The Castle in the middle of nowhere.

A week passed by without any problems. During that time, Verka returned with Akh'ila and Ertu, who swore their allegiance to me, thus ending the millennia-long war between the gods of Nilmerthis and those who had arrived from the Earth. The thing that Ertu kept secret was soon revealed to be something significant. He found out about a Leyline nodule in the former lands of Berna. He explained that with the help of Akh'ila and her faithful, he wanted to mount a major offensive to reclaim the nodule and restore the flow of mana. Naturally, I was interested in it as well.

"You captured the Dragon's Gate, Lord Theon?" Ertu was shocked to his core.

"Yes. It was the first real battle that my Legions participated in." I crossed my arms in front of me and, after leaning back on my ornamented chair, extended my legs in front of me under the long table. "But the logistics of that battle were nonexistent since it took place in my basement."

Akh'ila hesitantly raised her voice. "I am afraid that I don't understand..."

"It's quite simple, but it eludes less military-oriented minds. An army is only as good as its logistics: provisions, munitions, spare parts or equipment, medical supplies, expendable resources, and consumable items. Everything stated, and more is required by the daily duties of an army, and it's up to logistics to provide them with everything needed and necessary. You can't just order your soldiers to go somewhere and fight. The army is a very complicated organism that requires a lot of effort to work properly," I explained, and both of them nodded nervously. It was apparent that they had never considered such a concept. "The thing you must take under consideration while dealing with the Shadow Realm is that Mortals can't stay there for extended periods. You may be wondering how logistics might be connected with that. It's simple. Akh'ila's followers would need to enter the shadowland and then most likely fight against the Devilkins. Without proper logistics, it would be almost impossible for the Mortals to thrive in the shadowland; your army would be extremely easy to wipe out. Even in the unlikely scenario of your victory, you couldn't maintain the defences of the leyline nodule, making it easy to be recaptured."

"So you’re saying we can't win?" Ertu lowered his head and clenched his fists. Akh'ila gently put her hand on his fist in a consoling gesture.

"Yes, you can't," I confirmed with a vicious smile. "But I can."

"Ah..." Ertu brightened. "You can send monsters!"

"Indeed. My Legions are immune to the harsh environment of the Shadow Realm, and in case of success, they can stay there for all of eternity."

"I see! Thank you, Heavens! I'm so glad that those two morons failed to destroy you, King Theon!" Ertu laughed, relieved.

"I assume you weren't fond of Jukk'nala and Hur'zhun either?" I glanced at Ertu.

"I won't lie to you, King Theon. At first, I thought their actions were right. At the beginning of their reign in Berna, things were good. The people were treated fairly, and the kingdom prospered. But with each year, things changed gradually. The prosperity of all people changed into privileges for Humans and slavery for everyone else. I was against it, but I was alone... Well, we were alone. Akh'ila was the only Goddess that agreed with me."

"I see..." I nodded.

"I tried to gain power so I could support Ertu." Akh'ila blushed, making a few people smile.

"I want to leave that incident in the past and focus on the future." I looked at Verka, who nodded in agreement, making me smile in return. "Jukk'nala is dead. Hur'zhun, however, survived, but he was sentenced for all his crimes. I will use his powers to serve the people of Arcadia. He originally was a deity of nature, so he will be useful in developing the agriculture of my Kingdom."

Ertu and Akh'ila exchanged terrified glances and looked at me. I shrugged and continued as if I had never seen their silent exchange. "Naturally, I want to consider you my allies. It's easier for me to accept you since your goals differ from those of Mortal Nobles and Royals. As long as you follow Hestia's instructions and choose to live in harmony with other Eternals, you will be my allies. I hope you know who our true enemies are..."

"We call them the Unclean." Ertu nodded angrily and sighed. “It's a shame they followed you to our world."

"It's not like that at all..." I looked at him in surprise. "Nilmerthis is in a spot where our universe touches theirs. All Eternals arrived here to protect the entire universe from the invasion of entities of Void and Chaos."

Ertu looked at me like he wanted to call me a liar, but he hesitated and gave me a second glance. I noticed the shock and disbelief on his face. "You are not lying... Oh, Heavens... What we have done..." He looked down and shed a few tears. "So many have died..."

"That's also in the past, Ertu," I said with an emotionless voice. "We can't fix it. We can't change it. But we can work together to make sure it never happens again."

"There is wisdom in your words, King Theon. Unfortunately, I am too angry and shaken to fully make amends to my past. If it amounts to anything, I’m deeply sorry for what we have done." Ertu looked at me and the other Eternals with pain-filled eyes.

“I’m sorry as well.” Akh’ila also bowed towards Hestia and the other Eternals gathered in the war room.

"But we were talking about the Leyline nodule." Ertu raised his head.

