Soul of Searing Steel

“Get a move on, and stay in queue!”

Back in the world of Mycroft, Roland calmed the crowds as a Legendary champion in the town center of Moldavia. However, upon sensing that chill, he could not help but speak out to urge the queuing citizens to depart through the portal.

That being said, the long columns of people extending through the city moved steadily and without panic. Extraordinary individuals amongst the Moldavian city guards, escorts, and knights moved through the surveillance of an automated spell before stepping into the massive portal at the city’s center square to leave Mycroft.

“Don’t worry, we’re going to someplace safe…the Liege will protect us.” A mother in the queue was soothing her children. Even if she was not an Extraordinary individual, she learned a thing or two about most supernatural powers following instructions in the last few years. From her perspective, the portal in front of her was running stably, with the fragrance of flowers from the other side faintly obvious even to a mortal.

That was precisely why, and in addition to a certain liege’s reputation, the queue that was forced to leave home would so readily head for other worlds in seek of refuge.

After Neuper the Ultimate Elf had fled the Zeta Ram system, even the Mycroft homeworld was now categorized as an unsafe region, with localized pockets of the virus spreading.

Though the means through which the virus moved around was determined—it could not transcend worlds without cause and must possess some medium such as sound, images, or simply information clusters which in turn made it preventable, the Legends, including Joshua who was on Stellaris, consented to a Migration plan in consideration of every Mycroft citizens’ safety.

***

Joshua had left behind the skill to help human factions of other regions to build corresponding shelter worlds after building one in the Bloodmoon Abyss. All those worlds possessed semi-permanent life support systems to build the Ring World in the future, and also considered the sudden mass migration. That was why it could cater for the billions entering in a short period while completing a recycling of interior resources within three months even if its resources and energy sources were not fully prepared.

And the first one to be opened which was at once complete, stable, and reliable was the Bloodmoon Shelter.

Supervised by the divine artificial intelligence Zero Three and watched over by Light the World Will, even the Ultimate Virus would be immediately discovered and banished. That was why after Roland and the various members of the Liege’s Residence had a discussion, they no longer minded the place and teleported off to regulate different regions instead.

There were 23 shelter transfer points in the Northern Empire, with over a hundred of them spread across the world of Mycroft. Roland, who held the key to the shelter portals, teleported over a hundred times in the day, and despite his strong spirit, the many teleportation left him instinctively disgusted. However, when he saw the crowds who had packed up to leave their homeland and hurriedly gathered under the request of Mycroft’s united governments, the Holy Knight had to do his best even if it was hard.

“Number fifty-six: Kadmore portal of the West Mountains opened… next should be the seventy-fourth by the Eastern Seas… damn it, are not all citizens following orders?”

Within the borders of the Grand Duchy of the West Mountains, the Holy Knight grimaced after some workers reported the situation to him, clasping his forehead as he sighed. “I mean, I understand that suddenly being asked to leave land and work to seek refuge in some other world is a bit too much for mortals who are still using human strength to tend to their farms…”

“No…most of those who are reluctant to leave are the elderly who are being stubborn…”

The local regulator was a dwarf, who spoked in slight irritation and was a little lost for words. “They are saying that it would be bad if their land and equipment (self-automatic arcane machines used for agriculture) are not maintained, and the epidemic won’t matter since they are already too old anyway, and that they would still need production when everyone comes home.

“Obsessing over such farms even now…argh!”

What else could Roland say? It was thanks to the proud fact that the leaders had spread knowledge and ethics far and wide that Mycroft citizens possessed such fine attributes, but now, Roland hoped that the exceedingly noble individuals could be a little more selfish and value their life more. For the present civilizations, the value of humans who procreated slowly was irreplaceable compared to machines made ever so simply.

They should have been applying their value more effectively in other places.

Ka-boom…ka-boom!!!

White lightning sparked upon the skies filled with shadows. Amidst rumbling thunder and rain pouring from the dark rainclouds, sunlight was entirely blocked and left the world in complete darkness. Only the lights of the city, along with the massive pale-blue portal at its heart shone.

