August 17th, 628

Umara jogged a bit, John taking large strides into their room and outpacing her. 

He went straight into his workshop and booted up his desk, rapidly punching in commands. 

“Come on, spit it out.”

“What are you looking for?”

Umara asked while glancing at the huge screen projecting a map of the Kingdom. Thousands of lines of data streamed on another screen. 

John stared intently at the map, Psyka moving through his body and the workstation. 

“I originally found that place by creating a heat map of the Nodenet activity over time. After that I overlaid a map showing some recent magical scans collected from the Nodes. I found a pretty genius way of making them pick up on Magika signatures with some simple reprogramming thanks to Sawn’s recent tech developments. I’ve also tasked a squadron with surveilling the entire Kingdom with our latest aerial magic sensors. After piling all those maps on top of each other, this is what I got.”

John brought up the map, various intensities of colors across it. 

When he zoomed on on Duke Ballistra’s territory, Umara clearly saw the splotch of high Mana density on it. 

“The vault.”

“After centuries of that dragon resting there, the Mana has permeated the ground, saturating it enough to be picked up on sensors.”

“So if you look at other areas…”

John zoomed out with her words, showing other noble territories, especially those Warlock families. 

Umara saw high densities of Mana over almost all of them. 

“More Dragons.”

“Yes. Except I didn’t guess that the Dragons were the cause of that saturation. Now that we know though, we can scan across the entire Kingdom and pick out their vaults. We can do the same with any potential Lordbeasts as well. Vigor shows up the same exact way.”

John changed the heat map and leaned back, the hotspots landing right over the Knight families. 

With this data, it looked all too obvious. 

John motioned to the screen. 

“Just based on this map there are at least six hundred sites that hold Dragons, fifty of which are at or above the saturation level of the one we found. The Lordbeasts are fewer in number but similar in saturation. Not to mention that those are just sites. They could hold multiple Dragons and Lordbeasts at those sites, so there are likely thousands of each in storage.”

“And all of them are being harvested. That’s an unimaginable amount of potential power enhancement.”

“That it is.”

John sighed and went quiet, Umara glancing at him out of the side of her eye.

“So… What are we going to do about it?”

“Well, nothing until we can figure out the means to steal massive corpses from underground vaults. Corpses that can’t or won’t fit into a spatial storage, that have to be whisked away from right under the noses of very powerful people and their centuries of accumulated wealth and security.”

“Well… don’t take this as a promise… but I might be able to help with that.”

Umara couldn’t help her smile, John turning to stare at her. 

“…What did you do?”

“Same thing I’ve been doing for the past many months. I’ve finally gone through all of the spatial spells my family possesses. I’m thinking that their applications are perfect for what we’re facing at the moment, provided that they’re combined with your own magic.”

John remained quiet for a time, slowly grinning, a menacing thing. Umara started beaming, sensing the palpable anticipation in his eyes. His arms started snaking around her waist.

“My fiancé, my lovely partner in crime.”

“Hehe, yes, my dear?”

“I’d like to hear more about these spatial spells. Care to join me in bed so we can talk about them?”

“W-Well I’d say my study is a better place if we’re looking to talk about them…”

“We can certainly talk there too.”

John scooped her up, kicking through the door and striding to Umara’s study. She squirmed around in his arms.

“Wait, I don’t want to get the parchment wet!”

“Not sure what you mean. We’re just talking.”

“Your fingers say otherwise… Hahh…”

“Come on now, start talking. I want to hear all about these spells of yours.”

Umara jerked before her breathing hitched, her legs clamping down and making John laugh. 

The study door closed the two of them in, muting all sound in and out. 

……

…

……

A week passed, Umara continued to mess with her spellwork so it would suit our purposes. 

In our room, I changed into a nicer set of clothes before topping it all off with my coat. I sighed before walking into Umara’s study. 

In the center of the room were two massive metal platforms with enchantments sprawled across them and parchment laid out at certain points with directions and information. Umara was kneeling near one portion, putting together a complex part of the enchantment. 

I walked behind her, bending over and glancing at the enchantment. 

“I’m heading out.”

“Alright. Once I finish this, I’ll run the test.”

“Mm. Be careful.”

I gave her a kiss on the top of her head and walked out. 

Erhan escorted me to the helicopter, which I took all the way to the Capital. There, I landed on top of the Black Spider Hotel. 

I was here on business. 

