***Council Base, Border to the Higher Planes***

***Angrod***

It took our spies a few months, but we finally found a clue on the whereabouts of the rest of the Council.

One of Eris's hints led Tanja to one of Elohim's former bases – a small outpost which was apparently a site for intelligence gathering. It took our people several weeks of agonizing observation work to follow Elohim's operatives to an even larger site and from the looks of it, it was clear that this was a major site.

A small planetoid with enough spy-tech covering the surface to detect a mouse on the other side of the solar system.

The agents in charge had to map out all the pathways around the outpost to avoid detection, but in the end, we succeeded in covering all possible escape routes. The plan was to drop in on the enemy with just a few ships and to create only a small bubble of Void space right after the rest of the fleet arrived.

Then we assembled our forces and called on our allies and now it is finally time to strike back.

I arch an eyebrow, looking at the planet beneath us, then down at the document in my hand. “Are you sure that it is one big factory? And it is producing nothing but those hideous Spheres?” I ask Tanja who is standing next to me.

I am watching the battle from the Nomad's observation platform, together with Celes and Tanja.

She nods. “I didn't go in myself, but we had someone from the Arcane Community assisting us, an utterly unremarkable person without any mentionable abilities. He went in to take a look around and we had him screened by a mind mage afterwards. The report is reliable.”

I look up from the report which I was reading. “He can go into a facility like that – and walk out without anyone being the wiser? That doesn’t sound unremarkable to me.”

Tanja frowns, clearly confused by my statement. “I think he said that his divinity is Inconspicuousness. It’s less effective than real camouflage like my shadow-walking, but the upside is that anyone who looks at you immediately dismisses you as someone of no importance.”

Okay… I didn’t know that someone like that exists, but now that I am aware of it I might rethink some of my personal security measures.

Celes – who was listening in – snaps her fingers in front of Tanja’s face. “And you don’t think that there is anything problematic with that!?”

Our friend simply shakes her head.

“If you would allow me.” I place a finger on her forehead, sending out a small tendril of my mind.

Then I give her a good jolt, expecting it to be enough to free her from whatever subtle influence she is under. If it turns out that it isn’t enough, I would have a word with the Arcane Community. Befuddling one of my people is one thing, but outright mind-control is quite a different matter.

Apparently freed from the subtle influence, Tanja’s frown deepens until she scowls. “That dirty, little…” She clears her throat. “It seems like being inconspicuous is more powerful than I was led to believe.”

“Aha…” I return my attention to the planet. “We should have a word with the Arcane Community once this is over. It could be that you were simply caught up in that person’s area-effect, but we should keep an eye on people like him.”

“Nothing wrong with a little espionage among friends.” Celes chuckles. “We should still see to it that we catch them with their hand inside our cookie jar and give them a good slap on their fingers. Just so that they know that we aren’t pushovers.”

I nod, leaving the matter at that for now.

We entered the system with everything we got and met heavy resistance, but overcame it in the end. All of the bigger societies contributed a part of their forces to deal with this threat.

It wouldn't be an understatement if I called our reaction overkill – given our previous information – but it turned out that having a joint-venture with the other powers was just the right thing to do. From our side, we invested the Nomad and twelve of the new ships. The other forces contributed with troops and the Arcane Community actually came with a fucking moon which they had modified!

They converted a whole moon into a giant ship, packing it with the best magi-tech the multiverse has to offer. Chiffre, the Arcane Community’s ambassador, commented that the Crystal Technology is very useful, but that it is still more efficient to bring the best source of mana directly with you. And that is a dimensional bridge which can directly tap into the pathways for drawing power.

I could only frown at this logic, but their device is apparently so powerful that it can draw energy from the pathways despite being inside my fleet’s artificial Void Zone.

Right now, we are bombarding the hell out of the planet while trying to keep it as much intact as possible in the hopes of acquiring new information about other possible hideouts.

The Arcane Community’s moon is actually doing the most work by launching a steady stream of energy at the planet which results in a few local earthquakes and rising temperatures as they are slowly melting the crust. It’s like they are trying to cook our enemies from the inside out.

Good that the planet wasn't colonized by mortals. Or if it was, then the Calamity ate them long before we came to visit.

I am still a little annoyed that we couldn’t simply pull their entire solar system into another dimension. Apparently, my annihilation of Elsaria’s little paradise was watched very closely, and then the Calamity saw to it that there are countermeasures in place.

“We are detecting that someone is trying to use a pathway in order to escape!” a technician informs us.

