Chapter 165 – Floor 15: Part 11

In the center of the fortified city of New York, a ritual was taking place. Chanted words rang out as dozens of mages channelled their mana into the carved symbols and runes that dominated a large section of the market square that had been cleared of people and objects.

The air was filled with Aether and Mana; the spicy scent also carried something else, an indefinable hint of something that Mathew could only assume came from the three Ancestral Beast hearts placed around the ritual space.

The ritual itself accomplished nothing aside from pumping Mana and Aether into the atmosphere, carried out to sea by the strong winds coming from the east. He had no doubt that the Kraken would detect it, but would it fall for their ruse and come rushing at the city from its lair?

“Everything is ready.” Alfred said as he walked up to Mathew. The younger Prince had been tasked to organize things with the Governor.

“Good, let’s go up and have a look.” Mathew responded as he turned away from the ritual site and started to walk toward the distant set of elevators that would take the pair to the top of the wall.

At four stories high and made of stone stacked and fitted together from a local quarry, it wrapped around the entire island and protected it from assaults from the surrounding rivers and seas.

“Have you picked a new Blessing yet?” Alfred asked as they travelled.

The ‘Alter Body - Investiture of Flame’ wouldn’t be effective against the Kraken, and Mathew had mentioned the need to find a new blessing with the Aether, which he had gained from killing the ancestral werebeast.

It had been a strange revelation for Alfred, the fact that such power could be gained so easily. It was akin to going into a store and spending gold to purchase superhuman abilities.

“Yeah. Investiture of Lightning works about the same as the other one but increases my speed instead of the strength of my physical attacks.” Mathew explained. They reached the lift to the top of the wall shortly after, a wooden structure that used a large counterweight to raise the platform.

It swayed slightly in the wind, and Mathew could still hear the ritual chanting as they slowly rose higher. By the time they were standing on the battlements, Mathew couldn’t hear much more than a scattered whisper of the magical language.

The cannons had been loaded with enchanted armaments capable of generating electrical currents; when the Merrow emerged from the water, they would be susceptible to bombardment. But they couldn’t do anything until they surfaced, meaning the Merrow had the advantage of being able to approach the walls unimpeded.

Mathew had inquired about sending a force to confront the Merrow on the shore or at sea but had been shot down immediately. The Merrow had such an overwhelming advantage in the water that it would be suicide to send anyone against them.

He inspected the cannons and found them all to be charged and ready, with gunners waiting for the signal to fire. Harpoon launchers were next to the large cannons, of which there were hundreds. These massive crossbow-like devices could launch a steel harpoon nearly a mile out, and each had a coil of magical rope connected to it.

The plan was simple: draw out the Kraken and bombard it with everything they had. If that didn’t kill it, they would use harpoons to keep the creature from retreating by sinking the barbed heads into its flesh and anchoring the ropes to the shore.

Mathew leaned out over the parapet at the ocean. The water was grey, the sky cloudy, and there was a hint of rain in the air that threatened to worsen as the day went on. It was a rare moment of peace with all of the preparations and battles, and Mathew intended to enjoy it.

“How are you feeling?” Mathew asked Alfred, more to fill the silence than out of genuine concern for the young man.

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“Fine. Better than I was before you arrived. However, I could have done without all the violence and threat of death that you brought. Thank you for that.” Alfred replied, and Mathew laughed slightly at the response.

“You’re welcome. Pretty soon we’ll have five hearts, you’ll be healed, and I can be on my way. Crown Prince Alfred of Anglia.” Mathew said, giving a half-hearted and mocking salute to his companion that had Alfred scoffing.

“Don’t act like you have been doing all of this for me.” Alfred said, gesturing vaguely to all the activity and people around him. He felt guilty at times for putting all these people at risk, hunting the hearts of Ancestral Beasts for a ritual to heal him.