Surprisingly, there was someone other than the Key Master there waiting for me. The masked man bowed when I approached, Erhan following by my side. 

“They await you in the meeting room, sir.”

“Lead the way.”

I smiled, the masked man turning and leading us into the building. 

We took the elevator to a special floor, the door opening straight into the meeting room itself. 

The room was lavish, though not excessively so. There were two couches facing each other with a chair at the head and a small table between them, pastries and tea already waiting atop it. 

The Key Master was standing in front of the chair, and Lady Luna was sitting on one of the couches, the two smiling when I entered.

Luna stood on my arrival, and the Key Master spoke. 

“John, it’s good to see you.”

“Likewise, Key Master. Lady Luna.”

I moved over, giving Luna a hug before shaking the Key Master’s hand. Then we sat down, Erhan remaining with the masked man in the elevator and leaving. 

The door closed, the three of us left by ourselves. 

I looked around the room for a second, feeling something off. Luna spoke from across the table, helping herself to a pastry, not her first one.

“I’m a bit surprised, John. You called us here so urgently. Did you discover something?”

“I did. If you don’t mind us getting straight into business.”

“Of course not. We’re all ears.”

“Thank you.”

I took out two terminals, handing one to each of them. They took it curiously, the screen lighting up. 

“Roughly two weeks ago, I started mapping out some data that I collected from the Nodenet and aerial scans of the Kingdom’s major territories. First, I discovered that the Third Claw has migrated their communications to their own custom Nodenet. Second, I discovered major hotspots of Mana and Vigor saturation within certain noble territories. I launched a mission to infiltrate the mansion of Duke Ballistra. I’m sure you two are familiar with him.”

“Certainly.”

The Key Master automatically nodded, not surprising me. Even Luna affirmed. 

“Yes, he’s quite the rich man. Owns the majority of the most profitable farmlands in the entire Kingdom. He’s an entire portion of the economy by himself. Without him, a large percentage of humanity would starve to death.”

“He definitely is rich, and I got to see firsthand. I got into his vault, and what I discovered is precisely what I’m here to discuss.”

“Into his vault?”

Luna’s brows raised. 

“That’s quite the feat. A man like that would only have the greatest security measures throughout his mansion. I know the Order certainly couldn’t pull something like that off, especially not entirely undetected.”

“Indeed. I haven’t heard a word about any break ins.”

The Key Master added, my smile growing in pride.

“Well, call it a trade secret. Anyway, we got in and out without issue. And this is what we discovered after finding a hidden teleportation platform inside.”

The image changed on their screens, showing a dozen different pictures of the massive Dragon in the underground cave. 

Both of their eyes widened, Luna glancing up at me. 

“That’s quite the secret you’ve stumbled across, John.”

“Hence why I’m here.”

“You intend to do something about it? Don’t tell me you plan to steal it.”

“Oh please, I could never do something so small.”

I chuckled, their screens changing again. It showed a map of the Kingdom, with dots all over it. 

“Each of those dots is a potential storage site for not just a Dragon, but Lordbeasts. My plan, Lady Luna, is to steal them all.”

She stared at me, not so much surprise as there was seriousness on her face. It only looked funny with the bit of frosting on the corner of her mouth though.

“John, you can’t possibly be thinking of trying something so impossible.”

“You think I’d propose something that I hadn’t thoroughly considered the risks and possibilities of? That I didn’t already have a plan for?”

The Key Master nodded. 

“Indeed, I believe in Sir Cooper’s intelligence. However difficult, something like this certainly isn’t impossible. But its consequences are accordingly proportional to its difficulty. I’m curious about what your plans are, and how we can help.”

They both looked at me, my smile persisting. 

“My plan is to steal most if not all of their stockpiled corpses. We all know that the Kingdom is being corrupted, and their new image is the Nephilim. Well, I don’t intend to let them harvest all of that material for their gain. If we can steal it all, it will not just rob them of their accumulation, but will allow us to use it instead. We turn their strength into ours, gaining another advantage.

“But naturally it can’t be done by any simple means. It would have to be done all at once, because once one person hears of it, they all will. We also have to steal those corpses in such a way that we can get past whatever layers of security they have. That unfortunately means teleportation. Then, we have to plant these teleportation arrays underneath every single corpse we plan to steal. That means a lot of enchanting, and it has to be done right under their nose, completely undetected.”

“It’s starting to sound pretty impossible, John.”

