Primordial Zero deserved to be criticized for their gluttonous spending on luxuries but not for their security measures. First was effectively disabling Firebrand from using his fire magic through its fire suppression systems and secondly establishing detailed evacuation plans for almost every reasonable contingency imaginable. Vernon knew how comprehensive the guidelines were; about a year ago, he skimmed the PDF document and saw it was longer than entire trilogies.
Each level had access to emergency tunnels, which opened to multiple exit ramps leading to the Encampment's surface. Vernon ran his fingers across the surprisingly plain white signs. Street names were printed in bold black font. There he recalled seeing small metal sheds on the surface, thought of them as such, and figured they'd pop out there if they went down this path. They didn't. Everyone was heading to the main entrance, the building where the Baptists had came in from. Initially choosing where to exit was complicated considering the entire freaking city was being attacked, but Alexander and Kaiya were securing the main entrance with Prominence.
Thank God for them. Except for Prominence.
Vernon wished he'd memorized the map of Primordial Zero, though, because the emergency tunnels were abstract and labyrinthine. They hiked on long and winding ramps you'd find in a multistory car park—or a dangerous dungeon dive—but on multiple occasions, he would peer down an alternative corridor and spot endless flights of stairs and small elevators that never seem to see some use. A part of him thought to sneak off and take the elevator up but knowing how thorough the complex was, there'd be more than a few countermeasures for an unauthorized individual like him.
So he continued to walk in tandem with the refugees. The guards ordered most to take the ramps while they escorted them, rifle-strapped, speaking quietly through their walkie-talkies.
In contrast to the luxurious, high-class lifestyle seen inside Primordial Zero, the emergency tunnels were brutalist. Nothing but a constant, headaching white light strapped on the barren concrete walls, sometimes splashed with blood, and sometimes the floor beneath them had blood too. In puddles and in messy footsteps. Around them were screams and gunfire with no distinct direction. Teams were stationed at every door as Zeroes flooded out of adjacent halls, oftentimes bloody and wide-eyed. Occasionally there was a Zero who’d been too traumatized by what they saw and refused to move. One screamed and wailed before a sedative was administered, carried off on a wheelchair.
Nobody had estimates of how many had perished in the initial attack. Honestly, just one death was too much.
Vernon held his [Modified Energy Rifle] close to him, the [Five Ring Atlas] buzzing over his shoulder, looking around at the Zeroes and recognizing plenty of them. Maybe fifteen minutes prior, they were enjoying the good life cooped up underground. Couldn't say they were happy now. Miserable wasn’t enough to describe it. Behind him was Firebrand, placed in the middle of their stack because of the Angel; he was whispering sweet things to her—God, everything went south so fast.
One moment, they were waiting for Ariella’s babysitter to come back. And the next, this happened.
Probably dead, now, the nanny.
Him and his family had differences. They had things to say and a lot of it wasn’t nice. Vernon wanted them to be safe regardless because that was family. One-half of him was expending a great deal of focus on his surroundings while the other kept an eye out on anyone familiar, either his family or anyone else he knew. We struggled together once already, we can get through this too, he thought. Vernon couldn't remember the hard times as well as his older brother; he'd been pretty young then. Had only a few stories to tell from experience but plenty second-hand. Hearing how much of a mess Dad was and how his satisfaction of another year of sobriety, seeing Mom happy and living finely, knowing Mark was in his prime with an excellent job and married after putting in the work.
They loved each other at the end of the day, but for now Vernon couldn’t divert his full attention to them as much as he wanted.
“...They’ll be fine,” Althea told him, probably noticing his frequent searches. He glanced at the [Housing Necklace] where Shandian was bonded to. She really is becoming the Spirit Beast Queen.
“Yeah,” he replied just to say something, continuing to look everywhere for them but seeing nothing but bloody faces. “They are. I know they are.”
But he said that to convince himself, in order to use less energy on personal matters and focus on the mission ahead of him.
“How’s the Angel?” asked Initiate up front. Her left arm had healed nicely.
Firebrand sighed, shrugging. “Okay. She’s doin’ okay.”