“I’m not. I’m doing it for myself because that’s the only way I’m going to be allowed to progress to the next floor. And everyone around us isn’t doing it for you, either. They’re doing it because the Ancestral Beasts are a threat.” Mathew frowned as he saw the Governor speaking to a group of commanders and higher-ranking people in the distance.

Louis was with them; it was his turn to suffer the Governor. Alfred had finally managed to pawn off his responsibility to someone, freeing him from dealing with the Governor and his people.

“Or they’re doing it for greed.” Mathew finished. The promise of whatever riches the Kraken had accumulated in its lair was a powerful incentive, although Mathew wasn’t sure if such a treasure even existed.

“Why do you do it? From what I’ve been able to tell about you, you don’t seem like the kind of person desperate for power or eternal life. Why did you enter the Tower in the first place?” Alfred asked with curiosity.

He didn’t know much about Mathew; he had only learned the man’s name a few months ago. Mathew was difficult to read and impossible to predict. He could be terrifying in battle but let insults wash over him like they were nothing.

“I entered to help someone.” Mathew whispered, shrugging his shoulder and not looking at Alfred.

“Did you?” Alfred inquired.

“Not yet. Maybe never. People are hard to track in the Tower; you can’t exactly look them up or call their cell phone.” Mathew replied.

“Cell phone?” Alfred questioned, unfamiliar with the term.

“Never mind. Anyway, you should go check on that ritual again. We can’t risk it not working.” Mathew said, and Alfred could recognize the clear dismissal in his voice. He obviously didn’t want to talk about the Tower anymore, or perhaps he just wanted some time alone.

Whatever the reason, Alfred left him alone and went to check on the ritual while Mathew continued to stare out at the ocean.

Page Break

The Merrow arrived with the tide. The sea surged and released a horde of the corrupted Merfolk onto the shores and a host of other monsters.

The Merrow resembled humans but scaled like a fish. They had webbed feet and hands but wore armour made of driftwood, kelp and seaweed. They rode giant fish leaping from the water and flying across the surface, their fins catching the air and propelling them forward.

There were tens of thousands of them, a first wave of an army so numerous that they filled the ocean with their bulk.

The humans responded with a bombardment of cannons that shook the ground and shattered the sky. The darkness that had descended on New York was lit by fire as the cannons radiated flames and heat from the discharge of their firing.

Hundreds of objects sailed through the air toward the Merrow, and the sea creatures responded by shielding themselves with layers of water drawn from the sea. A massive bubble formed around them, shimmering in the light of the moon that peaked out from between the clouds.

But such a barrier could never stop the force of cannons that had been designed to kill the Merrow. The projectiles impacted on the surface of the bubble, stopping suddenly in mid-air as they were unable to penetrate it.

They detonated together in an instant, and a wave of bright yellow, blue and orange electricity arced outwards across the barrier. Nothing could stop the destructive power contained within the cannon’s projectiles, and the shield the Merrow formed failed.

The wave of electricity swept across the invading Merrow, burning them from within. They crashed to the ground, their flying mounts dying in droves. From where the human defenders stood atop the wall, they could hear the cries of pain and terror as the Merrow died and could smell the stink of their burning flesh.

Wave after wave assaulted the wall and were driven back by the human's overwhelming firepower. But so numerous were the numbers of the Merrow that soon they were fighting on top of the wall, and in the city, several of the gates had fallen to the assault, and bodies littered the streets.

Through this chaos, the Kraken received the message from its enslaved Merrow that the city was on the verge of falling. There was no sign of any other Ancestral Beasts, but they had felt a collected energy that spoke of Crystallized Aether hearts gathered from the Kraken’s fallen brethren.

If it could obtain them, their power would become its to command. Driven by an insatiable hunger and greed, the Kraken left its lair and soon arrived at the city. When its head emerged from the depths of the sea, it saw its Merrow slaves crawling on the wall and breaching a city aflame.

It merely needed to approach the city to feel the location of the Hearts and command its slaves to grab them.