Dodging the rush of people heading out to chaotically move around the city, Larek eventually made it to Volunteer headquarters with Nedira in tow. Instead of heading inside for yet another meeting about this crisis, the Divine Fusionist was met outside by Kimble, General Auran, and Bartholomew.
“You heard?” the leader of the Volunteers asked quickly as they began to swiftly walk away from the headquarters building. Larek nodded as he and his betrothed joined them. “Good. We need to get moving now,” he added with a sense of urgency in his voice.
“Explain, please,” he asked of his friend, while still keeping up with them all. An entourage of additional Volunteers and previous SIC members was forming behind them, as some unspoken order had them all joining their march toward what he suspected was the city gates – and the transport fields that could be found outside. “I only heard that monsters were pouring out of the Diregate, but nothing more than that.” There had been plenty of conversations that he’d overheard on his way to headquarters, but none of them had been very specific.
“That’s basically it, but its worse than anything you’ve ever heard of before,” General Auran informed him. “Do you even know what the Diregate is?”
Larek thought he had a good idea, but he also didn’t want to claim to know something and then find himself ignorant later on. “Somewhat. I never learned much about it, other than it was some sort of permanent Scission.”
“That’s like comparing one of the weakest Apertures in the Kingdom to a full-blown Calamity,” she continued, shaking her head and clicking her tongue in disappointment. Whether it was at his ignorance or something else, he ignored it as she began to explain. “If some of the strongest Scissions that we ever faced as the SIC were around Category 6 or perhaps 7, then the Diregate would be a Category 10. You were correct about it essentially being a permanent Scission, but it is so far removed from what you might know about Scissions that it could be classified as something else entirely.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
Auran began ticking off points on her fingers. “First, it doesn’t disappear once it unleashes the monsters it contains – which should be obvious because you already know it is permanent. Second, it frequently changes the theme of monsters that come out of its large, portal-like presence, cycling through over 150 different groupings of monsters, though not in any predetermined order.
“Third, it doesn’t stop producing waves of monsters. There may be lulls of a half-hour or longer in between waves, but when there are, then everyone defending against them knows that the next wave will be a difficult one. That’s because, number four,” she said as she ticked off another finger, “the severity of the waves is variable. The majority of the monsters that come out are relatively weak, able to be easily handled by the dedicated teams – with whom we’ve had no contact for over a year – that defend the walls surrounding the Diregate. It’s when the monsters start reaching the sizes and difficulty of Category 10 Scissions that we need help.”
Larek was confused. “Help from who—?” He suddenly knew what she was about to say. “You’re about to tell me that you get help from the Gergasi, aren’t you?”
Nodding, she ticked off another finger. “Exactly, which is number five. Those in the upper leadership of the SIC knew that the Gergasi actively participated in the defense of the Diregate when it was necessary, while leaving the rest to the SIC to handle on their own. Those SIC members who are assigned there rarely leave and aren’t allowed to speak of the Gergasi’s presence, which I’m sure you can figure out how that is enforced. Before I met you and you put this thing in my head,” she said as she tapped the back of her skull, “I wouldn’t have even been able to even mention it.”
Larek clearly understood what she was saying: It would be easy enough for the Gergasi helping to defend against the monsters of the Diregate to use Dominion magic on the SIC members there, forcing them to keep quiet about their presence. After learning more about the hated ability of his, he knew it took a lot less Dominion magic to simply have people forget or even be forbidden from mentioning the Gergasi, rather than controlling them completely.
“Which brings me to number six,” General Auran went on. “The Gergasi are an integral part of defending the Kingdom against the invasion of monsters through the Diregate, as much as we would prefer it otherwise. Now, if what I suspect is true, then the Gergasi have pulled back their support, likely as a direct result of you kicking their asses at the Calamity. Don’t misunderstand me: I don’t believe for a moment that what you did was wrong, nor that we absolutely need the Gergasi to continue helping us at the Diregate, but you need to understand the reality of the situation as it is right now.
“I can’t say for sure what happened, as I wasn’t there, but I can only assume that almost as soon as the Gergasi pulled back, there was a Category 10 type of event at the ‘gate, and the stationed defenders there were taken completely by surprise. I’ve personally seen some of the horrendous monsters that can emerge from an event like that, and they make some of the fourth evolution monsters from the Calamities look like weak Goblins in comparison. As horrible as the Gergasi are, they’re quite powerful – and fighting these things is likely how they continued to improve and get even stronger. If even a single one of these dangerous monsters managed to make it to the walls, they could tear through them as if they were made of paper. Once that happens, there’s nothing stopping everything coming out behind them from spreading out and attacking the entire Kingdom in nonstop waves of monsters, likely with multiple fourth- or even fifth-evolution, Calamity-strength monsters roaming around with them.
