Chapter 115. Heavens
Ask any Institute researcher what the most secure place in the world was, and the responses would be varied. They might answer the Grand Cathedral of the Goddess in Luminarche, for example, which held the highest concentration of holy magic in the entire world and was protected by High Priestesses, Cardinals, and the Pope himself. Or they might answer the Blood Fortress in the vampire nation of Arcedia, home to the twelve Vampiric Lords. A more esoteric answer might be the Hill of Lost Dreams in the elven nation of Stark, a place inaccessible by most mortals, or the secret Iron Vault in Valaria, said to herald the world’s destruction if ever opened.
All of them would be dead wrong.
Perhaps in the past, the answer had been more debatable. However, that changed seven years ago, when in the midst of the civil war, the Emperor of Yukihasa inexplicably set up a network of defensive ward schemas around the imperial capital of Endo. In doing so, he singlehandedly guaranteed Endo’s status as the most secure place in the world. The capital went from ‘highly defended’ to ‘utterly impenetrable’ overnight. The Emperor used runic arrays that had never been seen before, even by the most experienced Runemasters. The runes were completely new and disturbingly foreign. It was as though they weren’t even of this world.
Endo was the sole reason why the war had lasted as long as it had. So long as the Emperor and his court never left the capital, they were completely untouchable. Endo’s ward schemas included [Heaven’s Embrace], a semi-permeable defensive barrier that automatically repelled any and all attacks deemed to cause ontological harm; [Heaven’s Gaze], a detection barrier that monitored and classified all mana usage within a one-hundred-kilometer radius; [Heaven’s Wrath], an offensive barrier that quite literally liquefied any unauthorized intruder; and [Heaven’s Stores], a utility barrier that sealed in ambient mana to create a massive reservoir of mana that specific users could draw upon at any time.
The Emperor protected all, the Emperor saw all, the Emperor crushed all, and the Emperor sustained all.
Such was what it meant to be the God-King of Yukihasa.
The ward schemas themselves were invulnerable. Whatever runes the Emperor had used were too advanced to circumvent, much less neutralize.
However, the leyline that sustained the schemas was a different story.
Indeed, much like how Luxanne had been established above a magical leyline, Endo too had been built right atop the Dragon’s Leyline. The Emperor had tapped into the leyline to power the ward schemas. So if the leyline was ever disabled, then all the barriers would instantly collapse, thus leaving the capital wide open.
Of course, that was much easier said than done. Magical leylines were natural metaphysical streams of ambient mana that ran beneath the world’s surface, effectively the veins and capillaries that carried the world’s lifeblood. One did not simply ‘turn off’ a leyline like one turned off a pipe, especially a leyline as major as the Dragon’s Leyline. To even think about disabling the Dragon’s Leyline was a thought as ludicrous as it was arrogant. It was an impossible task firmly in the realm of the gods.
However, the Resistance had no other choice. They didn’t have the manpower to fight a long drawn-out battle of attrition. If they wanted to end this civil war without reducing Yukihasa to a charred landscape of ash and dust, then their only option was a targeted surgical strike to eliminate the Emperor and his court in one fell swoop. Cut off the head of the snake, and the body was soon to follow.
The ward schemas must fall. The Dragon’s Leyline must be disabled.
“Which is where we come in,” Levi said.
Terminus nodded. “Operation Dreamsinger is a plan that’s two years in the making. Thousands of man-hours, countless sleepless nights, enough coin to cause a war… Everything hinges on this operation’s success.”
“How exactly do you plan to disable the Dragon’s Leyline?” Levi asked curiously. Even he didn’t know of any methods to do so. A minor leyline, perhaps, but not one as large as the Dragon’s Leyline.
“Let me worry about that,” Terminus said. “All you need to do is open the way to the leyline.”
Levi hummed, accepting it. While magical leylines were primarily metaphysical streams of mana, at certain nodes the mana became so concentrated that it manifested into reality. It was possible to directly interact with the leyline at these points of manifestation.
However, the Emperor had anticipated attempts to sabotage the Dragon’s Leyline. Through an unknown method using unrecognizable runes, he’d created a barrier that ran along the entire length of the Dragon’s Leyline, guarding the manifested nodes from all malfeasance. Terminus and the Resistance had spent months analyzing this barrier, but they didn’t have even the slightest idea how to overcome it.
Until about a week ago, when a certain someone had bypassed the Curtain.
