Chapter 76: Seeds of Conflict
I knew that the Station would allow the Order to act faster, but I wasn't prepared for this.
All the supplies and production facilities have been transferred from Earth to the Shard in four days. Furthermore, the Tunnels are being renovated to house all our equipment and soldiers. In the meantime, the surroundings of the entrance have been razed to accommodate the many prefab housing for the original inhabitants. I felt bad when I saw the eyes of the Ilffs; they looked happy beyond measure.
It just shows how horrible their living conditions were. These temporary houses are nothing more than glorified trailers, but it's the best we could do in such a short period.
The Order has already set up food distribution stations, and I hope that the people never discover where their 3D printed food comes from. We produce this sort of primordial goop, which looks disgusting, by grinding various quickly-reproducing algae and weird magical insects together in giant blenders.
Let's just say that I'm glad that I don't eat anymore.
The Inquisition is also doing its part, and it acts as a sort of police force to make sure that the people don't riot. Using a bunch of fanatics as police isn't ideal, but I don't have any other alternative so they'll have to do.
A part of me yearns for everything to go well, but I bet the whole populace will be brainwashed in a few weeks. It's good for the Order, but I still feel like I'm not exactly doing to right thing...
I take a deep breath; it's too late to have doubts about the Order's methods. It's true that I created the Inquisition on a whim and to keep my credibility, but I can't say that they haven't made the Shard a better place.
According to the conversations I heard from the passersby, the Shard used to be one of the worst places to live. But there hasn't been random murders, nor any muggings ever since we arrived.
But, even if it's essential to have an excellent public order and keep the population happy, I need to focus on our wars. The battle against the remnants of the gang we kicked out is going smoothly. We played new propaganda videos over the whole area while distributing free food to the locals. At first, they were understandably wary, but the power of our propaganda quickly pushed them to our side.
They didn't join us yet, but they are happily reporting any gang activity when they spot one of those bastards trying to steal something, and the Order then takes care of them. The only remaining obstacle is the Coalition, and we've had mixed results so far.
We tried to display our propaganda, but unlike the Ilffs who saw us in action, the numerous factions of the Coalition don't believe us. To them, out might is nothing but a mere fabrication, a bluff to force them to join our side.
One particularly dumb faction of bird-like people even sent a representative yesterday. This encounter brings a smile to my face when I remember how it unfolded. First of all, the delegation wanted to make a show of force by blasting a few fancy spells in the air. However, they aren't aware that their spells are worthless on the modern battlefield. To put it in perspective, I could go to a random shop and buy a basic shield bracelet that would be able to endure them all.
But the funniest part was the exchange between the delegates and the group of Legionaries. The faction was obviously snubbing us, and they asked the Order to become their vassals. I wasn't here when it happened and only saw a recording of the encounter, I would have liked to see how the Legionaries reacted.
Considering the outcome of the encounter, I would wager that they didn't like it.
The Legionaries, which somehow kept their calm, explained the situation and even proposed to bring back a slave from their species that we saved from the Green Ones as a show of good faith.
The delegation answered with a scoff, and was offended that we would even 'consider bringing such shaming trash to our magnanimous king!'
After that, gunfire roared, and the delegation mysteriously disappeared, what a ShAmE!
It's a bit worrisome that we offended the great royal family controlling the extraordinary two rusty shacks in the middle of a landfill. What will the Order do against such threat? I think it's time to surrender!
I stifle a laugh and focus on reality. If all the factions of the Coalition are going to act like this, then I don't know why I even bothered trying to save them. Our propaganda also included all the benefits the people would get for joining us, but nobody has reached out to us.
I don't want to play the politics of a bunch of petty kingdoms, but I realize that my actions are questionable. If I could, I would use the Station to relocate the entire Coalition and be done with it. However, we don't have the manpower or the time to put a plan like that in place; the Stonecrusher Empire is too much of a threat.
But, in the end, I'm doing what's best for Humanity. So the death of a few forgotten alien species are a necessary sacrifice...that's what I tell myself. At least I'm not like the Enforcers, the battles I'm waging are purely defensive. The Coalition will attack us if we let them be, and we gave them plenty of time to surrender. We already showed them the good we can do. I could have saved them from misery.
Alas, things aren't always going my way. It's such a waste of potential soldiers, but we can't risk having a bunch of angry, petty kingdoms and tribes right in our main base. Now I need to head to Terrence's tent to order the final push on the Remnants and also order the genocide of the Coalition...
