Viers was no stranger to scenes of war. From the realistic and grim scenes of World War II to the outlandish, brutal fantasy of 40K. Seeing war from behind the screen of a computer and seeing it with his own eyes were different but as the Matrix said: ‘What is real’?

When he was living on Earth, Viers thought that the difference between fantasy and real life was just the amount of feedback.

Therefore, seeing the thousands of Tyra Xerg and the Aberrants murdering each other in a mad party of violence didn’t phase him as much as those whose minds were too constrained by the so-called ‘reality’.

Viers liked living in fantasies. His fantasies became more real after he reincarnated, that was all.

The Aberrants marched southward from their lair in the north, equally attacking the Whitelands and Blacklands. Their steps were the drums of war heralding their coming. Their form was an attack on the sense of beauty and sanity. They were mostly humanoid, with arms for limbs.

Their legs were arms. Their arms were arms. Their heads were arms.

Each arm possessed a different amount of spindly fingers, always twitching. A maw of eerily human mouths was in the center of their palms, tongues out all while slavering saliva constantly.

This unholy form made up the bulk of the forces of the Aberrants’ first wave. There were a few different types among the army, with equally disgusting shapes.

Flesh, blood, and guts, Aletro recreated the horrors of war well, but his faction was a biological weapon on its own. Under the watchful attention of the Hive Mind of the Tyra Xerg, the children of Zerrigan fought mightily, coordinated and unflinching from injury. Fear was a foreign concept to them.

Blood flowed like rivers, hills of corpses were created.

Viers’ pride swelled up from his belly and poems of holy conflict flowed from his mouth.

“They shall be my finest warriors, these species who give of themselves to me. Like clay I shall mold them, and in the furnace of war forge them. They will be of iron will and steely muscle. In great armor shall I clad them and with the mightiest fangs will they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease, no sickness will blight them. They will have tactics, strategies and bio-evolution so that no foe can best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Aberrants. They are the Devourers of Horrors. They are my Tyra Xerg…”

Viers took a breath for effect.

“And they shall know no fear.”

Somewhere, across time and space, Viers knew someone was giving him an approving nod.

The battlefield stretched far. To the east, Sakuya and Izabella’s armies were also fighting. Viers chose the closest place to the western border to hide them from the white spark holders and witness his competitors’ warforce. Viers turned his eyes to the neighbors on his left.

He saw fire.

Fire-wielding, regal crusaders were mowing down the Aberrants and turning them into cinders. Beside them were troops of fire elementals making huge bonfires out of the Aberrants. The air shimmered from the heat, smoke rose into the sky, the smell of charred flesh choked the nose. White-colored flames and dancing phoenixes appeared now and then on the battlefield.

Past the dual fire factions of Anne and Max that synergized with each other, the other white spark holders fought, beyond the range of Viers’ Euryale Sight.

Viers imagined this would be a wake-up call for them. In this world and age, it wasn't strange for them to have killed another person before but this was something else entirely. Unlike Viers, they didn't have the privilege of seeing D-Day in Saving Private Ryan, the sheer scale of death blooming all around them could break a man’s will to smithereens. According to his spies, the good guys’ factions were mostly their own race too, so they could closely relate to their troops dying.

A harsh lesson from Aletro.

The battle had lasted for an hour and showed no signs of stopping. Unlike the others, Viers didn't join the fray, keeping a watchful eye on the warfronts to his left and front.

They are not the enemy.

Viers thought as he saw an Aberrant ripping the pincer off a Shredder and gnawing its throat. Viers glanced at the fiery battlefield to the side.

They are.

War had not yet begun between the Blacklands and Whitelands. Spies and interlopers had been killed and two skirmishes broke out but it didn't get worse. The good guys tried to make an alliance or non-aggression pact with Viers; he didn't commit to a reply, not outright refusing or accepting.

The good guys had fundamental differences from Viers. To most of them, Tanael was an enemy but the Aberrants were the enemy.

Viers’ perspective was the very opposite.

The Aberrants were a generic CGI army that often appeared in an MCU movie’s third act. They were constructs that exist to be fought by the heroes, so the superheroes could show off their super moves as visual treats for the movie-goers.

Watching the Aberrants with his own eyes, Viers became convinced. The CGI mooks looked impressive but they lacked substance.

Zerri’s got the Aberrants handled. I just need to keep improving myself until the showdown with the forces of good comes.

Viers’ left arm was still growing. Fighting Anne with one arm would be unwise. The reason he had no intention of fighting the Aberrants in the front lines like the other players was for Victa stockpiling. He would need all the Victa he could get against the likes of Anne.

Zerri whispered into Viers’ mind. “The north theater seems stable. Shall we enact Operation Gank and mobilize the reserves, Overlord?”

Zerri had been industrious and the numbers of the Xerg had swelled as a result. Only two-thirds of the Tyra Xerg were mobilized to battle the Aberrants. A whole third of the Tyra Xerg was kept hidden by Viers as a hidden blade.

Operation Gank was Viers’ proposal, a strategy. If the Aberrants weren't able to break through the battle line, the remaining one-third would attack the Whitelands, destroying as many of their structures and people as they could, reducing their war-sustaining power.