Unaffected by the torrential rain, the queue to the portal of most regions kept advancing…. Through dimensional spells, airships, promises, or even enchantment by mind spells, 90% of Mycroft’s population had delegated their work to the machines and headed for the various teleportation points to the shelter realms, leaving their own home.

Amidst the never-ending downpour, Roland the Holy Knight teleported across the world to find in shock that the rain was not occurring in a single spot, but over the entire world. It was as if the sea was being poured out without end, and Roland’s heart grew somber as he took it all in.

He still remembered the chill that he sensed before, and that the Ultimate Virus lurked for a long time and that the world of Mycroft was not assuredly safe.

“Almost every region over Mycroft responded to the Migration on the first call, whereas some cities and zones have been silent and unresponsive even until now, with contact completely lost.”

If not for the current situation, Roland would have imagined that they were plagued by unforeseen circumstances and could not reply initially—now, however, the worst-case scenario came to mind. Closing his eyes in slight pain and opening them again, Roland’s eyes were determined and embodied rage.

“They must be completely destroyed. With such sudden rain, it would be the Ultimate Virus—no, it would be the Ultimate Entity.”

“Perhaps it has already appeared.”

In fact, his guess was not wrong at all.

A massive typhoon was wreaking havoc on the distant oceans of the far south. Like a gigantic invisible hand, raging gales sent indefinite volumes of the sea into the skies and moved the rainclouds that subsequently formed, blanketing the heavens over the entire world by indomitable force.

With its parent form having originated from a world of storms with rarely any sunlight, one of the now proven signs of an Ultimate Entity’s presence was the ability to alter the world and weather, causing no end to cloudiness and rain.

In the depths of the dim seas, at the bottom layer of reefs and oceanic currents, a great power was extending. It created a downpour over all of the world as if something was existent, wandering across all the seas and covering the land in ice-cold rain.

***

The Sea Dragon City, the Eastern Plains—this was the old dwelling place of the Sage of the Seas and the city of the Sea Dragon Knights, and the location of the twenty-seventh portal to the shelter realm.

With its platforms for marine harvesting and farming built over the last dozen years and the embankments that generated energy, the entire Sea Dragon City resembled a semi-circular harbor. Within the embankment were various stable nurseries for fishes and marine lifeforms, while the outer seas were where the Sea Dragon Knights roamed freely with their sea dragon companions.

But now, neither the nurseries nor the Sea Dragon Knights were visible—there was only the radiant blue portal at the center of town, the only place where the presence of Extraordinary powers was felt.

Being the base of the Sea Dragon Knights and the dwellings of their families, the Sea Dragon City boasted great firepower even if they lacked in populations, including the cities nearby. At present, most of the people had already teleported away, leaving only stationed guards who would close the portal when instructed by Roland, the chief overseer.

With evacuations almost finished at the moment, the entire Sea Dragon City had ceased operations. Arcane generators were turned off and various enchanted facilities hibernating to avoid having everything falling to pieces in a possible conflict. Therefore, after having all dangerous equipment and facilities moved or sealed, there was no hint of anyone around.

Even so, two silhouettes were weathering the rain on the Sea Dragon City embankment and striding towards the central control room.

In that particular embankment lay the tidal stream arcane generator, a machine which used the raging waves around the city that the sea dragons loved in order to generate mana. It was essentially massive dam that covered the entire deep-sea harbor, partitioned into several individual dams that would generate magical energy in all climates…its structure was complicated, but it had always been an assurance for cheap energy sources to local citizens, not to mention easily maintained and remarkably stable, having a fine classical design.

Even so, the safety of the tidal stream generator was not 100% assured in the storm. Though the facility was still running by itself while the towering tides bombarded it, yellow warning lights were flashing in its interior, indicating that it was overloading.

Therefore, during the key moments, someone must control and protect it.

“This rain isn’t normal—we must start the self-defense sequence of the dam and turn off its energy-generating facilities!”

Under wind and rains, a middle-aged man who appeared around his forties with a little hint of belly was yelling as he advanced in the storm. There was faint combat aura radiance appearing over his body that blocked the rain, but that did not stop him from being left ragged by the winds. “Otherwise the embankment might collapse, and the seas will pour in to drown half of Sea Dragon City!”

