Chương 201

There was something deeply different about the darkness that emanated from Pauline this time. By now, Orion had become familiar with her magic, had even traveled through it, and despite how strange it felt to [Hypotheticism], it was still easily understood as a manipulation of the absence of light. It had no substance because there was nothing to contain mass. This, on the other hand, was thick and heavy, a flood of liquid shadow that splashed against the tunnel walls like oil.

It struck the remaining two golems with the force of a tidal wave. The Silence coating the constructs tried to eat the magic, instantly dissolving the outer layers of the shadow-sludge. But Pauline was a Magistra, and Tier Three magic was powerful enough to resist its effects, at least for a little while. The shadow seeped into the joints of the golems, into the vents, and into the exposed gears where Orion's debris strike had dented the plating.

Once inside, away from the Silence-hardened armor, the shadows solidified. The first golem jerked as its knee joint fused. It tried to take a step, but its internal servos screamed in protest, grinding against the solidified darkness until the drive shaft snapped. It toppled forward, face-planting into the rubble with a tremor that shook the floor. The second golem fared no better. The shadow-oil clogged its intake vents, causing the pale light in its chest to flicker and go out as the engine was overwhelmed.

Pauline fell to her knees, gasping for air within the safety of Orion's wind shell.

"That was unpleasant," she rasped, wiping a trail of black ichor from her lip.

"Their resistance is incredible. Tier Three magic on its own is already hard enough to cast, but these things really made me work for it."

"But it worked," Orion said, keeping his focus on the [Atmospheric Centrifuge].

"Tier Three magic can bypass the Silence coating, just as it can in its raw form. That's very good to know." Admittedly, the fact that a Magistra had to exhaust herself to disable two of the golems didn't bode well. They had no idea how many of these creatures were roaming around, but considering they were left on their own without any supervision, they couldn't have been very rare. It seems to be a pattern.

The Iron State must have a few elite units, considering the being that managed to control Behenien, and whoever first brewed the Silence, but their greatest strength is their sheer industrial capability. Everything Orion knew from history indicated that such a foe shouldn't be dismissed just because their base of operations was thousands of miles away. Cyril had nothing comparable to such a massive output, still being stuck in apprenticeships and guild systems.

The only reason he believed they had a chance was that they had some truly unfathomable old monsters on their side. Elara hurried to Pauline and cast a diagnostic spell.

"You strained yourself, but you are good to keep going, as long as you don't overdo it."

"It'll be fine," Pauline replied.

"It took a lot out of me because it was the first time I actually cast it. Now that I know what to expect, I'll be able to refine it and make it more efficient." Orion gave a knowing nod. Coming up with new spells mid-battle wasn't easy, and often, it backfired, using up too much mana.

They climbed over the wreckage of the fallen giants and continued their journey, only to discover that the tunnel now sloped sharply downward, as the brickwork was replaced by smooth stone that looked jarringly modern against the medieval architecture of the sewers. They continued cautiously for almost another half-hour until the tunnel ended, opening onto a metal catwalk. Orion stepped out, and his breath caught in his throat.

"By the Moon," Selene whispered. They weren't looking at a smuggling depot as he'd thought. No, they were dealing with a full-on industrial operation. The cavern was enormous, extending hundreds of yards into the earth. The ceiling was shrouded in darkness, but the floor was lit by harsh, alchemical floodlights that cast a sterile white glow over everything. Below them, massive vats of the silver Silence liquid bubbled and churned, fed by pipes that ran like arteries through the rock.

Conveyor belts hummed, moving raw iron plates and chassis along the line. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Such a production of the anti-magic liquid alone would have been enough to consider this a weapons of mass destruction depot. It was far above what they expected to find, given how minor the other operations they had uncovered so far had been. But it was the assembly area that sent a chill through Orion.

Rows of golems hung from racks like sides of beef. There were hundreds of them. Some were the larger steel men they had fought in the tunnel, but others were sleeker, smaller, built for speed and infiltration.

"Holy fuck," he cursed.

"This is an invasion force," Pauline said, gripping the railing.

"Built right under our nose." Orion's eyes scanned the floor. In the center of the facility, barely visible through the mist, a command deck rose above the vats. A figure stood there, reviewing a series of papers on a large brass table. He doubted it was Norman himself, since he was the public face of the operation, but with the Silence so thick in the air, he couldn't examine him to confirm his suspicion.

The man was dressed in a heavy, insulated suit made of a rubbery material and treated leather, with a brass helmet that oddly reminded him of a spacewalk. For a moment, Orion thought about attacking him. It was certain that this person would have valuable information, but then his good sense kicked in. They were in the middle of a golem factory. Although many looked half-finished and probably wouldn't be usable for a while, he didn't doubt that others had already been completed.

Considering how much effort it had taken to bring down a single patrol, he knew that any attempt to reach the man would be suicide. Still, he took a long look at the factory, memorizing as many details as possible so he could later recreate them with an illusion, and gestured for the others to step back.