Aside from a big window into space, the observation platform also has enough control stations to double as a second bridge.

“Location?” I request.

“The attempt came from slightly above the planet’s equator.”

I nod. “Inform the other powers and get our people down there. I want whoever is in charge alive for interrogation.”

An officer nods and gives the required orders.

“To think that they have a facility like this and use it for building Spheres...” I murmur. “Do we have an estimation on how many Spheres they were able to create on this world until now?” I ask Tanja.

“By assuming that every one of those facilities on the ground can produce at least a few Spheres a day…” She does some calculations. “I don’t know how long this thing was in operation… but… several million Spheres… assuming they started their production since they went into hiding. There is no way of being sure.”

I massage my temples. “I want someone down there who has the expertise to tell how long this thing was in operation!” There were far too few incidents compared to the number of Spheres they created every day! Are they placing them on different planets to wait for an activation signal!? Or are they storing them somewhere? I fear that the former is the case.

“Sir, if they have these numbers of Spheres and each of them was placed on its own planet, we wouldn't be able to contain this. Even with all of our forces combined together,” one of my men points out what I already know.

I close my eyes. “Do we have any idea how they could be activated?” If we can’t contain this, then we have to stop them from being activated.

“I don’t...” The officer aborts his answer and instead turns his attention to the blinking screen of his station. “Sir, the team on the surface encountered problems. There is a very strong individual down there making trouble. They are calling for assistance.”

Celes nods and turns to the man. “I will-”

I place a hand on her shoulder, smiling. “Dear, do you remember our little discussion?”

My wife’s eyes flash with that inner light of stubborn foolishness and I already expect an argument, but thankfully Tanja comes to my aid.

“Celes, he is right. You shouldn’t run around fighting other gods in your state.” My friend’s eyes wander down to Celes’s obvious pregnancy.

My wife only huffs. “I could take down a Council member with my little pinky!” She crosses her arms. “Pregnancy or not.”

I smile and give her a peck on the cheek. “I know. I will give him a few fisticuffs, just for your sake.”

I summon my staff and turn to the officer. “Send me down and tell Nix to join me on the scene. This might be a good opportunity for her to learn a few things.”

“Ahem,” The man looks embarrassed. “She led the troops who are invading the facility on the south pole, Sir! She went in and we haven’t heard from her since.”

Celes glares at the man. “My daughter went alone into-”

“It isn’t like that!” He quickly defends himself. “She kind of lost it… and the troops are too afraid to follow!”

I roll my eyes. “Tell them that if they don’t get her back to her senses within ten minutes I will come after them. And send me down to where my assistance is needed.”

Seriously, I have to do everything by myself. Nix should learn to control her impulses on the battlefield. This is the second time she went berserk while leading the troops. At this rate, they are going to be more afraid of her than the enemy.

Although… hmmm. We might be able to use that to our advantage. There is nothing as dangerous as a soldier who knows that there is something worse behind him than in front.

The world shifts around me as the officer activates the teleporter, circumventing the Void Zone.

I reappear on a barren wasteland with craters and a mountain range in the distance. Above me is the moving moon of the Arcane Community, shimmering in a blue light. It's clearly visible because it's so close to the planet, and especially because of the bright blue beam of energy which is connecting the siege weapon with the planet.

The beam is vanishing somewhere beyond the horizon, but it still creates an eerie halo high up in the planet’s atmosphere. Around me is a battlefield with destroyed facilities everywhere.

Just in the nick of time, I realize that something is flying in my direction and I duck.

I get an afterimage of Carne's face with the imprint of a fist and then the human projectile is past me and impacts a little hill further behind me. A gust of wind from his passing blows over me and covers me in dust.

“Look! The king of gods pays us a visit,” an elf-like figure with plants sprouting from everywhere greets me, apparently not caring that he is surrounded by various warriors from our alliance.

Such a creepy fellow, but his looks fit what I remember from my meeting with Elohim so long ago.

“I am a little surprised that you showed Carne the power of your fists. I thought of you more like a caster-type.” I smile at the figure while I take in the scene. Aside from the people who are warily surrounding Elohim, there are quite a few soldiers and warriors from different factions around here, some of them on the ground, having lost the battle against the Calamity’s fiends.

Right off the bat, I recognize my own people, a few guys from Carne, and a few of Zanders's men. There are also quite a few warriors who belonged to the Council.

Looks like I am coming late for the party.

