Dark Fate, Chapter 207

Chapter 207 – Annihilation Beam

The shuttle came quickly enough, along with our fighter escorts. However, they were ill-suited to facing a Giant Kraken. Oh, not because their Tier 1 weapons would be ineffective. While there would be some reduction in efficiency, the System scaled vehicle weapons differently from swords or spellwork. The latter worked more closely with a user’s stats, while the vehicle weapons worked more off the power available to the vehicle. Unless you had a cheating ability like my [Legendary Resilience] power, even a Tier 3 wasn’t just shaking off the effects of the Hunters’ blasters to the face.

No, the problem was with the idea of ‘time on target’. The Hunters were fearsome weapons… on the move. While they had limited hover capability, that was mainly a takeoff and landing thing, and not something they could easily do in combat. And, if they stopped to hover, they couldn’t immediately get back to combat speed or maneuverability, making them sitting ducks for even basic ranged attacks.

Basically, it was the same issue that jet fighters started to see, when going against propeller-driven planes. Yes, they had instruments and weapons to hit from further out, and could reach speeds that the prop-driven planes would never be able to manage, but if you didn’t get a missile hit from long-range, there were problems. The prop planes were nimbler, and could easily fly at speeds that would cause a jet to risk stalling out if they tried it. Worse, a pilot’s reflexes would be used to fighting planes of similar caliber to their own, meaning that they had to work harder at properly leading their shots into a fighter’s path, while the time they had to line up a shot was reduced to seconds.

Still, the fighters would be a good deterrence, just in case someone sneaky tried to intervene and help the Kraken. I doubted it, unless this was a grand plan to try and assassinate me, but it was possible. But I didn’t believe I, personally, was the target of this.

No, it was more likely to be a way to try and destabilize the new alliance. Wreck the canal with a sea monster powerful enough that either you have tons of people die, or we have to use pulse torpedoes on things. And it gives other countries an excuse to send ‘aid workers’ and ‘security forces’ to help restore the canal to functionality. Honestly, it was a simple plan, and easy enough to see through. But I didn’t dislike straightforward ‘hit them in the teeth’ types of plans.

“Master, I have a question,” Mhyreth said, once we were in the shuttle. “This has to be an attack of some kind, but how are they controlling the kraken?”

I sighed, and said, “There’s two main options. The first is that they made some kind of device, or some kind of curse or magical control, forcing the being to move. However, the supplements that forcibly rank-up a creature tend to remove most compulsions, so they would have to have been re-applied to a Tier 3 creature, which is not easy. More importantly, that is something that could potentially be traced back to the source, which is why I doubt that is the case. People know what I do when I am able to track my enemies back to the source, after all.

“No,” I shook my head softly, “the more likely option is the second possibility. Someone found a kraken nest, stole an egg, forced the supplements into the kraken, and used the beast’s young as a lure. Which means that, somewhere in the canal, a kraken egg is waiting to hatch. Possibly more than one.”

Harahel scowled. “Meaning that, even if we manage to destroy the Giant Kraken, in weeks or months juveniles may emerge, and begin hunting the waters in and around the canal. And, if memory serves, kraken always return to the waters they birthed in to lay their eggs, like some species of fish. Dealing with the canal will be a constant headache and drain of resources, without the ones behind this needing to lift a finger, correct?”

“Very good, Harahel,” I nodded. “Which is why I am hoping that there is something nice and simple, like a massively powerful [Slave Collar] capable of enslaving a Tier 3 creature. But I doubt it. I’ve looked on the System Shop, and those items are… not easily obtained.”

“Your Majesty, we are approaching the target area. What are your orders?”

I smiled as the pilot’s voice came in over the intercom. Pressing the button to respond, I said, “A Giant Kraken is primarily a melee attacker, but the do have limited water-based attacks. Keep to an altitude and distance of at least one thousand meters, make sure the shields stay up, and be ready to maneuver. Let our escort know that they are to run area interference, keeping any other craft out of our area of operations until this is finished.”