And then the pieces all fell into place.
Right now, Levi was on a small ship with Terminus, Yuki, Makoto, Anastasia, and Selene. They stood atop the deck, the gentle night breeze carrying sea mist as the waves rolled and crashed around them. The full moon shone down upon them overhead.
The ship was constructed of a magical stealth ore – exorbitantly rare and expensive – and covered with approximately thrice as many enchantments as Phantasm’s ship. They were sailing to one of the manifested nodes roughly one-hundred-and-twenty kilometers away from Endo, well outside of the range of [Heaven’s Gaze].
As it turned out, that was why Hoka had been chosen as the Resistance’s impromptu base of operations. Longitudinally, it was located about two hundred kilometers right above Endo, and as such about eighty kilometers above the manifested node. Furthermore, the Resistance had a ‘shipment’ that for some reason couldn’t be transported across a very long distance, thus necessitating it to be stored on Hoka. A ‘shipment’ that was currently on board the ship with them, apparently vital to the task of disabling the leyline.
Even now, Levi could sense an unsettling aura emanating from below the deck. Next to him, Selene also had a somewhat uneasy expression on her face; as an archdemon, she was just as sensitive to magical phenomena as him, if not even more so. He had no doubt the aura came from the ‘shipment’ Terminus had spoken of… but what it was, he had no idea.
It felt almost… divine? But that wasn’t possible. Was it?
“Earlier today, I gave the order to approximately 80 percent of the Resistance’s forces to launch an all-out assault on the eastern battlefront,” Yuki said. “The imperial government should dispatch most of their forces to respond, thus creating an opening for us. The remaining 20 percent of our forces, our strongest members, are hidden in submersed ships deep under the sea, right outside of Endo. Once the barriers are down, they’ll immediately surface and attack the capital.”
Levi took a moment to examine her. She was young, perhaps only a few years older than him, with black hair that fell to her shoulders and stunning red eyes. Interestingly, she carried herself with the same bearing that Liliya did, indicating an upper-class background. Perhaps before the war, she had been a noble daughter. Now, though, she was the leader of the Resistance.
“However,” Yuki continued, her face grim, “this means that if we fail to disable the leyline…” She trailed off. “Those 80 percent are our weakest members. They will hold out the best they can, but without the Resistance’s elite fighters, they will no doubt be defeated, especially since the imperial government will send their own strongest fighters to the frontlines. Those members are banking everything on us. Operation Dreamsinger is an all-or-nothing plan. If the operation fails, then there won’t be enough left of the Resistance to muster up a fight. Yukihasa truly will be doomed.”
Ah…
So that was the situation.
A risky gamble, one that hinged entirely on them being able to disable the Dragon’s Leyline and take down the capital.
If the operation succeeded, then the war would be instantly won.
If the operation failed…
Well.
An hour passed. Anastasia went to the back of the ship for her evening prayers. Terminus, Makoto, and Yuki gathered below the deck to examine the ‘shipment.’ Levi was left alone with Selene.
“I’m a little surprised that you came with us,” Levi remarked.
Selene blinked. “Why is that?”
“I didn’t expect you to care enough to help the Resistance.”
“I don’t,” Selene said. Her voice was emotionless as always. “But…” She paused, tilting her head. “Helping destroy a human regime is almost nostalgic, in a way.”
Levi snorted. “Fair enough. Have you given any thought to what you want to do after we eliminate the Devourer and Chorus?”
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Selene was silent. “I have not. Most likely I’ll return to researching and developing my magic.”
“Do you think you can do so?” Levi asked. “After all that’s happened?”
“... what else is there to do?” Selene asked softly. “This is not my home world. The demons are not the ones I know. Even the Church is different.”
“I see,” Levi said. “After this is all over, I want to introduce you to two people.”
Selene’s eyes flickered. “Who?”
Levi smiled. “That would ruin the surprise–”
He paused. Ahead, a section of the sea was glowing, bright blue light piercing through the dark waves. The ambient mana was so strong that there was a buzzing sensation at the base of his neck, though obviously it wasn’t as concentrated as the Original Strait of the System Source.
“We’re here,” Terminus said as he and the others gathered at the deck. “Hold your breath.”
