Edward taught them the spell to increase their perception speed so that they could follow their movements while in an accelerated state. The spell wasn’t that complicated and the emperor was able to master it in little time. Adotinus had a little more trouble, contrary to the emperor it seems he wasn’t used to manipulating mana instead of aura, something that Edward had started to take for granted. However, being at the patriarch stage he also had his fair share of experience and managed to master it in a reasonable time.

“I would normally grant you a favor as a reward but seeing the current state of affairs it is for the best if I give you something to directly increase your combat prowess,” Ignis told Edward. “I have a spell that would fit you perfectly. From what you told me your powers are suited for an assassin. Be it teleportation, acceleration, or clones, it helps you to strike your opponent. I will teach you a spell called shadow cloak. While using it you will be covered in shadows making you unrecognizable and harder to spot. More importantly, while standing still in a shadow it will allow you to become invisible, though you will still be hit if an attack comes your way.”

Edward mused about it. He was more used to direct confrontation that assassinating his targets in their back. Especially since anyone capable to be his opponent was strong enough to manifest aura armor to protect them from sneak attacks. However, such a spell was still good to take. It was having a synergy with his teleportation. If he could teleport from shadow to shadow, he was guaranteed the first hit on his target and it also gave him a way to escape even against enemies moving faster than him. “All right, I will take it.”

The spell was more complicated than the increased perception but it wasn’t so complicated that it was out of his reach. After a bit of practice, Edward managed to get the basics. While he was covered in shadows the world dimmed, shifting to shades of grey a bit like when he was fully in the dark and had to rely on his aura for sight.

“That’s good and all but how do we proceed now? Do we go out and beat the shit out of this monster now that it won’t be able to rely on his speed anymore?” Adotinus asked, already ready to fight.

“We have to take care of the mist first,” answered Ignis and Edward at the same time. They exchanged a glance and Edward let Ignis explain.

“It will already be a tough fight. This guy is moving fast, hits hard, and is damn tough. Even if we managed to gain the advantage, we won’t be able to prevent him from escaping. Such an opponent has to be killed the first time otherwise he will only come back to kill you when you are not ready for it. On top of that, we will only be able to destroy the other monsters once and for all when the mist is gone. The monsters we destroyed until now keep coming back.”

“Fine, it makes sense to me. But you do remember that that guy attacked us the first time as soon as we tried to get rid of the mist. He will probably pop up before we can accomplish any major damage.” Acanthio reminded them.

“This is indeed problematic but it also shows that the mist is important to him. It has to be destroyed,” Ignis insisted.

They pondered in silence trying to come out with a plan.

“We have to dispel the mist all at once,” Edward stated after a few minutes. “That is the only way if we want to remove the mist before that monster shows up.”

“Remove the mist all at once? Have you seen the size of it? It is covering the whole capital. How do you want to achieve that exactly?” Adotinus rebutted him, annoyed that they weren’t able to come up with anything feasible.

The emperor was more patient. “Go on. I believe you have something in mind to propose such a plan.”

“Yes, my girlfriend is a talented runemaster,” Edward explained. This is weird to talk about Leyla like that. But that’s what we are and I’m glad to have her at my side. “She can manufacture rune bombs. The denser the mana is, the more potent the explosion. I have ten such bombs on me. If we set them up all at the same time with the help of my clone power, I believe it could work.”

Adotinus’ eyes flashed with surprise and joy. He clapped Edward’s back with such force that the latter was unsure if a normal civilian would have survived the blow. “Great! Without the mist, we finally will have a fair fight. I can’t wait to beat this asshole.”

Ignis didn’t appear as pleased. He sighed. “It can’t be helped, I guess. I fear that not much of Pescara will survive, but the capital is condemned all the same if it stays in control of the Andherians. Better to excise an injury than to let it rot. One more thing though. With your plan, we will only have one shot. While I wish those bombs are as effective as you are thinking, I can’t place all of my hopes in the same place. We need to add our own attack to the mist.”

It was Edward’s turn to hesitate. “I’m afraid I will be quite spent after setting up those bombs. Each bomb requires additional mana to be charged and to charge ten of them at the same time with my clones will require a good amount of power. Even more so if I take into account the expenditure necessary to avoid roaming monsters.”