“It’s better than bad.” The teleporter sighed, slouching slightly. “It’s better than bad...”
A distinctive scream echoed louder than most, caused a good chunk of the traveling refugees to stop and look before they uneasily continued.
Marching to the surface.
***
When the team entered the miserable permanent night they'd grown used to, they found it changed. It had brightened tenfold like a sunny afternoon just without the sun. Replaced with bursting galaxies and stars painted in colors that Vernon didn't know the names of. It didn't seem real. Someone had painted an extravagant ceiling mural across the sky as a commission to some pompous lord. Like in the Renaissance, they did that stuff in the Renaissance. The sight made Vernon nervous, made him feel small and insignificant. But there was one consolation to this new change: there was natural light. He told himself he could live with existential fear if he had natural light.
He never did see his family during the walk nor when they emerged topside. Refugees scattered as medics rushed to tend to the wounded, guarded by an absurd number of rifles and swords. Some poor woman was stuck with a clipboard and pen, moving around the groups and trying to catch names. It’d take a long time to find all the missing.
Like Mom, Dad, Rose.
Strangely he was relieved that he had the mystery still and yet so anxious for it. But he couldn’t dwell long on the lack of a resolution before his work as a Baptist caught up to him almost immediately.
Alexander, Kaiya, and Prominence stood out amongst the crowd. Especially the lattermost, the Bastard of Oasis, where even in a crisis his reputation was repulsive. Nobody wanted to be caught near him unless they had to. So the three had an unspoken bubble of space, sometimes penetrated by other soldiers and Slayers who were forced to speak with the Bastard. Vernon forgot about him—and by all means, he was content with forgetting—when a fourth member arrived to the scene and captured all attention like a god appearing before their followers.
First they heard the cutting whistles of feathers cleaving through air, then saw the imperial shadow casted on the pavement. There were stunned comments of observation, some of hope, because anyone who witnessed the [Wings of Seraphim] would know of the owner’s accomplishments.
Seraph landed softly without impact, folded her magnificent wings on her back until they were no larger than a soldier’s rucksack, and hurriedly paced to the Baptists who’d been in Primordial Zero.
Firebrand matched her pace with his and within the second, Ariella was in her mother’s hands once again. Seraph tore off the blindfold and headphones that her daughter wore and protectively curled the [Seraphim Wings] around her.
“Thank you,” was the first thing she said to everyone, rocking Ariella. Although the woman talking to them was Seraph, there were small cracks in her expression and in her voice, revealing the mother within. “Thank you for protecting her.”
Prominence glowered at the sight, licked the blood off his lips in disgust and probably was insulting the honorable Guild Master in his head. Something like: “This is the first thing that Seraph does? I wouldn’t be caught dead showing ignorance and weakness like that.”
Alexander scoffed in response to the Bastard’s reaction, put hands on hip, listened to Seraph engaging the Primordial Zero team in conversation. “If that was Juna, you’d be—actually never mind, you don’t give a shit about her anyway.”
Kaiya muttered something in Japanese, completely oblivious to the deeper context.
The Bastard showed a vicious sneer. “Have you heard of the childish phrase: ‘If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it’?”
"You heard of: ‘If you don’t have nice thoughts, don’t show it’?”
“Never.”
“That’s because I just came up with it.” Because you’re scowling at her like she killed a puppy. “Either way, wait here.”
As Alexander approached Seraph and the others, Kaiya hurried behind him—understandably, because no one wants to be alone with the Bastard. Behind her were the others: Firebrand, who struggled to maintain a smile; Althea, sporting a wave to her brother; Initiate, acknowledging him with a nod; and finally Vernon, watching the Zeroes. He probably hasn’t found his family yet. I haven’t found them either.
Seraph was the last to notice Alexander and turned over her shoulder. In her arms was the Angel of Angels latching onto her mother’s outfit with a deathgrip. Poor girl, I felt like her a few times before.
“Seraph,” he approached respectfully unlike the Bastard behind him, feeling his gaze burn holes into the [Bodysuit].
