~~~Stanley~~~

Stanley woke up on the ceiling again, while a giant pug filled the room below and an equally giant tongue soaked him from head to toe.

Waking up covered in disturbingly warm dog drool was enough to send his nightmares scurrying away into half-remembered shadows at the back of his mind, and Stanley was happy enough to leave them there. Though he did feel bad for Caffeine when he went to the shower and left the pug cowering at the doorway.

Walter knocked on the bedroom door moments after he finished dressing, but Stanley already knew the butler was spying on him. Also, he probably showed up because Stanley had figured out that the tie didn't matter for his buffs and had just thrown it on the bed...

"Might you care for some tea," Walter asked as he set down the tray. Then he was beside the bed, picking up the tie. "Allow me, sir."

Stanley allowed. It was a little thing, and the least he could do. "Figured I'd get an early start since..."

"I'm sure you can spare a few minutes for this old man before we both must be about the day?" He lifted a silver cover from a smaller tray, beneath which was a bowl surrounded by bite-sized fish things. "I have prepared a light breakfast for us and, of course, for our resident lord."

Stanley folded. Walter was a cheater. "Of course I can."

"So," he said after taking his first obligatory sip. "How goes it here? Still killing ants in the lobby?"

"Indeed, and I am pleased to say that we have three full-time lair teams as of yesterday. Not counting Master Daryl and Master Adrian, of course."

"That's good," Stanley said, and he meant it. Though how good it actually was would depend on the teams. Still, anyone who went hunting every day was bound to become more powerful. Maybe not to his own level, but raising your attributes would have an impact. Doing so while hunting and killing to get the cores—well, the path to power really was that simple. If only so many people weren't lazy cowards...

"Miss Langley has proven herself remarkably adept and now leads her own team."

"Who's Langley?"

"Miss Kira Langley. I believe her newfound prowess owes much to a certain spear she received from..."

"Sorry." Stanley put up his soul shield when he felt the flinch from Walter's soul. He kept forgetting to keep it up while in here. Walter was spoiling him.

"My apologies, sir. I did not wish to bring up unpleasant..."

"It's fine," Stanley snapped. Then he felt bad and said in a softer tone, "It's fine, Walter. Really. It just sneaks up on me sometimes."

Walter took a sip and ate one of the fish things without speaking again, but Stanley could feel the question coming. So he used the lull to telekinetically throw a handful of fish things across the room. He even remembered to lift up the table so the tea wouldn't spill when Caffeine shook the entire building to catch them.

"Miss Leimon has assured me she is available at your convenience. Any time you wish to..."

"I said I'd think about it," Stanley said, interrupting before Walter could go on with his speech again. He just couldn't see how a shrink was going to help him; he'd probably be better off using the time to meditate.

"Of course, sir." Walter took a sip.

Stanley didn't linger after that, finishing his tea and feeding all but one of the fish things to Caffeine. He ate the last one himself... and regretted it.

They weren't bad. In fact, they tasted fine. Just... fishy. Of course, he only regretted eating it because Caffeine would have enjoyed it way more. The way he enjoyed every snack.

When it was over, he went for the door. "Stuff to do. I'll see you..."

"Will you be taking this, sir?" Walter stopped him before he made it out, a jagged piece of metal in his hand.

Stanley eyed the crown with distaste but stuck it on his head anyway. The buff was too damn good to ignore.

Buff Gained: [Onrushing Thorns]

Then he flew away toward Bernard and his merry band of new recruits.

Mr. Whip everyone into shape was exactly as arrogant when Stanley returned to pick him and his people up. He'd thought maybe someone would have mentioned to him how he'd stood around frozen like an idiot when Stanley stopped him... but maybe not?

Or was he still betting everything on controlling his food supply?

Despite the attitude, Stanley couldn't deny the guy was doing something right. Showing up and finding everyone ready to go the moment he arrived was... nice. They even had two huge wooden platforms already built for him to carry the people on.

He was tempted to swing by a lair and chow down in front of Bernard, just to see what reaction he'd get... but decided to save that surprise for later. Though someone was bound to tell him back at the base... Meh, knowing what he already did about the man, it was likely he'd dismiss the information and continue with his plan. Whatever that plan was.

The trip was uneventful, other than having Bernard flying beside him the whole way, and Stanley dropped them off at their new home only minutes later. Then he left before anyone had any bright ideas about enlisting him for construction work.

