***The Crystal City***

***Celes***

Angrod and I ready ourselves as quickly as possible, summoning our armour and weapons as we rush out of our bedroom.

My new crystal armour solidifies directly on my body and two short crystal swords appear in my hands, all thanks to a storage ring that Angrod gave me. The armour is soft, almost like cloth, but is actually a nano-woven mesh of crystal chain-mail, the newest state-of-the-art in using Mana Crystal as a garment.

I also still have my daggers which are concealed as hairpins, but for dealing with those demons I prefer something with a slightly longer range.

“How can Aengus and Sharid be aiding the Calamity?” I ask while Angrod instructs Warden to show us the precise position of the intruders, his staff in hand and brimming with energy.

“It looks like they were taken over, though, I don’t know how that should be possible. I ordered the healers to check them.” He shakes his head. “The Calamity must have concealed sleeper agents among our ranks. Once this is over, I will personally check each and every one of our mind mages! There is something seriously foul among our men if Sharid and Aengus got through the check-up unrecognized.”

“What do we do?” The normal protocol should be a total shutdown of all facilities until the guardsmen have dealt with the attack. “Why is the Calamity even after Warden?” It makes no conceivable sense to me. “It should have been able to take out the AI all along. Through the Council, the Calamity was in control of this city and it did nothing for aeons. Why is Warden suddenly important?”

“Warden seems to be one of the major factors which ensure the multiverse’s status quo, so that makes it a primary target. If it is possible to take Warden out of the equation, our future iterations would know even less about their foe than we do now,” my husband contemplates. “And Warden was inactive until we reactivated it. Was there any reason to carve the city apart in the search of the AI’s core, leaving obvious traces that someone was trying to erase knowledge? But none of that is important right now. I have to get something! Go and help to protect Warden.” Angrod vanishes by using a pathway!

Bastard! He didn't bother to tell me about his plans! Seria’s prediction was right on spot. But I have no time to worry. I have to do what I can for Aengus and make sure that things don’t go horribly wrong!

In the knowledge that I would have to be there anyway, I decide to use a pathway directly to the Main Tower’s basement. After finding out about Warden's existence, we ensured that it is heavily protected. Nobody has access to the AI’s core except for a few selected individuals.

Namely Angrod and me, and that should be it! So I don’t understand how corrupting my son or his girlfriend could allow the Calamity easy access.

Maybe Seria was right in her suspicion that our enemy has access to knowledge from the previous iterations. If that’s the case, then my daughter’s ploy was indeed our only option at winning.

By using another pathway, I appear directly in a large chamber at the bottom of the central tower. Warden's crystal core was relocated to this place because it could be easily protected with a localized dampening field, allowing only those with the correct aura direct access via a pathway. Everyone else has to fight their way through several security installations.

All of our vital facilities are protected in this manner. Otherwise, anybody could just teleport in and out as he or she pleases.

I appear directly in a fight between our royal guards and some people who look like normal citizens. Their clothes suggest that they are from different social circles; vendors, higher deities, even some of our own guards are among the attackers. It seems like the Calamity committed a major part of its spies to this operation.

We were too lax in our security. There aren't many restrictions on visiting or leaving the Crystal City, but there was also never an indication that the Calamity could turn and control so many puppets at once.

These people were able to walk directly in front of our tower before starting their attack!

A random-looking guy runs towards me and tries to stab me with a crystal spear, but from my point of view, his actions are slow. It is like he is moving through water while my own movements are unhindered, which makes him at most a lesser deity. I evade with a pirouette while one of my swords slashes down on his neck, cutting through his aura and claiming his head with ease.

This is another difference between the Calamity’s fiends and its puppets. They look and fight as if they were real deities. They even have auras, a feature which the Calamity’s fiends lacked.

They are to be pitied, but I won't die here because I show mercy towards controlled people. My only concern is how to stop Aengus and Sharid, possibly without hurting them. They are weaker than me, that's for sure, but I am not confident that I can stop Aengus without causing serious injuries. He has grown in the years since his awakening, travelling the multiverse on his own and increasing his skills, but he shouldn’t be on par with me.

“Queen! You have to go into the sealed vault! Some of them got through before the reinforcements arrived! The ambassadors went after them,” a guard informs me of the situation and I turn to run inside the tower.

Some of the ambassadors came to help? They were fast! Maybe a little too fast? Even if they heard of the alarm at the same time as us, how did they manage to react so quickly?

I grit my teeth, remembering Seria’s words as I leave the defenders behind to enter the inner vault.

The only thing that matters is that I am in the right place at the right time.

I find some guards at the vault’s entrance, most likely dead, but I have no time to check on them, so I pass them by without so much as a second look. After a set of heavy blast doors, I arrive at the stairway which leads into the tower’s secure basement and take the stairs with big steps, already hearing the sounds of a battle.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The basement's arrangement isn't complicated at all. There is just one, big, long hallway at the end of the stairway and the room with Warden’s core at the end.

Some smaller corridors spread to the left and the right, leading to offices and storage rooms that handle restricted information and banned objects.

I step into the hallway and find a few guards and Carne, Miruliru, and Chiffre in a battle with several agents of the Calamity. Gwalonna is lying on the ground with Zanders taking care of her.

Aengus and Sharid are clearly aiding the attackers, with Nix and Tanja trying to fight them off as best as they can. The Calamity’s minions outnumber the defenders by a great margin, but that is not the problem. Our people are trying to spare Aengus’ life, and that’s what is costing them.

It is only well and good that they have their backs towards me, giving me the needed time to decide on what to do next. Some precious seconds pass before I jump into the fight, cutting and hacking a bloody path in my son's direction.

Hopefully, the attackers who are still being held back at the entrance will be dealt with soon, allowing more reinforcements to arrive.

