As the demons began to lower in number, the humans gradually gained the overall advantage.

Though as they became disadvantaged, the demons started employing sneaky tactics to catch everyone off guard.

Dream understood that the demons had fantastic teamwork. Though so far, he had only seen this among the class 1 and 2's. There had never been enough class 3 demons in a fight to really highlight their cooperation. But now there were, and Dream began to truly understand how devious they were.

At this point, each human had one demon to fight. But at random intervals, a group of demons would suddenly turn their attention to a single human and attack. They would just stop facing their human and all turn to a predetermined target near them to do a blitz, trying to kill them in one go before going back to their previous targets.

And if Dream didn't have the reactions, they would have already lost over 15 people. But fortunately he did, and every blitz the demons did was thwarted by this unknown guardian, whether it was through bullets or sword.

Though this didn't mean that they were completely safe. There were more than a few fighters and mages that had been injured under these attacks. In fact, about 9 people had already retreated being heavily injured.

So while the humans had the advantage, it never became overwhelming.

But even this advantage was about to soon be overturned.

Dream hovered above the battlefield, constantly keeping an eye on everything. He had already partially equipped Aegis around his arms to allow shooting as well as to use a blade if he could.

Although he had to keep track of many different battles at once, it was never that difficult. In fact, this could be considered incredibly easy considering the crafting that he's done, which required far more concentration. So he was relatively relaxed as he moved around.

But as he was moving around, he suddenly felt goosebumps all over his body.

[Class 4!]

Dream's perception instantly sped up to its highest level. Everything around him began moving in super slow motion. Even his own body movements were slow. But he couldn't say the same for the thing behind him.

Dream could sense an incredibly powerful signature rapidly closing distance, coming straight to him. Not even worrying about turning around, he sent his muscles into overdrive, flooded his body with mana, and Aegis began to solidify however he could. But it wasn't fast enough.

Making one last resolution, Dream took items out from his inventory as fast as he could. They were spheres, and they were loaded with huge amounts of mana. These were some of the bombs he created. Though they weren't nuclear, they were still able to deal devastating damage. But even taking things out of his inventory required agility, and he was only able to get out 3.

[Shit!]

*BOOM*

*Splat*

A huge hammer came hurtling towards him and landed flat on his back. Powerful shockwaves were released as his torso was separated from the rest of his body. Dream, who was now in three pieces, began to fall to the ground.

Though the demon didn't get out unscathed either. The spheres had been taken out right near it, and when they exploded, they released powerful fragments. These fragments plowed through its armor and embedded themselves deep in its flesh. And not stopping there, they had even exploded inside its body, causing severe internal damage.

The battlefield suddenly froze. Neither demon nor human moved after the entrance of this behemoth.

All the other class 3 fighters and mages looked at Dream, then the demon which had blown him up like a balloon. This demon was at least 8 feet tall, and covering its whole body was heavy and thick armor. It wielded a massive hammer and a tower shield able to cover its whole body. And the horns on its head formed themselves into some kind of crown, making the demon look like an unholy paladin.

"Dream!!!"

A cry came from afar. Both the demons and humans turned to the sound, including the now injured class 4.

"Grrr... Damn humans!"

When the paladin turned, it saw two people that it hadn't before. One was a man who was currently running towards him, and the other was a woman, drawing back a bowstring. Both these people had a power level similar to his own, but what alarmed him was the murderous aura pouring out from the woman.

The demon immediately knew its situation. It couldn't run with the archer, and the fighter would put him into a bind, likely ending with his death. He was also injured, putting him in even deeper shit. So he decided to take at least one down with him.

"Raahhhh!!!!"

A booming sound was let out as the paladin lowered himself and hoisted his shield, disregarding the blood flowing from between his armor.

*Woosh*

*BOOM*

Idona loosed her arrow, which landed on the shield with a mana explosion, slightly cracking it. Ciroc also arrived and brought out two large swords, maneuvering around the paladin to attack.

As if this were the signal, the other demons began attacking once more. The humans also reacted and continued their fight. Though this time, they understood that there would be no guardian, for he was now in three pieces on the floor.

"Damn, have they gotten stronger?"

"Watch out!"

"Ack!"

Although they had the advantage before, for some reason the class 3 demons had gotten a bit stronger and were able to close the individual power difference. And along with their teamwork, the humans were immediately put on the defensive and forced to play any card they had to somehow win their fights. Even the injured people who had retreated hurriedly headed back to support however they could. This was also when Riddick began to shine, dumping his mana into his highly destructive spells.

