Chapter 340: Preparations

Cyris knelt several paces behind an imposing man with long golden hair tied neatly at his back, the weight of his presence alone enough to make the very air within the hall feel heavy, pressing down on her shoulders like an invisible pressure she had long since learned not to resist. 

This was Kryx, known among the gods by the far older title of Oracle, one of the ancient Dragon Gods whose name had faded into little more than legend over the passing millennia, spoken now only in hushed reverence by those old enough to remember what he had once been to this world. 

He and the others bound alongside him had only revived a few hours prior, their long imprisonment finally broken after ages of silent confinement, and the first thing the Godkings had done upon regaining their strength was set out in search of the human gods responsible for their betrayal. But Kryx was in possession of knowledge no other Godkings were privy to. He turned his head slightly, addressing Cyris without fully facing her, his deep voice carrying easily through the quiet hall despite its low volume. "Is that all that happened till now?"

"Yes, Lord Kryx," Cyris answered, bowing her head lower, before a flicker of hesitation crossed her expression, a question she clearly wasn't certain she should even voice aloud. She held her tongue for a moment, weighing the risk of speaking out of turn, before curiosity finally won out over caution. "Lord... Kryx. Was it wise to let that human learn from the Book of Codice? In such a short span of time, he's become powerful enough to kill Major Gods..."

Kryx said nothing for several long seconds, his golden gaze drifting toward some distant point beyond the hall's ancient walls, as though carefully weighing exactly how much of his reasoning was worth sharing with her. 

The Book of Codice, after all, wasn't some ordinary relic to be handed out on a whim. It stood as one of the World's Will's greatest creations, a treasure holding the entirety of Thyrandel's accumulated knowledge within its pages, every technique, every rune, every fragment of hard won understanding painstakingly gathered and preserved across countless ages. 

That such a book existed at all was reason enough for most gods to guard it jealously, hoarding its secrets for their own bloodlines and favored disciples. That a human, of all beings, had been granted access to it bordered on unthinkable to anyone who didn't understand the full picture behind that decision. 

"Do you really believe," Kryx finally said, with a faint, knowing smile at the edge of his mouth, "that it was the Book of Codice that made him this powerful?"

Cyris blinked, genuine confusion crossing her otherwise composed face. "Was it not because of the book, my lord?"

Kryx let out a low, mirthful chuckle, the sound rumbling pleasantly through the otherwise silent hall and momentarily easing the heaviness that had settled over the conversation. "The knowledge within the Book of Codice may have helped guide his journey," he said, "but it was never the deciding factor in his survival, nor his strength. I merely gave him the book so that he might have a means to protect those he cared about, nothing more." 

He paused, considering his next words carefully, his expression growing distant again as though recalling some memory only he could see. "There were only two possible futures laid out before this world when I made that choice. One where it crumbled into ruin, consumed entirely by the fires of vengeance. And one where it had a genuine chance to prosper despite everything working against it. Choosing between the two was never particularly difficult, even knowing the risk involved."

"Is he truly that powerful, my lord?" Cyris asked, unable to fully mask the disbelief still lingering in her voice, her mind struggling to reconcile the image of an ordinary human with the scale of what her lord was describing.

Kryx nodded gravely, all traces of humor fading from his expression entirely. "I don't know the exact reason behind his strength," he admitted, a rare note of uncertainty coloring his usually confident tone. "But whatever it is, it lies well beyond anything even we could have imagined, and I have lived long enough to imagine quite a great deal." 

He turned to face her fully then, his golden eyes sharp and focused once more, the weight of command settling back into his posture. "Prepare for battle. The demons are growing restless, and it won't be long before they act. When that day comes, I want every one of our forces ready to meet them."

Cyris rose to her feet and bowed deeply, her earlier hesitation replaced entirely by resolve. "As you command, my lord." With that, she turned and left the hall, her footsteps fading quickly.

…

Around a table in Avalon, Arthur sat alongside Selene, Steve, and Eveline, the four of them deep in discussion over what the coming days might mean for both Avalon and Thyrandel as a whole. Holographic maps and reports were displayed at the middle of the table, detailing the demon’s  movements to the last known positions of the recalled Church forces, though most of it had grown steadily less relevant as the conversation wore on. 

With Major God level demons expected to begin their assault anytime now, the conversation had circled repeatedly back to one central priority above all else, keeping Avalon secure no matter what unfolded beyond its borders. After weighing their options at length, they had settled on a cautious approach for the time being, observing the early battles from a distance before deciding whether and when direct intervention became necessary.

Still, Arthur had no intention of simply sitting back while innocent people died within reach of his help, watching from the safety of Avalon while the rest of Thyrandel burned. Turning to Steve, he asked him to begin procuring as many mana stones as possible from neighboring kingdoms, stockpiling resources for a project he had already been quietly planning out in his head for some time. 