“I know,” she said, her voice split between concern for her daughter and her duty as a Slayer. “The Encampment is secure; take everyone here and head to the House of Engineers where we’ll formulate a counterattack. I’ll stay back and ensure my daughter’s protection.”
“Yes ma’am.” Alexander focused on the teleporter. “Initiate, get a headstart. Prominence is coming along too—” (“Bastard,” muttered Althea,) “—if he needs to bring his men, let him.” He glanced at Vernon, who returned the look. “I need to talk with Vernon.”
“Alright.” Initiate patted Alexander’s shoulder and hollered at the Baptists to move. I don’t know her that well but she’s the only one I can trust speaking to Prominence without shitting themselves or punching him. Firebrand is too emotionally worked up, Althea has history just like me, and Kaiya’s too jittery. And I got to take care of Vernon.
On that subject, Alexander guided his subordinate off to the side while Seraph spoke to someone-in-charge of this sorry state of affairs, arranging protection for Ariella.
As they walked somewhere relatively private, Vernon kept taking quick peeks before having to finally face his Team Leader eye-to-eye.
“I haven’t seen them either,” Alexander said and saw Vernon’s lips push together anxiously. “I—”
Vernon cut in before he could say another word, “It’s fine, you don’t need to explain it. I know what’s happening, I know what’s at stake, I can handle it. You don’t hafta ask either: it’s a ‘yes’. I want to take the fight to the Sungrazers.”
He was nervous. Anyone would be in his shoes. He was probably dying to get an answer, some sort of conclusion, but there was something distinct in his eyes that Alexander couldn’t place his finger on immediately. Then he realized it: determination.
“Alright.” That was enough proof for him.“ You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“If you say so. Let’s go.”
As they caught up with the rest of the team, Vernon couldn’t help but perform one last scour over his shoulder and hoped to spot at least one person. He couldn’t find a single face and buried the mystery right there, retrieving it only when the job was done.
***
Pillar Dawns - 37.7% Effective
Estimated Duration - 12:31:06
Pillar Vesper - Inoperational
Estimated Duration - N/A
Pillar Creekwood - 20.3% Effective
Estimated Duration - 8:08:11
Pillar Windvent - 26.5% Effective
Estimated Duration - 9:16:56
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Pillar Flares - 29.1% Effective
Estimated Duration - 10:12:19
Centerpiece (The Encampment) - Inoperational
Estimated Duration - N/A
Everyone was present.
Slayer Team Alba: Conqueror, Leona Ahn, Althea Shen, and Vernon Hugo.
Alumnus: Gul, Victor, Uprise, Forest Master.
Problem Children: Problem, Evenfall (with Devoy), Votary.
Solo Members: Seraph, Sage, Firebrand, and now Initiate.
Plus Prominence and the Oasis members present, including Third Paradise (Construction Crew): Jackhammer, Sledge, and Crowbar.
People scurried around the House of Engineers and while some were interested in the conversations here, they knew this wasn’t their place to be.
Twelve hours, was what everyone thought to themselves. They had twelve hours, at best, until the Ordo Outbreak Barrier fell and monsters will be released into the world. And they didn’t know if the outside forces were capable of handling the Sungrazers if left undefeated.
To ensure the best outcome, then, they needed to kill the remaining three members of the Kreutz Sungrazers: Kreutz, Wonder, and Ikeya. Facing the task now after knowing the pain they suffered when killing just two of them, it seemed daunting. Impossible. Archknell was killed. Thousands of lives were lost and this was arguably a worse situation: the entire city was under siege, not just one area of a borough.
Alexander watched the array of monitors at the wall and found camera footage of the attack in other areas of the city. In Windvent, an assorted horde of monsters were treating through the streets; in Vesper, an ice dragon had frozen an entire city block in frost; in Dawns, an unknown beast rocked the roads through tremors and earthquakes; in Creekwood, there was a violent flock of metal harpies, strong enough to lift whole cars each; and Flares had a hive of killer ants.
But in Creekwood, there was something else...
He gritted his teeth.
