Steel and Mana

Chapter 545 – Conference

By the time I walked into the meeting chamber, aboard the Camelot, the people whom I had invited for this meeting were already inside, talking through the latest event and the multiple waves of monsters that came our way. Sasha was at my side as I walked in, greeting them and sitting down at my spot, looking around the people present in the room. Seltana had some of the maps of the local part laid out, her fingers tracing the outline of the railway I proposed, connecting the other Passes, thinking over the viability and the rough drafts I drew up yesterday. Merlin, on the other hand, was lost in the review of magical formations that my children had sent over. It was all about their latest discoveries, as they were working in tandem with him, trying to make sure that we would have measures against Ignis or at least, a chance to ward off her possible influence. As for a 'new' face, it was Oleg, who arrived only a few hours ago, already familiarizing himself with his new task of taking command of the air force and the Eagle's Nest and looking over the 'harvesting reports' from the monster corpses littering the landscape from the previous battle. Lastly, there was Sa’Ith, invited to this meeting because I had to have one of the Vasas present as well.

“Let’s begin,” I said before Sasha could physically remove her, especially because she was giving me weird looks, I mean, Sa'Ith was... She looked... way out there, like someone who was high. “Let's start with the most important part that I am sure you all heard already: I made contact with Ignis's mind.”

"You did?" Merlin straightened as if his spine had suddenly become a lightning rod, making me think he just broke his own back with how fast he looked up, "Whoa! Something about you for sure makes you sensitive to these things... First Zah'Ratil, now Ignis?"

Still, it wasn't Merlin's reaction that was the sharpest, because Sa'Ith almost fell out of her chair before she stabilized herself, becoming frozen in place, looking at me with eyes twice their normal size.

“You…” she whispered as if I had just announced I’d... I don't know... That I managed to punch the sun at night or something. “You touched the mind of Ignis Primordia? Without being a pureblood? Without any gifts?! Just like that?! And you remained whole? Sane? Alive?!” By the end, she was partially screaming and heaving, gasping for air.

“It wasn't intentional,” I muttered, rubbing my temple, “but yes. She reached out as she was controlling that main beast, and then, it just clicked. Just like when I met with your previous Sect Master, it was involuntary. I am not in the mood for intercepting the thoughts of others, but it keeps happening.”

“You antagonized her,” Oleg chuckled, shaking his head, "Didn't you?"

“Antagonizing,” I glanced at him, pointing at myself, “is a flexible concept. I would say... I gave her some false and flawed ideas and concepts that she can overthink. Maybe even make her make some stupid mistakes.”

"Hmph," Sasha grunted. “Flexible is your skull, that's what... You linked minds with a bloody apocalypse-bringing creature with no plans...”

“I can't help it, I don't have a proper firewall installed in my mind,” I defended myself, for the hundredth time already.

“Yes, you can!” Sasha continued, "Arthur had one, Mikan knows how to add one... Yet you refuse to wear protection."

"I don't think that would have worked against Ignis," Merlin muttered, making Sa'Ith also nod.

“Anyway, I was improvising,” I shrugged, “But it should have a positive effect on us.”

“I will need a proper recount, Sovereign,” Seltana spoke up, making me nod. I had already prepared a written report and gave it to everyone present, knowing that they needed all the details they could get. Lucky for them, I have a good memory, so I had rewritten the whole experience, mentioning any and all details.

After reading it twice, her eyes scanning it, Sa’Ith leaned closer, her pupils wide, dilated in wonder, and something else... that made me think she was on drugs. Brr... Not even Yuri had ever looked at me like this... this was creepy!

“Sovereign Leon… Do you understand what you have done?"

"I told Ignis to fear me as a God." I answered, tilting my head, "She doesn't need to know I'm not one."

"You may be one..." She muttered, and I flinched because she wasn't joking, I think... "Only the Savior could ever stand before Ignis’s mind... He has the purity to not get corrupted or dominated by her... Zah’Ratil himself and every other Sect Master before him could only handle the beast when it was in its delirious, half-sleep state, forcing her back down to inactivity... Even then, Zah'Ratil had to link up with our minds to handle the strain... But you…” Her gaze lifted to my face, heat shimmering in her eyes, which made me lean back without thinking about it, “You spoke to her. You argued with her... Didn't you feel... anything?”

“She was surprised,” I answered after thinking about it. “Probably because she sensed something weird in my soul.”

"I bet!" At that, Sa’Ith’s breath skipped a second, “You didn't even feel it... Did you?”

"Feel what?" I snorted, crossing my arms. Please... just say it already.

"The natural pressure of Ignis's mind!" She answered, almost yelling, "How?! Ignis's soul is... unique! And dangerous... Yet you touched her and hadn't even suffered a backlash, nor did you get injured. You should be... dead!"

“Don’t you start,” Sasha warned her, "And you are saying this, knowing full well, you wanted my son to do the same thing?! Hah!"

"Your son, who hadn't even been allowed to meet us," She shot back, lifting her chin accusingly, "has every knowledge we have, and he has the natural ability to resist Ignis... You? Your husband?" She looked at me again, "Shouldn't..."

"Well, I'm me, so..." I wanted to skip the topic, but Sa’Ith didn’t stop. Instead, she turned to the room, spreading her arms slightly, telling everyone.