His intention was to construct an army of bots using magitech, a fusion of advanced science and runic formations that he had spent considerable time refining ever since arriving in this world. With his current capabilities, he was confident he could mass-produce units at the demigod level, churning them out far faster than any being could hope to grow their own strength. 

They wouldn't match true demigods in raw individual power, lacking the domains that came naturally to demigods who had earned their strength through genuine struggle, but with enough of them working together in coordinated numbers, they would still prove more than capable of overwhelming actual demigods on the battlefield.

Once the meeting concluded, Arthur made his way toward the factory responsible for producing Avalon's guard bots, intent on repurposing the entire facility for this new venture without delay. Upon arrival, he wasted no time dismantling the existing production lines, tearing down years of established infrastructure to make room for the specialized units he needed instead, machinery capable of forging the shells for this new generation of bots he had in mind. 

Sparks flew and metal groaned as entire sections of the old assembly floor came apart under his influence, replaced piece by piece with different configurations. The work stretched on for nearly six hours, his focus unwavering as he rebuilt the factory from the ground up, until he finally sensed a familiar presence landing somewhere behind him, heavy enough to send a faint tremor through the floor.

He turned, and a genuine smile spread across his face at the sight that greeted him. "You've grown a lot, big guy."

It was the Element-M golem, the one he had first discovered back on Trakuun-5 what felt like a lifetime ago, though calling it merely a golem felt increasingly inadequate given everything he now understood about what Element-M actually represented. 

He had clearly underestimated it back then, who would have thought Element-M was the source matter of an universe and the golem was entirely made out of it, so it was something far more special than he previously thought. 

The creature stood nearly ten meters tall, and while its height hadn't changed much since their last meeting, the raw energy radiating from its form had grown to something approaching the threshold of a Minor God, a staggering leap in power for something that had started as little more than an inert lump of crystal and stone. 

As Arthur watched, the golem's massive frame rippled and shrank rapidly, condensing and reshaping itself into the form of a sleek crystal cat before leaping gracefully onto his shoulder, its weight surprisingly light despite everything he now knew it was capable of.

Arthur raised an eyebrow, genuinely caught off guard. "Oh... you can shapeshift now?" He reached up and patted its head affectionately, the small feline form pressing eagerly into his palm with obvious contentment, a low purr already building in its chest. "Now that I think about it, I never actually gave you a proper name, did I?" 

The people of Avalon had taken to affectionately calling it the Crystal Knight over the past months, a title that had spread naturally through word of mouth, but it had always struck Arthur as lacking any real personal warmth, more a description of what it looked like than an actual name someone would use for a friend. He thought about it for a long moment, tapping his chin thoughtfully while the cat-shaped golem watched him with obvious anticipation. "Hmm... how about Rocky?"

The golem, now officially christened Rocky, let out a contented purr and rubbed its head firmly against Arthur's cheek in obvious approval, its small body practically vibrating with satisfaction. Arthur laughed, the sound warm and genuine, some of the day's earlier tension finally easing from his shoulders. "Haha, I take it you like it."

Before he could say anything further, a voice cut in from the side, dripping with sarcasm. "Real creative there, aren't you?"

Arthur turned to find Selene approaching alongside Steve, and immediately raised his voice in mock defense of his naming choice, already anticipating exactly where this was headed. "Hey! What's wrong with the name? Rocky clearly likes it, look at him."

Selene rolled her eyes, scoffing lightly as she came to a stop beside him, with her arms crossed. "I'm never letting you name our kids..." The words left her mouth before her brain fully caught up with what she'd just said, and the realization hit her a half-second too late, right as she remembered exactly whose company they were currently standing in. 

Her cheeks flushed a deep, crimson almost instantly, the color spreading rapidly up to the tips of her ears, and without another word she vanished from the spot entirely, teleporting away so quickly that she only heard the starting of the loud, unrestrained laughter from Steve, who had clearly caught every word.

Arthur stood there awkwardly in the wake of her sudden departure, unsure of what to say or where to even look, Rocky still perched innocently on his shoulder and seemingly oblivious to the sudden shift in atmosphere. 

Steve eventually managed to rein in his laughter, wiping genuine tears from the corners of his eyes as he slowly composed himself. "That's actually not a bad idea," he said, a wide, knowing grin still tugging at his lips. "You two have been together long enough now. Maybe it really is time for me to become a great grandfather." 

He let out an exaggerated, theatrical sigh, shaking his head slowly and pressing a hand dramatically against his chest. "I'm getting old, you know. Who knows how many more years I have left in me."

Arthur stared at him, utterly dumbfounded by the sheer audacity of that statement, while thinking 'Dude, you don't look a year older than twenty five. You want me to believe you are becoming old.' He wisely chose to keep that particular thought to himself, however, unwilling to give Steve any further ammunition after the disaster that had just unfolded. 

Instead, he busied himself with the almost finished production units, doing his absolute best to focus entirely on the machines in front of him and avoid the increasingly pointed, expectant look Steve was still leveling in his direction, Rocky purring contentedly against his neck the whole time.

***

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