Everyone was fighting: every reserve force, every student in Systemic Works programs, everyone was called to action. Everywhere was hit, everywhere had monsters. Manpower was limited so they couldn't devote swaths of teams and units to the Sungrazers. Effectively, Ordo was split between three objectives: protect infrastructure, protect civilians, kill Sungrazers. Forfeit one, forfeit the rest.
As far as Alexander knew, the monsters would keep coming until they dealt with the root of the problem. Thus it’d be foolish to consider exterminating the motherfuckers. It was like trying to cut down every tree in the world. Although the Four Pillars provided a hard deadline, the endless stream of these fucks was the real time limit: a test of how long Ordo could withstand the horde.
To win this shitty game, the Baptists had to kill all three Sungrazers before Ordo could no longer sustain itself.
How the hell were they going to do that?
Sage informed everyone, gesturing to the largest monitor at the center, “Since the attack’s beginning, the Four Pillars dropped twenty-to-thirty percent.”
A big drop. It might’ve been more than a week since the beginning but the Four Pillars were designed to last a long time even when down Pillar Vesper. Realistically, physically destroying a pillar was a larger concern than the Heart of the Pillars running out of juice. So to have its power effectively reduced by at least a fifth…
“Before we start conjecturing, we should address the elephant in the room,” Problem spoke up and gestured to the monitors showcasing the fight in Creekwood. Sage understood the topic and shifted the image to the big screen.
Collectively everyone let out a gasp. Of shock, anger, disgust.
Hovering just outside the remains of the Galipot Building was a flattened octahedron taller than it was wide, whiter than humanly possible like a blank void left in reality. It was at least fifty meters large and stuck out as badly as the moon in the dead of night. A simple design, initially, until you focus on the edges of the octahedron and saw them softly moving like lips, offering small windows to its internal structure. Briefly, everyone caught a glimpse of an odd surface inside. Something blue.
It was consuming four thick golden trails of energy and smaller trails as well.
“The Lesser Miracle,” began Sage, “Wonder.”
“Yes,” Problem concurred though no one argued against its identification. “The same Sungrazer who had created a magical environment in Dawns during the first couple days of the Disaster which led to the manifestation of the Tormented Flesh. Considering Wonder had shed its mortal form and exposed itself to the Earthwill, then it has no problems with attracting its attention. We've seen the alert, yes?”
“Are there any offensives launched against Wonder?” asked Prominence, whose voice brought a sublime disdain in most people in the room.
Seraph shook her head. “I gave the explicit order to leave Wonder alone so we can formulate an action plan. According to reports, it's currently inactive but we wager it has some offensive abilities. Pereyra, for example, played a supportive role and still devastated our forces. Here, we can assume that Wonder is the cause behind the sudden depletion of the Four Pillars’ energy and the city-wide siege.”
“A demesne, most likely,” Problem supposed as he levitated closer to the screen. “But it’s completely different than Pereyra’s. Wonder had extended the magical environment creation to the Barrier’s borders; in order to do so, it needed an exorbitant amount of energy. Fortunately for the Comet, it had four massive batteries in the city. And they will keep being drained, both to maintain the demesne and the Barrier, so we don’t even have twelve hours.” Shit, that’s right.
Forest Master raised her hand. “What about Gallery Street and the Tormented Flesh?”
“I’m not sure but that might’ve been a one-time instance with a long-lasting effect. After all, only the Tormented Flesh was created and nothing else.” Then what does that mean for the city? Since it’ll be drenched in mana for a long time? That’s not a pressing problem, though.
Alexander voiced his thoughts, “So it’s a question of: How does Wonder’s demesne work and how we’re going to kill this thing?”
“Do we really need to know the ‘How?’ when it’s already done?” Prominence criticized him probably for the sake of it.
“Absolutely,” Alexander defended his position adamantly, “because assuming Wonder’s demesne follows the same rules as ours, then it can be broken. For one at this scale, you need external power sources.” Like Gallery Street when Problem made his demesne to trap Pereyra and Tewfik, since it was mana-drenched by the Miracle. “And I’m not sure you figured it out yet, but we typically can’t kill a king in his castle. To kill Wonder, we need to destroy its demesne. To destroy its demesne, we target its structural weak-points.”
