Chapter 122: A war’s cry.
"One round," Kai said.
Fhera’s grin could have split the cavern in half.
"Yes! Let us go!"
She drew the Tempest Blade so fast the air cracked. Her stance shifted, low and wide, her center of gravity dropping as her muscles coiled. The playful beastkin was gone. What stood in her place was a Level 1000 Destroyer Elite whose entire body was a weapon.
Kai rolled his shoulders and let a thread of his mana seep into his limbs.
’I have to be careful. If I use too much force, I will break the floor. If I use too little, she will be insulted. The trick is to match her intensity without actually trying to kill her.’
Fhera moved first.
She closed the distance in a blur, her blade cutting upward in a diagonal slash aimed at his chest. The speed was absurd. Any monster below Level 500 would have been bisected before their brain registered the attack.
Kai sidestepped.
Not by much. Just enough that the blade passed within an inch of his cloak.
Fhera’s eyes widened. She had expected him to block or dodge backward. Instead, he had moved just enough to make her miss, which was far more unsettling than any defensive technique.
She recovered instantly, spinning into a low sweep followed by a rising thrust. The Tempest Blade hummed as it cut through the air, generating small vortexes of wind mana that trailed behind each swing.
Kai deflected the thrust with the back of his hand, redirecting the blade’s trajectory by a fraction. The force behind the strike was enormous, enough to level a building, but his control was precise enough to guide it past him without absorbing the full impact.
Fhera pressed forward, her attacks growing faster, sharper. Each strike was followed by another, each angle different from the last. There was no pattern. No predictable rhythm. She fought like a storm, violent and relentless and impossible to anticipate.
And Kai matched every single one.
He did not attack. He moved, deflected, redirected. His feet barely left the ground.
His expression remained calm, almost contemplative, as though he were reading a mildly interesting book rather than dodging a barrage of strikes that could cut through castle walls.
Fhera noticed.
"Boss! Stop going easy on me!"
"I am not going easy on you."
"Then hit me!"
Kai tilted his head slightly.
"Very well."
He moved.
One second he was standing three paces away. The next, he was directly in front of her, his palm resting flat against her sternum before she could even process the gap closing.
He did not push hard. It was a tap, really. A controlled release of force that would barely bruise a Level 300 monster.
Fhera flew backward across the sand, skidding for a good fifteen meters before catching herself with her blade and one hand dragged through the ground.
She stayed crouched for a moment, panting, staring at the trench her body had carved in the sand.
Then she looked up.
The grin on her face was the widest Kai had ever seen.
"Again!"
They went three more rounds after that. Each time, Fhera lasted a little longer. Each time, Kai found a new way to end it without actually hurting her. By the fourth round, she was lying flat on her back in the sand, arms spread wide, chest heaving, and laughing like a child who had just experienced the best day of her life.
"That was amazing, Boss. You are a complete monster."
"I am aware."
"No, I mean like, a really cool monster." She sat up, sand cascading off her hair. "The way you move, it is not even fighting. It is like you already know where I am going to be before I get there."
"Combat experience."
"Nah. That is more than experience. That is just unfair." She dusted off her clothes and stood, sheathing her blade. "Thank you. For real."
Kai looked at her.
Her tail had slowed to a gentle, content sway. The manic energy was gone, replaced by something quieter. Satisfaction. Not the kind that came from victory, but the kind that came from being seen.
"You are welcome, Fhera."
She opened her mouth to say something else, then seemed to think better of it. Instead, she just nodded, scratched the back of her head, and walked toward the exit with a light in her step that had not been there before.
’She does not want romance. She does not want flowers or dinners or moonlit walks. She wants to fight beside me. That is her language. And I just spoke it fluently for the first time.’
He watched her go.
’I need to do this more often. Not just for her. For all of them.’
...
The Second Floor was quieter than the First, which was expected. Carlotta’s domain was always quieter. The Witch of Darkness ran her floor the way a librarian ran a library, with strict silence policies and consequences for those who broke them.
What Kai had not expected to find when he descended to the Second Floor was Carlotta and Lyra standing in the same room, not arguing.
That alone was unusual enough to make him stop walking.
The two of them were in the outer chamber that connected the Second Floor to the tunnel network running through the dungeon’s lower levels.
The chamber had been converted into what appeared to be a ritual workspace. Glowing runes were etched into the stone floor in concentric circles, and purple mana drifted through the air like luminous fog.
