While Vercedei and Werchbite put on a performance for the six CEOs, Sam took out his stone tablet and formed a connection with it, accessing the reptilians’ network. Since the reptilians were closer to the mantids, there must’ve been some information about the so-called Devourer Vercedei claimed the mantids had summoned. Although the Devourer didn’t have to cross through reptilian territory to reach the human capital, given its size, the reptilians should’ve spotted it.

Although Sam couldn’t detect the creature with his All-Seeing Gaze because of the crystals embedded in the walls of the conference room, he could still sense it with his Vasundhara. Every step the Devourer took caused the earth to shake, sending vibrations up the building Sam was in and into his feet, painting him a picture of what the higher-dimensional creature looked like. It was large and rounded with stumpy legs similar to an overweight salamander; however, considering the number of legs it had—too many to count—perhaps it was more apt to compare it to a millipede.

While he was browsing through the reptilians’ network, his consciousness was poked, the reptilian way of starting a conversation whilst browsing on their stone tablets. Sam recognized the sender, Ellie.

“Hello, Sam,” Ellie said, transmitting her thoughts to him. “Did you see the Surtakatul?”

“I think I’m seeing it right now,” Sam said, speaking for himself for the first time in what felt like a while. “Are you talking about the calamity?”

“Calamity, that’s a good word for it,” Ellie said. “You should’ve been there to see it; it was huge! Everyone grouped up to fight it, but it turned away instead of trying to eat us. We think it’s going to the human city to eat them first, so it can gather some energy to try to get us later.”

“What was the plan to fight it?” Sam asked. “The humans are mounting a defense, but I don’t think they know what to do against it.”

“Even if you know, you can’t copy us anyway,” Ellie said. “It’s just a really big bug, so we were going to hit it with really big sticks, break its legs one by one.”

“Wouldn’t that be dangerous?” Sam asked.

“Not with a good levistone driver,” Ellie said. “We dug a bunch of tunnels to use as cover.”

The image of reptilians holding giant spears whilst riding levistones in the air, stabbing at the giant mass of flesh he had sensed with his Vasundhara appeared in Sam’s mind. He imagined it was similar wasps attacking a person—if wasps tried to amputate people’s legs with their stingers. However, it was scary, but it was probably just as scary for the wasp since a single solid hit could mean death. “Isn’t that still dangerous?”

“Hunting is always dangerous,” Ellie said. “That’s what makes it fun.”

“I see,” Sam said. What Ellie said was true; humans couldn’t deploy reptilian tactics since not all of them could command levistones, but the general direction for defeating the calamity had been revealed. Cripple its movement by destroying its legs before finishing it off. “Is it that easy to defeat?” Even Raindu, higher-dimensional being in the form of a tiny ferret, could kill someone simply by touching them and robbing them of their organs. It was hard to believe the Surtakatul didn’t have its own unique ability. “Can it do anything special or unusual that we have to pay attention to?”

“I’m not sure!” Ellie said. “We were going to figure it out as we fought. It’s been a long, long time since the last Surtakatul has been spotted, but we have some recordings that say breaking the Surtakatul’s legs was how the blue avians killed it.”

Although Sam hoped to get some information about the enemy beforehand to help out the humans, perhaps providing them with the creature’s weaknesses and strengths, he supposed even if he didn’t do anything, everything would be fine. Humanity might suffer some losses, but Vercedei had said the calamity was going to be stopped by Sam once it seemed like the humans couldn’t hold on any longer. Vercedei or his other familiars would know what to do to stop the Surtakatul, and if they didn’t, they’d use the human defense as a trial to uncover the calamity’s combat methods.

“If humans are going to fight the Surtakatul,” Ellie said, “they should pick a clear space with not much around—like our desert—and use tunnels in the ground as cover. That’s all the advice I can give you.”

“Thanks,” Sam said. He figured he wouldn’t find anything better than Ellie’s advice on the reptilians’ network, so he disconnected from it and turned his attention back onto his surroundings. The six CEOs were busy with their devices, and Sam had a feeling some of them were doing more than simply preparing for a battle against a calamity with how frantically their fingers were moving. Wasn’t it human nature to always seek out advantages even in times of disaster? He wouldn’t be surprised if the companies were having an internal competition to reduce their losses or even gain some profits, so they could stand above the others after the battle was over. However, even though Sam suspected it, he wasn’t going to comment on it, not when his freedom of speech was limited by the twin-headed snake covering his mouth.

“Have you all figured out a general plan of defense?” Vercedei asked, the illusion of Sam glancing around at the six CEOs. “If you haven’t, I can offer some suggestions.”

The CEOs exchanged glances with one another. Although they had contacted their secretaries and advisors to create a plan of defense, if Sam, the alleged strongest human to ever exist, wanted to offer them advice, it’d be stupid of them not to take it.