“Understood, sir. Anything we can do to help?”

“Use the ion cannons, if you get a line on them. While they won’t damage the Giant Kraken, the charge will have a stun effect on anyone or anything in the water. Probably only a second or two for each blast, with something that size, and of that tier, but it is something. Oh, and make sure the cameras are rolling. I want everyone to see what true attack magic looks like when you get out of Tier 1.”

“Will do, sir. Rogue Leader reporting that scanners have detected the Giant Kraken, dead ahead, but submerged. They confirm all sensors recording.”

“A couple blast from the ion cannons to draw it to the surface, if you please. We’ll be exiting the shuttle so that we can fly freely, and you won’t need to watch your maneuvers. Good hunting, pilot.”

“Good hunting, your Majesty!”

I looked back to the others as I opened the side door of the VIP version of the Outlaw. The shields were up, so there was no sensation of the wind blowing past, even at this speed. That would change once we slipped outside the shield bubble, of course.

“All right, game plan. I’ll play tank, using cursed hellfire blasts to draw its attention. I won’t be doing much damage to it, but the wounds will be painful, and the burns won’t go away, even if the creature’s regeneration recovers the HP lost. If I get a chance, I’ll cut it with my scythe, as well.”

“That is an extremely dangerous task you’ve chosen, Master,” Harahel said, surprise evident in her voice.

“But necessary, since we just need to buy time. Mhyreth, you are going to dump all your power into [Annihilation Amplifier]. Harahel, you’re going to take your most powerful destructive spells, and dump them into that.”

Both women sucked in a breath as they realized what I was planning. One of Mhyreth’s abilities, as a Mistress of Destruction, was [Annihilation Amplifier], which created a magic circle that could absorb any spells launched into it, and then turn them into a single, devastating attack. The base mechanics of the array was to take the sum damage of all the spells launched into it, and then multiply it by the product of the Mistress of Destruction’s INT, WIS, CHA, and the amount of MP used on the [Annihilation Amplifier]. Better still, the resulting effect was counted as being in the same Tier as the highest-leveled caster involved, even if they weren’t the Mistress of Destruction.

The Mistress of Destruction had potent magical attacks on their own, of course, but it was this ability that had them listed as a ‘siegebreaker’ class. There were ritual magic attacks that were less powerful than what a Mistress of Destruction could bring together, with enough spellcasters aiding her. Of course, such power did not come without cost. After using [Annihilation Amplifier], the Mistress of Destruction could not cast spells until dawn of the next day, even if she had the MP for it. Meaning she’d be vulnerable to any enemies that survived, or to a traitor’s knife in the back. However, with reliable allies around her, a Mistress of Destruction could end battles and change the tide of entire wars in a single moment.

Add to that the power of a Tier 3 Sorceress of the Seven Celestial Spires, all condensed into the most destructive spells she could manage? The [Annihilation Amplifier] would take all that power, and unleash an attack that would cause even the most insane berserker to shit themselves in terror. I knew that I wasn’t going to be anywhere remotely close to the blast, if I could help it.

Scythe in hand, I wreathed it in hellfire, just to add extra damage, before jumping backwards out of the shuttle. Despite my stats, and all my abilities, I knew I wouldn’t be able to kill this thing on my own. However, most creatures dislike being on fire, and cutting creatures tended to make them angry. Angry was predictable. Predictable was controllable. Controllable meant that they would be right where I wanted them, when I wanted them there, just in time for the killing blow.

I fell through the air, picking up speed. Two brilliant blue bolts of light cracked the sky, hitting the water below. As expected, a giant, squidlike creature breached the surface, tentacles flailing as the shock coursed through it. The main body looked at least thirty meters long, with the tentacles adding at least a hundred meters to its length. As reported, each of the two main tentacles was almost five meters in width, with hooks and suckers on their length to grab and hold prey of all sorts.

