30 An angry ex-god?

We are back inside the royal palace and watching a big screen with the information, my drones are gathering.

I took the screen with me and set it up in the living room. Too bad that there is no television in this world …. yet. It's way more convenient than to have more people inside my lab.

Margerie has taken the small computer with her. I am sure she will start to spread a new wave of technology pretty soon.

"This looks bad. What happened to all the people?" Arthur is talking to himself for quite a while now. I can't hold it against him.

"They haven't relocated to other cities. We should be able to spot a change then." Ireth comments and sits down on the couch.

"What do you need so many materials and people for? And how many are missing?" -Katrine

"I think there should have been a few hundred thousand at least? After all we are talking about four big cities."

"The material can be used for magic circuits, rune magic, magic circles. The people ….. regarding the fact that a few cities are completely emptied of people regardless of age and occupation. I can only come to the conclusion. They are fuel." -Me

Everyone looks at me horrified. What? I am not the one who has done it! Don't look at me like I am the monster.

"F.... Fuel?" Katrine asks.

"Well, living body's are the best containers for mana after all. If you want to cast a really big spell, you need much mana. And if it has to be fast, you can just get it from a random bunch of people." I explain my thoughts.

"What would they want to achieve on that scale?" Celes asks me.

"I don't know. It's a stupid idea anyway, I gave up on that long ago. Destroying the world or summoning a god maybe?" I scratch my head.

"They want to summon Seria!?" Arthur bursts out.

"He said they want to summon -a- god. I assume it doesn't have to be Seria. You two know anything about it? Which god could they want to let loose on the world." -Ireth

Oh there it is. The awkward debate about us and the gods.

"Hahaha. How should we know?" Celes tries to avoid the subject but Katrine pats her head.

"It's okay little miss. We know that you two are much older in your mind than you look. It's not really hard to imagine who you really are by your titles. It doesn't change anything though. You are still our children. And children, who are having secrets from their parents are naughty." Katrine smiles at us.

"There are millions of gods out there. So we really can't tell who or what will be summoned. If it is a summoning. But gods are like every random guy, you pick from the street, so I assume the Meltheims won't be happy with the result." I burst out. I would do everything to avoid punishment!

They want to look down the bottle neck of the universe and go insane? So be it!

"Which means?" - Arthur

"Well. How would you feel if someone summons you to another world out of nowhere?" -Celes

"I wouldn't like it." -Arthur

"And even a minor god can change the landscape, if he gets fired up. So there are all sorts of possible outcomes. From the summoned god being bored anyway and deciding to help the Meltheims, to being indifferent and just going home again, to loosing it and crushing a few impudent flies. Hopefully just the Meltheim guys alone and not us too in the process." -Me

"Hmmmm" -Arthur

That's when suddenly a few fortresses on our side of the border light up and vanish, forming all too familiar mushroom clouds.

I know that this world knows some serious long range magic. So those clouds aren't all that unfamiliar to it's people.

Though the ones which just took out those fortresses are on another scale.

Mother shrieks and holds her hands before her mouth, then she starts to cry and goes to her knees. I don't get what's going on, so I pat her head. Arthur and Katrine look at the screen with pale faces.

"What's wrong?" I ask Katrine and look up to her. She doesn't look happy either.

"Nicol and Nicosar were in one of those." -Katrine

Ah....

"We have to retaliate. Their forces are starting to move." Arthur does his job as a king and keeps a cool head.

"The roads are all secured by mines, they won't be able to invade that fast." Katrine bends down and tries to calm down Ireth.

Celes doesn't look happy either.

**Celes POV**

This is it! They have done it now! Did they really kill Nicol and the old perverted geezer? Ireth is down on the floor, crying and Katrine tries to calm her down.

Arthur is using communication magic to get the army to move. It seems like he deems the situation as sufficient to crush the north.

It sucks! I am not powerful enough to change anything with this body. I am mad at myself and this world. Why are there always idiots, who have to fight stupid wars.