He waved his hand and a barrier enclosed the entire ship. Then, they submerged beneath the surface of the sea, plunging at a rapid speed. As they descended, the light became brighter and more vivid until soon they reached the ocean floor. Before them, a swirling iridescent stream of raw mana more than a hundred meters wide ran across the depths, illuminating the bottom of the sea. The mana was so dense that it exerted a gravitational pull, causing water currents to rotate and bubble around it.
The Dragon’s Leyline. A major leyline manifested into the physical world. Just this single node held more condensed mana than the entire total amount Levi had cast ever since arriving to this new world.
Levi gazed upon it in awe, feeling the magic in his own body resonate with the magical leyline in front of him. Even including his past life, the Dragon’s Leyline was by far the most potent leyline he’d ever seen. He could understand how it’d gotten its name.
Yuki, Makoto, and Anastasia didn’t seem to be very affected, though they did look extremely impressed. Likely because they weren’t really mages in nature. Selene and Terminus were a different story.
Next to him, Selene looked utterly mesmerized by the leyline’s allure. Her dark eyes were wide and dilated, and the shadows of her dress shifted wildly. Almost subconscious, she raised a hand, as if the leyline was calling out to her.
“Incredible,” Terminus murmured. His breathing wasn’t as controlled as it normally was, uneven and shallow. It took some effort for him to tear his eyes away and turn to Levi. “If you would please?”
Levi nodded, forcing himself to snap out of the trance. Activating his True Sight, he squinted through the blinding intensity to see the faint shimmering outline of a barrier that surrounded the manifested leyline–
He froze.
No wonder Terminus and the Resistance couldn’t find a way to get past the barrier that surrounded the Dragon’s Leyline. It was temporal in nature. Any attack that attempted to pierce it, any magic that attempted to neutralize it, would be instantly reverted back in time.
The Emperor had created this barrier?
…
Levi ignored the feeling in his gut and set to work. He reached out with his magic and punctured the space in front of him. He took a moment to ensure spatial stability before slowly expanding the opening. During which, the barrier remained untouched, since Levi was only affecting the space itself. Technically, from the barrier’s point of view, it was completely intact.
Yuki and Makoto watched with wide eyes as he worked. Clearly, a part of them had still been skeptical of his abilities. Not anymore.
“And… done,” Levi said. In front, there was a circular opening in the barrier about five feet in diameter. The edges were slightly distorted from the stretched space. “It’s all yours.”
Terminus smiled. “Excellent.”
He waved his hand again, and a section of the ship’s deck opened inward. Through which, a small pedestal rose up, upon which sat a–
Levi blinked, Anastasia choked, and Selene straightened in interest.
“Terminus,” Levi said slowly. “What the fuck is that?”
Terminus smiled. “Disabling the Dragon’s Leyline is an act in the realm of the gods. So, what better way to do so than to let them… handle it?”
Levi twitched. “Was… was that a pun?”
For on the pedestal lay a single severed hand. It was dry and withered, cracked grey flesh, but under his True Sight, its divine nature was unmistakable.
The severed hand of a god.
That was what the ‘shipment’ was? How had Terminus even gotten his hands on such a thing?!
Wait, Levi didn’t mean to…
Oh, whatever.
“What god does that belong to?” Anastasia asked, sounding extremely perturbed.
“The god of Limits,” Terminus said. “Beginnings, transitions, gates, doorways… My Conceptual sponsor.” He smiled. “Eight millennia ago, his right hand was severed during the Divine War. Since then, it had been passed from ancient monsters to Vampiric Lords to elder archmages… until it ended up in my possession around two years ago.”
He snapped his fingers, and the severed limb lifted into the air. A pulse of mana rang through the air, and then the cracks on the hand spread, as though it were disintegrating into dust. Through the widening seams shone a dark golden light, molten in hue, like something within was yearning to break free.
“And now…” Terminus’s expression hardened. “For seven years, the Emperor has hidden behind his ward schemas, untouchable and unkillable even as the rest of the country fell into despair and ruin. [Heaven’s Embrace], [Heaven’s Gaze], [Heaven’s Wrath], [Heaven’s Stores]... Those four barriers have caused this war to drag out senselessly. No longer, I say. With the right hand of a god… May the Heavens come crashing down.”
With that, he thrust his hand forward, and the severed hand thrust forward in turn, shooting through the opening and sinking into the stream of mana. The leyline swallowed it eagerly, the hand disappearing into its currents.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then, with a mighty groan, the leyline sputtered and lurched. A terrible tremor ripped through the ocean floor, deep fissures forming across the bedrock like it was clawed by a beast. The ambient mana went haywire, causing Levi’s senses to scream at him.
