NOVEL NEXT Chapter 166: Evacuation Part 1
"Sorry, I know it's not nice when he stares and as his dad, I shouldn't encourage and I'm rambling..." Carl cleared his throat and focused himself. "...I hope you understand now that any sort of violence or crime will go neither unseen nor unpunished. I'm here to offer the people who wish it a chance at a better future, not clemency for their crimes."
A good number of people started to leave and the guard moved to the podium to intercept them with a speech. "All security personnel are to immediately begin escorting those wishing to remain, to their suites."
The instant he gave the order, the security wishing to stay executed the order without question, luckily the presence of an actual military officer was a beacon for them to follow.
As people filed out, more were ushered in and the security guards could be heard reiterating the command that anyone with no interest in leaving should return to their suites.
Leanna stepped forward and asked Carl if she could take the podium.
"Everyone, I know the idea of leaving for unknown horizons is terrifying, it is the duty of the faculty here to prepare you for and diminish that terror to the best of ou- their ability.
In that, I hope those of you that walked these halls in my time have learned the basics at the very least.
We are all scared of the unknown and we are asking you to make a choice we don't have time to explain.
For that, we can only apologise..."
Leanna stepped to the side and bowed in apology and the others followed.
"...We wish we could give you time, sit you all down and lay out the facts succinctly and orderly to give you all the information you need to make an entirely informed decision.
Between us and the committee, we have committed a terrible crime and stolen from you the right and ability to live your lives in the relative peace enjoyed since the equality movement brought into effect.
A crime that we will atone for by way of our service, by our efforts to make sure that those who join us enjoy true peace in place of the tepid peace you have known."
[ PRIVATE MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM LILLIM : CARL, DEAR, YOUR MOTHER IS VERY EARNEST AND I ADMIRE THAT. NOW HOWEVER, IS THE TIME FOR A SHOW OF POWER THAT THEY CAN RESPECT, FACE ME AND STAY SILENT. ]
Carl turned as Lillim moved toward Leanna during the lull in her speech.
"Very well spoken dear, but it's time for shock and awe." Lillim said as she assumed her true form and kneeled before Carl. "I, Lillim, mother of demons. Swear my unyielding loyalty to Carl Bashe-Reaga."
"Shock and awe", as Lillim put it, was the understatement of the generation. The sight of the mother of demons kneeling before someone was enough to crack their perception of reality.
Hearing her swear loyalty was enough to shatter it completely.
After that, Carl was left feeling a little awkward, but that was all the convincing Tiamat needed to follow suit.
As she took a step toward him, she hunched over and her body slowly transformed into the quadrupedal five-headed dragon form that was more famous, though restraining her size to fit on the stage.
"I, Tiamat, Dragon-goddess of chaos and destruction. Swear my unyielding loyalty to Carl Bashe-Reaga, slayer of Dracula." What no one knew was that as she was speaking she had sent a message.
[ GROUP MESSAGE SENT FROM TIAMAT : SWEET NEPHEW, COULD YOU POSSIBLY SEND NARCISSUS WHEN I'M DONE? NARCISSUS, IF HE DOES, PLEASE ASSUME YOUR TRUE FORM AND SWEAR YOUR UNYIELDING LOYALTY TO CARL. DO YOUR BEST TO MAKE A SHOW OF IT... ]
As she moved a step towards where Lillim had moved to to make way, Narcissus appeared and Bahamut growled, sensing his twin-sister's meddling. He had intended to leave them to it and in some small, inconsequential way, place himself above the other two.
The arrival of Narcissus changed that, now he felt it would appear he was not worthy to serve where Dracula's son did. Worse still it meant that if he didn't it might undermine Lillim's machinations, it wasn't like she had seen fit to share her plan or ultimate goal.
"Stay put, you may go after those present." Bahamut's grating voice was as much due to his transformation as it was to his annoyance. He retained a mostly human form, though his wings, tails and horns burst from his facade as his skin covered in metallic scales.
"I Bahamut, platinum dragon of order and justice, swear loyalty to Carl Bashe-Reaga; He who bested myself and my sister, the first human to achieve immortality."
