Chapitre 1303: Accountability
Vahn had known from the very beginning that some of his enemies would go to extreme lengths to serve their interests and agendas. Da Vinci's simulations even put the median mortality rate during the coming transition at 54% so he had already hardened himself in preparation for the loss of life. Still, knowing that Alexander was willing to destroy a large portion of his estate, along with a sizable portion of London itself, he felt absolute, unadulterated, wrath...
With little to slow the speed of their descent, several ten-meter long rods made of a dark mithril composite continued to accelerate until they were nearing ten percent the speed of light. This wasn't a speed Vahn couldn't react to but, with an incalculable number of runes and several powerful magic circles, directly intercepting the rods was beyond him. They were weapons of mass destruction that had been designed to strike with such speed and intensity that manors designed to withstand even direct hits from nuclear warheads would be annihilated.
Vahn knew all of this because the weapon system was something that had been designed by the Atlas Temple. They had developed a number of weapons, some of which even had the theoretical potential to destroy entire planets, so it wasn't that surprising their plans had been stolen or traded through the black market. It was impossible to completely halt the flow of information to the outside world as, if they truly cut themselves off, acquiring the necessary resources for their research would be very difficult...
Unfortunately, Vahn didn't have the time to come up with a method to deal with the rods on the spot as, shortly after his instincts alerted him of the danger, concentric, ring-shaped, magic circles descended from the sky. Each was more than 100m in diameter and, based on what he could sense, they served as acceleration gates that also converted the space inside the rings into a vacuum. This would allow the rods to accelerate even faster than their initial specs so Vahn had to take immediate action to avoid a tragedy.
Even before Vahn's thoughts had sorted themselves, his body and mind were already in motion. He instantly transformed into his Xuanwu state while fusing a powerful defensive spell, [Custos Terra], into his [Magia Erebea]. This caused his skin to turn onyx-black as his body bulked up considerably. At the same time, his hair turned platinum-blond as a complex snake-pattern spread across his entire body.
Vahn wasn't actually intending to block the spears with his body but, if his plan somehow failed, it was better to be in a form that allowed him to withstand a bit of punishment. His actual plan was to use one of his trump cards and, while it may reveal his hand to others, this incident had shown him that given his enemies any breathing room at all was unacceptable. They were obviously intending to try and pin this on him so, when all of this was resolved, he intended to do some house cleaning on behalf of the Noble faction...
Having made his decision, Vahn's face hardened as he stated in a rumbling tone that caused the guiding circle to fracture and break apart, "ORT, destroy..."
With a purely synthetic and emotionless voice, ORT simply responded, "Acknowledged." before a spatial tear, several tens of meters wide, appeared in the sky. From the interior, a massive metallic spider emerged, its limbs twisted to form lethal blades that could harvest the lives of millions in minutes. It was a true weapon of mass destruction and slaughter, one which even the most powerful people in the world dreaded to encounter.
The moment ORT emerged from the spatial tear, its body actually transformed into a humanoid form but, before Vahn could even get a good look at it, ORT vanished in a blur that left a literal black tear in the void. Its base speed was almost incomprehensible, to the point Vahn felt like it wasn't actually moving so much as it was forcibly positioning itself within space and time. It seemed simultaneously stationary and hypersonic as, from the very moment it ascended, ORT hadn't changed its orientation in the slightest...
Mere seconds after the entire incident had begun, several small explosions could be seen beyond the troposphere. Then, immediately after these tiny lights flickered in the distance, emerald green waves of energy spread out for hundreds of kilometers in an instant. The sun's light no longer seemed to reach the planet as the entire world seemed to be shrouded in an emerald green glow. It was actually quite beautiful but, considering this wave was purely destructive in nature, the backlash of this incident would shake the foundation of societies worldwide...
Despite the troposphere extending to nearly 10km above the surface of the planet, the shockwave from ORT's attack reached London only a few seconds after the emerald glow covered the sky. This caused a pale-blue membrane to ripple across the entire city, indicative of an extremely powerful and ancient barrier being activated. London wasn't the heart of the Mage's Association for naught so, while every influential family had a powerful Bounded Field to protect their property, the city itself had several layers of protection to preserve the magical community as a whole.