Carlotta was on one side of the room, her hands moving in precise gestures as she guided streams of dark energy into the runic patterns on the floor.
Her expression was focused, her usual playfulness replaced by the sharp concentration of someone doing work that required absolute precision.
Lyra was on the opposite side, her mana flowing into the same runic array from a different angle. Her energy was denser, heavier, the signature aura of a True Demon that made the air itself feel like it was pressing down on everything in the room.
They were reinforcing the dungeon’s magical defenses.
Together.
’I am either dreaming or the world is ending.’
Kai stood in the doorway for a moment, watching. The two of them had clearly been at this for some time. The runic array was complex, far more so than anything Kai had seen Carlotta produce on her own.
"How long have you two been working on this?" he asked.
Both of them turned to look at him at the same time. And both of them immediately straightened up as though they had been caught doing something they were not supposed to be doing.
"My Lord!" Carlotta spoke first, her composure returning in an instant. "We have been at this since early this morning. Approximately five hours."
"Five hours," Kai repeated. "Together. Without supervision."
"It was a mutual decision," Lyra said, her voice carefully neutral. "I approached Carlotta with a proposal."
Kai looked at Lyra. Then at Carlotta. Then back at Lyra.
"You approached Carlotta."
"Yes."
"Voluntarily."
Lyra’s jaw tightened, just a fraction.
"The northern border situation has changed my priorities. With the Nexus Empire sending scouts this close to our territory, the dungeon’s defensive wards need to be strengthened. My mana alone is sufficient for the upper floors, but the tunnel network beneath the city extends beyond my effective range."
She paused, as though the next words physically pained her.
"Carlotta’s specialty in ward construction and ritual magic fills that gap."
Carlotta, to her credit, did not gloat. She stood with her arms folded behind her back, a professional expression on her face that only barely concealed the satisfaction underneath.
"Lady Lyra’s raw mana output combined with my ward architecture has allowed us to create a defensive barrier that covers the entirety of the tunnel system beneath Valdris," Carlotta explained. "If any hostile entity enters the tunnels, the wards will detect them, slow them, and alert us immediately."
Kai looked at the runic array on the floor. The craftsmanship was impressive.
"This is good work."
The effect of those four words was immediate. Carlotta’s professional mask cracked, replaced by a smile that she tried very hard to suppress. Lyra’s posture relaxed by the smallest degree, and her eyes softened in a way that only happened when Kai acknowledged her efforts directly.
"We are not yet finished," Lyra added. "There are three more tunnel junctions to reinforce. We should be done by tomorrow evening."
"Then continue. And Lyra."
"Yes, my Lord?"
"Thank you for putting the city’s safety above personal differences."
Lyra’s cheeks colored, just barely.
"I would do anything for you, my Lord. Even cooperate with the witch."
"I heard that," Carlotta said.
"I intended for you to."
Kai turned and left before the temporary truce could dissolve into its usual state of warfare.
’That was unexpected. Genuinely unexpected. Lyra went to Carlotta on her own, without me asking, because the strategic situation demanded it. She put the mission above her jealousy. That is growth. Real growth.’
He paused at the stairway.
’I should probably not tell either of them I noticed. The moment they realize I am paying attention to their cooperation, they will start competing over who cooperates better, and we will be right back where we started.’
...
The war council convened that evening.
All four Pillars were present. Lyra stood to Kai’s left, Carlotta to his right. Fhera leaned against the far wall with her arms crossed, and Sanovere stood at the opposite end of the obsidian table with a stack of documents and a map that had been updated since the last briefing.
Fanny sat in her usual spot, the teddy bear tucked under one arm, her eyes alert despite her quiet demeanor. Lucifer stood near the entrance, silent as always.
Kai did not waste time with preamble.
"Sanovere. Your assessment."
The vampire stepped forward and spread the map across the table. Red markings dotted the northern edge of the Jaun Land, each one representing a confirmed sighting of Nexus Empire scouts.
"Since the capture of the nine Imperial scouts three weeks ago, we have continued monitoring the northern border through increased patrols and the intelligence network I established across the region."
He placed a finger on the map.
"The situation has escalated. The Empire has increased their forward presence significantly. We have confirmed at least five additional reconnaissance units operating within a day’s march of our borders. Two of those units include what my scouts identified as combat evaluators, officers whose sole purpose is to assess an enemy’s military capacity prior to an invasion."