But I guess, I am the last one allowed to complain. Angrod is on the floor besides Katrine and playing with his computer.

"Do you really think it is the right time to play with your toys Angrod?" I snap at him. He should be trying to comfort Ireth. And he just lost his father and grandfather! Those are people, he should care about!

"Kukukuku! I was too nice. I am always too nice. That's my flaw. Every time I start being nice, someone close to me gets hurt. I should have massacred the whole bunch, the same moment they disrespected me....."

"Angrod?" Don't tell me he has lost it?

"....but I can correct that. Yes, I should have killed those children and thrown their beating hearts into that bastards face without a single warning. No more Mr. Nice Guy!"

A red evil looking button pops up on his screen and he presses it. I try to stop him, but I am too late. The big screen changes into a red colour and gives off a shrieking warning sound.

"Angrod! What have you done?" I look shocked at the screen, as a cloud of red dots appears above the mountain where Angrod's lab is located.

"I just corrected my mistake and did a little house cleaning!" Angrod says in a pissed voice.

The cloud spreads and moves north at a moderate speed and Angrod pulls a chair close and sits on it to watch the screen.

"Angrod, you better explain, if you did something of military relevance. I have to coordinate the army alone here and in a few minutes I have a meeting with the highest generals to discuss the situation!" - Arthur

Angrod explains in a moody voice. "If you can wait fifteen minutes, the last rocket should have hit its target. I just launched all the long range weaponry my lab produced in the last month. The targets are enemy command centres, the mansions of northern nobles, the enemy army, strong energy signatures ..... in twenty minutes most of the northern leaders should be mangled pieces."

"Angrod, that's not the right path, you know it! What if some of them are innocent?" I don't recognize this Angrod any more. Or should I say I recognize him again? That's the guy I fought for a long time. Someone who would kill everyone, who opposes him or his ideas.

"They aren't innocent. They all have guilt. Those without guilt died in the first night of the rebellion, when they showed the courage to refuse such actions!" He watches the screen with a angry expression.

I watch the screen, as the first red dots become flashes of light, but smaller than the earlier ones. Though if something can be seen on a continental scale, they shouldn't be small at all. I don't know what to do.

Then I just sit down and hug the stupid hermit. I guess, I have to accept that evil side of him. I guess we would have used strategic strikes in the end anyway. We silently watch the red dots spreading out over the north.

And over a few minutes many small lights start to bloom over the whole north. At least Angrod's weaponry seems to allow precise strikes and in most cases just a few selected buildings get crushed.

"Those exploded too early." Angrod notices us a few minutes later. "The missiles, I shot at the City of Seria at Mount Seria didn't reach their destination."

"That's disturbing. Do they have some kind of defence? Try to drop one of your drones into the city. During the war, we experimented with shield spells to protect our cities. I have a bad feeling about this." -Arthur

Angrod works on his computer and two drones change course, to dive down onto the City. One is following the other to observe the first ones fate.

A few hundred meters above the city the first just gets crushed, like it flew against a solid wall. Seconds later the second drone is lost too.

"They really managed to cast a shield spell of that size? That would need huge amounts of mana!?" Arthur is shocked.

"I guess that's where the missing people come into play." I say in a very unhappy tone.

"They wouldn't need so many people just for a stupid shield spell. They ransacked at least three cities, that's much more than they need even if they used thousands just for the shield." Angrod explains in a moody voice.

"Can you zoom that area out!" Katrine points out something like a field close to the city and Angrod enlarges it.

"Ugh! Are those mass graves?" I ask shocked. I want to throw up. How can those guys go to those extremes.

Angrod changes the view to the city again, but everything looks normal. Except for a big building, shaped like a hemisphere. Then he switches through some instruments in the drone until something like an infra-red vision shows up. Just that it seems to filter for mana.

"I guess, they really are trying to summon a god." Angrod concludes in a grim voice