December 31st, 627

“I never asked. How was Tana’s meeting with Vetsmon’s parents?”

“She said it went well. Besides all the issues with her walking around and tripping alarms.”

I smiled, smoothing out my suit coat.

It had been about two months since Vetsmon had returned. Now it was the end of the year and he had returned to the Holy See for the holiday. Tana went with him so she could finally meet his parents in an official capacity.

But Tana’s new ability was still relatively uncontrollable. It was why in the estate she always stuck to Umara, and if Umara wasn’t there then she was with Aria, who she had grown close with. By making contact with others, her invisibility would be broken and she could be interacted with normally.

But she had been working on getting that under control, trying to make herself visible on demand. She had made successes but it wasn’t perfect, which means Church formations within Peerage buildings and facilities saw her as a lurking intruder trying to sneak around when she was by herself.

She could just go back to her normal state and avoid the alarms, of course. But it still made for a humorous story after she got hunted by Vetsmon’s father one night.

I checked my Aerial, Erhan having sent a message that transportation was ready whenever I was.

We stayed behind to have an early holiday with those at the Whetted City. The Raven Chief insisted that I be there for at least one meal since the Talerrias weren’t coming this year.

Feiden went back to his father’s estate. Aki and Katta were in the Holy See like Vetsmon, and Aria had gone back to the Tavera family to hang out with the friends she made there.

Everyone was somewhere else. Umara and I were going to be spending this Christmas in the City of Joffrun since Talexia wanted us there with the family. Apparently the entire family was going to be in attendance, which neither of us were happy about, but since I refused to host anything Talexia said I had no choice but to get off my lazy ass and show up.

With my suit making me feel festive, I turned to Umara and admired her dress. As with everything she wore, she was particularly stunning. I wasn’t sure if she believed that though.

We were not going to this party in conventional dress. On the contrary, I had decided to reflect my otherworldly knowledge in the form of Christmas’s most joyful icon.

I gave an exaggerated chortle, smiling at Umara as she adjusted the puffy white fur that cuffed her collar and skirt.

The red dress made her hair glow, the vibrancy only achievable thanks to a custom design from my friend over at the Black Spider Market’s most famous suit store.

“Is this really what people wore in your world? Seems… flamboyant.”

“Absolutely! We all followed in the footsteps of Mr. and Mrs. Claus. You could say this is a more stylized version of their dress though.”

“We’re going to stick out.”

“We were going to stick out anyway. We’re too famous not to be the center of attention.”

I kissed her neck before dropping a Christmas hat on her head.

“Can’t forget the most important piece.”

“Well, it’s better than my witch hat.”

“That’s the spirit! Next year I’ll have to put on a fat suit and white beard too.”

“I think this is enough.”

“I should get myself a reindeer too. And a sleigh. With some enchanting there’s no reason I can’t fulfill the legend.”

Umara smiled and rolled her eyes, the two of us looking at our mirror’s image.

After some time I pat her on the hip and turned.

“We should head out. Your sister was eager to see us.”

“Sure. I’m excited to give her my present.”

“As am I. She’s going to need everything she can get. Hopefully with both, nothing will ever happen to her.”

“Well, she’s a knight. She’s going to be tough.”

I thought about the device that I had spent nearly three months working on. A few months into her third year of the Magisterium, Faey was at the point where she would be soon heading to various military bases for training and experience, just as we did. Now that she was 19 years old and a knight like her father, she had advanced and become a proficient warrior.

But although the Magisterium had taken on drastic safety reforms after the Calamity Class, the frontlines were still dangerous. I had my own plans to allow Faey’s Magisterium class to make visits to the Glass Desert, an offer the Magisterium couldn’t possibly refuse, but she wouldn’t be under my protection all the time. I had thus built her a present that would put my mind at ease, somewhat.

I couldn’t let my sister-in-law go without a worthy Christmas gift, after all.

After making sure we had everything, Erhan arrived to drive us to the airstrip. Once there we boarded a private jet and flew to the City of Joffrun.

