Chapter 323 - Special Delivery (Patreon)

Note :

Welp, my ears have been non stop ringing for days, but thankfully I've got an emergency doctor's appointment. So, fingers crossed.

Chapter 323

Red Sands Desert, Archduchy of Rebirth

City of Darthar, Branch Office

"Did we get it all?" Asked Alexandra as she looked at the pile of packages.

"Yes." Ghost smiled as she gazed at the carefully wrapped and protected parts. "We have them all. Every single one. All functional."

"How did it go?"

Ghost grimaced.

"It was touch and go for the bigger ones, honestly. Had to slap some low profile gravity manipulation to counter the excessive weight, but couldn't do anything about the inertia without showing up on sensors. The guards caught on something was odd for one crate, and opened it, but saw nothing amiss, and simply concluded they must have been too tired by their long shift, or that something of the pure magic in the air must have affected it. But there was no follow up."

Alexandra closed her eyes.

"That's good."

"It is. So, home then?"

"Yes. For self replication."

"The preparations are done on your end?"

Alexandra smiled.

"And then some. Since we can use those onboard the Flickerlight to test prototypes, we've started developing the next gen of units using the fabricators to make them."

"That's good. You know, I was thinking about it, but if we put some of those fabricators in the branch offices..."

"We can push them in the green, even if the materials have to made here. I know." Alexandra grimaced. "It's a shame teleportation, even in our influence is so damned expensive, or I'd send some stuff over."

"I mean, we could ship it via airship."

"Yeah, right, and shatter the illusion? No, better to hide that weakness." Alexandra grinned. "Besides, once we get all those fabricators distributed, they'll still think those branch offices are a loss of mana."

"While they'll be anything but. I like it."

"Yeah. Will just have to be equally careful during transport, since, well, high tech outside of our influence..."

"Well, I guess the container we made won't go to waste then."

"Yeeep. Will probably ship in the fabricators rather than one per branch office and make them self replicate. Something tells me they really won't be cheap."

"It's your call Alex." Ghost looked at the dungeon core. "By the way, I hear you were starting to have some issues up north?"

Alexandra grimaced.

"Yeah, Sunrise is starting to do some harassment on our supply lines. And some neutral nobles have begun joining us."

"Not very welcome, I assume?"

"Well, it was the goal their majesties were aiming for, but they're still being something of a pain in the ass. Plus, you know, nobody trusts them. They stood aside and wiped their asses with their oaths once, they will do so again."

"So, keep them close?"

"Yeeep."

"Alrighty. Do you need help with dealing with the raids?"

"Oh don't worry. Ella and Sarah helped me with our solution already."

Ghost's face went white.

"Uh...Ella? Please don't tell me-"

"Oh yes. Yes she did. Let's just say they'll have to make sure not to...choke one the next convoy they attack."

Alexandra's smile was downright vicious, while Ghost looked at her worryingly.

Because more and more...the dungeon core reminded her of herself. Like the barriers and suppressed memories that made her a different person were slowly breaking down.

And that was terrifying.

"Just...make sure you rein it in, alright?"

"Sure."

"Have you had anymore of those dreams lately?"

Alexandra winced.

"I have, actually. One about Arcadia. You know, the premiere of Interstellar Justice Three?"

"Oh yeah. She did look good in that dress."

"She did, though I meant more of before, when she barged into our office."

"An odd memory to revisit."

"Perhaps." Alexandra frowned. "It's...worrying me, honestly."

"Same on my end. I'm...I'm worried your barriers are breaking down."

The dungeon core froze.

"That's...a horrifying concept."

"I know."

"I'll run some diagnostics."

"Thanks."

They both looked at each other, with the awkwardness only two instances of the same person could share.

"So, progress on the AIs?" Finally said Ghost.

"Going apace. Though the ships might prove a bit more complicated to make."

"Not easy to make a mage ship, uh?"

"Nooope." Alexandra smiled. "But we'll get there. Everything has been distributed from the reinforcements up north, and is ready to rock. The new enchanted ammo...and the new missiles."

"Really ready to unleash a weapon of the Old World in public?"

Alexandra sighed.

"It's for emergencies. If push comes to shove...well, we can use them, and we might need them. Badly."

"Point taken."

"Alright, enough joking around. Let's get that fabricator shipped off, and kick off another dungeon industrial revolution."

*****

CQ smiled, as she tried to stop herself from strangling the person across from her desk.

The perks of mom actually putting her in the command structure was that she got a desk and people actually came to her for stuff.

The downside was that 'people' included self important nobles with an entire forest's worth of sticks in their behind.

So much for the 'neutrals' reinforcing them.

"I have not marched a hundred kilometers to be stonewalled! I am the countess of Halur, and-"

"And you demand to speak to the dungeon core." Finished CQ, her eyes narrowing.

"I do."

"Then my answer is the same as to all of your...colleagues' request. No. My mo-"

"How dare you!" The countess reached out and slapped the boss. "How dare you harlot stone wall me? Get in your place you peasant! Your are cannon fodder for your betters, and a punching bag for adventurers, nothing more!"

CQ was so shocked by the gesture and words that it took her a solid second to even raise a hand to her cheek.

Then the words finally reached her conscious mind, and suddenly her sword wasn't in its scabbard anymore, but halfway through the noble's ribcage.

The countess let out a choked scream as blood flowed from her lips, before her eyes glazed over into oblivion as the boss stepped back, extricating her sword, and twirled in a single, fluid motion, swiping the noble's head off of her shoulders.

