NOVEL NEXT CH184-Other worlds.
A chime echoed throughout the green courtyard, flowers and grass dancing under its rhythm. Samael took a deep breath, bathing under the fragrant scent they exuded.
Not wasting time, he followed the cobblestone path laid before him, halting before a massive wooden door, carvings of the palace's rich history embedded deep in the brown oak.
Straightening his back, he watched the door slowly push open, a low creak rolling through the air as Samael set foot inside the room.
A plethora of familiar faces greeted him. Allies from all over the different Sanctuaries gathered in one room to discuss the fate of humanity.
The atmosphere lay sombre, filled with gazes that hid fatigue and uncertainty. Each and every single person within the room had been on the front line. They've seen the horrors of this war.
Samael's gaze lingered a tad bit longer on Lilith, the girl locking her eyes upon him. A soft smile forming on her lips. Yet, Samael could see through her pleasant smile trauma and fear.
He wished she didn't have to see the things men were capable of if forced to fight in a war that held no promise of victory.
Samael had gotten used to it, for he had seen many foul things.
But Lilith?
No, she was not ready for this.
Abominations were mindless beasts that ravaged all they touched. That, that they can kill without batting an eye. Humans? That's another story.
Lowering himself beside Icarius, the meeting officially began. The chiming of the bell fading with one final ring.
"I thank all of you for taking the time to gather with us here today," Icarius greeted, hands intertwined. "I am sure you are all tired. We are too." The man's gaze lowered, losing focus and clarity for a brief second.
Samael's gaze couldn't help but follow. He too was tired. There was no denying it. The war was ferocious. The enemy utilised nasty and inhumane tactics to drain them not only physically but mentally.
It felt as though he was trading what humanity he had for each day he spent in the trenches. It was awful—it is war.
"Today I summoned you all here to gather what we've seen and to formulate a plan of attack." Icarius turned to glance upon the Mellagun High table leader, Olaf.
The man rose from his seat, bringing along a remnant that protected images of foreign weapons, guns and even the infamous railgun.
"I am sure some of you, if not all of you, have seen what these... weapons are," Icarius said, visage dark. "These weapons, according to Samael, are not of our world."
Everyone's gazes narrowed.
"I know everyone must be wondering what I mean by this, but grandmaster blacksmith Olaf will handle the rest," Icarius slid back.
"Samael is right," Olaf started. "The schematics, build and materials are objects even I, the Grandmaster Blacksmith of the Mellaguns, do not know."
Fiddling with the remnant, it showed images of the artillery cannons dismantled. "Their intricate designs scream of technology our world is not ready for. Though devoid of elemental conjurations, they prove stronger than most of our existing tech."
"If not from our world, then where?" Luminari asked. "Are you insinuating these came from the rifts?"
"No," Samael's voice echoed in the chamber. "Not of the rifts." His finger pointed up. "Other worlds."
Murmurs and whispers burst through the silence of the room. Speculations and disbelief shattering the fragile order they had.
"Silence!" Icarius roared, his fist slamming onto the table as the chaos was snuffed quick.
"How are you certain these indeed come from other worlds?" Aphemis asked.
Samael's gaze lowered. "I cannot tell you anything right now. But I ask you to trust me as you've done plenty of times before." He locked his eyes on every man and woman present in the hall. "Have I ever failed or lied to any of you?"
Silence dawned upon them. Samael's point stood.
"If what Samael said is true, and I hold it with great regard, then we are facing a threat that may be larger than the Ministry itself," Olaf said. "The only way they could have procured such weapons is if they had a method to travel the cosmos or—"
"Taranius is involved."
Deathly silence devoured the room, the temperature dropping a notch as tension clung high in the air.
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If a god were indeed involved. What chance do they have against him?
"Do not lose hope," Icarius cut in. "Ergo has faced many calamities. This is but another hurdle."
"We may have faced many calamities but never one of this magnitude," Mendez butted in. "I don't want to lower everyone's morale, but this is a god we are talking about. A god!"
"Then do you propose we offer ourselves like cattle to the whims of the enemy? To be slaughtered once more by abominations and fed to a flower that ruins our world every passing second?" Icarius asked, shutting down every whisper of doubt. "Tell me. Do we stand our ground and die trying or let the enemy reign over us as they've done for hundreds of years? Tell me!" He roared.
Yet none could answer.
None but one.
"God or not, if it can bleed, it can die," Samael's voice thundered in the chamber, snatching everyone's gaze.
He was sick and tired of the manipulations of the gods. They treat lives like currency to be traded. Perhaps to them it is.
If he were to die, he would do so wounding Taranius. Inflicting on him a scar that will always prove that he is reachable, no matter how much he hides himself.
Even if it kills him.
