Steel and Mana

Chapter 551 – Ignis (1)

The Camelot was currently outside of the Pass, about two to three kilometers from the Pride, in a steady hover above the previously flat grassland. It was no longer actually flat, as the previous bombardments it received had created multiple craters, which would also be one of the perfect disguises for our trap that we were setting. It was still a bit closer than I would have liked it, but there were multiple reasons for it. For once, I didn't want to go too far from the Pride, in case of an attack, and get caught with my pants down. The other was that if we manage to do what we were planning, someone will have to reach it and activate it... And if we put it too far out, that may become something impossible to do.

Looking down from the outside, observational platform, below us, my people were moving around like hamsters on cocaine and coffee, as we were doing this as fast as possible. My eyes kept drifting toward the center of the clearing, where Arthur, Merlin, and Sa'Ith were bent over the ground, carving the final pieces of the anti-magic formation into a slab that was going to be hidden inside one of the artillery-made craters. After it was done, it would be hidden away, and for the last rune to slot into place would be nothing else than the activating mage to stand on it, form it, and... bam. It would envelop the surrounding area in a hopefully large enough size to make sure Ignis is crippled or dead.

"You're staring too hard," Sasha murmured, walking up beside me. "You'll burn a hole in their formation with your eyes alone."

"Says you?" I smiled as she was also looking down, barely blinking.

"I am his mother, I can be worried."

"And I can't?" I glanced at her, watching her smile.

"One of us has to be strong and supportive. We can't let him think we both are worried!" She sighed as she leaned on the railing next to me, her long red hair flowing down her back, "I just want to be over with it. Without issues..."

"I'm making sure Merlin doesn't trip and fall face-first into it," I joked a little, rubbing her back, "Don't worry, it will be over."

"Better be..." she muttered back.

Silently, we watched a moment longer as Arthur stepped back and inspected the pattern, wiping sweat from his forehead with all the focus he put into it, making the formation, and explaining not only to Sa'Ith but all the other Vasas watching it being done.

"This is unfair..." Sasha's voice softened as she said it, almost pouting.

"Unfair?" I asked, raising a brow in question.

"I still dislike Sa'Ith."

"I know."

"But I don't want her to die." Well... that was surprising, "She might sacrifice herself," she continued, her gaze now locked on Sa'Ith's silhouette below us, "She's reckless... Determined... Annoying... And she believes this is her responsibility... Or her redemption. I can respect that, but I don't want it. It is a stupid death..."

"Maybe..." I exhaled slowly. "I don't like it either. But I am not going to say no if any of them choose to do it." I know it was a bit heartless thing to say, but it was reality. "If someone has to be sacrificed… I'm glad the Vasas volunteered first."

"That..." She closed her mouth, considering what to say, but I said it for her.

"I'm not eager to lose my wives, sons, or friends, Sasha," I said, being firm about my decision. "I think the Vasas also understand that, and if you ask them, they may very well agree with me. I'm selfish like that."

"..."

"They came to us asking to save them… And well, everyone else, after bringing Ignis into the world. I won't lie, but if we look at it that way, they owe the whole universe a debt because of it! And they know it, too."

She didn't argue against that; instead, she just breathed out through her nose, the way she does when she's unhappy but also understands that I am right about it. As if hearing us, down below, Sa'Ith raised her head, feeling like she was looking at us, even if I couldn't make out her face, but then she turned back to Arthur, and they continued their work.

"If she dies… I won't celebrate it." Sasha said suddenly, shaking her head.

"Yeah," I nodded, "Same."

Just then, I was about to say something when I felt a sense of... familiarity. And danger.

"…Sasha?" I murmured, twitching my eyes.

"Hm?" She looked at me, but after seeing my expression, her hand snapped to her comms. "Bridge, send out a ping! Give us a report!"

"Ping spike!" Kustov's voice came back through the channel a moment later, making both of us flinch. "It is coming from the forest and..."

"What is it?!" she snapped at him.

"Contact! Multiple! A whole storm of signatures and they are moving fast!"

"Bring everyone up! We are out of time!" She yelled as the Camelot began dropping the ropes to reel in the people below, while I looked towards the distance... And there, just beyond the trees, I could feel it. It wasn't Ignis, but it was the same prickling sensation when beasts are coming. A moment later, multiple trees were simply pushed aside like a curtain as a wave of movement burst through the forest, dozens of shapes, quickly turning into hundreds.

"Almost everyone is on board!" Kustov said, bringing me out of my temporary stupor.

"Bring us back to the Pride," I joined in, giving an order, "Son?"

"I'm here," Arthur replied, a bit out of breath, "We are done, but we hadn't had a chance to review it..."

"Better than nothing," Sa'Ith joined in on it, "If worst case comes to pass, your people can activate it at the Pride. Don't think about our losses, just make sure Ignis dies. That is what matters."

"If I have no more options," I answered simply, telling her that if it indeed comes to that... I will give the order.