"We got what we needed," he whispered.

"Let's go. We need to get to Alcmene as soon as possible. This calls for a full response from the Sanctum—" A high-pitched chime rang out through the cavern, freezing him in place. Down on the command deck, a bank of instruments flashed red. A mechanical eye mounted on the wall near the catwalk—a lens of glass and copper that emitted no mana—swiveled sharply, zooming in on their position despite the distance.

"Thermal sensors," Orion cursed.

"The wind shell is generating heat through its electrolysis." The Lieutenant on the command deck looked up, though he didn't appear surprised, and grabbed a speaking tube.

"Sector 4 breach," his voice boomed across the cavern, distorted by the amplifier.

"Activate the Centurion. Seal the exits."

"Run!" Orion shouted. He turned back toward the tunnel, but a heavy blast door slammed shut, sealing the way back and causing the catwalk to shake under its immense weight.

"Damn it," Pauline hissed, as shadows started gathering around her, growing more solid with each moment. Outside, it would have taken her but a second, but so deep within the tunnels and surrounded by the Silence, gathering mana was a complex endeavor. Below them, the factory floor started to shift. A section of the floor retracted, and a platform emerged from the depths. Standing on it was a golem that made the others look like toys. It was fifteen feet tall, with heavy armor plated in black iron.

One arm ended in a massive glaive, while the other held a cannon that glowed with the sickly green light of concentrated Silence.

"SIEGE UNIT: CENTURION. ACTIVATING." It boomed.

"We can't fight that," Elara said, panic rising in her voice.

"Orion, we can't fight that!" Orion looked at the blast door, then at the massive golem powering up, and finally at the Lieutenant, who was watching them with cold detachment, hovering near a lever. If we all stay here, there's a high chance we'll just die, and they'll be able to either continue as they were or disappear long before Mom finds my body. Someone needs to get the evidence out, and someone has to keep that Lieutenant from wiping the site. Orion's mind raced through the variables.

He didn't like their odds, but he was not the kind of man who would lie to himself, not about this. Elara and Selene were probably the ones with the best chance of getting out of the tunnels. He could recast his wind spell around them, though he wasn't sure how long it would last, and rely on Selene's foresight to keep them out of trouble, while trusting Elara's healing to help them continue if the spell failed.

He would fare better, as would Pauline, but that would leave the golems to face the two girls, and despite their skill, they would not last long enough to make their sacrifice meaningful.

"Pauline," Orion said calmly despite the rising dread he was feeling.

"Can you shadow-step three people through that blast door?"

"Through solid iron? No," Pauline said grimly.

"Not without a gap to the other side, and that thing is sealed tight. But I can probably get two people to the ventilation shaft up there." She pointed to a grate high on the cavern wall, near the ceiling.

"Do it," Orion ordered, pushing Selene toward her.

"Orion?" Selene asked, her eyes widening as she realized what he intended to happen.

"Take Elara," Orion said, turning to face the Centurion.

"Get to the surface and find Alcmene. We'll stall for as long as possible." Running the entire way, including Elara's healing, it would still take them twenty minutes to exit the tunnels and more time to get Alcmene's attention. He didn't say anything about it. There was no need to mention it since everyone already knew.

"You're staying," Elara realized, grabbing his arm.

"You can't. That thing will kill you! I should stay, you are much more valuable."

"It's probably slow given its size," Orion lied.

"Pauline and I will distract it. We'll capture that man and buy you time to come get us."

"Orion—""GO!" he roared, flaring his mana. He dropped the [Atmospheric Centrifuge] around the group and instantly recast it, splitting it into three. One sphere around himself and one around Pauline, each, and another, larger one around Selene and Elara. Pauline didn't argue. She grabbed the two younger women, and shadows surged around them.

"Don't die, Orion," Selene whispered, before being swallowed. Pauline shoved Selene and Elara toward the ventilation shaft, and the shadows carried them up the wall, materializing them on the other side just as the Centurion fired. BOOM. A bolt of green energy hit the catwalk where they had been standing seconds earlier, melting and twisting the metal. Orion and Pauline jumped from the collapsing walkway, landing on a pile of crates on the factory floor.

He adjusted his glasses and looked across the cavern at the enemy, who was now casually securing his files. He seemed to realize the base's location would be compromised, but he didn't worry much about the timing. I'd be more offended by this if I didn't share the same conclusion. There really isn't much hope for us to escape this. But I will make his life as hard as possible before I go.

"Pauline," Orion said as space warped above his open hand.

"You take the big guy for a little bit. I'm going to have a word with management." His bodyguard, who had shared numerous wild adventures with him and truly become his friend, grinned widely, baring her teeth in a pretty unhinged smile. Yet Orion couldn't fault her for it. He, too, was wearing a similar one.