Speaking of work... he'd have to make sure Bernard paid up for the privilege of flying Stanley Air. Maybe cores? Since Nate already had the food covered? Though he probably should have brought that up beforehand... he could drag them all back if Bernard refused, but... was it even worth the effort?

It also looked like Nate would be busy getting them settled in, which meant Zeke's hunt would probably not head out just yet.

Plenty of time for another search flight.

His next flight path on the search pattern took him over mostly traveled ground, near enough to downtown that he could easily pick out Walter's tower in the distance.

Stanley flew on by, spotting a handful of human souls outside that were likely one of the lair teams Walter had mentioned. They were in combat with something, but didn't seem particularly worried, so he left them alone and crossed the river.

He'd seen the airport plenty of times already; the sprawling complex was visible from the tower, after all. So he knew there weren't any humans hiding out. Just a big lair in the terminal full of monsters. Because, of course, there would be.

Still, Stanley couldn't help going in for a closer look. There was something he wanted to try. Something non-hunting related.

There were more than a few planes still sitting at the gates, even a few on the tarmac with their doors hanging open; they'd probably just landed or been about to take off when shit hit the fan. Though thinking about it now, Stanley realized he hadn't seen any wreckage from plane crashes around the city... On that note, how many planes had crashed into the dome trapping everyone in here? How many had fallen into the vast expanse of ocean inside the dome?

Pointless speculation. Besides, he was here to have fun.

"Check this out, Caff." Stanley stretched out his hand as if to pick something up and lifted a jetliner into the air. The thing was mostly intact, and he waved his arm while making airplane noises as he sent the plane flying through the air like a toy.

Caffeine was unimpressed.

"Okay, how bout this?" Stanley threw it much like he would a paper airplane. Only this one was massive and made of metal. He also threw it too hard.

Not only did a few pieces go flying off when he launched it across the sky, but it also spiraled almost instantly toward the ground.

He caught it, straightened out the flaps and one of the wings, then carried it higher before trying again. With a slower ramp up in speed, it actually glided for a while before plowing into the ocean. "Sweet!"

Then he went inside one of the bigger ones and sat in the pilot's seat. Yeah, the seats were a little grungy-looking, and the lack of plastic anywhere in the cockpit made the whole thing feel a bit... abandoned. But he didn't let that stop him from taxing to the runway.

"Stanley Air, requesting clearance." Sure, the tires were all shot, but it was nothing a little mind over matter couldn't handle. "Ready, Caff?"

The pug gingerly sniffed the copilot's crumbling seat and then looked at Stanley with clear disappointment.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our copilot appears to be on strike because his seat is falling apart. Nevertheless, we are taking off immediately! Destination; San Diego!"

With the announcements out of the way, and despite the judging looks from Caffeine, Stanley flew them down the runway and up into the sky.

His view out the windshield was crap, but he still managed to steer them more or less on an upward trajectory. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are now traveling at..."

He tapped one of the instruments and the stuff inside crumbled out of sight behind the dash. "At an unknown altitude, but feel free to move about the cabin. I do regret to inform you that there may be some light turbulence when we crash into the magic blue wall, but until then, please enjoy our inflight entertainment."

Caffeine huffed and jumped into his lap before curling up for a nap.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my copilot has curled up in my lap to sleep. This is, of course, highly inappropriate workplace behavior... but I'm going to allow it."

There was a certain speed where he stopped having to hold up the plane and could just push it forward, but it was a surprisingly rough flight. Especially when all the flap things started jumping around.

Stanley flew on anyway, amusing himself with what people might think if they looked outside and saw a plane flying overhead. It would probably be a good way to search for human survivors if he didn't already have soul...

Three human souls appeared out of nowhere far below him, just close enough that he noticed.

He twisted the controls, which did nothing, then used his power to move the flaps into the proper orientation to tilt the plane on its side.

It tilted the wrong way.

