'll help you pick when I get old enough."
"Why are we talking about that now?" he asked.
Her smirk widened. "You didn't let me talk much this night, did you?"
"That's not what I mean. This is serious, Soph. We should discuss it privately and in length before we voice these... scandalous words to the world." He only implied that it wasn't a subject that should be introduced while teasing some poor girl. Speaking that loudly here would be very humiliating for her.
Sophie's idea wasn't novel. Some awakeners lived much longer than others, and some spouses liked to have a say in who would be by their partner's side when they passed away. However, it wasn't talked about openly, even with people you trusted, unless one party was a few decades away from death. It definitely wasn't a subject to be broached for the first time beside strangers!
To Arthur's dismay, his suitress didn't care for his statement. "Don't be so dramatic, Archie. You're too stuck in the past. Times have changed. Do you recall those girls talking about woman power?"
The prince nodded. A few activists had been proselyting their ideals in a park in North Lake. "What about them?"
"I loved almost everything they stood against. I'm yours, and you are mine, but you're just so much. There's nothing wrong with sharing some of it—"
The prince felt something else in Sophie. Something deeper. Something that filled him with sorrow and made him furious at her words.
The ground shook as he could barely control his ire, and Sophie stopped mid-sentence as she looked surprised at him.
"Sophie," Arthur said with barely controlled anger, forcing himself to speak slowly and as calmly as possible. "You are worthy. You're more than worthy. I'm the one who deserves much, much less than you. I love you, and I respect your issues. I have my issues, too. But fuck your self-esteem issues right now. We both know how you felt when Emily threw herself at me. That's the true you. You wouldn't stand any other woman besides me, and I'm fine with that because I'm the same. We're both possessive—and fuck Tamara's talk about how that's unhealthy, too. You're mine, and I'll never allow your lack of self-esteem to push you into any bad decision. Ever. We will not entertain any such absurdities again until you have less than ten years remaining of lifespan." Which would match his own lifespan because he swore to himself that he would find a way to push her vitality to match his.
The damned woman didn't even have the decency to look admonished at his outburst. Instead, she smiled happily, and her body got all the signs of being ready for more sex! Worse yet, even Nora's body had reacted the exact same way!
"You're right, O embodiment of domineering masculinity," Sophie said as she grabbed his shirt by the neck and touched his entire body with hers. "I was being silly, but I have a strong man to keep me in check. And you have a strong woman to keep you in check. You better never act this hot before another woman again, or I'll get very jealous, and Fate, I might do something more stupid than what I'm about to do." She bit his lower lip slowly, then gently hugged him. "You leave me with no choice, Archie," she whispered. "I'll have to break all of this poor girl's dreams of ever having a chance with you." She separated their bodies but didn't take her eyes off Arthur's as she kept talking. "This apartment's walls have noise-cancelling enchantments, right? I swear to Fate that I'll not fake the pleasure I'm about to receive." Mana left her body and returned to her soul, binding her to the vow. "So, girl, listen well. Listen to the sounds coming from the apartment and know this man before you is mine. Only mine. And he forbade me from sharing for my own good."
Sophie pulled Arthur into the room and closed the door.
The prince intellectually knew what had triggered the reactions he had gotten from his suitress. He had never experienced it outside of private quarters, though, and had even doubted some of the things Tamara had taught him in the dungeon. He didn't understand why some people would like to be dominated by a strong yet caring partner, much less in the supposedly rare circumstances it happened outside in public, not as part of a fetish. Willingly submissiveness to a liege made sense to him, but not to someone you shared your life with, who stood on equal terms with you.
But he didn't need to understand to accept it was true—and greatly appreciate every second of it.
Arthur couldn't constantly keep the over-the-top attitude Sophie seemed to like. That wasn't all of him. But it was part of him, and he loved that she loved it as much as she loved the rest of him.
Tamara had probably been right about it, too.
Arthur would never completely understand how lucky he was to have Sophie, would he?
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Graham was the only one wearing armor as the four awakeners walked the corridors, following a very embarrassed Nora. Arthur wore formal clothes, white and black, with golden details. Sophie wore a black lace dress that somehow looked both lovely and sexy on her. Tamara, of course, was still in her white and golden maid uniform.
"Threats aren't effective if you back down on them, master," the maid said. "Being led by your lover also makes you look weak."
The apartment assigned to her had been beside Arthur's. The previous night, Sophie had controlled herself somewhat because it was impolite to scream while people slept, despite not caring about it in a hotel. However, she had had no such qualms in the past hour, to the point the prince had to heal her throat when they were done.
Arthur actually disliked that part of her. She was great to him, but no one was perfect. Her screams of pleasure had been different and fun initially, but now they attracted the wrong type of attention. Why did she have to let everyone know what they were doing? He didn't want anyone imagining what he was doing to her, much less picturing her.
Still, he could tell how much she enjoyed it and didn't care enough about it to take it from her. This was a very tiny price to pay for everything else Sophie was.
Speaking of costs, Tamara had said he would look weak, but that was also a negligible price to strengthen his bonds with his future wife. Tamara knew that, though she disagreed with his decision, and her vow didn't let her keep her opinion to herself. She didn't consider the League employee enough impediment for this discussion.
The prince shook his head. "Showing some weakness might be good now, considering I'm no longer hiding my level from anyone's inspection. Let my flaw remind everyone that I'm human—for good and for bad."
His actions showed weakness, yes, but also that he could make mistakes. Mistakes from powerful people were much more dangerous than when an unawakened committed one. His father was proof of it.
Nora hadn't been trained to keep inspecting everything in sight like Arthur, so she hadn't seen his level yet. She stiffened a little when she heard his words, and when they stopped to wait for the elevator, she took the chance to look at him.
Her eyes widened, and her jaw almost reached the floor as she stared at the number above his head.
Arthur smiled kindly. "You're not a spy, but you obviously were ordered to report anything of interest to your superiors. Report away, Miss Dijk. Let Joint Command know a level 100 awakener with very human emotions and flaws is coming to meet them. And that I will enter the dungeon today, no matter what."
They were a few minutes of walk away from the meeting place. That period of forewarning should be enough to avoid the most stupid decisions they might've made about how to deal with him. If they were smart, it would also be enough for them not to attempt anything that might keep him from getting to the dungeon.
The dungeon. He was so close to it. It was in this place somewhere, though he couldn't see or feel it.
The incoming annihilation was the main reason he had forfeited himself to pleasurable moments with Sophie. Arthur had to do it while he could because the following days would be filled with nothing but killing. Then, who knew what awaited him when he came out of the dungeon?
For him, it would be less than ten days. To the people outside, he would only return after a couple of years. That was a long time in a world on the brink of war.
Arthur hoped for the best but was preparing himself for the worst. Hence his words to Joint Command. Playtime was over.
Some types of power were about perception, but some were the sheer and undeniable might of one's fists and magic, and it was time to disabuse the weak of any wrong notions they might have.