"Indeed. One week." I declared and looked at Luna, who simply nodded. "Galahad will lead the First Legion into battle. I will also dispatch Stella with the most powerful Faé as well as Thor, with all Fenrirs and Greater Wolves we can spare."

"One week?" Akh'ila asked in what seemed to be a shock.

"Unfortunately, moving Legio Fulminata to Berna will take that long, even with the help of the Navy." I sighed and looked at Ertu and Akh'ila, who were stunned. "Something wrong?"

"No! On the contrary! I am glad that you’re taking this seriously, King Theon." Ertu sighed in relief.

"And I am impressed by the swiftness of your army. It's hard to believe how fast you can move your army," Akh'ila quickly added.

"Thank you." I raised my hand and smiled. I decided not to divulge too much information about that particular topic. "Anyway... Let's discuss the details."

•••

I have been preparing for a battle that might never happen. The Dragon's Gate was a fortress, an unthinkable structure in the land where nothing could be built using ordinary means. It was vast and manned by constantly vigilant soldiers, rows of cannons, and phased-out ballistas, catapults, and trebuchets; Avalon in Shadows was nigh invincible. There was a possibility that the Devilkins simply gave up the idea of besieging the fortress and reinforced the gates and nodules they had already extinguished, waiting for a moment of weakness they could have exploited to destroy the last Leyline Gate of the World. I know nothing of value that would help me guess what Devilkins would do. But I can't wait forever. Galahad is en route to Westwood, where he will meet with the Navy. Five days. Then, he will make his way to Berna. Two days...

"Theon, you can't always control everything." Luna snuck up on me from behind, encompassing me in her slender arms.

"I miss so many convenient devices from my old world. In my previous world, we had a network where people shared almost any information imaginable. The media informed people about all important events, including tragedies. Everything was covered, and from the tiny pieces, you could cobble together a very extensive report about things of interest. Classic espionage provided the rest. But… The information silence of this era, or perhaps this world, is frightening..." I admitted, feeling the warmth of her body. "You should get inside. It's cold today."

"What about you?" she asked after kissing my cheek.

"I will join you in a moment. I want to clear my head."

"Liar." She pouted, but soon after, she smiled. "But I guess sometimes even you need a moment for yourself."

"Thank you, my Darling," I said, smiling warmly. "Luna?"

"Yes, Theon?"

"Why me?" I turned around and grabbed her by her waist, pulling her closer to me. "I know nothing but war."

"Umum..." She shook her head in disagreement. "You are much more than that. Theon, you saved all these people; you gave them hope." She made a broad gesture, pointing towards the Middle Castle. She snuggled to me and rested her head on my chest. "But this world has to be tamed. It's still wild and dangerous. I studied history, my Dear. People tend to forget about dangers, about inconvenience, about monsters. But you can't, can you?"

"No. I can't..." I sighed.

"Eriar knew that. You are gentle and compassionate, Theon. But in times of need, you will not hesitate to unleash your wrath and destroy your enemies." She climbed on her toes and gently kissed me. "Our enemies, my Champion."

"Thank you, my Dear."

She left me on the balcony so I could mull that over. It was not for me to judge if I was gentle or compassionate. I was going to believe her. But she was right about me unleashing my wrath upon our enemies. I had, under my command, Legio Praetoriae, eight Legions. In a few weeks, I will have nine with over fifty thousand Guardsmen, twenty thousand Royal Mages, and ten airships with their crews. On any whim, I could call many powerful monsters that not only served me directly but all of the Dungeons under my control as well. My influence grew daily, and my mana income was massive enough to fuel the growing numbers under my command. However, that wasn't enough; the distances were too big to respond quickly. My forces were spread too thin. I still can't decide how much time I have... I exhaled. Does it really matter? Probably not. The war was always going to find me.

•••

"Sir, we are ready for the tests."

"Excellent, Paul!" Ian stood up from behind his desk and quickly walked to the doors. "How are the mana reactors performing?"

"Without any issues, sir. The output is monstrous, though..." Paul shook his head. "I still can't believe that Master Verni actually pulled it off."

"Jokes on me then. I gave up on that idea a long time ago." Ian laughed as they entered the guarded building in the centre of the Royal Navy Academy.

They took the elevator to the dockyard in silence, which swiftly took them underground. With a quiet ping, the doors opened, and the duo stepped out into another heavily guarded room. The guards smiled and waved at them, but Ian felt the waves of mana that washed over them, confirming their identity. The young Nekomi woman smiled at them from behind her desk, where she was drawing something.

"Ian Southcross," he introduced himself to the Inquisitor.

"Paul Verdant." His subordinate followed suit.

"Is everything all right?" she asked as usual.

"In perfect order," they replied as if it was a code phrase.