There was shocked silence in her tent.

Then the other nobles began screaming, as their bodyguards unsheathed their blades. And CQ suddenly realized that she didn't have her own guards, because after all, what did she have to fear?

The guards leapt for her, and suddenly she was somewhere else, stepping through space to outside of her tent.

The nobles came stumbling out, some of them vomitting, but one fixed his febrile gaze on her, and screamed.

"Kill her! Kill her! She's a murderer!"

Many of the guards of the noble delegation, who had waited outside her tent on its little hill, were confused, but they drew their weapons. They didn't know what she looked like after all, and for them she might as well have been a strangely dressed assassin.

CQ quickly calculated her chances...and grabbed her radio.

"CQ! Excelsior excelsior excelsior!" She screamed into the hand held as the guards rushed her.

And all hell broke loose.

Despite having the teleport talisman, she wouldn't use it bar a last resort. Not only to prevent others from knowing that it existed and learning of its capabilities, but also because she didn't want to miss another damned battle by having to drag her way back to the army. Again.

So she had emergency protocols, despite her lack of guards. And the one she had just used threw the entire place into chaos.

The guards rushed her, naked blades glistening in the mid afternoon sunlight...and staggered back as a hail of gunfire slammed into their wards.

They whirled around, meeting the new threat, only for their eyes to go wide as they recognized the golems shooting at them.

Unfortunately, they didn't have the time to realize their mistake...or surrender, as the last remaining Tetsudo screamed overhead, its guns thundering as it passed by, firing its full broadside into the clump of nobles and soldiers, blowing them every which way with shells.

The air was filled with screams as nobles and bodyguards alike scrambled to get back up or clutched their wounds.

Those who went back to their feet only did so to realize that the closest golem units were assault sappers.

And their standard infantry lineup included flamethrowers.

The screams redoubled as the flames devoured them, only to end abruptly as one of the corsairs finally got its turret turned around, and turned half of the hill into a smoking crater, pelting the entire area in steaming chunks of meat and burning offal.

CQ simply stood there, breathing heavily as she stared at the devastation.

"CQ! Are you alright?"

The boss whirled around at the sound of her mother's voice, and before she knew it she was in the ambassador golem's arms.

"Mom! They...they attacked me!"

"Who? Who did?"

"The nobles! They said...One of them said I was a harlot!"

CQ saw the human soldiers, who were rushing forward to support the golems, physically recoil as something enshrouded her mother, waves of blind terror and hatred hitting them like a sledgehammer.

"What." Said the dungeon core with a voice colder than the void between the stars. She turned towards one of her officer golems, and gestured for it to come forward. "Bring up one of the resurrection orbs. Now."

The golem nodded, and slammed its fist against its chestplate.

The boss stayed there while they waited, her mom caressing her hair and murmuring reassuring words into her ears.

No one dared approach them. Those that built up enough courage were stopped dead in their tracks by the cordon of heavily armed golems or their own brothers in arms.

At last however, the orb was brought in from the healers' tents, and Alexandra snapped her fingers. Golems streamed forward, separating bodies. Miraculously, they found the corpse of the countess, almost fully intact, besides the wounds CQ had inflicted.

The boss sniffled, and pointed at the body.

This time she felt the wave of hatred radiating off of her mom, despite being certain her mother was doing everything in her power to deflect it away from her. She saw several of the soldiers faint in the crowd, having to be caught by others.

The resurrection orb flashed, and the countess bolted up, screaming.

"What- How- You-" The countess laid an outraged gaze on CQ...only to let out a strangled screech, as Alexandra grabbed the noble by the throat, and raised her into the air, the hologram on her ambassador's hand glitching madly as she did so.

"Listen to me you self absorbed piece of shit. Ever touch even a single hair on my daughter's head again and I will impale you on my flagship's prow after filling your veins with regeneration potions, so that the entire army may feast upon your screams of pain for days on end. Do you understand me, bitch?!?" Screamed out the dungeon core. The noble nodded convulsively, and Alexandra sneered, tossing her into the pile of bodies waiting to be resurrected. "Get out of my sight you filth."

The countess scrambled off of the corpses and fled into the army, her raw panic and adrenaline somehow barely offsetting the effects of being resurrected. Alexandra simply whirled around, and stalked back towards the command tent, leading CQ by the hand, the soldiers parting along her way without a word.

Then the soldiers turned away from them...and back towards the pile of bodies, slowly being resurrected, as well as the newly arrived 'neutral' nobles' armies.

And CQ knew, instinctively, that even if her mother was prepared to forgive, which she never was, any chance of those integrating into the army as they had thought was done and dead.

The soldiers seemed to think of her as some kind of mascot, and had the golems not been so blindingly fast in their reaction, they no doubt would have rushed to her side to defend her. In fact, most of them had appeared to be in the process of doing so, entire battalions of troops moving to her aid.

Now...now they would no doubt turn their guns on their newfound 'allies', if they could make up the excuses.

For the first time, CQ understood the terrifying power of being an icon, a symbol. Of just how much her mere presence and actions could change things.

And she also understood that this wasn't just some pampering maids. Some of these people would have died for her, without blinking, laid out their lives for her immortal one. And that terrified her. She didn't want the burden of their deaths. The burden to give them meaning.

Why would anyone want this? Why would anyone bear this?

She looked at her mom's back as they neared the tent, and closed her eyes as she understood.

Because someone had to.