“Assuming it follows the same rules as a cosmic entity.”
“Pereyra did: using reflections. Tewfik did as well: using the concept of cutting. Ikeya and Kreutz are probably bounded by rules too. Wonder’s ability is, as Problem stated, turning a ‘non-magical environment’ into a ‘magical’ one. A demesne is one way of manifesting that, just like how Pereyra used a demesne to better facilitate its espionage.”
“Tch, but you’re suggesting we turn off the Pillars like a light switch?”
“I mean, it would work but obviously not the best idea. Not unless we coordinate with our people outside that the Cosmic Beasts are dead and they’re ready to rumble. Are we able to guarantee that in the next few hours?”
Prominence bit his tongue.
Seraph gave a definite answer, “We cannot. What Conqueror says is right: theoretically we can subjugate Wonder when its demesne is active but we’re lacking in firepower. We need to destroy the demesne first, preferably without damaging the main energy sources keeping the monsters contained: the Four Pillars.”
“...What about the secondary sources?” Vernon suggested. “The Centerpiece is down. If you look outside, you’ll see a golden trail of mana leading to Wonder.” He motioned to the live footage of the Miracle. “And it has other sources too. What if we deactivate that?”
“Theoretically possible,” Sage answered. “It might be enough to shut it down.”
“Or it’s gonna put a faster drain on the Four Pillars to compensate for the loss,” Althea commented, and no one could deny that possibility.
“So it’s back to the Four Pillars…” Alexander muttered. Let’s think back to the other examples. [Perch] uses Vernon’s mana and stays on the field, needing no additional oversight. Gallery’s was made via a ritual and required a constant mana supply using mana conduction rods to maintain its effects. I don’t know how Pereyra’s was made so I’ll ignore that one. So Wonder’s is most similar to Gallery. Except for a ritual, it’s Wonder itself; except for the street, it’s the Four Pillars; and except for the mana conduction rods…
As everyone was discussing ideas, Alexander raised his voice to be heard: “Wonder is directly siphoning mana into its body, so can we damage its receptors or something? Whatever the hell the official terminology is?”
“You forgot what you said earlier, Conqueror,” Gul told him. “We can’t kill a king in his castle.”
“But can we hurt it enough?”
Sage shrugged. “Maybe but it’s like a lotta things: theoretically possible, pretty hard realistically. We gotta crack the shell and target the weak spots.”
“What about the superweapon in Grendel? Can we use that?”
“...You'd be trying to kill it at that point."
“You’re right, fuck. Stupid question.” Alexander paced around a few steps before finding Damien who was holding Devoy, taking on a staff form. “Wait, the answer’s here this entire time. Devoy helped us to shut down Pereyra’s demesne, he turned an entire continent into Void, we’ll just cut off Wonder’s.”
Prominence cocked his head, glancing at his guildmates. “Who turned what into what?”
Seraph told him, “We’ll explain later.”
Alexander stared at the Void God. “So?”
Devoy answered, “It may be possible but this is a demesne from the cosmos. If you recall, even as a Void God, I was only able to collapse Pereyra’s defenses and not the demesne itself. I've met a shockingly large resistance and that is from a Fragment who was, if you recall, operating the demesne at the time.”
“But you’re a Void God,” Vernon insisted.
“Yes. Any demesne beneath divinity is constructed with paper walls. By the merits of what you refer as the ‘Space Beyond’, I am wise to the chasm that separates my kind with theirs. Referring back to my previous point, in consideration of the Lesser Miracle and the extent of the demesne’s effects, a similar result will be observed. I anticipate that I will be able to subdue the natural phenomena generation, but it will take all of my strength to combat the ‘king’. Thus, it is questionable if I am capable of collapsing the demesne and I surely cannot consume Wonder itself. I will be destroyed in the process. An unpreferable outcome.”
