Chapter 274

Eris Empire, Capital City of Starcore

Lower City Tunnels

The guildmaster did not even have the time to scream.

One second he was walking through the underbelly of the city.

The next he was being pierced by half a dozen starblades, weapons of the Old World, surrounded in plasma and powerful energy fields, able to shatter even the most potent of defense, mundane and arcane alike.

He wreathed, his flesh dissolving into energy as his archon body attempted to compensate, mana flowing to remake his body.

Which was precisely when the secondary enchantments kicked in. The spells, the kind of which only the greatest of archmages knew of, unwound him, draining his mana and scattering it to the winds.

By the time he truly 'died', if he was truly alive to begin with, the assassins were gone, and his soul screamed as it was bound and sealed beyond mortal reach.

Many would wonder how such a powerful member of the adventurers guild could be killed so quickly…and why that particular individual had secretly been an archon.

There was little evidence. But all would assume the Eris Empire was responsible. It and their imperial majesties' infamous Order of the Black Hand.

None would find a single trace of the Seraphims that slew him, or sealed his soul.

Phase one had begun. The time to Purge the world in the cleansing flame was nigh.

*****

"Greetings, baroness."

Allya had to stop herself from flinching as the magic mirror wavered, and Manson Estogan, duke of Sarth, appeared. Not because of the apparatus, if nothing else it was positively laughable compared to Alexandra's methods of communication, but because of the duke's appearance.

She'd seen some portraits, heard some descriptions, but she hadn't expected…this.

The duke didn't look venerable like Starvak did. He looked…ancient, for the lack of a better word. Not decrepit, and there was a spark of fire within his eyes that belied is apparently frailty, but he looked like the nice grandfather that gave his grandkids a bit more allowance than they should have, not the man who had held the wasteland and the horrors of the Lost Sands death zone back through sheer ability and military power.

The heavy, and equally ancient, plate armor he wore did nothing to lessen the contrast.

"Greetings, your grace." She bowed. Deeply enough to signify respect…to an equal.

He noticed that, but didn't take umbrage. Instead he found it…amusing?

Interesting.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, at last." The duke shifted, and his armor shifted with him in total silence.

Oooookay. There were two kind of people that enchanted this kind of armor to be silent.

Special operatives, and fops that were annoyed by the clinking of their ceremonial garb.

That armor was anything but ceremonial.

"The pleasure's all mine, your grace. I was told you had an answer to my proposal?"

The duke chuckled as the count winced.

"Straight to business then? Very well." The duke leaned forward. "You wish to buy Count Rice's vassalage, and add his domain to your own. For this, you are willing to disburse a certain sum. Very well. It is quite simple: I refuse your terms."

Allya kept her face studiously neutral, but she felt the tension ratchet up in the room.

"May I ask why?" She asked, her voice as neutral as her expression.

"It is simple. Money and wealth does not interest me. The future does. The future of this realm…the future of our world."

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"The future?"

"Do not act dumb with me, girl. I ascended to take control of my duchy when your mother, Narilly Aubétoile, still eschewed her duties as heir of your dynasty and delved into dungeons." He chuckled at her suddenly not so neutral expression. "Yes girl, I've known your mother. It has been a great deal of time, but she went to Sarth for her delves once. But enough about the past. I have eyes, I can see that you and your dungeon core ally are willing, and going to, redraw the maps. I do not wish for a payment in equipment that will mean little soon. I wish to be part of the new order you are creating."

The silence was deafening.

Allya took a few seconds to get her expression, and voice, back under control.

"I see. Were we to have such plans, why would we possibly want to include you?"

"Because I have friends among the dungeons as well of course! Friends that have confided in me. Gave me enough pieces of the puzzle. And your, ah, ally, will need many more than just one dynasty to establish her new empire, and enable her legitimacy."

Allya's gaze sharpened.

"Were that true, you do realize that said ally would be incredibly dangerous, correct? And willing to do a great deal many things to keep such ambitions quiet."

"True, but there is a difference between what one wish to be able to do, and what they could do."

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Allya's voice wasn't just grim, it carried absolute certainty.

Because she knew, beyond all doubts, that the duke of Sarth was not outside Alexandra's reach.

If the dungeon core truly wished him dead, he would die within the day. Of that she was grimly certain.

That seemed to put the duke off balance.

"Perhaps. I will defer to your…greater expertise in this matter."

"I see. Then, what is your counter offer?"

The duke drew himself to his full height, and only then did Allya realize that he was far more imposing than he seemed at first sight. He must have had quite the heroic physique in his youth.

"It is remarkably simple. I have already begun some talks with their majesties to that effect, but in short, I will hand over Darthar…and recommend to their majesties that the Principality of Rebirth be made into a new Arch-Duchy, and Sarth as its first vassal."

That took Allya by surprise.

"Why?" She let out.

"You and your…ally share a key trait, baroness. When someone swears alliegiance to you, you give your alliegiance back. Your oldest associates are also your most favored. You could have shed Elkaryos' influence, bought back his share and chased his people out of your domain, found more favorable corporate allies. Yet you did not. You have kept up your end of the bargain, and the more he helped you, the more you helped him."