“I must be mad—to have married you back then—and to come here to be blown off by the winds—”

The other person, a middle-aged woman around the same age, shrieked. “Our children have grown up and can take care of themselves, but they’d definitely be in a tough spot if we get killed!”

“We’ll be martyrs even if we die, since my job is to maintain and keep the tidal generators running.”

In the storm, the middle-aged man grabbed his wife’s hand and pulled her forward amidst the tempest, grumbling softly, “Although I’m bribed and fattened from overeating… at the very least, I must earn my keep and maintain my dignity! Without the generator station, we’d go jobless and hungry!”

***

Humans were neither noble nor vulgar, but creatures of paradox—or at least, some would only need one simple reason to do something with all their strength, and probably not understand what most normal people would think.

But that was not the problem, for the real issue was the inner sea which had remained tranquil for the time being…

Because the nurseries inside the inner sea of the Sea Dragon City embankments were clearly fallen, with dark shadows wandering its depths.

There had actually been trace amounts of incomplete Ultimate Virus in the rain. Those were objects originating from the world-class downpour, unable to fully infect all creatures, and only those similar to themselves.

In other words, it could only create variants of its own kind.

In the seas, massive deformed shells were moving along the jet streams and growing at an unusual speed, either becoming massive or spawning rapidly. Dense magical energy or lifeforce appeared over their forms, even shaping into tiny natural runes.

The tempest raged and the seas churned.

The aberrative viral entity was exhausting every bit of power it had to ascend. Creatures once treated as livestock, they were now regressing in the image of their powerful ancestors—their shells hardened and protruding with spikes resembling cannon barrels, while the reefs were forming bony runes that flicked in myriad of mysterious colored radiances.

The creatures would become Ultimate Entities if the ascension was successful, or die in a day if they failed. Even so, those horrific aberrant would destroy the entire city in a day, or indeed all of civilization should they have the numbers and the destructive capacity.

To plunder nutrients, the viral entities were actually attacking each other, although some would divert their eyes from their brethren to the distant city at the other considerable ranks of ‘nutrients’. That naturally included those two silhouettes running towards the control room on the embankment, which would pass as appetizers.

Blurp-blurp…

The mutated shells began to float above, heading for the shores of the city while some moved towards the embankments. Those few specials could be seen opening their shells slightly so that the spikes on their shell could be quickly aimed at the pair on the embankments and ready to fire.

However, they were suddenly reduced to dust after being blasted by a black light that resembled a falling star.

A lightning streaked over the night sky, with two slim figures—one silver and the other black—appearing out of thin air as if warping.

“This isn’t good, sister.”

Withdrawing the giant axe in his hand, the black-haired youth looked around across all of Sea Dragon City and wrinkled his brow after counting the number of mutants across the city. “More than 170,000… most of them are dying in mutual slaughter, but those remaining are even stronger.”

“The Sea Dragon Knights can stop them. Those little things aren’t our targets.”

On the other side, the silver-haired girl who was holding a greatsword was not concerned with the ranks of mutants on the shores, staring instead at the depths of the seas. “Master had assigned us the mission of slaying threats beyond highly dangerous. Not even mortals have to fear those creatures that are less than Iron-class—they are things that could be hunted with the right tools, and are not our objective.”

“Our objective is there.”

As she spoke, she raised her hand and pointed at the bottom of the sea filled with gales and tides.

“Time to prepare for battle, Ling.”

The two silhouettes could be seen equipped in special, streamline steel armor, most of which was forged from an indescribable fluid substance, an impact armor that only shielded vitals with metal.

A magical stream encircled the pair visibly, even forming observation spells that allowed them to ignore the downpour and the seas to watch the red-black entity which was throbbing its shell to stir the storm beneath the ocean.

“Well then. I’m off, Ying.”

Sky-blue radiance formed a helmet that concealed the black-haired youth’s face. Driven by a mystical power, his body turned into a stream that vanished on the spot, and with an incredible echo, a vacuum that was several miles long appeared amidst the downpour.

“Ooooom—”

Meanwhile, faraway and seemingly sensing the oncoming threat, a dull reverberation of surging waters echoed.

The newborn Ultimate Entity was prepared to fight alone for the first time since its birth.

And it was the same for the siblings who were created as weapons.