Unfortunately, the barrier protecting London didn't extend to the surrounding areas so, with the wave of destructive energy, thousands of trees burst into flame while anyone unfortunate enough to be outside experienced an intense burning sensation like being exposed to powerful ultraviolet light. Most of the children in the area were immediately teleported to relative safety but, with blackouts extending all the way to Paris, more than 470km away, this was an event that eclipsed even a natural disaster.
It wouldn't be until much later that Vahn learned the true extent of the devastation but, as this was primarily due to the rods being destroyed, not ORT's actions, he did not blame the destructive entity. If the rods had directly impacted the estate, a large portion of London's population would have been wiped out in the resultant blast. This would have amounted to several hundred thousand people on the low end so, after recalling ORT, his focus shifted to the recovery effort.
Before this, however, he turned to Scáthach who, at this point, had reverted back to her usual cold and emotionless self. She already had a spear in hand and was simply waiting for his orders before she took immediate and decisive action. This nature of hers was something Vahn had come to rely on so, without beating around the bush, he stated, "Someone must be held accountable for this. Do not kill them..."
As it was an official order, Scáthach kneeled in mid-air before ultimately vanishing into the void to pursue Alexander, Allard, and anyone else involved in this matter. It was possible to summon them through the Throne of Heroes but, as inviting those monsters into his home was something Vahn couldn't stomach, he decided to leave their fates to his Shishou. She would undoubtedly show them hell before bringing their battered and broken bodies before him.
With the fate of the perpetrators all but decided, Vahn turned to the Trambelio family estate before teleporting back to Avalon to mobilize his forces. He was directly involved in this event so, while it was possible to leave matters to emergency response forces, Vahn would not shirk his responsibility in the matter. He directly convened an emergency conference before charging Gawain with leading three-hundred Homunculi to assist in aiding the citizens. At the same time, Kenshin would take her elite forces to secure the Trembelio estate, aided by Fenrir, Hati, and Sol.
While this meeting was taking place, Vahn's second body was back in London with Merlin standing at his side. The latter was directing the Slyph to muster up rainclouds to aid in dealing with the fires while Vahn extended his domain through the area, aiding anyone that was in imminent danger. The amount of devastation on the outskirts of the city made him feel a deeply rooted chill, one made worse by seeing how many people took advantage of the chaos to enact various crimes, some petty, others heinous in nature...
For a brief moment, Vahn empathized with Mordred's view of the world as, seeing humans act in this manner, they almost seemed like animals. There were people breaking into businesses to steal TVs and other electronic devices, even as people screamed and pleaded for help just meters away from them. It was like watching hell on earth and, with the standard response of the Magus community being to ignore the mundane world, only firefighters, policemen, and emergency response forces were taking action to restore order.
Seeing all of this, Vahn, knowing Merlin was paying close attention to him, stated, "Those in power would rather see the world burn rather than allow me to lead it towards a brighter future..."
As if he was unaffected by the chaos below, Merlin just shrugged before lightly replying, "Your vision of the future is something incomprehensible to most people. In the end, most humans would rather live a life bound by unfair rules and restrictions if it means they are able to live in blissful ignorance. Others believe their own prosperity takes precedence over the safety and security of society as, from their perspective, normal people are inconsequential in the grand scheme of things...its really quite troubling..."
Hearing Merlin's remark, Vahn turned silent as, on the edge of his domain, a man attempted to mug a woman who was trying to lead her children to an emergency shelter. The moment the man pulled out his knife and began to wave it in front of the woman's face, Vahn guided it toward a non-vital area in his chest, incapacitating the bug-eyed assailant as he fell back due to shock. This caused the children to scream but the women just pulled them along, leaving her attacker behind without sparing him a second glance...
Turning to face Merlin, Vahn could see the flowery Magus with his usual smile, a glimmer of light dancing in his amethyst eyes. He was using his illusion magic to provide aid on a much larger scale than Vahn's domain alone could cover but, regardless of the strain he was under, the white-haired Magus continued to smile as if he was entirely unperturbed by the reality they bore witness to. It was strangely grounding so, while his anger wasn't even remotely tempered, Vahn calmed down a little as he stated, "I will not give up...this incident only makes my conviction stronger..."