Hearing the propellers of the plane also reminded me that I needed to finish perfecting turbojet engine technology. It was almost there. Wonderland was already running tests on some prototypes. But it wasn’t quite finished yet. It demanded my personal touch.

Yet it would remain a technology exclusively in my hands. I had no intention of releasing such superior mobility to potential enemies.

We landed in the City of Joffrun’s airfield before long, Erhan already having arranged transport alongside the butler of the Talerria estate. We were driven to the mansion and once there we disembarked among a small crowd of other Talerria branch families.

Despite the sun having already set and snow falling from the sky, the two of us stood out like a sore thumb. Umara and I linked arms and walked into the main part of the mansion, moving to the social hall where we found Talexia.

She turned to us as soon as we appeared, Ikhor beside her, and gave us a small smile.

“You always know how to be outstanding, John. I know Umara didn’t imagine this dress.”

“Just getting into the Christmas spirit. It’s good to see you guys.”

I gave Talexia a hug, Umara hugging her father. At the same time, I felt a few dozen eyes land on us.

Including some corrupted gazes.

“Hey Talexia, do you remember what I said about the Nephilim?”

“Yes. Unfortunately there’s little I could’ve done to stop what already happened.”

I turned my eyes as we separated from our hug, finding a few Nephilim mingling among their family members. They were young adults, perhaps around my age, and were sitting around Authority 4.

The urge to take out a pistol was difficult to resist.

“I ask that you send them away from here. Use it as a chance to reinforce the fact that Nephilim are not welcome in your family. I know you’d want me to refrain from doing so myself.”

“…Very well.”

Talexia sighed and agreed, waving Ikhor over as they walked over to the corrupted.

I had thoroughly informed her on the nature of these Nephilim and the fact that they were not to be trusted. As it was beginning to become publicly known due to recent outcry, Nephilim were prone to criminal and impulsive acts. As it was known to me and my vast internet of intelligence, Nephilim were simply a dialed down Corrupted. They were evil at their core, seeking the destruction of humanity in their own subtle way, starting with every nefarious deed they could commit against those lesser than them.

I knew that some of the Talerria family branches had already been corrupted. Noble circles as a whole were already succumbing. But I had assumed that they were smart enough not to show themselves in this place. Turns out their audacity was greater than I realized.

I glanced at Umara, seeing her stare at them with disgust, mana moving through her body subconsciously.

I smiled at her and linked her arm with mine.

“Come, dear. Let’s not sour our mood. There will be plenty of time later for retribution.”

“I know.”

She sighed and we walked away, off to find her sister.

We wandered the estate with no particular rush, finding Ilinca before we found Faey. We joined her for a quick drink and that’s when I met her boyfriend.

I had seen his name before. He was the son of a Marquess in the southwestern portion of the Kingdom, Marquess Tolka. The Tolka family was an exporter of coastal goods with a fleet of merchant and fisher ships.

I had considered giving them a contract for hosting my theoretical navy since they knew the most about aquatic fauna in this world. Unfortunately though I simply had no need for it at the moment. Aircraft were simply far more convenient and effective.

On top of that, there was a reason the Church hadn’t produced a navy for attacking the Island of Retribution. Unlike the beasts and animals of the land, those of the seas had remained untouched by the forces of man. As with every ocean species, there were two Paragon species of the waters that had an inestimable population and therefore power. If they couldn’t be communicated with, and didn’t like boats, then sailing the oceans was a fool’s errand.

Since the Church decided against it, I wouldn’t bother.

After speaking with them for a time Umara and I continued our search, eventually finding Faey on one of the upper floors with her friends.

I saw a few faces that didn’t belong to the Talerria family, friends from her Magisterium class. They were all girls, and their eyes landed on me after Faey turned her gaze when I entered.

I smiled, Faey jumping from her seat.

“Hi John!”

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“Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas, Faey!”

“What’s with the voice?”