"Welcome, Sir Ian! Mr Paul." Her smile widened, and she opened the doors.

They waved at them and passed the two Praetorians standing guard near the elevator entrance. Whoever failed to pass the identification would be immediately executed by them. The Navy Special Project Laboratory was one of the heavily guarded facilities in Avalon. While some people thought it was silly to implement such paranoid safety measures, Ian was more than happy that it was done this way. Each room, range, lab, workshop, and library within this facility contained knowledge nowhere found in the world. Each weapon and magitech they developed was a world-changing device, and it was better to keep everything as safe as possible. The Inquisitor was, of course, a truth seeker: a person who detected all lies. So far, no one from the outside tried to infiltrate the facility, but it was far from unthinkable. Queen Luna was constantly making efforts to breach the facility, and each time her agents were successful, security was improved. It became a friendly rivalry between Queen Luna, who acted as an invader, and Queen Aoi, who strengthened the defences.

They passed through a long, well-lit, marble-white corridor and opened the doors into the abyss. They stepped on the catwalk and leaned on the railings. After a moment, they resumed their walk to the deck of that monster. Below them was a first-ever, built-in-Nilmerthis Iowa class Battleship—a monstrous ship, almost four times bigger than HMS Victory and over twice as wide. The signature sixteen-inch mighty three-gun turrets slept in their rest position, still appearing menacing and ominous. It was fitting to fear them since initial tests indicated their firepower was capable of levelling entire cities. Like its original version, the Battleship was armed with smaller cannons as well; their diameters and sizes were easy to reproduce. The weapons Ian's team installed were devastating and far more versatile than any other Navy possessed. However, there was one thing that had to be addressed: the ship's blind spot. Because it was an airship, it was too vulnerable from below. To address that problem, far smaller turrets were built and hidden within the hull, able to be deployed in a time of need. While these turrets had only a fraction of the main and secondary armaments' power, they were still twice as powerful as the Bernan Navy’s regular cannons.

After the almost tragic end of HMS Victory, Ian was ordered to resign from the mana capacitors. For this reason, the work on the ship nearly stopped, but the risk was too big. The explosion that almost consumed Victory would have been nothing compared to the explosion of Iowa since the initial project used almost twenty times more mana storage space and nearly six times the mana capacitors. So, an alternative was needed. Ian was sore from saluting each sailor on his way towards the heart of the ship, but it was worth it. Right before the reactor room, Verni stood with a wide grin, rolling his moustache between his fingers.

"I told you it was possible," he said, opening the doors.

The room was dimly lit with blue light coming from the two rows of oval devices. Each row had three of them, linked with tight mana couplings and cables that disappeared beneath the floor beside each reactor. Ian watched them for a few moments, enchanted by the simplicity of the design, before turning his head toward Verni, who overdramatically snapped his fingers.

"All reactors, full power!" the Dwarf ordered, and the Navy Engineers on-site responded quickly.

The reactors came to life with a whirl and hum, powering all the ship's systems. The blue light rose in intensity, brightly lighting the reactor room as it slowly turned white.

"You did! You bastard, you did it!" Ian hugged the laughing Dwarf and lifted him off his feet. "I still can't believe it!"

"Hahahaha! Better start now." Verni laughed.

"How does it work?"

"You know I can't disclose the details. But we simply use the turbines to suck the mana from the environment and use the specially-made cores to condense it. As you know, heh, the core of that core is made of the Dungeon Mana Storage Crystals."

"I see... So King Theon was involved, after all."

"He pointed out that it was worth trying since no one had the opportunity to investigate these crystals. But since he can grow more of them, it's only natural that he was curious about them."

"Incredible," Ian admitted, running his hand over the reactor casing. "It's warm."

"That's the only issue we have. During Mana Fusion inside the reactor, we generate a lot of heat. However, simple cooling provided by the Ice and Water Mages is enough to keep these babies running." Verni pointed to the rows of twelve comfortable chairs with safety belts on them. Only one of them was occupied by a relaxed woman. "As you can see, keeping them cool right now is not a problem. It might be troublesome during extended and difficult battles, but I doubt it. How are you feeling, Private?"

"Excellent, sir!" The woman lying on the special chair replied without standing. "I can keep at it all day, sir!"

"The trick is simple, Ian." Verni shrugged as they moved to a wall with some repair diagrams. "The mage is simply pouring their mana into the water that is pumped into the reactors. The water is cooled down, and it circles throughout the closed system. In the case of fatal overheating, the hot steam will be forced through the chimney. We are still working on generating electricity as described in the books the King provided, but even without it, the reactors will provide mana to everything."

"So it is ready?" Ian still couldn't believe it.

"Indeed, my friend." Verni smiled widely.

"Let's inform King Theon."