“You must all understand: our ancestors believed the Savior would be one singular soul, the one who could sever the chains of the Primordia that is wrapped around all of my people! It is something that connects my people to her via blood... The Savior would have been washed clean by the passing time... and they would be resistant to her control. The Savior is someone whose mind could meet Ignis’s without breaking, bending, or being frightened. One that could dominate hers instead...” Then, her eyes snapped back to me, glowing in crimson fire, “Yet here stands... The Sovereign... A half blood of the Vasas...."

"Are you insulting me or what?" I looked at her with slanted eyes, twitching the edge of my lip.

"No." She shook her head, "I am revering your soul, Sovereign... You do deserve that title, and I am willing to bow and spread my–"

"Fuck off!" Sasha almost choked, finally shutting her down, slapping her hand on the table, “Oh, absolutely not!”

“She may be right,” Merlin muttered.

"Shut your mouth, you little twerp!" Sasha snapped at him at once, but Merlin remained unfazed.

"I meant Leon’s soul. Indeed, his signature is… abnormal." He smiled, looking at me and Sasha, "We now know for sure that it doesn’t obey the same logic patterns as ours. Which can mean he is pretty much immune to Ignis's controlling magic.”

“That doesn’t make him a Savior,” Sasha mumbled, “It makes him Leon.”

“Leon is a Savior,” Sa’Ith said calmly. “I can see it now. We have more than one... We have the chance to save everyone!”

"Get a fucking tissue..." Sasha’s teeth clenched together as she hissed at her, “Your people also want to breed him like a prize stallion...”

“A compliment to his vigor,” Sa’Ith answered smoothly. "But I should be the first."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay, stop!" I put up my hands, “All right, we’re drifting away from the topic of this meeting! Now... Now... Let’s talk strategy.”

Seltana, thank the gods, seized the opportunity before Sasha and Sa’Ith staged a duel, right there and then, with my dick being the prize for first place.

“If this is correct, she now has some fear and doubt planted in her,” Seltana murmured, tapping her finger against my written report, “That gives us leverage.”

"Mhm," Oleg nodded slowly, “Fear means she recognizes us, or at least the Sovereign, as a threat. If she fears his soul, then she will hesitate, which we can use if we place him accordingly to our battle plans.”

“Haaah... Please do so,” I shrugged. “If that gives us an opportunity to lure her into a trap or make her do something stupid, we must capitalize on that.”

"There is more to that," Merlin spoke up again, clearly settling on an idea.

"Yes?" I asked, watching him, his eyes going left to right in rapid succession before stopping.

"If your soul, mind, or whatever is immune to her, that means you have something that naturally cancels her effect. We all know her thing comes through blood, through magic, so it has to be a wavelength, same as all magic. We just need to use what Arthur, Galahad, and Fila are working on and introduce yours into the plans and equations, and then... we will have measures against her control."

“If that is possible,” I nodded, “But we need more than guesswork. Sa’Ith?”

“Yes, Sovereign?” She asked so sweetly I almost shivered, but held it back.

“Do you have any way to inspect me? My soul that is.”

"Leon!" Sasha snorted, but I just raised a hand. It was better to experiment on me than on my son.

“I can,” she exhaled, “And I must. You are touching a being older than your recorded history... Even if you are resistant, next time, if you approach her mind without preparation, even your soul may vanish. But with the right mental training, strengthening, including our ancient techniques, you can redirect the influence, turn her aggression against herself, and magnify your presence... Or more. This is what Zah'Ratil was teaching to the Savior...”

“Damned vixen bitch,” Sasha muttered, "I am going to be there, making sure it's all about that and not your hole getting filled."

“You are welcome to observe,” Sa’Ith nodded. “We can start, whenever.”

"Um," Oleg lifted a hand. “Before we sign the Sovereign up for soul-training, can we talk about the plans to connect the other Passes?”

"Naturally," I cleared my throat, but Merlin wasn't listening anymore; instead, he sat down with Sa'Ith, whispering and talking about souls... well... if anybody, Merlin has the most knowledge about that topic amongst us all. "So, did you two review it?"

"Yes," Oleg and Seltana exchanged a glance before answering me.

"The easiest path would be starting with Markoth." Oleg continued, "We can send resources to them from back home, and they can also start building it while we begin from this end. I vote for the elevated railway, which will help deal with the snow in the wintertime."

"We can also speed-build it," Seltana nodded.

"Like?" Sasha asked, surprised to hear it put that way.

"We can use premade pieces. Assemble them here or in Avalon, deliver them to the site, and just put them up. I mean, we could shape the struts, put the railway on top, and make it into one big piece, like Krel does with his toys. He has multiple sets that only need assembly," she explained, "Then we transport it where it's needed, put it down, connect it, and bring the next piece. We don't need the workers out and about, putting them in danger... We just need one of our airships to carry it to the place and our engineers to fix it to the mountain."

"That does sound intriguing," I nodded, smiling because I didn't think about it that way... "Good idea."

"We can start on it almost right away, too." Oleg agreed, nodding his head.

"I am not going to say no. Do it." I answered at once, giving them the permission to handle it as they see fit, "Report to me if there is a big issue or it's done; otherwise, I trust your work." I added as I looked back at Sa'Ith and Merlin, who were still talking, "I will have to... Focus on another thing, it seems."