“Why, I’m just in the Christmas spirit! Now I can’t give you a candy cane but I can give you a present.”

“Oh! What is it?”

“Private. If you want it now we can head to your parents’ training room and bring it out. Otherwise we’ll do it later.”

Faey glanced a her friends before smiling at me.

“Now please! Sorry guys, I’ll be back in a bit.”

They smiled at her as she came to my side. We then walked off through the party, finding our way to the training hall.

Once there Umara cast some isolation spells before dropping one of my newest inventions.

It was called a Faraday Shield and was the magical variant of what could be seen on Earth by the same name.

It created a large field around us that programmed all of the ambient magic, turning it into its own isolating cage. Nothing that I could yet devise was capable of piercing through the shield without detection. It wasn’t great for stealth as it could be detected with directional sensors, but it was still incapable of being tampered with by anything internal or external without detection.

Although that didn’t include all possible forms of Auric techniques, something I was still working on perfecting. For now it could only draw from my adaptive camouflage in that department.

Umara and Faey stood around me. I motioned to Umara.

“Go ahead and show her yours.”

Umara nodded and brought out three knives. Faey reached out for them but Umara refrained from passing them off.

“These are something similar to what my friend got me. They were previously a device the Raven family was quite adept at making. John’s tech has since far surpassed its abilities. These knives are a last resort, additional lives if used wisely. When all other options are run through, stabbing one of these knives into an enemy will completely obliterate it. Most of the technology used in this knife is classified. For your own safety its not something I’ll describe to you, but all you need to know is its function.”

Umara handed the three knives off, Faey looking a bit nervous taking them.

They were relatively short knives, considering how large some knights liked theirs. They looked entirely composed of metal with no defining features and no detectable magical signatures whatsoever. They were invisible to senses and easily hidden.

Umara smiled.

“My own knife of similar function was used by my best friend to save our lives during the fall of Purple Sky. But despite it killing our enemy, she still almost paid for her actions with her life. She would have died if not for John and a timely benefactor. So use them only when absolutely necessary. Each knife can only be used once, and there aren’t any special things you need to do for them to activate. No matter the enemy, whether you stab carapace, bone, or flesh, it will know when to active and it will kill any enemy up to Authority 10. You can wound an Authority 11 but if you’re in such a position you’d probably be killed before you even got within speaking distance.”

“Right…”

Faey sent the knives into her storage, Umara stepping forward and giving her a hug.

Surprisingly, Faey was as tall as her sister standing at around 6 feet, and likely to get even taller. Knights had a funny way of doing that.

“I can’t always be there to protect you, but I trust your judgment. We’ve got the same blood, so keep yourself safe. I don’t give a damn how selfish you have to be. My sister is more important than any other student or soldier.”

“…Thanks. I will.”

Faey tightened their hug before separating. Then she turned to me, my smile wide.

“You two are so cute.”

“Just bring out the present.”

“Ahh~.”

I leaned away when Umara pinched me, waving my hand and bringing out the good stuff.

A bracer appeared, metal and intricately designed to look more like jewellery than a functional piece of material.

Faey took it, slipping it over her forearm before suddenly frowning.

I smiled.

“Sorry, blood sample. This thing will know exactly who you are and can only be used by you. Never lose it, and preferably, never take it off. You should have this with you at all times, regardless of what you’re doing or where you are.”

“Okay. But what is it?”

“It’s your armor.”

She tilted her head, and then her eyes widened.

She was hearing the prompts and control methods from the bracer. I waited for her to absorb everything before she activated the armband.

The armor suddenly appeared over her body, her dress disappearing into the bracer.

The armor was designed similarly to standard issue knight armor for Iron Legion. But of course, it was specially customized with cutting edge technology, including the stuff that not even Wonderland had its hands on.

She looked down at herself, head covered by a helmet with a visor.

“Like your sister, I won’t elaborate on the technology. Only God and I know how many people would kill to get their hands on my tech. Giving this to you is dangerous in itself but I’ve made my assurances. Even if someone tried to take it, or take you, you can rest assured that they wouldn’t get very far.