If he attacked now, the scant defenders in the Whitelands border wouldn't be able to defend against his gank. The places near the border would be plunged into ruin.

“...No. Let’s not stir the pot for now. Time is on our side and they don't know it. Let’s keep it that way. I also want to farm shards from the Aberrants as long as possible.”

There’s no need to give a reason for the good guys to unite.

“Acknowledged.”

A few hours later, the First Aberrant Incursion ended without Viers lifting a finger.

***

The central ideology of the Viers Corporation was constant profit and improvement.

Izabella and Sakuya trained together. The enchantress brushed up her battle skills when she was not enchanting. Viers told her that her type was most probable to die from a lethal assassination, Sakuya’s archetype. The kunoichi in turn learned of the continent’s resourcefulness. The islander was quite isolated and as her horizon broadened, she already had a few ideas about improving her craft.

The Stage 4 reward was significant. Viers lamented the irony that Sakuya became wood 5 thanks to the Unlock Potential fruit while his water affinity went down to 3. Izabella opened a new door previously closed to her in enchanting and would have gone on an enchanting spree if Viers didn't drag her out.

Jaime’s Demise was a different breed altogether. Viers helped him in getting ready to use it, while giving him everything Viers expected could be useful against Aravin.

Zerrigan became his Minister of War. Viers delegated the matter of the Xerg and Aberrants to her while he focused on other things. A task the Queen of Living Blades happily undertook.

After the First Aberrant Incursion was over, Viers ordered her to start constructing the superweapon, a privilege he got by uniting all of the black spark holders: Kaiju Primordial Pool.

To put it simply, it was a unique structure for making giant monsters. Viers did not construct it immediately because it was end-game stuff. The resources required were staggering and that was before adding the cost of generating a Kaiju. It was better to spend his resources on raising his army first, since the superweapon wasn’t just expensive, it also had a lengthy build time. It wouldn't be ready for a couple of months.

Viers’ closest trio, Paina, Farley, and Clarissa, was also playing its own role in the company. Although, Paina and Farley were having a bad time because Viers’ affinity went down. Viers was determined to rectify his water affinity problem after the trial.

Naturally, the CEO didn't neglect his own improvement. He ate food, he ate souls, he trained to master the soul ultimate Arte, and much more.

Two weeks after the Aberrants attacked, Zerrigan called him.

“Lord Viers, I have a report.”

After hearing the report, Viers visited the sole prisoner in the Nest.

“I warned you to not try to escape again.”

“It is so terribly dull here,” Oscar replied. “What else should I do when I get bored?”

“Cultivate obediently. My master instructed me to not kill you because of some friendship with House Regisea. I’m considering ignoring it.”

“Your proposal, of keeping me down here for months or years until Stage 5 ends, is horseshit.”

“I offered to keep supplying you with cultivation resources while you’re down here. Your body, mind, and soul won't be compromised and I won’t touch your shards. When Stage 5 ends, you can buy some nice things from Aletro. Most of my foes won't even get a cup of water from me.”

A week had passed since Oscar’s last attempt. Even though Izabella’s needle had emptied his Victa, more was constantly being generated. That Victa became Oscar’s capital to wreak havoc and Viers had no way of stopping him besides the old-fashioned way, beatdown.

Since Oscar knew the Xerg janitors wouldn't fatally wound him, Oscar fought with no regard to injury until he got too wounded or was out of Victa. He would receive treatment, sleep on it, then try again next week.

“This time you’ve killed fifty of my troops. Have you forgotten my warning when I let you off the hook the last time?”

“The next time you try will be the last. Heh, you’ve kept me alive for a reason. The only reason I can think of is you’re afraid about the fallout from killing me. So here’s my proposal.”

Thinking he had leverage over Tanael, Oscar listed his demands, including freeing him from imprisonment. If he didn't get what he wanted, he would keep trying to escape.

“...It seems the prison wing in the Nest will always be lively for the foreseeable future then.”

“You should pick the people you can afford to offend more carefully next time, Tanael. I have a simple code, to always repay debts and enmity.”

Oscar grasped the fleshy bars of his prison and pressed his face close, spewing acid words and a poisonous stare.

“And our ledger is far from settled.”

Viers stared into Oscar’s eyes, into his soul. He stood there for ten seconds before responding.

“I believe you. Unfortunately, you don't believe me. I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

Viers turned around and left, showing Oscar his back. Before Oscar could grasp what Viers meant, Shredders came, a dozen of them.

The cage of flesh rescinded to the floor, nothing was between Oscar and the sharp teeth and claws. The Victa inside Oscar was practically emptied after his recent breakout attempt.

The Shredders were approaching one step at a time.

“Threatening, now? With them? You’ve got to do a better show than this… Oi, Tanael. What do you think you're doing? You dare- EYYAAAGGHH!!”

Viers walked the corridor while Oscar was given the Ramsay Bolton style of sending-off.

It’ll inconvenience my plan to raise a base in Regidana but, meeeh. It’s just an inconvenience. I’ll deal with it.

Too many villains don't follow through with their threats. That won't do, my fellow villains, no no no. You peeps make the rest of us look bad.