I was unafraid, though, as I spread my wings to pull out of my dive without sacrificing all my speed. Those tentacles were big, and powerful, it was true, but so were a human’s arms when compared to a mosquito, and everyone knew how hard it was to hit a mosquito in flight with your bare hand. I didn’t need to beat this monster. I just needed to not lose until Mhyreth’s preparations were done.

I swooped in, and raked one tentacle with my scythe in passing. The blade cut, but barely more than a scratch. The hellfire did more damage, charring the flesh, but even that was reduced in effectiveness. Not that I cared about the overall effect. The cursed wounds did not close. They didn’t bleed, either, showing that the Giant Kraken did have some kind of regenerative powers, but the curse meant that the wound was left behind. It would have to heal ‘naturally’. As if it would get the time for that.

The main body thrashed in the water, as the beast let out a screeching roar of pain and anger. The tentacles lashed out, faster than something that large ought to be, but I was too small, and too quick. I angled for the main body, and saw a target. A bolt of hellfire struck the Giant Kraken in its eye. Not enough to blind it permanently, perhaps, but enough that it would be seriously hating life for a bit. If it was capable of that kind of emotion. I didn’t actually know where Giant Krakens fell on the chart of sapience and sentience. Didn’t much care at the moment, either.

A jet of water flew up, trying to swat me from the sky, but I managed to avoid it. That would be the Giant Kraken’s water magic. More jets came at me, and the tentacles tried to smash me. I focused on evasion and defense, slashing with my scythe when I could, firing a bolt of hellfire at anything that looked vulnerable when I had a chance, and just generally being a menace. None of what I was doing was actually getting close to killing the thing, but without a doubt all of its attention was on me.

Fortunately, it was a beast. An overgrown beast, but a beast all the same. Its attacks were instinctive and reactive, rather than planned and trained. Which meant that it was simply a matter of time, as the fight continued. Any time the creature looked as though it were about to try and run away, or descend into the depths, the shuttle blasted it with the ion cannons. When water jets attacked the shuttle, I drew the beast’s attention once more.

“Master, we’re ready.”

I smiled as Mhyreth’s reply came through our link as Master and Familiar. I unleashed one last bolt of hellfire at the beast’s uninjured eye, hoping to distract it just a bit as I turned and flew straight up, towards the massive array of red, black, and gold forming in the air, where Mhyreth and Harahel were. With a radius of twenty meters, it was no understatement to say that it was the largest magical array I’d ever seen, in this timeline or the others, without the use of ritual magic. And the power in that thing frightened me, which I took as a sign that I hadn’t completely lost touch with reality. Anyone who wasn’t frightened by that sight was either someone with a death wish, or was so stupid that their death would raise the collective IQ of those who remained by at least fifty points.

Two kilometers in the air, I joined my pets as they hovered over the array, looking down at the Giant Kraken. Harahel’s face was a mix of awe and terror at the sight of the array, knowing full well what it meant. Mhyreth, on the other hand, had a gleeful look that spoke volumes on how she’d gotten the Mistress of Destruction class in the first place. They both glanced my way. They were waiting for my command, and so I gave it. “Do it.”

“Yes!” Mhyreth cried, happily, before looking back to the array. “[Annihilation Array: Release]! [Annihilation Beam]!”

Upon her first command, the array stopped gathering energy, and stood poised to release it all in a cataclysmic explosion, like a reactor reaching critical mass. Before the array could erupt, however, the second command came, giving form and function to the energy, directing it into a twenty-meter radius beam of pure death and devastation. The ocean BOILED, and the Giant Kraken simply ceased to be, every bit of its main body caught in the beam’s path.

Some quick, back of the napkin math said that single attack would be doing damage in the range of the high trillions, possibly the low quadrillions, to anything and everything in its path. Was it overkill? Certainly. But this was a statement, more than anything. The message? Those who attacked Ceres and their allies did so at their peril.