It's not an easy decision, and I can't even drown my unease in alcohol.
"Prometheus?" The Commander raises his head when I enter, and I sit down with a sigh.
"Begin the ClEaNiNg OpErAtIoN!" I declare while trying to ignore the tinge of excitement that surged when I finished my sentence. I bet it's the fault of the voice in my head. It has to be.
Terrence smiles and nods before picking up a secure phone, "You're clear to begin the assaults."
My vision turns towards the screen behind Terrence. It's split in two aerial views of each front. Portals appear above both of them, but what comes out of the portals are very different. On the Remnants front, soldiers are arriving in large numbers, and the few wandering locals recognize the uniform. Some are briefly waving at the marching soldiers before hiding in their homes.
But, on the Coalition front, I see many Carter Bombs being dropped on the dirty streets. The fighting between certain factions stops for a moment, and they carefully approach the unknown artifact. I avert my gaze when I hear the characteristic sound of all those MH Shells going off at once. They cover most of the pained screams, but I can still hear echoes of terror.
I focus on the screen again, and my blood freeze. What once was busy areas are now flattened wastelands. I can see some mana vortexes, which are slowly dissipating, wreaking havoc in what looks like residential areas.
The high-definition camera allows me to see the survivors with excruciating details. Some are half-melted, some are bleeding out while clutching limbs that have been vaporized and the few soldier-like people are running around while screaming.
"What have we done..." I mutter before another round of bombing spreads even more chaos in the Coalition. It's a stark contrast with what's happening with the Remnants, where Legionaries are dragging gang members out in the streets before executing them while the local population is cheering in the background.
This is what our liberation operations should look like. It's clean and efficient. We are freeing people from an oppressor and establishing a new order.
But what we're doing with the Coalition... It isn't liberation, it's extermination.
Half of the Coalition have been vaporized in less than a few minutes, and another round of bombing soon destroy a large part of the intact areas. I grit my teeth when I see all the mages of a particular group raising barriers as an attempt to defend their land from the bombardments, while some are praying in the streets...
But their EfFoRtS aRe FuTiLe-
Get out of my head, you shitty voice! I won't stand for this; this is too much! We are massacring defenseless people!
At first, I thought I could endure it, that this massacre was justified because of the Stonecrusher Empire. But seeing the consequences of my orders with my own eyes is something else. I hold my phone in my hand and take a deep breath. Should I Rewind and stop this from ever happening? I could, but it's also true that getting rid of the Coalition is something we have to do if we want to have the Shard for ourselves.
I freeze the timeline and review all the possible outcomes, all the actions we could take...
An undetermined amount of time passes before I reach a conclusion.
We have no other choice.
The Order can't afford to wage continuous wars with the Coalition while simultaneously fighting the Stonecrusher Empire and the Enforcers. And we already confirmed that our propaganda efforts were futile, so razing everything is the unique solution we have left.
Determination fills my heart as I Rewind to the beginning of the bombing campaign. This time I won't avert my gaze, I will memorize everything to remember the consequences of my actions. This failure will haunt me for all eternity.
Things would have been different if I managed the Order properly. We would have more time, and we could have integrated some factions.
But now, they are all going to die by my fault.
This Prometheus business was getting to my head. I was beginning to believe some of the Order's praises.
However, the reality is different. This campaign shows exactly what I am.
I am just John Thomson, an insane time-traveler controlled by his lust for blood and death. I'm not the invincible and righteous Prometheus I pretend to be, I'm a complete incompetent who bit more than he could chew. Everyone thinks I'm some deity? Please, I can't even cast a spell. I'm a failure in every sense of the word, my only saving grace is something I can't understand and that I discovered by accident.
A competent person would have made actual research on the Rewinder and would at least have a grasp of why it works. Hell, they might be able to improve it. But what did I do instead? I played with runes and caused an untold amount of death and chaos, more than I thought a single man was capable of doing.
In the end, I'm just pretending. My cause is noble, but I'm not the one who should lead something of this importance. What will happen if we fail? The repercussions Humanity will have to face from the angry Enforcers would mean the end of our species.
I slump back and sigh; it's too late to stop now. By attacking that Family, the Order declared war to the Stonecrusher Empire, and it's only a question of time before they figure out what we have done.
So I need to do something right for once. I brought the Order into this mess, so I must make sure that they get out of this alive... No matter the number of Rewinds.