All at once, the leyline came to a grinding stop. It cut off entirely at the point of penetration, the severed hand of a god acting as an unmovable dam to an unstoppable river.
The Dragon’s Leyline was disabled.
Eighty kilometers away, General Shiba drew in a sharp breath as he received the signal. The barriers surrounding Endo had disappeared. He looked off into the distance with wide eyes. They’d done it. Somehow, they’d disabled the Dragon’s Leyline.
Slowly, a smile spread across his face, fierce and anticipatory. He turned to face the men on his ship.
“Today, we fight!” he roared. “Today, we bleed! Today, we free this country! For Yukihasa!”
“FOR YUKIHASA!” A thousand voices echoed back at him.
The massive warship that carried them rose to the surface from where it’d been concealed deep below the sea. A thousand men, already assembled on the polished deck. Two other ships rose to the surface on either side of them, falling into formation.
They practically sheared through the sea as they sailed toward Endo. General Shiba smiled in pride and satisfaction. These three warships had been secretly built and developed over the past thirteen months in underground factories. Equipped with the most advanced naval weaponry on and off the market, they were a sight to behold. The Resistance’s crown jewels.
More important were the men aboard these ships. General Shiba was in command of the strongest, most elite members of the Resistance. Every man onboard the ship was at least iridium-tier. Many were Adamantines. He himself had been a Mythmaker, at least back before the war had forced him to shift careers from an adventurer to a revolutionary.
He and the rest of the Resistance had already been briefed on the situation. The capital, overconfident in its ward schemas, wouldn’t have a very large standing defensive force. Especially since most of the imperial military and Huntsmen would’ve been sent to the east to deal with the diversion.
Soon, the capital came into view. Endo was a gigantic island that rose high above the water, its shores fringed with pristine docks and gorgeous beaches. Further within were buildings of glass and quartz, ringed by grand temples and statues of gold. The obscene opulence was evident even from this distance.
General Shiba’s lips curled in disdain. As the rest of the country starved, the upper and ruling class lived in wanton luxury. Disgusting.
Tonight, the capital would fall. The Emperor would finally be brought to justice.
General Shiba would make sure of it–
“Man, who started this party without us?”
His blood froze to ice.
High above, two people hovered in the air: a green-haired man holding a spear and a druid clothed in robes of kelp.
General Shiba recognized them immediately. It was impossible not to. Everyone in this country knew who these two were.
Minato the Spear Sage and Kaito the Sea Druid.
Two Ascendants.
“What are they doing here?” Rikimaru, his subordinate, hissed next to him, panic in his voice.
“I don’t know!” General Shiba snapped. His mind raced in panic. The Three Pillars typically didn’t involve themselves with the war. He didn’t remember the last time they took to the battlefield. Most of the time, the Three Pillars only dealt with monster attacks. So why were they here at Endo? If anything, they should be at the frontlines in the east.
This didn’t make any sense. This didn’t make any fucking sense–!
Kaito clapped his hands together, and a resounding crack echoed outward.
Before anyone could react, thick dark tendrils of seaweed burst from the sea around the ship to their left, hurtling through the air and reaching up to the clouds themselves. The kelp numbered in the thousands, overlapping and intersecting each other, and in less than a second, the ship was completely surrounded, disappearing from view.
“NO!” General Shiba roared.
But it was too late.
The seaweed all came crashing down, a leviathan of life and mana that wrapped around the warship and squeezed. The warship and everyone onboard was instantly crushed to pulp. A terrible sound rang out, screeching metal and splintered wood and crushed bones. A moment later, the kelp receded back into the sea from whence it came, leaving behind a floating pile of debris and viscera. The waters ran red.
General Shiba’s throat dried up. Terror coursed through his veins like corrosive poison. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
Ascendant Kaito just killed a thousand men with a single attack. Iridium, orichalcum, adamantine, it didn’t matter. His seaweed didn’t discriminate, only pulverized with overwhelming force.
So this was the power of an Ascendant? One of the Three Pillars? General Shiba had known that the gap between a Mythmaker and an Ascendant was wide, but this…
This was unthinkable.
How was this fair?
How could they win against this?
How could anyone win against this?
General Shiba swallowed heavily.
“May the Goddess have mercy on our souls.”