“So at best, we’ll stop the natural spawns,” Alexander summarized. “But we’ll still have portals opening up, mitigating the crisis by a good portion but not shutting off the water. It’s an idea. Not good enough, though. Back to square one.”
Once again, the room was filled with chatter and ideas, discussing specifics and possibilities where plans got only more desperate with each notion shared. Alexander listened but couldn’t determine an optimal strategy. Minutes passed and the House of Engineers shook violently—something was nearby but they couldn’t focus on that right now. The disruption seemed to ignited something in everyone because the discussion boomed into an argument.
Between Firebrand and Prominence. An argument that wouldn’t end well.
What the Baptists needed was a scalpel. A scalpel to remove the tumor, and if they couldn’t find one, a sledgehammer was next. And more lives will be lost, like Scorcher.
Ordo might not have enough to do it again.
Alexander bit his lip and found Problem and Damien. They were chatting with Devoy but they clearly had nothing to add.
“I’m trying to think up a way to collapse the demesne without burying us in the process,” Problem told him. “The demesne’s weak-point is our own. I would appreciate its cleverness if I wasn’t on the receiving end.”
“I can’t come up with anything either,” said Damien, glancing down at his partner. “Devoy’s leaving the planning to us. He’s just a tool as stipulated by our contract.”
Alexander shook his head. “I know. But we can’t have another Scorcher. Just…!”
In a fit of frustration, he scurried to the main table and found an assortment of reports and documents and whatever. Nothing he could scourge through for an answer. Nothing inspired him. Nothing gave him the final piece of information to connect everything together. As if taunting him, the House shook once again, causing a pause in the argument before it continued. Seraph intervened and snipped it there.
But they had no plan.
Alexander watched the monitors, switching his focus between live combat footage and the Miracle. Nothing offered itself on a platter. On a console, he saw direct lines to commanding generals and officers. He was reminded of the powerful Slayers on the field right now: the Martials, Glory and Silverhonor, Angels and Rector, Royals and Monarch.
There has to be a way to connect these dots. He counted them on his fingers. Grendel’s superweapon, Four Pillars, the Miracle’s demesne, Devoy, the Baptists, the Big Four, there has to be a way to fit the pieces together! There has to be a way to destroy the fucking demesne without killing us in the process! Think! Remind yourself what Devoy said. We need to use him while avoiding these conditions: one, targeting the demesne directly; two, targeting Wonder directly. So that means we have to target the Four Pillars.
How?
He bit his lip hard enough to bleed.
If I go back to the beginning of our trip to the Encampment…
He recalled everything he knew about the Void God. The most recent information he had was…
His mind sprung to life.
“Problem!” Alexander shouted for him and the others noticed. “Did you finish cataloging Devoy’s abilities?!”
Because while Alexander, Leona, and Sage were investigating the possibilities of a Second Emergence, Problem was cataloging Devoy's abilities that he'd obtained during his life. That was one of the powers of the Void God: to consume and assimilate.
Problem raised his head in great interest. “Not everything. Why?”
Alexander gripped Damien's arm, causing his friend to yelp, and raised Devoy up. “Devoy, can you split yourself into four different bodies?”
"Four different bodies?" Devoy glowed, realizing what he was thinking. "Ah, that may be the path to success, Conqueror. Yes, I am able to split myself into a theoretically infinite amount of bodies. For your purposes, four will be enough."
Hearing the Void God's approval, Alexander felt frustration melting away from his body, replaced with a warm thrill that almost made him forget about how shitty the world was right now. An uncharacteristic cackle seeped from his lips, and hands ran through his hard and dirty hair. "That's it... We can do this..." he muttered under his breath, letting go of Damien's arm.
“Conqueror?” Seraph approached him.
"I didn't do anything,” Damien insisted. “He's laughing for no reason. It's not me this time."
“I’m fine!” Alexander spun around to face everyone standing in this room. His friends, comrades he'd met thanks to the Disaster, connections he'd established, people that he hated. These were the current Dawn Baptists: anyone willing to fight against the Sungrazers to restore security to the world.
In his silver eyes was a glint of madness as he spoke.