Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

New week, let's push!!!

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

As dawn broke over London, the Twelve Lords gathered for an emergency session inside the Clock Tower, the headquarters of the Mage's Association.

"What do you make of this?" Barthomeloi Lorelei asked, tapping one finger against the table.

Word of August's arrival had reached London.

Two living Goddesses from another world had appeared in their timeline, and the Mage's Association had every reason to be afraid.

These were real Gods, not old legends or Divine Spirits trapped in borrowed bodies. When a greater Mystery appeared, lesser ones faded, and no one understood that better than magi.

The other eleven Lords remained silent.

"..." Lorelei looked at their faces.

Each Lord was already making private calculations, searching for an advantage or a way out. Among all the factions here, the Animusphere family was in the best position.

The Caster serving August's group was apparently a future Olga Marie Animusphere, while the Olga Marie of this timeline was still alive. Lord Animusphere still had a way to reach them.

The rest of the Clock Tower was not so lucky. The otherworldly army was terrifying. One soldier alone could kill a magus with a single kick, and the magi sent to control them had been wiped out.

Even worse, this was an organized military force, not just a few powerful people. If such an army attacked London without warning, who could stop them?

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

"The United States has already surrendered," Lorelei said.

"The eastern states are only holding out because of their ties to us. Without that, they would have folded by now."

The reason the West had surrendered so quickly was simple.

The outsiders had nuclear weapons...

They had seized every strategic weapon in the western states, then reinforced the stolen arsenal with weapons from their own world. America had been disarmed while its enemy claimed the firepower of both sides.

Any attempt to resist after that would have been suicide.

"Lord Barthomeloi," Lord El-Melloi II finally said, "those are real Goddesses—not just Divine Spirits inside a human vessel."

Lorelei had been staring at him, silently urging him to speak. Waver had little choice. He held the lowest rank among the Twelve Lords, and everyone else was waiting for someone else to show their intentions first.

"With what passes for Mystery these days, kneeling to real Gods is just common sense... And the reports say August has something like Gilgamesh's treasury—some kind of space storage. Maybe that's how he got here."

All the scattered reports showed one thing: August had not tried to hide what he could do.

He carried the power to connect different worlds.

At the very least, such a power was something only the divine could have. The Clock Tower could not interfere with it, let alone copy it.

"But let's not forget, August is still human," Waver went on. "Can any of you say for sure he doesn't have millions more soldiers just waiting to show up?"

No one answered.

"He has already brought ten thousand soldiers here and used them to take over a whole region. We have no reason to think ten thousand is his limit. If he brings tens of millions, THEY COULD CONQUER THE PLANET!!"

"..." Several Lords tensed.

An army that size, filled with superhuman soldiers and armed with weapons from another world, could easily overwhelm every nation on Earth.

"There's one more thing... Goddess Hestia claims Human Order's already given up on us." Waver said.

None of them wanted to face that truth. August and his companions were supposed to go to a proper timeline, but Human Order panicked and sent them to this one instead.

Their own world had sacrificed them.

"Lord El-Melloi, what exactly are you suggesting?" McDonell Trambelio Elrod rose from his chair. "Do you expect us to abandon all resistance?"

They had come together to discuss how to handle the outsiders, but Waver had spent the whole meeting explaining why fighting them was impossible.

"And then what?" Waver leaned back in his chair, not bothering to hide his contempt.

"I know you've already started preparing rituals to transfer to another world. You plan to abandon this timeline."

The room went silent.

"The Wizard Marshal is not coming back. He's already left the Clock Tower behind."

That was why Waver had stopped pretending. None of the families here could travel between worlds as Zelretch did, but with the right ritual, formula, or special device, a single crossing might still be possible.

The Wandering Sea had already shown that travel through Imaginary Number Space was possible, and now every old family in the room was looking for its own way out.

Waver understood why. These people had survived for centuries by protecting their families and research. Each had their own ambitions, and none of them felt they had to die with a doomed timeline.

But Waver could not leave—too many people depended on him. He had spent years rebuilding the El-Melloi name after his old professor died, and he would not abandon that work, his household, or the students who trusted him with their futures.

Since the El-Melloi faction could not run, he saw no reason to keep pretending.

"We can't beat them... I'm ready to surrender the El-Melloi house and every student in the Department of Modern Magecraft Theory." Waver said.

His eyes went cold. "If the rest of you plan to run, don't expect us to risk our lives protecting what you leave behind."

"..." Lorelei was surprised that he revealed everything so openly. She had also planned a way out.

The Barthomeloi family had lasted too long to fall while she was in charge.

Waver had already offered up his family, his students, and himself for surrender. With his stance clear, he turned to the quiet man from the Department of Astromancy.

"And you, Lord Animusphere? What do you intend to do?"

Marisbury Animusphere was the one person Lord Waver could never figure out. He knew Marisbury was dangerous, but he had never learned just how far that danger went.

Marisbury immediately understood why the question was directed at him.

Olga Marie Animusphere's future self now served the outsiders as a Caster. If she had truly become a Heroic Spirit, then whatever she accomplished in the future may have earned her a place on the Throne of Heroes.

Now that the connection was public knowledge, everyone wanted to see how the Animusphere family planned to use it.

"Oh, that?" Marisbury said.

"I already sent Olga Marie to meet them."

He made no attempt to hide what he had done.

The night before, he had put his daughter on a plane and sent her to negotiate before the other Lords even arrived. He knew them too well. If the situation turned bad, most of them would flee before he ever got the chance.

Still, he had another reason for sending her. He needed to know how his daughter had become a Servant. What had she accomplished to earn a place on the Throne? More importantly, was her future somehow tied to the plans he had already set in motion?

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

The other Lords cursed him in silence.

'Old fox. Of course he moved first.'

The Department of Astromancy had every reason to build that relationship. Having a Servant tied to their department would be a huge political advantage. If she agreed to help with their research, that would be even better.

Everyone at the table could see what Marisbury was aiming for.

Lorelei's gaze moved from Waver to Marisbury. The corner of her mouth twitched.

Two of the Twelve Lords had already chosen to surrender. Others would soon do the same.

A resistance group was no longer possible. August's army had the power to destroy the Clock Tower, and once those weapons were aimed at them, entire bloodlines could be wiped out in a single attack.

With some already choosing to surrender, none of the remaining Lords would risk their families.

For a magus, reaching the Root came before everything else. Revenge could wait after reaching the Akashic Records.

Lorelei cleared her throat. "Lord El-Melloi, from now on, the Clock Tower is yours."

By saying this, she admitted she planned to run too. No one in the room wanted to die in a hopeless fight, and none of them wanted to face two living Goddesses, let alone the army behind them.

Lorelei officially handed over the position of First Lord, along with all the authority the Clock Tower still had in this timeline, to Lord El-Melloi II.

"Hmph."

Waver made no attempt to stop them from leaving. He knew what cornered people were capable of, and holding them there by force would only invite disaster.

'I knew none of you could be trusted.'

The remaining Lords watched the Barthomeloi family, the most prestigious house in the Clock Tower, abandon them without hesitation. Those with nowhere left to run understood the truth soon enough—they would have to surrender as well.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

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