Chapter 447 - Sky Fortress Citadel

Cecil had noticed that there were people following behind him as he flew through the sky towards the scattered groups of humans that came with him to the fifth floor.

The 4 individuals following him were recognized immediately as those who were with his brother earlier. They had a somewhat peculiar vibe to them and there was also the fact that they seemed cautious around him, but Cecil didn't pay it too much mind.

They were his brother's subordinates so he didn't see any need to place too much suspicion on their behavior. At least, that's what he inferred from them always referring to Gabriel as their commander.

There were 9 of them in total and they all seemed very loyal to Gabriel. Earlier, when he had just reunited with his brother, he felt a strong sense of wariness from these new people, but he didn't sense any hostility.

It was mostly wariness that was directed at those who were much stronger than them. Cecil had scanned these people with his Mana Eyes and had long since noticed that they weren't human, but he didn't point that out earlier.

Using his Mana Eyes, Cecil was able to see that all of the automata's organs, muscles, and bones were artificial and were constructed using some kind of ancient metal that he didn't recognize that was also mixed with adamantium. The 'blood' flowing in the vein and artery-like wirings was liquid adamantium mixed with ancient dragon blood and something else, and in the place of the heart was something else that acted as both the heart and mana point of the automata.

The automata had an artificial mana heart in place of their hearts which also doubled as a mana point. The mana heart greatly intrigued Cecil since it was very much similar to the mana batteries that he created, but not only did it store mana, it also pulled in mana from outside on its own to maintain a constant flow of mana going in and out of the mana heart.

The mana replenishing efficiency was much better than any of his advanced mana batteries so he was very curious as to how the mana heart worked. Of course, he wasn't shameless enough to actually ask Gabriel to let him probe someone's physical heart just to satisfy his curiosity and urge. So he could only release a sigh and shelve the dangerous and inhumane idea.

However, since he found out that it was possible to create something like this mana heart using magi-tech, Cecil decided that once he got back home, he'd focus his research into the creation of this heart.

Mana was categorized as an energy source and there was literally an infinite amount of it present on Alterna. Having an infinite and clean energy source...this was something that even the humans from Earth were always in search of.

Of course, no one on Earth had been able to find such an energy source but the scientists and researchers in his kingdom were already looking into Mana and have already deduced that it was a plausible and cleaner energy source that could replace fuel, electricity, and other energy resources. All it needed was for someone to create a vessel which allowed the people to harness and better utilize it for everyday life.

Cecil had already created the mana batteries and let his kingdom's people use it but this Mana Heart was something beyond that. He wanted to create it purely because it was better than his mana batteries.

It wasn't out of his sense of responsibility or camaraderie for his fellow humans nor was it for the 'good of all mankind'. It was mostly because of his selfish desire to create something that was unknown to him and he also wanted to provide his family with something that could bring more convenience to their lives.

Once he was able to create this Mana Heart, Cecil didn't plan on sharing the technology outside of his family. He wasn't selfless enough to do that. He wanted his family, and only his family, to reap the benefits of all his ideas and creations.

Cecil didn't care about the 'greater good' or whatever nonsense that was. His motivation in getting stronger and creating what he did was purely because he wanted to protect and improve the lives of all his loved ones.

"I'll be able to make it one day. I can just analyze these people's Mana Hearts using my Mana Eyes once I get Gabe's permission. I also have to ask him what these people even are. They aren't humans though they look like it... I wonder what their race is..."

******

After Cecil retrieved everyone in the flying fortress and gathered them at his brother's resting spot at the fortress' main power station, he finally noticed that not everyone who had come to the fifth floor with him were able to survive.

He had only left them for a few days at most, but their numbers had dwindled, only a little bit of over half of the people were fortunate enough to make it to the fifth stage with him.

The people from Karen's group were already so little but they had lost a person or two. Then there were the priests and holy knights from Cecilia's kingdom. They had lost quite a few priests from the illusions and assaults from the desert monsters.

The Silvaria Kingdom's people had also decreased by a few, but Cecil only cared about Ren, Celestina, and Angelia's close friends. He was glad that they were all still alive and made it through this trial while he only felt a slight bit of regret and sadness for the other people who were lost.

Cecil watched as the automata, Mary and Desmond, healed all of the injured people that he brought back and tended to their wounds and dehydration.

They used magic in a peculiar way, reminiscent of how a monster uses it. There was no chant, but a magic circle would form before the spell was invoked. Also, the flow of mana from the Mana Heart during the spell activation was fluid and smooth.