“Does that somewhat explain what we’re up against?”
Larek nodded, reeling at the information he’d just been given. He had no idea all of that was going on behind the scenes when it came to the Diregate, but it also made a lot of sense. Larek had only gotten stronger, outside of making Fusions, by fighting strong opponents, and he already knew that the Gergasi weren’t going around and helping to put down Scission attacks all over the Kingdom throughout the years. They might help when there was one that was particularly difficult, but they had to have been getting their experience somewhere else. It was pretty obvious that this “somewhere else” was the Diregate.
“It does. However, why didn’t you or anyone else mention this before?”
For the first time, General Auran appeared uncomfortable. “Well, not many people knew about the Gergasi helping out at the Diregate, and most of those outside of the area are probably dead by now. As for why I didn’t mention it… to tell the truth, I actually hadn’t really considered it to be something I should say anything about. Perhaps it is some sort of ingrained remnant of the order not to speak of it or something else entirely, but it didn’t really seem important enough to bother you over. I suppose, to my thinking at least, that if you are able to kill all the Gergasi, then you would find some way to help us defend against the dangers of the Diregate, as that would mean you’re more powerful than them.”
“Is there anything else you believe I should know now, but weren’t sure if it was important before?”
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She looked at him with a side-eye, clearly uncomfortable or embarrassed. “I know where the Enclave is—”
“You do?! That would’ve been good to know about weeks ago.”
“Sorry. Honestly, I thought you already knew about it, especially as you kept talking about how we were going to eventually assault it.”
Larek thought about it for a moment before he conceded the point. The location of the Enclave wasn’t vital information, as he was fairly certain that he could probably find it when he got close enough to the capitol, but having confirmation of its precise location would make it a whole lot easier.
“Well, point it out to me on a map later,” he told her. “For now, I can only assume that the monsters coming out of the Diregate are the priority. Though, I wouldn’t put it past the Gergasi to act when we come in to handle the situation.”
“If that’s the case, we’re going to have to leave you to handle them. Do you think you can do that?”
He wanted to say that, no, he couldn’t handle all of the Gergasi by himself, but he refrained from doing so. Instead, he just grunted, neither affirmatively nor in refusal of her question, because he wasn’t quite sure how things would work out. At the least, he might be able to hold them off until help could come, but he wasn’t going to count on that. After his last fight, he had some ideas that he might be able to try, but it really depended on the situation he found himself in.
“So, what’s the plan, then? I assume you have one, seeing that we’re heading out to the transports.”
It was Kimble’s turn to take over the explanation. “We, of course, do have a plan; you know me better than that, Larek.” The Volunteer leader waved behind him. “We’re taking everyone in the city available to fight right now, which will total about 4,600 Volunteers and SIC, arming them with the best of the Fusions you were able to give us, and heading straight to the source to stop any more monsters from leaving the area. Coming in behind us are our reserves, numbering just over 50,000, who won’t have as much firepower as we do, but will be able to help us to clean up any monsters that have already roamed far enough to cause widespread problems. They will be delayed because they have to come in from other areas first, but they will be deployed as soon as they are available.”
Larek was thankful for Kimble and the other leadership seemingly already having everything on hand, because that was definitely not something that he wanted to be responsible for. He had one question, though. “And what about these extremely strong monsters? Do you think you’ll be able to take care of them?”
“We’ll just have to see if your confidence in your Fusions is well-deserved, won’t we?” the General answered. “If they are as effective as you say they are, then we might just have a chance to kill them.”
The Divine Fusionit was fairly confident in his handiwork, especially as all of the transports supposedly had Focused Light Beams installed, along with the Camouflaged Magical Energy Negation Sphere for defense. At least in the initial group heading toward the Diregate, which was equipped with the best Fusions that Larek had created to date, while the reserves hadn’t been fully upgraded yet. They would still have transports and VREP staves, but that was about the extent of their armaments.
“And you? Are you leading a group against these monsters?” he asked Bartholomew.
Shaking his head, his former bodyguard chuckled. “Not at all. We’re coming with you.”
“We? Who is—”
Just then, they were walking out of the front gates, and the Divine Fusionist could see The Hopper. Unlike when they had arrived, it appeared fully repaired from the damage it had sustained – and the reason for that stood outside of the vessel, looking it over with a critical eye.