...Oracle's PoV...
"How peculiar," I smirk when I review the latest exploits of my new favorite distraction, Anomaly P-02.
This time around, he and his group of followers decided to take over a Shard to establish their main base. It's a commendable action, but a Shard is severely lacking space-wise compared to a regular dimension.
I have a personal dimension, and one of my long-term goals would be to have a universe of my own. It's probably impossible, even for someone like me but it won't stop me from trying. After all, an immortal need something to do to stave off boredom.
One last sip of my special coffee sends shivers down my spine, and I pour another cup with a flick of the wrist. I want a different taste today, so I add a couple of square-shaped high-grade Magicite and quickly enchant the coffee to a molecular level.
The Magicite is wiped from existence, and my coffee has a sweet aftertaste of vanilla.
Now let's focus back on P-02, one of his latest antics is what he calls a 'Portal Station'. Once again, P-02 shows that his lack of technical knowledge and materials aren't going to stop him. The idea of using a centralized processing station to allow all his soldiers to have easy access to teleportation is very creative, and I won't hesitate to admit that I would have never discovered such an interesting solution.
But who can blame me, things like 'cost' and 'rare materials' are meaningless terms for me.
Furthermore, relying on natural ways of transmitting data instead of magical ones is quite impressive. It's true that most of the people and groups I met during my long existence have all but forgotten that things can be done without magic, and I'm not an exception to this.
It makes sense when you think about it, doing things without magic is usually slow, clunky and inefficient. Who would bother researching the technologies and setting up the supplies line to produce something like the pistol P-02 is so fond of when he could just cast a fireball?
This way of thinking is usually correct. Most of my artifacts are impossible to replicate without the aid of mana. However, doing things the mundane way can sometimes be useful when you don't have access to the alternative. However, I've rarely been in this situation. For instance, I can transmit messages instantly with a wide array of spells, and they are all able to bypass most barriers with ease.
But doing things the mundane way can sometimes be better. I saw that P-02 acquired a way to disturb spells but, like the few ways of jamming spells that I know of, it has a few fatal flaws. First of all, it cannot interfere with enchantments, and it also will not be able to disturb any powerful spell.
To counter any spell-jamming, I developed a new way of casting magic for my followers. Instead of creating a purely magical construct to make a spell, they instead enchant the air around them. I also enchanted their brains so that they can do all the complex calculations needed for such a feat in less than a second.
Personally, I overwhelm the jamming with one of my thousands of mighty spells.
And, for creatures which have almost complete immunity to magic, I have something else. It's something I made on a whim since beings that are immune to magic are very few, and their resistance usually can't handle my power.
The device in question is quite similar in shape to the Anomaly's rifle. But, instead of firing a small solid projectile covered in runes, it fires a condensed piece of mana which contains thousands of engravings. What is effectively an artificial piece of Magicite of exceptional purity is then turned into an ultra-dense compressed star the size of my thumb. This projectile is then propelled at speeds so tremendous that it is almost faster than light.
From my tests, this particular weapon is quite effective. I had a period during my existence where I would create powerful weapons as a hobby. I would search for the most powerful entity I could find and would try to make something able to take it down, and also protect us from its attacks. In turn, this research would push me to gain more knowledge and improve the gear of my followers as well as my own.
But I grew bored of this, so I switched to other projects.
In a sense, what P-02 is doing reminds me of those moments. Even if the scale and usefulness of his creations are nothing for me, it's still amusing to watch. I haven't been so entertained in quite some time, and I want to crack the mystery that is Anomaly P-02. I wonder how the mysterious power that allows him to always win will fare against my followers and me if we ever fight.
I shake my head. It's almost impossible that I won't be able to uncover his secret. And the battle would be over in an instant if we ever fight, the power difference between the two of us is too massive.
Nonetheless, it would certainly be amusing to see how he hopes to overcome an existence like me if I hold back. How fun it would be to witness all his desperate attempts to beat me! I smirk when I think about what he would do once I crush his little contraptions with a flick of my wrist. His desperation would provide me with endless entertainment, at least until I grow bored of his antics, then I'll vaporize him.
Fighting him would require me to adjust my spells, and even the power I emit naturally. Otherwise, it's very likely that my aura would be enough to crush him in an instant.
Doing this would require me to create some limiting devices, something I never really explored-
A smile creeps on my face as I activate my ability, it's time to do some research!
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Onch
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