Under the combined assault of two human class 4's, the paladin wasn't able to put up much of a fight. Ciroc would always circle around to his back, forcing the paladin to expose himself. He would either take hits from an arrow or a sword. Not to mention how the paladin was slower than both of them. And the two humans steadily brought him down in only 10 minutes.

"Grahh! Damn yo-!"

*Slice!*

Ciroc sliced the head off the paladin, gaining experience. Though he didn't dare dally and instantly dashed over to the other battlefield, obliterating the remaining class 3 demons.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Soon, every demon that had once held the stronghold was killed, including the class 1 and 2's.

"Dream! Where is he? Dream!"

Idona came sprinting over to the group that was surrounding the body. When she pushed through, she found that the pair of legs, mush of flesh, and head had come together and were enveloped by a metallic liquid.

"Please do not interfere."

"Oww! What the hell?"

A mage who had gone up to Dream's body was poked by the liquid metal. Everyone saw this and was baffled. Was that thing seriously rejecting a healer?

"What is that? Who are you?"

Idona walked over and bent down to the metal covered body.

"I am Aegis, Dream's armor. Please do not interfere, Magus Idona. Dream is currently attempting to heal."

"What do you mean attempting?"

"As you saw, Dream sustained a lethal attack and has entered a hibernation state. As per my protocols, I have brought together his body, which is now recombining. However, he is in an extremely unstable condition, and any attempts to interfere with his healing can cause him to die. I ask that, unless you have a class 4 healer, please refrain from interaction. Otherwise, I will take defensive measures and activate my doomsday protocols, which have already been primed."

"..."

Aegis spoke loud and clear, making sure everyone heard every word. Though this caused no less confusion and instead raised more questions.

"So...What do we do?"

Idona blurted out, not sure how to handle this situation.

"I suggest you tend to your wounded, collect the dead, and begin making your way back to the Mercenary Empire. In fact, you are welcome to use Dream's transportation ships. It will be able to fly you to the Empire in less than an hour."

"...He's right. Everyone! Begin preparing to head back. This expedition has come to an end. Anyone who's able, collect our dead. Everyone else, head to Dream's ships."

Everyone slowly nodded, glancing one more time at Dream before taking care of business.

"Are you sure he's going to heal?"

Idona was the only one who didn't leave, and stayed by the body.

"I am uncertain as to the chances he will survive."

"What can we do to increase those chances?"

"...A high-density mana environment would help with the recovery of mana and increase his chances."

"Alright. My chambers at the Spire have a high mana density. Can I take him there?"

"As long as you can ensure nobody will interfere."

"I can."

"Then take the ship. It will be the fastest transportation."

When Aegis said that, Idona could see the same luxurious black ship come flying over in the distance.

"Idona. We're loaded."

"...Leave without me. I'm taking Dream back to the Spire."

The ship landed in front of her as she spoke.

"...Very well."

Ciroc didn't argue, though he was inwardly surprised. He didn't know what Dream did to make Idona fall for him so hard, but he had done it damn well.

Though that wasn't entirely the reason Idona was so concerned, there wasn't any chance to fix the misunderstanding. Idona used her mana to carefully lift Dream into the ship, placing him on one of the soft couches.

"Let me go with you."

A voice came from behind. It was Riddick, who had overheard Idona. She looked at him and nodded.

"That's fine. Ciroc. I'm sure you can give the report, right?"

"Yes. Rest assured."

"Then I'm off."

When she said that, the plane closed and rose into the air. It quickly blasted off into the distance.

"*sigh* Hopefully he can make it through, though it'll take a miracle. It'd be a shame for such potential to die out now."

Ciroc turned and made his way back to the other ships. When he saw that everyone was ready, including the metal soldiers, he boarded. The ships then automatically took off, heading back to the Empire.

.........

.....

About an hour later, Idona and Riddick had arrived above the Spire in the ship.

The hatch opened up and they floated down to the tallest Spire, landing on a platform and heading inside.

*Bang!*

Doors were blown open throughout the tower as they made their way down the halls. Anybody they passed by were confused and curious, but dared not disturb Idona after seeing the urgent face of hers.

Soon, they arrived at a final set of doors. Idona wasted no time and barged into her own chambers.

The chambers were large, as befitting a class 4. Riddick saw all the bookshelves, enchantments, and expensive items strewn in abundance around the area and couldn't help but feel a little envious. His own chambers were puny compared to hers.

When she walked in, Idona turned and made her way to another room. The door to this room was metal, and she placed her hand on it when she approached.

The door lit up brightly before automatically opening. She then turned to Riddick.