He then moved to where Lillim and Tiamat had before as Narcissus followed suit and assumed his true form.
Growing to nine-feet tall, his nanite clothes shifted and changed to keep him dressed. His muscles bulged and his back bubbled before giving way to bat-like wings that flapped as though he was stretching his legs after sitting down for too long.
His face elongated and his eyes sunk in, like a semi-mummified corpse and finally he came to a stop and knelt.
"I Narcissus, son of Dracula, do swear to serve Carl Bash-Reaga and his entire line faithfully. For laying my father low, showing magnanimity to his leaderless people, I will see your vision realised."
He then followed in the footsteps of the others as Kyubi rolled her eyes and took her fox form.
"No, no, no, no, no... Kyubi, no, that will make it real weird when we get married!" Carl's impromptu addition to the spectacle somehow managed to garner both more respect than any of the oaths of fealty, as well as more envy than there had been anxiety.
Lillim sensed it and scanned the crowd with a curious eye before shaking her head. "Ugh, teenagers, why didn't I just tell them both to kiss him?..."
"...Because it still bugs you and I assume you had no desire to see it. I'm still a little surprised by Carl's choice myself." Leanna huffed.
"Fox, please just go stand with your girlfriend whilst I make a fool of myself." Faylorna's words dragged the crowd's attention away from Kyubi and Carl and gave her an exit window.
As she assumed her form, several gasped and covered their ears, making her chuckle. "I Faylorna Bashe swear loyalty to the boy who married my heir just to hold a lecherous fox's hand in front of a crowd."
Everyone shook their heads as several young men in the audience tried and failed to start a round of applause.
Leanna then resumed her place at the podium.
"As you just heard, Carl has achieved immortality, the midpoint on the path to godhood. On top of which, he has earned the loyalty of figures that we taught you to avoid at all costs.
We called things many things to try and make you feel safe, like you understood things that are quite honestly incomprehensible.
Imperio-class... Omina-class...
Meaningless words... Men have been changing the world since before the system existed. Not one of them did it alone, no one can, but we aren't alone and if you join us, then you won't be either."
Carl moved to take over, concerned about how long they were taking to get through this, knowing Gilgamesh was far from a patient man.
"Everyone, I'm sorry, we are pushing our luck with every second. One of us will be on each floor with room and open a portal which you can use if you wish to join us. If you don't, or have things to grab, please head back to your rooms as soon as possible.
If I had to guess, we have half the day at best..."
Everyone dispersed suddenly, the absence of an audience giving them all a moment to relax, which came to a quick end as Lillim asked where they should each go to.
Leanna took the reins at that point and began deploying the immortals through the SAT-Station at places with high capacity and then she, Lydia and Narcissus went to the director's office to utilise the communication system to guide people.
As Carl stood alone, in the empty assembly hall, he looked at his stats and was surprised to see how his divinity had barely taken a hit.
[ GROUP MESSAGE SENT FROM CARL : HEY, I STILL HAVE MOST OF MY DIVINITY LEFT, SORRY IF I WASN'T CLEAR... I WANT EVERYONE TO HAVE A SUITE LIKE MINE AND MUM LEANNA'S WHEN WE LIVED HERE. ]
[ GROUP MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM SIS : DID YOU FORGET I'M IN YOUR HEAD? YEAH, WE DID... I HONESTLY DON'T GET IT MYSELF, BUT IT WAS LIKE MAKING THIS STUFF WAS SIMPLY NOTHING TO YOU ANYMORE. CARL, HAVE YOU TRIED CREATING STRUCTURES OUTSIDE OF FACTION TERRITORY? ]
[ GROUP MESSAGE SENT FROM CARL : NO, I DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS POSSIBLE. DID YOU WANT ME TO TRY? ]
[ GROUP MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM SIS : YEAH, PLEASE, I NEED TO UNDERSTAND YOUR POWERS TO DO MY JOB AND I'M NOT AS IN TOUCH WITH THEM SINCE SEPARATING. ]
Carl took a deep breath, choosing to make a couple of staircases leading upto a balcony floor so the hall could hold more.
---Message from the author---
I am working on my WPC entry, but there will be a small mass release later in the month.
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