Luna commented when my words finished. Gone was her cheery disposition. I was dragging her into a heist the likes this world has never seen, and being a proxy of the Church, they likely had their own plans that couldn’t be deviated from. If this went wrong, it would do just that. They couldn’t activate assets for nothing. 

I motioned with my hand. 

“I have someone who can make it possible. As we speak, my fiancé is developing the spatial formations for this large scale teleportation. She develops the spells, and if those pictures are any evidence, I already possess the means to get in and out of anywhere without detection. At the very least, these vaults are no different from open doors, provided a bit of subtlety.”

Luna paused, glancing at the Key Master who simply sat there, prim and proper.”

I leaned forward. 

“I may be biased, but my fiancé is an excellent Warlock. She’ll get me the finalized spell formations, and I’ll provide the means and the men to carry out the rigging. We’ll go to each vault one by one and set up the formations. Then, all at once, we’ll simply teleport them away. They lose, we gain.”

Luna sat there for a few seconds before nodding. 

“Very well. Let’s assume you make it possible. What do you need our help for?”

“The retreat. Those teleportation formations won’t be able to go far. The expenditure is too much and no matter how rich I am, packing that many Crystals into a formation in the heart of an enemy vault and remaining undetected for extended durations is unlikely. That means these corpses are going to be teleported not far from the vaults themselves, perhaps a matter of a few miles. I don’t have the manpower to grab them all at once, all across the Kingdom, and fly them out. So I need hands and helicopters. Unless you have some top end spatial storages that can hold a bunch of massive Dragon and Lordbeast corpses.”

“Definitely not.”

She shook her head, sighing and leaning her head on her fist. 

She closed her eyes, the Key Master remaining silent. 

Eventually, he asked. 

“Do you need help planting the formations?”

“No. I plan to rig the vaults over a long duration. There are hundreds of vaults and I only have a few teams that can work one at a time. Even if they rig multiple vaults a day, assuming no mistakes or mishaps, it’ll take months, if not a full year to finish them all. So this isn’t something that’s going to happen right this moment. But it can be done. It just has to be subtle and fast. Rob one, and they’ll go crazy trying to figure out who did it. Rob two, they’ll all lock down their vaults. Three, and you can forget about any Dukes leaving their households. They’ll start pointing fingers out of panic and with the way things are going, they’ll likely land on me. I can’t handle that right now.”

“But you’ll be able to in the near future?”

Luna asked, making me shrug. 

“In the future, I don’t particularly care what happens. I have my own plans regarding the Third Claw and what may happen to my Iron Legion.”

“Do your plans involve being completely dissolved? Because that’s what’s going to happen. If the Third Claw turns its attention to you, you’re going to end up dealing with the powers behind them. And if you didn’t guess, that’s a Sovereign. Not to mention the political backlash. You’ll have the King framing you for high crimes and coming for your head personally. At that point your only option, short of starting a war, is to flee. They certainly aren’t going to go after the Church publicly, and the Church isn’t going to back you publicly.”

“I know.”

I answered simply, which seemed to make her a bit angry. 

“John, I’m telling you these things out of concern and care, for both you and Umara. She’s going to follow you into hell but I don’t want you dragging her there on a whim. The Church is making its own plans regarding the Kingdom, with or without the Dragons and Lordbeasts. We know about their stockpiles and we knew it was going to fall into Nephilim hands. Your action isn’t necessary, especially if it’ll end up dissolving humanity’s second most powerful military.”

“I think you mean most powerful, and yes, I know that the Church is aware of the stockpiles. But were they aware of the Nephilim? Five years ago, did they think the Nephilim would appear?”

My smile faded, Luna leaning back. 

“Of course not. Nobody saw the Nephilim coming. They’re a new form of Corruption, recently developed.”

“Indeed. Developed by an otherworlder, right?”

Luna’s eyes widened. I made sure to stifle my smile while taking out and lighting a cigar. 

I let out a long breath of smoke.

“The Church knows about people from another world. They know I’m one of them. They know that there are some on the side of the Scourge. What they didn’t know was the level of threat that they posed. The Nephilim was an unexpected factor that immediately cemented the Scourge’s ability to take complete control of the Kingdom. They’re going to end up killing a massive portion of humanity as well because of it. But my Iron Legion was just as unexpected. My technology instantly multiplied humanity’s combat power several times over. My planes give us the skies and uncontested mass slaughter. I even gave that technology to the Church, essentially free of charge. 

