Chapter 108: Man vs Virus

Chapter 108: Man vs Virus

Vasi returned with an army from Hell.

Basil couldnt describe the soldiers that walked out of the portal any other way. The creatures were a motley crew of fork-wielding bug monsters, demonic beastmen awfully similar to the ones his party had fought in Hungary, knights whose armor burned like furnaces, and many other warbeasts. They poured out into Earth's dimension in regimented order, their legions ready to conquer the world in their masters name. Their fluttering banners proudly showcased their allegiance.

Pony Princess Vasi? Basil chuckled as his girlfriend flew to his side. The silly name on the banners made it hard for him to take the army seriously.

I managed to talk my father out of renaming Bulgaria into Vasiland, but I had to make compromises. Vasi put a hand on her waist. Please dont joke about it, Handsome.

Basil never even considered it. Instead, he found himself distracted by his girlfriends new appearance. He didnt have the opportunity to observe her metamorphosis closely earlier, and he found himself charmed by what he saw. The way Vasis wings fluttered behind her, her divine poise, her charming smile combined with the awe-inspiring aura of power that surrounded her what was there not to like?

Basil? Vasi grinned. Did my beauty leave you speechless?

It did. Basil put a hand behind his girlfriends waist and pulled her to him. You look like a goddess.

She smiled shyly while putting her arms around his shoulders. You dont mind the hooves?

I aint that superficial. He lightly kissed her on the lips. Her lips tasted of sweet fruits and mint. You could have a serpent tail instead of legs, and I would still stay by your side.

Oh, sweet talker you. Vasi leaned closer to Basil to better whisper in his ear. She rubbed her thigh against his waist. Since I can shapeshift now, my bear knight, Ive figured we could experiment a bit.

Basil was thankful for his armor, or he would have done something very inappropriate. Whatever you want, dear.

I look forward to it, she said before letting him go. I feel we both need a good time.

Yeah, Basil agreed. But that will have to wait for later. How many soldiers did you bring?

Dad could mobilize a whole legion in short order, so around five thousand soldiers. Their levels range from thirty to fifty on average. That should be more than enough to deal with most gearsmen. As for Mom, she lent me her spellbook and a gift for you.

Vasi clapped her hands and then extended them in opposing directions. A sickly-green spear covered in ancient runes materialized between her palms. The tip oozed fetid yellow fumes and golden poison. Basil carefully grabbed the shaft and examined the weapons stats.

Birgha Spit-SpearFamily: Weapon (Spear).Quality: A.Power: +19 STRCrit: +10%Accuracy: 75%Effect 1: [Spiteful Spite]: Birgha always inflicts the [Poison] effect on a successful strike; this effect ignores Resistance, but not Immunity.Effect 2: [Wakeful Fumes]: Birghas fumes protect the user from [Sleep] and harmful musical effects, such as an enemy [Bard]s Performances.Effect 3: [Troubakill]: Attacks from Birgha inflict supereffective damage (x3 damage) against enemies who can cast Performance spells (such as [Bards]).Effect 4: [Unused].A spear forged by a melomanic Fomor to kill bad musicians, an act that spared Outremonde from the evils of Country Music, Rap, and K-Pop. You better not ask where the spit part of the name comes from.

Why is it called spit-spear? Basil asked.

My mom spat on the tip once, Vasi replied.nove(l)bi(n.)com

Basil squinted at his new weapon. Is this a toothpick?

One only big enough for Rosemarine, his girlfriend joked back. Theres one spot left to put in a rune, if you want.

Good call. Vasi wasnt the only one who had learned new spells. He immediately empowered his new weapon with a rune he had just learned.

You refined [Birgha Spit-Spear] with an [Accuracy Rune]. The weapons accuracy has been raised by 20%.

Youll thank your mother for me, Basil said as he summoned his halberd. Thanks to his Dragoon II Perk, he could easily wield two spears at the same time. Its abilities are rather situational, but it will make for a nice backup weapon.

You will thank her yourself. Youve impressed her more than she let on, so shes eager for us to visit Outremonde again. Vasis expression softened. How are you holding up, Basil?