Stanley sighed and forced the plane over on its left so he could look out the window. Soul Sight confirmed it. Humans. Three of them. Three very surprised, confused, and worried humans.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Then they vanished one by one. Or, at least their souls did. He couldn't actually make out individual people from this high up.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Stanley said, letting go of the plane. "I've got good news and bad news. The good news is, we'll be landing immediately. The bad news is, we're crash landing!"

He was nice enough to hold Caffeine in his lap while the plane went into a spiraling nose dive toward the ground. Or rather, right toward the river that cut through the city. So of course, Caffeine slept through it all. Even when the plane started shaking violently around them.

"I know you had no choice whatsoever, but thank you for choosing Air Stanley."

The river loomed larger through the windshield, and Stanley made a few course corrections to make sure they stayed on target. Ideally, he wouldn't crash into the people he'd just spotted, but if he just so happened to land on something hiding in the river... say, something with giant octopus tentacles?

Right before impact, Stanley stopped himself. Not stop stopped, but rather he grabbed a bubble around himself, the air, Caffeine, and his chair included, then stopped all of their motion through space.

This resulted in what felt like a very cinematic moment as he watched the plane continue on past and around him. He went through the bulkhead behind the cockpit, then through the main cabin while destroying quite a few seats, until finally tearing free out the tail end of the plane.

Of course, the plane had hit the river by then, and Stanley found himself surrounded by the resulting splash.

Caffeine did not sleep through that. In fact, he was extremely alarmed when he leapt to his feet in Stanley's lap.

It felt like he was mustering the courage to face certain death, and his muscles tensed in preparation to...

Stanley moved them to the shore, well away from the still violently churning water. "Sorry, Caff. That wasn't nice, was it?"

Looking around, he was fairly certain this was the area where he'd spotted the human souls. Unfortunately, there was still no sign of them. Of course, Stanley had a secret weapon. "Caff, who's that!?"

Caffeine's head jerked up away from the river and his eyes went wide as he looked for someone to bark at. So very much like he had so many times in the truck. Only, out here, he wasn't trapped inside and his nose started twitching a heartbeat before he jumped from Stanley's lap.

He trotted away, nose in the air, and Stanley followed close behind.

It was tempting to ramp up Soul Sight to full power in an attempt to overpower whatever shielding they were using, but that would mean bombarding whoever was hiding with his soul. Probably not the best first impression, even if he was in a good mood.

That proved unnecessary in the end, because Caffeine found the hiding trio a block away. Whereupon he immediately charged them with a loud chorus of his friendly, let me smell you, barks.

Stanley caught the pug before he got close, settling into a seated position and plopping Caffeine into his lap while flying slowly closer. "Greetings, fellow humans. I too enjoy playing the golf and eating the tacos!"

They obviously had no sense of humor, because all three of them immediately started casting spells at him. At least, he assumed as much when they started chanting gibberish and waving their hands about like actual wizards from a fantasy world.

It actually looked a little cool when their waving fingers left light trails through the air. It was less cool when those lights quickly brightened in a distinctly hostile manner.

Stop

Stop

Stop

Stanley watched their building magic fizzle into some very flashy sparks when they all stopped moving. Then he drifted off to the side before letting them go. Just in case.

It was a good call, because a few different effects erupted from their suddenly unfrozen hands. One man was engulfed in a burst of flame. Another did a backflip when his spell sent out a shockwave in his face. The last went flying backwards while a streak of yellow light shot through the space Stanley had been hovering in before.

"What the hell, guys?" he said, once they'd finished screaming and/or climbing to their feet. Two of them, at least; the last guy had disappeared behind a stand of trees. "I figured you would have a sense of humor since you're wearing those hilarious outfits."

"Y... you!" one man sputtered. He was wearing a brilliant and elaborately decorated fire-red robe. Presumably a wizard's robe, and thematic given he'd been casting fire magic.

The man who'd done the sweet backflip had an almost identical robe, only gray, with different symbols on the fabric. Unlike his red-robed partner, his robe had caught fire from the failed spell. He finally finished getting back to his feet after tripping over the hem a few times while putting out the fires and yelled, "You're one to talk!"

Stanley looked down at his all-white and still pristine suit; Walter's magic definitely did something to keep dirt from sticking to it. At least when it wasn't too destroyed. "That's fair. It's still not a good reason to attack me out of..."