A few of the attackers take notice and three agents dare to block my path.

“You dare to face me!?” I channel my mana into my weapons, sending out a wave of power that would have shattered any other place save for the Crystal City. Unleashing my aura immediately takes the momentum out of the enemy attack, giving the defenders time to form a line of defence in front of the entrance to the central control room.

I evade one of my enemies and take a stab at the second one while ramming my shoulder into the third which sends him flying! My goal is Aengus, not wasting time with these peons.

“Aengus!” I scream at him, unbothered by the inconvenience the others pose.

He only gives me a smug grin as he readies his crystal sword, turning away from Nix who has her hands full with a group of enemies.

“No worries, mother. Everything will end soon enough.” He slashes at me and I block the attack with one of my swords.

“Fight it! Did you forget who you are!? You aren't like this!” I try to appeal to him, but there is no sign of bewilderment in his face.

We trade blow for blow, allowing me to realize that he got much better with his sword all of a sudden. Blinking, I realize that I might not be able to subdue him in time.

The battle heats up around us and I try to find an opening in Aengus's defence while Tanja is busy with Sharid, also hindered by the fact that she is trying to spare her opponent.

Suddenly, my feet are swept out from under me and I fall on my back, losing one of my swords which is sent clattering over the ground. Turning my head, I see that one of the lesser agents took a backstabbing blow at me from behind.

Aengus kicks my second sword out my hand and raises his sword in order to end it, the tip of his blade pointing down at my chest.

This can't be! I want to scream but no words come out as I channel power through my internal pathways. My hand moves entirely by reflex as I catch the blade and completely hold its momentum.

Aengus’ eyes widen in surprise as I realign the weapon and push forward with all my might as I sit up. The weapon’s hilt slips my son’s grasp and rams through his chest plate as I propel myself upwards with my free hand.

He stumbles but remains standing as he is pushed back by the sheer force of my thrust, the weapon’s guard not allowing it to sink further in.

Knowing that it is over, I pull it out which allows a steady stream of blood to exit my son’s chest, leaving him to stare at the mortal wound. “You have killed me, mother.”

I grit my teeth and tighten my grip on the blade until it finally cuts through my skin. “Haven’t you looked at my son’s memories, Calamity? I am a bad mother. My hands have already killed a daughter in this life alone. And I am one who prefers to give hard lessons.”

He falls to his knees and looks up at me with an uncomprehending expression.

Hissing in rage, I raise the sword against the facsimile in front of me. “After taking Seria’s life, what would stop me from killing a son?”

The sword comes down like a hammer, caving in the thing’s head.

As I stare down at the dead body of my child, feeling empty inside, the room suddenly comes to life as it is filled with shimmering, blue lights. One of them punches a hole into Sharid's forehead, ending Tanja’s battle with her instantly.

Her limp body crumples onto the ground as agents start falling left and right, sharing a similar fate.

My son doesn’t witness any of this, his dead eyes staring into nothingness. His soul must have already left his body, torn out and eaten by the Calamity. What point would there be in having hope? Even Angrod couldn’t restore those who were touched by the Calamity. Sharid and Enyo are only shades of their former selves.

Angrod is at the entrance to the hallway. The little, blue lights gather around him and I recognize them as small crystal blades. He has his staff in his left and a fist-sized, blue crystal hovers above his right hand, pulsing in a blue light.

The fighting dies down and Angrod slowly walks forward with a sad expression on his face. The little blades are still circling him like a deadly promise.

“Where have you been!” I scream at him with tears in my eyes, realizing that my conflicting emotions are acting up again as I am torn between rational regret and fiery rage at him.

“Just the right thing. I always do just the right thing, but it always ends in pain and suffering,” Angrod answers with a pained expression as he looks down at our son’s body.

I walk towards Angrod, passing Sharid's shell on the way. “Angrod?”

A little, small crystal lashes out from the side and punches into my left leg, remaining stuck. It was so fast, I didn't even see it coming.

Simply reacting, I try taking a good punch at him, but my fist impacts a shimmering force field which renders my attack a worthless gesture.

He attacked me!? How could he? I fall to my knees in front of him. I can't even stand properly anymore, knowing what has to happen and to what lengths he is going to achieve his dearest wish.

“Just rest here.” Believing me rendered immobile, Angrod walks past me towards the central chamber.

“What do you think you are doing?” Carne blocks Angrod's path.

With thunder, a blue flash of light strikes at Carne, throwing him several feet backwards into a wall. He just drops to the ground and moves no more.

Weapons are readied all around and turned towards Angrod.

“Palace! Hack and delete Warden. It isn't needed anymore. Then take control of the Crystal City,” Angrod gives an insane command.

“~Affirmative!~” a voice replies out of the blue crystal in Angrod's right hand, confirming the order.

“What do... you.. think... I … NOT!... PROTECT... Why?” Warden stutters.

“You are not under my direct control, Warden. That makes you a liability since you would likely refuse my next commands.” Angrod continuously walks forward, deadly set on his chosen path.

Miruliru steps in front of the central chamber and erects a barrier. “I don't know what has gotten into you, but it will stop here! I always disliked your creepy attitude and this tops everything so far!”

Others start joining her while pouring their power into the barrier which stops Angrod's advance.

He places a hand on the barrier and sparks of energy lash back and forth between them. “Nothing has gotten into me. I just realized that doing the right things won't accomplish my desired result. This isn’t a matter that can be solved by playing nice. The multiverse can’t be changed by doing the right thing, so I will do all the wrong things for once. It's a gamble.”

“I don't understand what you are talking about!” Chiffre calls out.

“You don't need to understand. You just need to die.” Angrod gives them a wry smile and actually starts pushing them back.

“~Everyone. Has to die.~”