Following Vahn's words, motes of light began to flash around the city as hundreds of homunculi began to appear around the city. This was the emergency response force commanded by Gawain so they had a lot of experience dealing with fires and collapsing buildings. They were almost all attuned with the earth or water element so, while it would only make the aftermath harder to clean up, Vahn authorized them to use golems and familiars to aid in restoring order. This obviously caused further chaos but, after what the Trambelio family pulled, Vahn no longer felt the need to keep the existence of Magic a secret.
With a firm conviction present in his stature and expression, Vahn gazed over the devastation below as he muttered, "This world needs to change. Even if it means chaos and war, I will no longer stand by as an observer biding his time. The world may not be ready for the truth but the current system doesn't work. Even if I must be painted as an evil tyrant in the interim, I will not rest until this world is made safer for all future generations..."
All throughout Vahn's monologue, Merlin's expression didn't change in the slightest. However, at the very end, he stated in a very matter-of-factly tone, "Some of the most tragic periods in history came about as a result of a small group of people perpetuating the idea of 'the greater good'. Please keep that in mind as you move forward, Your Majesty. Never forget that there is an endless number of paths that lead toward a better future. Do not become blinded by a single course of action..."
Hearing Merlin's advice, Vahn nodded his head solemnly, even as he slowly ascended into the air. He knew better than anyone that his own perspective was, in many ways, biased beyond correction. This was the reason he relied on so many people so, in the chaos to come, he would be relying on them to help restore order to a tumultuous world. He would serve as the figurehead for everyone's hatred, allowing people to lay as much blame on him as they wish. Ultimately, the only thing that mattered was that the current system was abolished as it was high time humanity faced reality and accepted responsibility for their own lives...
After ascending to more than a kilometer above the city, Vahn extended his hand toward the sky as he sent a telepathic message back to Avalon. He could feel almost all of his reserves drain away in an instant as a massive magic circle, more than 700m in diameter, appeared in the sky above. Magical phenomenon was not visible to normal humans but, when a floating fortress suddenly appeared out of thin air above London, it drew a considerable amount of attention...
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Weapons of Mass Destruction','No Mercy','The Dawn of New Era')
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Chapitre 1304: Futility
Solon had already been experiencing a powerful migraine after learning that Vahn had invaded the Trambelio estate. When the massive explosion occurred over the city, it felt like something snapped inside of their brain and, rather than anger or frustration, they felt a distinct lack of emotion as their eyes reflected the devastation surrounding London...
The Clock Tower was in a chaotic state but, compared to what was happening outside the isolated Bounded Field, it was a scene of relative peace. Solon had already issued a state similar to Martial Law, preventing movement between the Clock Tower and the outside world. This was both to protect the students and faculty while also preventing anyone from going outside and adding to the chaos.
As an organization that had stood for more than two-thousand years, the Clock Tower had various emergency protocols designed to maintain secrecy and order. Even during the great fire of London and two successive world wars, their existence had never been threatened as the Bounded Field that protected the institution was one of the most powerful in the entire world. It could even withstand a direct strike from a meteorite, much less an atomic bomb.
Rather than worry about the Clock Tower itself, Solon was more troubled by the escalation of force between the Empire and the Trambelio family. They couldn't understand how things had developed to this point in such a short period of time. The only thing that made any sense was if the Trambelio family, on the verge of being wiped out, decided to take everyone else with them. This seemed to be the only real possibility as Solon had learned that Vahn was the one to protect the estate, not the forces of the Trambelio family...
This bit of information did not allow Solon even a moment of peace, however, as Zelretch revealed exactly what it was Vahn had used to deal with the undocumented orbital weapon. He had used the most terrifying existence in the world as a weapon, something Zelretch had been making plans to battle against for over three hundred years. Even then, they claimed it would take an estimated one-hundred-and-fifty years before they were ready to face against the monstrous entity so, knowing it was willing to move at Vahn's behest, Solon knew the only thing preventing the Empire's rise was Vahn's willingness to act.