Yellow-robe came soaring through the air over the trees, screaming more gibberish as he did. Stanley assumed it was another spell, but this time he didn't interfere; he wanted to see how powerful it was.

The... wizards didn't feel all that strong when he stopped them, but he still couldn't see their souls. Plus, their outfits looked deliberate, like they were handcrafted, and perhaps even magical. The red one seemed to at least have some fire resistance.

He did move Caffeine out of his lap and off to the side before the spell hit his arm. There was no need to be too reckless...

The streak of yellow light slammed into his arm, and Stanley held himself in place when it tried to send him spinning away. It hurt. Bruising for sure, perhaps even cracking bones... but it still failed to damage Walter's suit. Which was a shame. It might have been a good excuse to get rid of the white one...

Skill Level Up: Psionic Barrier

Though it was possible that skill played a role as well. He'd need to see them in action against a monster to really test their power.

"Hold!" Red-robe yelled. A bit late, all things considered. "Hold fire!"

"So what are you guys?" Stanley asked into the sudden silence. He looked up at the still hovering yellow-robe. "You're like only the second person I've met who can fly."

"We are wizards of the conclave," red-robe said, but pompously, as if it should mean something to Stanley. "I am Octavion of the evocation school, and these are my colleagues, Trevor and Gregory, of the abjuration and graviturgy schools, respectively."

Stanley waited to see if he was joking, since he still couldn't feel any of their souls. When no one laughed, he said, "I'm Stanley, king of the world." He nodded toward the pug, who was gingerly sniffing at them from a few feet away. "That's Caffeine. Lord of the Beasts."

Three pairs of eyes went wide, and Stanley realized he couldn't tell what emotion was on their faces. Blocking his soul sense was really cheating... "Whatever. I'm just out here looking for survivors. Got a growing population that way, and another in downtown if you're looking for..."

"We are aware," red-robe said.

"Oh... so you don't need to be rescued?"

"We do not need rescuing, but the council will wish to speak with you about..."

"Oh, look at that," Stanley said while looking at a non-existent watch. "I've got a hot date that I'm running late for. Bye!"

"Wait, you..." Their voices faded into the distance as he flew away. They didn't need his help, so there was no reason to bother. Plus, he probably was late for Zeke's hunt, especially after playing with the airplanes...

Stanley wasn't that late and besides, he didn't need to carry the new team to their lair. He didn't even drop in to say hello, much to Caffeine's disappointment. Instead, he kept his distance while Nate pushed them at a running pace out beyond the purified zone.

Nate wanted Stanley to watch over them, but also to hide from them—something easier said than done. It all seemed a bit unnecessary from Stanley's point of view, but he could waste a few minutes for Zeke's sake. Especially since he understood the reasoning for it and really didn't want the kid to be relying on him when it mattered most.

Nate planned to wait outside, something he wouldn't have done if Stanley wasn't watching. Or so he said.

While it was easy enough to follow from a distance, even without Soul Sight, Zeke's short but intensive training had done more to improve his skills than all that had come before. Now he glowed a bright gold even without looking at his soul.

They went to a lair Stanley had scouted before. One full of cockroaches in a wide variety of sizes. He'd barely engaged with them so he didn't know what abilities they all used. But he did know they looked disgusting, and it only got worse once you popped them open...

Stanley doubted they would have any real trouble. That was assuming Zeke could keep the healing going. As long as they had him, Stanley wasn't sure even a head shot would be enough to finish one of them.

He still flew down closer once they were inside and sent his mind in to watch over them. Obviously, he couldn't really see what was happening, but between listening to their souls and having his proverbial finger on the throats of every enemy nearby, it should be fine.

The lair was an old, eleven-story hotel. A big one. Definitely too big for this group to clear in one shot. But the main reason Nate picked this place as a starter was that the bugs didn't rally past their own floors. In fact, it was an oddity in that the roaches would fight each other quite a lot. Just not to the death. Instead, the loser of each fight retreated further down and created a perfectly escalating difficulty curve as you climbed.

It ended up being rather boring. Which was good. They fought through the bugs with a variety of weapons and magic abilities. Nothing flashy, but enough solid stuff. Though it felt like that Shattering Touch ability carried extra weight versus the tougher carapace of the roaches.

They were good. Stanley never had to interfere. Then Eve went off ahead on her own...