He let that settle.
"Additionally, supply lines are being established along the Empire’s southern corridor. Wagons carrying weapons, provisions, and siege equipment have been spotted moving toward forward staging positions. This is not the behavior of a nation conducting passive observation. This is the behavior of a nation preparing for war."
Fhera pushed off the wall.
"How long do we have?"
Sanovere looked at her.
"My estimate, based on the pace of their mobilization and the distance their supply lines need to cover, is four to six weeks. Possibly less if they receive reinforcement from their central army."
The room went quiet.
Kai stared at the map. The red markings were concentrated along the northern border, but a few had begun appearing to the northeast, suggesting the Empire was probing for alternate routes of approach.
’Four to six weeks. That is not a lot of time. I have a city that is still under construction, a civilian population that just arrived, an elder dragon that is still sleeping, and a dungeon whose full defensive capability has never been tested against a professional military force.’
He looked up from the map.
"What do we know about their numbers?"
"Conservative estimate puts the Northern Expeditionary Force at approximately eight thousand soldiers, including infantry, cavalry, mages, and siege specialists. General Harken is known for efficiency over excess, so the actual number may be lower. But even a reduced force of that caliber would present a significant threat if our preparations are incomplete."
Kai leaned back in his chair.
’Eight thousand. Against my army of roughly twelve hundred combat-ready monsters, plus the dungeon bosses, plus the Pillars. On paper, we are outnumbered. But paper does not account for the fact that my weakest Pillar could solo a battalion, and the dungeon itself is a weapon that no human general has ever had to fight against.’
He stood.
The movement was slow, deliberate, and the weight of it silenced whatever thoughts were circling in the room.
"Then we prepare."
He looked at each of them in turn.
"Lyra."
"My Lord."
"The First Floor is the heart of Valdris. If the enemy reaches it, we have already lost. I want the defensive wards you and Carlotta have been building expanded to cover every entrance point. Every tunnel, every gate, every crack in the wall that something larger than a rat could fit through. You will also double the Skeleton Knight patrols on the surface and establish fallback positions within the city in case the outer wall is breached."
Lyra placed her hand over her heart.
"It will be done."
"Carlotta."
The witch straightened.
"My Lord."
"The Second Floor’s ritual chambers are your domain. I want every trap, every ward, and every magical deterrent on that floor operating at full capacity. Additionally, I want you to begin preparing offensive rituals. Things we can deploy on the battlefield before the enemy reaches our walls."
Carlotta’s red eyes gleamed.
"With pleasure, my Lord."
"Fhera."
The beastkin grinned.
"Boss."
"You are my fastest and most mobile fighter. I am assigning you to lead the vanguard. Your job is to hit the enemy’s forward positions before they reach Valdris, disrupt their formations, and fall back before they can mount a counterattack. You will operate with a squad of your choosing from the beastkin scouts and any monster volunteers who can keep up with you."
Fhera cracked her knuckles.
"Finally."
"Sanovere."
"My Lord."
"Intelligence wins wars before the first sword is drawn. Continue expanding your network. I want to know every move Harken makes before he makes it. Troop movements, supply routes, communication lines, all of it. If that man sneezes, I want a report on my desk before the sound reaches his own ears."
Sanovere’s thin smile widened.
"Consider it done."
Kai looked at all of them.
"One more thing. Every Pillar is to return to their respective floors and strengthen them. I do not care how you do it. Summon more monsters, upgrade your defenses, lay traps, train your subordinates. Whatever it takes. These floors are not just rooms in a dungeon. They are battlefields. And if the Nexus Empire is foolish enough to set foot inside our territory, I want every floor to be the last mistake they ever make."
The room was silent.
Then Lyra bowed.
Carlotta followed.
Fhera slammed her fist against her chest.
And Sanovere dipped his head with the quiet elegance of a man who had been waiting for exactly this moment.
Kai sat back down, his golden eyes sweeping across the map one final time. The red markings stared back at him, each one a promise of violence waiting to be fulfilled.
’Four to six weeks. It is not enough time to do everything I want. But it is enough time to make sure that when they come, they wish they had not.’
He closed his eyes.
’General Harken. You think you are coming to clear an infestation. But what you are really doing is walking into a dungeon that was designed from the ground up to kill everything that enters it.’
The torches along the walls flickered as his mana pulsed through the room.
’And I have been building this dungeon for a very long time.’