"Good..." She muttered, "Our bloodline will survive as you already made sure of that... we can die in peace, knowing we made right of what our ancestors had done to this world."

...

....

.....

Ignis, still far away from the frontlines, currently crouched at the throat of her volcano, her claws constantly scraping the basalt edge of it, leaving deep grooves in the rocks. Her wings trembled with small, involuntary spasms and twitches while her breath came in short, sharp bursts... and it was not from excitement. This time, in her anger and haughtiness... She realized too late that she had gone a bit too far.

"So many…" she hissed between clenched teeth, forcing her eyes to stay focused, even as her pupils dilated and contracted like they couldn't pick a shape to stay in. Sometimes her left and right eyes saw different things, moving independently... sometimes she felt like someone was poking it with a needle. "Useless little beasts… obey… obey!"

Hearing her own voice being so unstable, occasionally squeaky, made her twitch even more, and she was angry about everything. Thanks to her quest to gather everything under the sun, commanding the entire forest, she finally found her limits... She just cursed everybody else for not warning her about it.

It was too much... Far too much.

Now, everything she had conquered was echoing inside her mind, their weird instincts, their basic desires. At the first hundred of such creatures, there was no issue; she could break them and wipe them clean. But then it bloated to two hundred... three... four... A thousand. By then, she no longer had the same power to wipe them out, and instead of a proper leash, she just... threw a loose lasso around their minds, without pulling on it. Currently, all their thoughts crashed against hers like standing in a busy square in the middle of a riot, everyone screaming, screeching, yelling, while her own voice was hard to find and hard to raise above the constant clamoring. She was getting lost in each of their weird instincts, each hungry snarl, pulse of fear, and in their stupidity, echoing back into her mind. It was as if they were physically rattling her bones.

"Silence," she groaned, pressing both paws to her head, trying to keep her head from spinning, "Just go and attack them and stop trying to think!"

What she didn't realize was that this was precisely how the Vasas reacted when they realized Ignis was gaining her sentience. Only, in her case, this 'panic' came from the fact that there were thousands of beasts, none of them truly aware, none of them disciplined, giving feedback to her mind, all at once. Each one was a tiny spark of instinct, screaming at her from the corners of their own, tiny brains... and maybe, just maybe, gaining their own comprehension of themselves. Or they would have, if not for Ignis pushing them into their own death.

"Shut up! Go and fight!" She growled, yet their answers were mixed and came from all directions.

Hunger.

Fear.

Pain.

Fight.

Run.

Find shelter.

Eat the nearest thing.

Follow the scent.

Eat.

EAT.

EAT!

"STOP YELLING!" she yelled herself, not realizing that she wasn't hearing them shout or roar; it was simply their straightforward desires, the same things she had in the past, going on and on in a loop.

By reflex, her wings flared open, nearly losing her balance, keeping her steady as she gasped for air, regaining a semblance of control, realizing her eyes were filled with tears for some reason. The moment she did, she blinked the heat from those tears away, violently shaking her head and snorting a strong whistle of steam from her nostrils.

"I am their Mother!" she panted, staggering forward and jumping off her volcano, "I am their MOTHER. They must listen to me! They will listen to me!"

With another command, she pushed out, trying to make a unified order hit all the thousands of mids, but her tail was still twitching behind her in frantic, catlike jerks she couldn't really control. All the stress on her mind was also affecting her body, as her muscles felt heavy and sluggish, as if the weight of all those monsters was holding her down physically.

Zah'Ratil would have known, a small voice whispered deep inside her, telling her that the bastard would have probably known that there is a limit... And if he knew, why didn't she? She should have realized it... In the end, Ignis just hissed and crushed that thought immediately. There are already too many thoughts in her head; she didn't need that one extra to also start annoying her.

Fear!

Ignis swayed on her feet when the collective wave of new feelings hit her, and she felt that a surge of her controlled monsters winked out of existence all of a sudden. Fighting back against it, she forced her wings to extend fully, stretching them to their limits, eyes closed, seeing flashes of fire, explosions, and dozens of creatures under her control dying in the flames.

"Keep going!" she snarled again, realizing that if the Vasas trim the numbers she had taken over, they will only help her with it, "All of you... march! You will crush the Vasas and tear down everything they have built!"

Trying to keep the constant fear the beasts were transmitting back to her under control, she staggered toward the volcano, her wings flickering with every step. She hated how clumsy she felt, how her limbs felt mismatched to her body as if they didn't belong to her or she had way too many of them... or too few.

"No..." She grunted, realizing it was simply dysmorphia, due to the many differences within her horde and the shapes of the monsters she had conquered. "I need less..."

She knew she only had to wait a little more. With the horde rushing towards the Vasas, they will kill them, exhaust themselves, and the moment she gets everything under control, she will step forward.

"Yes..." she muttered, her body still trembling, "Patience..."

She just needed a little more time. That's all. Let them waste their energies, trimming her minions' numbers. In the end, she will win, because the moment she steps forward, not even their flying metal monsters will be able to stop her wrath.