Verne.
His old roommate wasn’t alone, either. Teena stood next to him with her arm through his, which Larek could tell was frustrating his friend slightly as it was preventing him from leaning forward to check for more damage. Penelope and Vivienne were on the opposite side, the sneaky Ranger pointing something out along the side of the vessel that had caught her eye, with the blue-haired Striker holding a massive sword over her shoulder like it weighed nothing. Though, I suppose they might have different Specializations now that they’re Guardians with their full potential unlocked, but they haven’t changed enough for me to be able to tell.
Standing about 10 feet away from Verne and Teena was Norde, who looked at his tree-like friend with amusement. Nedira’s brother appeared so much better than he had just a few months ago that one would have to know what happened to him because of Chinli to know that there was anything wrong, but there was a tenseness in his stance that betrayed his nervousness. Then again, that could also be anticipation; I’m sure he’s eager to get back at the Gergasi for what Chinli put him through.
Other than a small complement of Volunteers, which included Frynth and those with whom he’d ventured into the Clockwork Calamity, Esmer stood to the side in her purple robe, the Illusionist looking slightly out of place among the others. Her position allowed her to see the incoming group first, and Larek saw the smile on her face as she looked at Kimble, who he could see blush a little out of the corner of his eye.
“You’re coming, too?” he asked the Volunteer leader. It had been a while since he’d been out of the city on anything important – but Larek supposed that this probably qualified.
“I am. It’ll be a small group that’ll be coming with you, as everyone else is needed on the front line against the monsters, but hopefully it should be enough.”
Larek was immediately worried for their safety. “It’s more than enough; in fact, are you even sure you should all come with me? It’ll be a whole lot more dangerous than fighting against monsters from the Diregate.”
Nedira jumped up and smacked him in the back of his head. It didn’t hurt, but it sure surprised him. “You really have to stop trying to protect us, Larek,” she scolded him immediately afterwards. “We all know that it’ll be dangerous, which is precisely why we’re coming with you. We might not have been able to be there for every dangerous thing you’ve done in the past, but there is no way we’re letting you go in there alone.”
Larek didn’t say anything, though he nodded shortly after a few seconds. As much as he wanted them to be safe, he also felt like fortune shone on him at having so many people willing to brave the dangers of the Gergasi for his sake.
As soon as they started walking up to The Hopper, the Divine Fusionist could see the same sort of resolve upon the faces of everyone else. The knowledge that they were going to be heading into dangerous, uncharted territory when it came to fighting against the Gergasi on their home ground didn’t seem to faze them, and their determined expressions almost dared him to be stubborn and mention that they should stay behind where it was safe.
He did nothing of the sort, however, having taken the admonishment from Nedira seriously. Right now, in this moment, was the time when he needed his friends the most; pushing them away because he worried for their safety would not only possibly put him in danger later, but it would be the same as telling them that he didn’t think they could take care of themselves. Which he did believe, given that all of them had the best of the best Fusions at their disposal, including Omni-Boost +20 and All Skills Boost +10, along with Absolute Protective Fields and Multi-Purpose Arsenals. Each of them was a talented Guardian in their own right, with a mixture of experience in casting spells and using weapons, which only enhanced their ability to fight effectively.
Nedira and the Volunteers also had Flood of Domination to help protect them against other forms of Dominion magic, but Larek was going to make sure that the rest got the same Fusion as soon as possible. He had some in his Void Pocket sack, which he could easily hand out to them, along with a variety of other Fusions that could be useful, such as Mass Energy Absorption and Health Reversal. He didn’t have enough of them for the rest of the groups heading out to fight monsters, as those were still growing in his home, but he had enough for his friends and those directly fighting with him.
Larek stopped right outside The Hopper, greeting all of his friends with a smile; out of the corner of his eye, he watched General Auran and the thousands of Volunteers and former SIC begin to make their way towards the hundred or so transports waiting for them. “Well, it looks like this is it. Is everyone ready to win a fight?” he asked.
It was Penelope who answered, her attitude quite serious for once. “No, I’m not ready to win a fight,” she said with a shake of her head, before her voice deepened with resolve. “I’m ready to win a war.”
“I couldn’t have said it better, myself,” Verne agreed, and his agreement was echoed by everyone else present.
“Then I guess we’d better be on our way.” With that statement, The Divine Fusionist led the others on board The Hopper, where they would leave the city of Thanesh to go win a war against the threat that had plagued the Kingdom for more than 1,000 years.