Though they would never admit it, Solon had been relatively enthused about the last month as the benefits the Clock Tower had received from the Empire were plentiful. The Atlas Temple was working with them more proactively than ever before while Da Vinci had provided information regarding her Unified Thaumaturgical Theory for 'peer review'. If things continued uninhibited, the Clock Tower was set to enter a period of rapid advancement and prosperity, one which might redress the stagnation that had plagued the organization for centuries.
Now, due to the petty and self-serving actions of a few greedy individuals, all of that was on the verge of collapse. Solon had learned that the Trambelio family had gone out of their way to put pressure on various smaller families, conspiring to set in motion a series of events to show the larger Magus community that the Empire was not some untouchable existence they should fear. The plot involved assassinating several students but the most important objective had been to secure blood and tissue samples of Mordred's and Sakura's bodies...
Solon couldn't believe how foolish the entire plot was as it showed a clear misunderstanding of the Empire's capabilities. The Nobles treated the Empire as just another one of their rivals and, while it was inarguable that the latter had immense power, it never crossed the minds of the established families that they were truly unbeatable. Rather, the efforts of the Empire to negotiate and pursue civil dialogue made them appear weak and exploitable. They saw the benefits the Clock Tower had received over the last month and interpreted this, not as a show of wealth and power, but a bribe for peace...
Ultimately, the current chaos was a direct result of the deeply rooted corruption and pretentious mindsets common amongst the members of prestigious Noble families. Even when they were clearly at a disadvantage, they acted as if they were in a superior position at all times. They would scheme and machinate to better their position and, failing to do so through above-board means, they always used underhanded schemes to further their interests. There was no limit to their depravity when it came to securing their position and authority as, prior to the emergence of the Empire, the policy of the Mage's Association was to largely ignore any action that didn't directly expose the existence of Magecraft.
Solon had never been fond of this policy but, recognizing the futility of keeping order while trying to restrain the Nobles, they opted to turn a blind eye to the truth. Trying to force them to obey would either split the Mage's Association further or lead to an outright Civil War. This would cause the Holy Church to take action and, after decades of fighting, the world lay in ruin. Several incidents like this had occurred throughout history and, each time a major battle occurred, various legacies would be lost, never to be recovered.
The Mage's Association existed to prevent the stagnation and degradation of Magecraft and, as no Thaumaturgical field was inherently evil, people had been taking advantage of it for millennia. Now, with the emergence of the Empire, their efforts to preserve their legacy would be their undoing. The deeply rooted corruption that was ushering the world toward its destruction would not be tolerated by the alien Emperor and, with a floating fortress hovering above the city of London, Solon knew the day of reckoning had come...
---
From behind Solon, Zelretch had been watching the city burn in silent contemplation. His usual smile was nowhere to be seen as this incident was something that couldn't be completely covered up. The Atlas Temple may have dominion over virtually all telecommunications networks but, with millions of witnesses and the apparent disregard of Vahn, the information was bound to spread.
Gripping the handle of his cane tightly, Zelretch shook his head and muttered, "I fear the world is not ready for this...the civil unrest alone will collapse several countries..."
Hearing Zelretch's remark, Solon gave an understanding nod, adding, "Billions will die...it will be the greatest tragedy the world has ever seen...to think that, even before Angra Mainyu's emergence, the world as we know it will be destroyed."
Zelretch released a profound sigh in response to Solon's words. He knew the responsibility for this incident couldn't be laid squarely on Vahn's shoulders but, depending on how things developed, a large scale war could break out. The revelation that Magic is a real phenomenon is bound to shake the very foundation of modern society so, over the next few months, millions of people worldwide are bound to awaken magical and paranormal abilities...
Just as Zelretch was lamenting allowing things to develop to this point, Solon interrupted his train of thought, stating, "I always knew things would reach this point, eventually. What matters is not the destruction to come, but the society we will build in its wake. The Empire cannot be stopped so we can only endeavor to avoid repeating the same mistakes as our predecessors..."