“What do you suggest?” Queen Annabeth asked, putting her phone on speaker mode, so the person on the other end could hear everything. “I imagine reducing the casualties is something you’ll want to accomplish since we’ll be working under you.”

“You’ll want to engage the creature in flat terrain,” Vercedei said. “You’ll also want to make sure you have escape routes dug out underneath it. Its legs are its weakness, and if you can destroy them, you’ll have a good shot at winning.”

“Did you get that?” Queen Annabeth asked into her phone.

A familiar voice, Wendy’s, responded. “Yes,” she said. “And its abilities? What do we have to pay attention to if we want to stay alive?”

Since Wendy was half-reptilian and could access the reptilians’ network as well, she already knew the reptilians’ strategy, and it likely would’ve already been presented as one of Monarch’s ideas. Sam didn’t think Vercedei would embarrass itself by not elaborating; if it didn’t, then the twin-headed snake would simply be talking to hear its own voice.

“I can tell you’re egging me on,” Vercedei’s voice said within Sam’s mind, “and this time, I’ll amuse you.” The illusion of Sam’s mouth open and said, “Covering the creature’s body, including its legs, there are tendrils similar to a sea anemone’s. They wrap around anything they come in contact with and bring them inside its body where they’re devoured. You’ll have to avoid the tendrils whilst dealing damage to creature’s legs, and it will actively try to kill you if you harm it.”

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“I understand,” Wendy’s voice said from over the phone. “I’ll communicate this information to the others. Is there anything else we have to watch out for?”

“It can use what it devours to recover its body,” Vercedei said. “So, if you break off one leg, and it eats a building, it’ll regrow a leg that may have characteristics of said building. If it eats an awakened who can, say, turn into lightning”—Mr. Park flinched—“then, who’s to say the creature won’t be able to turn into lightning as well? It’d be quite problematic if it could move as fast as lightning, don’t you think?”

“What if all the awakeners who’ve gone missing have been fed to that creature?” Zahir Gupta said. “If it could do everything they could do, aren’t we screwed if we try to fight it? I consider myself risk tolerant, but I do believe retreating is the most sensible option in this particular situation. If Sam can defeat it without our help, then I believe it’s best he does so. Although it’d certainly have a great effect if he showed his strength after we struggled to do nothing to the incoming beast, I’d rather not risk the lives of my men for such a vain activity.”

“I see Mr. Gupta over here doesn’t approve of my ways,” Vercedei said. “However, what if fulfilling this vain condition of mine is the only way for you to make me take action? Although I could resolve this trouble by myself, it’s a test from me to all of you.” The illusion of Sam’s eyes narrowed as a thin smile appeared on its face. “Not everyone is qualified to be my underling, you know?”

Zahir Gupta’s eyes narrowed. “I see,” he said. “I understand. Humans are like flowers, and only the healthiest ones will catch your eyes.”

“Exactly,” Vercedei said. “It’s good you understand.” The illusion swept its gaze across the room. “I really wish you all the best of luck. There’s a lot of potential here, so try your best not to die.”

***

Sam sat atop Manga, the wooly pig standing on a building’s rooftop. From there, he could see everything around the capital for miles with his All-Seeing Gaze and Vasundhara active—save for the regions shielded by crystals. Since the Surtakatul was approaching the capital with a direct route, that didn’t leave many places humanity to set up their line of defense. As such, they cleared an area outside the city with a combination of excavating tools and awakened powers. Even with supernatural powers, it took several hours to clear such a wide swath of land, but Sam didn’t think it was enough given the Surtakatul’s size. However, with such short notice about the impending attack, it was the best humanity could do.

“When are you going to step in to help them?” Sam asked the twin-headed snake, communicating with his familiar through his thoughts. “And, I assume, I’m the one who’s actually going to take action, right?”

“That’s right,” Vercedei said. “You’re going to defeat the Surtakatul. While the humans fight it, take your time to observe its attack patterns and techniques. When you’re ready, go in to defeat it.”

Sam wasn’t sure if he could defeat a higher-dimensional being by himself. He had never fought one before despite having so many of them hanging around him. How would he begin to fight the Surtakatul? He’d probably manipulate its own tendrils into attacking itself since it could eat whatever he threw at it. Maybe lifting it and slamming it into the ground would work? No, Ellie had already told him how the blue avians defeated it in the past; all he had to do was target its legs. Although ripping an object with telekinesis—as opposed to lifting the whole thing—was difficult, that didn’t mean it was impossible.

“Have more confidence,” Raindu said as it climbed out of Sam’s shirt and placed its front foot on his cheek while sitting on his shoulder. “Don’t you remember what Wolfgang said? When a calamity is detected, the blue avians leave it all to Paula to handle, and if Paula can handle calamities by themselves, why can’t you? You’re not any weaker than Paula; in fact, you’re stronger since you’ve mastered two external chakras.”