“And if we attack on our own it will be only the two of us against that monster. I won’t bet my empire on such odds.” Ignis thought aloud. “I insist on adding our attacks to the mix, however. The Andherians can’t be underestimated.”

“Then what do we do?!” Adotinus asked, quickly growing exasperated by the back and forth, having his hope raised only for it to be squashed down again. He was more than ready to go and fight it out with that monster already even if victory wasn’t guaranteed.

“You said your clones will need more of your power to avoid roaming monsters. Are you able to adjust the level of powers that you are giving to your clones?” Ignis asked.

He can deduct this level of information from just a few sentences. This man is dangerous. He didn’t become the emperor for no reason.

“Yes, that’s right,” Edward answered truthfully.

Ignis smiled fiercely. “Then we only have to charge more of your clones with our own power. They can become our own mobile bombs. It is even better, we can get rid of the mist while staying hidden. We can wait until we recover to peak condition before engaging that monster.”

I have never seen things this way. It is particularly wasteful but it has the benefice of letting me act while staying hidden.

“Give me a few hours to rest. I traveled all the way here and had to take part in a few tough fights. I need some time off before I poke this hornet nest.” Edward required.

Neither Ignis nor Adotinus protested they had been stuck in this situation for weeks already and their plan was relying on Edward a lot, a few more hours wouldn’t make a difference.

Edward used his overwatch meditation to recuperate faster. It was something that he used to rest while in the wilds, but he couldn’t trust his newfound allies fully yet. Their interests were aligned right now, he just hoped no conflict would occur once the Andherian matter was dealt with. After all, the appearance of someone at the patriarch stage was a big thing especially when Edward wasn’t officially a subordinate of the emperor. At his level and with the improvement of Gobéliard forces it wasn’t impossible in the future for him to stand up to the emperor if he really wanted to.

While he was resting Ignis had taken out a map of Pescara and was discussing with Adotinus how to spread Edward’s bombs and clones to maximize the damage of the explosions.

Once Edward was ready, they show him the plan marked with all the spots where he had to position a bomb. Edward summoned a clone, charging it with enough mana and aura to trigger the bomb but not much more than that. The aim of this clone wasn’t to fight. Besides, while his clones were able to use his aura and mana, they weren’t able to use his powers like his teleportation and couldn’t recover the aura they spent. The quantity of aura they had in store was linked directly to their life expectancy. For mana, it was less restrictive since they could use the ambient mana as well as recover some of it if they meditated.

Edward settled with only one clone at the start. Since it couldn’t teleport, it had to leave the normal way. Rather than leaving through the Regalis mansion, the knights guided him through another exit to avoid gathering attention. Edward carefully controlled his clone, with his aura senses limited to thirty meters and a vision shortened to twenty meters he wouldn’t be able to detect the monsters before they got close, so he had to be as discreet as possible.

Navigating the shrouded city with a clone that had almost no fighting power made him realize how hellish the situation must have been for civilians. One bad encounter and his clone would be destroyed. And even then, his clone had the advantage of being protected from the madness. It wasn’t carrying the medallion with it but Edward’s main body was wearing it and he was the one controlling the clone.

Edward took more time than he would normally have to tread this distance, but his clone had to remain unseen. Since he had been surprised last time with a manticore resting on the roof, he was directing the clone to go from building to building, jumping from one window to another and barely landing a foot on the streets.

Once the clone was in place, Edward made him hide with the bomb and kept only a modicum of attention on it before summoning another clone. With each clone he summoned the difficulty increased as his attention split further and further. By the time he summoned his sixth clone, he was painfully aware that he wouldn’t be able to direct all of them effectively while in a fight. Since he had delivered the bombs to the closest spot first, he had to travel farther away and he kind of regretted not doing the reverse and sending the clones to the farthest point first.

Even though he had a few close encounters the streets were curiously empty for a city that was supposed to be invaded by monsters. Edward suspected that most of the monsters were dissolved into mist, only when an intruder was detected would the mist stir to produce new monsters.

Even though it was strenuous to maintain a connection to so many clones, Edward’s confidence was increasing with each clone that managed to reach its predetermined emplacement. That’s when his eighth clone carrying a bomb was ambushed by a giant snail and snuffed out by its tentacles. Edward had been a tad too slow to react and hadn’t been able to save it. The last thing Edward sensed was the bomb falling to the ground.