This proved that Cecil would be able to create a perpetual lightning spell using the Mana Heart which would be able to provide an infinite amount of electricity. He could also start creating devices that ran on mana or more lifestyle magi-tech, but that had to wait until after he successfully created the Mana Heart.

Once everyone was fully rested, they all began their journey towards the spire located at the center of the massive sky fortress. The journey was wrought with many dangers because monsters of higher rankings and strength had formed nests closer to the fortress' center where the main engine of the fortress' float system was located at.

However, thanks to the automata, the group was able to safely traverse through the complicated layout of the sky fortress and make it to the central spire after a week of fighting and walking.

"Finally, we're here," Cecil said as he looked up at the tower that stabbed high into the sky.

During the past week that they used to make their way here, the sky fortress had continued to float higher into the sky until only yesterday it stopped moving and stabilized at its current altitude.

The altitude that they were currently at normally would have strong winds which were enough to blow a human off their feet if they weren't careful, but there was a super-sized energy shield encompassing the entirety of the sky fortress in a sphere that kept the winds out and protected the city in the fortress safe.

This massive sky fortress was much more advanced than any sky fortress that the Machina Reggio Empire possessed. There were also many dormant weapons positioned at strategic points throughout the surface of the sky fortress and there were even more on the sky fortress' lower half which Cecil found after he flew out and checked.

"If we could bring this thing out of this place..." Gabriel mumbled feeling that it was a shame that he would have to leave this thing here.

Hana heard his mumbling and she immediately said to him, "You can, Commander."

"What?"

"Sky Fortress Citadel, at least this is what this one is called, is supposed to act as the forward command post and base for our fight against the Fallen. We'll naturally need to take this with us when we exit from this subspace."

"O-okay, but how will we bring this with us?"

"You don't have to worry about that, Commander. The ancients designed the Citadel to be able to traverse across space so once we get out of this subspace, we can just summon the Citadel out with us once we help you get the Commander's Authority," Hana explained.

"I-I see... how can we get this authority?"

"Well, first of all, the condition is to be our Commander. After that, we have to go to the central spire and bind your DNA to the central mainframe before the Commander's Authority will be transferred over to you."

"Let's get to it then."

"Understood, please follow me, Commander," Hana said before she walked over to the central spire, fiddled with something on the wall which then opened an access panel that she inputted a few codes before a large opening slid open on the spire's wall.

"W-what did you do, big bro?" Cecil asked after seeing the wall suddenly appear.

He had scanned the entire spire already and saw the interior and knew that the place to control the sky fortress was located inside there, but he couldn't find an entrance into the spire.

He was about to smash a hole into the spire's wall, but Hana, the girl that was constantly by his brother's side had done something to the wall and a large entrance had suddenly appeared.

"Cecil, I already took the time to explain everything to you before. These automaton know more about this place than any of us so it's only natural that they'd know how to gain access to the spire's interior," Gabriel explained. He had already seen his impatient younger brother take action by looking around the spire.

Judging from his look, Gabriel already knew that this little brother of his was planning on doing something absurd if he couldn't find a way inside. Good thing Hana had quickly opened the way up for them, otherwise, if Cecil had indeed blasted a hole open for them due to his impatience, who knows what kind of damages he could have done to the sky fortress's central mainframe.

"Don't be so impatient next time, Cecil," Gabriel said and patted Cecil on his shoulder.

"B-brother, did you actually think that I might do something?!"

"Who knows, maybe you would, maybe you wouldn't?"

"Wow... have you so little faith in your little brother?"

"I have faith that you're impatient and that you'll definitely 'open' up a way for us if we couldn't find one with your brute strength," Gabriel replied with a brow raised.

"...you're not wrong there..." Cecil mumbled in reply.

When everyone got inside, they all noticed that the place was practically empty. There was nothing here except for a few hieroglyph-like writings on the walls, ceiling, and ground of the spire.

"Nobody touch anything! We'll let the automata guide us through this place!"

Gabriel had long since taken charge of the entire group during the past week so they all nodded in compliance with his command. Cecil didn't mind that his brother had taken control over the group since he knew that his brother was a much better leader despite remembering that he was quite the introvert when he was younger.

From the center of the room, Hana called out to Gabriel urgently, "Commander, this is the central control panel! You can bind your DNA to the Citadel by placing your hand on it!"