“You worms are nothing to me! I shouldn't even recognize you as dirt on my feet! The only thing you are good for is to be fed to the great almighty lord!” Elohim lifts his arms like in a prayer and smiles at me.

This fellow has a few screws loose… was he brainwashed like the others?

Most likely. I guess wasting time to talk to him isn't worth the effort. “You don’t have to pretend, Elohim, or whatever is using his shell. We got quite the detailed account of what you are and how you operate.” I lift my arm, pointing my palm at Elohim and bolts of pure energy lash out at him.

But his aura diverts the energy and I stop the attack. It's pointless to continue an attack which your enemy clearly has a good defence against.

The Council member glares at me, radiating a savage intenseness over the entire battlefield. “Then you should realize that this battle gains you nothing.” He spreads his hands and smiles. “You may destroy this body, but it will cost you and I’ll continue on as if nothing happened.”

Elohim starts walking with confident steps in my direction.

I guess it's futile to hold back against him, so I gesture towards the soldiers. “Disperse, and take care of the rest of the facility. I will take care of this one.”

Heeding my words, the men and women make a run for it.

Elohim screams, realizing that I didn’t fall for the obvious distraction that is him. The body called Elohim is just a puppet, dangling on the Calamity’s strings. What truly matters is unveiling this facility’s secrets.

He turns, intending to go after my soldiers, but I thrust my open palm towards him, forcing him to roll off to the side.

A mountain in the distance is blown to pieces and I huff, annoyed that the stupid bugger has good survival instincts! He didn’t bother to dodge earlier.

Elohim turns around to take a look at the wasted mountain. “You aren't as concerned about this world as the others.” He turns back to face me and smiles creepily.

“Why should I?” I wave my hand again and a shimmering disk of light shoots towards Elohim, but he disappears before the disc hits him.

He appears directly in front of me and I erect a barrier in order to protect myself, releasing my aura to counter his.

His hands touch the invisible barrier between us as our auras grate against each other, unleashing sparks of energy into our surroundings. The earth turns to magma and the air ignites as we stand there, testing our divinities against each other. Two titans, caught in a pushing contest which could tear the world asunder.

He starts grinning when a few cracks appear in my shield. “That's a commendable spell. Do you power it with the staff? But it will be no problem. Soon enough it will break and then I will take your soul to offer it to the lord.”

Elohim is strong. I never would have imagined that a god whose divinity roots in nature could put a few cracks into my defences. I am using a sizeable amount of my power in order to maintain it and another big portion comes from my staff, which draws its energy directly from the pathways. But I also feel that his soul is strange. His whole aura is strange. A single god of his calibre shouldn't have that much power without the assistance of my Crystal Tech.

My eyes wander to his feet where burning roots are digging into the ground, then up, taking note of the little things that changed since I last saw him. The dark veins shining through from beneath his skin, the artificial implant at the side of his temple. Something changed him, and I have a feeling that I am not only fighting one persona but several.

I blink and summon the organic enchantment, allowing it to change my horns into a mask and to cover the rest of my body. Then I make use of the mask’s ability to visualize energy, following a strong connection which fuels Elohim through the planet, but there are additional factors supporting him. A little bit of power from within, some energy from the air surrounding us…

Together, it adds up, turning him into a formidable foe.

“What are you planning to do with those Spheres?” I try to smile at him while he doubles his efforts and the cracks in my barrier spread further.

“Isn't it obvious? We will activate the Spheres and they will consume everything within the multiverse. All will be one with us!” A few drops of sweat appear on his face, his expression manic but confused. “How is this possible? This barrier should be gone by now!”

I grin at Elohim. “You are not the only one who can cheat. I already realized that you are using multiple soul-spaces – which gives you access to several divinities. Although, that body’s original power is still the strongest one. I gained another piece of intel which explains why you can’t flood the multiverse with all-powerful versions of yourself. Once you absorbed a soul, you actually can’t gain access to its divinity anymore. It’s like you are muddling up all the brilliant colours of a god's soul into one, ending up with a murky paste that's neither here nor there.”

I point at him. “You are the amalgamation of so many souls that you turned yourself into some ugly mix of everyone caught within you, but just as the spirits I was told about, you are not completely in control. All those within you are fighting for control, leaving you unable to utilize all the power you stole. That’s why your fiends are just shadows of the gods you ate! The only ones who can wield a little more power are the ones you turned into puppets, like Elohim here.”

Elohim doesn't answer. Instead, his expression twists into one of unadulterated rage, telling me that I hit the nail on the head with my conclusion.