"I'll go in alone. The thing said he needs a high mana density environment, so I'm gonna give him that."

"Alright. I'll wait out here."

Nodding, Idona turned and walked into the room, shutting the door behind her. Riddick just turned around and decided to check out the area, recovering his own wounds.

After walking into the room, Idona spread out her mana. Various enchantments responded to her and lit up. The room brightened, mana flowed, and the mana density in the room skyrocketed.

She went over to a table and cleared it off, setting Dream down on top.

"...Is this alright?"

Idona asked the metal in worry.

"This environment is more than suitable. Thank you, Magus Idona."

"How long until he heals?"

"I cannot estimate a time. His body is still too unstable, and I am not able to communicate with his mind. When he regains some semblance of consciousness, I will be able to provide you with an update. Until then, he just needs time."

"..."

"Do not worry, Magus Idona. My lord is a very capable person and has prepared extensively for this kind of situation."

"Your lord?"

"Yes. My lord created me to be his protector."

"I see..."

Idona went into thought. She was worried and confused. Everything had happened so fast.

"...We had only just made our partnership last night."

"Indeed. My lord was a very happy man."

"...Really?"

"Yes. My lord doesn't easily trust people, but he took a risk in revealing information about himself to you. So he had great satisfaction when you expressed your wish to grow a relationship, and also when you didn't betray his trust and abuse the information you now have."

"O-of course. Though I'm surprised you knew about all this."

"I am his armor and his protector. I am always with him."

"I see... Now, if you don't mind me asking, what were those 'doomsday protocols' you spoke of earlier?"

Idona asked about that final weird statement Aegis had thrown out at the battlefield.

"The doomsday protocols are a series of programs designed to, in the event of Dream's death or impending doom, activate weapons capable of mass destruction and annihilation. This is the only piece of information that I can reveal to you, as somebody he trusts."

"Annihilation? What kind of weapons can do that?"

"I cannot reveal that information."

"...Right. *sigh* So he just needs time?"

Not able to imagine what weapons were capable of that, Idona put it in the back of her mind.

"That is correct. If anything changes, good or bad, I will tell you. In the meantime, I suggest you relax and perhaps converse with Riddick, since you expressed your desire to speak with him."

"...I guess. Then I'll leave you here."

"Of course. Thank you again, Magus Idona."

"Sure."

After that, Idona walked out of the room, shutting Dream inside. She then walked over to the living area where Riddick had made himself comfortable.

"How is he?"

Riddick stood up when she walked in.

"...I don't know. That...thing, Aegis, said he was unstable and he needs time."

"I see...And there's nothing we can do?"

"Not unless you want to earn the ire of Aegis."

Idona sighed and flopped down on a chair. Riddick also sat down.

"...I'm honestly surprised he's still alive."

Idona broke the silence after a bit. Riddick nodded in agreement.

"The fact that he was able to take a blow from that class 4 is indeed amazing. In the same situation, I'm not sure I would've survived."

"It's all thanks to that body of his."

"...You know about that?"

Riddick had a surprised look. Idona nodded.

"I do. He showed me. He also told me about how he's still a class 2."

"...I'm surprised he trusted you like that."

"I actually had the intention of speaking to you about some things."

"You want to know more about him?"

"Well, yes and no. Mainly just confirmation. We've set up a little arrangement, you see."

"...What kind of an arrangement?"

"Last night, we agreed to a fellowship."

"How the hell did he manage that?"

Riddick blurted out in astonishment. Idona would've smiled at that if not for the depressing mood.

"I actually offered. I had initially wanted to take him as a student, but I found that I was learning more for him than he was from me, so something like that wouldn't have worked. So we instead quietly entered a fellowship, to which we then gave information about each other. Thus my reason for wanting to talk with you."

"..."

Riddick was quiet for a bit before just shaking his head in resignation.

"What did he tell you?"

"That he was a class 2, a Master Artificer, and he showed me his arm which had been modified. We also spoke about many other things, but those were the main things."

"Well, I can tell you that all of that is true."

"How?"

"I couldn't answer that question even if I wanted. It baffled me too, but I've been with the kid since he was level 0. I watched as he quickly rose in power all the way to where he is now. Speaking of, he'll need to construct his mana pathways soon. Something that he definitely hasn't done."

"I'm aware. I had planned to assist him when we went back to the Spire, but now..."

Idona went silent and closed her eyes. She was anxious about everything, and even Riddick could tell.

"...All we can do is wait. The boy is definitely a bit of a paranoid kid, but that's exactly why he would be prepared for something like this."