“Anyway, that bare armor is capable of maintaining integrity against attacks up to Authority 9 and breaking against Authority 10 blows. It has a projectable shield that can survive Authority 8 attacks at the cost of energy, has full body strength and speed augmentation, full environmental isolation, adaptive camouflage, water dispensing systems, waste collection and disposal systems, internal cleaning, emergency medicinal support, and more. This armor is experimental, but it works enough to be fielded and reliable in its most important functions.”

“…Did you say waste collection?”

Faey looked at me weird, my smile widening.

“Indeed. This suit is designed to be lived in for extended durations. As in, should the situation be so dire, you wouldn’t have to exit that suit at all for up to a month, not even for going to the bathroom. Even then, the suit can continue functioning indefinitely as long as it isn’t damaged too much. The only reason you’d need to exit is for hygiene, medical, or suit maintenance.”

“Eww. You mean I could to go to the bathroom inside this?”

“Yup!”

Her face scrunched, turning to Umara.

She just shrugged.

“I’ve never tested it personally, but sometimes battles can be prolonged for days. In such situations, even the little things can get you killed. At least this sustains you. Hopefully you’ll never be put into that position, but John doesn’t believe in optimism.”

“Indeed I don’t!”

Faey stared at me for a few more seconds before chuckling. She looked around at herself, jumping around and moving her body, feeling the lack of restriction.

“It’s a little weighty despite how slim it is.”

“There’s a lot of metal on it, but I managed to collect and refine enough titanium to make it with. It’s lighter than other armors like it, especially for its toughness. I suggest you wear it around the house and train with it, get used to it.”

“I will. Thank you.”

“The armor has guidance functions that you can see on your HUD. Follow them and learn what it can do. It also updates with important status information, so don’t ignore it. But of course, the armor wouldn’t be much without a knight’s most important possession.”

I held out another item, a bracelet of black metal. She slipped it over her other arm and opened her hand.

“Your mother told me that you’ve settled on the spear. Now, don’t take this as a nail in the coffin for your decision. Just keep in mind that I’m the richest man in the world and can acquire other weapons if you decide you want to swap.”

Said spear appeared in her hand. It had a black wooden shaft with intricate metal inlays across it, leading to the blade.

I could feel Faey’s palpable fondness for the weapon as she inspected it.

“I had the Raven Chief send me their best unenchanted spear for the foundation, since they’re the martial weapon masters. The shaft is made of ironwood and the blade is reminiscent of what Aki called a Yari. Double edged, 3 foot long straight blade, 6 foot long shaft, reinforced with my own specially curated enchantments and implanted with a few nifty devices. It’s a spear designed for you to grow into with flexibility adjusted for Authority 7 strength. This spear could last you until Authority 10. It has some weight to it, is rigid enough to take advantage of your strength, and the entire weapon is built to accommodate and supplement your Vigor and Aura in any amount possible. It doesn’t get better than this right here.”

Faey let out a few laughs of excitement, moving to the side and performing a few swings with the spear. It cut through the air with near silent sharpness, only to be improved by her own skill.

Then, when she infused her Vigor into it, the blade let out a faint glow. It left a trail of power in its wake, making me smile as I thought about what my own Authority 4 power used to look like.

When she stopped, I clapped.

“Good job. How does it feel?”

“Perfect!”

“Good. It has another function, an ability to make the blade almost as deadly as those knives your sister gave you. Go ahead and activate it.”

“I think I felt something like that…”

Faey tampered with it for a few seconds before the blade suddenly flashed.

It was covered in a solid light film, the sharp edge of the film glowing with moving energy.

It was technology derived from my SEER Knife, not nearly as deadly, but also not demanding a Neural Gem.