Having never expected Solon to throw their lot in with the Empire so readily, Zelretch's smile crept back upon his wrinkled face as he asked, "Oh~? What has you suddenly believing in the future that Vahn wants to create...?"
Solon's dull expression morphed into one of anger and annoyance as they heard the teasing tone underlying Zelretch's words. In response to the elderly Magus' remark, Solon turned back and said, "That man is able to bend the very world itself to his will. Alaya would not follow him if he did not care about the preservation of mankind. Since there is no sense in trying to oppose him, it is better that we change our perspective and begin considering how to develop alongside the Empire. Even if the current Mage's Association is destroyed, that does not mean it can't be rebuilt..."
If he was slightly surprised by Solon's earlier words, Zelretch was shocked by what his green-haired companion had to say in response to his teasing. He could understand the reasoning, of course, but Solon's character wasn't the kind that would acquiesce so easily. Something must have happened to change their mind while he was away...
Realizing this, Zelretch stared into the large projection of the outside world and, as if understanding his thoughts, the white-haired magus reflected inside looked back, a smile on his face. This caused Zelretch to release an even deeper sigh than before while, understanding what the old man must be thinking, Solon's expression turned dour as magical power began to build in the surroundings.
Before Solon could lash out, Zelretch tapped his cane against the floor, saying, "I will reach out to our branches throughout the world. We'll begin moving people into the underground shelters that had been prepared during the second world war. I'll leave you to contact the Wandering Sea...is that okay with you?"
Having calmed down a bit, Solon smoothed out the wrinkles in their robes before replying, "Those old monsters will likely close the gate soon. We won't have to worry about them until the dust starts to settle. When that happens, they're certain to try and contact the Empire to establish an Alliance so there is no reason to pay them a visit."
Zelretch just shrugged in response to Solon's words before vanishing in mid-movement. He had a lot of people to contact before this incident became a global catastrophe so there wasn't much time to waste. There would be no end to the number of opportunistic Magi looking to take advantage of the coming chaos so they needed to secure all of the most important heritages and legacies before they either disappeared in the flow of history or fell into the hands of people looking to seize power for themselves...
With Zelretch's departure, Solon allowed their shoulders to slump as they pulled out a plush cushion and plopped down, fatigue settling into their usually tireless body. It took more restraint than they knew they had to prevent themselves from teleporting to Vahn's side and lambasting the idiotic man for continually escalating the situation. Even now, it wouldn't be impossible for them to cover up this incident as there was an ancient formation present that could alter the memories of everyone in the city without much effort. As for the destruction surrounding London, they could lay the blame on the sun as, while the emerald light had been visible to those sensitive to magical phenomena, normal humans wouldn't have been able to see it.
The primary issue was that Vahn clearly had no intention of keeping the existence of Magic a secret. He had clearly stated this in the past and, after the Trambelio family pulled this stunt, it was obvious that the Emperor had lost his patience with the Magus community. His efforts over the last month had shown he was willing to play ball and wait until a more opportune moment to take action but, as if they couldn't wait to seek death, a bunch of fools had decided to take advantage of this fact to antagonize a force that wiped a Monarchal family off the face of the planet in a single evening...
Solon knew that the Trambelio family must have secured their legacy prior to taking action so, even if they lost the majority of their assets, they could still paint the Empire as the enemy. They would then lay low, potentially for decades, before once again emerging as a powerful family within the Magus community, likely with a different surname.
What the Trambelio family couldn't have expected was that Vahn was more than willing to play the part of the villain if it meant making the world a better place. It was impossible to avoid this label as, by implementing change that people were not ready for, he would always be painted as the villain. People would fight tooth and nail to protect their current way of life, even if it meant fighting and dying for people that had been exploiting them for generations. In their minds, Vahn was the enemy so long as their government or a few influential members of the community said he was. It didn't matter what the truth was as, in the end, truth and justice were always decided by the victors...
(A/N: FYI, I'm still ill so chapters are coming out when I feel like it xD. You'll notice that my writing becomes a little darker every time I get sick, hahahaha~)
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