I shoulder on and power through, like always. Basil sighed. Theres no time to mourn. I cant show weakness before the others. Not now.

I see. Vasi gently touched his arm. Basil Im with you. Always. You may not want to show the troops how you feel for morales sake, but when were alone you can be anyone you want. Everything that you want to say, all the tears you must shed Ill hold you in my arms through thick and thin.

Her kind words warmed Basils heart. He felt blood flushing to his cheeks. Thanks, he said softly. I might take you up on it after we deal with the Unity.

Of course. She smiled kindly. Whenever you want.

Vasi had a way of soothing him even in the darkest times.

With Vasis reinforcements, the troops were finally gathered for battle. Basil and his girlfriend rejoined the rest of the team at the center of the camp. The artificial Neurotower loomed over tanks and tents, a true steampunk tower of steel, gears, and screens. For all of its power and size, however, it looked absolutely tiny next to Rosemarine.

Argh! This is so unfair! Shellgirl pointed a finger at the Hesperides Dragon. Your new form and my dear Vasis are both overpowered! Now Im this teams dead last!

Thats right, Im still ahead in the pecking order, Plato boasted. Mammal supremacy!

I can feed you my fruits, if you want, Rosemarine suggested to Shellgirl. The nutrients will help you grow big and strong.

Keep those in reserve, Rosemarine, Basil pleaded. Due to their miraculous healing properties, they had already used hundreds of them on the nights wounded. Though Rosemarines SP regeneration let her create nearly fifty fruits per hour, Basil would rather stock a few for emergencies. Shellgirl, just be a little patient. Youre two levels away from transforming yourself.

Shellgirl pouted. Easy for you to say, Partner, you get new abilities all the time.

Its okay, Shellgirl, Bugsy reassured his teammate. Im sure your new metamorphosis will be wealthy and powerful!

It better be gorgeous too! Shellgirl complained with her fists clenched into fists. With unlimited assets and massive market penetration!

Considering whose essence she had consumed, Basil had no doubt the capitalist in her would find joy upon evolving.

My dear Shellgirl, I think you will more than pull your weight today, Vasi said with a grin. In fact, I will require your help. I cannot cast spells and use boosters at the same time, so

Ohoh, you want me to juice you while you zap them all? Shellgirls sour mood instantly turned joyful. Now thats a bundle I can get behind!

With our current tactics, we should be able to overwhelm most of the Unitys conventional forces. Basil turned his head to look at Simeon, who joined the group with Neria and Benjamin. Its a shame non-monsters cannot benefit from your All for One Perk.

I hope you dont mind fighting with demons, Simeon. Basil had seen tamed fiends among the Swords of Saint George, so he doubted the paladin would be picky about their reinforcements.

You have entered the [Unity Space] Field:Level penalties will not apply within the Field.[Dragon] and [Artificial] Types will have their stats buffed.Atmospheric conditions will[Unity Space] overridden by Rosemarines [God-Field: Garden of the Hesperides]!You have raised your halberds Strength bonus by +9 (1 point per 7 levels) for ten minutes!Vasis [Hasten World] granted your party the [Haste] status for ten minutes. [Unity Space] overridden by Rosemarines [God-Field: Garden of the Hesperides]!

How did he get in? Blackcinders claw scratched the floor in her fury. The engineering deck is two stations away from the command center. How could security let them through?

They teleported in, her lieutenant explained. And theyre not alone.

Other monitors showed Blackcinders the full scale of the disaster. The security sector, the recreation deck, and even the medical bay were under attack by hostile forces. Portals opened and filled the lunar bases chambers with blue particles. Human soldiers led by a winged knight teleported in their wake. A bat monster made of shadows opened fire at surprised dragons in the recreation deck, helped by insectoid creatures and other monsters. They poured in by the hundreds.

Blackcinders recognized one of the leaders as Simeon, a key target and the leader of a minor resistance movement. The bat creature matched the description of Pluto, one of the Metal Olympus leaders. Did these factions join forces against the Unity?