The disk of light which I summoned earlier suddenly whisks through between us, interrupting our stand-off and forcing us to separate. Elohim looks after the disk which slowly disappears in the distance.

I frown, somehow disappointed with my spell’s performance. “It finally decided to come back! But it had bad aim. I will have to change the spell a bit,” I mumble to myself. “It's a little embarrassing, but it looks like I messed up the aiming function. Thankfully, it isn’t like I completely missed the target.”

Elohim's left arm falls to the ground with a satisfying ‘thud’, severed right in the middle of his forearm. Elohim looks at his missing appendage with big round eyes, a bleeding stump being all that remains.

“That looks nasty. You should take care of it,” I comment, taunting him.

“Let me deal the finishing blow!” Carne’s voice comes from behind Elohim and the man appears out of nowhere. Gripping Elohim at the back of his head, Carne pushes the god forward and against my barrier until his face smooches onto the invisible shield while sparks of energy start sizzling Elohim's face – slowly turning it into a brown, crispy mass.

Carne wasn’t out cold after taking that initial blow. Instead, he waited and used his chance to attack Elohim from behind.

Elohim bucks, trying to get out of Carne’s grasp, but the other god holds onto the Council member with incredible strength while twisting the god's arm backward!

The left side of Carne’s face is essentially a big bruise, but otherwise he looks fine.

“You decided to quit playing possum! Nice one!” I greet Carne with a cheerful voice. “But why are you suddenly so strong? I wouldn't have come down here if I knew that you were holding back.”

“Shut up! My divinity is Exchange! As long as I can keep physical contact with someone I can switch powers with them. The fucker just didn't give me an opening to grab him until now!” Carne smacks Elohim repeatedly into my barrier. “And now I can finally get back at him for embarrassing me in front of my soldiers!”

‘WHAM!’

“And the sucker!”

‘WHAM!’

“Ruined!”

‘WHAM!’

“My!”

‘WHAM!’

“Beautiful!”

‘WHAM!’

“Face!”

‘WHAM!’

My barrier breaks and I jump back in order to avoid being sullied by the bloody lump of flesh dangling from Carne's hand. I didn’t expect the man to place so much value on his appearance. I guess it's important for someone who has a harem like him?

“That's interesting!” I start laughing. “That means that right now you are as strong as him and he is as strong as you?”

“What's so funny!?” Carne glares at me.

“You are actually really weak, Carne, aren't you? For someone like that to be the leader of a big society...” I smack my thigh trying hard not to go down to my knees.

“So what!? I am the strongest while being the weakest! I just have to grab my opponent! And if you don't stop laughing, I will pay you back for what you did to me! Five kids! One night and I will have to deal with five kids for at least a decade or two! I should do some really horrible things to you!” Carne complains.

Now I really fall to my knees and laugh while Carne shakes his fist at me.

“Arrgh! Damn!” Carne throws Elohim into the sky, giving in to a moment of pure outrage.

The Council member disappears with a thunderclap, having broken the speed of sound. The shockwave of displaced air flattens our surroundings, forcing me to cling to the ground in order to not being blown away.

The air calms down, giving me the chance to look up. “Hey! We still need him as a prisoner! You can't throw him into the orbit!”

“Oops,” Carne comments, not looking guilty at all. “Don’t worry, I aimed him right at the folks up there. They can take care of him. Up until now, all they did was lean back anyways.”

I realize that the moving moon of the Arcane Community is above us. Everything is silent as I count the seconds, wondering if Carne would really hit his target? I know that Carne didn't aim for it – or did he? He couldn't be so unlucky, could he?

Suddenly, I see the moon changing its form, slightly denting inwards at the upper left side. The cool blue shimmering of their main cannon flickers a few times and then stops. Of course, this happened in absolute silence as Carne and I watched, because there is no noise transmission in space.

I purse my lips. “Either they didn’t have their shields on, or you used enough force to penetrate it.”

Carne starts gnawing on his fingernails. “Do you think I can pay that by instalments?”

I shake my head. “Chiffre was so proud of that thing and it got busted in its first battle! Nope. Chiffre will dissect you!”

“Then we have to cover it up!” Carne looks around, making sure that there are no other witnesses. “Let’s say that Elohim jumped by himself in order to headbutt the moon! He wanted to show off his power after we taunted him!”

I scratch my cheek, wanting to tease him. “That story might be a little hard to sell…”

Carne grabs me at my shoulders. “You... owe... me!”

I finally relent, not wanting to make a funny man like him my enemy.