"That is the nature of allies."

"For you? Maybe. But for most people in this cesspit we call our world, it is not. I wish for my dynasty to hitch itself to your rising star. That Sarth sit at the right hand of Rebirth as you ascend." His voice softened. "I have not much time left in this world. And I refuse to resort to extending my own lifespan though less than natural means. I will leave my children a stable Sarth, not a wartorn or sidelined ruin."

"Even though it means being my subordinate?"

He laughed.

"Am I not their majesties' subordinate already? I have no wish to be a head of state. Neither do my children. Sarth has always existed in some greater power's shadow. A millennia ago, it was the Sapphire Kingdom's. Today it is their majesties'. Tomorrow…tomorrow I wish it to be Rebirth's. In less than two years, you have changed the continent forever. Shattered the Republic, and I believe you will save the Kingdom. Who knows what you will do in two more? A decade?"

He chuckled, but Allya did not.

She knew what they would do, if Alexandra stuck to her plans.

The old man had figured out a great deal, but he knew so little at the same time…

He thought Rebirth would change the world. If Alexandra had her way, Allya was becoming certain Rebirth would rule it instead.

There simply was no other choice, not if the dungeon core wished to have her vengeance, full and complete. For she would not rest until she had snuffed out every single spark of the Order that had murdered her, and butchered her party.

And that meant hunting them down to the farthest corners of Alcheryos.

"And so you wish to hop in early."

"Not early. Late. Though I suppose sending my nephew, Willard, did make considerable headroads early on."

"Quite. But what makes you think I will accept?"

The duke held out his hand, palm up.

"Because it is beneficiary to you, and far less costly than marching your army into Darthar and forcibly incorporating the city. With my influence within the kingdom, I can help smooth the way forward."

"I see. And what of your children?"

"They approve. Had you not been engaged, I would have offered you my daughter's hand in marriage, in fact."

Allya blinked, his daughter would…have been a fair bit older than her.

"I'm flattered."

"Don't be. It is a simple statement of fact." The duke sighed. "But that option is denied to me, unfortunately. So, what says you, baroness Allya Aubétoile of Rebirth?"

Allya closed her eyes. Weighed her options.

"I accept."

When she opened her eyes, the duke looked utterly astounded. The Count had simply been looking horrified for over half of the conversation.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." Allya smiled, and he shivered. He'd expected her to come running to Alexandra to ask for directions or orders.

She didn't need to. They were true allies. The Earth-born had the final say, but when she'd promised an alliance and not vassalage, she meant it.

"Well well well. Excellent then."

"We will need to hammer out precise terms of course. A great deal will need to be said and negotiated."

"Of course." Echoed the duke.

Allya smiled.

"And you will also need to meet with my ally."

"That shall be interesting."

"Oh it will be. It will be…"

Seeing how people reacted to the bulldozer that was Alexandra was quickly becoming one of her guilty pleasures in life. Finally, seeing it happen to someone other than her!

Now, how to break the news to the dungeon core…

*****

"So there is no manual activation?" Asked Alexandra as she leaned back against the workshop table.

Well, 'workshop table'. It was one of the tables in the arcane lab that wasn't covered in scientific equipment.

Magic was a science after all, and although progress was slow, even with Ghost's arcane compiler, it was steady.

Seraph shook their head.

"None. As far as I am aware, and Ghost was able to determine, the protocol is an autonomous black box."

"Uh. Probably to avoid someone triggering it on purpose."

"If, as you theorized, there was an artificial intelligence insurgency or attempted coup, such a scenario seems plausible."

"Thanks. Alright, so, any thoughts on this mess?"

"Under normal circumstances, I would advise activating the Omnicron protocol, but after my own misguided distress call, well…"

"We don't want another Old World attack."

The AI nodded.

"Precisely."

Alexandra sighed.

"Alright. Caution it is then."

"Affirmative."

The Earth-born nodded as she looked at the lab.

"So, any progress on the new stuff?" She gestured towards the tables, laden with the equipment taken from the would-be dungeonslayers.

"Yes, and no. The enchantments are complicated to examine, and they used few runic items."

Alexandra winced. That was to be expected. Enchantments were considered to be the 'higher' end after all. More expensive to make and run, yes, but also immune to the more mundane damage that could cause runes to fail, an important feature for any weapon.

That reminded her to check up on her enchanter project, later.

"I'll ask Emilia to give me a hand. She can't give us new arcana, but nothing says she can't help me acquire some more." Alexandra glanced at the sarcophagus, at the back of the room. "Speaking of…"

"The subject is stable. Progress is hard to quantify however."

"Good." Alexandra walked to the slab of metal, wires and tubes.

She had made virtual reality pods already. Fusing them with a cryo system had been harder, but doable. The 'autodoc' part had been vastly easier however, she simply had to inject the appropriate potions. It was both containment cell and resurrection chamber, with everything needed to keep somebody alive and restrained.

And, if necessary, neutralize them in a hurry.

She wiped the condensation on the sarcophagus' little window, and gazed at the face of the archmage that had tried to kill her.

If Emilia wouldn't giver her more arcana…

Then she would get someone who would.