99 Echoes 3/3

Though she had made preparations for a worst-case scenario type event, Meylp was still surprised when Eondu, heading an army of several thousand Verum, arrived on the 100th Floor. Her army still vastly outnumbered his, but, due to the contract Eondu had made with the Tower, a group of elites, consisting almost entirely of his children, greatly exceeded the LV100 threshold.

Under the banner of the Dragon God, Eondu's forces managed to conquer several territories within the 100th Floor almost immediately after their emergence. This wasn't that surprising, but, instead of trying shore up their defenses, they formed several aerial squadrons focused solely on dealing as much damage as possible before fleeing. They didn't even try to act with the characteristic pride of the Verum, and, rather than directly engage Meylp's superior forces, they focused on guerilla tactics and causing as much collateral damage as possible.

Meylp had heard the rumors of Eondu's sly and cunning behavior, but, as he had always acted in a very open and arrogant manner, she hadn't anticipated that his forces would continually flee from a direct engagement. To make matters worse, some of the agents planted by the Verum had worked their way into positions of influence and authority over the centuries. They managed to develop an underground network that fed information directly to the Verum forces. This allowed them to avoid the subjugation forces sent after them, and, at times, even allowed them to prepare traps to heavily damage Meylp's army.

Though she had never been the critical-thinking type, Meylp easily saw through Eondu's ploy from the moment the first reports reached her ears. It was apparent he had taken her greatest weakness into consideration, and, instead of fighting on her terms, he was doing everything in his power to destabilize her position as Ruler. He had even started to forge alliances of his own, promising much the same benefits as she had while also promising to spare specific cities and regions from plunder and destruction.

Gradually and methodically, Eondu, who had remained hidden since his arrival on the 100th Floor, managed to expand his forces and dominion of control. Meylp had always been a well-respected Ruler, but, due to her nature, she had failed to inspire devotion and loyalty among her subjects. She had the zealous support of the Bapho and a few other tribes, but, when forced to choose between loyalty and death, a considerable number of people chose to join the Verum faction.

Unlike Meylp, who built relationships on trust and mutual respect, Eondu forced those beneath him into binding contracts that guaranteed their obedience. Those who resisted would have their cities burned, and, as had been proven numerous times, Meylp's forces were unable to hinder them. The mobility of the Verum was simply too great, and, while her forces were indeed greater, maintaining a supply line and preventing the reduction of morale were becoming exponentially more difficult as the war progressed.

Though some of the native tribes had tried to adhere to the treaty they had made with Meylp, even they abandoned hope when she was left with little choice but to pull back her forces in an attempt to shore up the defenses of select cities. She wanted to try and clear out some of the dissidence in the core cities, and, though she established a policy to accept refugees, there simply wasn't enough space to accommodate the members of every tribe.

Ultimately, Meylp was able to regain control over the core cities, weeding out many of the forces that had been working alongside the Verum, but, in exchange, she lost the support of numerous factions that had allied with the same people who had persecuted them. This was something that vexed her to no end, but, as there was little she could do to change their minds, Meylp committed the singular act that lost her the greatest amount of support.

As the Ruler of the 100th Floor, Meylp had control over its structure, and, though it would take a considerable amount of time for drastic changes to occur, she could even modify entire regions and biomes. Thus, in an effort to try and pressure the Verum while simultaneously increasing her ability to supply her own people, she gathered the energy from the entire Floor to drastically increase the fertility around the core cities at the expense of everything else.

Meylp believed that, if she had enough resources, she could gradually expand the core cities and accommodate all refugees who sought sanctuary. Unfortunately, her actions were misconstrued a great deal by those outside the core cities, and, believing they had been completely abandoned by their former leader, many of the tribes that had been resisting the Verum's control ended up joining hands with the very enemies who had been slaughtering them wantonly.

What Meylp had originally intended to be a singular climactic battle turned into a prolonged war that spanned literal decades. This resulted in the citizens of the core cities becoming gradually more complacent from excess, while, outside the pristine and highly-maintained walls, a vast wasteland as far as the eye could see had dominated much of the Floor.

Due to the existence of such a disparity, people born within the cities began to disdain those born outside, while, inversely, those born in the wastelands began to vehemently hate those born inside the city. This rift only became more prominent with the passage of time, and, though she had tried to maintain a policy that accepted refugees, excess always led to rampant corruption and groups of people who wanted more than they already had.

Though they should have been doing their best to help those seeking refuge, city officials began to proactively turn away and even harass those born hailing from the outside. Some even accused the outsiders of being spies for the Verum, and, without any proof, they would severely torture or even kill those trying to seek aid. In truth, they just didn't want to share their resources with outsiders, as, despite there being plenty to go around, it was hoarded by the various prosperous families that had come into power following the consolidation of people and resources.

For her part, Meylp did her best to try and prevent things from getting out of hand, but, as she was just one person, it was impossible to micromanage the affairs of every City. It didn't help that many of the affluent families that had come into power were her principal supporters in the war against the Verum. She had tried to rein them in early on, but, after confronting the patriarch of one of the most powerful families, they actually began to secretly support the Verum in an attempt to stage a coup against her. This resulted in the loss of countless lives, and, ever since then, public support of the war effort had waned considerably.

With even the public gradually turning their back on her, despite the fact she had always done her best to try and protect them, Meylp became progressively more jaded towards ruling. She still had the support of the Bapho, but, as more and more time passed, everyone else began to regard her as some kind of tyrant. They seemed to completely ignore the fact it was the Verum who had been wantonly slaughtering people in order to bring them under their thumb, and, despite the hundreds of years she had sued for peace, they conveniently forgot about it the moment their exorbitant and excessive lifestyles were endangered.

