Chapter 1184 – Back into the Iron Domain


    John stepped out of the I.D. Gate and was faced with a group of exactly twenty people, standing and sitting in front of it. Hurriedly, the majority of them got into a two-row formation. Two people stood outside the formation. One was Ted, the other Medelnick. The Gamer raised an eyebrow at all of them.


    “Ahem,” he cleared his throat. “I assume you are the volunteers... and Medelnick.” He glared at the scope-eyed doctor, trying to signal that he did not want him there.


    Of course, he was just ignored.


    “Yes,” Ted gave him the direct answer.


    Eighteen out of the original fifty soldiers was a pretty impressive number, considering all the hurdles John had demanded be put in their way. “Each of you have been asked at least thrice whether you want to do this?” the Gamer wanted to know, slipping into his role as supreme commander of the army.


    “”Sir, yes, sir!”” was the unified answer.


    “And your families have been informed about your decision and had the opportunity to object?” the Gamer asked.


    “”Sir, yes, sir!”” it thundered again.


    “And you have listened to those objections? Considered that you are volunteering to put yourself into a world where you cannot scavenge for food? Where there are over a thousand entities capable of killing you? Where you will be left on your own, trying your best to provide relief to the locations I and my partners liberate?”


    “”Sir, yes, sir!””


    “Your conviction is truly admirable.” The president of Fusion nodded, deeply impressed. Then John sighed and scratched the back of his head. “You shouldn’t be here today though. I respect that you want to join me, and I will let you, but not today. I’m heading straight into a fight with the Emperor and for all I know the greeting committee will be a meteor the size of the Guild Hall.” He looked at everyone, including Ted. “Think you could survive that?”


    “...No,” Ted admitted.


    “Exactly, so you are staying here while I take care of that. I’ll contact you when I’ve got the landing situation sorted. Scarlett, can you do me the favour and equip them with all they would need to survive?”


    “Sure,” the technomancer rolled her shoulders, “I do all the organising around here anyway. You pay for it?”


    “Collide pays for it – so yes,” the Gamer responded, taking this time to transfer all of the Raid loot into the Guild Bank. “Also, you can use the vault.”


    “Understood,” Scarlett stated, sounding cool as ever despite the value connected to that sentence. The vault was what he called both the physical location and the Guild Bank tab where he kept all of the Instant Dungeon loot he did not want out in the world, for fear that it may one day be turned against him or his people. “I’ll take it from here. Give ’em hell.”


    “I’ll see to it that I do,” John promised her with a little laugh. He gave her a quick kiss, then turned to the rest of the haremettes that would not tag along with him. Lee was of no use in the Iron Domain, as Kingdoms were Natural Barriers of some description. Lorelei, he wanted to tag along due to her seer powers, but could not justify dragging right into a war zone. Nathalia stayed behind because she needed him to prove his worth. He gave each of them a goodbye kiss. He wasn’t sure how long he would be gone. “Contact me when Nightingale responds,” he gave a final reminder.


    “Like I would forget that.” Scarlett rolled her eyes. “Get to world saving already, you fucking Samaritan.”


    In the centre of the silver, purple and blue crackling of arcane energies, Arkeidos fell to the deepest pit of the crater. Through the lights, John could barely see him raise his own hand. The rest of the haremettes were ready to engage the Emperor, the quickest almost in attack range now. Then the glow of the lich’s magic transformed into a mixture of gold and silver. He clenched his fist and brought it down.


    The clouds, disrupted at a single point where the Skyfall had broken through, became further tattered as a myriad of smaller projectiles descended from the heavens. They curved in their trajectory, aimed at whoever was closest. Salamander, surprised by the sheer speed, was hit by one. The golden torrent sliced through her head, obliterating it and causing her body to fall aimlessly towards the ground. As an elemental, this did not kill her instantly, it did not even take away all of her body control, but it so thoroughly jumbled her senses that she could not coordinate properly.


    Sylph bombarded Arkeidos with a salvo of lightning attacks, all of which were absorbed by the armour without notable effect. Even the Skyfall appeared to have done barely anything, as John could now see through Beatrice’s eyes. The clockwork maid thrust Perfect forwards, only to have her weapon swatted aside by the Emperor.


    Whose body immediately after turned into a stream of golden light. It weaved through the assaulting haremettes and the Creator Puppet, avoided all of their swiping attacks and left them to worry about the falling streaks of light instead. There were many of them still descending, focused primarily on the flyers in the group. They made it impossible for Sylph to follow Arkeidos, as he rushed towards the fortress.


    ‘Don’t blow your teleports,’ John instructed them, while the streak of light arched up to the wall.


    ‘But Master...!’ Aclysia’s thoughts reached him.


    ‘Resource management is the key to any victory,’ John told her and turned towards the Emperor whose form reconsolidated atop the wall. The light his body emitted changed back to green. “Sorry about the sudden assault,” the Gamer said sarcastically. “Difficult to control people sometimes. I’m sure you understand.”


    Arkeidos lifted his mace and brought it down on John, who narrowly dodged the deliberately slower strike with Magus Step. “I have not known disobedience in a millennia – only loyalty and treachery,” the Emperor responded. “I had already resigned myself to disappointment, John. Your absence on my arrival was a sour surprise.” Arkeidos let the weapon rest on the ground, while he took two steps towards John. The blades stretched out of their sockets, then slotted back in another metallic heartbeat. Five of them changed their colour, all of them appearing brown when they slotted back in.


    Arkeidos swung his weapon in a low arch. The stones that his missed strike had shattered, much of the entire fortification, followed the swing as a swarm of rock that flew towards Momo. The fairy support rapidly distanced herself from the wall. “Sounds like a paranoid existence,” John remarked, standing his ground. There was a massive trench between them now. One that Arkeidos could, and did, bridge with a single leap. Without his magic, the compromised structure would have collapsed under the weight of the Emperor.


    “I understand now what you are,” Arkeidos stated and swung his mace. A little quicker this time.


    Perhaps John should have dodged again, but he hated being measured like this. Staring back he let the mace collide with Particle Skin. His mana dropped considerably from that single hit. Not enough to make John believe this was the force that broken Astrotium. “And what am I?” the Gamer asked.


    “A tactician,” Arkeidos responded and rested his mace on his shoulder. Another beat and the weapon returned to six colours. “Your power is distributed between your familiars. Your own body is weak. It puts me in a conundrum.” His left hand reached for John’s head. “Should I destroy you or should I enjoy this war for all that it is worth?”


    “Well, if you can destroy me at any point, why don’t you completely ignore me for now?” the Gamer asked with a mocking smile. “I mean, if you are that superior.” Arkeidos turned his head, looking at the harem who had now turned around. ‘This is why you don’t charge in without letting me formulate a battle plan, especially against an unknown opponent, Metra.’


    ‘Fuck me, I already paid for that mistake,’ the First of Wrath responded, getting tended to by Undine where she had landed.


    ‘What is the plan then, Master?’ Aclysia wanted to know.


    ‘Oh, the plan is currently scaling the wall.’


    “No,” Arkeidos turned his gaze to John again. “Why would I continue investing time into you, when I could continue my research into the breakdown of the barrier between worlds.” The Emperor’s hand descended on John’s head. An attempt to squash it like an egg was sure to follow.


    Then ‘the plan’ pulled herself over the edge of the wall. Words of power filled the air. “To achieve what it takes, I will immolate myself,” growled a thoroughly pissed, battle-hungry, and crazy woman of two nearly melded minds. She landed and immediately launched herself at Arkeidos. “Bloodburn.”


    Eliana’s flying knee collided with the Emperor’s helmet.