~~~Nefraxis~~~

Nefraxis wove the delicate strands of soul into an undetectable mesh for their eyes, such as they were. It was a masterful show of skill and proficiency that would allow for the detection of even the smallest and weakest of souls from great distances.

It was also completely unnecessary.

The target of the spell was not hiding. Even the feeble attempts it made to shield its soul accomplished little. That monstrous human was an undeniable beacon as it flew past in the distance. It was impossible to miss, even when it wasn't using that stolen skill to bombard the dungeon with its soul energies.

Of course, there was always a risk when using the soul this way, both in terms of detection and potential counterattack. But that brute would never notice such a delicate...

Nefraxis saw the beast in the human’s lap turn to look his way and he canceled the skill immediately. That damned creature!

It shouldn't be able to sense anything. Not while beside the ruined beacon of that human's soul. So, of course, it did anyway. An impossible beast for the impossible human.

A human who carried a Source while still in E-grade. A human who had wielded that Source to destroy Calderon while still in F-grade! It was pure madness! Its very existence a defiance of what was known to be possible.

This was not something they could blame on the human trait. No one and nothing could adapt to carry a Source in F-grade. Even a fraction of that power should still destroy the human. Utter and complete madness.

Watching that impossibility fly away, Nefraxis resisted the urge to curse the High Lords yet again. They could have ended this. They could have sent in more than that one arrogant fool!

It was obvious why they'd chosen as they did. They did not wish to lower the reward the Great System would bestow upon victory.

Arrogance. Greed. The High Lords had gambled on a lone D-grade against an impossible existence. Perhaps not so outrageous a gamble for existences so far above E-grade, and Nefraxis had not doubted the decision. Not until it failed.

If that fool had only accepted their help, this would already be over. They would be standing at the forefront of a new world conquest. Not just any world, either. But one that would send empires into war on a scale not seen for eons.

Only the arrogant fool failed. The human lived.

Not only that, but that coward Morgrath had failed to deal with the Purifier as well!

Nefraxis didn't believe either Morgrath or Ruish when they claimed retreat had been the only option. They had balked. An unforgiveable act of cowardice, which in any other time or place would see them harvested for parts and their souls fed into a ritual.

Unfortunately, Nefraxis had not witnessed the interaction firsthand. They'd been maintaining the rituals and feeding Gravus... Otherwise, this entire endeavor would have gone much differently.

Nefraxis let the useless emotions drain away as they observed the real target of this scouting expedition. The Purifier.

It was a young human from the reports, a male human, if that mattered, and more powerful than ever before.

Morgrath claimed to have attempted the recruitment, which would be the ideal outcome. Killing the purifier would have been less optimal... but better than allowing it to grow stronger instead!

Nefraxis turned away from the current source of their ire. It was tempting to strike at the human now, but that would be a mistake. The impossible human lurked in the sky, watching, and the second strongest human in this place followed behind.

It was a trap. A pathetic one that even a novice would see through, but a trap all the same.

It also didn't matter.

Let the humans play their little games. Let them think they are winning. It would be easier to destroy them that way.

There were many names for the Eternal March. Endless. Inevitable. Unstoppable. Enduring.

All of those titles had been earned and were well deserved. Because this war wasn't over, and the humans would come to understand exactly how hopeless their resistance was.

Ritual magic could do many things, including amplifying the growth rate of a lair. Normally, the effect would be minimal, and only effective over the very long term. But in this rapidly advancing dungeon...

That impossible human might have defeated a single D-grade, but it should struggle against three.

More importantly, the purifier would stand no chance. If they could strike at the right time, when that impossible human was not there to disrupt the plan...

Well, without the purifier, even an impossible human would eventually fall to corruption. To the march. As would everything. As it should be.