“That is one of the technologies that you should be careful about exposing. Use it only in battle and when you need to supplement your attacks. That light is intangible, so it adds no material to the blade itself. However, that light inflicts just about the worst pain imaginable upon your enemies, only dampened by the power saturating their bodies. The power output is set at a level that can be sustained indefinitely, but you can tune it up at greater cost. Get a feel for it before your first battles. You shouldn’t rely on it, but that goes for everything. It’s a tool, so treat it as such and be mindful of who is allowed to see the ability.”

“I will. Thanks John!”

“Of course.”

She sent both the armor and suit away, reappearing in her dress before striding over and giving me a hug.

I laughed and returned it.

“Love you, kid.”

“Love you too.”

“Now go show your parents and friends your new toys. I’m sure your mother is wondering why she can’t see us anywhere.”

“Hehe, alright.”

Faey put everything back on before I deactivated the Faraday Shield. The three of us then walked back to the house, Faey showing off her new weapon and armor to everyone.

From then on, the subsequent feast and new year countdown passed peacefully, my thoughts drifting to what I’d need to do during the upcoming year.

It was slated to be complete turmoil mixed in with a few moments of reprieve. Soon enough, the Magisterium’s third and fourth year classes would be coming to Iron Legion for their excursion. It would be their second excursion and would last for a month. That was an event I was looking forward to.

Everything else was already promising heaps of stress. I could feel the shifts within the Kingdom. It was all so obvious from my perspective. I had so much information at my disposal, so much transparency, and combined with my cognition, I had already formulated the recipe for disaster.

The funny part was how fast the big players were scrambling to move. My presence threw a wrench in everyone’s plans, simultaneously moving plans forward and pushing them back. Iron Legion was promising victory and the smart players were trying to keep that from happening. The smarter ones knew that I was making moves of my own, but nobody except for those I could count on one hand had any idea as to just how thoroughly I understood the chessboard.

Despite that, not even Umara had any idea about what I was going to do.

My only disadvantage was manpower. Iron Legion was a military of around 50 thousand soldiers. The pool of individuals I could pull from to run operations in Sector 4 were few and far between. They had to be competent, smart, and loyal, but to a degree others would find extreme. I couldn’t hand my darkest and dirtiest missions to just anyone, especially in the coming years.

But I couldn’t expand either. I’d have to pull from the Kingdom’s reserves, and there was naught a single noble or general willing to sell contracts to me. Not to mention the amount of spies that would end up being planted. It would be a shitshow attempting to weed through them all, and my issue with quality manpower would never end up being resolved.

Thankfully that’s what my tech was for.

I didn’t need more manpower with technology and magic. The weapons and gear I was soon to arm my Pale Horsemen with would make missions a piece of cake for just a two man team. Assassinations would be effortless. They would be undetectable. They would be efficient.

I would shatter the Kingdom’s facade, and I would gladly reap the consequences. I could already see how all of this would go down and I was eager to see the fires burn.

I just had to be careful. I couldn’t allow anybody to catch up to me. I had to maintain my advantages proportionally. My enemies were only going to get more powerful, and at some point the gloves would fall.

Powerful people didn’t like being fucked with. They didn’t like having their wants denied. When a Sovereign came to claim resources and influence, the knee was either bent, or those standing would die.

I had created a new economy, a new type of influence, a new world altogether, and it was not just growing, but replacing the old. Sooner rather than later, those in power would realize that what they had was no longer valued like it once was. When that happened, they’d come for the one who took what they never had.

Unfortunately for them, their enemy was a big fan of scorched earth policies.

Unfortunately for their enemy, he had thrown himself into a weight class leagues above his ability to confront, and the only way he could survive was by staying one step ahead.

My battles were changing in nature. The danger to my life was no longer so direct. The part I didn’t enjoy was ironically the one thing that was making me so much money.

Mistakes would cost more than just my life.

I sighed and looked at Umara, fireworks and pretty spellfire exploding in the air above us.

She noticed my gaze and returned it, the two of us simply staring at each other as snow fell around us.

At some point I just sighed, gave her a kiss, and went back to overlooking the city and fireworks.

She laid her head on my shoulder, and for a time, everything was just right.

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