And the plants the plants were spreading everywhere.

How are they getting in? Blackcinders snapped at her engineers. Youve assured me the entire moon was warded against teleportation effects.

Theyre using a neurotower. One of ours, but One of her engineers shook his head. No known identification.

Theyve built their own, another said. Theyre using it to spread some kind of virus.

Well, contain it. Blackcinders prepared to take her leave and intercept the intruders herself. Deploy all available gearsmen. I will personally lead the charge.

Her lieutenants next words froze her in place. General, the gearsmen are bugging out!

For the first time in her thousand-year long life, Blackcinders felt the sharp sting of fear. How many?

As far as we can tell All of them. The lieutenant choked. Not just on the moon...

Blackcinders turned back to assess the situation. The blue particles caused gearsmen security forces to break down. The machines either fell inactive or thrashed around in confusion. Others simply stopped attacking as if confused about who to shoot. The disease spread from gearsman to gearsman, even faster than the enemy troops could advance. The latter were few, but numbers mattered not when automated weapons refused to fight back.

The virus? Blackcinders guessed.

Yes, one of her engineers confirmed. Its a Tier X spell at least, maybe Tier XII. How can they cast something so powerful? Not even the Grandmaster

Reviewing all known facts and reevaluating her strategy, Blackcinders swiftly reached a conclusion. This has gone too far, she said. Activate the Lunar Cannon.

Were over three hours away from reaching Bulgaria, her lieutenant pointed out. And their troops are already on the station.

It does not matter, Blackcinders replied. Fire at Earth with maximum power.

A sharp silence followed, only broken by the screeching noise of alarms.

General, with all due respect, I am not sure you understand what youre asking for Her engineers gulped. Well ignite Earths atmosphere if we do that. This will wipe out all life on the surf

Order our forces on the ground to evacuate the planet back to other star clusters, Blackcinders cut in sharply. Those who cannot escape in time will be marooned.

Her lieutenant, too young to see the big picture, was livid. You want to destroy this planet? After all that weve sacrificed to establish a foothold on it? Millions will die, dragons included!

Do you not understand the direness of this situation, lieutenant? Blackcinders grunted. If these primates have figured out how to create their own neurotowers and how to disable gearsmen, then the very foundations of our empire are at stake. We cannot let their knowledge spread beyond this planet or the Unity is doomed.

When a house was infected with a disease, the only solution was to sterilize it. No matter the cost. The risks at hand far outweighed the resources invested, or the expected rewards.

There will always be more docile planets to assimilate, and people who know their place, Blackcinders said nonchalantly. Destroy this dump and let us move on.

Her men exchanged silent glances. None of them moved to activate the launching sequence.

Blackcinders grunted in impatience. Open fire, lieutenant.

No, he answered.

Blackcinders looked down on her soldier. No?

No, General! I wont do it! I wont open fire on our own troops! To Blackcinders surprise, the coward did not back down. A Unity dragonlord was questioning a direct order. You are completely insane!

Hes right! one of the engineers said, his peers nodding in agreement. Blackcinders could see the fear in their eyes, and yet they stood their ground in their shared cowardice. There has to be another way, General!

Is this a mutiny? Blackcinders eyes glowed with fury and cosmic light. Graviforce.

A mighty pulse of telekinetic energy sent all people presentdragons and minions alikeflying in all directions. Some crashed on monitors, others went through the command centers blast doors. Only Blackcinders remained unscathed in the midst of it all.

Fine, Blackcinders said as she typed orders on the control command. Ill do it myself.

Ignition sequence activated, a digitized voice echoed from the remaining monitors. A countdown appeared on the screens. The Lunar Cannon will open fire in thirty minutes. Twenty-nine minutes, fifty-nin

Blackcinders smashed the control console beyond repair with her tail. No one could stop the countdown now.

Only one problem remained.

This is between you and me now, Bohen. Blackcinders expanded her wings. This all ends here.

The black dragon shattered her window to the tune of alarm bells and flew into the void of space.

The hunt was on.