“But I’m not willing to bet on it being enough. Because of the Nephilim, and because of whatever else the Scourge may develop and deploy, we no longer have the room for allowing our enemies to grow their strength. These Dragons and Lordbeasts represent a massive boost in top end combat power. If we can take them away, I think we’re obligated to do so. I’m not even asking you guys to help me plant the formations. I’m just asking for some help and resources to take them away. The Church will even receive a huge portion of the corpses, since I certainly can’t do much with them. I’m doing all the hard work. All I want is a bit of willingness to step up and do what’s right.”

The two were silent for a bit, Luna eventually nodding. 

“Very well, John. I’ll get you the help you want. But that doesn’t answer my questions about the aftermath.”

“I’m well aware of what’s going to befall me as a result of all this, and I’m going to handle it.”

“Are you the one behind all of those massacred villages? They’re migrating to cities, because of that.”

“I’ve been doing nothing but operating Iron Legion according to its doctrine.”

The two of us looked into each other’s eyes, Luna frowning. 

“I’m starting to realize how much power you’ve acquired, John. These games are dangerous, and you’re beginning to play with the centuries-old powers, making waves in plans far older than yourself. You’re not at the Authority that allows you to survive the ire of anybody you’re about to make very unhappy.”

“I hardly care about an angry Sovereign, because not one person has the intelligence, technology, or the attitude to do anything about me. Knowledge is power, and with power comes secrets. I have plenty of both, but from one leader to another, I implore you not to try and pry. You can deliver my words to any other curious individuals it may concern. Still, I’m partially glad that my influence is being recognized. At least toward my allies, I enjoy being taken seriously. Saves me trouble.”

I took another puff of the cigar, Luna maintaining her sharp gaze before sighing and rubbing her temples. 

“Oh John, you stress me out. Terribly so.”

“I’m glad you are. It means I get to watch out for you, too.”

“Who’s watching out for whom? I can already see the day you come running to me for help.”

I chuckled, Luna tapping her aerial a few times. 

“Keep in contact with me and I’ll make sure you have the help you need. Hm, you’ll actually have to step out of your Iron Legion bubble. Are you sure you aren’t paranoid about intelligence regarding your capabilities getting leaked?”

“Hardly, or I wouldn’t have let you in on one of my greatest secrets. Not that you didn’t know it already. But it’s different when the big powers know my eyes are open.”

“Yes, it is.”

She nodded, my head turning to the Key Master. 

He smiled at me. 

“I’ll attempt to provide intelligence on the precise locations of any vaults, as well as the schedules of the nobles who own them. As it pertains to the operation, I’ll pass it to you.”

“I appreciate it. It’ll help with the tedious tasks. Although, there is one thing I’m curious about.”

I lowered my arm, my SEER Knife appearing in my hand, blade crawling with dense energy. 

“I’ve felt something since entering this place. Not sure if it’s you, but it’s quite fascinating.”

I lowered the knife, the blade moving toward the floor. 

“Please refrain.”

My hand froze, the Key Master’s eyes locked on me, no more of the courteous smile present on his face. 

I was baffled by his presence in that short moment. I always knew it, but I suppose there was at least one person with the intelligence and the technology to do something about me. 

He smiled after a few seconds. 

“From one leader to another, I implore you not to try and pry.”

“…You’re right, that was hypocritical of me.”

I pulled my knife back, putting it away before the Key Master suddenly flicked his finger. 

One of my bullets flew threw the air, my hand snatching it. 

“I thank you, John. The intelligence you want will be sent to you tomorrow. I also have a few agents and black companies that can be of service, if you’d like their assistance. Perhaps as a proxy when planning the operation and as an option to smuggle the goods. They’re quite good at what they do.”

“Sure, I’ll take all the help I can get. I’ll also be sending you both some intel from my side. Since I’m asking for assistance, I’m not going to keep my allies in the dark.”

“Then I will also keep in contact with Lady Luna, make sure all three sides are properly coordinated. Perhaps some resources and manpower should also be moved in anticipation for an influx of harvestable Crown material.”

“Absolutely. When this happens, we’ll need to take advantage of it quickly. When one card is played, another must come down in response. I expect retaliation. We must move accordingly.”

All three of us nodded and stood, shaking hands and sealing our deals. 

I smiled in anticipation. 

“To a fruitful operation.”

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