The black ferret had a good point. If a calamity could be defeated by a blue avian, and if he was as strong as a blue avian, then he stood a fairly good chance against a calamity. As long as he remembered to apply what he was taught, theoretically, he could wipe the floor with the Surtakatul without getting a single scratch. Sam took comfort in that fact and relaxed. As long as no extremely talented awakened was eaten by the creature, then it shouldn’t be that difficult for him to defeat.

Sam continued to observe the preparations of the six big companies, headed by six extremely talented awakened. He suddenly had a bad feeling about the upcoming fight. “Let’s go closer to the action,” Sam said through his throat chakra to the wooly pig underneath him. “If it looks like anyone is about to be eaten, I’ll have to interfere and save them.” To Sam, it didn’t make sense to lose the heavy hitters that would be under his command in the future whilst also empowering an enemy in the present.

Manga let out its signature four-syllable-long cry, and its legs ran forward. The pig rose into the air and dashed in a straight line towards the clearing the companies had created as the intended battleground. Once they were overhead, Sam could hear the rumbling of heavy machinery, mostly provided by Saamoohik, working on digging tunnels wide enough for people to maneuver and fight in. There used to be trees and hills with vegetation in the region, but all of it had been flattened and turned to dirt mixed with broken stems, roots, and leaves.

“Sam,” Queen Annabeth said, the first to notice him and the wooly pig in the air. “Are you here to inspect our handiwork?”

“Yes,” Vercedei said, speaking for Sam. “The calamity will be here soon. Are you ready?” There were a little less than two thousand people assembled in the clearing, roughly three hundred per company. “Is this everyone who’s going to participate in the fight?”

“That’s correct,” Queen Annabeth said. “After taking your advice into consideration, we decided it’d be best to limit the people fighting the calamity to those who’re confident in their evasive abilities and long-ranged firepower.”

“A wise choice,” Vercedei said as the illusion of Sam turned its head and scanned the area. Positioned not too far away inside of a few trenches, there were vehicles with rocket launchers and artillery structures attached. “Although it’s not a bad idea to use explosives, you have to be careful. Explosions can be effective if they destroy the calamity’s tendrils, but if the calamity manages to eat your ammunition instead, you won’t be doing any damage to it, and you’ll be supplying it with explosive projectiles.”

“Noted,” Queen Annabeth said and turned towards Wendy. “Inform the others. Their shots must be precise. They should aim to destroy the tendrils shielding its knees.”

Sam patted Manga’s back, and the wooly pig descended onto the ground. With his Vasundhara and All-Seeing Gaze, Sam inspected the Surtakatul once more. Its legs were thick like an elephant’s leg, but they were large, long, and bent like a spider’s leg. Although it’d be more effective to destroy the leg where it connected to the body, breaking its knees were more practical. Sam’s forehead wrinkled as he sensed movement from the Surtakatul’s abdomen. Hundreds of unidentified blobs were falling out from holes within the Surtakatul’s body, and Sam had a feeling they weren’t blobs of excrement.

“It looks like the calamity has already devoured something, making this encounter a lot more dangerous than expected,” Vercedei said, the illusion of Sam clicking its tongue. “If I’m not wrong, it’s eaten a mantid queen and gained its ability of mass reproduction. It’s creating a ton of minions as I speak.”

“That sounds bad,” Queen Annabeth said, scrutinizing Sam’s face. Unfortunately for her, it was just an illusion, and it didn’t betray any hints of emotion other than annoyance. “Should we change our strategy?”

The illusion of Sam shrugged its shoulders. “I can’t tell you how to do everything,” Vercedei said. “Just try your best. I suggest calling some close-ranged fighters as well to handle the minions, or you’re going to struggle.”

“It’s a good thing we have people on standby,” Wendy said and retrieved a device clipped to the belt on her waist. She spoke into it. “There’s been a change of plans. Combat personnel who’re on standby should ready themselves for battle. The calamity has summoned minions that need to be taken care of.”

Since the Surtakatul had shown part of its hand, Sam couldn’t help but wonder if he should step in and help out. From what he could see, the minions the Surtakatul had summoned weren’t made for combat; rather, they were spreading out and harvesting everything above the ground before returning to feed what they had gathered to the Surtakatul. Unless the humans destroyed all the gatherers, the Surtakatul would constantly replenish its health, and it wouldn’t matter how many of its legs humanity managed to destroy.

“No,” Vercedei said, speaking in Sam’s mind. “Humanity is stupid and prideful, and they must first be humbled by the calamity. Only after they recognize their limits should you help them; then, they’ll recognize your true worth. You’ll be heralded as the one and only savior.”

Sam wasn’t quite sure he wanted to be a savior, but if his familiars wanted him to be one, what choice did he have? He couldn’t even walk on his own without permission—permission that was never granted.