Olaf cleared his throat, gathering everyone's attention back to him. "We've begun to study and reverse engineer these machines. Needless to say, we've made great progress." Clicking the remnant once more, images of cannon blueprints flickered on the screen. "We've upgraded many of our old weapons, reinforcing them with what we've understood from these masterful creations."
Olaf's hand kept clicking, browsing photos after photos. "Sharper, more destructive munitions. Faster reloading speeds and tougher shields." With one final click, it landed on the image of the opened railgun. "But this is where our interest lingered. As Samael termed it, 'Railgun'."
Samael's jaw clenched upon sight of the grotesque weapon. Images of Hammel's face surfacing in his mind.
"The Railgun is a technological marvel way beyond our league. It is a weapon that I believe we wouldn't have even dreamt of imagining even after 100 or 200 years from now," Olaf praised. "It is so advanced it puts to shame even my personal creations."
Samael could not help but agree. He did not think a man-made weapon could do such damage. Especially without the aid of the elements.
"The structure is complex. It is made up of unique minerals I've never encountered in all my life. Its components are so precise that no manner of technology we possess could replicate it," Olaf detailed. "Each piece serves a purpose, no wasted space, no excess. Just... enough."
Pressing the remnant, it showed a picture of a cylindrical glowing blue orb.
"This is the core: an advanced energy generator that could power all of the Mellagun's forge for a dozen years without needing to refuel," Olaf said. "It runs on clean, sustainable energy, not needing to refuel like we do every single time. The energy outputs are on another level."
Olaf's visage darkened.
"But so are its capabilities to inflict damage."
Olaf showed a video of the machine firing. The blast was so potent that everyone fell silent at its marvel.
"It releases a highly concentrated beam of energy, pulverising and ionising everything it touches, be it elemental or physical," Olaf explained. "It pierced through layers of solid metal meant to deflect ballista bullets like paper. It even harmed the mellaguns observing and conducting the experiments."
"I've seen what it can do," Samael spoke. Everyone's gaze landed on him, expectant of his next words. "Transcendent echo Hammel died by its hands—I felt its effects."
"What happened?" Aphemis asked.
"It tore a hole through me, through my defences and armour, leaving nothing but a gaping hole that consumed half my torso and the entirety of my left arm," Samael recalled, earning the hushed gasps of everyone in the room. "I survived through sheer will, but Lieutenant Hammel did not. It took his life faster than I could react."
"Monster," Luminari whispered. "What do we do against such a machine?"
Olaf sighed. "We've been trying to find a counter against it, but all attempts have failed thus far. The weapon proves too complex even for me, who has handled weapons my entire life."
"So that's it? We just wait to be incinerated?" A man asked.
Olaf and the rest fell silent, chaos starting to spread once more.
"Enough," Icarius exhaled, eyes tired of all that had happened so far. "Olaf and his team are working against the clock to deliver a solution to this dilemma. Though the enemies do indeed possess such weapons, it seems to be limited, as only the most important places have them."
He shifted forward, straightening his back. "Our efforts are not in vain. We have steadily captured vital points and bases. Our plan to conquer the hidden road proves to be working, though at a great cost. Let us not waste the sacrifice of the hundreds before us."
Everyone fell silent for a moment, offering their condolences for all the fallen and heroes that gave it their all.
"But our mission is not over yet. Once we capture the road, it only signifies the beginning of our hardships," Icarius said. "Our battles lay beyond the towering mountains but towards the vast plains where everything began."
"Until then, we cannot surrender."
***
The meeting ended peacefully. New directives were given, and important matters were discussed. Samael bid Lilith farewell in advance, for Icarius had summoned him once more.
There was a mission at hand. A dangerous one that only he and Ajax could do.
They were to travel towards Pillari, the freezing mountains to the west.
No communications were present in that place for the winter; it was ever present and harsh. The cold devours everything that walks its plains.
Or so they thought.
Weeks ago, Icarius intercepted a decrypted message covered in layers of protections and distortion tactics. It took him all that time to understand what they were saying, and his efforts bore fruit.
It was a message towards the ministry.
It detailed the existence of a grand lab that sustains the need of the ministry for fresh Omens. For more soldiers to throw in the meat grinder.
It was told in the message that the new batch of soldiers was ready to be sent out to the front line. They need only the signal.
With hundreds of men working to decipher and triangulate the message, they soon arrived at a single location. A place so dangerous one would think it's suicide to stay there, much less establish a base of operations.
Pillari. The mountains of ice.
Yet, it made sense. Who would think anyone would be there? They would have been insane, yet that logic was what concealed them.
Samael's mission was simple. Investigate the source of the message, confirm the existence of this lab and burn it to the ground.
He accepted the mission without question. He had queries he needed answers to.
It plagues him what the books in the ancient fortress they conquered told. Stories about a god that their current history tells nothing about.
So he searched deep. The rot stemmed far. But there it was; though minimal, it existed. The same god in different iterations and cultures. Cultures that all held one thing in common.
Ancient and long gone.