In an effort to alleviate her frustrations and increase public rapport, Meylp began hosting the once-annual tournament that had been so popular prior to the war's onset. She needed a way to vent her stress, and, with both herself and the title of Ruler on the line, the event drew just as much interest as it always had. Powerful people from all the core cities arrived to participate in the event, and, as an added bonus, it allowed Myelp to demonstrate her power, hopefully preventing future problems from arising.

What she never could have expected was that one of the participants, a young man with ruby-red eyes and golden hair, ended up being Eondu himself. Most Verum possessed horns, a tail, and even wings, but, due to his father being a simple Hume, Eondu had always been able to transform into a purely humanoid form. This allowed him to infiltrate the core cities long ago, and, over the years, he had risen to become one of the most successful merchants on the entire Floor, specifically focusing on black market goods and smuggling.

Meylp had actually been familiar with the golden-haired youth prior to his participation in the event so it came as a surprise to her when he suddenly demonstrated his power. All of the reports related to him mentioned that he had been born on the 100th Floor, and, though he was very influential in the underground markets, his power was limited by the fact he had yet to climb the Tower. He had always relied on the hands of others to enforce his authority, and, if not for the political connections his deceased father had forged, she assumed he would have been eliminated by rival organizations long ago.

It was only after seeing Eondu demonstrate his might that Meylp realized she had been completely played by the infamously arrogant Dragon God. None of the rumors surrounding him mentioned he was the type to scheme and conspire over decades, as, during his climb, he had always acted in an extreme, open, and direct manner. He was even known to kill or cripple thousands of people just because someone spread a negative or embarrassing rumor, seemingly incapable of allowing even the smallest slight against his pride...

In truth, Eondu had always been a very calculating individual, as, during the period where he had yet to awaken his Blessing, he had been treated poorly even by his own mother and grandmother. He had been born a prince of the so-called most powerful species, but, as his father was a Hume, many within his tribe had looked down on him due to his relative weakness and small stature. The treatment he received after his awakening only reaffirmed the reality that his race was crippled by their own mentality, so, before he had gained enough power to forcibly change things, Eondu had embodied all the negative aspects of the Verum to the extreme.

With a chance to seize control without a prolonged engagement, Eondu decided to use Meylp's own tournament against her. If he could defeat her in the event, he would have completed several of his objectives, as, with the Queen of the Bapho as his bride, it was only a matter of time before they were able to produce an offspring with the ultimate potential. What he hadn't anticipated was the impact his machinations had on the famously pacifistic Queen, as, the moment she realized his identity, Meylp completely discarded any sense of propriety and attacked in full force.

Ignoring the fact they were in the center of the largest core city, Meylp ended up transforming into her Behemoth form and entering a berserk state where her only goal was destroying Eondu. At the same time, she activated the city-wide defensive barrier that was supposed to keep enemies at bay, using it to seal the hateful Dragon God within the city. Then, without any regard for the devastation their battle would cause, she engaged his transformed state alongside nearly every member of her tribe.

What was originally intended to be a festive event quickly turned into the climactic battle Meylp had envisioned for hundreds of years. She used all of her might in an effort to crush Eondu then and there, but, due to his ridiculous speed, most of her attacks were ineffective. This turned the battle into a war of attrition where large chunks of her body were cleaved away, but, due to the unique constitution provided by the Behemoth transformation, even having her head blown off was barely enough to shave away more than ten percent of her Health.

Unlike normal physical transformations, the Behemoth form was more of a physical construct made from pure energy. There was no way a normal person would be able to increase their mass to the size of a small mountain under normal conditions, so, unless the core hidden within her body was destroyed, Meylp could effectively fight until her SP had completely run out. As for her Health, it would completely regenerate in a very short period of time, so, despite his attacks having no real counter, Eondu was unable to put her down due to his inability to locate her actual body.

With the benefits provided to them as Guardian Gods, the battle between Meylp and Eondu was able to continue for several days without either securing a definitive advantage. The disheartening thing for most survivors was the fact that the majority of the devastation had been caused by Meylp herself, rather than the enemy they had constantly been told to fear. They began to see Eondu as a Hero fighting against a tyrannical beast, as, despite being their greatest adversary, all of his attacks were aimed away from the city, purely focused on the raging Meylp.

Though several of Meylp's allies started off by coming to her aid, even the most fervent amongst her supports became dispassionate after seeing the devastation she had wrought. She wasn't even trying to control her strength, and, with many other Bapho also taking on monstrous forms, it was like they were under attack by a wave of beasts rather than defending their homeland. As a result, they began focusing more on evacuating the civilians, and, though there were only a few isolated incidents, some of Meylp's staunchest allies even began fighting against the rampaging Bapho.

In the end, the battle was decided when Eondu, nearly killing himself in the process, hit Meylp with a Void Breath that had erupted from his maw in a massive cone. It had taken the remainder of his SP and most of his Health, but, in the process, he managed to completely erase the lower half of Myelp's real body. This spelled her defeat, but, as she was still alive, Meylp used the remainder of her strength to forge a new contract with the Tower. She had never been a vindictive person, but, having suffered due to Eondu's machinations for so long, Meylp was unable to forgive the Verum and their hateful God.

Nobody knew the exact terms of the contract she had made, but, in the wake of the battle between the Dragon God and Bapho Queen, the former's race reigned supreme while the latter's was forced to live in perpetuity as a Slave race. Since then, the Dragon God's might was rumored to be without equal in the entire Tower. This allowed him to create an Empire that had survived until the present day, and, despite the average lifespan of a Verum only being a few thousand years, he had reigned for more than forty-thousand without contest...